by Joe Fowler
“You’ve been the talk of the old ones for some time now. We have to see the growing legend for ourselves.” He laughed.
Orion went through each of the old ones making the introductions. I knew all but two. Altus and Shera were new to me.
“We heard you went toe to toe with Gronk. What was that like?” Caleb asked. I saw the sneer he was trying to hide.
“Fun, actually. He hits like a truck! We laughed about the fight later that night. We parted as friends.” I said, honestly. This felt so much better than the lies.
“You are so young. Even with your gift, it is hard to imagine you facing Gronk. He is a legend among us. I can’t imagine how you will be once you get some age to you.” Petra was tense. She was trying to hide it.
“I try not to think about that too much. I am happy where I am with Arria. It is rare that my gift even comes up anymore. Most of the ones I see regularly treat me like a normal vampire. That’s all I want.” I thought of my friends as I said it.
“But you can do so much! I think I would be gathering as many gifts as I could. To me, your gift seems like a wonderful thing!” Emelia chimed in. She was genuinely excited.
“I still gather strength and speed gifts but the only gift I want to find now is the healing one. Many don’t know that I was about to die from the unravelling. Ares healed me. I would like to find that gift so I can do the same for others who suffer from that.” I saw my opportunity and went for it.
“You were unravelling? I’ve never heard of someone surviving that. The healing gift is so rare though.” Phoenix sounded like she already knew. I got the impression she just wanted to be a part of the conversation.
“Yes it is.” I confirmed.
“You will be very happy to know that one of my fighters has the healing gift. I can take you to her if you would like.” Emelia said. This was what I brought the subject up for. I wanted that gift more than any other.
“Wow! This is wonderful!” I reminded myself that I was currently a second, not an old one. “Arria, if it is okay?”
“Absolutely, Titan. I know you would love to help those that are suffering the way you did.” Arria was perfect. She turned it even more in my favor.
“Come, Titan. She should be in the training room.” Emelia led the way.
Once we were in the hallway, she wrinkled her nose.
“Burgundy. Ugh. I never liked this color.” Emelia surprised me with small talk. The color of the walls wasn’t the direction I expected her to take.
“I wonder if they buy the hardwood already scuffed. Every floor of every facility looks exactly the same.” I said, offhand.
Emelia laughed.
“If you don’t mind, would you tell me what gifts you have gathered? Your gift fascinates me.” She was being honest at least.
“All of the common ones like invisibility…” I took a breath. “Some that are rarer like a spike in my arm…”
She listened with rapt attention. I was still rattling off gifts and giving the descriptions of them when we reached the training room.
“Titan! What are you doing here?” Piper asked as we were passing the mats where Arria’s team was training.
“I’m about to add a gift I’ve wanted from the start. Healing.” I told her. Emelia and I didn’t break stride.
Some of the vampires on nearby mats overheard my name. Word travelled fast. By the time we reached Emelia’s team, every vampire in the room was staring at us.
“This is one of the problems with being me. I should have warned you.” I told Emelia.
“I hadn’t thought about it. I guess this could get old.” Emelia sounded sad then. “Stacy, please come here for a moment.”
I saw the girl and saw her gift of healing. I was jumping for joy inside.
“Yes, Emelia?” Stacy sounded sweet. Her thoughts were racing. She was afraid.
“This is Titan. He is one of the rarest of our kind. He needs to drink from you to add your gift. He will help many vampires over the coming years thanks to you.”
“What do I have to do?” She asked. She was afraid she was about to die.
“Nothing much. Please, give me your wrist. I won’t need much of your blood.” I told her in my most soothing voice.
She held out her arm. She was too afraid to step toward me. I closed the distance and bit into her wrist. I drank until her gift was added. Once done, I wiped to make my mouth making sure to clear any drips before stepping back to Emelia’s side.
“Thank you, Stacy. I’ve been looking for your gift since I was turned.” I gave her my best smile. She finally relaxed. She smiled back.
We left the training room with every eye still on us.
“I hope you aren’t the overly self-conscious type. Your life would be hell.” Emelia commented.
I laughed a real laugh. I was used to the stares.
“It is a sad part of being me.” I admitted. I wanted to sound vulnerable so she would ask the more important things.
She was silent for a moment. Then she surprised me. She briefly placed her hand on my arm and slowed her walk. She withdrew her hand as soon as it was clear I knew she wanted to walk slower.
“You are with Arria.” This wasn’t a question.
“Yes. Hopefully for a mighty long time.”
“Does that mean you automatically side with the council?” She asked.
“There have been times when I had differing opinions but even then I saw why they made the decisions they made. Why would you ask?”
“I am new to being an old one. I know many old ones are breaking the rules. Before you ask, I will not tell you which ones or which rules are being broken. The main reason I asked is to see if you are your own person or just a puppet the council members will always control.”
“I think for myself. The things I have helped the council with so far, happened because I was against those things as well. Arria knows this and we work through things. What most old ones do not seem to understand is how important the council is. They aren’t just overbearing jerks who want to control everything. They have their rules for a reason. They are more lenient than you know. I recently brought three vampires to them that made vampires on the side. The council understood and was lenient since these vampires wanted to do right and have their newbies entered into the fights. The council could easily have executed all of them. They didn’t.”
“That is something to think about. I guess I am at the stage where I need to decide what kind of old one I want to be. I can break the rules and live the way I want or follow the rules and live well enough. I shouldn’t be dumping this on you. You are probably thinking I am silly. We can hurry back to the meeting hall if you wish. I don’t want to waste your time.”
“On the contrary, I don’t want to go back to the meeting hall at all. Most old ones fear me because of Ares. There are two things I wish I could tell them. One is that if Ares really wanted to kill them, they’d be dead. Two, I am only a danger to those that cross the line between acceptable behavior and being a monster. If they behave within reason, they will never have a problem with me.” I explained some of what I felt.
“I am so glad I got to talk to you like this. It clarifies things for me. It makes me feel better about being able to offer my fighter’s healing ability. You’ve helped me as well.” Emelia smiled up at me. We sped back up to a normal pace for the rest of the trip to the meeting hall.
Arria was relieved when we returned. The others wouldn’t notice. I knew her every mood and expression with a glance. We stayed for more talking before it became time to draw for the fights. Arria kissed me and sent me away. Only old ones were allowed during a drawing. I wanted to laugh and I could see she appreciated the humor as well.
As I walked out the door I began thinking hard. That tension wasn’t because of me. Arria wouldn’t be the cause either. I had seen this same group around the other council members. They acted slightly different but they weren’t tense because of the council’s presence. I knew I would be work
ing on this until Arria made it to her suite.
I knew the drawing would last a while and the betting afterward would take more time. Arria would be gone for hours. I turned one burgundy corner and started down another burgundy hallway. The monotony of these places would drive you insane.
Arria entered the suite. I felt my smile spread across my face. I stood and met her by the door. After a nice kiss, she pointed me back to the chair I just left.
“We need to talk.” Arria sounded worried.
“Is it that bad? You’re not pregnant are you?” I teased. She tried not to but she ended up laughing pretty hard.
“Not likely. This is getting thick. I saw the tension in the room as soon as I entered the meeting hall. At first I thought it was because of me. It wasn’t. I had the thought it might be because of you. It wasn’t. Something is going on that I don’t know about and I don’t like it.” Arria sounded worried.
“I saw it too. It was bad.” I mumbled. “Give me a minute.”
I sat quietly thinking things through, again. Nothing happened that I knew about from either Darius or Titan’s point of view. The old ones present were much the same as at the last event. We knew Saul to be a violator and he was close friends with the others that were here. Could there be something happening with those illegal fights that has them upset? I knew none of them would talk to Arria or me. I thought briefly of spying on them. Becoming invisible was easy enough. Hell, I had two ways to do it.
I had a better idea.
“Was Emelia still in the meeting hall when you left?” I asked.
“No, she left early.”
I stood and went to get my Darius phone. When I turned it on, I saw the missed calls. Two from Emelia and one from Petra.
I held my finger to my lips telling Arria not to speak. I called Emelia first.
“It’s about time! Where have you been?” She was angry.
“My phone was dead. I left it charging and forgot about it.” I said, defensively. “What’s wrong? You sound upset.”
“Those fights we were trying to enter got hit hard early tonight. The other old ones don’t think it was the council. They are in a state of panic.” Emelia was frantic.
“Slow down. What do you mean hit? You mean some were killed?”
“Seven old ones died. Their employees died too. The teams of fighters are the only ones left. I was told the fighters were put on their old ones planes and sent to that old ones facilities. That alone would cause problems since the fighters were the second teams for those old ones. No one knows what the hell is going on. The council wouldn’t work like this according to them.”
I looked to Arria who was listening to every word. She saw my question and shook her head. No, it wasn’t the council.
“I hate to say this but I’m really glad they didn’t get us in right away.” I said the first thing that came to mind.
“I was all excited about having more fights but not if this is going to be the result. I don’t want to die.” Emelia was calming down but was still upset.
“Let me call Petra. I will call you back afterward. Okay?”
“Hurry. I am nervous and need a friend.” Emelia sounded sincere.
“I’ll try to make it quick.”
I disconnected. I looked at Arria to see the same look of shock my face probably wore. Mine wasn’t as beautiful though.
I dialed Petra.
“Where have you been?” She nearly screamed.
“My battery was dead. I put the phone on the charger and forgot about it. What is going on? I talked to Emelia and she told me some. How did seven old ones get killed? Who could do that besides the council?” I asked.
“I would say it was Titan but he is here. I actually met the bastard. He was trying to sound all nice but I bet he was dreaming of killing us. The only one left who could do something like this would be Ares. That is what we are thinking. Ares is on the warpath again. We are all gonna die.” Petra sounded somewhere between screaming and crying.
“Calm down. We don’t know that yet. Look, I know what if feels like to think you might have to face him but I still found a way to survive. We will do the same thing this time. At least we should make sure it is Ares before we dig our graves, right?” I was saying whatever I could think of by this point.
“I know you’re right but the thought of him coming after us is too much to handle.” Petra was slightly calmer.
“I need to think. I also need to call Emelia back. She sounded worse than you.” I lied. “I will call you sometime tomorrow if I can get away from these council jerks long enough.”
“Council?”
I hadn’t told her that. I only told Emelia earlier.
“I got called in to fill out more paperwork. Feng is keeping me here for another day or two. It isn’t a big deal.”
“Try to find out what they know. Maybe they know something we don’t. Call me if you hear anything.”
“I will. I might not be able to get to my phone if it rings. Don’t freak out. I don’t take it with me when I am around Feng. Get some sleep if you can, Petra. I will talk with you tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
We disconnected.
“You talked to him more than we did. Do you think she is right? Is Ares killing again?” Arria asked nervously.
“I don’t think so. Petra was right about one thing, who else could do this? She was wanting to blame me but I would have problems killing seven old ones and their employees.” I thought hard for a minute. “I can’t deny that he could be the one who did this. The thing we have to ask is was it just one vampire?”
“What do you mean? A group? That would raise even more questions.” Arria sat down as heavily as her pretty little butt could.
“You call Ghost. I will go out into the hallway and call Emelia back. Tell Ghost all we know. Hey, maybe they’ve heard something.” I told her.
Arria was grabbing her phone as I shut the door behind me.
“I was getting worried. What did Petra say?” Emelia was still in panic mode.
“The others are worried that Ares is on the warpath.” I told her. I heard her gasp. “I’m not convinced.”
“It does make sense for them to think that. What makes you doubt them?” Emelia asked.
I got the distinct impression something was amiss in Emelia land then. She was too calm. She went from panic to calm much too fast. She did this after I brought up Ares. His name usually has the opposite effect.
“It doesn’t feel right. I know that isn’t much to go on but I’ve learned to trust my instincts.” I told her as I continued to try and solve the puzzle she was presenting.
“Maybe so but I don’t want to bet my life on your instincts. If not him, and not the council, then who?”
“I may sound cold when I say this but why are we so worried about it? We did nothing wrong. We never went to those fights.” I reasoned. I said it to judge her reaction.
She hesitated too long. I wished for the millionth time that I was as smart as Ghost.
“If Ares is killing old ones again, we should all be worried!” Emelia replied, finally. She was confusing as hell.
“Give me some time to think and I will get back to you. I am going to try to find out what the council knows since I am here with them. I will call you when I can, Emelia. Don’t panic if I don’t answer my phone. I won’t have it with me when I am around Feng.” I wanted to end this call. She was making me crazy.
“Okay. Keep in touch!” She hung up.
I shook my head to clear it. How can someone seem so sweet at times and then be so frustrating and obviously bad at other times? It was maddening.
I went back into the room to see Arria concentrating on following Ghost. She had that look of confused aggravation that Ghost causes. I knew the feeling well.
Arria motioned for me to take the phone and be the one talking to Ghost. She waited for the right time. I could hear Ghost’s end of the conversation now.
“…too many will die.
” Ghost was saying.
“Titan is back. You may need to repeat some of that. I am giving him the phone since the two of you understand each other so well.” Arria announced as she held the phone out to me.
I took it. I wasn’t going to say that no one understood Ghost, even if it was the truth.
“Hey, Ghost. What are you thinking? Ares?” I asked to get him started.
“I can’t say absolutely not but I can say hell no it isn’t him. This wouldn’t be his style. I think we have some vigilante old ones. While I applaud their intent, this can’t continue.” He paused. I knew what look he wore even though I couldn’t see his face. He was barely aware of what he was saying. He was in that headache causing deep thought mode. “It doesn’t change our plans although it will hinder them. You can see the problems this will cause us. That group of violators will shut down operations for a while until they feel comfortable again.”
“I was solidly in with them judging from the phone calls I just made with Petra and Emelia. Petra is terrified. I spent half our conversation calming her down. I don’t believe it was Ares either. I got to know him pretty well. I think we will see him soon though. Once word of this gets around, he will be here to see what is going on for himself.” I concluded. It felt right.
“I thought of that but wasn’t sure. I never met him. The only regret of winning my freedom too early. I still wish I had been there for the Noah time. That would have been interesting. Look, keep finding out what you can both as Titan and Darius. We will be keeping the same plan until we need to change things.”
“Keep me informed with any information the council comes up with. I can use it to get deeper into their circle.”
“Will do.” Ghost hesitated. “Titan, be careful with how you proceed. Darius can’t be too well informed. It is only the ruse that he is at Feng’s that provides us this chance. Even with what you can do, you will be in danger if they suspect you. Be meek in how you present your Darius character. At the same time, I want you to be more intimidating as Titan. I see an opportunity for Titan to be the one they are hoping will help them. It is a long shot but think about it. You will see what I mean. Call me when you can.”
