by Joe Fowler
“We can draw it up like he already submitted his money for purchase. We can make sure one of us is there to verify his authenticity. I think he could be ready to go as soon as we want.” Feng clarified.
“Which facility will he be using?” Arria asked.
“It needs to be in the U.S. if possible, since the fights were in that country. It would simplify things.” Ghost stated.
“I would say Lucas’s facility would be fine. It was in Virginia.” Lorac volunteered.
The other council members agreed.
“Most of what will happen will be predictable. Some of it will rely on the decisions of the old ones. We can’t always see what they will do. For now, we need to get Titan’s employees hired.” Blur suggested.
“I agree. There is very little we can do until Titan has his team and is joining an event.” Ghost chimed.
“We can handle most of that for Titan. We are flying in the employees from the teams that lost their old one. We will have them ready to be sorted and hired by tomorrow. I would even go so far as to suggest we enter Titan into the event at Dorian’s facility. That would give us the rest of tonight and tomorrow to get things settled. Titan would fly out at the end of tomorrow night. That would give him a full night there to meet and greet. The fights are the night after that.” Feng said, confusingly. He would have been clearer if he gave dates and days of the week. Damn.
“How will we get his first fighter? For that matter, how will we get the rest?” Sabina asked. It was her first words spoken since I entered the chamber.
“Actually, he already has three fighters.” Arria smiled. It took a second before Feng and Lorac joined with smiles of their own. “As well as his first three employees.”
“I like it.” Lorac was all smiles.
“I think the three of you can go for now. We can handle the things that need to be done tonight. Keep your phones with you.” Feng told us.
“Um, I don’t have a phone.” Blur said.
“Titan will get you one. Enjoy the rest of the night because the next few days will be busy.” Arria said.
As Ghost, Blur, and I turned to leave, Arria sped to where I was about to step. She smiled and kissed me. I smiled after the kiss. She went back to her chair and we resumed our walk to the door.
We sat in Apollo’s room. Ghost and Blur needed time away from planning my future. I needed a break from thinking. These friends would supply the necessary diversions.
“So what was Titan like before he became a vampire?” Apollo asked Venus.
“Nice. He was a little depressed but anyone working in that diner would be. We were the only two decent people there.” Venus began with a sad smile. I didn’t like this line of questioning for her since it would remind her of Tommy, her son.
“It is still hard to believe that a dishwasher from a diner could turn into what Titan is now. I know it makes no difference who you were before turning but it makes you wonder.” Speedy mused. He had a different way of looking at things.
“I learned a long time ago to not think about the human world anymore. We are no longer a part of it.” Blur said, bleakly.
“Why aren’t you telling us what is going on with those illegal fights?” Jade asked. “We are stumbling through small talk when something exciting is in the works.”
“Because the next whatever period of time is going to be hard on me. For tonight, I was hoping for small talk.” I told her gently.
“Wow, you sound worried.” Loki pointed out.
“He has some reason to be. He should make it through this but it won’t be easy.” Ghost explained. “He will be in some danger, although with his growing abilities, he should be able to handle that. The worst parts will be the decisions he has to make. Some of them will be pretty difficult.”
“Cryptic much?” Venus teased.
“Are you sure we can’t help?” Apollo asked. It was difficult for him to see a friend in need without trying to help.
“You can’t. Sorry, Apollo. As a matter of fact, you guys are about to get extremely bored. Arria won’t be participating in any events for a while.” Ghost stated.
I didn’t understand at first. Ghost didn’t look like he was going to elaborate. I was about to ask when it dawned on me. My absence would be noticed. There wouldn’t be a good enough explanation for my not being there by Arria’s side. I hung my head at the thought. All I wanted to do was be by Arria’s side.
Chapter 8
I looked at myself in the mirror. It took some getting used to. It was a bit disconcerting when a different face stared back at you. Darius had darker hair. In Arria’s memory, he had a slight beard like he hadn’t shaved in a week. Since I was confined to what she remembered, I was stuck like this for now.
These clothes would take getting used to as well. I was wearing an extremely expensive suit. The tie was left out after a round of arguing with Arria. The vest and jacket were uncomfortable enough.
Arria was standing behind me, smiling. We were due in the lobby room in fifteen minutes or so. The prospective employees were ready to be interviewed. Arria and Alethea would be there to help me along.
“I almost forgot! What was his gift?” I asked. I knew that someone who could read other’s abilities would see way too much.
“I think he was a teleporter. Does it really matter? Can’t you make it appear like you have any gift you want?” Arria asked.
“Yes, I was thinking of the other old ones. Would one of them remember? I don’t want to mess this up because of a small technical point.” I explained.
Arria pulled out her phone and made a call to Lorac. She posed the question to him. He posed the question to Feng, Agda, Dmitriy, Aegeus, and Sabina. None of them knew but they promised to find out for her.
Arria and I headed out of her suite. I decided to make it look like I had teleportation as a gift for now. I would make it a point not to hire any vampires with the gift reading ability. That way, if I found out Darius had a different gift I could change the illusion without fear of exposure.
Alethea was waiting for us in one of three chairs. She was sitting in one of the side chairs. As we approached, I naturally headed for the other side chair, but Arria pointed me to the center seat. I was the one supposedly hiring after all.
Each prospective employee was brought to stand in front of me. They would give a history including who they were turned by, how old they were, what duties they performed, and each old one they had worked for.
I was paying more attention to what was going through their minds. I hired mostly good vampires that I could see were trustworthy. At the urging of Ghost and Blur, I hired a few that were less than reputable. We would need them when it came to the illegal fights.
We found an excellent second in command. Well, he was excellent because Blur and Ghost wanted a spineless traitor. His name was Reptile and he was just over eight hundred years old. Obviously, his gift was being poisonous, although I thought his name fit better because he seemed cold-blooded.
Bear, Donk, and Sparrow were all added to my employee list. They each mentioned in their interview that they came with a newbie attached. I acted surprised to hear of such with Donk, the first to have his interview. Bear came second and then Sparrow. As planned, these three would be providing my first three fighters. I would only be entering one of the three for my first event as an old one. The other two would follow in later events.
Ghost had another suggestion that we followed through the hiring process. We didn’t hire any vampires who worked for the old one named Jacob. This way, I could use his plane as my own without anyone knowing it wasn’t mine already.
Things went smoothly. Alethea and Arria were happy with the way it turned out.
My Darius persona was coming along as well. Arria spoke of the attitude he had. He was an arrogant sort, even though he was young. I wouldn’t be trying for arrogant, it was too much of a stretch for my normal personality. While we knew the old ones would not know of smaller details like this, we
wanted as much of my performance to be as flawless as possible.
Feng laughed most of the way through the signing of the paperwork. We had stacks of forms to go through. He loved the frustration I was showing. I used to have nightmares where all I would do is read and sign legal documents all night.
“You do remember that this is all fake, right?” I asked him at one point.
“We have to be thorough.” He laughed. “This is the easy part.”
“Speak for yourself, I hate paperwork.” I admitted to his amusement.
Once that was done, I was granted a little time with Arria. My new employees were getting their stuff onto the plane. Arria and I would only have two hours before I would need to join them for takeoff. My name was already added to the card for Dorian’s event. Dmitriy added his name as well. All that was left to do was for me to leave. Both Arria and I insisted on this little bit of time together.
“This is going to be rough. I hate the mornings when I wake up and you are in the next room. To go days, even weeks without seeing you will be torture.” I told her as we held each other.
“I know. If this wasn’t necessary, I wouldn’t agree to it.” She ran her hand across my chest. I felt the wetness of her tears where her head was resting on my shoulder. “Promise me you will be careful. I know how strong you are now but some of these old ones are old enough to be a threat. They wouldn’t think twice about ganging up on you either.”
“They won’t know how tough I am. They wouldn’t think ganging up to be necessary. I know there could be danger in this but I believe everything will be alright. I would tell you to quit worrying if I thought it would do any good.”
We spent the rest of our dwindling time in silence. We tried to prolong the moment but time was against us.
I sighed as I donned the Darius illusion once again. I needed to get used to it. I would look like this for the next couple of months. Leaving Arria’s suite was one of the hardest things I ever did. I trudged through the purple hallways to the hangar that housed my new plane.
Chapter 9
I was greeted like royalty. Dorian’s employee led me to have my audience with his boss. This would be new to me. Luckily, it was supposed to be new to me. If I didn’t know the correct protocols, it could be overlooked. I had been given a quick lesson but the council knew this was an unimportant matter. Every new old one had to go through this at one time or another.
“Darius, I am glad to welcome you.” Dorian said, as a greeting. His gift was flying. There were four other old ones in the room. They stood a respectful distance away but watched intently. Dmitriy was one of them.
“I am happy you would have me.” This was the proscribed greeting. From here on, it was mostly freelance with a few faux paus I was told to avoid.
“Your first event is always an exciting time. You must be jumping for joy!” Dorian seemed nice enough. I didn’t know much about him. Arria had told me he was mostly good, but not heavily on the side of the council nor heavily against it.
“Definitely. My nerves haven’t been like this since my own time in the fights.” I said, honestly.
Dorian laughed. He led me to meet the other old ones. Dmitriy was the only one I knew. The others were completely new to me both in name and appearance. Lorac made sure I memorized the names of the thirteen old ones he had seen in Torch’s head.
Hands were shook as the introductions were made. Each of them had their minds closed. I wasn’t getting any new information. I knew this could be the way of things but I hoped they would lighten their defenses eventually. They wouldn’t know I wasn’t a mind reader. It had been confirmed that Darius was a teleporter but these old ones wouldn’t know that. None of these names matched the ones Lorac told me about.
“Where have you been hiding? No one’s heard a thing about you for quite some time now.” Petra asked. She was plump and mean looking.
“I teleported before Ares could get his hands on me. I spent the first few hundred years hiding. I found a few ways to build a fortune and capitalized on them. I didn’t feel the need to rejoin our kind for some time. Finally, the draw of the fights lured me back in. I’ve been thinking about doing this since I became old enough. Eventually, it was too much to resist.” I explained. This speech had been planned by Ghost with Feng’s approval.
“Ares, there’s a name I wish could be left in the past. More than a few of us have been looking over our shoulders since he resurfaced.” Jonas commented. There were some grunts of agreement.
“I can’t say I blame you for teleporting, he was death.” Dmitriy added.
“I was still new then. I wanted to live and couldn’t believe I was being asked to face such a beast.” I offered. They nodded their understanding.
“So, this is your first event. It will be better for you once you have more fighters. We all remember having to start from the first and go one event at a time. Just wait until you have your first fighter to win their freedom! It is a proud moment.” Petra stated.
“I’m dreaming of that very day. To be honest, I am looking forward to the fights in general. I have been living among the humans for so long. I really miss the violence. To know what our kind is capable of but not be able to witness it, should be considered a crime.” I saw Jonas’s eyes light up. This was one of the statements I would be repeating over the next few events. It would lend to the idea of my willingness to take part in extra fights.
“That is a very common feeling. I think most of our kind will agree with you. Though some might try and deny it.” Dorian offered.
We were interrupted by the announcement of another old one. Dorian went to greet her like he did with me. She was small and mousy, like Sweetie, but with blonde hair. I saw her gift as invisibility. Once the preliminary greetings were done, I saw but couldn’t hear her speaking to him. He replied just as quietly.
“Darius, this is Emelia. She is almost as new to the fights as you are. She has been a joy to us since she joined our ranks.” Dorian said, as he introduced us.
“It is nice to meet you, Emelia.” I said, trying to be as genial as possible without sounding fake. I seemed to do well judging by her smile.
“Don’t let your first night become overwhelming. These other old ones all went through the same thing themselves.” She sounded genuine. I found myself liking her. Part of me knew it was because of her resemblance to Sweetie.
“We are all here now. Since we received the two late additions, we will need to redraw the card.” Dorian announced.
He headed toward the rear of the room. Since the other old ones began to follow, I did too. We gathered around what looked like an old fashioned bingo caller contraption. It was a cage with a crank arm you could spin to mix up the contents.
Dorian took several slips of paper and dumped them into the cage. He then wrote my name, well Darius, and Dmitriy’s name on two new sheets. He dumped them into the cage with the others and began spinning it.
“I always wondered how the fights were decided.” I said, with a slight laugh. The others smiled.
“Exceptions can be made. You must announce it before we draw. For example, sometimes two friends do not want their fighters facing each other. There are a few other acceptable reasons but all of the old ones present must agree to allow them before the draw. You will need to know these things for when you host your own events.” Petra informed me.
“Thank you, Petra. There is so much I need to learn.” I said, gratefully.
“I’m glad you said that, Petra. I forgot to ask if anyone had any cause for exception.” Dorian looked around to check. None of the old ones asked for one. “Then all draws will be final. Let’s get to it.”
He spun the drum a few more times before reaching in and drawing a slip of paper. He placed the slip to the side and spun the drum three more times before drawing the second.
“First fight will be Emelia versus me.” Dorian announced. He moved those slips off to the side and repeated the process. “Second fight will be Petra versus
Darius.”
He continued to follow this procedure for the third fight naming Jonas versus Caleb marking the first round complete. Dmitriy’s newbie wouldn’t be fighting tonight.
“Well, that ends the excitement for you, Darius. This is much more fun when you have a complete team.” Jonas stated genially with a pat on the back.
“Easy for you to say, Jonas. You have all but a ninth rounder. The rest of us have more holes in our teams.” Dorian groaned. Everyone grunted their agreement. “Who does not have a second rounder?”
Two old ones had their slip withdrawn. The drum was spun and the second round was finalized. The same format followed for the third round through the tenth. Once the card was set, we all broke into smaller groups to talk amongst ourselves. I found myself standing with Emelia and Jonas.
“I am becoming addicted to these fights. I never thought I would enjoy them so much. I certainly didn’t like them when I was fighting for my life.” Emelia admitted.
“Many of us feel the same way. Addicted is as good a description as I can think of for it.” Jonas added.
“I hope I come to love it as much as you two. I am certainly excited about them for now.” I told them.
I was watching them as well as everyone else when I could. Their minds remained blocked but I kept my eyes open.
The old ones would go back and forth between groups mingling with each other. Of the old ones here, Jonas seemed the most likely candidate for the illegal fights. I had all but ruled out Dorian and Petra. Of course, Dmitriy was a council member and not up for suspicion. Emelia seemed enthusiastic but was just starting out like I was. This was only her fourth event as an old one. The other old one present, Caleb, didn’t make much of an impression one way or the other.
First Caleb, then Petra left. I had been told of this protocol and had observed both Caleb and Petra honoring it. I walked to Dorian to give thanks before I left for the night.
