More than Magic Book 7: Magic Conquered
Autore
Elizabeth Kirke
Letto da
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Capitoli
11
Welcome to the Castle
Connor
Considering it was supposed to be a special interest meeting, the night hadn’t been at all interesting so far. In the stool next to me, Fik arched his back in a satisfying-feeling stretch, before sitting back down, curling his tail around his legs.
“Do you want another?” said the wizard behind the bar. “Last call.”
“Already?” I asked in surprise.
“Things are getting started soon,” he said.
“Well, it's about time,” replied an impatient voice. A vampire woman sat down in the stool on my other side. Her nostrils flared in the direction of my coffee as the bartender slid it across the counter to me, followed by a bowl of cream for Fik, and my bill – the silly little musketeer logo at the top of the paper felt really out of place considering why I was here.
“Let me get one of those,” the vampire woman said. “How many shots of blood did you get?”
“Three,” I told her.
She flashed me a look that was part flirtatious, part challenging, then smiled at the bartender. “I'll have four. Olivia,” she added, extending a hand to me.
“Connor.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
Olivia looked around and after a moment commented, “I don't know about you, but I was expecting less humans.”
I nodded; I had assumed that as well, seeing as the restaurant was hosting a group of like-minded non-humans this evening who were feeling dissatisfied with the way witches and wizards ran things. I glanced over at the wizard behind the bar. It was interesting that he seemed to have an idea that something was going on here, but he couldn’t have known what we were meeting about. Surely, he wouldn’t have been content working here, knowing the bar was hosting people who didn’t want anything to do with him.
Truth be told, I didn’t personally feel that slighted by humans. I did get the occasional side-eye for being a vampire, but it didn’t bother me that much; I was more interested in the relaxed feeding laws and hunting games that this group promised. I didn’t feed without permission and I stayed registered with MES, but it would have been nice to not stress about it so much. I also couldn’t deny the idea of getting to hunt like vampires were meant to was somewhat appealing.
I killed a person when I was first turned, an act that left vampires with a permanent violent streak. Any more than three kills during the turning period and the vampire was reduced to little more than an animal. I was fortunate to have only killed once; it wasn’t as hard for me to resist the urges, but I had my moments where I felt less than, well, human. That side of me was thrilled by the idea of a more exciting feeding once in a while.
I paid the bill and sat while Olivia enjoyed her coffee, sipping my own while Fik lapped up his cream. After he was done, he started cleaning his paws, then stopped and looked around curiously.
“Hey, it’s really starting to thin out in here,” he commented.
Sure enough, there were only a handful full of people left and most of them were sitting by themselves, with the exception of a cluster playing darts.
“No more humans,” Olivia said, sniffing the air.
I did the same and couldn’t detect any fresh human scents – even the bartender seemed to have gone.
The door opened. I glanced toward it and watched as a vampire walked in, with a large raven perched on his shoulder, piercing black eyes scanning the room. They had my attention immediately. The vampire was flanked by a fire elemental woman and male dhampir. The group looked around the bar as if they were sizing it up.
“You think this is it?” Olivia asked.
“I hope so.”
I studied the vampire as he swaggered up to the karaoke stage. His eyes fell on us and he smiled, likely having heard the conversation.
“Welcome friends,” he said. “My name Victor. I'm here on behalf of our esteemed leader, Reave, who was unable to make it to the event this evening.”
There were a few mutters from some who were annoyed that he was here instead of Reave. There was no doubt that Victor could hear them, but he seemed unbothered and merely stood clasping his hands, waiting for silence, which quickly fell.
Victor cleared his throat. “I see no reason to mince words. You have all been invited here tonight because you have shown an interest in what we are doing. You're here because you, like me, are tired of hiding, tired of feeling like the witches and the wizards do not take your best interests to heart, tired of denying your true nature. But we all know the truth: we are stronger than they are. We are faster than they are. And we outnumber them. It is time we took our rightful place at the top of the food chain. Together we will create a new world in which non-humans are free to do as we please. You.” Victor pointed in the direction of a werewolf and weretigress. “You like to hunt?” They both nodded. “How would you like the opportunity to hunt…” He smiled and his fangs extended. “humans?”
The weretigress grinned viciously, baring her teeth, but her wolf companion looked slightly uneasy.
“In the new world we create,” Victor continued, “We will do just that. Weres can hunt as they please. Vampires,” he gestured toward us, “will feed with impunity. You won't need permission or limits. Or MES,” he added with a sneer. “Those of you who join us will reap the benefits and find a place at the very top of our new society. All we ask is that you help us on our way there. Now, we would like to invite you to come to our castle this evening. There, you will meet your future brothers and sisters. Drinks, food, blood, and entertainment will, of course, be provided.”
Victor paused and waited as everyone considered the invitation. When I heard the rumors about Reave and his vision, I expected the hunting to be more like a game with willing humans. Victor made it seem more sinister somehow; the way he said “no limits” to feeding chilled me. I exchanged an uneasy glance with Fik.
“I’m in,” Olivia said, draining the last of her coffee.
Maybe I was just overthinking it; I was still curious, checking it out wouldn’t hurt.
“If you wish to come.” Victor said, “please follow me. If you do not wish to join us, however, I request you take an exit survey of sorts with my colleague, Singe.”
The fire elemental woman smiled and sat at a table. “Please,” she said. “Come sit with me if you do not wish to join Victor this evening.”
The werewolf woman stepped forward. “I don't think this is quite what I'm looking for.”
Next to me, Olivia scoffed quietly.
“Very well,” said Victor. “I wish you all the best. Please wait with Singe.”
The werewolf nodded to him. “Nice meeting you,” she said softly to the weretigress, then she crossed the room to sit with Singe.
“Anyone else?” Victor asked. Nobody moved. He nodded in satisfaction and strode toward the front door. “In that case, please come with me.”
“Well.” Olivia stood. “I'm going. This sounds like fun to me.”
“Wonderful,” said Victor. “What is your name?”
“I’m Olivia,” she said. “And this is my new friend, Connor.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“Will you be joining us, Connor?” asked Victor.
I shrugged and glanced at Fik. He swished his tail and I knew he was letting me decide. Well, why not?
We walked out of the restaurant with the others and into the parking lot. The seven of us stood in a small semi-circle, facing Victor and his dhampir companion.
“Let’s introduce ourselves, shall we? As I said, I am Victor and this is Tril.” His raven dipped his head and cawed.
The dhampir next to him said, “I’m Anthony.”
“I’m Kiana,” said the weretigress.
Our eyes turned to a vampire next to her. “I’m Joe,” he said.
“Flint,” said the next person, a stone elemental.
The water elemental after Flint nodded. “I’m Delta.”
“I’m Sam,” said the last in line, a second dhampir.
“Very good,” Victor said. “Well, now that we're all friends, I say it's time we begin the next step of our journey together.”
As he spoke, a bus rumbled up into the parking lot, and I swallowed nervously. This was starting to seem like a little more than I signed up for.
“Now,” Victor continued, “I would like you to consider tonight your first step toward a new life, with a new purpose. There will be no contact with the outside world.”
Anthony stepped forward and set a wooden crate on the ground in front of Victor.
Victor extended a hand toward the crate. “I ask that you put everything you have in this; your wallet, your cellphone, anything else you may be carrying. You will not need money, nor your phone, and you will not need your identification. Tonight, you are joining a new family and leaving your old one behind. That is, of course,” he added with an unsettling smile. “If you do wish to join us after tonight.”
“What if we change our minds?” asked Joe, the other vampire.
“Then your belongings will be returned to you and the bus will take you right back here, and we will part ways,” said Victor smoothly.
Olivia marched forward and dumped her things into the crate. One by one, the rest of us did the same.
“I don't really like this…” said Sam, the dhampir. “I mean, I'm interested in what Reave has to say but…”
“Do you wish to leave? It’s certainly not too late to change your mind,” said Victor.
Sam nodded. “I think so.”
Victor looked at the dhampir who had arrived with him. “Anthony? Please escort our friend inside to speak with Singe.”
Sam nodded and followed Anthony back into the restaurant.
“Anyone else?” Victor asked. Heads slowly shook and he smiled. “Well then, shall we begin our adventure?”
Victor boarded the small bus first and stopped near the front, blocking the aisle. I waited a moment, but it became clear he wanted all of us sitting together, so I sat down, with Fik on my lap. The water elemental slid in next to me, then Joe took the third seat in the row. In front of us, I watched Olivia, followed by the stone elemental, and then the weretigress, settle into their seats.
Once we were all settled, Victor sat, with his raven perched on the headrest, and we waited a few minutes for, as he put it, the rest of our companions. It wasn’t long before Anthony and Singe returned and joined him.
The bus rumbled to life and we started on our way. After a couple of minutes of silence, I heard the weretigress speak.
“I’m sorry, I forgot your names already. I’m Kiana.”
“Flint.”
“Olivia.”
The weretigress turned around in her seat and smiled at us. Since I had easily overheard the brief exchange, I returned her smile.
“I’m Connor, this is Fik,” I said.
“Joe.”
“Delta.”
Kiana reached over the seat and shook our hands, then turned around and sat back down.
There was another brief silence and then we all started making small talk. Our topics varied from wondering about Reave, to how far we were going, to mundane things. Nobody said anything about what we were all doing here; I supposed it would be a bit strange to have a conversation about why we were trying to join a secret group talking about hunting humans and disrupting the status quo.
Joe was mostly quiet, seemingly content to sit and listen, like me. Delta spent most of the conversation hanging over the seat to talk with the people in front of us; he had a funny accent that sounded Australian or something. Kiana didn’t seem to enjoy sitting in silence, but once she successfully got people talking, she tended to sit and listen. Flint, unsurprisingly, was mostly silent as well, so the conversation was mainly dominated by Olivia and Delta.
The bus sped along and I had absolutely no idea where we were going. We occasionally fell into silence and then someone, usually Kiana, started talking again.
Eventually the quiet stretched on and I was starting to feel a bit nervous about how far we were going. How long was this bus ride going to last? It had been nearly two in the morning when we left the restaurant and based on my sense of the upcoming sunrise, it had to be after three by now.
It wasn’t any later than I usually stayed up, but I was starting to feel tired and bit back a yawn. Everyone else was still and I heard a couple of other yawns. Fik was already asleep, which only made me feel more tired.
I was halfway through another yawn when Delta’s head dropped heavily onto my shoulder.
“Do-“ I finished yawning. “Do you mind?” He didn’t move. “Hey!” I said, giving him a little push.
Delta sat up, shaking his head vigorously and blinking. “Whoa. What the…”
Joe leaned over, eyeing him in concern. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Delta said. “I just suddenly feel really...” He yawned and his head lowered again, before he snapped it back up. “Oh shit. Someone slipped us a slee—” His eyes closed again. He seemed to fight it for a moment, then slumped over without finishing his sentence.
It didn’t matter; I knew immediately what he was trying to say. Someone had given him a sleeping potion. No, I realized in alarm as I fought back yet another yawn, Delta was right, someone gave us a sleeping potion. If Delta was already out, we’d be right behind him; some potions affected water elementals faster than other kinds of magics.
I looked up and met Joe’s eyes. I could tell he had reached the same conclusion as I had. He started to stand, then dropped as if his legs had given out. I fought to stay awake but could feel my eyes closing.
The next thing I knew someone was clapping. I sat up feeling somewhat foggy. What happened?
“Hello, everyone! Wake up!” Victor said with a happy laugh. “Looks like you all fell asleep!”
All around me everyone else was waking up and mumbling. Delta sat up with a jerk, rubbing his eyes and I suddenly remembered what happened. Didn’t anyone else realize we had been drugged?
Fik sat up on my lap, stretching as he did.
How long had we been out? My only guide was the sunrise which was hours away! More than that, it felt like the sun was only just setting. How was that possible? Had we been asleep for almost an entire day?!
“Come on, follow me,” Victor said, still seeming amused. If it had been a sleeping potion, it clearly hadn’t affected him.
We followed him, all stretching. I still felt groggy from the sleeping potion and knew the effect would last a while.
As I stepped off the bus I looked around and took in our surroundings. We were standing in what looked like a large courtyard of a castle. It was really cold, much colder than New York in early summer; I shivered both from the cold and the unease of wondering just how long we were knocked out. I turned around to see that the bus had driven in through a large archway; complete with massive wooden doors and an actual portcullis, which was slowly lowering into place. It slid down with a sort of final sounding clang, locking us in.
The six of us stood huddled in the courtyard, waiting for Victor. I could sense the cold through Fik’s feet and bent to pick him up.
“Did we sleep through the entire damn summer or something?” Delta demanded, examining his fingers.
I knew it was cold, but if a water elemental was feeling it this quickly, then it had to be more than just cold: it had to be well below freezing.
“Welcome,” Victor said. “Follow me. Lord Reave and your new family are very excited to meet you.”
We all followed him in through a large arch and down a stone corridor, complete with burning torches.
“Interesting ambiance,” Olivia said, joining me.
“That's one way to put it,” I said.
We went up a large flight of stairs and then through another doorway into, of all things, an arena. I looked around in surprise; there were rows of seats all around it, stretching up to the ceiling. It was easily big enough to hold a thousand people, although it wasn't anywhere close to full. There were probably around one hundred people, all sitting in the front few rows of the sections across the arena from us. Rather than a basketball court or a hockey rink, the large middle section was just an empty field of dirt.
“What is this, Medieval Times?” asked Delta. “Will there be jousting? Which knight are we rooting for?”
His comment was met by several chuckles and I had to laugh myself; it did remind me of the popular medieval themed restaurant, which included dinner and a live jousting show. I cast a look down at the dirt arena and honestly wouldn't have been surprised if knights did come parading out.
We were ushered to a row of empty seats with a long table in front of them and sat.
“You'll be served soon,” said Victor, sitting down at the end of it.
I could tell the crowd on the other side of the arena were checking us out, but there were too many people all talking at once for me to clearly overhear any conversation. I did hear several comments that sounded like people were sizing us up, trying to determine which of us were the better fighters. It was a sentiment I heard them repeat often enough that it didn't inspire very much confidence.
My little group was mostly quiet, with a few scattered comments here and there about the strange place we had found ourselves in and, like me, wondering what was going to happen. I leaned forward and looked up and down the row at the only familiar faces in the room, then noticed Victor had vanished, although his raven was still perched on the same chair.
Then everyone fell silent.
“Over there,” Flint said.
Three people were walking along the section where no one else was seated, on the other side of the arena. One was Victor. They stopped at the short side of the oval and the man raised his hands.
“Welcome!” he boomed. He was wearing a rather elaborate, almost gaudy outfit like something out of an old Dracula movie.
“Did I say Medieval Times? Clearly this is Transylvanian Times,” said Delta.
Joe groaned, but Olivia burst out laughing, earning several glares from vampires across the room.
Victor was still wearing normal street clothes, but there was a woman standing off to the side, head bowed submissively, wearing a simple, brown dress. Her outfit stood out solely because it was somehow too plain.
“Welcome,” said the man again, spreading his arms in our direction. “I am Reave and I am pleased you have found your way to my castle.”
Delta snorted and Olivia giggled, this time more quietly.
“It is my hope,” Reave continued, “that we can all come together as more than just friends; I hope you will think of me as your brother. Here, you can be free to be yourselves and look out for one another. Together, we will navigate our way into a new world with our ideals at the forefront.” He paused. “If, after tonight, you do not wish to be here. Then you may, by all means return to your homes. Regardless of what you choose, I do hope you enjoy yourself this evening. Thank you for being willing to come and give us a try.”
I narrowed my eyes. He was not at all what I expected Reave to sound like. Honestly, he sounded more like a Medieval Times emcee than a vampire gathering an army with aspirations of hunting humans and breaking all the rules. He stepped back and sat down, then clapped his hands. Several doors around the arena opened, and people came streaming in carrying trays of food and drinks. All of them were dressed in plain brown dresses or pants and shirts, just like the woman with Reave.
One of them walked down the aisle in front of our row with a large smile. The delicious scent of fresh witch and wizard blood wafted from goblets on her tray. A moment later I caught her scent and realized in surprise that she was a witch!
“I thought,” Olivia said loudly enough for her to hear, “that this was supposed to be non-humans.”
“I work here, my lady,” said the witch with a smile, setting down a goblet of blood in front of Olivia.
“You work here?” Joe asked, looking skeptically at the goblet of blood she handed him.
The witch smiled. “Yes, in exchange for being turned.”
“What?!” I cried. I couldn't stop myself.
The witch shrugged and smiled at me. “That's our arrangement. We work here and when we have proved our loyalty to Reave, he’ll turn us. Instead of serving his army, we'll be permitted to join it.”
“I still don't like it,” Flint grumbled.
The witch wrinkled her nose briefly at the stone elemental in annoyance, but quickly turned it into a practiced smile. If she had worked here any amount of time I had a feeling she put up with this a lot.
“If it makes you feel any better,” she said patiently. “We've given up our wands.”
“You what?” Olivia demanded.
“We're here because, like Reave,” the witch said, “we've realized that non-humans are superior to us. 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 said.
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 the 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 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 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 woman 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. Even as I thought it, the swirling dust thickened, suddenly slowing the unsuspecting air elemental. Tierra’s club connected, hard with his stomach. 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, as she slowly lowered 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 engage in actual, potentially violent, fights against each other. 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 our food and drinks as we watched 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 third 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, Delta and Kiana got up as well. Joe 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 exit from the arena led into a large room, with numerous hallways and staircases. I picked a wide-looking hallway and 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 confusion 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 relaxing shower.
Fik and I settled down into the large, comfortable bed. I was still feeling a little off from the 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.
