Chapter Three #3
Understood, but I am feeling weak.
You are scheduled to fight first thing in the morning. I would also recommend that you don’t take so much as to keep you awake during the night. Energy vampires can sleep at night, I believe.
I do now, yes.
Then you should try to get as much sleep as you can. You were once a blood vampire, correct?
Correct. How do you know this?
Baltazar briefed me. He feared you might try exactly this.
Does he have a way of knowing about our conversation?
None that I’m aware of, though I am hardly versed in the ways of magic and telepathy. Should you try to escape, he would be alerted, of course. As mentioned, it is said that the arena itself is an extension of the Dark One. If so...
He would see and know everything that happens.
Yes.
But he himself doesn’t have access to this conversation?
No. It is a well-known fact the Dark One cannot read our minds. This gives the people of Grandar some relief.
I imagine so. It is the same in my world. Demons and devils can tempt but don’t have access, unless access is granted.
It is the same here. He pauses, then asks: Are you controlling me, vampire?
Only a little. I’ve commanded you to keep this conversation between us. That’s it.
But you could control me if necessary?
If necessary. But it is not necessary now. Timrick, is there something about the Games that I should know? Something that might better help me understand what I’m up against? Give me a random fact, please.
Years ago, a spectator fell onto the pitch. The spectator soon learned, along with all in attendance, that once on the pitch, there is no escaping it. No one, not even Baltazar, could fetch him.
What happened to him?
He was entered unofficially into the Games. He barely lasted five seconds, before his head was lopped clean off.
So if people fall in they can never leave.
That seems to be the case. Unless...
Unless what?
It is a well known fact that the royals can come and go as they please. Sometimes, the king likes to stand over a fallen warrior and prop his foot up and take pictures with the corpse.
Weird, but okay.
But others must remain in the stands and other designated places.
This doesn’t bode well for my flying out of there.
It does not, though no one has ever tried it. Nearly all warriors are wingless.
But some have had wings?
They did, but the wings were bound.
My wings can’t be bound or clipped.
That is strong magic.
Angel magic, we call it.
We believe in angels here.
Do you now?
Yes, of course. Guardians angels. One of them fought in the Games. He brought with him a magical sword that cut through everything, demons included. He was unstoppable. Some thought he was sent to the Games to destroy the Dark One once and for all.
What happened to him?
He was overwhelmed by demons. He killed many hundreds of demons but was eventually overwhelmed. His sword was seized. Without it, he wasn’t too much of a problem.
Angels can’t die.
No, he fled, but not after doing massive damage to the Games and the demon horde that lives beneath us. No more angels have fought in the Games. He was the only and last.
Tell me about this sword.
Black as night. And long. Turned demons into clouds of smoke.
Whoa! The angel had a Devil Killer sword. How that was possible, I didn’t know. The question was... what happened to the sword?
Do I understand correctly that you do not wish to kill, Moon Warrior?
I do not.
You are in quite a predicament then. You must kill to survive the Games.
I realize that. Tell me, who joins the king during the Games?
The queen and his sons, of course. There are three sons, No daughters.
What are their ages?
20, 18, and 10, I believe.
Where does the royal family view the games?
There is a special viewing box near the pitch. Maybe twenty or thirty feet above it.
Is it magically protected?
Undoubtedly, though no one has ever tested it defenses.
That will be all, Timrick. But I want to remind you...
Yes, to keep this all to myself.
Very good.
I will never, ever discuss this conversation. Your command is very strong.
Good to know.
Tomorrow you will fight, Moon Warrior.
I understand.
Please do not try to escape. I would hate to see you die. I have enjoyed our conversation.
Even if you were coerced into talking?
We Granardians enjoy being told what to do. It is why the kingdom has existed for as long as it has, with such cruel rulers.
You enjoy my commands?
Oh, yes. Maybe excessively so.
I log that info away as we sit with our backs to each other, with only the wall separating us.
Next, I reach through the wall, toward his bright violet aura, a color I’ve never seen before.
Timrick is very obviously not immortal, based on the enormity of his aura surrounding his physical body.
Soon, I puncture through his aura and begin siphoning his energy, which is a strange and heady brew indeed.
Sweet and powerful. Soon, he is snoring loudly, the wall itself rumbling.
Myself, I am buzzing and ready to fight.
But not to the death if I can help it.