Chapter Four
Loud pounding on the iron and wooden door stirs me awake.
‘Tis just me, Moon Warrior, Timrick’s words come straight into my head, as our telepathic connection is still active. Do not be afraid, and please do not attempt to escape. From this moment forward, you must follow my commands to a ‘t.’
Understood.
Are you ready for the carnage?
As ready as I’ll ever be.
I wish you good luck. I’ll say a prayer to the All Seeing Eye.
Is that your God?
It is what we call the Origin of All life. Sometimes, we think It looks favorably down upon us if we ask It to.
Well, thank you for your prayers.
Already done, Moon Warrior. The wood sprite is awaiting your entrance. Follow me closely, please. Remember, the Dark One is watching. I do not want to see you imprisoned.
Neither do I. I thought Baltazar was going to lead the way.
He is unavailable this morning; apparently, the king’s youngest son was acting up and was putting the whole royal family in danger.
I thought he was the good kid.
I thought so, too.
And with that, my massive chamber door is thrown open, and there stands before me a behemoth of a guard. His broad shoulders nearly fill the doorway, but I feel the kind eyes immediately.
Timrick the Fallen, of course.
Yes, it is I, Little Moon, he says to me telepathically with a faint smile. I am but one of many of my kind. We belong to the Sentry Class, if you will.
All sentries look like you?
He nods. More or less. I was born into it. We are bred to be as large as necessary, then trained from childhood in every manner of hand-to-hand combat. In theory, I could subdue any of those placed in my care.
In theory?
He smiles a little wider. I confess, Little Moon, I am not entirely certain how I would subdue someone who can command my actions with her mind. Speaking of which, it is best to keep speaking telepathically. The Arena has ears.
Understood.
With that, he gestures for me to follow him, which I do, retracing my steps from the night before when I had followed Baltazar from the Arena into this place.
Meanwhile, I am dressed in my best gladiator attire: jeans, sneakers, and a white t-shirt, nothing else. Unfortunately, no water, which I will need for my ice sword.
Will I be given water?
Yes. Additionally, there will be an array of basic weapons provided for you, including the nourishment favored by those of your realm. If you require water, it will be given. What is your weapon of choice, Little Warrior?
Water.
Fascinating. I am eager to see it in action. Do you need a lot of water?
Not much, actually.
This is unheard of.
I am sure it is.
Never have I seen water employed as a weapon.
You’ll see soon enough. I hope.
Yes. I will be watching and rooting you on.
We continue along the very same tunnel I’d entered in with Baltazar just yesterday.
Only now it is alight with a bright red light, infusing everything.
I could have been a chick in an incubator, though this light emanates from their weird dwarf sun.
Either way, thank goodness the light of day no longer affects me, though I wonder if a red sun might actually decrease my strength.
Maybe the creators of Superman were onto something. Hmm, guess we’ll see.
Now, as I walk along the tunnel that curves around the battlefield pitch, I can’t help but notice a steady and loud hum in the air.
And a vibration that seems to rise up from the ground itself.
We soon come upon an immense arched passageway, grander than any of the side entrances we’ve passed.
It reminds me of a Roman triumphal arch, only darker somehow, its black stone threaded with glowing crimson veins that hint at the evil sleeping beneath the arena.
A heavy curtain hangs before it, swaying gently. Through the shifting fabric, I catch a glimpse of a crowd unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It looks less like a stadium and more like an entire planet has gathered to watch me die.
Timrick the Fallen pauses before the curtain and seems to be waiting for something.
They are announcing you, Little Moon. They are letting the crowd know you are a female human psychic vampire, a mother, and something called a private investigator.
They are listing your many accomplishments.
And by accomplishments, I mean notable battles.
Ah, I see you defeated the devil of your realm.
Surely, that will strike fear in the wood sprite.
And maybe even in the Dark One himself. Ah, they are done.
Now, they are announcing your opponent. She is one foot tall and weighs twelve pounds.
She has been alive for nine hundred of your Earth years.
She is from a parallel Earth world. She is known as the greatest warrior to have ever graced her world.
She has never known defeat, not even once.
Nor has an opponent ever even struck her.
She has never tasted her own blood or felt the sting of blade or fist. Ah, you will likely die today, Moon Warrior.
I am sorry to say. I have seen her kind before, and they are nearly impossible to defeat.
I wish you well in your afterlife. May the All Seeing Eye accept you into Its warm embrace.
May It indeed.
And with that, the heavy curtain parts, and Timrick leads me through.