Shae pointed each person out as she introduced them. "This is Falad, and Tibero, twin brothers and both of them are Water Nemesis. This is Shoma, the Air Nemesis, and last but not least, Silia, the Ice Nemesis."

Falad frowned at Nix; he had short blond hair and pale skin. "I know your reputation Nix, but a single Fire Nemesis isn't going to be much help."

Tibero nodded in agreement. "We have plenty of Fire Mages already."

Shoma held up a hand to stop them from commenting further. "Don't be so hasty, none of us has garnered so much attention from Khione. There must be a reason."

Silia stared at him for a long moment; she had the typical Ice Nemesis coloring, white-silver hair, and pale blue eyes. "This is very unexpected."

Nix bit down on a smile that threatened to come. "Secrets out."

Tibero glanced back and forth between the two of them for a moment. "What secret?"

Silia stepped closer; she raised a hand to touch Nix, only to have Shae step in front of him. "Hmm... so protective. I'm not here to poach your mate. He is ready to rank up."

Shae's warm brown eyes showed her surprise. "An Ice Nemesis?" She turned to face him, her hand resting on his chest. "You were barely Lord rank when last I checked."

Nix had been caught up in Khione's trap; he had been able to separate Ice into Water and Air, someone stronger than him could definitely do the opposite. "I can help if you allow it. I already know why the Air and Water elementals are disappearing."

[Whisper: Nix to Shae] Can this Silia be trusted?

[Whisper: Shae to Nix] Yes, without a doubt.

Shoma's round face scrunched up; for a moment, he reminded Nix of Gil. "Explain it then."

"Questions first." Nix felt like a few pieces were missing. "Between Air, Water, and Ice, which element is the most powerful?"

"Ice," Silia answered without looking at the other three Nemesis, none of them dared disagree with her.

Nix nodded; he had already guessed it. "Between the three of them, which is the rarest?"

"Ice," Silia answered again, her light blue eyes seemed amused. "The hybrid element is the most difficult to master."

"That's why they are disappearing. Khione is using them to power up, Air and Water make Ice." Nix could see the doubt in their eyes.

"Impossible Nix, it's true that Ice is a hybrid of Air and Water. The hybrid of them is a rare ability, but taking separate Water and Air powers and then combining them... it can't be done."

Nix stepped away from the group for a moment and faced them. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and focused, having never tried it outside of Khione's trap, it took him a while. Slowly the image of his fire seed formed in front of him; this was followed by his Ice, air, lightning, and water seeds.

Shoma stared at the seeds in the air, he could do the same thing himself, but it wasn't nearly as impressive. "d.a.m.n... that's a lot of seeds."

Nix nodded at Silia. "Can you send an ice beast at me?"

Silia raised a hand. "Something small, so there aren't any accidents."

A small Ice sparrow formed in the air over her head; a moment later, it dived toward Nix.

Remembering to accept and not resist, Nix used a simple water stream to pull it closer and then separated the two elements within it. There was a collective gasp when both the air and water seeds absorbed the sparrow.

"Now let's try the opposite, remember I'm a novice Ice user."

Falad and Shoma both sent small elemental creatures toward Nix, the first four attempts ended with Nix's fire aura killing them, but on the fifth attempt, he combined the air and water creatures into his Ice seed.

Silia stared at the Ice Seed; her expression showed real fear. "Khione is much more powerful than a Nemesis like me. If you can do that, Nix, then she can probably combine the entire seeds of Air and Water Lords."

Nix nodded. "She didn't use Ice Lords, because they are too rare."

Shae moved beside him and squeezed his hand. "It's like I said. Nix will figure it out."

"The barrier is failing! We've been discovered!" Rhy's voice shouted across the warehouse. "Fall back to the safe house!"

Shae grabbed Nix's hand and pulled him toward the exit. They ran into the street and quickly blended into the crowd. The sounds of fighting could be heard behind them.

[Whisper: Nix to Shae] Shouldn't we fight?

[Whisper: Shae to Nix] We can't afford to Nix.

Shae turned down an alleyway and then broke into a run until the next street where they once again started walking.

[Whisper: Shae to Nix] Rhy is already safe.

A shout from in front of them, caused Shae to break into a run and turn down the closest alley, unfortunately, it was a dead end.

[Whisper: Nix to Shae] Fly out of here Shae.

[Whisper: Shae to Nix] We'd be brought down immediately.

Three slim soldiers in leather armor approached them with weapons drawn. Their faces seemed to be made from a brown colored stone. The nearest of them stopped while the other two spread out.

"I'm Captain Helbak of the Elementia Guard; you will surrender yourselves for questioning."

"Careful Nix, these are Earth Spirits, and they are resistant to fire." Twin fire blades emerged from Shae's hands.

Nix focused on wrath and pushed Ice into it.

[Spellsword Ability Unlocked: Black-Ice Blade]

Nix could feel the Ice vibrating from the effects of the wrath hilt; his mind noted the occasion for later study; sonics turn Ice into black Ice.

[Storm Rider: Execution]

Combination Attempt successful.

Nix appeared behind his target and a moment later the Captain's head bounced off the ground, causing the other two guards to freeze.

[Daisy Chain]

An Earth Spirit Guard has been stunned.

An Earth Spirit Guard has been stunned.

Nix dispatched the two remaining guards while Shae kept watch, as soon as he finished she grabbed his hand and retreated into the street.

Nix pushed back his hood and removed Shae's. The redhaired Salamander nodded when he threw an arm around her. They fell easily into the role of lovers taking a stroll. A few guards ran by them while they walked, but none stopped to investigate.

"I've never seen a city like this." Even under the circ.u.mstances, Nix could appreciate the work that went into three and four-story buildings.

Shae leaned her head against his shoulder while they walked. "Earth and Wood elementals."

Nix gave her a confused look. "What's that mean?"

"Some Earth and Wood elementals can build very complex structures. This city is probably much larger than it once was."

Nix stopped and stared at her for a moment, and then took another look at the surrounding buildings. "F*ck... This must be Dyrekstad."