M&L03 - SS Page 15

  Chapter Twelve

  ~ Solomon ~

  The focus of the annual tournament has always been the fights and magical competitions but over the centuries, vendors and even thrill rides have been added to the festivities. These days it was more of a cross between a human carnival and a renaissance fair.

  The vendors were set up around the stadium calling out offers to entice the crowds into buying anything from food and clothing to weapons and body armor. Some of their stands were elaborately done up with brightly colored banners and polished wooden surfaces while others were simply a few pieces of unfinished wood thrown together to form a display table, three walls and a roof to protect the merchandise from the elements. I knew from experience that more often than not, the best deals were found where the vendors spent less money drawing the eyes of their buyers and more money on the quality of their products.

  We strolled along scanning the items for sale, stopping now and then to watch impromptu magic shows, arm wrestling matches and other physical displays of strength and skill. This was where the younger sorcerers could show off and wow the masses without the pressure of being pitted against each other like me and the other veteran sorcerers would be over the next few days. It was tempting to step in and improve upon their spells like I had with Grayson’s forest but I held back and let them have the spotlight.

  When our stomachs began to rumble we followed our noses to a small stand selling Chinese food and placed our orders. There were plenty of exotic foods from various demon realms being offered but Renee had never been very adventurous in her food choices. Once we had our orders, we wandered over to the edge of the forest where the massive roots of ancient trees came up out of the ground to make the perfect place to relax and enjoy the festive atmosphere.

  “So how many of the top fifty did you get right?” Renee asked between bites of fried rice.

  “Forty-three of the fifty. I hadn’t thought any of the vampires would be able to go the distance with so many of our people gunning for them, but apparently, some of them beat the odds - and who would have guessed Noah would make it out as fast as he did. He’s only been a nightshifter for what; two months at the most?” I shook my head. “He must have been one tough bastard as a human.”

  “So are you going to cash out or roll your winnings over for the next round?”

  “He’ll let it roll over of course,” Doyle replied cheerfully, landing beside Renee with a plateful of roasted meats from the nearby fire pits. “How else would he be able to make bank when I win the final match?”

  “Hey Doyle,” Renee greeted him. “That was some match.”

  “Yes it was,” a deep voice agreed and we all looked up to see Kaleb standing in front of our group. Kaleb was tall with dark brown skin and closely cropped curls. He was also the half demon slaver who’d supplied Travali with most of the girls for his brothels.

  “In recognition of your performance today I’d like to invite you to participate in a match I’m putting together for The Pit,” Kaleb invited Doyle.

  Doyle shook his head, a look of utter disgust curling his upper lip. “I have no interest in whatever you’re cooking up Kaleb.”

  Kaleb shrugged like Doyle’s attitude hadn’t bothered him in the slightest. “That’s a shame considering you were so interested in buying Kira’s freedom only six months ago.”

  “Who the hell is Kira?” Doyle asked narrowing his eyes on Kaleb.

  “She’s the virgin I won in The Pit six months ago.” Kaleb chuckled. “Well I guess she’s not a virgin anymore.”

  Six months ago, Kaleb won a free-for-all match in The Pit and claimed his prize, a human female virgin, by raping her while the audience cheered him on. When it came to the demon realms that kind of brutality was not only accepted but encouraged so there’d been no way for us to intervene. The girl’s fate had never sat well with any of us, especially not with Serafina who asked Dragon to buy her freedom. When Doyle conveyed Dragon’s request to Kaleb he refused to sell his prize but said he would reconsider in six months if she weren’t pregnant by then. Half demons always had trouble procreating so he wanted to make sure she wasn’t capable of producing a viable offspring before he gave her up.

  Doyle growled, his eyes the ice blue of his wolf, and started to rise. Wanting to avoid a fight, I jumped up and blocked his view of Kaleb. “What does Kira have to do with the match you’re putting together in The Pit?”

  Kaleb focused on me and smiled. “After six months she’s still not pregnant with my child so rather than simply putting her up for bids I’m hosting a free-for-all and offering her as the prize.”

  “Why not just sell her to us?” I asked. “I’m sure Dragon would be willing to meet almost any price.”

  Kaleb shook his head. “I’ve had too many requests for her. It would be bad for business if I sold her to your king without giving everyone else a shot at her. Besides, she needs to be knocked down a peg or two, and having her new master claim her in The Pit would be a good place to start with that.”

  The furious growl that was ripped from Doyle’s throat sent shivers skittering up my spine and drew the attention of everyone in the area. I glanced over my shoulder to see him standing directly behind me.

  “Go ahead and set up your match,” Doyle told Kaleb, his voice low and dangerous, “but keep in mind that whoever you invite won’t be walking out of that arena alive. I’ll be there, and I will make sure that being claimed in The Pit is a torture Kira will never have to endure again.”

  Kaleb met Doyle’s eyes over my head and I could feel the tension building between them. Any second I was going to be caught in the middle of a raging battle.

  Danarius stepped out in front of the crowd that had started gathering around us. “I think it’s time you moved along Kaleb.” The command in his voice was unmistakable and I couldn’t have been more relieved.

  Kaleb’s spine stiffened and his hands clenched at his sides, but in the end, he obeyed Danarius. Kaleb wasn’t a vampire but he was here under their banner so to speak which made Danarius his Master as well.

  Once Kaleb was gone, Danarius turned to Doyle. “I wish you luck in your endeavor to rescue the damsel in distress. If anyone deserves to have a better life it’s Kira.”

  “If you think she deserves a better life why don’t you set her free yourself?” Doyle snarled.

  Danarius shook his head. “Change must come slowly or the peasants will revolt.”

  Doyle cocked his head to the side and studied the vampire. Eventually he nodded and then Danarius disappeared back into the crowd.

  “What’s going on with you and Kaleb,” I asked Doyle when it was just us again.

  He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and sat back down on the tree roots. “I don’t know, but just the thought of him makes my wolf go fucking nuts and it’s been like that since that night in The Pit. Of course that was only one night after the curse ended so the wolf was pretty snarly in general, but now I’m sure his anger was focused solely on Kaleb. I’ve never liked Kaleb. He preys on young girls, promising them anything and everything until he can sink his claws into them, then he turns them over to the highest bidder. Really though, he’s not any worse than most of the other vampires and demons out there. So why does my wolf want to rip him to shreds every time I see him?”

  “I’d say it has to do with his part in what happened with Rachel, but you’re saying it started before we knew about any of that.”

  “Exactly,” Doyle confirmed, “but the shit that went down with Rachel made it worse. I had to avoid him today while we were in the maze. The wolf was too close to the surface, if I’d come up against Kaleb I don’t think I could have stopped myself before he was dead.”

  “It seems like your wolf is trying to tell you something if you ask me,” Renee said.

  “She’s probably right Doyle,” I agreed. “Maybe you should let your wolf have control for a while and see where he leads you. It worked for me when I let the fox out. Without him I never woul
d have found Renee’s house in my dreams.”

  “Yeah maybe I’ll try that. I think I’ll go for a run in the woods to clear my head.” Doyle stood and left without another word.

  “So that’s how you found me?” Renee asked.

  “Yes. I dreamed of that town just outside the portal from Supernova for months but I had no idea why I was there. When I finally mentioned the dreams to Dragon he said I should let the fox be my guide.” I shrugged my shoulder. “I took his advice and the fox led me right to your house. It took a while longer to make it inside the house, but without the fox I never would have understood why I was dreaming of the same unfamiliar European town night after night.”

  “Huh, and if it hadn’t been for my fox, I wouldn’t have been waiting in that house night after night,” Renee said, setting her white carton and chop sticks aside.

  I reached over and pulled her onto my lap. She looked around to see if anyone was watching us but I couldn’t care less what anyone thought as I turned her so that her legs were wrapped around my waist. Once she was situated, I tucked her hair behind her ear then I brushed my lips gently over hers.

  She sighed letting her eyelids flutter shut and I whispered, “That’s the magic of the mating bond. The foxes weren’t about to let anything keep us apart, not even Sergio and his evil spell.”

  “Do you really think we should be doing this right here?” she asked tipping her head to the side as I trailed my lips up her neck.

  “Absolutely.” I circled my tongue around the outer shell of her ear making a shiver race up her spine.

  Her hands smoothed down my neck, my shoulders, and then skimmed over my arms. Her touch was light as she leaned in and melted against my chest. “There are people everywhere Solomon and you know they’re just dying for more gossip.”

  “I don’t really give a damn about any of them, but don’t worry; I’ll keep it to a PG-13 rating.”

  I threaded my fingers through her hair and angled her head just right for my lips to slant over hers. For long moments I was content with the feel of her velvety lips caressing mine, so soft and sweet, so tender, so loving. I slid one arm around her back, holding her close as I licked her lips, asking her to open for me. Her lips parted with a sigh and I circled her tongue with slow, swirling sweeps of my own. Her arms came up around my neck and her fingers played with the ends of my hair. Everything about the moment was perfect, just the way I’d always dreamed it could be.

  “You know, they’re actually taking bets over there about how far the two of you are going to go,” Katerina informed us, taking a seat on a nearby root.

  I laughed, breaking the kiss but not letting Renee move from my lap. “It seems fitting I suppose with all the things I’ve bet on over the years. If it wasn’t me they were betting on I’m sure I’d be right there with them.”

  Katerina smirked. “Then you won’t mind knowing that I bet you’d both keep all of your clothes on.”

  “You didn’t,” Renee sputtered, twisting on my lap to face the other woman.

  “Of course she did,” I told Renee. “Katerina knows a safe bet when she sees one.”

  “That I do.” Katerina smiled.

  “Do you know when they’ll do the drawing for tonight’s dance club transformation?” I asked Katerina.

  “Kasper will have all of you join him in the arena after the sword fights to draw names for the transformations and the mazes.”

  “How long before the sword fights begin?”

  She checked her watch. “Maybe another two hours or so. There were a lot of people signed up for the marksmanship competition this year.”

  With plenty of time to kill, Renee and I went shopping. I needed magical supplies and this was the best place to get them. After a while, we ran into Grayson and I advised him to buy as much silver as he could afford. I used silver to create most of my spells because it absorbs magic, thereby making it easier to create self-replenishing spells. Silver was dangerous for supernaturals in large amounts because it could absorb too much of our inherent magic and leave us completely drained, but the rings I made were small enough that I never had to worry about anyone being hurt by them.

  When it was time for the sword fights to begin Renee and I made our way back into the arena. The top twenty participants from last year’s tournament were exempt from the preliminary round so we could sit back and relax while we checked out the competition.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ~ Solomon ~

  The arena was now divided into magical chambers that were just large enough for one-on-one sword fights. To win a sword fight you had to draw your opponent’s blood three times. We never used referees to determine the winners because they were too easy to bribe. Instead, each opponent smeared a drop of blood on either the black wall or the red wall inside the chamber. When blood was drawn, the entire chamber would light up with the opposite color indicating a point had been awarded. When a winner was declared, a portal would open up allowing the winner to pass through into a neighboring chamber to meet his or her next opponent.

  After several hours and hundreds of matches, we knew without a doubt that the New Orleans vampires spent a lot of time training with swords. Of all the contestants, they were the most skilled, and of them, Danarius and Sergio were the most dangerous.

  “I for one am looking forward to facing these vampire’s with my sword,” Katerina announced.

  I snorted. “Dragon did ask us not to kill them Kat.”

  She shrugged, tossing her dark mane of hair over her shoulder. “Who said anything about killing them? I just want to carve them up a bit. They’ll heal... Eventually. Besides, you saw what he did to Bran. I heard he’s still out cold. I’m sure Dragon won’t mind me giving a few vampires similar treatment.”

  “And even if he does, I’m sure you’ll get away with it,” Renee added.

  “He does love me.” Katerina gave us her most mischievous smile and we laughed.

  After the last match was won, the chambers down below dissolved as a thick fog rolled through the battlefield. When the mist cleared, Kasper was standing in the center of the arena. “It’s time now to draw names for the two magical competitions.”

  Whenever people heard his voice boom through the stadium, they pictured a big burly guy like Doyle. It was always a shock to see him in person because he was actually slightly shorter and thinner than I was and he liked to dress in flamboyant suits that would give Liberace a run for his money.

  I sat up, gave Renee a quick kiss and then pulled a runic stone out of my pocket.

  “Let’s all give a warm welcome to Hannibal!” Kasper roared dragging out the name.

  A portal opened beside Kasper and a flurry of wind and snow came swirling through it, and then coalesced into the six-eight behemoth we knew as Hannibal. The crowd cheered and Kasper called the next name. The process repeated for Chen who came through his portal in a ball of fire, then Merek appeared in a shower of four leaf clovers. Kasper called for Sergio next and the crowd was unimpressed when he came through his portal with nothing but the clothes on his back. The only cheers upon his arrival came from the small section of the stands where his vampire brethren had taken up residence.

  “Well, if this was a popularity contest that might be a problem,” Kasper chuckled. “Now let’s give a round of applause for a man who never has to worry about how warm his welcome will be. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Solomon.”

  I wrapped a portal around myself and appeared at Kasper’s side in the midst of a spectacular fireworks display.

  While the crowd cheered, I got my first good look at Sergio. I’d seen him before, but always from great distances during the war. My father never let me get close enough to feel Sergio’s magic. Now I reached out with my senses and I was surprised by what I felt. Although he was masking his magic like we all did to hide the extent of our abilities, his magic did indeed feel similar to mine. What surprised me though was an underlying spell to hide his identity. I’d always thought his appeara
nce was unnaturally nondescript, but now I knew for sure that this was not the face he was born with. Not comforting news when you considered what could happen if he removed the spell. He could essentially walk around completely unnoticed because no one here knew what he really looked like.

  The crowd had finally settled down and Kasper interrupted my thoughts with, “If my lovely assistant Mia would please step forward...”

  Mia materialized out of the shadows holding a red top hat upside down in her hands. She was dressed in a skimpy costume that left very little to the imagination. As she sashayed closer to Kasper, she glanced towards me with her bottom lip pushed out in a pout.

  “Incidentally ladies, Mia looked me up early today and she was very satisfied with what I have to offer. Feel free to ask her about it. I’ll be at the club later if anyone else wants to give me a try.”

  I tried to stifle my laugh as Mia turned towards Kasper shooting daggers from her eyes. Kasper went on with the show as if Mia wasn’t sizing him up for a pine box. When she stopped in front of him, he reached into the hat and drew out a name. “Merek will go first with the dance club transformations!”

  Again, the process was repeated until we knew who would go first through fifth for the dance club transformations and the maze creations. I was fourth and fifth. We only had one shot at the dance club transformations but our mazes would be used multiple times before the tournament was over.

  “Merek will have one hour inside Supernova to prepare his spells. Then the doors will open and the party will begin. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite dance club theme at the end of the week. In the meantime, a feast awaits us outside the stadium thanks to Olivia and her talented staff.”

  While I was waiting outside the stadium for Renee to come through the exit, Monica and a few other females from my clan decided to keep me company. The women greeted me with the usual hugs, some a little friendlier than others, but only Monica wrapped her arms around my neck and rubbed herself against me suggestively. Then she pulled my head down and kissed me on my lips. I quickly extricated myself from her clutches and stepped back folding my arms over my chest.