Loch dismissed the Notifications. It had been awhile since he’d gotten that many at once. He could feel the Level and the Achievements giving him more strength. When he got back to the Clanhold, he’d have to assign his free attribute points.

  “Just gained another Level,” a deep voice in a mocking tone. “Pretty soon I’ll catch up to you.”

  Turning, Loch saw Roger walking up, shaking some blood off his sword. His metal chest piece was no longer shining, the finish dull, marred by scratches. He hadn’t been taking great care of it since he’d received it. There were stains from dried blood, darker spots from the fresh blood of the Yetis. Roger himself looked stronger. He’d grown an inch or two through the Abilities and Stat gains he’d received through his Levels. Bulkier, fitting his Class of Shieldbearer. His shield, his pride and joy, had better care taken of it then Roger gave himself. His beard and hair were thick and matted. There was a slight wildness to his eyes. He rubbed at his temples as he walked over, sneering. Loch had noticed that Roger did that a lot, rubbing at his temples as if his head bothered him.

  No one suffered from migraines or headaches, except those that came with use of Spirit. It was an odd gesture for Roger to be making. Looking beyond the older man, Loch could see Mike Turner also rubbing at his temples as if he had a headache. Malcolm and Eric were standing off to the side with Josh’s people. Theodore was by himself somewhere in the middle. It was how that group always seemed to be. Not friends, Malcolm and Eric seeming like they barely liked Roger and the others. But the group worked well together.

  “What Level?” Loch asked, wondering why both Roger and Mike were acting like they had headaches.

  The Yeti hadn’t had any mental or sonic attacks, so there was no reason for both. He’d noticed Roger making the gesture a lot, now that he was thinking about it, had Mike been doing that often as well? Loch would check with Harper, maybe she had noticed.

  “Nineteen,” Roger said, puffing up as he bragged.

  Loch really did not like the man. An arrogant braggart, but he was one of the top ten strongest in the Clan, so Loch had to put up with him.

  “That’s good,” Loch said. “You’re getting there.”

  “Getting there?” Roger barked, giving a harsh chuckle. “I’m Leveling faster than anyone else in the Clan.”

  “And we appreciate it.” Loch said. “Your power is a great asset for the Clan.”

  “Ha,” Roger said, shaking his head. “Just can’t admit that I’m catching up to you and won’t be long until I pass you by and then what? Would that make me Clanchief?”

  Loch sighed, not wanting to get pulled into whatever Roger was trying to do. But Roger wasn’t going to let him get away without some kind of confrontation. Roger was arrogant, but not normally this confrontational. Loch chalked it up to the adrenaline from the fight.

  “Wouldn’t that be something? Me as Clanchief?”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” Loch said.

  “Isn’t it decided by who is the strongest?”

  Loch sighed.

  “You still have a ways to go,” he said, starting to turn away. “Let’s head back,” he said, louder.

  “Oh? Scared are you?”

  “I just hit Level Twenty-Nine,” Loch said, walking away.

  “What? You…,” Roger started to grumble.

  “Roger,” Theodore said, causing both Roger and Loch to turn. “Let it go.”

  Roger glared at Theodore, looking like he was going to say something. He reached up, rubbing at his temple again, as his eyes closed in pain. Roger shook his head, his entire demeanor changing. He nodded, looking back at Loch with a calmer smile.

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  “Level Twenty-Nine huh? That’s awesome,” he said, walking past Loch. He paused as he stood next to Loch, turning and smiling. “Your power is a great asset to the Clan.”

  With a chuckle, Roger kept walking. Theodore and Mike Turner followed. Looking back at the rest of the group, Loch waved them on. They followed after the other three, leaving Loch in the rear, wondering what had just happened.

  ***

  “That was weird,” Ed Turner said, leaning back in his chair.

  Outside through the window, Loch could see the torches casting shadows against the ground of the yard, as the guards patrolled the wall. The office was empty, just him and Ed. This late at night, no one would be expected to be in the offices, but Loch had called Ed down as soon as he’d gotten back. He’d thought about contacting Darren, but not yet.

  “Yeah. Roger is usually a blowhard but that was a bit much.”

  “Right. He’s usually not that aggressive,” Ed said. “It’s no secret that he wants to replace you, but he’s never been that forthcoming about it.”

  “And the rubbing of the temples,” Loch said. “That was odd.”

  “I have noticed Mike doing that a lot more lately. Susan thought it was some kind of lingering injury. She used her Abilities on him and it seemed to work for a bit, but then I noticed it coming back. When I asked him about it, he got very angry and stalked off.”

  Ed sighed. He went to rub at his temples but stopped, shaking his head, giving a soft chuckle. Instead he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

  “Teenagers,” he grumbled. “He was always a handful but he’s just gotten worse since the Connection. Angrier. Acting like the world owes him something. Susan and I have tried to talk with him but…” Ed leaned forward, resting his head on his hands, elbows on the desk. “Where did we go wrong?”

  Loch leaned forward, resting his hand on Ed’s shoulder.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just all this..” he waved his other hand around them. “None of us were prepared for what all this would mean and do to us.”

  Ed was silent for a bit before sitting back up, looking sadly at Loch.

  “Didn’t seem to affect your girls.”

  Loch sat back, not sure how to respond. Ed raised his hands, shaking his head.

  “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. Forget I said anything,” Ed sighed again. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Opening them, he refocused on Loch. “Okay, so there’s something weird going on with Roger and maybe Mike. Has anyone else stood out?”

  “Not that I know of but it’s not something I’d spent a lot of time looking at or for,” Loch said. “I think we will now.”

  “Agreed. I’ll mention it to Darren and Kristin in the morning. It’s probably nothing, but having two people doing the same gesture often…”

  “It’s probably nothing,” Loch admitted.

  “No, something we should keep an eye on,” Ed said. “Especially since Roger and Mike are on the same team. That strange guy, Theodore is on it right?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know what it is about that guy…”

  “I agree. He’s just always kind of there, in the background. Some kind of mental Abilities right?”

  “Yeah. But he’s done good things for the Clan. He held the doors against the gaunts. Even pushed his powers to the edge.”

  “I remember hearing about that.”

  Loch stood up, stretching.

  “We’ll have to keep an eye on them and everyone really,” Loch said, shaking his head.

  “Just one more thing to deal with,” Ed said, smiling.

  “What was it you said once? It never ends.”

  “It never ends,” Ed said, losing the smile.