by Joe Fowler
“Arria will be spending some time with Agda and Alethea tonight. It will be very late when she is free. She wants you to be showered and ready to come see her later.” Gray was smiling through the telling of this. It brought a smile to my face as well.
“I will be ready to go. Thanks, Gray.” I told her. She nodded, still smiling, and left.
I grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the showers. The showers were crowded but there were a few empty stalls. I took one and enjoyed the steaming hot spray. I got dressed and headed back to my room.
“Will we be gathering in your room or will you be leaving us?” Not Apollo asked.
“Gathering, for a while. I will be leaving but that will happen later. Arria is visiting with friends.” I informed him.
I took my place on the bed with Sweetie sitting next to me. Richard sat in my chair. The others brought their own.
“So, do I get to hear those stories yet?” Richard asked.
“Sure. My gift is different…” I told him enough of that part of the story. I left out the unraveling. The others added a few points of their own.
“So, if I’m hearing this right, then my life could end up in danger because of your gift.” Richard didn’t seem to like that.
“There is a slight chance of that. The truth of it is more like you will have a better chance to survive because of Titan. He can show you all, or at least many, of the gifts you will face. You will have the chance to prepare for whatever you might go up against. Also, because he and Arria are in love with each other, she will be protecting all of us a little better than she would in a normal situation.” Justin told him.
“I guess that’s true. Damn, want to talk about lucky! You get THE gift and you’re sleeping with the most beautiful woman I ever saw.” Richard shook his head.
“Well, there is some bad luck too. His mind is unravelling. He might not live too long. That’s why he was sleeping so much during the fights.” Justin told him. I didn’t want to think along those lines. That is why I didn’t tell that part of the story myself.
Gray came for me after another indefinite period of time.
My nights with Arria were as close to perfect as they could be. We fit. That is the best I know how to say it. We were two pieces of a puzzle that fit together perfectly. When we moved, it was like one being moving to the same thoughts. The love I already felt continued to grow. She seemed as happy with me.
We boarded the plane early the next day. I was going to head back to the fighter section when Noah told me Arria wanted me to sit with her. I was more than happy with that arrangement.
I asked Noah to keep a watch on Sweetie if he would. I didn’t want her going into panic mode. I also wasn’t completely sold on Patty’s behavior. He said he would be happy to.
Once the plane was in the air, Arria and I had some rare peace. Well, we had the chance for peace more often but chose to make our own commotion during those times. This was nice too though.
“There will be a couple of days before your next fight. I am hoping we can have some quiet time.” Arria said.
“I like the sound of that. I could use some rest.”
“Noah is becoming indispensable. He has helped with more than I would have expected. I keep looking for a reason to doubt him but he doesn’t seem to have an ulterior motive. He has said that he likes you.” Arria smiled. “That is a good thing since he will be seeing you with me a lot more.”
“Noah and I have talked some. I’ve looked for anything suspicious and couldn’t find a thing. He seems to adore Sweetie. He can’t quit smiling when she is in the same room.” I told her. I no longer suspected anything bad with Noah. There was something different about him, but I was positive it wasn’t bad.
“Really? I wouldn’t have pictured that. Do you think he wants to be with her?”
“I’m not sure. Noah’s rage when he heard of Patty’s mistreatment, was a shock to me. Even then I had seen his concern for Sweetie, I just had no idea it ran so deep until then. I can’t tell if he is attracted to her or if it is more fatherly and overprotective. Sweetie does tend to bring out those qualities.”
“She seems so weak and innocent. Then she enters the arena and scares the hell out of a vampire. That is a strange mix. Part of me wonders if she is all right in the head. You don’t normally go from one extreme to the other.” Arria sounded really perplexed.
“I think of her more as a child. I never had my own but I would think they can cause a parent nightmares. Sweetie is growing and learning to be on her own like a child as it grows up. She instills that same protectiveness you feel toward a child as well.” That was the closest way I could describe how I felt about Sweetie.
“I like it. Your view fits.”
“Tell me of your own childhood. I saw one brief image from Lorac but I am curious what life was like so long ago.”
“You should know better than to call a woman old!” Arria laughed. She started thinking back and continued smiling after her laughter died down. “Our family lived…”
I listened with rapt attention as Arria described her early years. Our hands were together with our fingers interlocked. She never lost her smile and I never got bored. We continued our talk for the rest of the flight.
Chapter 20
I slept through much of the time between our return home until our next fight. Most of the time awake was spent with Arria. I was in her suite more than I was in my little room. Sweetie handled things better than I would have thought. Noah helped with that. Sweetie had taken a real liking to him. I could see it in her mind. Unlike Noah, I could tell exactly what intentions Sweetie had. I am glad I can’t blush.
When the day of my seventh fight rolled around, I woke in my room. After making sure I was alert and ready to face them, I opened my door in case the others wanted to talk. I knew I needed a trip to the donor room but decided to wait for the others.
It wasn’t a long wait, only six years. Comet was the first. Sweetie and Justin were next. Finally Patty and Richard joined us.
“So I’ve seen that you and Sweetie never spar. Neither of you have even been in the training room since we got here. I just think it is wrong that you two are the ones who win easiest but don’t have to practice.” Richard said, with an edge to his voice.
“I don’t need it. The speed and strength I was reborn with would have been enough to get me through the ten fights even without any of the extra gifts. Sweetie has her method of winning down pat. There is only one gift that she has to fear. Speed. If her opponent can hit her before she cast her illusion, she would lose. She doesn’t need to spar. Would you want to spar against her knowing the nightmares you would be subjected to? Would you want to spar against me when I could knock you unconscious without you even seeing it coming?” I spoke calmly and sensibly.
“No. It just doesn’t seem fair.” Richard persisted.
“Was your life fair as a human?” I asked.
“What kind of question is that?”
“This is a different existence, but it is the same world. Life, even our unlife, isn’t fair. If it was, Justin would be the leader of the council instead of struggling to survive.” I said this to stop his whining. It worked.
As it turned out, it stopped the talking completely.
Gray interrupted our silence.
“The training room is about to open. I thought you guys would want to hit the donor room and get an early start.” She smiled at us and left.
We did as she suggested. We headed for the donor room.
My donor was a young woman with bipolar disorder. Her life was hard on her. I ended it. The others finished their feeding and we walked together down the dull green hallways that led to the training room.
We were the first group there. We took two mats against the wall. Sweetie sat with her back to the wall and I was about to join her.
“Titan, if you will, could you spar with me so I can fight at full speed?” Comet asked.
“Sure.” I took my place on th
e mat. “Remember, it may take me a few passes to get your speed down.”
He nodded and we sparred. He was improving. I was letting him practice his moves more than anything. I could have ended it but wanted him to keep improving as he was. This seemed to help. He had to hold back so much when he was against the others of our team. After a stretch of time passed, he was ready to stop.
I headed for the wall to sit beside Sweetie.
When I looked around, I saw four other groups. If this was all that would be here, tonight wouldn’t drag out so badly. A smaller event would be nice.
I didn’t see any gifts out of the normal ones I saw regularly. I grew tired of watching them and put my head down for a nap.
They woke me when Gray approached.
“Titan, you and Sweetie need to come get the newbie.” She informed us. “Patty, your new name is Bloody Mary.”
We followed. Once Gray unlocked the door, she smiled and walked away.
I knocked lightly and opened the door to see a full figured woman crying on the bed. She wasn’t scared, she was sad. I looked into her mind and saw the lost husband. He had died in a car wreck a mere days before. She was attacked and brought here before the funeral. I gritted my teeth and entered the room.
“What is your name?” I asked gently.
“Glenda.” She finally answered after staring at me and Sweetie for about three years. “Where am I?”
“I can’t honestly say the location but I can tell you your new situation. You are a vampire now. This is Sweetie and I am Titan. We need you to come with us and we will tell you more.” I told her gently.
“Are you going to hurt me?” She asked. She wasn’t afraid, just resigned.
“No, Glenda. We are going to try and help you. All the news isn’t good though. You will have to fight tonight. I will explain your situation as we go.” I motioned her to walk down the hall with Sweetie and me.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Nope.”
I told her of the ten fights as we walked. I explained how she could win her freedom, though I doubted she would. Her gift was strength. She took all I said in and was processing it well. I kept a check on her thoughts to see what her mental condition was. She was firmly in control. She was a strong woman even without her gift.
“Don’t speak unless Arria asks you to. Arria is our old one. I will explain that more later on.” I told her this as we reached the top of the stairs. I opened the door to see Arria sitting with a small group of women. She looked up and smiled as we neared her. I felt my answering smile spread across my face. “Arria, this is Glenda, your new fighter. Her gift is strength.”
“Strength can be okay for a few fights anyway.” Arria made her inspection. “Have you drank from her yet?”
“No, I was going to wait for that. I wanted her to get comfortable with everything first.” I explained.
“That’s fine. Just make sure you add her gift before she enters the arena. Take her to the donor room and get her some blood. Her fight starts in three hours.” Arria waved her hand to dismiss us.
“Yes, Arria.” Sweetie and I said. We made our bows and left.
I set Glenda up with her donor and sat with my own. I listened to her thoughts as she fed for the first time. She was nervous when she started but liked the taste. She stopped when she reached the breaking point.
“Am I supposed to keep going?” Glenda asked.
“It is your decision. I never kill my donors, but most vampires do. This woman will die here anyway, whether it is you that drains her or not.” Sweetie explained.
Glenda was torn. In the end, she told the woman she was feeding from that she was sorry before she drained her. I finished draining mine and we left for the training room. I gave a brief warning before we arrived.
“This seems to be a smaller event than most. This room won’t have too many vampires. They will turn and watch us as we make our way to our mats. Some of that is because of me.” I told her. As we walked through the door, all eyes turned to us. Most looked away but some continued to watch. “We are going to show you how to fight. Your gift can be useful if you aren’t facing a more difficult gift.”
“You keep talking about gifts. What gifts?”
“Each vampire is given one gift when they turn. It can be strength, like you have. It could also be speed, invisibility, mind reading, evasion, or a hundred other things. You will never know what you are facing until you face your opponent in the arena.”
“Then how do you know what my gift is?”
“I am very different. I can acquire and accumulate other vampire’s gifts when I drink their blood. One of the gifts I have acquired is being able to read any vampire’s gift.” We had reached our mats. I looked around at the others. “Everyone, this is Glenda, our newbie. Glenda, this is Apollo, Comet, Bloody Mary, and Richard.”
“Why the strange names?”
“You are given a new name when you reach your third fight. Bloody Mary just learned her new name before Sweetie and I came for you. Tonight will be her third fight. Now, we need to get you started.” I walked Glenda to an empty mat. Sweetie went to the wall and sat down. “I will show you some of the basics and each of our group will spar with you some to get you used to facing different gifts. The first thing to know is how to win. The only way for you to win in the arena is to rip your opponent’s head off. Just make sure you don’t do that to our group when sparring. Along with sunlight and fire, decapitation is the only way to kill a vampire.”
“I think I understand.”
“Now I will attack you and you need to try and defend.” I said, as I backed away.
I got into a fighting stance and nodded to tell her to prepare. She braced herself. I made a quick attack and hit her.
“How can I fight against that?” She exclaimed.
“You aren’t expected to be able to fight against me. I do that to all newbies to make you take this seriously. If you are facing the gift of speed, that is what you can expect. Speed is one of the best gifts to have. Now, I am going to have Apollo work with you. He is a very skilled fighter. He can help you more than the rest of us can.” I looked up and saw Apollo was helping Charles with something. Bloody Mary was standing and watching. “Bloody Mary, will you come spar with Glenda?”
“Sure.”
“She will be able to help you too. Apollo will be over eventually.” I stated. I went and sat down once Bloody Mary joined Glenda on the mat. It was only after I was seated that I remembered I was supposed to drink from Glenda. I shook my head saying I would do it later. I had time.
Sweetie woke me when Gray came to lead us away. I went to Glenda to walk with her to explain this part of the night.
“We are going to be paraded in front of the old ones. Don’t speak unless spoken to. They will look at us while our names and levels are called out. Then we will be led to the holding pen by the arena.”
Glenda seemed to be taking everything in stride. She was resolved to do the best she could. The others had shown her how to fight but she was worried strength wouldn’t be enough. She hoped for survival.
We lined up in order and entered the room for display. I looked around but Pyro wasn’t there. I didn’t know any of these other old ones. I opened my mind to hear any stray thoughts. There weren’t any. Arria and I shared a smile. One of the other four old ones made the call to leave and Arria stayed as she usually did when we were here at home.
“You guys have been a good group. Keep up the good work. Titan, how is the newbie?” Arria asked.
“Resolved. She is handling everything well. Strength is an iffy gift but she is ready to fight.” I reported.
“Good. I hope you survive, Glenda.”
“Thank you.” Glenda said, strongly.
“Take them to the holding pen, Gray.” Arria commanded.
We walked the dull green hallways once again. In the pen, Sweetie grabbed her usual seat and I directed Glenda to the spot across from the arena door. I sat beside her and l
istened to her thoughts as I explained the routine.
“An announcer will call the fighter’s names. There are two X marks in the arena. When your name is called, go stand on one of them. The announcer will then open up the betting period, which will be your cue to kneel on the X. He will tell you when to stand. When he says let the game begin, the fight has started. My advice is to attack quickly but you must do what you are comfortable with.”
I was getting sleepy as I told her this. I knew I wouldn’t be awake much longer. I knew there was something I was supposed to do but I couldn’t remember what is was.
Sweetie woke me when Glenda knelt on her X. I shook my head but couldn’t clear the cobwebs. I maintained enough awareness to watch Glenda win her fight. It was strength on strength. We all congratulated her when she reentered the pen.
The look of sadness in her eyes let me know they had informed her of my illness. Her thoughts confirmed it.
Sweetie looked really worried. She could see I was struggling more than usual to stay awake. She had the thought of offering me her wrist to give me some blood. That’s what made me remember I was supposed to drink from Glenda.
“Glenda, I need to drink from you now. Arria wants me to take in as many strength and speed gifts as I can.”
Glenda fearfully held out her arm. I drank until her gift was added. I felt better but knew I needed more sleep.
“Thank you.” I told her.
There were two fights before Richard’s name was called. I watched him enter the ring and fell asleep before his match started. When they woke me, Sweetie was heading into the arena. I looked around and saw Richard, Comet, and Bloody Mary all sitting in our pen. I was glad they survived.
Sweetie’s opponent was gifted with poison. She did her usual thing and won easily. She was looking at me worriedly when she took her seat.
“How did you do that? He was screaming before you touched him.” Glenda asked in her confusion.
“Sweetie’s gift is illusion. She can make you see, hear, and feel anything she wants. Hers is one of the most powerful gifts.” I explained.