The Orcus Games: Blood Moon (The Orcus Games Novella Trilogy #1)

by Louise Herman

  Digging long into the night, I only paused when I heard revellers going past. This allowed me to complete the task only a few hours later as the moon shone its tears onto the deep hole, exaggerating my guilt-ridden sorrow. I finished the job by covering the fresh grave with a bunch of dried leaves and said a small prayer over her.

  I tried to drive but my head was screaming with guilt. I locked the car and started walking; I needed space and couldn’t go back home yet.

  Just a few hours of coming to terms with what I had done was all I needed to prevent me from jumping off the cliff I could see in the distance. I walked for what seemed like miles, trying to hold back the tears of guilt and thoughts of how I would deal with all the self-inflicted problems.

  Thinking about how I was going to pay my first instalment of the loan to the three men on Monday, I again missed the pair standing in the distance.

  They were cowering over something on the ground and whispering, giving me a few minutes’ distraction from my torment. They made me suspicious and I started to wonder if they too had something to hide.

  Creeping up behind them, leaving a few trees between us, I watched the agitated pair intently as they knelt in front of a withering corpse.

  “A vampire!” I gasped to myself as I tried to get a closer look.

  The couple looked around as though they could sense someone was watching. They argued about how they would hide their secret - whatever that was. The woman stood up and started crying as her husband tried to comfort her, exposing the dead vampire at their feet.

  Like a door slammed shut, thoughts of Isla slipped to the back of my mind. I realised I could use this as an opportunity to help me and my son, Lou, out of our financial predicament.

  Slowly walking from behind the tree, I wiped the remaining tears from my face and strolled towards the distraught pair.

  They jumped back and froze with fear; they could not hide their guilt any more, for it was staring all three of us in the face.

  “So, what’s happened here then?” I asked as I nudged the lifeless corpse with my foot, just to make sure it was dead.

  The couple looked at each other, unsure how to respond. The man moved in front of the woman to protect her and tried to compose himself.

  “He tried to attack my wife and I defended her,” he replied bluntly, trying not to show any nerves.

  I laughed at his macho act as I inspected the corpse further.

  “Well, I’m guessing he’s not part of your clan… He’s a little too pale to match your healthy glow. So what are you? Lycan’s? Part of the craft? Come on, I won’t tell!” I joked as I tried to lure them into a false sense of security.

  There was a pause and the woman blurted out,

  “Yes, we’re part of the craft. We didn’t mean for this to happen!” She tried to distract my attention, while her husband tried to push the body under the bushes.

  “WAIT!” I shouted as I dragged the corpse into the moonlight to get a closer look.

  A blood-covered blonde girl, who had clearly been savaged by this ravenous vampire, lay sprawled on the floor, as I looked at the anxious pair for answers. There was a deadly silence and I knew I had the better bargaining position.

  “Another one of your lot?” I chuckled. The man nodded, defeated.

  I circled the scared couple as their eyes followed my every move. They were wary of my confident demeanour, picking up the dead woman and hiding her in the bush before concealing the disintegrating bloodsucker. I washed my hands in a nearby brook and re-joined the baffled couple.

  “Why did you do that?” the woman asked, looking confused.

  “Accidents happen. It’s not for me to judge potential friends,” I replied, smiling at the man as I offered my hand to him. Looking at my wet palm apprehensively, he accepted and we shook on not making a big deal out of my charitable act.

  “You’ve been through a lot tonight, it seems, so just go back home and don’t worry about me saying anything - your secret’s safe with me. By the way, I’m Caleb. What are your names?” I asked sweetly as the woman came from behind her husband and introduced herself.

  “I’m Heather. Thank you! You don’t know how much this means to us, Caleb,” she gushed as she launched forward and hugged me with relief.

  Her husband was less trusting but, encouraged by his wife’s nudges, he came forward.

  “Thank you again, Caleb, you will always be as a friend to me. If there’s anything you need, just let me know. I’m Phoenix,” he replied. He shook my hand with both of his to show his appreciation.

  After pretending I wanted to know a little bit more about them, I engaged in small talk before finding out where their coven was based, the full story on what had happened that night and the possible consequences if they were caught.

  “Like I said, your secret is safe with me,” I reassured them as they bade me farewell and began to walk away.

  Giving them a few more seconds of false security, I decided now was the time to pounce. I jogged over to them.

  “Is everything okay?” Heather asked as she looked at me, perplexed by my jittery nature. I touched her shoulder, as her husband pushed her behind him and repeated the question, this time with more anxiety.

  I moved my hand from his wife’s and onto his shoulder to ease his concern.

  “Sorry - but I remember you saying that if there was anything I needed, I could count on my new friends to help me. There is one thing that you could do to repay me for the favour I am doing for you,” I said. The couple looked at each other, finally realising that they shouldn’t have let their guard down.

  The man grew angrier by the second, feeling cheated.

  “Go on,” he replied through gritted teeth, annoyed that he’d misplaced his trust.

  I smiled at his annoyance as I let them know my ulterior motive.

  “Well, I seem to be experiencing a little financial difficulty at the moment. I thought my new friends could help me out with a few pounds? You know… a favour for a favour?” I smiled as Heather began shaking due to the stress of the whole ordeal.

  Phoenix raised his hand to stop me from continuing any further.

  “How much?” he asked, not wanting to know the answer.

  I observed his upset wife and gave her a menacing smile.

  “£15,000 would be fantastic…” I replied as I attempted to soothe Heather, but Phoenix blocked me.

  Unable to hide his anger, he spat, “Is this blackmail?”

  I laughed as I ran a hand through my hair, unaffected by his fury.

  “Of course not. It’s just one friend doing a favour for another,” I suggested innocently as Heather tried to pull Phoenix away.

  His poor wife couldn’t take any more.

  “We don’t have that kind of money,” she interrupted curtly.

  “Well how about £10,000? That’s fair, isn’t it?” I bartered as Phoenix grabbed Heather’s arm and began to walk away. Feeling like my plan may not work out as I’d first thought; I followed them as they shouted at me to leave them alone.

  “Remember - we don’t want anyone finding out about our little secret, so I’ll pop by to your coven tomorrow to pick up the fee…” I mocked as Phoenix started blaming Heather for being too open with me and telling me where they live.

  There was no response but I vowed to go to the coven first thing in the morning to catch them off guard and get there before they tried to escape.

  Feeling proud that I may finally be able to provide a debt-free life for me and my son, I headed towards the grave to tell Isla my new plan, hoping that she too would be proud of me. I sat beside the freshly dug grave and began to tell her how I planned to rectify my past actions by planning this new start.

  It felt silly at first, speaking to thin air, but after a few minutes the emotions took over me again. I thought about the night before - if I hadn’t gone to the pub, she would never have followed me and this would have never happened. I had to keep thinking she was some
where peaceful, just to keep me sane.

  Finishing my last sentence, I started packing up the truck, ready to go back to the house, while thinking about what I was going to tell my son, not to mention Isla’s friends and family.

  As I packed away the last piece of evidence, I could hear a rustling in the bushes. A sultry voice pierced through the eerie silence.

  “I wouldn’t trust those witches and wizards if I were you. As soon as you get to their coven they’ll blast you into oblivion…” she purred as she appeared from behind the white willow.

  Dressed in a red, cropped leather jacket and matching fitted trousers, she flicked the flaming red hair from her face and came closer. I stood to attention and kept my distance as this mysterious woman introduced herself.

  “Hey, I’m Victoria. I was just having a little walk when I saw you talking to that couple, so I thought I’d have a nose… I liked your plan but it was a bit too naïve for me.” Her wild eyes bore deep into my mind. They radiated electricity, making me aware that there may be a tussle for the title of predator here…

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied, attempting to get in my vehicle.

  She flew over to the car door and slammed it shut.

  “You insult me with your lies!” she snarled as she slammed me against the car and seductively sniffed my neck before backing away. “Urgh, you’re a dog…” she said, appalled by my race.

  Insulted by her disgust, my anger took over as the activities of the night were beginning to catch up with me. I spat back,

  “Yes, I’m a Lycan, but I’ve had a hard night so let’s stop the theatrics and tell me what you want.”

  She laughed at my disinterest and grabbed me by the shoulder. She lifted me off the ground with her supernatural strength.

  “I want it all. I’m so tired of being nice and trying to do things the right way; I want more money. I want to stop being an assistant and to be respected. I want someone to treat me like a princess and to love me… I want Ardan…” she babbled. My brain twisted and turned through this confused conversational maze.

  Trying to calm this deranged bloodsucker down, I gently asked,

  “Well, why don’t you tell Ardan how you feel?”

  She threw me to the ground and started stomping her feet like a child,

  “It’s not that simple! He was married and now his wife has run away with his daughter. Now he’s being punished for this and is going to face his fate at The Orcus Games!” she shouted as she animated every word.

  I tried to sneak into the car but her view was firmly fixed on me.

  Before I could reply she froze, turned around and shouted,

  “I”VE GOT IT!”

  Praying that her fantastic idea would involve my escape, I enthusiastically asked,

  “What’s the plan then?”

  She glared at me with a devious look and licked her ruby red lips. She slowly sauntered towards me, held her breath and whispered into my ears,

  “You need to convince him that I’m the best match for him now - you’ll have enough time to do that in the cells with him.” With that she sunk her freshly manicured nails into my shoulders and threw me against the tree, knocking me unconscious and stealing my car keys.

  Drifting in and out of consciousness, I could see her tying me up with some rope from the back of the truck and throwing me on to the back seat, before jumping in and screeching away, dodging the trees as she made her way back to the main road. Bright headlights stung my eyes as I fought to get free.

  “W-where are we g-going?” I stuttered as she drove at warp speed, ducking and diving through oncoming traffic. She drove with determination and her steely gaze was fixed on her destination.

  Annoyed by my interruption, she screeched to a halt at the side of the road and turned back to look at me.

  She grinned as she pulled my head towards her, making sure I didn’t miss a word.

  “You’re going to join Ardan at The Orcus Games, just like your two little witchy friends from earlier. If I give all three of you to my boss, I will definitely get that promotion. Didn’t I tell you I also worked for the Games? I love to give surprises…” she concluded as she cackled with joy. She screeched away, leaving me wondering whether this was my much-deserved karma for killing Isla.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  STAY IN THE SHADOWS

  ~ THE CRAFT~

  Running all the way back to the coven, we burst through the large wooden gates and ran straight into the Grand Witch.

  “WOAH! Slow down - what’s wrong?” she asked, examining our shaky nature.

  After asking another witch to bring us a much-needed calming brew, we explained the evening’s events and begged for help and advice.

  Straight away, she stood up and whispered to her assistant, allowing her to gather all the followers to the courtyard. There, they come up with a plan of action, leaving me and Phoenix to go to our children and tell them how much we’d missed them. Instead of Venus, it could easily have been us whom the famished vampire devoured.

  Listening to the group’s discussion from the window, we could hear the Grand Witch explaining what spells should be used; each witch and wizard was made aware of his and her strengths to allow for a success fight. The Grand Witch then ordered all of them to make a rota to guard each section of the camp, in order to avoid a surprise attack.

  I held my children tight as we all huddled together, enjoying the cuddles. They were unaware of the deadly scare their parents had just encountered.

  “We need to tell the Grand Witch the truth about how the vampire died. We can’t leave her to defend us without knowing the truth,” I whispered, to which Phoenix shook his head firmly, knowing the consequences we would face for killing another being.

  “We can’t do this to the children,” he replied as a tear fell from his eye.

  Waiting until the children fell asleep; we called Celine to watch them and walked to the courtyard with heavy hearts. Slowly making our way through the crowds, we finally found the Grand Witch and took her to one side.

  “We need to talk to you,” I muttered as Phoenix squeezed my hand in protest.

  “I’m a little busy at the moment, can’t it wait?” she replied, slightly flustered. I shook my head and she showed us into her headquarters.

  My face was tired and drained, complementing Phoenix’s pallid complexion, as I took a deep breath and begun.

  “We didn’t tell you the complete truth about earlier - we can’t have you defend us without knowing the full story…” She looked at us, perplexed, and waved her hand for me to continue.

  “We found Venus in the woods and we knew there was nothing we could do to help her. She was already dead, so we tried to get away, but the vampire heard us and came to attack me. Phoenix protected me and in turn… well - um - you know the rest.” I observed her astonished face.

  She put her hand to her head and sighed.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before? I cannot defend you now; I would be going against the laws of the land. You know you cannot kill another being without incurring serious consequences. Why didn’t you use a spell to stun it?” she questioned. Her mind was clearly racing; she didn’t know how to proceed with this fresh knowledge. Stressed and feeling powerless, she began to pace up and down the room, muttering away to herself. Phoenix reached over and held me tight.

  She stopped and stood there, staring at us.

  “There are two possible outcomes,” she stated as we listened intently. She sat down and held both our hands.

  “The Lycan may not have told anyone; he would also be in jeopardy of losing his freedom by interacting with a being outside of his pack. So if he comes tomorrow, we’ll make him aware that he is not welcome and that we will protect you both no matter what happens,” she said.

  We nodded at her every word.

  “What is the other outcome?” Phoenix asked, knowing that she would have left the worst till last.

&n
bsp; She looked out of the window, biding her time.

  “He may have told others, who would then have punished him for his actions. They will also come to punish you too,” she said as she averted her gaze and looked at the ground.

  There was an eerie silence as we watched the wood crackling in the fire. We thought about the uncertainty of our futures.

  “What’s the worst they could do though?” I asked as the Grand Witch as she raised her head.

  “They could put you in the hands of the Elders. Then, there is definitely nothing I can do.”

  I sobbed uncontrollably at the thought of my children alone, and leaving Phoenix to try to find some light at the end of this tunnel. He kissed my head as the Grand Witch brought me some tissues and vowed to do all she could for us.