“Your body’s huge. How did you get so big?”
“Yeah, what have they been feeding you? Pig slop?”
“Your ugly nose is still squashed, though—that’s how we recognized you.” A girl shoved him.
A rush of power coursed through Zens. He pointed at the girl, and squeezed his fist. The girl gurgled, clutching her throat. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.
At last, it was his turn to be strong. Zens laughed—his voice rumbling out of his bull-like chest.
The others fled, screaming. Rejoicing in his power, Zens dropped another two before the corridor was empty.
Zens’ memories flashed by: jabbing animals with needles in his parents’ metal room; slicing samples of their tusks, fur, and flesh; setting the samples into fluid-filled jars; watching them grow; all the while, making notes.
He was following in his parents’ footsteps—bending nature with strange magic. A blur of images passed before Roberto’s eyes, then one came into focus.
Zens was older, hauling a furry, tusked creature out of an enormous jar and helping it stand. Its nose was snout-like and its beady eyes, red. A tharuk.
Elation surged through Zens. He’d done it. He hugged the beast. “Welcome to my world, 000. Together we’ll strike our enemies.”
The tharuk growled, rubbing its head against Zens’ palm. Zens laughed, patting it.
Footsteps and voices echoed outside the room. Zens thrust 000 into a metal cupboard to one side of the entrance doors, sending it mental instructions.
Roberto flinched. Surely, he’d misunderstood.
The door flew open and Zens’ father entered. “Still mucking around? You’ll never amount to anything.” He spat in Zens’ face.
“It’s not his fault. We ruined him. Can’t you give him a break?” Zens’ mother pleaded, wringing her hands.
“Mother, come and see what I’ve made.” Zens called her over, taking advantage of her soft spot for him. “Here, in this jar.” He escorted her toward his jar nearest the cupboard.
Falling for his lure, she came closer. “Has one of your pets grown, dear? Do show me. It’s a shame you can’t go to school anymore, but after you harmed those boys … let me see. It doesn’t look much larger.”
The cupboard doors flew open. 000 burst out, roaring. It lunged at Zens’ father. Grabbing him in its strong arms, it squeezed his ribs until they punctured his clothing, blood soaking his shirt. 000 twisted the carcass. Its slashed the man’s neck open with his claws. It ripped his belly open with its tusks, flinging entrails over the room.
‘Enough,” called Zens, “Now it’s mother’s turn.”
Her screams were silenced as the tharuk ripped her head off with a sweep of its claws and smashed it against the metal cupboards, splattering gray tissue over the walls.
§
Zens woke with a pounding headache. His nightmares had been riddled with memories of his parents. When the nightmares came, they came hard and fast—always about their experiments. “Your father and I bred you as a living experiment,” his mother used to say, filled with pride, as they’d meddled with his DNA. Idiots. That had been their downfall. They’d changed him so his mental and physical powers had exceeded theirs. And his lust for power. They’d only wanted to control the world, whereas Zens was determined to rule other worlds as well his own.
At least, that had been his plan until that master wizard had shut the portal.
A shame, really. Limitless planets were out there, waiting for him—if he could only escape this backward realm, and those stinking flying lizards. Without them, he’d be in charge already.
He walked down the tunnels and took the passage that spiraled down to his lab. Opening the stone door, he walked through the anteroom and inspected the glass vats in his underground laboratory. The whole lab was powered by methimium. By accident, he’d found the valuable energy source, here, in this corner of Dragons’ Realm, along with enough vassals to mine it. At least they were now spending their pathetic lives on something useful.
Reaching into a bowl on the lab bench, he sprinkled the finely-ground yellow crystals onto his tongue. The bitter taste permeated his mouth, bringing back foul memories of when his father had first started feeding him the stuff. He swallowed it down, craving more of the power it gave him.
Zens flicked a switch and yellow methimium-powered light flooded the vats. His lovelies were coming along quite nicely. Soon, he would overpower those vile dragons and put the entire population to work in his mines. Then, when the next mage opened a portal, he’d return to Earth and create methimium-powered weapons that would bring mankind to its knees.
§
Roberto snapped mind-meld and hunched over, dry retching. Even though he hadn’t eaten for days, his stomach heaved again and again. Although Amato had abused Roberto and sold him to Zens, who’d tortured him and broken his mind and will, never once had Roberto imagined inflicting that sort of damage on his father. He drove the ghastly images from his mind.
Zens must never know he’d seen his parents’ abuse, the bullies, or him killing his mother and father. Zens would kill him outright.
Roberto now knew Zen’s biggest weakness. A weakness Zens probably didn’t realize he had. A weakness Roberto might be able to exploit to get out of here.
But if Zens dug through his mind and found out how he felt about Ezaara, he’d also know Roberto’s weakness. He slumped against the wall, exhausted, mentally burying his memories of Ezaara.
§
Zens’ skull-splitting headache was brought on by the memories of his parents’ torture. Torture in the name of science. Torture that had made him the powerful being he was. Torture that had made his life on Earth miserable.
There was one remedy for his headache.
He entered the cavern adjacent to the lab, where 000 was working, and where he performed his own experiments. “Triple,” he said.
His
