Tears of Blood ✔

XXVIII - The Games

I was completely cold. Numb. Once again wrapped up in the red-accented black leather with my hair braided back. Odette in a white bodysuit that looked exactly like her dress in the Ceremony and Arnav in blue.

I was trying to run through the events, the competition events. But unsurprisingly, my mind had gone completely blank. So, I instead chose to focus on the area in front of me. A completely blank grassed field, with once again, a small box behind us where I could see Alexander, Harmony, Vance and then the two monarchs, along with who I supposed was the leader of the individual choir or court that Odette and Arnav came from. 

However, far at the other end of the field, was a small, hovering table, surrounded by a dimming, dark green light. At the table sat three witches, I had never seen them before, yet they were instantly recognisable. While they were far away, so I couldn't make out any of the fine details of their faces, I could feel the power radiating off them from here.

I'd never had much to do with witches. In fact, they almost never fell victim to the Nightstalker. Quite frankly, I think the organisation was too scared to go up against them. To stay satisfied with the few witches that had decided to side with them and leave the rest to their own. 

I had heard of them, seen then perhaps from a distance, but never like this, never been able to feel their power as if it were a bucket of ice-cold water, rushing over me. Something inside of me tingled, like a hand in my chest reaching out, desperately trying to grab onto that tether of magic that flowed towards me so temptingly. 

As I watched them, holding my body deathly still, one of the witches turned to me. The centre one with thick, green hair matted into long, dirty dreads with eyes that seemed to move like lava on burning rocks.

A gnarled, bony hand moved forward, a yellow fingernail raising just slightly towards me.

I felt my blood chill.

"Welcome!" The booming voice of Alpha Montgomery snapped me out of what felt like a lucid dream. "To this year's Games! Our representatives Arnav Dhar, Odette Fedorov and Cassandra Verano will battle against each other in a series of events to decide the truly superior!"

Cheers and screams surrounding me, camera's whizzing. Every single one of these smaller events felt the same. Loud noises, camera's, all the rest. I could feel the deja vu, constantly at the back of my mind.

The ground began to rumble, and all of a sudden, three pillars raised from the ground directly in front of where we were standing.

"The first event... Archery!  But not as we know it." Alpha Montgomery began. "It's simple, each Representative with take the bow and within one minute, aim to shoot as many targets as possible. However, the targets will not only be in difficult, unreachable places but also moving. Our judges, Madela Digby, Euphemia Snow and Salina Grim will decide on the most effective run. Throughout the competition order will run normally as usual, which is as follows: Siren, Wolf, Fae. Arnav, please take your bow and prepare to begin."

Without a moment of hesitation, Arnav leaned over and grabbed the bow. As his hand wrapped around the translucent, blue bow, moving it to his lips, quickly murmuring a few, illegible words that I couldn't make out. As he did so, the whole bow seemed to be covered in shimmering, pearlescent light. 

He grabbed the quiver of arrows that lay on the floor beside the pedestal and in one easy moment, slung it over his shoulder, face hard in preparation for the first event.

A countdown, filled with the voices of every audience member that lay in the stadium. And then, a loud, ringing sound. And so Arnav began.

From the exact point of where he was standing, I watched as the arrow went flying. The first target popped up only a few metres away, the other turned up in a tree that could barely even be seen. Yes as I heard the distant thud of wood on wood, I knew he had made it.