M&L03 - SS (16 page)

“Sometimes the rapid spread
of information can be used to our advantage,” Claire commented from the other
side of Renee. Then she reached out and patted Renee’s hand. “You should keep
that in mind dear.”

“Um, thanks Claire, I’ll do
that.”

With Claire, you never knew
why she was giving you advice, but if she was giving it at all, it was
important and you should take it seriously.

Just then, Serafina came down
the stairs followed by six of Rook’s best security people. Claire smiled and
removed a bag from the seat to her left just in time for Serafina to sit down
between her and Josephine. Niko, Rook’s second in command, leaned in and
whispered something in her ear.

Serafina shook her head. “I
don’t care what kind of chatter Rook’s been hearing. I’m not going to be any
safer sitting up there in that throne than I am sitting down here with my
friends. Do whatever you feel is necessary but I’m not going back up there.”

We all stifled a laugh and
with a resigned sigh, Niko started moving people out of the immediate area that
weren’t part of our inner circle of friends. Then he stationed guards at the
corners, another one directly in front of Serafina and finally he sat down
behind her.

About that time, I realized
there were several new people that Renee might not have met yet, including
Serafina, Angela and Liliana. After making introductions, I sat back and let
the women talk while I looked around.

This stadium was easily three
times the size of the largest football arena in the human realm and judging by
the number of people still pouring in it was going to be full to the brim. Down
below in the battle zone, fighters were starting to trickle in and many of them
were doing stretches or other warm-up exercises.

Realizing I hadn’t placed any
bets yet, I typed out a quick text and sent it to my favorite bookie. Renee
read over my shoulder and asked, “How many fighters will move on to the next
round this year?”

“The first fifty fighters to
make it out of the maze will move on to the next round.”

There was a loud noise like a
crack of thunder then a familiar voice filled the arena. Kasper had been the
announcer at The Pit and at the annual tournament for as long as I could
remember. “Welcome one, welcome all to the nine hundred thirteenth annual
tournament!” The crowd cheered and applauded. “Before we move on to tournament
business I have an important announcement to make. For those of you who have
not already heard, the widely renowned sorcerer Solomon has finally mated his
lovely assistant Miss Renee Jacobs.”

Renee’s face turned bright
red but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing because I knew whatever Kasper
said next was bound to be interesting.

When he continued I wasn’t
disappointed. “I know a lot of you ladies out there will be deeply saddened by
this turn of events but rather than stocking up on batteries I wanted you to
know I am available for all your sexual needs.”

The crowd erupted with
laughter and Renee’s eyes went wide as she sank down into her seat.

“I know, I know. Some of you
may be thinking I’m not up to the task, because hey, who could live up to
Solomon’s reputation, but there’s no harm in giving me a trial run. After all,
a warm body with a hard shaft is better than a vibrating piece of silicone any
day.”

Lot’s more laughter now as
most of us doubled over with tears in our eyes.

When everyone started to calm
down Kasper moved on with, “Most of you know how this tournament works but for
the newbies or anyone who might have forgotten there are five events including
marksmanship, sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat, dance club transformations,
and maze creations. This year we have chosen five sorcerers to participate in
the two magical competitions and since they will be creating the mazes used for
the hand-to-hand combat, they are excluded from that event. The marksmanship
and sword fights are open to everyone. 

As usual, we will begin the
tournament with a free-for-all elimination round for the hand-to-hand
competition. The first fifty contestants to make it out of the maze alive will
be eligible to compete in the next round. Now, if the contestants will gather
in the center of the ring young Mr. Grayson, the official sorcerer of Supernova
and this tournament will erect the first maze of the tournament.”

The fighters moved to the
center of the ring as directed and Grayson stepped forward with his runic
stones already in hand. Moments later a complicated maze erupted from the sand
filling the battle ground thirty feet below us with stone walls that were ten
feet tall and four feet thick. The contestants were trapped in the middle until
Kasper gave the word, at which point Grayson would open the doors allowing them
into the maze.

Another spell had already
been cast over the arena that would amplify the action for the spectators. We
could zero in on any part of the arena and the spell would zoom in and show it
to us from the best possible angle.

Excitement ran through the
crowd like electrical currents and all eyes focused on the maze.

“Before we begin,” Kasper’s
voice once again filled the arena. “I’ve just been informed that Solomon has
agreed to take young Grayson on as his apprentice. Perhaps with proper training
and erection skills like that, magic won’t be the only thing he excels at.”

The roar of laughter this
time was deafening.

“He did not just say that.”
Renee gasped beside me.

“Yes...” I couldn’t stop
laughing. “Yes he did.”

With the laughter still
thundering through the stadium Kasper bellowed, “Let the games begin!”

The crowd went wild as
hundreds of the best supernatural fighters surged into the narrow corridors of
the maze battling each other for the right to compete in this year’s
hand-to-hand competition. Males and females alike cut through the weak, leaving
only the strongest, most skilled fighters to navigate the twists and turns of
Grayson’s maze. One by one the unworthy were left behind. Most of them were
probably still breathing, but there was no way to tell until it was all said
and done.

In front of us, Liliana and
Angela were watching the action with wide eyes. When the first throat was
ripped out, they turned and asked together, “Is that legal?”

I shrugged. “There aren’t
really any rules. We try not to kill anyone during the tournament, but
sometimes things get out of hand. Most of us wouldn’t die from something like
that though.”

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Liliana
asked, her eyes following her mate as he swiped his claws and ripped a
vampire’s chest wide open.

“Yeah, we might heal the
damage quickly but it hurts like hell to get your throat ripped out,” I told
her shaking off unpleasant memories.

The scene below us took on a
gruesome edge as rivers of blood ran through the sand and more than one vampire
lost a limb or two. Kasper kept up a running commentary loaded with his usual
sarcasm. The noise from the crowd grew louder as everyone cheered for their
favorite fighters and urged their loved ones to be victorious. Throughout the
stands, bookies worked frantically to take bets before the action came to an
end.

“Damn, I’ve never see anyone
get their limbs ripped off at the annual tournament before, in The Pit yes, but
not here,” Renee murmured taking in the savagery of our clansmen as they tore
through one vampire after another.

Her whole body shivered and I
wrapped my arm around her shoulders pulling her close. “Shapeshifters heal fast
but they can’t regenerate limbs like vampires and most nightshifters can. So
far, the only ones to lose their limbs have been vampires so there’s no
permanent damage yet. With the hatred that burns between us and the vampires
from New Orleans I’d say this is actually pretty tame.”

“Tame?” Liliana gasped
incredulously, turning to stare at me with wide eyes. 

“Imagine what it would look
like down there if the goal was to be the last man standing instead of the
first one out of the maze.”

Her eyes got even wider as
her mouth formed an
O
.

“I’d wondered why they used
the mazes, why not just go for a knockout,” Angela said shaking her head. “Now
it makes a lot more sense. I don’t think I could sit through this if all those
fighters had to be rendered unconscious to be disqualified.”

“In the early days of this
tournament that was exactly how it was done, but we lost too many of our best
fighters that way so we adopted this method instead.”

Katerina sat forward suddenly
and we all followed her line of sight to where Danarius was surrounded by a group
of his own vampires. I expected to see a bloody fight, and even with five
against one, I would have given Danarius pretty good odds, but then he
surprised us all and proved why he was king of the vampire mountain. Danarius
casually walked up to each vampire and twisted their heads off while they stood
still as statues, unable to break his psychic hold over them.

“Quite impressive, isn’t he
Katherine?” Claire asked when Danarius moved further down the passage towards
one of the exits.

Katerina turned to the
psychic and sighed. “I do wish you would call me Katerina. I haven’t gone by
Katherine for over two centuries now.”

Claire shrugged and smiled
serenely. “No matter what you decide to call yourself, your given name will
always be Katherine.”

Katerina rolled her eyes and
let it go.

A few moments later Rook tore
his way through a couple of vampires and emerged through the exit across the
arena from where we were sitting. The crowd cheered as he disappeared through
the tunnels to the locker rooms.

“That’s one down. Rook was
one of the people I picked for the top fifty.”

“Do you have to pick all
fifty right to win anything?” Renee asked, her eyes never leaving the battle
zone.

“No, but the more I get right
the better.”

Renee’s shoulders stiffened
and I followed her intent gaze to where Dimitri was being slammed into a wall
repeatedly by Noah. When he was finally left face down in the sand, Renee
turned to me with one eyebrow raised. “That smirk on your face is entirely too
satisfied Solomon Reynard.”

“You can’t expect me not to
enjoy watching him get his head bashed in,” I scoffed.

She rolled her eyes at me.
“Well at least you’re not the one doing the bashing.”

I inclined my head thinking
it wouldn’t be long before I had my turn, but wisely keeping that comment to
myself.

“Will the next round be won
the same way?” Angela asked over her shoulder, shouting to be heard over the
cheering crowd.

“No, the rest of the
hand-to-hand competition will be more like a hunt,” I answered.

Angela looked like she wanted
to ask more but the crowd surged to its feet and we all followed suite trying
to see what the excitement was about. I scanned the arena and finally spotted
Dragon near one of the exits where he was kicking the ever-loving shit out of
Bran. The roar of the crowd grew to deafening levels as Dragon rained blow
after blow down on the most hated wolf in the history of The United Clans. When
Bran was nothing more than a bloody heap at his feet, Dragon let out a roar
that vibrated the stands then he turned and strode out of the maze.

A few moments later, all eyes
were on Doyle as he fought his way through a group of vampires. He moved so
fast even supernatural eyes could hardly follow him.

“Wow, I’ve seen Doyle fight
before but not like that.” Angela shook her head as Doyle savaged one vampire
after the next. The vampires kept coming at him but he tore through them as if
they were standing still.

“It’s too bad Doyle doesn’t
realize the exit is right behind him,” Renee commented.

“I don’t think he’d care if he
did,” Katerina observed. “He seems to be enjoying himself.”

With one final kick, Doyle
sent a vampire crashing through a wall to land on the other side. He turned,
looking for his next victim but the remaining vampires were backing away with
their hands held out in front of them. Doyle smirked at them, then turned and
strolled out the nearest exit. Once he crossed the finish line, he threw his
head back and howled. The other contestants who’d made it out of the maze
joined him and their triumphant animal voices mingled as they celebrated their
victories.

Kasper’s voice rang out
through the stadium. “Well hot damn, that was a hell of a fight! It’s almost a
shame we have to move on to the marksmanship preliminaries next...”

Kasper kept talking but with
the first round of the marksmanship competition up next, the stands were
already clearing out.

“Why is everyone taking off
so fast?” Liliana asked glancing around at the lines of people heading for the
exits.

“They’re probably going to
get something to eat or drink,” I answered.

“Don’t they want to watch the
marksmanship competition?”

“Most of us think
marksmanship is pretty boring until the targets start moving,” Katerina told
Liliana honestly. “But cheer up; we’ll all be glued to our seats for the
marksmanship finale.”