“If it makes you feel any better,” she said patiently. “We've given up our wands.”
“You what?” It was Olivia's turn to blurt.
“We're here because, like Reave,” the witch said, “we've realized that non-humans are superior. The only way to become non-humans is to be turned. And so…” She shrugged. “We have put aside our wands as a demonstration that we are willing to give up our power for a chance at more. When the time comes, we will be turned.” She set down the rest of her drinks, then turned and strode away.
“Does anyone else think this is really weird?” Delta asked.
“A little bit, yeah,” I agreed.
I sensed agreement from Fik as the others nodded.
I looked around at the other witches and wizards, busy serving food and drinks across the arena, and wondered if they had all given up their wands in exchange for a promise of being turned. Delta was right, this place was extremely strange.
Reave stood and clapped his hands, then raised them high. “Let the entertainment begin!” he declared.
“Holy shit, are we really getting jousting?” Delta laughed.
“I swear to god, if they actually joust…” Joe mumbled.
It was not jousting; it ended up being a lively game of some sport that looked like it was a hybrid of soccer, rugby, and just plain wrestling in the dirt.
I was still trying to figure out the rules, assuming there were any, when the game ended. One by one, the people on the other side of the arena began to clap; it was a slow, rhythmic clapping that sent a chill up my spine as it filled the air. They gradually clapped faster and faster until Victor stood and held up a hand for silence.
Where had Reave gone? He must have slipped away during the game.
“Yes, yes,” Victor said loudly. “Time for the main event! Since many of you are joining us for the first time this evening, I think we should take a moment to refresh everyone on the rules and why we do this.”
“How much do you want to bet the first rule is we don't talk about it?” asked Delta.
“I bet it's the second rule too,” Joe agreed dryly.
I chuckled, but my amusement quickly died as a group of witches and wizards appeared at the far end of the arena, dragging along a large, long rack lined with every kind of weapon imaginable.
“Oh fuck, I was joking,” said Delta.
“What is this?” Kiana was leaning forward, looking fascinated.
I swallowed nervously, studying the rack; it was covered with knives and swords, spears and stakes, and even crossbows. A couple of wizards with an identical rack appeared on the other end of the arena, dragging it into place opposite the first one.
“During your time here,” Victor said, raising his voice even louder over the sound of the racks squeaking and clanging into place, “you will participate in a number of fights.” A chill went up my spine. “While you will also spend a great deal of your time enjoying yourselves with our many amenities, do not forget that first and foremost our goal is to bring our vision to the world. As we attempt to do that, we will be opposed. With force. If we want any chance of victory we will need an army. That is what we are building here. These fights will keep your skills, both magical and physical, well honed. They also serve to determine which of you are the strongest, the best, and eventually will help place you in leadership positions within our ranks.”
Was this some sort of sick joke? Hazing the new guys maybe?
“You are witnessing the fight this evening, so that you know exactly what you are getting into,” continued Victor. “If you do not have any desire to participate in these combat trials, then I highly suggest you leave. If, however, you see the value of what we are trying to do here and you truly believe in our vision, then you are invited to stay. When the fights conclude this evening, you will be escorted to your rooms where you will spend the night. I ask that you think very hard about whether or not you wish to remain here. If you so choose, then tomorrow we will welcome you to breakfast among your new family. Should you decide to leave…” He chuckled. “You'll still be taken care of. The bus will be waiting for you to return you home.” He paused and looked around for a moment.
I swallow nervously. This wasn't at all what I had signed up for. My hope that this was just some kind of a prank was quickly fading.
“As for the rules,” said Victor, waving down a round of impatient clapping. “You are expected to fight well and to do your best. If we believe you are attempting to hold back or show mercy, there will be consequences. If you attempt to yield or end the fight, while we believe you are still physically able to fight, there will be consequences.” He paused for a moment letting it sink in. “Lastly, if you refuse to fight…” He smiled and I could see his fangs, even from this distance. “Let's just say you do not have that option.”
Everyone, even Delta, sat in stunned silence. On the other side of the arena I could hear a few chuckles at our expense. I still held out the hope it was a nasty prank.
“One more thing,” added Victor, sounding almost bored. “While we do expect you to do your best, we also prefer that you do not actually kill your opponent. We are trying to build an army here which is rather difficult if some of you keep dying. Nevertheless…” He spread his hands with a grin that sent a chill up my spine. “Accidents happen and a certain, ah, bloodlust is what separates us from the humans, is it not?” he chuckled darkly. “That said, if killing your opponent becomes a habit, we will have to have some firm words.” He let out an eerie, slightly crazed sounding laugh. Then he stepped back and raised his hands.
A wizard brought him a small basket and he pulled a scrap of paper out of it.
“Tierra!” he called.
A girl on the other side of the arena stood and stretched, then strode forward and vaulted over the edge of the wall and onto the dirt. Her hair was dark gray and her skin held a gray pallor; stone elemental. She walked to the far end of the arena near a weapon rack and stood, waiting.
“Cane!” yelled Victor.
This time, it was a guy with pale skin and cloud-white hair. He swung over the rail and gently floated down to the arena. Air elemental. He walked to the other side of the arena, standing on the opposite end from the stone elemental.
Maybe it was just all staged and choreographed. Surely, they weren’t really going to fight!
“Begin!” Victor commanded
The pair sprinted for their respective weapons racks. The air elemental moved so fast I could hardly keep up. He grabbed small knife after small knife and hurled them through the air at his opponent. Even though he was obviously using his abilities to guide and speed the knives along, they bounced harmlessly off of the stone elemental’s skin.
Tierra grabbed a large, spiked club and casually walked across the arena, heedless of the knives that Cane kept sending flying at her. It looked like a few may have scratched her, but she ignored the wounds.
Soon they were circling each other. Cane practically flew around her, feet hardly touching the ground, as he slashed at her. Tierra swung her club at him, missing every time.
“They aren’t actually fighting, are they? This is fake, right?” asked Joe.
“Doesn’t look like it…” Delta said. “I think it’s real.”
“This is amazing,” murmured Olivia, leaning forward and watching with wide eyes.
“It’s getting boring,” Kiana said. “The fastest elemental against the strongest? It’s going to take forever. Neither one has a good chance.”
Flint snorted. “We’ll see.”
As he spoke, Cane started a dust storm. Dirt and dust swirled around the pair, obscuring them.
“He’s got it,” Olivia said.
Flint chuckled darkly. “No. Not if she knows what she’s doing.”
I realized that he was right, Cane had messed up, he had just surrounded a stone elemental with rocks. Then, the swirling dust thickened, suddenly slowing the unsuspecting air elemental. Tierra’s club connected, hard with his stomac
h. Cane went tumbling away across the dirt. He rolled onto his hands and knees, gasping for breath.
Tierra rushed forward, impressively fast for a stone elemental, kicked him onto his back, then slammed her club down onto his chest with a sickening crunch of bone.
She raised the club again over the still elemental.
“Hold,” Victor said, sounding reluctant.
Tierra stepped back with a dark smile, lowering her club. Victor clapped his hands and several witches and wizards rushed out with a stretcher. They examined Cane for a moment, then carried him out of the arena.
My mouth felt dry. It wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t staged. They were expecting us to fight actual, potentially violent, fights. This was insane.
There were two more fights, neither as vicious as the first, but still with very real injuries and risk of death.
Most of us had forgotten food and drinks as we watched the fights in silence. Olivia had a twisted grin for most of it and I could tell Kiana was enjoying the action. I wasn’t sure what Delta thought, but could see he was watching every second. Flint, of course, was expressionless. Joe was the only other one who looked like he felt the same way I did.
When the last fight was over, the people on the other side of the arena began to file away. Victor appeared back at our side.
“I do hope you enjoyed that,” he purred. “Go ahead and finish your meals, then please go out that door.” He gestured off to the side. “You’ll find many of our amenities there, feel free to wander and explore a bit. Don’t stray too far; in a few minutes some of our human servants will come collect you and lead you to your rooms. Have a good night. Do consider joining us.”
With that, he turned and left us alone.
Nobody seemed in the mood to talk. Olivia got up right away to go “check things out” and shortly after, Joe and Kiana got up as well. Delta was next, then I was sitting in awkward silence with Flint. I didn’t feel like eating or drinking so I got up and followed the others.
The door opened into a wide hallway. I wandered down it, peeking in doors and found the amenities that Victor was talking about. There was a billiards room, ping-pong, darts, and an actual pool. I found a video game room and one full of tables and board games, and an entire library! If we weren’t expected to participate in those fights, I might have been tempted to stay.
I opened the door to another room – this one smelled like paint and was filled with art supplies – and stopped in my tracks. Fik nearly ran into my legs.
Delta and Joe were already in there and it looked like they were arguing. They froze too and looked at me. Had I just inadvertently stopped a fight?
“Um, excuse me,” I said. “I hope I’m not interrupting?”
“No, not at all,” said Joe. “We were just… talking.”
“About all this,” Delta added, gesturing around. “That ball game looked exciting, but the fighting, wild, hm?”
“Yeah…” I said uncertainly.
Something was off, I realized belatedly. Oh, it was his accent or rather lack thereof. He had spoken in a normal, general American-sounding voice without a trace of the Australian accent he had used all night. It wasn’t necessarily surprising; water elementals frequently used different voices for a number of reasons. Nonetheless, I frowned at him curiously. Joe looked at him in surprise as well. I could sense Fik’s surprise too.
Delta cleared his throat. “Right, forget you heard that, mate,” he said, accent back in full force. He glanced over at Joe. “You too. Let me tell you something: girls go mad over a New Zealand accent. If you two let this slip and ruin my chances with any of them, I will kill both of you in that arena out there.” He stood there for a moment glaring, fearlessly threatening two vampires, then grinned. “Cheers, then.” With that, he turned and left the room.
“Thank you,” Joe said to me after the water elemental had gone. “That was getting awkward.”
“What were you talking about?” I asked.
“Mainly the fight.” He eyed me curiously, almost hesitantly. “That guy seems a little more… into it than…”
Oh good, Joe felt the same way. “It’s not what I came here for,” I admitted.
“No, me neither.”
It was a relief to know that someone else felt the same way I did.
“Are you—” I started to ask, wondering if he was planning on leaving or staying in the morning.
I was interrupted by the sound of someone calling us. We nodded to each other and then headed back toward the arena.
We were met by a couple of witches who led us up a dozen staircases and through a maze of corridors to our rooms. One by one, they bid us goodnight and let us into our private rooms.
“Please stay in your room for the evening,” a witch told me. “Someone will come before breakfast to see if you’d like to join Lord Reave here or if you wish to leave. Have a good night.”
~~~***~~~
“It’s actually… nice,” Fik said, looking around.
I nodded in agreement. The room was much nicer than I would have expected. In fact, it was really like a fancy hotel room. There was even a TV! I decided I might as well try to enjoy what amenities I could and took a nice shower.
Fik and I settled down into the large, comfortable bed. I was still feeling a little off from the sleeping potion and knew the fog wouldn’t lift without real sleep or lots of caffeine, although sleep was best.
Even so, I had trouble falling asleep as I debated if I would stay or go. Fik and I talked it over for a while and soon decided that these people were just too extreme. Some relaxed feeding rules weren’t worth being stuck here and having to engage in combat. Not to mention the talk of building an army made me feel uneasy.
I somehow fell asleep and awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Yawning, I headed over to open it and found a trio of wizards.
“Good morning, sir,” one said. “I trust you slept well?”
I nodded.
“Breakfast will be served in half an hour. Have you made up your mind as to whether you’ll be extending your stay or returning home?”
As he spoke, I spotted the door across the hall open and Joe appeared. He saw us and pulled back out of sight too fast for the humans, had they been facing that direction, to see. His door closed, but I didn’t hear it click and could see a small crack where it was still ajar. Probably waiting to hear my answer.
I wondered if it would influence his at all. I was leaving, my mind was made up, although I felt bad leaving him alone with the others.
“Yes, thank you,” I said. “I’m afraid this really isn’t for me; I’d like to leave.”
“Of course,” said the wizard with a slight bow. He held up a clipboard. “I have a non-disclosure agreement for you to sign, if you don’t mind. We prefer to keep the details of our ah, activities, secret.”
“Oh, yeah sure.”
The wizard came into my room with me and set the clipboard on the table. “If you’ll just read over that and sign please,” he said, handing me a pen.
I skimmed over the page. It was an extremely wordy way of saying we promised not to reveal where we went or what we saw. I raised the pen to sign when—
Alarm!
Fear!
Pain!
A blinding, searing burst of agony hit me. I couldn’t breathe. I struggled to turn, staggering against the table for support. If I hadn’t already been unable to draw breath, the sight before me would have made it impossible.
The wizard was standing there above my familiar’s body, holding a stake, dripping with blood.
I tried to scream but couldn’t. My head swam and my vision blurred as I sagged to the ground, watching as the wizard advanced on me, raising his stake.
I felt my eyes close and couldn’t force them open again.
Chapter Two
Thomas
The room reeked of turpentine and I wrinkled my nose, but nodded in satisfaction. It would be impossible for anyone to smell we were here.
>
Danio hurried into the room after me and I closed the door. We both looked around for a moment. I could hear his heart pounding as fast as mine. We turned to face each other at almost the same moment, nearly colliding. I considered moving farther away but didn’t, we couldn’t afford to be overheard.
I leaned closer to him, intending to whisper in his ear.
“We are so fucked!” he frantically whispered before I could say anything. “What the hell are we supposed to do now?!”
“I don’t know!” I said just as quietly. “I’m thinking?”
“That doesn’t inspire confidence!” His graying eyes were churning wildly, just inches from mine. “For the record, I thought this was a terrible idea!”
“It was your suggestion! As I recall, your only objection was that we wouldn’t be posing as a couple!”
“I would have been less enthusiastic if I had known we’d end up in Dracula’s fucking murder castle!”
The door opened and we both froze. I snapped my head toward it in alarm; we couldn’t get caught! It was the vampire, what was his name… Connor?
“Um, excuse me,” he said, eyes darting back and forth between us. Had he heard anything? “I hope I’m not interrupting?”
“No, not at all,” I said quickly. “We were just… talking…”
“About all this,” Danio said, easily taking over for me when I hesitated. “That ball game looked exciting, but the fighting, wild, hm?”
“Yeah…” Connor didn’t look like he agreed. Were we that lucky to have been caught together by someone who wasn’t enthused by this insanity? Now that I thought about it, he had looked pretty alarmed during the fights, watching them with wide eyes and an almost frightened expression; certainly not Olivia’s eerie, rapt concentration.
Then, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at Danio. I realized, too late, that Danio had dropped the stupid accent to talk to me and hadn’t gone back to it upon Connor’s arrival. I shot him a panicked look, silently screaming at him to realize his mistake.
I nearly sighed in relief as Danio squared his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Right, forget you heard that, mate.” He easily switched right back to the accent. “You too,” he added to me as an afterthought. “Let me tell you something: girls go mad over a New Zealand accent. If you two let this slip and ruin my chances with any of them, I will kill both of you in that arena out there.”
Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 42
