“If the rumored plans had any chance of coming to fruition, then yes, I would have Solomon seal off the shadow demon realm. But those plans would require large amounts of Oblivion to orchestrate, and I’m told the shadow demons make it nearly impossible to harvest the caprius plants with any kind of regularity. One trip usually only yields a few plants.”
“That’s true,” Danarius agreed. “Shadow demons are ruthless killers and they don’t approve of anyone stealing their sacred caprius plants, but someone has found a way to get around them. The plants are now being harvested by the truckload.”
Dragon and I both sat forward, startled by the alarming news.
“How long has this been going on?” Dragon demanded to know.
Danarius raised an eyebrow, but answered, “It’s only just begun, but by my estimates, they will have enough plants to carry out their plans by the end of the month.”
“Who exactly are they, and what exactly are their plans?” Dragon’s eyes were glowing red, but not quite flaming.
“If we are going to work together, you will need to control that temper of yours,” Danarius quietly informed Dragon. “I am not one of your subjects. As a Master Vampire, I command nearly as many souls as you do. You will give me the respect I am due, or I will walk out that door and leave the human world to its fate.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I ignored it and waited for Dragon to rein in his anger. Slowly, the red faded from his eyes, leaving his usual warm brown in its place.
“My apologies,” Dragon said with an acquiescing motion of his hand. “Would you care to elaborate on this disturbing news?”
Danarius smirked. “But of course, that was my reason for requesting this meeting after all.” His face hardened as he continued, “The interracial summit you’ve been planning will never take place. The councilors who followed Travali in the old council are only going through the motions to keep you from looking too closely at their operations. They told you they were horrified by Travali’s plans to unleash blood-crazed vampires on the human world, but in reality, many of them are growing stables of their own for just that purpose.”
“Are they out of their minds?” I interrupted. “The humans out number us twenty to one and they’re not going to take an attack of that kind laying down. Between their military and police forces, and their ability to walk in the daylight, they could easily wipe us out, or drive us from their world for good.”
“They plan to cause worldwide chaos by taking out military leaders and government officials from all the major countries using Oblivion. After that, they will release the blood-crazed vampires into the major cities.” Danarius told us solemnly.
I marveled at the capacity for evil within the supernatural community. Then I pictured the White House and the Pentagon overrun by sex-crazed maniacs. Images of blood-drenched streets swam through my mind and I had to shake my head to clear it.
“How long would it take you to get your spells up and running Solomon?” Dragon asked, his face a mask of stone cold determination. No matter what kind of fallout this decision brought down on our heads he wasn’t going to back down from this particular fight. The human realm was our home and we weren’t going to allow anyone to start a war between us and the humans.
“No more than a few days,” I promised.
“Good. Get started right away and keep me updated on your progress.”
“If I may,” Danarius said to Dragon before I could stand to leave. “I have reason to believe you were right all along. Sergio is not the faithful servant I thought him to be. He will use his maze to assassinate me, and possibly you if given the opportunity. Your sorcerer should be there to watch your back.”
Dragon inclined his head to the vampire. “I need you to remain in the stadium until Sergio’s maze has been completely dissolved. Counter any spells that you feel go beyond the normal for this type of competition. Protect me as you normally would, but keep Danarius safe as well. He just might be our most valuable ally in the coming war. As a further precaution, shut down all portals leading into or out of this realm until after tonight’s competition.”
I stood and fisted my hand over my heart, then bowing slightly to Dragon, I said “Yes, My Lord,” before taking my leave.
The two leaders were discussing the economic consequences of their decision when I left the room. As the largest distributor of Oblivion in the United States, Danarius stood to lose a significant portion of his revenue. It said something about his character, that he wanted the shadow demon realm sealed off even with the possibility of financial ruin hanging over his head. Many of our people were skeptical of the vampire and his motives, but I was starting to believe he was on the up and up.
I decided to make a quick stop at my apartment to pick up some extra supplies before I shut down the portals. I’d known there might be trouble during the finales, but now I suspected it might have a capital T. If Sergio was conspiring with the other councilors and they knew Danarius was on to them, then he would come at the vampire with guns blazing. Without Danarius in charge, his vampire nation would splinter and the resulting factions would be unlikely to aide us in a war against the mostly demon opposition.
The marksmanship finale was just coming to an end when I finally made it back to my seat. Lucien had taken top honors for the first time in ten years and Liliana seemed to be riding his high as she rushed off to meet him in the locker rooms below.
A quick look around told me that Renee and Katerina were both absent, and when I thought about it, I hadn’t seen Doyle since the night before when I’d sent him to the lake.
Where the hell was everyone?
Then I remembered the text I received during the meeting with Dragon and Danarius. The text was from Renee, explaining that she’d gone somewhere with Katerina. I wondered what could be so important that it couldn’t wait until after the tournament was over. I concentrated on the bond, but the only thing I got from Renee was annoyance, which I chalked up to her having to miss all the excitement.
With the women at least somewhat accounted for, I wondered again about Doyle. I asked several of our friends seated in the area if they had seen or heard from him, but they all just shook their heads. His unexpected absence was a complete mystery. I sent him a text, asking him to check in when he got it, and then asked Rook to have some of the security staff try to locate him.
Having time to kill, I played a few games on my phone and waited for the final match to begin.
Chapter Twenty-Three
~ Solomon ~
Rivers of molten lava poured from the ground, bubbling up through hundreds of cracks and crevices. The lava built upon itself to form the walls and tunnels of the final maze. Once the labyrinth reached the lowest level of seating, the lava continued to flow but rather than adding height to the maze, it ran off in trenches and pooled in the various chambers. Tendrils of smoke and steam spiraled into the air, rising from nearly every surface of the maze.
The maze was impressive and drew several gasps from members of the audience, but it was also unexpected since the prey for this round was another fire demon. We usually designed the mazes to even the odds between the prey and the competitors. This maze would not only enhance the demon’s ability to wield fire, but it would also drain Danarius with the blistering heat that could be felt even in the stands. Thankfully, Dragon could make himself nearly impervious to heat and flames by covering his human body with dragon scales.
A portal opened and the fire demon emerged on the far side of the maze. He took off without hesitation and moved quickly through the maze, clearly energized by his surroundings. He raced through the corridors like he’d been given a map, never once taking a route that came to a dead end.
The competitors entered the maze and immediately began searching for their prey. They prowled quietly through the narrow passageways, but unlike the fire demon, they spent most of their time backtracking after taking one wrong turn after another. Of course, their sense of direction might have wo
rked a little better had the tunnels and corridors not been changing position every few seconds.
Several minutes into the match, Danarius ran into the first trap. He came to a tattered old rope bridge with most of its wooden planks broken or missing. I noticed there were runes carved into many of the planks and wished I had a way to warn Danarius before he made a deadly mistake. He’d never hear me from this distance though. No matter how loud I screamed, my voice would be drowned out by the rest of the audience cheering and shouting advice of their own.
Danarius tested the strength of the bridge, stomping and jumping a few times before starting out to cross it. As he crept slowly towards the other side, I watched closely. Magic built in the air as he stepped on one rune after the next, and I knew something very unpleasant was coming. When he was only a few feet from the other side, he stepped down and his foot went right through one of the planks. The instant that broken plank hit the lava below, a fountain of liquid fire rose up and barely missed Danarius as he scrambled for the other side. The bridge turned to ash but the vampire reached his goal with only a few minor burns that were healed by the time he caught his breath.
As the match continued, Danarius narrowly escaped one pitfall after another. He had to dodge flaming arrows, best a phantom assailant, and jump through a wall of flames. Most people would say all of that was to be expected during the final match of the tournament, but I could see the spells before they were triggered. Sergio’s magic wasn’t as transparent as most, so I couldn’t always tell what the spells would do, but I knew exactly where they were located. The shifting corridors kept Dragon from running into anything dangerous including the prey, while they put Danarius on the path to disaster time and time again.
About half an hour after the match began, Dragon was clearly tired of his fruitless wandering. He came to yet another dead end, but rather than turn back around, he launched himself into the air. Usually that would be considered cheating, but it was clear to everyone that he was intentionally being kept away from the action. He kept his human form except for his arms, which became the powerful wings of his dragon. He was only in the air for a handful of seconds but it was long enough. He spotted his prey and angled his body to fly in that direction.
Just before Dragon landed behind the fire demon, Danarius turned a corner and came face to face with his prey. Half a second later, he ducked back around the corner to avoid being burned to a crisp. While the fire demon held Danarius back with a stream of fire, Dragon snuck up behind him. The Dragon King landed a kick that sent the demon flying into the nearest wall. He recovered quickly and turned to face Dragon with flames covering most of his body. The two of them traded blows for a while, punching and kicking as their furious growls echoed through the stadium.
The fiery display of skill continued for so long that the crowd grew restless. Many of the spectators rose to their feet, shouting and cursing, unable to contain their excitement or their thirst for blood. They called for the demon’s head and they were eventually given exactly what they asked for - just not the way they thought it would happen.
The flames began to die down as the fire demon’s strength waned. Not even surrounded by molten lava could he sustain the raging fire indefinitely. That was when Danarius found his opening. He’d been waiting nearby, watching intently for just the right moment to strike.
The fire demon went sailing down the corridor after being thrown by Dragon. He smashed into a wall and then quickly regained his feet. When he turned to face the Dragon King again, Danarius was there instead. The vampire swiped his claws across the fire demon’s throat. The demon wrapped his hands around his own throat as blood gushed from the wound. Danarius took full advantage of the demon’s distraction by grasping his head and twisting with all his might.
I felt it a second before the demon’s head was wrenched from his body. I shouted, trying to stop Danarius, but it was already too late. Magic flared dark and sinister the instant the fire demon lost his head. Less than a heartbeat later, the ground fell out from beneath Dragon’s feet and he disappeared down a deep, dark hole. At the same moment, the lava rock forming the maze began to liquefy from the base of the walls up. Danarius jumped on top of a wall, but he was quickly surrounded by a sea of molten lava. He desperately searched for an escape route but there was none to be found.
I tried everything I could think of but my magic couldn’t touch him or Dragon. I wasn’t even sure Dragon was still in the stadium, although I was almost certain he was still in this world. After all, I’d done as ordered and shut down all portals except for those leading elsewhere in this dimension. When the vampire’s island of safety was almost completely melted, I had to give up and ask for help.
“Rook, you have to reset time!” I shouted to the time demon a few rows in front of me. He and Angela were both trying to keep Serafina from diving in after her mate.
Rook turned his swirling silver eyes to me and growled, “There’s something blocking me.”
Dread filled me, making every breath seem like an impossible chore. If Sergio managed to take out Dragon and Danarius at the same time, our world would be thrown into chaos.
An ear-piercing screech drew my attention and I looked up to see a red dragon with a black underbelly diving towards Danarius. It wasn’t our king, but the beast was a welcome sight, especially when it snatched Danarius from his shrinking perch just before it disappeared completely.
As the last bit of lava rock was swallowed by the fiery abyss, all eyes were focused on the spot where Dragon had gone missing. Where was he? Was he buried beneath this ocean of liquid fire? Would he be able to escape? Had he been transported to an entirely different location?
We barely had time to worry because a few seconds after Danarius was rescued, the enormous black dragon we all knew as our king came up through the boiling lava like a rocket being sent to the moon. He twisted through the air, shaking off the thick, fiery liquid before it could cool and solidify on his body and wings. The crowd went absolutely ballistic, cheering for their beloved king. I breathed a sigh of relief and glanced up at the sorcerer’s booth to confirm what I already knew. Sergio was long gone, having already made his escape.
Dragon landed beside Serafina on his human feet and she threw her arms around his neck, sobbing hard enough that her breathing was erratic. He tried to console her, but nothing he said or did seemed to have any effect.
“Solomon!”
I heard my name but I wasn’t sure who called it. Scanning the crowd, I finally spotted Claire waving her arms in the air. When she knew she had my attention, she mouthed, “Get us out of here.”
She was right of course. The crowd was closing in on Dragon and Serafina fast. Its members were only seeking comfort after such a close call, but Serafina’s well-being had to come first. Plus, there was always the chance that Sergio had something else planned that hadn’t yet been triggered.
I opened a portal beside the royal couple and Dragon swept Serafina up into his arms. They disappeared first, followed by Rook, Angela and Claire. I closed the portal quickly before anyone else could follow, and then wrapped a portal around myself. When I came out on the other side, Serafina was laying on the sofa with Dragon kneeling beside her. There were several burns on his body where not even dragon scales could protect him, but at the rate they were healing they’d be gone within the hour. I’d sent them to their suite, thinking it would be quiet and well protected - the perfect place for Serafina to regain control of her emotions. A moment after I arrived, Rook came from the bedroom with some clothes, which he handed to Dragon.
While Dragon slipped them on, he asked, “Did Danarius make it out alive?”
“Yes,” Claire answered. “Katherine swooped in and saved him.”
Everyone looked as stunned as I was but only I asked, “That dragon was Katerina?” Normally we would have recognized the dragon and known who it was, but aside from the glimpse we had earlier that night, it had been hundreds of years since any of us had seen Katerina in h
er animal form.
“Of course it was,” Claire replied simply, as if we all should have known that already.
I could tell everyone else found the news surprising, knowing how Katerina felt about vampires, but I was taken aback for an entirely different reason. Renee’s text said she was with Katerina. So if Kat was close enough to know Danarius was in trouble, then Renee should have been in the stadium too. I concentrated on the bond and realized I could barely feel Renee. She was alive, but it felt like she was sleeping somewhere far away - not in this dimension. Knowing there was only one way to leave this realm I started to wrap a portal around myself.
“Wait!” Rook demanded, grabbing my arm. I went to shake off his hold but time froze and it was only me and him - everyone else was immobilized. “What’s wrong and where are you going?”
Knowing I either had to answer or spend the rest of eternity stuck in this moment, I told him, “I got a text from Renee earlier saying she was with Katerina, but now I’m sure she didn’t send it herself. I think she’s been taken by someone and they left through the weak spot behind the waterfall.”
His face darkened with anger. “I just tried to lock onto Renee and I couldn’t. Whatever was blocking me in the arena is blocking me from helping her too.”
“I’m going to find her.” I started to wrap a portal around myself again.
“Go to the lobby first,” Rook insisted. “I’ll find Grayson and have him meet you there. As a sorcerer and a time demon, he might be able to help you undo Sergio’s spells. He’s also pretty good in combat, especially for his age and lack of formal training.”
I inclined my head and he released his hold on time just as I disappeared from the room.
Down in the lobby I paced in a tight circle, impatiently waiting for Grayson to arrive. When he finally did show up, it felt like I’d been waiting for hours when in reality it had likely only been a few minutes.
Grayson came to a stop in front of me. “Rook filled me in. Lead the way.”
M&L03 - SS Page 27
