by Joe Fowler
Arria turned to me.
“I’m sorry I doubted you. You can see why though.” She said.
“I understand completely, Arria. You have to be this careful.”
She smiled and nodded before she went and pulled the rope that summoned Cerrus.
“Cerrus shouldn’t see you were here talking to me.” I thought this to Lorac. He knew I was right. He smiled and went into a side room.
The knock on the door came sometime after Lorac’s departure. Arria motioned for me to head to the door when she was opening it. Cerrus looked from one to the other, hating us both.
“Cerrus, take Titan back to his room for me. Check on the other fighters. I want them to get a good night’s rest before their fights tomorrow.”
“Yes, Arria.” Cerrus said. He made his bow and stood waiting for me.
“Thank you for your time, Arria.” I said, as I made my own bow.
“Sleep well, Titan.”
I followed a cursing Cerrus back to my room. Beth was in her room, asleep. The others weren’t here. I figured they would be in the training room.
I went into my room and left Cerrus to do what he must.
It was about twenty minutes, or six months, later when I heard the others return. I had left my door open in case they needed to speak to me. It turns out they did. They all filed into my room with Trog and Ghost in the lead.
“Well, I’m glad your back. We’ve had nothing but problems. One of them is pretty serious.” Trog sounded overly excited.
I looked into his mind expecting to see the walls but I saw what happened to put them in this state. A fighter from another group had talked to our fighters. He knew of my gift. Trog’s panic was real.
“He told us to tell you that your abilities would meet the same downfall as Ares. Do you know what he meant? The council and their special fighters were the ones to end Ares. Why would he say that?” Trog asked, worriedly.
I managed to keep my wall where it needed to be. Trog didn’t see what flashed through the back of my mind.
Ghost was standing right by Trog. His mind was the usual unreadable whirlwind. His face showed a slight crack in demeanor to let me know he already knew the answer but was playing along with the worried Trog. For some strange reason, I wasn’t surprised.
“If it is about my fight, then I will deal with it when it comes. Was there more?” I asked.
“Beth. That poor woman can’t be somewhere you aren’t. You hadn’t been gone for two minutes and she was in a state. Ghost finally got her into her room and calmed her down enough that we could leave for the training room.” Trog couldn’t hide his distaste for Beth. He thought her too weak to be of use.
“I will talk to her.”
“Speaking of talking, how did it go with Arria?” Trog’s mind was probing hard.
“She was worried when I got there. She never really talked much but she seemed calmer when I left.” I kept my mind blank. Trog seemed pissed momentarily but it passed.
“You make talking to old ones sound easy. I would be stammering from fear.” Justin, unfortunately now known as Apollo, said. He was shaking his head.
“All of us should talk to an old one from time to time, just for the thrill of it.” I said it like it was a joke. I looked around with a smile and a look to Ghost. His whirlwind didn’t change but I believed he understood.
We sat for a while and discussed the training room warning. I told Trog to let it go but he kept on.
“If it was something that could take Ares out, why do you think you will be fine?” He persisted.
“If I lose, then I lose. I just don’t think I will.” I was getting tired of this line of questions. Ghost could see it.
“We still need to prepare Beth some more for the parade in front of the old ones, or were we going to ask her to do the illusion thing again?” Ghost changed the subject.
“The mind reading old one will be there tomorrow night. I knew that when I saw Cindy in the training room earlier. I think she will need the illusions. It is simpler that way. Trog and Penny are the best at this mind reading stuff. You two will need to see if you can read anything from the old ones without drawing unwanted attention to yourselves. It takes all I can do to protect my thoughts now. I have been working on keeping my walls up at all times even when I am around friends.” Since Trog and Penny were deep in thought, I risked a quick glance at Ghost. “The old one mind reader, will be looking into our group heavily.”
“Why would he look into our group so hard?” Trog asked. He was amused and a little excited. He thought I had let something slip.
“When I was in the showers, one of the other fighters started talking to me. He was completely clueless, but some of the other vampires were on instant alert when my name was said. One of them knew of my true gift.”
At this statement, almost our whole group sat stunned. Trog’s shock was real. I could see that. Penny’s reaction wasn’t as surprised.
“What do you know about the one who knew?” Penny asked.
“How could I know much? I am still new. He slipped when he thought of my gift but that was all I got from him. I only know the vampires I’ve come across. I have no way of knowing which old one he belongs to or what cause he backs. It is clear that many more vampires know about me than just our group.” I said, evenly.
“How could anyone know? We are the only ones who should know. Unless it was Loki and Vlad. They might have spread your secret.” Not Apollo was in a state. He wasn’t a part of the hide-a-thought, spy game. That someone among us would share my secret was an unthinkable thing to him. It was refreshing to see that faith in his friends.
“I really don’t think it was them. Their thoughts were clearly on our side. They meant to keep this to themselves and I am confident they did.” I told Justin. He started to reply but saw the look on my face. For the first time, he realized that some among our group might not be completely on our side.
Trog had his head down. He was hiding his thoughts but his face was showing anger. I thought it was the carelessness of the one who let it slip in the shower, but I started to see more. Ghost stood and turned away from the group. He didn’t leave but I could feel his mind shifting gears. I knew not to even try to read him.
“You guys need to go get some sleep. I am about to whether you guys leave or not.” I tried to sound lighthearted about it but it was starting to scare me. I was needing more and more sleep even though I normally slept twice as much as the others already.
They said their goodnights and left.
As I lay starting to drift off, I tried to consider the new information. I at least found out one thing. Whoever Trog was backing wanted me alive. His panic was real. He was worried I would fall before I could further his goals. Penny took a huge hit tonight in my mind. I had thought she was the result of Trog’s manipulations, but I was thinking it the other way around now.
Things were changing. Most things were speeding up. I was really hoping Lorac would help keep us on the right track for Arria’s sake.
Once I thought of Arria, I couldn’t think of anything else.
Chapter 11
That damn pounding on my door was getting really old.
Ghost was staring at me with worry when I finally opened the door. I saw Trog and Beth outside in the hallway.
“You are getting harder and harder to wake up now.” Ghost couldn’t talk with Trog right there but I could see his worry.
“Sorry. Give me a minute.” I left the door open as I went and grabbed my shoes. Ghost left the doorway. Beth entered it. She came and sat on the bed beside me. I felt her sigh of relief as much as I heard it.
“Another fight?” She asked worriedly.
“Yes. I wish I could say it will be easier on you.”
“Is there anything you can tell me to make this easier?” Beth asked. She already had tears in her eyes.
“Two things. One, most of the vampires you see are monsters now that their humanity has been stripped away. Two, the f
ewer vampires there are, the less humans have to die for them.” I said, as I tied my shoes.
I looked up to see Trog staring at us. He looked sad. His mind was covered so I wasn’t sure what the cause was.
I followed them to the donor room. I ended up with a sweet old lady to drink from. She was actually tickled to find out that vampires were real. I was hungry but couldn’t let her die. My thoughts jumped to the fights and I felt reassured I would get to drink some more blood later.
The training room was humming with excitement. There was an extra charge in the air that hadn’t been there in the first two fights I was a part of. I saw Cindy and was able to share a smile with her. I also saw many vampires giving me looks when they didn’t know I was aware. Maybe I was just paranoid.
The others sparred while Beth and I watched. Our group seemed a little sluggish tonight. I wasn’t sure what was causing it. Justin was the worst. He was only going through the motions. I could see his depression and knew it was because of knowing that at least one of our group was a traitor. I knew he would lose even with a lucky draw if he kept that mindset.
I gathered our group together and stared them down.
“Look, some vampires have different agendas than others. Some like the status quo while others want anarchy and still others want what’s in between. Get your heads on straight or it won’t matter which side you like. You will be dead.” I told them in my sternest voice.
“Easy for you to say, you’re unbeatable.” Penny sneered. “The rest of us really aren’t guaranteed of anything.”
“Thank you for making my point, Penny. If you guys keep your heads up your asses like they are now, I might be the only one of Arria’s group left after tonight.” I looked around at them. I was daring them to say something more. When they didn’t, I shook my head and sighed. “Where’s the fight in you? So more people know, big deal. I already knew there were different groups of assholes who wanted to either use me or kill me. Nothing has changed.”
“Why won’t you guys tell me what is really going on.” The Apollo imposter pleaded.
I looked at Penny and her lip curled in derision at Justin’s innocence. I looked at Trog and he was more depressed than I had seen him. Ghost was a confusing conundrum of enigmas. It was Beth that made me relax. She finally started to get angry.
“Well, from what I can see, Penny talked Trog into spying on Arria for some old one. Ghost is a spy for a different old one but Ghost isn’t spying against Arria. Titan is in love with Arria and is torn by having to keep his gift a secret from her. I think Titan really wants all of us to survive the fights, which is more than I can say about Penny.” Beth said all of this as if she were reciting a grocery list. “Does that help you, Apollo?”
Our entire group was staring with wide eyes and slack jaws. No one said a word, they were too shocked to speak.
I broke the silence when I burst out laughing. Trog and Ghost slowly smiled and eventually joined in the laughter. Penny walked away, but only a few feet. Justin was smiling now.
“Was I wrong to say all that?” Beth asked me worriedly.
“Nope. You did really well. I’ve been wanting to say something like that for days.” I told her. I put my arm around her shoulder and hugged her to my side.
“Now it makes more sense at least.” Justin said.
“I do hope everyone survives. I know I’ve been colder than I needed to but I do like all of you.” Penny stated. I could tell she meant it.
“Then I am glad I was wrong. I still don’t get why you are so bothered by me, Trog.” Beth said.
“Because your gift is very powerful. There aren’t many gifts I would trade mind reading for but illusions are one of them. You seem so nice and sweet that I am afraid your gift might get wasted. I have lost too much of my humanity to still have deep feelings for others. I have gotten too self-serving.” Trog spoke openly.
“The self-serving thing is the biggest problem with vampires. The old ones are feeding that with these fights. I started out with a group that wanted to end the fights altogether but I was bought for a higher price by a group that wanted the fights to be more accessible to poorer vampires. That’s the group I convinced Trog to join in with.” Penny admitted everything.
“What about you, Ghost? What group are you spying for?” Justin asked.
Ghost looked at us and I could see he wanted to say everything but he was afraid. So I took it upon myself to do it for him.
“If I’m right, Ghost was approached by an old one who saw his potential. Ghost isn’t actually spying on Arria, and Ghost didn’t share my secret with his old one. Ghost is a friend to the group, you don’t have to doubt him.” I stated. I watched his face as I said those things about him. He smiled and let me know I was right. I didn’t want to say too much and have Trog and Penny know Lorac was the old one who saw Ghost’s potential.
“I only have one question. How the hell did you figure all of that out Beth? I have tried to read your thoughts and I didn’t see that understanding or where you were hiding any different thoughts.” Trog was stumped. To tell the truth, so was I.
“I have spent my whole life living in my head. I didn’t go out or have friends. I lived in my mind. I started to think differently from an early age and my brain seems to have developed differently. I knew the three of you could hear my thoughts so I hid them in plain sight. Since none of you seemed to react to it, I knew it was working. I don’t know exactly how the mind reading works so I can’t describe it any better.” Beth moved in closer to me. She was uncomfortable with all this attention.
“Now that the air has cleared, does anyone want to help Apollo train for his fight?” I asked. Everyone volunteered energetically.
It wasn’t long, between ten minutes and seven hours, when Cerrus walked up.
“Trog and someone else needs to go get the newbie. Penny went last time so it will need to be one of you others.” Cerrus seemed overly cautious in his mind.
I felt Trog’s urging.
“I will go with him.” I volunteered. I turned to Beth and asked, “Will you be okay staying here with the others?”
“Yes. I will stay in one of my illusions.” She assured me.
I smiled and nodded.
Cerrus led us down a different hallway. He went to a door that was being beaten from the other side. I could hear the shouts of ‘let me out’ from the newbie. Cerrus pulled out a key and opened the door.
He was massive. At close to seven feet in height, he towered over us as he came out of the room in a huff. He was heavily muscled. Also, he was pissed off.
“What the hell was I locked in there for? I’m going to beat the hell out of whoever did this.” He roared.
I had to suppress a laugh at the thought of him attacking Arria. She was so small compared to this giant, but he wouldn’t last a second against her.
“Calm down. All will be explained by these two.” Cerrus walked away leaving Trog and I to explain things.
“You’re a big one. Damn, you make Hercules look small.” Trog said.
“Who the hell are you people?” He asked.
“Well for starters, you can stop referring to us as people. We are vampires and so are you. What’s your name?” Trog asked. We were both in Henry’s head so we knew his name. I knew his gift was flying. I also knew he was about to start swinging.
“Calm down. You don’t want to fight us. You will need to save that for later.” I told him. It didn’t work. He took a swing at me. I sighed as I caught his fist and twisted his arm behind his back. “I said to calm down. We will explain everything if you will listen for two minutes. Now, I am going to let you go and you will tell me your name.”
I let go of his arm and he turned to stare at me incredulously. He couldn’t believe that I was able to do that to him.
“My name is Henry.”
“Well, Henry, it’s nice to meet you. I am Titan and this is Trog.” I heard Trog’s voice as I was speaking to Henry. Trog was reminding me that we ne
eded to take him to see Arria and then we would go to the donor room, before ending up in the training room. “We need to take you to see Arria.”
“Do I have a choice?” He asked. I had a quick case of déjà vu remembering my first night.
“Nope.” I said with a smile. I could feel Trog’s smile as well.
Trog led the way to the ‘lobby’ room. I asked him silently how he knew the way. I saw his answer. All these facilities were laid out in the same pattern. Once you had the basic design, it was easy. The only hard part was figuring out which of the fighter’s quarters you were located in. I had noticed the similarities before and was glad I had been right.
Arria was in the same position as she was my first night. She was sitting with several vampires in the middle of the room. When she saw me with Trog and the newbie, she smiled.
“Arria, this I your new fighter, Henry.” Trog stated.
Arria stood and marveled at Henry’s size. She walked around him like she had with me. When she got behind him she turned to me and winked before continuing her inspection. I smiled inwardly and felt the growing affection I had for her.
“You are the biggest vampire I’ve ever seen. Believe me, that’s saying something. Take him to the donor room and get him something to eat. The fights will start in three hours.” She said.
“Yes, Arria.” Both Trog and I said. We made our bows and led Henry away.
“Who was she? She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” Henry declared.
“Yes she is. That was Arria. She is our old one. She was the one who turned us.” Trog began. “She is also Titan’s love interest so you might want to keep your distance.”
Trog was laughing at his statement. He thought my feelings for Arria were very badly misplaced. It was only then that I realized why.
I wasn’t getting any thoughts from Arria just then. She had her mind closed off because she knew Trog was a mind reader. She didn’t know I could read her mind so she hadn’t protected her thoughts around me before. Trog had never seen the sweetness or the vulnerability that I saw within her. I smiled.
