“That won’t take long then,” Jeep mutters.
A second later Maël smacks him around the head with the sponge.
“Yuck! Don’t rub that sauce all over me!” he calls out.
I laugh, happy to see Maël loosen up a bit.
Charlie is pouting and I feel sorry for him.
“Did you tell Gisella anything about our mission?” I ask my best friend.
“No, I’ll keep my mouth shut for as long as you want.”
Relief washes over me. “Good. Don’t tell her anything yet. Let her think it’s a double date.”
Vicky takes my hand. “It is a double date. And if we’re lucky, we can all kick some butt there, too.”
Charlie’s grin is back and I chuckle. I guess our taste in women isn’t so different.
Jeep taps the rim of his hat. “Sounds fine to me. We’ll be the invisible bodyguards.”
Mona’s sparks clear the kitchen counter. “I’ll stay here in case Quinn comes back,” she says.
I blow her a kiss. “That’s so sweet of you. But you can also go home, if you want. I’m sure Quinn will be fine and the house, too. You’ve helped us so much already. And maybe you want to check on Mrs. Delaney, too?”
Her eyes grow wide. “Oh, right, I almost forgot.” She mumbles a bit to herself and smiles. “I’ll go to her first and then return here to see if everything is okay.”
I shake my head. “I guess I can’t stop you. Thank you for your help.”
“Anytime, Dante.”
Charlie leaves first to pick up Gisella, and I practice conjuring my lightning bolt for a couple of minutes.
Vicky watches me with interest. “You’re getting faster.”
I extinguish the bolt and try to bring it back instantly. I fail. “Not fast enough.”
“You’ll get there. It takes a while to get the hang of it.”
I lean against the kitchen table, panting. “Charlie hasn’t had his power that long and he can shoot grease whenever he wants.”
Her eyes drift to the ceiling thoughtfully. “Well, I guess the stronger the power, the harder it is to harness it? And you’re pretty powerful.”
With a grin I step towards her and pull her close. “Pretty powerful?”
She shrugs. “You’re okay.”
I push her against the wall. “Okay? That’s it?”
She cocks her head. “Yeah, and kind of attractive, too.”
“Really?”
The corner of her mouth twitches. “Sure. You’re like a six on the scale of cuteness.”
I lean over and kiss her neck.
“Or maybe a seven,” she mumbles.
“I can live with that.”
She lets out a soft moan when my hands travel up her side. “Seven-and-a-half.”
“We’re all set to… oops, excuse me.”
I let go of Vicky at the sound of Taylar’s voice.
Vicky quickly pulls down her shirt.
There’s a sigh from the other side of the room. “Oh, why did you have to spoil the show, Taylar?” Jeep slowly fades into view.
My cheeks heat up, while Vicky just grins.
I put my hands on my hips and give Jeep a deathly stare. “I thought you hated it when we kissed or hugged. And you broke my second rule: never go invisible on me.”
He twirls his hat on his finger, but doesn’t take his eyes off me. “I wasn’t going invisible on you, I was about to appear and changed my mind when I saw you two getting it on. And yes, I don’t like all the kissing and stuff around me, but this was about to turn into some fine porn.”
D’Maeo steps into the room, disapproval on his face. “Jeep, really?” he scolds him.
The tattooed ghost detaches himself from the wall and puts his hat on. “Well, I wasn’t exaggerating one bit, was I Taylar?”
Taylar blushes deeply.
Jeep waves his hand at him. “See?”
“Anyway.” I clear my throat. “We should probably go. If everyone is ready.”
The tattooed ghost gives me a once over. “You can finish what you were doing first. We can wait.”
“I think that’s enough,” D’Maeo says sternly, but I just smile.
“No, it’s fine. You know what all work and no play can do.”
Vicky pinches my butt. “Don’t worry, you could never be a dull boy.”
Electricity shoots through my veins. “Okay, it’s definitely time to go.”
Jeep and Vicky laugh out loud when I pace out of the room.
CHAPTER 24
Charlie and Gisella are already waiting for us at the school parking lot. Charlie is munching on something as usual.
“Hey guys!” I greet them cheerily and nod at Gisella. “Nice to see you again. This is Vicky and…” I break off when I remember the ghosts are invisible.
The girls shake hands.
“…and it’s so weird to be here during summer break,” I continue, looking around for a sign of life. “I never thought I’d come here for fun.”
Charlie slaps me on the back. “Oh, so you never have fun with me?”
I take Vicky’s hand and start walking. “You’re the reason I survived school so far, Charlie.” I look over my shoulder. “Aren’t you coming?”
He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know where you’re going, but I’m going to the fight.”
We turn back and halt before him. “Okay, so where is it?”
He points at his feet.
I bend forward. “It’s in your shoes?”
He chuckles. “You’re so funny.”
I straighten up. “Well, nothing would surprise me anymore.”
Gisella throws back her bright red hair and rolls up the sleeves of her catsuit. “Just wait and see.” Her yellow eyes sparkle as she bends down and pushes her bare arm against the asphalt.
The ground vibrates and I step back.
“Don’t move,” Gisella says without looking up. “And you might want to hold your breath.”
The asphalt turns liquid and starts to swirl like a vortex. Gisella grabs Charlie’s hand just before she’s sucked into it. Soon they’re out of sight.
The vortex wraps around my feet and I have to fight the urge to pull back.
Vicky takes both of my hands in hers. “Don’t be so nervous. It’ll be fine. Just close your eyes for a second.”
After a deep breath I do as she says. The ground is pulled from under my feet. We turn and turn.
Then a hand taps me on the shoulder.
“You can open your eyes now.”
I do, but I can’t believe what I’m seeing. We’re standing in a large hallway leading up to two iron doors, decorated with magical symbols that light up one by one. Cheers and excited shouts seep through them.
“Did they start already?” I ask Gisella.
She walks to the doors and beckons us. “No, they’re just placing their bets.”
I smack myself in the head. “I should’ve brought some money.”
Gisella gives me a mocking look over her shoulder. “Money won’t do you any good here.”
I join her at the doors and try to remember all the symbols she touches. “Then what are they betting with?”
“Oh, the usual.” She grabs my hand and pushes it against the eye in the middle of the right door. “Their souls, their powers, eternal debt, magical weapons, spell books.”
My free hand goes to my waistband where I keep the two spell books.
Gisella follows it with her eyes. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to bet.”
A sharp pain shoots through my hand and I yelp. A green light scans my hand and the pain subsides.
“You can go through.” The yellow-eyed girl lets go of me and beckons Charlie. “Your turn.”
While he and Vicky undergo the same treatment, I examine my hand. There’s a small green dot in the middle, which stings a little when I push it.
When I look up again, the iron doors tur
n green. Gisella steps through and pulls Charlie along.
Vicky and I follow as soon as D’Maeo lets us know that the rest of the Shield is coming, too.
A giant arena unfolds itself before us. There must be thousands of spectators on the grandstands around the ring. It looks and sounds more like a giant fair than a boxing match. The noise is deafening, and doesn’t only consist of shouting and cheering. There are creatures hissing or slapping their tails, small explosions and fireworks going off everywhere. Balls, strings and specks of light illuminate the ceiling, as Mages and other magical beings release their magic.
“This is crazy.”
Vicky’s mouth has fallen open, too. “Have you seen that ring? It’s huge!”
She’s right. It’s like four times the size of a regular boxing ring and there’s a high fence around it. I can’t wait to see the fight and find out why it’s been made like this.
Gisella starts walking and we follow fast on her heels. I really don’t want to lose my friends in this crowd. I just hope that the rest of the Shield will be able to find us here.
As we pass the rows of spectators, I recognize some people from school and a couple from town. Some of them greet me and I nod at them calmly, as if I’m a regular visitor.
But there are much more people here than in the whole of Blackford. How did they all get here? There weren’t that many cars in the parking lot.
Gisella finds us some seats and shoots us a smile when we have all settled. “So what do you think?”
I see D’Maeo coming our way with the others in tow and let out a sigh of relief.
“I can’t believe this has been under my school all this time. It’s huge and there are so many people,” I say.
Charlie offers us all a bag of chips from his backpack, which I happily accept, while the others decline.
“People from all over the country come to these fights,” Gisella explains.
I try to count the number of people in a row, but they move around too much. “How?” I turn back to Gisella. “How do they get here, I mean. Where did they all park?”
She giggles, which makes Charlie grin like a goofball. “Newbies are so funny. Did you forget that everyone here is magical?”
“Eh…”
“Most of them came through a portal or they flew here.”
“Really? Then why did we drive?”
“Because it can be really crowded at those portals and I don’t like waiting in line.” She points at the top of the fence around the ring. “Look, they’re about to start.”
Taylar, D’Maeo, Maël and Jeep take a spot on each side of us and constantly scan the giant room for any kind of danger. I love how serious they take their job, but I hope they’ll also enjoy the show.
When I look at the ring, one creepy looking woman is balancing on top of the fence, and another one, who could be her twin sister, is climbing the opposite fence. They have long white hair that looks like unraveled bird nests. They’re dressed in smudged dresses that were probably also white once, and are torn in so many places that half of their white skin is visible. They look at each other for a moment, and then throw their heads back. Their mouths open so wide I’m afraid their faces will burst. Their eyes bulge and turn completely colorless.
Charlie nudges me. He has clamped his hands against his ears. I quickly do the same and Vicky follows my example.
Just in time.
The women on the fence let out a piercing scream.
The whole room falls silent. All heads turn to a door underneath the grandstand to our right.
Gisella drops her hands and we do the same.
“What are they?” I whisper to the red-haired girl. My heart is pounding in my chest.
Her eyes glisten. “Those are banshees.”
She’s about to say more when the door opens.
A hulking man, twice as wide as me and with a thick neck, walks out and waves.
He has no microphone, but still his voice echoes around us. “Welcome!”
The audience cheers loudly and he opens his arms wide. “Welcome to our favorite battle ground. It is always nice to be back in Blackford, Idaho.”
The cheers get louder. I join in and then lean over to Charlie. “I didn’t know there were so many people who actually like Blackford.”
He grins. “I know. It’s probably not as boring as we think.”
“Shhh!” someone behind me says.
I focus on the ring announcer, who has now entered the ring through a door in the fence. “I hope you’re all ready for tonight, because we have some all-stars here.”
The crowd explodes in applause, cheers and flashes of light again. I happily join in. I’ve never seen anything so exciting in my life and the fights haven’t even started yet.
“First up is a man from Arizona. Triple gold winner and master of the Flying Knock-out… give it up forrrr… Teenan – The Beak – Hemley!”
Something from an ancient folklore tale steps into the spotlight and I gasp. It’s a muscular young man, with giant brown wings and the head of an eagle. It flaps its wings and opens its beak, letting out a triumphant shriek, while raising a fist.
As the crowd goes crazy, my hand shoots to the side, in search for Vicky’s. “What is that ugly thing?”
She wraps her fingers around mine. “I think it’s a tengu. I’ve never seen one in real life before.”
I shiver. “It looks dangerous.”
Gisella leans over to me. “All the fighters are dangerous, Dante. As are a lot of people in the audience. You might have to be careful what you say out loud here.” She winks, but I know she’s serious.
While the tengu takes in the cheers, I look around again.
My heart almost stops and I squeeze Vicky’s hand harder. She follows my gaze and her body tightens.
“Oh my God,” she whispers.
A chill moves from my toes to my neck.
The crowd has changed. There are no longer just men and women, boys and girls sitting on the grandstands. There are dragons, men with animal bodies and women with animal heads, whirlwinds, people made of stone and other materials and monsters you wouldn’t want to find under your bed. It’s as if someone has just opened a can full of crazy creatures.
Vicky loosens her grip a little. “The doors must have closed, which means everyone here feels free to show their true form.”
I gulp. “This doesn’t feel good. We shouldn’t have come here.”
Vicky looks me in the eye. “Try to stay calm. Everyone is just here to watch the fights.”
I feel a little better as she uses her power on me.
Charlie shoots me a reassuring smile. “Just enjoy the show. We’ll be fine. Some creatures might look fierce, but they have a good heart.”
Gisella tears her gaze from the bird man. “He’s right. Relax. Most people here are very nice.”
I force a smile and she turns away from me.
“Yeah,” I mumble to myself. “Most people might be, but it’s the rest I’m worried about.”
CHAPTER 25
The tengu has entered the ring and the announcer swings his arm in the direction of the door under the grandstand to our left.
“Challenging him in the ring today is a man that sets every woman’s heart on fire. He won last year’s Summer Fight, received an award for his charity work and will always be remembered as the one who caused our very first mass evacuation. Put your hands together for… the Burning King!”
I expect another explosion of cheers, but instead everyone around us starts to hiss. It sounds like a giant gas leak or a pool full of snakes. To my right, Gisella and Charlie join in eagerly.
Vicky is just as quiet as I am and her gaze, like mine, is glued to the door to our left, which flies open to reveal a black figure with bright red veins and a bald, horned head. It has raging fire instead of arms and legs. Smaller horns protrude from its upper arms and shoulders. When it opens its mouth, instead of
words, a sound of roaring fire comes out. Smoke curls up from its ears.
I look at Vicky for an explanation of what it is, but she just shrugs.
Charlie gasps and Gisella is smiling broadly. She turns to us. “Isn’t he beautiful?”
The fire creature moves slowly to the center of the room. Sparks fly from its body and ignite coats and pants in the audience.
I move back in my seat. “Are we safe here?”
Charlie bumps his shoulder against mine. “Come on, Dante, live a little. Isn’t this exciting?”
It sure is, and normally I would have loved this. Not that I remember what normal looks like. But all that keeps playing through my head, is that some, or even all, of the people around us, including these ferocious fighters, could be here to kill us. The Devil could have arranged this fight just to lure us here.
“Stop worrying,” Quinn’s voice says in my head. “I dug up some info on these matches, and they are held here every summer. Just keep an eye out for sand demons, and for Paul, and you’ll be fine.”
Thanks, Quinn. For a moment I hesitate. My heart beat speeds up at the thought of Mom. I want to ask Quinn about her, but I’m dreading his answer. Still, I have to know.
Did you manage to cure Mom?
“I’m still waiting for the blood to do its work. You concentrate on your mission, and I’ll get back to mine.”
I let out a small sigh. Okay.
I stretch my arm behind Charlie’s back to tap Gisella on the shoulder. “What is he?”
“He’s a cherufe. Haven’t you heard of him? He’s a legend.”
Charlie shoots her a disapproving look as she turns back and swoons a bit more.
I pat his leg. “I feel you, mate.”
He grumbles a bit, but a second later the scene before us demands our full attention. The two fighters are bumping chests in the ring. Sparks of fire hit the fence around them.
The clapping, cheering, hissing and stomping of feet coming from the grandstands melt into one noisy mush. Suddenly I want to be part of it. I no longer want to sit quietly, thinking of what these creatures around us could do to me. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to relax and enjoy myself for a while? I can do that and keep an eye on the mission at the same time.
Cards of Death Box Set Page 55
