The Arena

by Bradford Bates

  The Council sent out a message to Adam and told him that they were willing to stop any and all hostilities against them if he and the ruling members of the rebellion would agree to a meeting. The Council agreed to celebrate Ada’s latest victory against the Demons and to welcome the Ascendancy back into the fold. Instead, the rebellion leaders left that meeting in chains.

  Adam had not brought all of the rebellion’s leaders to the meeting as the Council had asked him to do. Fearing that the meeting would be a trap, he left John in charge of the Ascendancy. He publically rallied our people against the Council, and in the end, they were forced to release the rebellion’s leaders. The Council let years pass by and took no further action, but they had not forgotten the humiliation that they had suffered at the hands of the young upstart. Twelve years to the day of their bitter defeat, they sent a team to America in secret to kill the man who had humbled them. Now eighteen years later, we had discovered that that man had a son.

  I was still trying to wrap my head around how this would affect me. John had been a friend of mine through the years, and I had been devastated by the fact that I couldn’t stop his death. I had been there as his house had burned to the ground around him and he fought twenty of the Council’s best to a near standstill. Sometimes I still woke up in the middle of the night, hearing his final scream of anguish. If only I had been faster, if only I had told Adam what the Council had been planning sooner, he might still be alive today. I had let the Council kill my friend to save my own skin. Why would they come to me now, requesting my involvement with John’s family again? Had they finally figured out my small betrayal? The bookcase across from my desk wavered as my vision blurred. Why can’t the dead just stay that way?

  My mind was pulled out of the memories of the past by the persistent ringing of the phone on my desk. The councilman didn’t wait for me to say anything before speaking. “Stillman, we have to figure out how to make this work for us. The Council, as you know, wants to bring the boy into the academy. I’m not sure we should let that happen. It could be too risky to let him live, let alone to put him with the man who mentored his father. I do not want to put the boy in a position where they could use him as something to rally behind.”

  It took me a few moments to pull myself together before I could even think of how to answer what he was asking. Could I betray my friend again and let them kill his only son? Did I not at least owe his memory one final kindness? Now wasn’t the time to be nostalgic, but maybe I could find a way to do the right thing and have it work in my favor. My personal feelings aside, it would probably be better for everyone if the boy just disappeared. If it had been anyone but John’s son, I wouldn’t have hesitated to make that call. Adam had already sent me a message, and more than anything, it was fear that drove me to do what was right. My morals had drifted away long ago.

  With the choice already made for me, I hoped to sway his opinion. “Councilman, I do not see that we have a choice. We have to bring the boy in, but that doesn’t mean we have to do it the way they want to. What if we could bring the boy in before they could find him? If the reports are correct, he is ignorant of our world. We could use that to our advantage.”

  There was a long pause on the line before I received an answer. “Stillman, what do you have in mind?”

  I had to think of a way to continue to work the situation in my favor, but hopefully he would think that what I had planned was in his best interest. “If we reach the boy first, maybe we can groom him to think of us as allies. If nothing else, it would put him slightly in our debt. If he feels as though he owes us his life, maybe we can use him to our advantage later on.”

  There was a heavy sigh and then silence on the other side of the line. When the councilman next spoke, he sounded resigned to give it a try. “Stillman, what is this plan of yours going to cost us, and how do we know it will work?”

  A smile crept onto my face at his words. I had him just where I wanted him. This was going to be a way to increase my own personal wealth as well as increase my standing with several influential people. I wiped the smile from my face to make sure no hint of my thoughts was betrayed in my voice. “I am going to need about two million dollars.”

  There was no sound from the other end of the line, but I knew that I had guessed at a price that was acceptable to him. Before he could think of backing out, I continued. “It’s a good investment for the chance we can manipulate the boy to our own ends. Who knows, we might even be able to get some information out of the academy, finally. Either way, he has to end up with Adam for us to get anything out of this. As far as I can tell, this is the only way we can exert some type of control into the situation.”

  The line was so quiet, I wasn’t sure if he was still there. Then, in a whisper, “Two million dollars has been transferred to your account, along with your normal fee. I’ll contact you again if anything changes.”

  With that, the line went dead, and I started to make mental preparations for what was in store. Finding the boy first would almost be impossible unless I had immediate help. There was only one way I could think of to get it.

  I picked up the phone and made one last call. “Antovious, I have a rather distasteful task for you.” I issued him my orders and started to prepare myself for what was coming next.

  It was time. Antovious had returned to my estate nearly an hour ago with what I had asked him to get. He was my greatest soldier and would never waver from his duty, no matter how distasteful it was. The offering had been gathered and placed into my sanctuary. I stood up from my desk and placed my still-burning cigar into the elaborately carved marble ashtray. I headed to the back of the study and activated the hidden panel. The bookcase slid slightly inward before sliding over to the right, revealing a doorway from my office into my private chambers.

  Once I had entered the sanctuary, the door silently slid back into place behind me. It was normal for someone of my standing to have secret rooms in their homes. Most of the time, the hidden rooms were used to hide magic use from the prying eyes of our human staff. I had one of those rooms as well, but this room was different. I used this room for summoning and controlling Demons.

  We worked closely with humans, and it would never do for them to know the extent of our true capabilities. Most mages had their sanctuaries hidden in elaborate fashions, needing to use magic or recite incantations to enter them. Personally, I preferred a little less flair for the dramatic. Who would think to look for a room hidden behind a bookcase? It was just too simple and too well known to hide anything of worth. To hide in plain sight was the Devil’s greatest trick, and I planned on using it to my advantage.

  I moved away from the entrance and started to prepare myself for the ritual ahead. Every step must be executed flawlessly; everything must be done to perfection. If the summoning ritual was not executed perfectly, there was a real chance that I would not be returning from this room.

  Looking over to the corner, I could see the girl; she was still drugged and lying on the table. The only thing that I regretted about the offering was the girl. I wouldn’t wish what was going to happen to her on my worst enemy. Underneath the table, I could see that the money had been arranged and there was a small chest of fine clothing. That should be enough for what I was asking for. It was more than enough. The Demon would know it was more than it deserved for such a small favor, but it would want more. They always did.

  The Demons hated being momentarily bound to our plane, and if possible, it would try and destroy me. Demons always tried to dig for more information, to find out what our true purpose in summoning them was. My hope was that if the Demon learned about what we had planned, it wouldn’t be able to get all the details from this meeting alone.

  There was no way to keep the Demon from knowing that this boy was special. The fact that we were trying to locate him indicated as much. Now I just needed to make sure the Demon never found out why the boy was so important to us. You could never trust a Demon, but once a deal was struck, they woul
d honor it, after a fashion. Of course, that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t try and work its own end once it was released from this plane. The Demons’ appetites were always ravenous; they would always lust for more.

  The room was a simple design based around the runes used for summoning and for protection. The room in front of me contained only a few features: a table for the offering, a fountain, and a large fireplace. I walked to the corner of the room and started to strip. I took a cloth from the table and dipped it into the fountain. I walked out to the center of the room and started wiping the cloth over the engraved runes on the floor, checking each line of the runes to make sure it was intact and not damaged in any way. The slightest flaw would leave me open to attack from the Demon.

  Once I finished with checking the runes for binding the Demon, I moved to the runes that would protect me from its influence. The first set of runes would keep the Demon from harming me physically; the second set would keep my mind safe. I checked to make sure the room was securely sealed and bound so nothing could leave once I started the ritual. Even if somehow I was claimed by the Demon, I needed to know it could only return to hell.

  Satisfied that everything was secured and ready for the summoning, I gathered all my clothes and the cloth that I had used to check the runes, and placed them into the brightly burning fire. I used a quick spell to gather any loose strands of cloth and hair. I burned these also, making sure nothing of myself was left outside of my circle of protection. I stepped into the circle and gently lowered myself into a sitting position, crossing my legs in front of me. My voice rose and fell as I started to chant the incantation to summon the Demon Adramelech.

  The fire flared and steam started to rise from the wet runes on the ground. The golden runes started to glow as the steam continued to rise. Repeating the incantation over and over again, I waited until a voice spoke from the mist in front of me.

  The voice came out as a whisper but filled the entire room with sound. It felt like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere. “I have come.”

  I could feel the Demon’s power all around me. It pushed against the shield my runes provided, testing it for weaknesses. I was surprised at how strong the Demon had grown since our last meeting. Without channeling some of my own power into the runes around me, it was possible I might not have been able to hold the Demon’s influence at bay. Keeping the Demon outside of my shield was the only thing that mattered now. I found the source of the runes’ power and started to feed it slow trickles of my magic.

  Before addressing the Demon directly, I created a personal shield around myself. If the worse should happen and the runes should fail, I might be able to hold him at bay long enough to escape. “Adramelech, I have summoned you here to ask for your service. If the service provided is to my liking, then you will be showered with the gifts I have laid out for you. If it is not, I will banish you from this plane and seek the counsel of another.” I hoped that threatening to summon another Demon would show that I was not bound to this deal alone.

  The Demon continued to probe my shield for weaknesses as he thought about what I said. The voice came again, this time from behind me, just a tiny whisper in my ear. “You forget your place, magus. I am not your servant to command. There is nothing to stop me from taking what you have laid out and leaving you with nothing.”

  I activated the runes guarding my offering, sealing the Demon away from its prize. A scream of rage filled the air. His voice pressed around me from all sides; the volume of it threatened to overwhelm me. “It did not have to go this way, Demon.” I made sure not to address it directly, trying to further stoke its rage. Not using a Demon’s name when it had achieved a higher place in hell was considered a great insult. “Just remember that you brought this on yourself.”

  I activated the second set of runes in the room, binding and containing the Demon, forcing it to manifest itself in a physical form. The Demon again screamed in rage. “Remember, Demon, I summoned you here, and you will be working for me! I did not bring you here to quibble over price or to waste your time. We both know the offering I have laid out is sufficient to pay for whatever service I request. You only have to decide if it will be you who gets it or another. You will have the girl for yourself and the money to support your followers in this realm. Not to mention some fine clothes for when you manifest in this plane. I will ask the question and you shall answer. Our deal will be done.”

  The voice was now more focused and sounded almost human, but came across with an ethereal quality. It still seemed as though it was a whispering at the back of my mind, but I could clearly place it as coming from in front of me. “It takes a lot to summon one of the knights of hell, magus. You must be powerful for one of your kind, or perhaps you have greatly overstepped your abilities.”

  The room grew silent, and then a naked man sprang from the mist and launched himself at me. I barely had time to strengthen the runes before he hit the shield. A normal man would have been thrown back twenty feet, running into the shield I had up. However, the Demon didn’t move an inch. Adramelech started beating against the shield with his huge human fists. Each hit required me to pour more of myself into the barrier. I could feel myself starting to waver; the Demon had grown strong, indeed.

  After what felt like several minutes, the Demon stopped and spoke. “Ask your question, magus, so our business can be completed.”

  A smile creased the corners of my mouth; I could feel the power shifting into my corner. I wasn’t sure if I could contain a Demon this strong, but I thought the offering would be enough to sway him. I had almost miscalculated greatly. I hoped he didn’t realize how close he had come to breaking through my runes. “Adramelech, I brought you here to locate someone for me. Is the offering sufficient for this task or should I look to summon someone else?”

  The laughter that followed was full of mirth. “You will not have to bother anyone else with your business, magus. The offering is sufficient for what you are asking. Give me a name and you shall have your location.”

  I provided the name to the Demon, and he summoned forth a map. I could see a small dot of what appeared to be blood on the map, indicating where the boy would be. With our transaction completed, I deactivated the rune that bound the Demon to his human form.

  Immediately he turned back into mist and tried to force his way past my shield again. Forcing his will against my shield with all his strength, he must have realized how weak his previous attempt had made me. I had expected little else from a Demon. I had been ready for it, but the continued encounter was starting to take a toll on my strength and I needed for our confrontation to end quickly.

  I laughed, trying to show strength that I didn’t feel. “Take your offering and be gone, Adramelech. We have struck a deal, and both sides have been paid.”

  The Demon pushed once more against my shield, as if hoping when I dismissed him that I had let my guard down.

  “Do not call on me again, magus; next time, I will not accept your offering no matter the price.”

  With that, the Demon and the offering were gone. I stayed inside my personal shield a while longer, making sure that the Demon had not lingered. I then used magic to reseal the room from the planes of hell. I felt my knees wobble as I rose to my feet. The first few steps almost sent me tumbling back to the floor. There was one more thing that I needed to do before I could rest.

  I stepped back into my study, grabbing a robe that I kept hanging from a coat rack. I quickly wrapped it around myself and sat down. I relit my cigar and thought about what I had just set in motion. I called to one of my lieutenants, who was waiting outside the study door. “Find Antovious and bring him here immediately.”

  The man rushed out of the door without saying a word. When Antovious entered the room, I handed him the map. His eyes widened a little bit in surprise. The map was a piece of magic outside either of our capabilities, and he knew it. To his credit, he didn’t ask any questions, although I could see them bubbling behind his eyes. “Leave now
, and call me when you have the boy in custody. I’ll provide you with further instructions once you have him secured. Do not let him get away. You have the full authority of the Council to do whatever it takes to bring him in. Make sure he isn’t hurt in any way; anyone else with him is expendable.”

  As he left my office, I sat back into my chair. I rested my head against the soft leather padding, enjoying the taste of the cigar as the room slowly filled with smoke, and my mind wandered into memories best left forgotten. The boy’s father had once been a friend, and I was thinking about betraying him a second time. I wasn’t sure if it would work out for better or worse, but the plan I had created was set in motion. If everything worked out well, I would hopefully find myself with a seat on the Council. It was worth the risk to have a chance to finally secure my legacy.

  3

  Jackson

  I don’t want you to think I grew up in some magical land, casting spells and killing dragons. I’m not even sure if there are dragons. There is so much for me left to learn. No, I simply grew up in your average American city. Granted, mine probably has a few degrees on yours in the summer. Tucson, Arizona is a jewel in the winter and blistering hot in the summer. There is literally an entire subset of residents who leave for the summer and return for the rest of the year.

  Just like your average family, both my parents had full-time jobs. They worked long hours to make sure I had everything I needed. Although we might not have spent as much time with each other, I grew up loved. I was your typical latchkey kid. I came home, did my homework, and waited for my parents to return from work. Maybe—just maybe—watched a little TV, and played a video game or two.