by Joe Fowler
I didn’t speak and the others knew I needed some time. I went into my room and shut the door. I packed immediately so I wouldn’t need to do so when I woke. I barely remember laying down.
Chapter 12
I woke before the pounding on my door for a change. I walked the hallway to see if the others were up. Beth was the only one, the rest were still sleeping. I could sense Beth’s distress so I knocked lightly on her door.
When she opened the door and saw me, she rushed in for a hug. I held her for a moment and walked her to my room. I left my door open and we sat on the bed.
“How long have you been awake?” I asked her.
“Not too long. I had a nightmare that woke me.” She was much better now. Neither of us knew why she was felt so safe and calm around me. She was a train wreck when we were separated. We sat quietly, waiting on the others to rise.
Trog was the first to join us. As he was adjusting his chair to sit, Justin walked in carrying his own chair.
“You’re up, that’s a shocker.” Justin joked as he sat down.
“I’m getting tired of the banging on the door is all.” I smiled with them.
“So, I wonder if we are headed back home or to another fight. It could be either one and Cerrus didn’t say.” Trog sounded bitter at the mention of Cerrus.
“I guess we will have to wait and see. I kind of want there to be another fight. The faster we get through them the sooner we can move on with our lives.” I had other reasons for wanting us to head to another fight as well. I wanted to speak with Lorac again. He still didn’t know about the revelations with Trog and Penny. The cheating at the fight needed to be told as well.
Ghost and Penny joined us. We talked of nonconsequential things until Cerrus came for us. I could see how everyone was avoiding my problem. They didn’t want to talk about it and neither did I.
I silently said goodbye to the yellow halls as we made our way to the plane. The plane had just taken off and reached altitude when Cerrus came to our section and told me that Arria wanted to talk to me. I followed him to the private area toward the front of the plane.
She was sitting up straight in what looked to be an uncomfortable position. I couldn’t help but notice that Cerrus took a seat instead of leaving.
“What happened last night? Why didn’t you attack quickly like you had been doing?” Arria asked. Her worry was much more intense than her voice let on. I figured that was from Cerrus being within earshot.
“She cheated. She had emotional control. Before the announcer left the arena, I was filled with fear and confusion.” I didn’t hesitate when I told her. I made sure to watch both her and Cerrus for their reactions. I had trouble focusing on Cerrus since Arria was now standing and shouting loudly.
“She what! That is not permitted!” She was so outraged that she couldn’t think straight.
Cerrus had shown absolutely no surprise. He was amused at Arria’s display of outrage. He couldn’t hide that, although he was trying.
“The announcer gave her a signal and she used her gift. I was lucky. I was able to find something that brought me into focus enough to catch her fist and hit her. By the time she hit the ground, I was free of the fear and confusion.”
“Cerrus, leave.” Arria could barely maintain any control of herself at all.
“But-”
“NOW!” Arria looked at him fiercely. He left the room at top speed.
I sat there knowing Arria needed a minute to calm down. She was reminding herself that I survived and being irrational wouldn’t help anything. I applauded her silently.
She walked to a bag that was sitting on a table. She pulled out her phone and dialed.
“They cheated, Lorac. The girl used her gift before the announcer left the arena. The announcer gave her a signal. He was in on it.” Arria was still struggling with control. Lorac wasn’t responding quickly which was causing Arria more distress.
“This is getting way out of hand. What was her gift?” Lorac asked.
“Like mine, emotional control. She filled Titan with fear and confusion.” Arria told him. Her mind flashed to the battle with Ares but she shrugged it off. It didn’t stay gone long though. Arria slowly looked back at me. Her eyes grew huge and she hung up the phone.
I knew enough to remain seated. I also knew not to say a damn thing. Arria was on the edge between ripping my head off and crying her eyes out. I waited for a sign that she could handle my words.
Her phone started ringing. She let it ring several times before she answered.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You don’t think I should know that one of my fighters has the Ares gift?” She was fuming.
“I had my hand wrapped around Titan’s throat as I went through his entire mind. He didn’t fight it. He opened up completely to me knowing it might mean his death. He loves you, Arria. He only wants to support and help you. Do you think I would have let him live if I thought he could turn out like Ares?” Lorac spoke quickly knowing what Arria needed to hear.
“You still should have told me.” Arria was starting to calm down some.
I gathered my courage and spoke.
“Trog and Penny both admitted to their spying. They were outraged at the cheating last night. I don’t think they will be working against Arria any longer. Our whole group knows about everything now.” Arria’s reactions were mixed.
“How did this all come about? Why would they admit to everything?” Lorac asked.
“It was really funny. They were all lifeless during sparring and I feared for them. I knew if things had continued like that, they all might have died in the fights. I basically told them I didn’t care who was backing what cause or why but they better get their heads on straight. Justin, sorry I don’t like calling him Apollo, spoke up wanting to know what the hell was going on since he was clueless. It was Beth that shocked us all. She nailed it when she told of Penny talking Trog into spying and she even saw that Ghost had been approached but that Ghost was not spying. We were all shocked at her insight. Everyone bonded a little afterward.” I smiled at the memory.
“Well, we know it was Penny that spread word of your gift now. Which cause is she backing?” Lorac asked.
“She started out with the group that wants to end the fights altogether but she was bought out by the group wanting the public facilities for poorer vampires. The second group is who she had Trog working for as well. She clearly won’t be working for them anymore. She was more upset than anyone about the cheating.” I said. I then corrected myself mentally. I think Arria might have been a little more pissed than Penny.
“Tell her to keep contact and act like she is still with them. Double agents can be great. Was there anything else?” Lorac asked.
I debated telling them about my unraveling mind. I could see they had their fair share of problems already. I was about to say that was all when Arria woke me up.
So much for keeping that secret.
“How long has this been happening?” Arria was worried.
“Well, I was sleeping very well from the time I was turned. It was nice since I had problems sleeping during my human life. It has gotten much worse now. I fell asleep during Ghost’s fight last night. They woke me when all the fights were over.”
“Is this all that is wrong?” Arria asked. I could see in her mind that she had seen this before. My next words were as she thought they would be.
“I can’t keep track of time anymore. Minutes, hours, and days all feel the same to me. Ghost says my mind is unraveling. He said something about time and stuff but I don’t really understand it. In case you don’t know yet, Ghost is incredibly intelligent. I mean he is Einstein kind of smart.” I told her.
I sat up and looked at Arria. She had her head down and was overcome by sadness. I knew that couldn’t be a good thing. I wanted to hold her and make her feel better but wasn’t sure she would allow that familiarity. I still needed my arms and didn’t want them ripped off.
“This happens from time to tim
e. Some humans weren’t meant to be vampires. Their minds don’t handle the change correctly.”
“Is there a way to fix it?” I asked. I knew by her mental state what the answer would be.
“None that we know of.” She was on the verge of tears.
We were distracted by screaming. Arria looked at me and disappeared. I knew she had simply ran but with her kind of speed it looked like disappearing.
I followed to the fighter section to see Cerrus holding his head while he screamed. Everyone was backing away from him, wondering what was happening. Except for Ghost. He was smiling. That was when it hit me. I looked to Beth and saw her smiling as well.
“Beth. Let him be.” I told her calmly. She looked at me and put her head down. Cerrus stopped screaming and made a move to attack Beth. Arria stopped him.
“He is a monster.” Beth’s small voice sounded very out of place with what she could do to people. It also had a scary quality.
“Yes he is, Beth. I need to be the one who deals with him though.” Arria’s strong voice was the end of the discussion. Arria looked at me with sad eyes. “We will talk more tonight after we land. I will send for you.”
She pointed Cerrus toward the front of the plane and followed him there.
Ghost stared at me. The others went back to their seats. I watched things settle before I met Ghost’s stare.
“So, we no longer have any secrets to hide. Do they know of a cure?” Ghost asked.
“No.” That was all I felt like saying. I knew I would need to fill them in but I really didn’t want to.
“She knows everything? She let you live?” Penny was shocked.
“She knows he is on her side, Penny. So, are they going to ask Penny to be a double agent? How far along did they get?” Ghost never stopped amazing me.
“Not as far as they would have. I fell asleep in the middle of a crucial part. Yes, they will want to use Penny.” I debated between standing and retaking my seat. I really wanted to stay awake right now.
“That might be a problem since Cerrus was my contact with the rest of the group. It doesn’t look like Cerrus is going to survive much longer. How will I communicate with them?” Penny asked.
“They will make contact with you. They need you too much. If Arria hadn’t stopped Cerrus from attacking Beth, I would have killed him.” I admitted.
“Wait, you are tougher than Cerrus? Whoa!” Justin stared at me in awe.
“I wasn’t sure. I figured you would be able to give him a good run but I didn’t know you could beat him.” Ghost said.
“The day after my first fight, Arria was going to use Cerrus to punish me for holding back against Speedy during sparring. Cerrus and I were basically an even match. Then, I drank from Speedy and Hercules and became faster as well as stronger than Cerrus. Obviously, with my gifts, I could end it before it got serious now anyway.” I told them. “Trog already knew about it. He saw it in my head.”
“I was as shocked as you can get.” Trog added.
“Why didn’t you tell me about that?” Penny asked. She was shocked, now.
“I was feeling like Titan, well Ethan at that time, needed someone to talk to. I was trying to be a true friend. I didn’t want to just be a tell everything spy.”
“Thank you for that, Trog. I really needed a friend then.” I told him.
The plane landed sometime later, I don’t have a fricking clue how much later. We found ourselves in dull green hallways and knew we were home. I was somewhat glad of that. Maybe knowing we were at ‘home’ would be a calming influence.
I wanted a shower. I stayed in my room just long enough to grab something clean to wear and headed out. I was the only one in the showers, which I was grateful for. A few moments peace never hurt anyone.
It couldn’t last forever though. I went back to my room and remembered to ask where the laundry room was. I had a full load by this time.
“I’ll go with you. Give me a minute.” Ghost was the one I asked. Maybe this would give us a chance to talk.
I waited outside his room. Once he had his clothes he led the way. We walked some different corridors that I was seeing for the first time. They looked the same but the doors were in different places.
“I was looking toward more spying, hidden thoughts, and side talks but that is all gone now. I don’t know whether I am happy or sad about it.” Ghost told me with a smile. Our clothes were washing.
“You were going to be away from it soon anyway. You only have one more fight now. I for one, am very glad to have everything in the open. Subterfuge is not one of my strong points.” I admitted.
“You were doing a good job of it so far as I could see. I wouldn’t have done the fishing with Trog that you were doing. You were running the risk of letting something slip that way. Plus, you didn’t want to have a full enemy instead of just an opposing spy.”
“I could see enough of Trog to know he really did want to be friends. I was fairly sure we would be able to keep it from escalating too far. I could read enough from him even with his thoughts being hidden so well. You were the only unreadable one. Has anyone ever told you how much faster your thoughts are than a normal person’s?” I had to ask.
“One did, I think you know who. By the way, we are still keeping him hidden from the others right?”
“Yes, definitely. If word got out about him, then it might hinder our efforts.” I confirmed. “I am just glad he took the time to listen to me when I let him know about my gift. I know it could have ended badly.”
“I was wondering how you did it. I was afraid one of them would kill you before you could explain.” Ghost was really confused by that. It was the first time I had seen something stump him.
“I got lucky. He listened. Did he get his talk with you? He said he was going to arrange it. Between the sleeping and confusion, I wasn’t always aware of where you were.” I said this offhand. I wasn’t expecting what I saw.
“Yes. He was excited. He told me to help you in any way I could.” Ghost mind was back in overdrive. I was fairly sure I hadn’t shown his slip.
“Good. By the way, thanks for all the help. I am smart enough to get by but I can’t touch what your mind is capable of. I only hope I get to keep what I have left.” I was saddened so I needed to say something toward that end.
“You don’t know how long it will take. You could last a thousand years before your mind comes undone.” Ghost said. We both knew he was greatly exaggerating but it was a nice sentiment.
“So, one more and your free. Getting excited yet?” I asked. I wanted the change in subject.
“A little. I think I am happier that I will be able to get my hands on some books than I will be about the fights being done.” He said, with a laugh.
We kept the talking light. There wasn’t any reason to delve into the more serious discussions anymore. Our clothes dried and we made it back to our rooms without any further problems. I went to my room and shut the door.
Sometime later, a vampire knocked on my door. She was pretty. She had brown hair with a gray streak down the side.
“Arria wants to see you. Come this way.” She was new. I guessed and saw the confirmation in her mind. She was the replacement for Cerrus.
I followed her to Arria’s suite. We walked instead of the running that Cerrus had begun to do. I kept watch over every thought this woman had. She openly liked Arria. She hoped this promotion would help her establish herself better. The raise in pay would be nice, anyway. I didn’t see anything that gave me pause to doubt her. Her gift of invisibility would help her be a good spy for Arria. That thought surprised me some. Her thoughts had been innocent but she obviously knew how much spying went on.
“Thank you, Gray. That will be all for now.” Arria told her.
“Yes, Arria.” Gray bowed and left.
“I take it Cerrus is being questioned.” I said as I sat in a chair.
“Nope. He swore he wouldn’t say a word. I believed him and ripped his head off.” Arria stood un
comfortably.
Her mind was now shut off from me.
“We have a new problem. Ghost finally let something slip. The problem is that he is way too good to let something slip. He wanted me to know but he wasn’t comfortable coming right out and saying it. Three different groups have approached him. They all wanted different things. One group wanted him to kill me if he got the chance.” Arria’s gasp interrupted me. Her face turned furious with the thought. “The second group wanted him to try and influence me toward ending the council.”
“Those bastards! Do they have any decency left?” Arria was ready to scream.
“The third group were the ones wanting the facilities for poorer vampires.” I sat waiting after I said that. I knew Arria’s mind, she would see it quickly enough.
“Wait. That would mean the first group belonged to the council.” Arria was in such a state when she made that leap that I started to rise to help her. She realized what I was moving for and she waved me back to my seat.
“That would also mean the council may have been the ones behind the cheating. They want me dead. I guess they are afraid. You said you were on the council. Is Lorac?” I asked.
“Yes. The council is made up of the nine oldest living vampires. It has been that way since I was turned.” She finally sat down.
“Do me a favor, if you will. Don’t tell Lorac yet. I know he can be trusted completely since he is your brother. Besides, he had his hand on my throat and could have killed me if he wanted me dead.”
“Why shouldn’t I tell him? You just said you didn’t question his loyalty.” Arria was now growing suspicious of me again.
“It is more about keeping this knowledge contained. Lorac will still be working toward finding information to help us. He doesn’t need this extra stuff to do that. Lorac has already had contact with Ghost. He was planning on hiring Ghost if he wins his freedom. At least that’s what I believe is happening. Ghost has proven his loyalty to me but not to you. I am afraid he may be warning me about something else.”
Arria sat quietly. She mulled that over for a few minutes, three weeks, I don’t know.