The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 13 (PART 1) - TRITTEON

Callen's eyes flashed black, but he said nothing, and followed Gauwin from the group.

The rest of them hollered out their partner's name and dispersed.

The moment the last pairing got into position, frosted walls shot out of the floor, surrounding each in a twenty-yard by twenty-yard box. I kicked off my boots and scaled the nearest pillar until I was high enough to reach the ceiling beams and could survey every duel both visually and mentally with a bit more ease.

I stepped out onto a beam, my clawed feet gripping it tight. "At the sound of the horn," I said, my voice still magnified.

There was perfect silence as each person faced the other, taking up their own individual combative pose. I could hear the excitement and anticipation in every mind, both in the arena and out in the observation boxes where the Royals and Ambassadors watched, finalizing their bets for the first round.

"Whenever you are ready, sir," I said to Rilyin.

Rilyin's voice echoed through the arena. "Three—two—one." The deep horn sounded and the beam beneath my feet shuddered.

All thirteen FengDohrn and Daniel went into attack mode. Their fighting styles were familiar and distinctly different. Many had even improved since last year. Callen and Gauwin's fight was almost a blur of swings, kicks, blocks, and dodges. Gauwin had been a worthy opponent last year. This year, her skills were at a new caliber of fierceness, and one of the two pillars within their box was left in pieces. I almost felt sorry for Callen. The previously cocky kid was no match. The frosted walls around them turned green the second the match ended.

A few boxes down, Daniel fought against Kaya, Lord Daxtel's FengDohrn. Kaya was talented and quick. But Daniel was the only one who had ever come close to taking my undefeated title.

None of the duels lasted longer than one minute. None of them were evenly matched. But that was what the first couple of rounds were for. Round two was a little more interesting, a few more pillars left as rubble, but they still didn't last any longer than a minute. Round three saw four matches almost hit the two-minute mark. Round four saw Aeryn and Kasra almost reach four minutes before Aeryn slammed her to the ground and won with claws against her throat.

Round five saw several shortened tempers and blood and broken fingers were prevalent.

"Hanna, Kasra, Kaya, and Lark," I yelled, "you are done. You may exit the arena where our medical staff is waiting to assist you. Gale and Callen, you are disqualified."

The six exited grudgingly.

"Alright. We are tightening things up," I said. "From this round on, you lose, you are done."

There were shouts of approval and the atmosphere buzzed with excitement. No more playing. Everyone was now completely warmed up.

With only four pairs left, monitoring was simple. I could fully enjoy the matches now. For most of them, the Rest House was the only place they were allowed to relax where their charges were concerned, and the Duel was the only place they could unleash their skills and show off without being reprimanded. A stress free FengDohrn was a sight to see and it usually took until the elimination rounds for them to feel it.

The deep horn sounded for the next round.

The remaining eight were closely matched now. Aeryn fought Nova and Nova was finally presenting him with a real challenge. Her moves were quick and almost vicious in their execution as she struck only where it would cause the most damage. There was nothing vicious about her thoughts though. They were only full of calculations and a complete trust in her body's capabilities. Aeryn's bulkiness made him slightly slower, but his blows had a lot more power to them.