by F. F. John
“He’s such a peacock, anyway.” I continue. “I pity whoever he’ll end up with him. He’d spend more time grooming than his Titane and that would be a shame.”
I’m nodding my head as she goes on about Ika. Then she says, “Hmm, what if I paired him with that Sirou girl?”
When it comes to Xana, I think Neith loses her senses. And it’s all because Xana has a crush on Invier and isn’t shy to act on it.
“That would be difficult to accomplish, Neith.” I say in an effort to dissuade her.
“Oh please.” She flicks a hand. “We’ve managed tougher schemes.”
“Sure, but—”
“Come on, Bel. Didn’t you see her purposely stumble into Invier’s lap yesterday?”
“Yes, I remember.” I flashback to last night. Neith and I were watching the guests enter the pavilion and yes, it was obvious that Xana didn’t trip into Invier by mistake. She’d blushed and played it all off like a mistake. Neith’s jaw had clenched but she’d stayed calm.
“If someone did that with Acri, you would be raving mad.”
No matter how often I tell her that I don’t like Acri as much as he likes me, she refuses to believe me. Going down that tangent won’t change anything now.
“This is why I have to make sure Invier wins.” She twists in her seat to get closer to me. “It was frustrating knowing there was nothing I could do but watch as she’d batted her eyes and smiled coyly at him. If the world knew he and I were already a couple, morons like her wouldn’t flirt with him so openly.”
“Well …” I break off, searching for words to discourage her. I’m not in the mood for such adventures and haven’t been in a while. “When this competition is over, you’ll have little free time. You’ll be busy preparing for a formal pairing, a marriage and integrating your Paladin and his or her family into your life. Xana will be the least of your worries at that point.”
She tilts her head, considering and after several heartbeats, says, “You’re right, but even today, she’d blown a kiss his way when he walked into the auditorium.”
“Did he blow a kiss back?”
“Of course not!” Anger sets her features aflame as her eyes crinkle to slits. “He’d never!”
“Then you have nothing to worry about, Neat.”
She turns to the screen before letting out a satisfied sigh. “You’re right. Besides, when this is over I’ll be with Invier and she’ll be jealous. That’ll be enough for me.”
When I glimpse at the screen, Invier is running animatedly across a cave full of sleeping dogs. He screams, “I’ve got it!”
Seth follows him with more caution, doing his best not to step on any of the creatures at his feet.
Chapter Fourteen
Invier
When I reach the statue, my confidence soars. The seated white dog resembles Moordenaar. It’s a spitz. A Jaden Spitz is a dog.
“Can you slow down and talk to me? What’s going on?”
The figure is several feet high and bears down on us. Whispering, he continues, “Is this some sort of doggy god that … that they worship?”
“Don’t know, but I do know a spitz is a kind of dog. My great-grandmother had one.”
“Okay. Good,” he says, with renewed interest. My light spans the height of the structure and a green pendant sparkles beyond reach on its chest. It’s fashioned in the shape of a dog.
There’s a dog within a dog. What’s the next step? All I can do is stare at the green pendant. Do we remove it? Break it?
“Invier?”
My brain spins as another thought crashes into me.
“Um, do you think the Jaden in Jaden Spitz refers to a color?”
“As in?”
Something tells me if I could reach it, I’d discover the pendants made from jade. I flashback to my great-grandmother’s wrinkly hand pointing at an ugly vase she claimed was from an empire long gone. Mother sold it not long after she died. The pendant on the statue looks like it was crafted from the same material.
I mention my suspicion and he scratches his head.
“So … what do we do?”
“I think we’ve got to touch the pendant.”
Inching closer, he murmurs, “That won’t disturb the doggies, right?”
I steal a glance at the dogs over my shoulder. They pay us no mind. “Don’t worry, they’re only dogs and if I’m right, we should be out of this construct in no time.”
He’s already lifting himself onto the statue’s wide base. “Fine by me.”
To my right, a dog rises to its fours. Its standing tail spells trouble. Moordenaar’s tail would straighten whenever I walked into my great-grandmother’s house. Its ears would also stand before a low growl erupted in its throat.
Hurrying behind Seth, I hoist myself up to the statue’s base, which is a ledge that goes all the way around it. As I settle into place a soft humming reaches my ears. Some of the dogs below yip at us, but we are high enough to keep them from jumping up to us. I hope.
The pendant is much closer now, though just out of reach. Behind us, every dog is on its feet. Seth joins me to look but spins around with a flash as if turning his back to the animals will eliminate their threat.
“If we’re going to do something, we need to do it now.” He jabs a finger at the statue.
“Ow!” He wails and pitches back landing mere inches away from the edge of the ledge. One more inch and the dogs would have him.
“Are you all right?”
He rubs his hand. “It electrocuted me.”
“Guess we now know not to touch the main part of the statue.” A fast-developing plan churns. Looking around the massive cave, I focus on the opening behind the big white dog. Yellow light breaches the dimness.
If this isn’t the Jaden Spitz, it’s going to be hard getting out of here. We’d have to jump off the base and run out to the daylight beyond. Would the dogs follow?
“Okay,” I say, coming to an internal conclusion. “Let’s touch the pendant at the same time.”
“Sure, sure, sure.” Seth looks back at the dogs intermittently. “Let’s do it now.” His fear is palpable.
Lifting my hand toward the pendant, a lone dog growls a garish tune and my heart drops. My hand returns to my side. A low chorus resounds, echoing off the cave’s walls. The sound is eerie and makes me want to get out of this dark cave fast.
“I … I don’t think they … they … want us to … to touch their precious statue. It’s their god after all,” Seth says.
“It’s the only way to win the challenge.” The encouraging tone I muster is contrary to the hammering in my chest. It does so in time to Seth’s noisy teeth chattering.
“A dog bit me when I was younger. I’d prefer not to be bitten in a construct.”
I wonder if the builders of this construct are aware of our phobias? Could they be using them against us?
“Trust me, I’m not a fan of dogs myself but, after we do this, the challenge will end,” I say quietly. “We’ll touch it on the count of three, okay?”
“Okay,” he croaks.
“One.”
We reach towards the pendant.
The growls now include barks and howling.
“Two.”
Our hands are pale in the cave’s dimness.
A cacophonous medley washes me in a chill.
“Three!”
***
Slowly, my eyes open. My hand on the pendant comes into view. We’re still in the virt. The structure’s internal electricity hums in my ears. My plan didn’t work.
“Uh, Invier.”
The short hairs on my arms stand as the dogs move like haunted marauders towards us. Shadows hover in their wake.
Seth’s shudders as he says, “we’ve got to get out of here.”
In what seems a calculated move, the dogs rush the statue.
Taking off toward the opening behind the statue, Seth trails on my heels. We leap off the ledge at the same time and manage not to fall in the
process. The dogs are not far behind. Right behind me, I see thick saliva drip off the razor-sharp fangs of one of our pursuers. The animal is far too close for comfort and I pick up speed.
The daylight beckons and I’ve never been so happy. I don’t even care if the sun will hurt my skin. All I want is to get away from these rabid dogs and their dreadful statue.
We enter the sunlight with a gang of dogs in tow. The sun is harsher than I recall and I want to soothe my skin by rubbing it. Dust swims in a dizzy pattern to the sky as our feet pound the broken red earth. The haze reaches our noses, making Seth cough and sneeze. Despite whatever discomfort he feels, he keeps pace and we maintain an uncomfortably small distance between ourselves and the dogs. All the while, my skin pulsates as it burns in the heat.
A particularly ambitious canine trots on my heels. My throat closes as my feet stumble. Seth grabs me, keeping me upright and moving. My heart leaps into my mouth but I don’t dare peer over my shoulder.
What would it feel like to be mauled to death by dogs in the virt? The thought is horrifying and I rather not find out.
Seth’s cry brings me back to the moment. A chunk of his white pant leg is missing around the ankle. Fortunately, his attacker didn’t draw blood. The dog behind him is a blur of white, black, and brown. Is it a beagle? No, it can’t be, those are supposed to be playful. Unless they’ve been programmed to be vicious in this construct.
“Keep running!” Seth’s face is the image of strain.
Some of the dogs split off and saunter back to their temple. The ones chasing us look like the most dangerous of the lot. Their ferocious barking drowns out our feet’s stomping of the hard earth. It’s a struggle to think but I do know we’re going to need some place to hide. And soon. We can’t outrun these dogs forever.
As if reading my mind, Seth screams, “There.”
A house rises out of the red plains. Why didn’t I notice it? It’s blue and has beige shutters around its windows. A white roof gleams under the bright sunlight. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
We race, our arms pumping, chests huffing and legs throbbing, to the blue house.
I sneak another peek behind me. Only three dogs following us now. Nevertheless, I don’t slow my pace. The remaining dogs are massive and their saliva splatters from gaping jowls. Knowing any of them could rip me to shreds spurs me onward.
Arriving at the house, we reach for the door’s handle but Seth gets a good grip. The door swings open and our momentum forces us inwards where we tumble onto a wooden floor. With a swift kick, I slam the door shut, putting a barrier between us and our pursuers.
It takes me a moment to catch my breath. Dogs bark outside then howl. Seth sprawls out on the floor next to me, his mouth open, no doubt hoping to never move again.
Nails scratching on the door compels me to scurry, with my elbows and my butt, deeper into the house. Are these dogs programmed to open doors?
“Seth!” I call to him but he doesn’t answer.
The noise continues and I can’t take my eyes off the door’s handle. I don’t even want to blink.
Without warning, the scratching stops. As does the barking and howling. Quiet descends upon us until Seth’s breathing come out in a deep rattle. Did he fall asleep?
A cough startles me and I tip my head back, chin jutting into the air. The darkest man I’ve ever seen flashes a brilliant smile my way. “You must be Invier and your tired companion is Seth.” He’s non-threatening, which given my recent encounter with the dogs, is a welcome relief.
“Welcome to my humble abode. I’m Jaden Spitz.”
Chapter Fifteen
Invier
The aches in my limbs evaporate as I spring to my feet.
“You’re Jaden Spitz?”
“Would you like something to drink? I have sorrel juice, passion fruit juice, and guava cherry juice. The last one is my personal favorite.” He leans his head to the side and a fat bundle of dreadlocks sways against his knees.
This is Jaden Spitz? And all he wants to talk about is juice? I’ve crawled through tight spaces, risked being pulverized to death by boulders and run from gnashing dogs for this guy? But we were told to touch “’the Jaden Spitz.’”
Realization dawns on me and I shake my head, finally understanding. By saying the before Jaden Spitz, the games master confused me, making me assume he was talking about an inanimate object and not a person, virtual though he may be.
“Let me get you guava cherry juice. You look like you’d like it.” He walks off. “I’ll also bring you a piece of fruit cake. I absolutely love fruitcake.”
Stark, white walls and furniture fill the space around us. Empty picture frames of different colors line the walls. Why clutter a wall with empty picture frames?
I’m still examining the frames when Jaden Spitz reappears with a pink drink. The juice has the right amount of sweet and sour. After taking several swigs, I put the cup on a side table. “We need to touch you?”
“Yes,” he smiles knowingly but in a flash, the expression disappears. “You won’t have time for cake, unfortunately.” He puts the plate of cake on a white side table, his forehead crinkling. “Adela will be here soon.” He pauses. “The others are right behind her. You may want to touch me now.”
Not bothering to ask how he knows, I crouch and shove Seth as hard as I can.
He sits up with a start. “What is it?”
“We have to touch Jaden Spitz at the same time to exit the virt.”
The dreadlocked man coughs politely once again. “No. Only one of you can touch me to win this round. Once that happens, all participants will automatically exit the virt in order of their proximity to me.”
“We can’t touch you at the same time?”
“Sorry, Invier, but the instructions were plain.” His next few words are said in Portan’s voice, “’Your objective, scions and scioness, is to be the first to place a hand on the Jaden Spitz.’”
Yes, the games master did say that and now I’m not sure what to do. A wave of irritation blooms in my belly. This is a ridiculous situation to be in. Since it wasn’t my choice to be in the competition and I have an exit strategy, I tell Seth to go ahead and touch Jaden Spitz.
“No way.” He wags a finger at me, before getting up. “You got us here and you deserve this first win.”
“But Portan said the point system weighs the first competition higher than the rest. If you win this one, you could win the whole thing.”
“No, I think—”
“Gentlemen, you no longer have time to dawdle,” Jaden Spitz says.
Just then, the door bursts open and Adela’s there panting, her white-blond hair is wet and plastered to her skull. I’m too stunned to react. However, I’m spurred to move when Mehrdad pushes her out of his way. I can't let him best me. Flinging my hand forward, I hit Jaden Spitz much harder than I should have.
The world erupts into a blazing ball of white light and I grimace as hands pull me forward to a round of applause.
Neith is on her feet alongside the rest of the auditorium. The number of attendees has swollen beyond what I remember when we went into the shell. Seated in chairs on ground level are James and Erhart. Erhart offers me a congratulatory smile, but James sneers at me.
Seth steps out of the shell followed by Adela. Next, comes Mehrdad then, Ika. The reception is thunderous and I can’t block out the noise. I can barely think.
My gaze rests on Neith. Her attention is on Portan; whose mouth moves rapidly as he speaks to Titan Reffour. The old man’s forehead is creased, while the Titan watches on, unblinking. The bald woman stands at attention behind the Titan, scouring the area with narrowed eyes. Neith’s father scowls at me with a dark expression that grips my chest.
“Felicitations, Scion Floran,” says Portan, all signs of concern gone. “You have won the inaugural challenge of this Pursual and are now first in the Participant’s Rankings.”
Neith steps away from her father, her best friend
not too far behind. A black rectangular zart is low enough for them to step onto. The floating contraption has neon green lights on its thin sides as it floats to the shiny brown floor of the auditorium. Once it reaches the floor, it hovers above the surface so Neith and her best friend can get off. Why didn’t they use the stairs?
“You have brought great honor to your nome and yourself.” The old man continues. “You should be proud.”
Neith is now before me. She places a golden wreath on my head and gives me a breezy kiss. “I love you.”