And with that, appropriate or not, I knew I had selected my female Fare.
Since we weren’t completely sure how to get out of my suite without causing a scene, we called for Solomon who had an ingenious plan. When he came to the door, the Fare would hurry to stand outside behind him. If anyone passed by it would look like we had asked to get a closer look. It worked like a charm, except for the fact that Rillae kept making faces and Chloe and Nicole kept cracking up. Solomon, on the other hand, looked as if he was going to have a fit.
I hoped that the girls had gotten enough sleep because it was track and field day. I was beyond excited to see which events would be on the program today. We arrived in our box and were presented with gifts from High Caste families. It seemed that word of our interest in the Lower Caste Fare had spread and the real games had begun. We received poems about our beauty and mp3 recordings with lyrics about our intelligence. We simply noted who sent them and threw them out. We kept any gift that involved chocolate, though. We had our priorities straight.
The program was amazing. Amongst the events today would be a relay and the 800 meters. I was excited about those more than anything and prayed the races would be competitive. While I was discussing the events with Pleasant, who I had just found out was a track fan as well, the Robesons came to our box. They bowed deeply toward Efia and then the rest of us before Matthias spoke. He instructed two young boys to come forward to set two large boxes at Efia’s feet. He was going on and on about trips to Egypt and Israel for the finest linen money could buy. The man made me sick.
Efia smiled amicably at the man and, as if reading my mind, simply pushed the boxes under her seat stating that she would open them later. Matthias smiled and tried not to show how put out he was. Wyatt, on the other hand, had no such training and his mouth hung open as if being ignored horrified him. The sight was too funny not to laugh and I failed at covering it up with a cough. The nerve of these people to think they could influence us like that.
As a family we collectively found other things to do while the Robesons clucked around our viewing box. They were clearly there to campaign, making the most of the time that they were being given. The young green eyed girl from the banquet hall scrunch up her nose as Wyatt passed her. She was a St. Clair clan member but clearly not the prize that the Robesons wished for.
As if reading my mind, Chloe and I rose at the same time and walked over to the couch where the girl and her family sat. They were respectfully honored by the attention of Royals, but nowhere near acting like their lives hinged on our favor. That scored them big points with me. We sat on either side of the girl and introduced ourselves. Her name was Adrianna Eklund and she had just turned 18. She was an Elemental Vampire by birth but had experienced trouble with her attributes. Her parents were hoping that Efia would offer to foster her in an effort to obtain better training. It would be a great opportunity for me to have someone to talk to about the concerns I have with my own attributes. Tabitha, being a Cereb, could be sympathetic to a point and Chloe was not yet at the stage of development where things were going haywire. In anticipation for a future training partner that wasn't trying to kill me, I told Adrianna that I was sure that it would be okay since we had plenty of space.
Preparing to tell Efia that I had just offered to foster Adrianna, I stood and collided with Matthias. Wyatt and his mother trailed so closely behind him that it was evident all of them heard the conversation. Obviously, the Eklunds had just become more important to the Robesons now that they knew she would live in the royal compound. I wanted to wipe the smug look off of their faces as they greeted the Eklunds and their daughter for the first time since they arrived.
I returned to my seat, equally frustrated and relieved, to wait for the beginning of the track events. There were a few ceremonial procedures before the MC announced the time for the first event. We would have to watch some sprints and a distance race before my coveted 800 and relay. Rillae and Nicole warmed up for their events. They had refused to tell me their best times so I was anxious. Their body types couldn't even be used as a guide, being that Fare were all perfect athletic beings. I remembered the Steward from the day before and how he had run the marathon so well. So, I sent silent wishes that they would do well, not that it would matter in our selections, but because I knew that they wanted to make their families proud.
Thirty minutes into the meet, Adrianna made her way to sit on the couch with me. The company was much appreciated since Tabitha was in the Miklos box with Jordan. I had been getting a bit lonely. At first we just enjoyed a comfortable silence. The weather was great and there was a comfortable breeze passing through. We ate and cheered and waited for the next events. It became clear that she wanted to ask me something, so I broke the ice.
“So, are you as confused as I am or do you know who you are selecting?”
“I know who I am NOT selecting, that’s for sure.” She looked directly toward the Robeson family sitting in the stands close by when she said it. I didn’t blame her. They had ignored her until she seemed more important and that was insulting.
“Well, I may have my female Fare picked out, but I have no idea with the male. We are supposed to ignore looks but they are paraded around here like teen heart throbs.”
“Well,” Adrianna said, looking around to make sure she wasn’t being overheard, “I have the opposite problem. I know the male Fare and not the female. One of my mother’s Fare has a brother who has visited us. He's great, but not in the romantic way, you know, since that is frowned upon.” She winked at me then and I had to close my mouth before I caught a fly.
This sweet, innocent looking girl was going to pick a male Fare to have a relationship with. I glanced at Solomon and thought about his background. If he was the standard to be measured by, then mixed relationships were alright by me.
“Who is he?” I asked, wondering if she would trust me with the information.
“Cameron Tenison. His family isn't like the Robesons even though he is High Caste. And I've known him most of my life. I think my mom is okay with it, but my dad might be upset.”
Mr. Eklund obviously loved his daughter. Anyone could see it in the loving way he looked at her. I knew how rare her birth had been and the fact that she had all of her mental faculties was nothing short of a miracle. How disappointed her father would be when he found out?
Finally the MC called the 800 meter runners to the waiting area. The last of the distance runners were finishing their events and the track needed to be cleared. Runners were stretching and checking their spikes and I wondered what types of shoes they had used through the years. Today, they wore state of the art shoes and aerodynamic suits. They had the freedom to wear whatever colors and designs that they liked and the result was sometimes a comedy of errors.
The High Caste Fare had opted for flashiness in their racing singlet. I was looking for Rillae when I saw the most horrendous outfit of all. Wyatt Robeson had stepped out of the shadows in an all white unitard with a bright red Calla Lily on the front of it. Efia and Pleasant must have seen it at the same time because all three of us let out a gasp followed by hysterical laughter. The Robesons had gone too far this time. Had any of us even considered Wyatt before then, none of the St. Clair clan would be selecting him after this stunt. No one wanted to be thought of as succumbing to bribery and sweet talk. How they could not know that their behavior was unacceptable was beyond me.
The females were to race first. They had combined the Steward and Fare into preliminary heats for the sprints, but now they were going to let the field of 15 fight it out in one race. I could see the Stewards standing almost a head taller than some of the Fare; they were not necessarily bulkier, but they were stronger and more svelte looking. We told Solomon that we were going to let him choose the Stewards but I made a note to myself to ask him about one in particular. She had bright red hair and I could only assume green eyes. She stood about 5’8” and had the body of an athletic model. Several of the male Vampires had been w
atching her and I hated to think that she would be made into some sort of concubine guard. But she had a quiet grace about her that drew me to look at her every time she was around. She was articulate and polite and didn’t seem to care that every male present was looking at her. My catalog said that she had a twin brother who was also an Electus. I wondered if twins would be separated or if they were a package deal.
The runners had taken their marks by the time I was done making my notes and I nearly missed the start. It was frantic; all elbows and shoulders for the runners who were sharing lanes and unfortunate knee kicks for the runners who ran too close to the leaders. Of course the Stewards were out first. They had longer strides and looked like they would still be able to kick in the end. Rillae and Nicole were towards the rear of the group. The MC was talking about the first three runners as if they had the race in the bag. He went on and on about their athletic and academic accomplishments as they battled for position. As he spoke, however, I noticed a group of Fare moving up. One by one they picked off the runners in front of them and they were in the middle of the pack by the bell lap. The MC had yet to see Rillae and Nicole break away from their group and gain on the leaders. It took a few seconds for the spectators to see what was happening in the race, but when they did, the stands erupted in cheers. They had 200 meters left to go and I could see Rillae nod to Nicole as they both took off. It was almost in slow motion but the two of them rounded the last curve and over took the Steward leader with ease. I almost cried when they crossed the finish line; one, two. The Lower Caste Fare sections of the arena went ballistic and Chloe almost strangled me with a bear hug. It took a few seconds for us to hear the MC read off their names. Clearly he had not even thought they were contenders and didn’t have their information in front of him. It was sad that the Lower Caste Fare were always underestimated, but they had proven themselves worthy.
The men’s 800 was not as exciting. It was clear that the Stewards entered were too big to beat the Fare, so it was no surprise when the Fare finished one and two. What was surprising to some was that the first runner was Ethan Piedmont and the second was Cameron Tenison. Adrianna had a hard time containing her emotions, so I covered for her until she got it under control. Once her Cheshire Cat smile was gone, she simply shrugged her shoulders and made a note in her catalog. Wyatt Robeson, dressed in all white, came across the finish line in 6th place. His time was excellent on human standards but his father looked like he was going to faint.
Waiting for the announcement of the relays proved disappointing; they had been canceled due to damage to the racing surface. The MC said, the Ludos was going to conclude with an orienteering event. The participant teams had been randomly selected beforehand and their assignments would be available in center field. The information I had about orienteering was sparse at best; you get a compass or GPS, a list of coordinates and tasks to complete. When you are with a team, no member of your team can be left behind. This was not traditionally a spectator event but there were large viewing screens in the arena.
The teams gathered in the center of the field, possibly going over their coordinates and strategy. The big screens blinked on and displayed the course in which the teams would have to navigate. At first glance it looked fairly simple until the controller zoomed in on specific portions of the map. There were white water rapids, 50 foot gorges and underground tunnels. Instantly grateful that I didn’t have to prove myself with this obstacle course, I was equally frightened for my new friends.
The teams stood at the edge of the arena; groups of three with at least one female per team. They were given 4 hours to complete the course or fail to earn any individual points. When the starter’s gun went off, only the teams with more than one Higher Caste Fare in them started with a sprint. The others simply looked at their GPS and began a slow trot from the arena.
After each team had departed, the screens flashed a list of teams and their participants. The Steward that I liked, Gretchen Filmore, was teamed up with Cameron Tenison and Nicole Martenson and Rillae was teamed up with Wyatt Robeson and a Steward named Tyler Filmore, Gretchen's twin. I felt sorry for Rillae and wondered how Wyatt would treat her. He was such a pompous jerk that I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to leave her. The only saving grace for their team was that a Steward was bred to protect Fare and Vampire alike and would not let anything happen to her.
We watched the big screens for the teams to arrive at the first obstacle. It was a narrow stream with swiftly running water. Several rocks in the water made a natural path and the first few teams were able to cross with no trouble. Rillae and Wyatt’s team arrived ahead of many other teams and proceeded to cross the stream. Rillae went first then the Steward and Wyatt brought up the rear. When Wyatt had crossed the stream, he picked up the last two stepping stones and threw them downstream. He then looked right into the trees and smiled for the cameras.
There was a collective gasp from the crowd and everyone started to look at the Robesons. At first, Matthias Robeson appeared proud of the actions of his son. He glared at the Lower Caste Fare, daring them to question his superiority. The smugness lessened as he saw looks of shock and disgust run through the Middle and High Caste Fare. He sat down hard and glanced back toward the royal boxes. Several of the Mute Vampires were smiling admirably and even giving him thumbs up. It was the rest of the Vampire Royals who looked at him scornfully. Cheating was not something that attributed Vampires respected. If you didn’t have the talent to beat someone, then you simply don't get to win.
Nicole’s team was next and Chloe almost yelled out a warning to them. Cameron was the first to slip and fall, followed by Nicole. If it were not for Gretchen grabbing both of them by the waistband, they would have been swept away. After getting to the other side, the three of them decided it was best to try to replace the missing rocks. As they wasted valuable time making certain that other teams would be able to cross safely, the arena cheered. Adrianna's father made a note in his catalog and I hoped, for Adrianna’s sake, that he was noting the gracious way in which Cameron was working with the Steward.
The next objective was climbing a tree and swinging to another tree not unlike Tarzan. Wyatt's approach brought murmurs from several people that he would probably cut the rope and leave his teammates behind. The murmuring got so loud that Matthias got up and left the arena. If he had stayed, he would have seen his son’s failed attempt to lop the vine from the tree and the Steward Tyler Filmore catch him when he fell. It was truly a blow to the High Caste ego.
The teams were making good time and had all arrived at the last obstacle before the cutoff time. They were now tasked with swimming through the lagoon, entering a series of underground caverns and coming out on the other side of the island. The next section of the competition was one that we, the spectators, would only see on the big screens. After the event, the Ludos organizers were going to provide DVDS to anyone who wanted to relive the memories.
All of the teams entered the water with the same amount of enthusiasm. The underwater cameras flicked on, giving off an eerie glow on the big screens throughout the arena. It was hard to make out the images at first, but the organizers had been ready for such an occasion. Each of the teams had a different color thread sewn into their wetsuits that was illuminated by the underwater UV lights. There was also some type of mechanism that displayed the names of the participants every time they were in range of the cameras.
The big screen that hung over the arena had a multi-camera display, making it possible to watch several different positions at the same time. For those of us who wanted to follow specific teams, there was a remote control that allowed us to change the camera views. Some of the cameras were mounted to the ocean walls while others were mobile, trailing behind or ahead of the participants. From their vantage points you could see exactly what the participants were seeing in real time. I wasn’t afraid of the water, but I couldn't say that I envied them this experience.
The camera following Rillae was eclipsed by a large
reptilian figure, causing our entire viewing box to flinch. From my reading about the marine life surrounding the island I knew that the Bay of Bengal had one of the largest and most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth. That not only meant that it was excellent for feeding the island inhabitants, but also that it was full of animals that needed to eat. The large figure passed in front of the camera again, slower this time, and I was able to identify it as a kerilia jerdonii, a sea snake. They were normally a meter long, which is about 3 ½ feet, but this one appeared longer…and thicker than it should have been. Rillae, Wyatt and Tyler had found the first of the air pockets in the labyrinth and were getting precious breaths of air and seconds of rest before continuing on. Even without audio, it was obvious that Tyler and Rillae were trying to talk Wyatt out of his next course of action.
The screen changed to a feed of Gretchen, Nicole and Cameron. The three were rounding a ragged corner toward Wyatt’s group as another large sea snake appeared on the screen. This time the monster snake had friends with him and we all leaned a little bit forward in our seats. The first air pocket must have been in view because they started to swim faster. But it wasn’t just the air pocket that had their attention. The sea snakes had begun to swarm and nip at their heels. One of the huge reptiles went for the mobile camera and the connection was temporarily severed.
To keep from freaking out over the thought of my new friends being stuck under water, I walked around the St. Clair viewing box. Surrounded by hundreds of people, I had never felt so lonely. I missed Tabitha. I knew that she was an integral part in the rebuilding of the Miklos clan, but it didn’t make me feel any less alone. When I stopped by Adrianna’s area for a moment to say hello, her parents were gracious, sincere and immediately likeable. There were several other clan members whom I spoke to briefly and I was able to determine that, if these were a representation of the entire clan, Efia had a good group at her disposal. It made me wonder why she did not simply ask them to kill Grigor for her.
Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) Page 16
