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.
I whistle and shoot a bolt of lightning toward the ceiling. It is soon joined by other forms of light.
Charlie laughs and gives me a high five. Now that Gisella has put her hand on his, he is able to forget her weak spot for the cherufe.
Vicky is scanning the crowd with her hawk
eyes, just like the rest of the Shield.
I kiss her on the cheek. “You guys are such great guards. But you’re allowed to enjoy yourself, too, okay?”
She kisses me back quickly. “I know. I’ll just like it here much better when we all get out alive.”
My mood darkens a bit, but I shake the feeling off. “We’ll be fine.”
Her answer is drowned out by the voice of the announcer.
“Are you ready for the first round?” he bellows.
I raise my fist and holler along with the rest of the audience.
He turns to the cherufe and the tengu. “Fighters, are you ready?”
They slam one fist against their chests and let out a battle cry.
The announcer steps out of the ring, while one of the banshees climbs the outside of the fence again.
The fighters take their positions, the banshee throws her head back and the crowd falls silent.
As soon as the banshee lets out a shriek, the fighters throw themselves forward.
The cherufe takes a swing at the tengu’s bird head. The Beak moves to the side. The fist misses him, but the flames from the Burning King’s arm grab onto him eagerly. They burn his neck and he shrieks.
Without hesitation, the cherufe turns and slams both flaming hands into his opponent’s side.
The smell of burning flesh spreads through the room.
“Well, this is going to be a short fight,” I mumble.
Gisella shakes her head without looking at me. “It’s not over yet. Just wait for it.”
As the announcer fires up the crowd, the tengu spreads his wings. They launch him forward and he knocks the King off his feet with a well-aimed kick.
While he’s down, the Beak uses his wings to put out the flames in his neck and side. Then he leans forward, the sharp tips of his wings pointing at the cherufe, and roars.
“The Beak is challenging the Burning King,” the announcer calls out. “Both have already taken a hit, and the fight has just begun.”
The cherufe pushes himself up onto his legs of fire and moves around the tengu. Two steps to the left, one to the right, one foot forward and then he leans back again.
The announcer moves around the fence. “Who will be the first to attack now?”
In the blink of an eye, the giant wings slam together in front of the tengu’s body. They smash into the cherufe’s head and he stumbles backwards. The Beak pats his burning feathers quickly, while the crowd stomps and roars. “Finish him! Finish him!”
The air is thick with anticipation and I can’t help but join in. Raising my fist, I stand up and shout as loud as I can.
When the tengu charges again, I’m sure it’ll be the end of the cherufe. But just before the Beak slams down both his wings and his fists, the Burning King rolls away and puts his flaming hands and feet onto his opponent. The tengu roars as his body catches fire. He turns and turns, swaying on his feet and trying to stop the flames from burning off his skin. The King takes one step forward and punches him straight in the head.
The eagle man drops like a stone and the crowd explodes in applause and shouts.
The announcer counts back from ten to zero. Meanwhile, the fire spreads over the unconscious man. I’m afraid he’ll go up in smoke before the counting is over.
But as soon as the announcer reaches zero, the banshees run into the ring and empty two buckets of water onto the smoking body.
The Beak shoots upright, coughing and spluttering. His opponent holds out his hand and pulls him to his feet. They smack each other on the back and everyone cheers and stomps their feet again. But now there are also shouts of frustration and even people crying. I wonder what they just lost in their bets.
While the tengu leaves the ring, the cherufe raises his fire hands in the air and bows.
“Give it up for our first winner… the Burning King!”
The banshees scream, the cherufe roars and the crowd makes noises I’ve never heard before in my life. My eardrums almost pop, but I ignore it and cheer loudly.
Vicky is yelling at the top of her lungs, as well.
“This is great!” I scream at her.
She gives me a wide smile as an answer.
When the cherufe leaves the ring, everyone sits down again.
The announcer blows the ash of the tengu’s feathers around the ring and grins like a maniac. “What a spectacular way to start the evening. Will the rest of the night be as good? Let’s see…”
He turns to the door on our right. “We’d like to welcome to the ring the only Mage to ever reach a grand finale. He’s our shortest contestant at only five feet and seven and a half inches, but he is already famous. Known as the Shadow of Colorado, kind but competitive, here is the one, the only… Kale Kloster.”
Vicky and I nudge each other at the same time.
“That must be him,” Charlie whispers in my ear.
When I look around, I see the rest of the Shield scanning the crowd with intense stares. It gives me the jitters.
“Do you think the sand demons will attack him, or us, during the fight?” I ask Vicky quietly.
“No, their plan might fail if too many people are involved. They’ll keep their heads down for now, but they might try something backstage later.”
I nod. “So we have to go see Kale after the match.”
She tilts her head and narrows her eyes at the boy coming through the door. “Yes, if we have that much time.”
I swerve my head back to her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, his sin will be violence, right? What better place to commit a sin like that, than in a boxing ring?”
That hadn’t crossed my mind yet. “So what do we do?”
She shrugs. “We wait and see. There’s not much we can do here. If we interfere in the match, we’ll be thrown out and never get a chance to see Kale.”
I clench my fists and Vicky lays her hand on them. “Relax. We usually have a couple of days to prevent it after we receive the Cards of Death, don’t we?”
I breathe out slowly. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Still, I have a bad feeling about this fight. The Devil might be a lot of things, but I’m guessing predictable isn’t one of them.
CHAPTER 26
Charlie senses my worry and holds out a hot dog. “Nothing will happen during the fight. Just enjoy the show.” He shakes the snack in front of me. “Do you want it or not?”
“No, you eat it. You might need the fuel.”
“Okay, no problem.” He pushes half of the bun into his mouth and starts chewing.
I move away from him a bit. “Sometimes you disgust me.”
He wipes some mustard from his nose. “I know.”
Kale Kloster, a.k.a. the Shadow of Colorado, has reached the ring. He reminds me a bit of me. He’s build like the average teenager, slender with a little muscle. He’s a bit taller than me, but has the same short brown hair. He looks a lot more confident than me though.
As the crowd welcomes him, he seems to vanish for a moment, only to reappear right next to the announcer.
“Wow, and there it is!” the man calls out. “We lost you for a second. How did you do that, Kale?”
Kale just raises his arms and bows to every grandstand.
The other door opens and the announcer holds out his arm. “In the opposite corner, we have a fighter with a hunger like no other. He likes to scurry, snap and eat, he’s here to win his fiftieth match in a row… put your hands together for the ruling world champion, Craig – the Snapper – Archer!”
Even though I thought the racket in the room couldn’t get louder, it does. A lot louder. The roof trembles and I have to push my hands against my ears to keep from going deaf.
But I forget about all that when Kale’s opponent steps into the light.
It’s the strangest creature I’ve ever seen. It has a human lower body, and the upper body of a crab. Its head is a cross between the two. It has an o
range glow, but the shape of a human head, although a bit big. When it throws its claws in the air, I notice the ends are actually mouths with sharp teeth.
Charlie almost drops his third hot dog. “What is that?”
Gisella turns around. Her yellow eyes are big. “I don’t know. I’ve heard of this guy, but I’ve never seen him before. He must be some new kind of hybrid.”
Charlie sticks out his tongue in disgust. “Well, I’ve seen all kinds of hybrids in my research, but never anything like this.”
I nudge him. “How many kinds are there?”
He takes another bite. “Lots.”
“Basically any combination is possible,” Gisella says. “But most hide their true form in their everyday lives, so you don’t see many of them.”
The crab creature has entered the ring. It looks even more intimidating next to the boy, who is almost a foot smaller than him, and I feel sorry for Kale.
“He doesn’t stand a chance,” I whisper to Vicky.
She looks me in the eye for a second, then plants a kiss on my cheek. “Don’t judge so quickly. You don’t look very intimidating, either, but you’re very strong.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“Shhh,” someone from behind us says again and we focus on the match.
The banshee is already climbing the fence, while the two boxers shake hands. Or mouths, I don’t know what to call it. It looks pretty disgusting to me.
I silently pray for Kale to win. Not just because the Snapper looks menacing, but because I’m afraid he’ll have a violent outburst if he loses. Which will have the sand demons ready to kill him and take his soul.
With my hands clasped together, I lean forward in my chair.
The announcer leaves the ring and shuts the gate. The half-naked woman at the top of the fence shrieks.
It takes Kale less than a second to fade into a dark spot. The Snapper turns around slowly, taking in every corner of the ring. Still, he notices his opponent a fraction too late. Kale jumps on his back, holds on to the edge of his shell and punches him in the face with his free hand. He jumps off just before one of the mouth hands can bite him.
The Third Sin Page 13