by Joe Fowler
I was preoccupied while I told Charles what to expect. I was thinking of Noah. His gift read as illusions but there was something off. He said he worked for Cronus. While I felt like I could trust Gray, I was having some misgivings about Noah. I also knew that it might be Gray who shouldn’t be trusted and Noah that should. They were both too well trained to make any real mistakes.
I shook my head to clear it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to solve everything right now. This wasn’t the best time to be trying to figure things out.
I got my mind back on the fights. Charles would be up soon. We had no second rounder so there would be a wait before Sweetie’s match.
They woke me when Charles name was called. Trog had already sent him into the arena with last minute instructions.
“Sorry everyone. It gets hard to stay awake sometimes.” I said.
“Don’t apologize. We understand.” Ghost told me.
Charles was kneeling when I looked out into the arena. His opponent was a teleporter.
“Were there any matches before this one?” I asked.
“Two. They were brutal. I wish I had slept.” Sweetie replied. Her name fit. I could see it. Not like Apollo.
“…Let the game begin!”
Charles just stood there. His opponent teleported behind Charles and tried to grab his head but Charles spun around and hit her. Then he stood there again. She stood and attacked Charles normally but he dodged her moves without striking her in return. She grew frustrated as the crowd booed. She stood on one side of the arena looking pissed when Charles made his decision. He sped over and hit her repeatedly. Once she was down, he took her head.
He was miserable as he made his way back to the bench. He wasn’t nearly as distraught as Sweetie had been. He was sad enough though. He mostly ignored our congratulations.
We sat through the next fights waiting for Sweetie’s third round match. It took a while, like eight seconds.
I began to dissect what Ghost had said about my mind. He told us that time was a simple construct of the brain. I wasn’t sure how simple time could be. I knew how frustrating this was. A second shouldn’t be confusable with a day. That doesn’t make any sense. The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt.
Sweetie’s name was called. She headed out for her fight. Her opponent was gifted with invisibility. As I expected, Sweetie’s opponent began to scream once the announcer left the arena. Sweetie took her head and walked back to our door. She didn’t pay any attention to the crowd at all. She had to stand and wait for the guard to come open the door for her. Once he had, she took her seat beside me without a word.
“What is her gift? She didn’t spar against me so I don’t know.” Charles was curious about why that girl screamed so much before Sweetie took her head.
“Illusions. Sweetie can make you see whatever she wants you to see. You will see, hear, and smell what she shows you.” I informed him. His eyes got huge and he swallowed hard.
We waited through several fights before my name was called. I walked out of our pen to a completely quiet arena. The cheers had stopped. Everything had stopped. The announcer looked around in wonder.
“You will now have five minutes to place your bets!”
I knelt on the X and looked around me. There was no betting. No money was being waved and there was still no sound. Whether they wanted me to live or die, they knew enough not to bet against me.
My opponent was a mind reader.
“Looks like I am your next meal.” He said.
“Sorry. You know I don’t have a choice.” I told him.
“I know. For what it’s worth, give ‘em hell! Whether you kill the old ones or not, try to fix some things.”
“Will do.”
“Please stand and face your opponent…Let the game begin!”
I knocked the mind reader out with a quick strike. I drank from him in case he had the second mind reading talent. I took his head.
The arena was still whisper quiet. I kind of liked it. I calmly walked back to our holding pen when the door was opened.
“What was his gift?” Ghost asked.
“Mind reading. I only drank because everyone says more blood will help me stay stronger.” I said, without any fanfare.
The crowd started with the noise again when the next fight was announced. With ten groups present, there were a great many fights to sit though.
The announcer called for Apollo, I don’t know why Justin went. He faced invisibility. I moaned. When our group heard my moan, they grew worried.
“What gift is he up against?” Penny asked.
“Invisibility.”
“That’s bad but it can be overcome.” Trog said, hopefully.
We all watched Justin’s opponent turn invisible when the announcer left the arena. Not Apollo stood still for a moment and was struck. He was a quick study though. Justin started running around the arena in a random pattern. He looked goofy but I knew he was doing right. It could be risky if his opponent got in front of him and use Justin’s own momentum to hit him harder. Justin’s plan worked though. He bumped into something he couldn’t see and attacked. He appeared to be shadow boxing but it worked. After several strikes, the man reappeared. Justin continued until he was able to take the vampire’s head.
The crowd was silent for me. They made up for it with Fake Apollo. This was the loudest the crowd had been tonight.
We all congratulated him and patted him on the back. He did well.
We had two rounds before Penny would be called. I decided to be proactive and try to sleep while I had the chance. It worked.
They woke me as Penny was kneeling.
“What gift is she facing?” Trog asked.
“Flying.”
We watched as Penny took his head in what, to me, was a really quick fight. Since I had actions to watch, I could keep some track of the time. It might not be much, but it was something, anyway.
Trog’s fight wasn’t so easy. He was against speed. His opponent beat Trog down and was overly confident in the end. He only made the one mistake but Trog had enough left to finish him.
Trog stumbled to his seat, still trying to recover. There were two more ninth level fights after Trog’s. The tenth round would be for Ghost.
I looked over at Ghost to try and judge how he was doing. I could see he was nervous but he was holding up okay. I knew these last few fights were hard to sit through.
“For our next fight, we will have Lucien facing Ghost. Let’s hear it for our fighters!”
Ghost made his way to the arena. I saw Lucien and cringed. Illusions. I hoped Ghost could do this. It is hard to fight when you can’t see your true surroundings. It gets worse when you are seeing some images that you really don’t want to see. Sweetie and her fallen opponents could vouch for that statement.
As soon as the announcer disappeared, Ghost was in trouble. He tried a quick strike attack but grabbed his head and fell screaming halfway there. Lucien kicked Ghost a few times. Ghost stopped screaming. He found enough control to activate his gift. Lucien’s next kick went through Ghost’s body harmlessly. Ghost was still holding his head, after looking closer I saw he was holding his ears. The illusion must be painfully loud. His back was turned to me so I couldn’t read his face. Lucien continued to attack harmlessly. He was growing frustrated by Ghost being incorporeal. Lucien intensified whatever illusion he was using to subdue Ghost. Ghost cried out loudly. Lucien came in for another kick but Ghost felt it and grabbed his leg and hung on. Lucien hit Ghost twice trying to knock Ghost away. Ghost did almost separate but it was intentional. It was so he could make a leap tackling Lucien to the ground. Ghost felt his way to Lucien’s face, taking punishment from Lucien the whole time. Ghost started hitting Lucien with all he had left. It took many shots to weaken Lucien to the point where Ghost could take his head.
Ghost collapsed beside Lucien’s body.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, was that a fight or not! Let’s hear it for Ghost!” The announcer didn’t
need to play it up, the crowd was already going nuts.
The guard that opened the door, carried Ghost’s weakened body into the crowd. I was so happy and sad at the same time. Ghost was free! I had to be happy about that. Ghost was my biggest helper in figuring the tough stuff out. That was bad, since he is now gone. I had a saving thought. If Ghost went to work for Lorac, I might still see him from time to time.
Loki’s fight was next. He faced a mind reader. I smiled. This would be easy for him as long as he was the better fighter. No one would even know he had shut off his opponent’s ability. Loki won his freedom.
The rest of the fights were boring to me. I spent that time lost in thought.
When Noah came for us, I was relieved. I had been fighting sleep and could give in soon.
We headed for the donor room first. My donor was a self-righteous prick. I drained him without regret. I waited impatiently for the others to finish feeding.
Once we were back to our area, everyone gathered in my room. I figured I could sit through some time with them. I sat back on the bed with my back against the wall. Sweetie did the same beside me.
“What do you think of Noah?” Trog asked.
“I am fairly sure he can be trusted. I had a moment of doubt but it cleared. He should remain on our side.” I was a little more intrigued by Noah than I let on. I had no reason for my suspicion. The only thing I could put my finger on was his gift of illusion. It seemed different somehow.
“You guys will need to catch me up on all this stuff.” Charles stated.
“That could take a while, unless you’ll settle for the condensed version.” I told him.
“That could be a start. You could fill me in on the rest as we go.” Charles was reasonable. That was a good thing.
“Well, Trog and Penny are former spies turned double agents. They are working for Arria now. I have the Ares gift that allows me to acquire the gifts of other vampires when I drink from them. My gift has the council and many more wanting to kill me because they are scared I will become too powerful and kill them. There are also several other groups that have their own agendas. There is a group that wants public facilities so the poorer vampires can hold their own fights. Another group wants to end the fights altogether. I am coming to understand that there is a group that just wants things to stay the way they are. Then there’s the council. They are the most likely suspects for the last few days’ worth of chaos. Arria is outraged that so many would dare to work against her. You heard her speak when we were on the platform. She is putting her foot down and it is landing on a bunch of squirming bastards. The last thing you need to know tonight, is that I am in love with Arria.”
“Okaaay. So you weren’t lying when you said I was brought into a mess. One question. Why do they call it the Ares gift?” Charles asked.
I remember his question. Then nothing.
Chapter 15
Gray woke me. I didn’t feel like I had slept long enough.
“Arria wishes to see you.” She said.
“Alright, give me a minute.”
I sat on the edge of my bed feeling like I needed more rest. I had a brief flashback to my human days. This is kind of how I felt those last few months before I was turned. I wanted to laugh.
“The council is going to hold an event. Only the council will be invited to these fights. No humans, no other old ones. Arria just found out about it. If you can, act like you didn’t know. I wanted you to have the chance to think ahead some. You’ve shown good intelligence so far, I am hoping you don’t disappoint.”
“For Arria’s sake, I hope I don’t disappoint either.”
I put on a clean shirt and we headed to Arria’s suite. As usual with her speed, Arria answered the door as Gray was knocking.
“Thank you, Gray. Go get ready, you can rest on the plane.” Arria said.
“Yes, Arria.” Gray bowed and left.
“I like her a whole lot more than Cerrus.” I stated after Gray left.
“She almost seems too willing to help. I haven’t seen a wrong move but can’t help but be watchful.” Arria said as she motioned me into her suite.
“I think she is trustworthy. I’ve seen into her mind and I couldn’t see a bad motive. You shouldn’t need to worry about her.” I hoped I was right. It wasn’t the easiest thing to know who you could trust anymore.
“That is a relief.” I could see the relief on Arria’s face. She was having to be so watchful now that her nerves were standing on end.
“I wish you would let yourself relax some. You know, worrying can cause wrinkles.” I made Arria laugh with that one. She did start to relax, a little.
“We have news. We will be traveling once everyone is up and ready. The council has arranged a fight. Only the council members will be invited. No other old ones can attend.” Arria sounded worried. “They are saying they are not doing this to call a meeting. They want a more informal chance to discuss the impact you are making. They assured me that you would be safe, outside of your fight in the arena.”
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. Do you believe them?”
“Yes. Feng is the council leader since he is the oldest. He was the one to tell me about the event. Alethea, another member of the council, verified it for me. She is a friend. I know she wouldn’t lie about this.”
Arria and I were slowly making our way to our normal chairs as we spoke. I wanted to have more time to stare and marvel at her beauty. I couldn’t do that and think properly, so I wasn’t looking at her as much as I would like.
“What is the schedule? You said we will be traveling today, well, tonight, or whatever time of day it is.” Arria smiled at my confusion. “Will the fights be tomorrow or will they want a day to try and sort through this?”
“There will be a day to sort through it, as you said.” Arria took a deep breath and turned to me. We were just now reaching the chairs where we would sit. She looked uncomfortable with what she was about to say. “I want to get through as much of this mess as we can before you and I start spending more time with each other. It is getting harder to do. I almost called for you after the fights last night. I am not used to waiting when there is something I want. I know we can be happier when we are not constantly watching out for spies or assassins. That is why I think we should wait.”
“We will have time. You are right. With all that is happening, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy each other’s company the way we should.” I smiled a sad smile. “I had been alone for a while when I was still human. I have learned how to be patient. You are worth waiting for.”
Arria’s answering smile took my sadness away. I didn’t have to have my arms around her, or be in bed with her, to be happy. It was a new concept for me.
We talked for some time. She filled me in on the council. I knew I might not remember all the details she gave me but I would try my best. She was giving me all the backstory into the interlocking relationships between council members. I knew that would be important.
I guess you will understand why I don’t say how long our talk lasted.
“Tell everyone to pack and be ready. The plane is being fueled now. I will send Gray or Noah around to escort the group when all is ready.” Arria said, as she led me to the door.
“I will.” I hesitated at the door. I looked at Arria and remembered what we had discussed. I wanted to kiss her so bad it hurt. She must have read the struggle on my face. She stepped to me and stood on her toes. I wanted to live in our kiss. When we separated, I knew I was completely lost in her.
I headed back to my room in a daze.
The others wanted to gather in my room as was our custom. I told them to pack and be ready to leave. Once they were packed and ready, they brought their chairs and sat waiting for me to let them in on what was happening.
“The council has organized a fight. It will only be the nine council members. There won’t be any other old ones there. There won’t be any humans either. They guaranteed my safety for the event, outside of my fight in
the arena.” I told them. I was already missing Ghost. This would be the perfect time for his amazing intellect.
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. So this isn’t an actual council meeting?” Trog asked. The sadness and introspection he displayed last night was still plaguing him.
“No. They will be discussing me. That is the main reason for this event. They weren’t ready to challenge Arria enough to call the actual meeting to vote though. She hasn’t said as much, but I am finding out how respected Arria must be. Maybe feared is a better word than respected. At least that is my impression.”
The others all took that in. I looked around at them and wanted to thank them for all they were putting up with because of me. I knew their lives were in almost as much danger as mine. Maybe more in danger since they didn’t have my gifts.
The thought of gifts brought to mind the mind reading I added last night. My opponent had the deeper mind reading gift, like Lorac. I would now be able to pry into the deeper recesses of someone’s mind. I looked to Trog and debated using the gift to find out what was bothering him so much. My sense of decency stopped me from doing it. Trog was a friend. I wouldn’t do that to him.
Mostly, we sat quietly. There would be an occasional comment or question, but mostly everyone was busy thinking. After several years of this, Noah came to take us to the plane.
The plane ride was uneventful. I slept. I was taking every opportunity for sleep now. I hoped it would help me be able to stay awake when I needed to be alert. Sweetie shook me when we landed.
