For Book Six in my Mages of Lancet Series, I'm going to try something different. I'm planning on making longer chapters with better detail. Since all of my other chapters felt lacking to me, I'm hoping this story won't do the same. For those of you who read my stuff already, tell me if you like this format better. I may change it for my others.

Mermaid Heel

His muscles relaxed and tightened as the artist pressed the needle down on his arm. This pleasure/pain was something that Hollis reveled in as his back leaned in the leather chair. To him the sting of a needle into his arm was pure relaxation, and Hollis refused to let anyone touch his flesh with a magic needle. No, all of Hollis's tattoos were hand tapped into his skin.

The largest tattoo on his body, a phoenix that he could summon the same as the rest of his tattoos, stretched from his arm to span across his back. The tattoo finally ended with its tail feathers wrapping around his hip. That had been given to him when he was but a child growing up under the control of a slave master. His father had taught him the power of tattoo magic, and thanks to that magic Hollis was now a free man. There was nothing better.

Pressing the needle into his skin, the tattoo artist tapped the Nemean Lion permanently on his flesh. Much like a Celestial Spirit mage, a Tattoo Summoner had contracts with the creatures put down on their skin, but unlike a Celestial Spirit mage Tattoo Summoners had to earn the creatures that were placed on their bodies. One couldn't just get any old tattoo and summon it. One had to be able to take the creature down in their world.

Only recently did Hollis enter the world of the Nemean Lion, and only recently did Hollis beat the feline down like Hercules himself. He was quite proud of himself to say the truth. It wasn't every day that a spirit from mythology demanded your presence in their realm. Even so, Hollis would have to form a contract with the myth. Just because he was inked didn't mean that he wanted to show up.

"If you keep getting powerful like this, your body will look like your father's," the tattoo artist explained with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Her name was Mariah Lyn, and she'd been inking both Oryan and Hollis Flight for years. Her age was unknown, but Hollis knew the woman had been working on his father's body since he was in his teens.

Hollis cracked a grin back at the woman. He explained, "With the Nemean Lion on my arm, I'm planning on making a sleeve run down to the tips of my fingers." A sleeve much like his father's.

Oryan Flight was a man covered in tattoos, but like his son the phoenix was his primary tattoo. Other than the phoenix which had been passed down from father to son for ages, Oryan's body was coated in powerful myths. He had a full sleeve that ran from shoulder to fingertip and a quarter sleeve on his left arm. With his usual clothing on no one could see the beasts sealed within, but as soon as Oryan lifted up his shirt sleeves everyone saw the many myths he had contained.

"Aspirations like that will get you killed," Mariah warned with a grin. Ah, yes. That was the comment Hollis had been waiting for. Mariah always explained the strain on a Tattoo Summoner's body when he used many myth spirits at the same time. At first the warning had annoyed him, but now Hollis paid it little mind.

The needle bit down inside Hollis's skin, and he scowled at the woman who was trying to get his attention. Deciding that she wanted him to confirm her statement, Hollis grumbled, "Yeah. Yeah. I get it, mom."

Mariah wasn't Hollis's mom, but she had wound up filling that void when she designated herself as his ink smith. Since Hollis's mother had died in the bloody crossfire of typical Norman, humans who couldn't use magic, versus Mage battle, Hollis had unwittingly seized on Mariah to fill the motherless void his heart refused to accept.

His mind decided to wander at that moment.

So much had changed since those days. Normans were no longer in power over the Kingdom of Lancet. The runaway princess of Lancet that he'd been forced to kidnap had wound up bringing in the force of every mage guild in Fiore. A bloody battle without casualties had placed her cousin on the throne after she'd refused to take her spot as the singular governmental head. The most astounding part? Hollis had been placed as the king's regent despite having kidnaped Princess Adamine in the first place, and it was all because he'd challenged his master over a woman who had given him a conscience. It was a real shame that Princess Adamine Terra had wound up with the hots over a Seith Mage in the guild Fairy Tail. Hollis had wound up developing a slight crush on her. Then again, what man in his right mind didn't—at some point in time—fall for her crazy personality.

Princess Adamine Terra wasn't the sweet, innocent princess depicted in fairy tales. She'd been kidnapped at age five, forced to live amongst people set on sacrificing her to a dragon, and then the psychopathic woman wound up befriending the dragon supposed to devour her. Yes. Adamine Terra was not your average princess.

He cracked a grin at the thought of her. Adamine… she was wild. She was the reason that Lancet and Fiore had joined forces to create something called the Winter Grand Magic Games. It was a new tradition that Kings Isaac and Toma were hoping would get Normans to stop enslaving and selling mages on the Black Market. After Fiore and Lancet had a Grand Magic Games set in the summer, the two would come together and create one for winter. This Grand Magic Games would show off one guild at the top in two kingdoms.

Speaking of, Hollis would be over two guilds while he was working the Grand Magic Games. One of those guilds was Mermaid Heel. They had come in a top spot in Fiore's Grand Magic Games. Apparently, they made for an impressive adversary, but something about a guild full of women didn't settle well with Hollis. At least half of those woman had to be gay. The thought of a guild full of chicks just screamed homosexuality to him. It made sense. You know. If that was all you saw, that was what you fell for.

Some guys like the Gatekeeper of Lancet, Colin Rydel, was happy to know that Isaac's Royal Guard was going to be lodging with that guild, but Hollis wasn't so certain that a bunch of chicks clustered around him was appealing.

Shaking his head, Hollis withdrew a cigarette from his pocket. "Mind if I light up?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

"You have to know how bad that habit is," Mariah sighed. This was another one of their usual controversies. Too many tattoos. Too much smoking. Mariah Lyn must have lived in a glass house because if you spoke to her she wouldn't seem to have any flaws.

Hollis countered, "To the average person. My body absorbs the ash thanks to Cinder like how I'll be able to eat raw meat thanks to the Nemean Lion. And before you mention the tar, I already have a tattoo for that." That tattoo was the naked, female siren he had tattooed like your average pin up girl. No siren could sing if her lungs were caked in tar.

Mariah slowly shook her head at him. She leaned back to stretch at the same time that the kingdom's general, a former slave himself, stepped through the doors of the tattoo parlor. To say that Felix Eisenberg was a large male would be a vast understatement. The former berserker for hire turned Lancet General was freaking massive.

His six and a half foot frame filled up the entrance to the parlor. He was so broad that he had to shift and turn through the doorway. Years of slave labor, living in the wild, and working as a sword for hire had turned the man into one solid block of muscle. If someone kicked him, they would probably wind up more hurting his foot than hurting Felix's shins.

Not only was the man huge, but his sword was a beast. The zweihӓnder, literally meaning two hander, was just as thick and long as its master. From point to pommel the sword had to have been around six feet long. It was the same height as Hollis when he was standing, and if that wasn't scary enough, you had balls of steel. The freaking blade had given Hollis nightmares when the two of them had first met. Also, freaking Felix could toss the heavy blade from one hand to the other, even swing with it. Damned behemoth.

Even so, Hollis cracked a grin at the sight of his comrade. "Well, if it isn't the Meister des langen Schwertes himself. Looking to get yourself some ink?" His chin nodded in the direction of Mariah. The woman cast Felix an easy grin and bowed her head in recognition of the male whose power in the government was to crack skulls without taking names. It sucked that the woman didn't open her mouth, but that was just how Lancet culture had been so long. When in the presence of a strange man, most women refused to speak. One would think that since King Isaac was on the throne that would change. It had. Just not enough. Old habits die hard, Hollis assumed.

Felix grinned, stretching the scars that ran down his lips and to his collarbone from some battle he'd lived through. "My brother, you know that my clan would disown me if I got ink put into my skin. The best body markings are those earned in battle. Eh?"

"Not if your magic is based in ink," Hollis replied and took a drag of his cigarette. Unlike the average, harsh scent of tobacco, Hollis's cigarettes burned a sweet scent. That was the only reason he was permitted to smoke indoors. His clothes all smelt like mint. "If you don't want any tats, then you must be looking for me." He arched a crimson brow.

"Indeed. Mermaid Heel's ship is arriving in the port. Isaac sent me to collect you since he won't be able to meet them at the docks. Last night Katja and Sven found a suspicious person lurking in the city past curfew. He is questioning the man at the moment, but they haven't gotten a word out of him," Felix explained, referencing the murders that had been picking up now that Lancet Normans had heard that mages were being given another right in the country.

For some reason normal humans were extremely opposed to allowing mages equal rights. Their words were coated over in innuendo, and they cursed the fact that mages held the most powerful seats in the kingdom. They said something about how mages were suppressing them. When in reality, they were just taking their rightful spot alongside Normans instead of beneath them. If mages were truly suppressing humans, then Hollis would have Norman slaves and the woman tattooing his arm wouldn't be getting a three hundred coin payment for the ink she was putting in his skin.

Despite that fact, Norman Slavers were irate that they couldn't sell their mage slaves publicly. Murders and kidnappings were on the rise. Hollis had been afraid that the Winter Games weren't going to happen when two Normans—who still have yet to be captured—laid two dead members of the guild Grimm out on the statues of Thor and Lady Sif in the city's fountain. It had been a warning for Isaac to call off the games. Well, the king hadn't called them off.

Thanks to that the members of the Royal Guard were being assigned to look after the guilds coming in from Fiore. Security was top notch at the moment, and a curfew had been passed that no one other than the king, his guard, and the Magician's Alliance, a Lancet police force of mages and Normans, was to be out after midnight.

Hollis, since he was Isaac's sidekick or regent, was to look after Mermaid Heel. Why? Because the king was currently, as Felix would say, courting a certain Ms. Kagura Mikazuchi. After an incident earlier this year, Isaac had wound up with a case of amnesia that had nearly destroyed the kingdom. Thankfully, Isaac had gotten his memory fixed and after he'd gotten his ass majorly owned in an earth shattering battle a good angel came and revived him. But... that was all in the details. When push came to shove, Isaac and Kagura wound up locking lips in the hospital as the angel named Sirenia watched over his healing process. Oh, and did Hollis forget to mention that said angel was also the master of Mermaid Heel? Oh, he did forget! Well, yeah. Sirenia was the master of Mermaid Heel.

Mariah leaned back from Hollis's arm. She quietly explained, "You're good to go." Never lifting her eyes up to the strange male in the room, Mariah gave Hollis a grin. "Good luck." Ah. Mariah was proud of him.

Hollis cupped his would-be mother under the chin and forced her to look up. "You can say that louder. You know. You aren't going to be punished for speaking aloud anymore."

Moisture caused her eyes to glitter. With slight reluctance she admitted, "You know what they say. Old habits die hard."

Hollis kissed his mother on the cheek before slapping three hundred coin into her palm. "I'll see you next time I defeat another myth. Alright." Deciding to add in something she always told him after giving him money, Hollis added, "Don't spend all of that in one place."

He rose up from the leather seat and admired her handiwork. Mariah always did wonderful work, but she had truly outdone herself. Each work was better than the last. Hollis could practically see the Nemean Lion tearing out of his skin where its claws looked to be shredding lengths of muscle.

Without any time to lose Hollis slapped Felix on his massive back. "You going to help me take care of the girls?" he asked.

Hollis had never seen Felix amongst many women before. Those that he did approach he treated with the upmost respect. In his clan from High Lancet, women were a true commodity. They were highly revered and respected since they were the ones to bear the children in the cold, rough terrain of High Lancet. Still, Hollis wondered what Felix would be like if he ever met someone he was attracted to. The man had never seemed even the slightest bit attracted to any of the women he'd met in Capital Lance. Sure, he was nice, but he never called for anyone despite how many women admired his tall, broad form. As a matter of fact, Felix never even ogled a woman's cleavage like his usual partner, Colin did. Hollis knew the man was straight, but what would it take to get Felix interested in a woman?

Felix gave a grunt of laughter. It rumbled in his expansive chest. "You aren't trying to hook me up like Katja does. Are you?"

Hollis feigned a look of betrayal. "Me? Why, I would never think of doing something like that to you! I can't believe that you would think such a thing!" Hollis's grin widened. "Because I wouldn't try. Felix, I would succeed."

The big male shook his head. "There are times when you and the others make me feel as though I'm much older than my mid-twenties."

Hollis shrugged. "Must be something about your berserkertude."

"So this is Capital Lance," Millianna breathed. Her lips parted in awe at the stark difference between what she was told about the capital and what it was in person. Millianna had expected to see a large stage where slavers would be selling mages. She also expected there to be heinous, wicked looking people walking around.

Although the capital was rather cold, it wasn't because of the people. Large buildings were made of heavy timber or weighty stone. Gambrel roofs abounded instead of the typical gable roofs in Fiore. People of Lancet appeared to enjoy building in warm tones to belie the cold weather outside, cold weather that caused her to change clothes as soon as their ship had entered the high north where the Kingdom of Lancet rested.

Millianna wandered throughout the streets and admired the many fans that crowded the streets. She saw guild signs from Fiore and some unfamiliar ones from Lancet. The only Lancet guild she recognized was the crossing tribal scythes that was the guild mark of Kindred Spirit, a guild she'd met the first time Millianna had come here.

The first time that Millianna had been here hadn't been on a social visit. It had been on a Hundred Year Mission where guilds from all across Fiore had come to liberate the kingdom Lancet from Norman tyranny. That time Millianna and the rest of Mermaid Heel had been called in to destroy a wall that divided Royal Lancet from Common Lancet. It had been awesome.

Now that she was actually able to see the kingdom, she was hyper. Happily, she bopped from place to place. Millianna peered inside a shop to check out its wares, she signed autographs from mage and Norman admirers, and she checked out Lancet clothing.

"Isaac said that he was going to meet us at the dock," Kagura mentioned from somewhere behind Millianna. Her hand rested calmly atop the hilt of her blade, but she was glancing about the port. Her hazel eyes searched around for her lover, but if anyone called her out on the fact that she was worried, Millianna knew she would immediately deny it.

Even so, Millianna couldn't stop the grin creeping up her face. Kagura and Isaac were adorable for each other. Neither one would admit how much they liked each other, but it was so blindingly obvious to everyone else. Millianna adored teasing Kagura about it.

Araña explained, "He's the king of an entire country. I'd bet that something happened, and he couldn't come. We should have just waited for someone to show up to escort us. I mean. Do you even know where you're going?"

The shade of pink that Kagura turned at her irrational behavior would forever be burned in Millianna's mind. Her grin merely widened.

Coughing into her hand, Kagura explained, "If that was the case, Isaac would have sent one of his shades out to meet us."

Ah. Yes. King Isaac's shades. They were interesting little creatures that came out of his shadow. King Isaac could send them out to a shadow of choice, and as soon as it connected to that shadow, it would relay a message telepathically to the chosen person.

Risley added, "Not if he didn't know we were in the port yet. Sirenia turned in our paperwork to let us in, but if Isaac was busy, he might not have been told we were here. We should go back to the docks and wait."

Kagura shook her head. If the woman was one thing, it was stubborn. "No. Something's wrong. I just know that he would have sent out one of his shades to find us."

Again, Millianna's smile got larger. Ever since Kagura and Isaac got together, Kagura had become extremely protective over him. He had nearly died in a battle last year. Ever since that day, Kagura had been keeping tabs on him. Worrying about him like a mother hen would. Again, so darned adorable.

While Risley, Araña, and Kagura bantered behind her, Millianna kept up her adventurous pursuit of all things Lancet. The culture was interesting. It intrigued her. She leaped over a railing with feline grace before landing atop a fountain where two Lancet gods resided in the center. The God of Thunder, Thor and his wife stood in the middle of the fountain and water pooled around their feet before running into four streams that split the central court of Capital Lance.

She leaned over in the fountain and swiped at one of the large fish swimming within. Her flat claws skimmed the smooth skin of a catfish before she caught sight of something in her reflection.

Tuning her ears in, she eavesdropped on the two familiar faces. "Where the bloody hell could they have gone," the red head hissed. He had golden eyes like a cat in the night. On one of his arms was a siren tattoo, and on the other was the sight of feathers. With just the sight of those feathers, Millianna knew who she was looking out.

They were the old members of something called Exile, a branch of mages that were sent by Normans to collect and murder mages. Now, though, they had turned over a new leaf. After being pardoned by King Isaac, they had received high standings in the kingdom of Lancet.

If Millianna wasn't mistaken, Hollis was regent, but she didn't know the big guy standing with him. Her chocolate eyes narrowed. The guy was… huge. He had shoulders broader than Kagura and Millianna combined. Not only was he broad, but he was tall. He looked like a blonde headed bear walking with the Crimson Phoenix. So, if Hollis was the Crimson Phoenix and if Katja and Sven were Poisoneva and Poisonidan and then if Colin was the Dark Haze that meant that this guy was the Heavy Metal Soldier.

Well, they were most definitely right on the heavy part, but Millianna didn't see much metal on the blonde haired and blue eyed bear. He was wearing a red robe that wrapped around his throat before falling to cover his left arm. The only metal she caught sight of was a metal guard that covered his right shoulder.

When the blonde spoke up, his voice was deep and manly, perfect for a bear like him. "They may have wondered where their escorts were and went to go find them. I told Isaac that you wouldn't make it in time because you were getting new ink."

"Oi! Don't blame it on the tattoos. Those babies take time if you want them to look right. Just check out how good this ink looks." Hollis twisted around to flaunt a kitty on her shoulder. Immediately, Millianna's interest was piqued.

Hollis was a Tattoo Summoner. If he had a lion on his arm that meant that he could summon it. Perking up, Millianna glanced back to Kagura staring at a directory. They had been set up sporadically just for the mages of Fiore to be able to get around during the Winter Games. After looking at them, her eyes went to where Hollis and the Heavy Metal Soldier were walking off in the opposite direction. Millianna could go get them for the girls. That way she could get a good look at that tattoo on Hollis's arm. It was beautiful, and she wanted to see if he would let her see it.

Deciding that was the best way to go, Millianna hopped off the fountain. She could just imagine the sighs resounding from the fish in the fountain that she'd been harassing as she dashed off in the direction of Hollis.

Her body maneuvered through thick crowds of fangirls. She bopped through vendors selling guild trinkets, and after shoving her body between a group of tightly packed tourists, her foot decided it felt like grabbing onto the edge of the cobblestone pathway. With her arms flailing like a fish out of water, Millianna tumbled headlong towards the stones.

Hollis blinked once. Then, he blinked twice. He had to blink about three or four more times while he wondered just how the hell he'd wound up holding a girl by her shoulders. One minute he'd been strolling about looking for the members of Mermaid Heel, the next minute some chick had come flying at him like a torpedo set for detonation.

As he blinked at the girl, he said the only words that could come to his lips. "Uh. Miss, I think you just fell for me," he stated without thinking.

Beside him his cloaked companion snickered, "Smooth lines, my brother."

Hollis cut him a smirking glare as he watched the woman lift herself up. Her hood fell from her face, and Hollis blinked at not only her feline features but her scantily clad outfit. This female was dressed like she was about to be tied at the whipping post not like she was about to go strolling through the streets of thirty degrees Fahrenheit Lance. Had he not known foreigners were perusing the country, he might have thought she belonged on a street corner.

Even so, he checked her body for a guild mark. This could have been someone from Mermaid Heel. He'd met many of them when they'd taken down the wall then went to King Isaac's crowning ceremony. His eyes perused her form blatantly, and when he didn't find anything, he merely pulled the woman straight.

"Ah-ha! Sorry about that. My foot decided that rock looked nice enough to get friendly with. Are you okay?" she laughed out. Her pale hand shot to ruffle her brown hair around, and she gazed up at Hollis with big, feline eyes.

"I'm fine. You must be a foreigner in Lancet?" Hollis asked, getting straight to the point. Hollis had lost the Mermaid Heel girls. He knew them by the paperwork Felix had given him on the women, but he had yet to see any of their images. Hopefully, this girl was one of them even though he didn't see a mark on her front. With how much skin she was showing, he was amazed he hadn't seen it. How the hell was she not cold?

The strange, cat girl nodded her head feverishly. "Ei-yup! Millianna from Mermaid Heel at your service, Mr. Crimson Phoenix!" she chimed. Her hand moved up to her forehead in mock salute.

Crimson… Phoenix… Gods, no one had addressed him like that in years. His entire body jerked to press his hand against her mouth, and while people turned their heads at the name of such a vaunted demon, Hollis laughed nervously. "Ha! Ha! Yeah, crimson feathers. Yup! Yup! That's the color of a hawk. Right you are, Millianna." Eyes scanned his form carefully. They looked at his covered arms, checking for the tattoo of Cinder on his body. The girl may not have known it, but Hollis wasn't exactly well loved by Normans or mages. He'd been forced to murder both when he was Gatlin's slave.

Hollis elbowed a snickering Felix in the ribs and jerked his head towards a thicker crowd. With his hand clamped down and muffling Millianna's protests, he hissed, "Come on, man. I don't wanna start a freaking mob because of my name."

The Heavy Metal Soldier bowed his head and moved to shield both of their bodies with his. As soon as they were away from the prying eyes and ears of everyone that had heard her exclamation, Hollis leaned towards Millianna's ear. To be discreet he held her like he would a lover.

Arms that had been locked like vice grips smoothed down, and he cupped her chin to pull her mouth towards his. With his lips at her ear he whispered, "You can't shout our Exile names out. We're not exactly loved for our old aliases."

She gave a nod, and as soon as he released her cat claws came running down his face. Blood welled up from the random attack, and Felix's quieted laughter rumbled around him. "The hell?" he hissed out, pulling his teeth back to reveal fangs grown thanks to his Nemean Lion.

"I don't appreciate you man handling me. It's not spiffy," she explained, retracting her red nails.

"Not spiffy," he growled. Pulling his arm back like he was ready to brawl, Hollis added, "Baby, I can show you spiffy." He was going to make a move for her, but Felix put his hand out. Against that unmoving statue, Hollis might as well have been manacled.

"Please excuse, Hollis. He was worried you would start a mob. There is a reason we no longer go by our aliases," Felix explained. He pressed his hand to his chest and gave a bow of his head. "My name is Felix Eisenberg. I, too, am a member of Isaac's Royal Guard. We'll hopefully be combatants in Thor's Field."

"Thor's…"

With his mouth still in a grimace, Hollis explained, "Thor's Field. It's the arena we'll be fighting in. So, do you know where the rest of your group is?" His eyes scanned around, but unlike Felix who had taken the time to research the profiles given to him by King Isaac, Hollis had no clue what anyone looked like. All he saw was nameless face after nameless face.

Millianna turned her head around, causing her mane of choppily cut chocolate hair to wave over her back. She looked to be scanning around. After a moment, her hand shot out to point to a group of women. One was studying the directory like it held all of life's greatest secrets, and the other two looked to be calling for someone. With so many bodies jam packed into the capital, Hollis wished them luck. "There! That's them!"

Felix straightened his back and caught sight of the group at the directory. His large hand came down on Hollis's back, pushing the male forward just a bit. "Ah. Lovely. Let's go meet the other ladies of Mermaid Heel. Shall we, my brother?"

Hollis growled at Felix's jesting. The man knew Millianna had gotten under his skin with that cheap shot earlier. If there was one thing Hollis hated, it was being caught off guard. Made him more defensive and angry than anything else did. He snarled, "Sure. Fine. Can't believe we gotta bunk with them in the Icere Lodge. Damn Isaac and his bloody girlfriend."