by Joe Fowler
Lorac’s eyes made a nervous glance in Arria’s direction. It hit me then. Lorac wanted to send me to help stop what was happening. I understood his fear then too. Arria wouldn’t like this one bit. For that matter, neither did I.
“No! Absolutely not! He is powerful but he is not ready for something like this!” Arria shouted. I guess she came to the same conclusion.
“Think, Arria. I know how much he means to you and I don’t want to put him in danger either. He is by far the best equipped to deal with what is happening.” Lorac reasoned.
Feng stepped in between Lorac and Arria. He knew Arria’s temper. We all did. While she wouldn’t kill her brother, she might beat the hell out of him for his suggestion of putting me in danger.
“We will discuss this further before we come to any decision. I can see some merit in Lorac’s idea.” Feng saw the change of direction in Arria’s fury. He quickly followed up his previous statement. “I can also think of a few reasons why we should not send Titan. Either way, we need to discuss this calmly.”
“I agree.” Was stated and echoed by several others.
“Titan, I think it best for you to leave for now. We will call for you if we need to.” Feng said. I could see his apprehension of the approaching debate.
I made a quick bow in Arria’s direction. Even though she was still pissed, she gave me a smile. I turned and left the chamber feeling more relief with each step I took.
That relief was short lived. Would they really send me? What could I do to stop those events? How could I face an old one and all the fighters he would have with him? I was nowhere near that kind of powerful. Was I?
After only a few hallways I decided to run. I needed the exertion. Something to get my mind off what could be about to happen. I made it back to Arria’s suite even faster than I thought I would. It wasn’t a good thing. I began pacing back and forth in my nervousness. I tried to calm myself by believing they would not be able to convince Arria to go along with it. It didn’t work.
I made myself sit and think things through. They would tell me what I would need to do to stop the fights. They would give me ideas on how I could accomplish it. Worrying over how little I knew about what could happen, wasn’t going to help anything.
I thought seriously of using the emotional control gift on myself. I remembered how relaxed I became the day Arria used it on me. I lost muscle control and was about to slide out of my chair. The thought brought a smile to my face. Most thoughts of Arria resulted in a smile.
My smile faded when I thought of Arria’s worry. She would be a nervous wreck while I was gone.
While I could see Lorac’s thinking was sound, I really hoped they wouldn’t ask this of me.
Chapter 3
After an hour or so, my nerves drove me to my friends. I found them sitting around in Apollo’s room. They looked to be keeping with our old routine. The others brought the single chair from their own rooms so everyone could sit. I was happy to see Jade with them. I hoped she would like this group.
“…then he collapsed in the arena. They took him to Arria’s suite. The one we all knew as Noah, was really Ares. He healed Titan.” Apollo was the one speaking. He didn’t notice me standing in the doorway until he was done. He smiled when he saw me. “Well, speak of the Titan and he shall appear.”
All eyes turned to look then. I was tired of being the center of attention. It was that way all through my time in the fights. In the little more than two months since I beat Achilles for my freedom, it was better but I still drew the stares and wonder when I entered a room. That was one more reason I loved being around these friends, they usually treated me like I was just another vampire.
“Jade wanted to hear your story. I think Apollo played up the wrong parts but overall he did well enough with the telling.” Speedy informed me.
“I still need more clarification on the whole unravelling thing. I don’t think I understand it too well.” Jade said.
“Something went wrong in my mind when I was turned. I couldn’t judge the passing of time. A minute felt the same as an hour to me. The sleeping was the worst part. Sometimes I couldn’t stay awake no matter how hard I tried. I almost fell asleep while kneeling on the X during the betting period once.” I smiled and Speedy laughed lightly while shaking his head. “It was bad. One of Justin’s, sorry, Apollo’s fights was more or less a surrender by a vampire with the same problem. He had grown tired of trying to fight it. His condition was worse than mine. If not for Ares, I would likely be dead by now.”
“Why sleeping?” Jade asked, still confused.
“My brain was using more and more energy trying to heal itself. I was draining two donors a day, even on my good days. I was always thirsty and always sleepy. It was miserable.” I admitted.
“So what is the plan? Are they meeting yet?” Loki asked.
“Yes. They called me in at first to tell them what I saw in Torch’s head. Lorac wasn’t here to fill them in. Once he arrived, they didn’t need me anymore. I went back to Arria’s suite but was growing bored.” I wasn’t telling them the whole truth. They wouldn’t be involved so they didn’t need to know.
“I couldn’t even see your face and I could tell you are holding back.” I recognized his voice before I turned to greet Ghost. I couldn’t help but smile.
He slapped me on the back when he entered the room. Apollo, Speedy, and Loki all rose to shake his hand. While at Lorac’s facility, they hadn’t gotten to spend time around each other.
“How’ve you been?” Speedy asked.
“Busy. Lorac has me researching, spying, and anything else he can come up with for me to do. He told me not to get too comfortable today. I may get called into the meeting.” Ghost looked at me. “I’m surprised you aren’t there now. I heard some of what you were telling these guys. They have to know you will be the best option right?”
“Lorac said something to that effect. I hope he doesn’t push his luck too far because Arria looked like she was about to kick his ass.” I smiled.
“Okay, you’ve lost me. The best option of what?” Speedy asked.
“To put an end to the illegal fights. Lorac told me the special guard was in China and would be busy for at least a month or two. Going by the notion that Ares won’t be willing to step in and take care of this, then Titan is the best option.” Ghost spoke as though everyone should have already came to the same conclusion. He seems to forget that even Einstein would have trouble keeping up with his intellect.
“Who are you?” Jade spoke up.
“This is Jade. It was her old one that enlightened us to all this.” I said to Ghost before turning and addressing Jade. “This is Ghost. He was a part of Arria’s team with Speedy, Apollo, and me. He works for Lorac now. Just so you know, he is about as smart as a person can be. He thinks about ten times faster than anyone I’ve met. I get headaches when I try to read his mind.”
While the others laughed, Jade took a longer look at Ghost. I didn’t get the feeling she was interested in him, only that she was intrigued by him. Blur’s interest was apparent as well.
“I’m glad I came by here first. I was going to head to Arria’s suite to see if you were there but decided to come by here on the way to say ‘hi’ to these guys.” Ghost gave a smile to Venus. “So how you liking it here? These clowns aren’t giving you any problems are they?”
“No more than I can handle. Well, Speedy’s jokes can wear on you.” Venus admitted. We all laughed.
Blur was here but didn’t contribute to what was being said. He was a bit of a mystery to me. His walls remained solid in his mind to the point I had yet to hear one single thought of his. He was one hundred and twenty years old and had been with Arria the whole time. She swore he had been this way from the start.
I saw Ghost make one of those little flashes with his eyes. I all but cringed when I knew I needed to go into his mind to see what was up. He didn’t use walls to hide his thoughts. He didn’t have to. You couldn’t keep up well enough to kno
w what he was thinking.
I saw the interest in Blur. I believe it was meant for my benefit when I saw a memory of Lorac asking Ghost to talk to Blur to see if he could figure out anything. There was no real thought of Blur as doing anything wrong, he was simply a mystery that Lorac wanted answered.
I looked at Blur who seemed to be aware of Ghost’s scrutiny. It shocked me when Blur smiled. Since I was still tuned into his mind, I saw the joy that went through Ghost. He loved a mystery!
My phone rang. I hated the interruption just when this was getting good.
“Hello?”
“Titan. I hate this but you need to come back to the council chamber.” I heard the restrained fury in her voice.
“Yes, Arria. I will be there shortly.” I replied.
She disconnected then. I looked at the phone worriedly before I put it back in my pocket. I raised my head to tell the group when Ghost’s phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Come to the council chambers. If you need directions, find one of Feng’s employees.” Lorac stated. I could hear both sides of the conversation. Vampire hearing is really good.
“I am standing next to Titan who just got his call from Arria. I will come with him.” Ghost answered.
“Good. Run. We need to get started trying to find a strategy.” Lorac instructed.
“Yes, Lorac.” Ghost said, before he disconnected.
“Sorry guys. It was great to see you again though, Ghost. We’ll talk again soon, I hope.” Apollo said. You never doubted his sincerity.
“Keep them straight, Venus.” Ghost teased.
We headed out. I slowed to a pace where Ghost could follow as we made our way to the council room. I slowed to a walk when we reached the last corridor before reaching the door. Ghost matched my pace. He studied me and smiled. He didn’t have to hear me say it. He knew the room we were about to enter made me nervous.
“One of these days you will have to tell me what happened in there. Even Lorac was visibly shocked when it was done.” Ghost stated as we approached the gold doors. The same two guards from earlier stood at their post.
“This is Ghost. He and I were called and told to report to the council.” I told the guards.
“We were expecting you.” The one on the left said. He opened the door and stood to the side so we could enter.
The council members were in their seats this time. All nine were present now. I let out a sigh as the flashbacks hit me. I tried to push them out of my mind as Ghost and I approached.
“This is Ghost. You will probably get to see why I insisted he be included in this meeting. He is good at keeping secrets so don’t worry about the risks.” Lorac said.
The rest of the council were appraising the newest member of their audience. Ghost was mostly average size and dressed casually in jeans and a Metallica tee shirt. You wouldn’t give him a second glance if you weren’t aware of his intelligence.
I looked to Arria to judge her mood. She was in a state between furious and frustrated. I took that as bad news. I made sure to watch for Feng’s slight nod. It was how he let me know when we had reached the point he wanted us to stay. Sure enough, as Ghost and I reached a point about twenty feet in front of him, he gave the nod I was expecting. Ghost took an extra half step but stopped when he realized what had happened.
“So, it seems Lorac’s idea is holding sway.” I said, to get the ball rolling.
“We are a bit handcuffed. Our people are known to the old ones who are breaking the rules. We would never be able to get the inside knowledge we would need to gain access to the fights in the first place. The added dilemma of stopping them would become almost impossible.” Feng began. He looked down to gather his thoughts. Alethea spoke before Feng could continue.
“This will be dangerous for you, Titan. We will not order you to do this. We can see the love you and Arria feel for each other. We all care deeply for Arria and don’t want to risk the pain she would feel if she lost you. Our hands are tied though. If we can’t form a good enough plan, you won’t be asked to risk yourself anyway.” Alethea clearly meant what she said about Arria. I doubted Cheng or the two newest members shared that concern.
“It better be a damn good plan.” Arria stated quietly.
Lorac looked at Arria. I could see how torn he was for having to suggest my involvement. He took a breath and began.
“The biggest problem we face is finding out when and where one of these events will be held. We would also need to know where the old ones are housing their second teams when they are not fighting. One of the things that is bothering us the most is that some of the teams are being formed by vampires who haven’t achieved old one status. I saw a six hundred year old fielding his own team of fighters in Torch’s mind. I got the impression that this wasn’t an unusual occurrence. We need to know more but are unsure of how to get someone inside their little circle.” Lorac pointedly stared at Ghost when he said that last statement.
I looked around the semi-circle of council members until my eyes met Cheng’s. I wanted to tell them they may already have the information right here. I knew enough not to make that accusation. The rest of the council didn’t need my words to know that Cheng couldn’t be trusted. Cheng looked back at me with both distaste and a challenge in his eyes. He must know how little I thought of him.
I was about to ask a question when Ghost laid a hand on my forearm and shook his head. He didn’t speak but continued his thought process. I cringed and looked into his mind.
Ghost had noticed my look to Cheng. He knew we would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we discussed any plans in Cheng’s presence. He also didn’t trust the two new members of the council yet.
“We need to hide our real plan. Cheng would love to have Titan killed when there would be no fallout in his direction. I don’t know the two new members well enough. You’ve told me not to worry about the other council members.” It was at this point that I realized Ghost’s mental communications were directed to Lorac. “I have a plan for how to accomplish what we need but we need a second plan to tell Cheng. We may be able to expose him to the point that he can be prosecuted for his actions. If you can, give me a minute or two and I will have the second plan put together.”
I fought the smile that wanted to spread across my face. Ghost was a sight to behold. Lorac’s hand covered his mouth. I could tell he was having the same problem as I was.
“So, with the constant idea of Titan’s safety in mind, how do we accomplish what we need to do?” Lorac posed the question to the council. I knew he was just buying some time for Ghost.
I was happy to see the look on Feng’s face as he looked from Ghost to Lorac and back. He didn’t have to hide his smile. He was making the leaps of deduction well enough.
“Could we send Titan in as a disgruntled vampire? Maybe have Titan show enough disgust with the current system that they think he will begin helping their cause? We all know how much that group would love to have Titan’s power behind them.” Feng suggested.
Cheng perked up. He loved that idea.
“Thank you, Feng! Lorac, you didn’t tell me the full truth on Feng. He is following everything very well. I like him.” Ghost thought. Lorac actually laughed briefly which drew an angry stare from Arria.
“I think that might work. We can iron out the details and get everything in motion.” Lorac said. He looked around the room quickly before adding more to his statement. “We will need to act as quickly as we can. Any comments on how to spread the word of Titan’s sudden displeasure of our system?”
“Maybe a blowup at an event. If Titan is overheard by several old ones as saying he was fed up with the way things are, word would spread quickly. It would have to be believable. There might need to be some violence involved.” Ghost suggested.
“I think that can be arranged easily enough.” Feng stated. He took his time looking around at the other members of the council. “Does anyone disagree with this plan?”
“I sure as hell do
.” Arria growled.
Lorac opened his mouth to say something to Arria but she gave him a go-to-hell look that shut him up.
“We understand your hesitation but something has to be done and this is the best idea we have at the moment. We will adjourn for a few hours. I want everyone to think hard on this idea and figure out the best way to go about pulling it off.” Feng instructed.
Arria rushed from her chair grabbing my arm and pulling me from the room at breakneck speed. For all of my gains, I was still nowhere near fast enough to keep up with her. With her half-dragging me, I followed along until we reached her suite.
Once the door had been slammed behind us, she began pacing.
“That isn’t the plan, Arria. Ghost knows that Cheng can’t be trusted. He has the real plan. Lorac heard Ghost’s thoughts and Feng figured it out. We only needed that suggestion as a way to throw Cheng off our backs.” I informed her.
Arria stopped her pacing and stared at me. I could see the struggle within her. She was happy to hear we weren’t being as reckless as that plan would indicate. She was still furious that I would be in danger either way.
“I still don’t like this, Titan. I can’t go back to being alone. You’ve made me too happy for that to be an option.” Arria’s eyes were tearing up.
I walked to her and wrapped my arms around her. I wanted to say that everything would be alright but I couldn’t make that guarantee. I held her until we heard the knock on the door. As Arria tried to compose herself, I answered the knock.
Lorac and Ghost were smiling as they entered. Lorac’s smile faded when he saw Arria. Pain flashed across his face at the knowledge of what was at risk. I knew he was more worried about Arria’s happiness than he was about my fate. Since the two things were so intertwined, I knew he would do what he could to keep me safe.
“You will like the real plan much better Arria. Ghost filled me in on our journey to this suite. Titan will be posing as a young old one who doesn’t have the money for his own facility. He will work his way into the circle of these illegal fights and will eventually be host to one. We will find a place to fit our requirements. Once we have many of these rogue old ones in the same place, we will lay siege to them ourselves. Titan will not be involved with the fighting at all.” Lorac informed her.
