It was a new day. No honeymoon for me or Anzide, it was back to business. For today, that was the sparring room.
People leaned in, whispering to each other as I walked through the portal. It was crazy to think that I was probably related to all of them, if not most. Carsten walked next to me, proudly showing off his daughter without a word said. The smile on his face and the kick in his step said that he was one happy daddy.
As we drew closer to the stairs, I watched in amazement as people began rushing to the other stairs. There was already a long line along the corridor. People leaned against the rail to watch me. There was an element of excitement in the air. It was palpable, like a thick veil in the air.
"Are they going into the viewing room?"
"They are. That's the queue for the nosebleed section and it's a first come, first served. Beyond that, they can line up at the windows. It's an appalling view, but for the desperate, anything is better than nothing."
"You'd think that they'd build something to cope with everyone. I guess that would take a brain cell or two."
Carsten smiled at me as we began to walk up the stairs.
"It was built when there were less of us. They've been busy."
"Yeah, I guess they have," I murmured, looking at the crowd.
There wasn't going to be enough space. Slowly, the darkness consumed the glassed walls, creating a cover that would alter to whatever situation we created. Given I was going up against a vampire, it would be the night sky.
Carsten logged us into the sparring room while I suited up. Pulling a coverall suit from the shelf, Carsten gestured to the spell chart on the wall.
"Familiarize yourself with what is on the board. Think about what you can use against Drakkus. You might even want to think about spells that you can create for yourself. In this environment, we can talk about it and practice it straight away. Maybe even bounce ideas off each other, and create perfect spells. I've booked the afternoon for you so you can relax and think about your approach and what you want to try out."
"Well, I was actually thinking about it this morning. Kannon has been adamant that Drakkus is going to win. I think he will be there. I mean, he said that he'd be standing over my dying body, so there's that."
"And with that, we can assume that his parents will be there. Any thoughts on the other followers?"
"I met a few vampires who were acting as guards, but nothing specific. Did you talk to James?"
"He mentioned that he walked through the coven house, but there weren't many vampires there. I think to get any real idea about the numbers, you'd need to be there when he's holding a mandatory meeting. James said he would keep an eye on it but to be realistic, he can't give us every single minute of the day nor should he. James wants you to be the leader, but he needs a degree of separation from the clan."
"What about you?"
"I am different because I am related to the leader. It's a gray area that we are using to our advantage."
The door opened, and a man entered the sparring room. He gave us a nod and waited.
"Evelyn, this is Horatio, and he is a spell creator like yourself. When you are fully immersed in our world, you will work closely with him to learn your trade. He will be one of a few teachers that you will learn under."
I said hello with an uneasy smile. Horatio appeared to be a no-nonsense kind of guy.
"He's here to help you. I spoke with him about your issue and how you can enter this room and face off against me, but it doesn't give you a real view of the situation you could face. So, he thought about it and created a spell for you to go against. Horatio, if you will."
With another nod, he stepped forward. The walls of the room darkened, and the view of the forest returned. Horatio's legs parted into a firm sparring stance and his hands clasped at the far left of his body. The right hand waved through the air, and a gush of powdery black wind, the forest filled with shapes. Bodies of varying height and size. With a curl of his index finger, the last figure emerged. This one stood out from the others.
Moving his legs together, Horatio nodded and left the room.
"This is a rough guess on how many Drakkus has in his coven based on what James has seen around town over the past few weeks. The prominent figure is a representation of Drakkus. Each of these shapes will move, flee, and attack, but Drakkus will be much more brutal towards you. Before I say the word to start the fight, tell me your plan."
"Well, I suppose that without Drakkus telling them what to do, most of those vampires will either leave Hades or come crawling for forgiveness. I think that I would like to try and keep as many followers as I can get, for Niko's sake."
"Even if they are the ones that took part in the treachery?"
"I don't think any of those vampires are around anymore."
My father looked at me curiously, tilting his head to the side.
"James would have entered their minds once Hannah left, he would have seen who knew. If there was anyone that was worthy of death, he would have asked to include them in my list."
"Yes, I suppose that James has already started the search. You might find that a few vampires will go missing if they were involved. Okay, so you want to weed out those who you want to spare from the bloodbath. That means that you need to separate them from Drakkus and the Lothaire family. Do you recall anything from the list that might help?"
My mind sorted through the images like a fast filter, stopping when I reached the Ring of Fire spell. It was a fire that would burn tall as soon as it was shot out. All I had to do was cast the spell around the people that I wanted to trap, and it would remain high until I lowered it. That is, once I figured out how to make my hands do as they were told.
"Ring of Fire," I offered.
My father nodded with an appreciative smile. Raising his hands, he created a mini scene between us. With his finger, he curled it around the figures that represented Drakkus and the Lothaire's. It flamed blue, casting a soft hue over the darkened figures.
"A good selection. So, you cast the Ring of Fire to encase Drakkus and the Lothaire's. What next?"
"Well, the Lothaire's haven't done anything seriously wrong, so I can't legally destroy them. The most that I can do, according to Niko, is banish them."
"Would you attend to that first or last?"
"Last. I want Kannon to see me win. I want him to know how wrong he really is."
"And you should attend to them last as well, regardless of the issues you have with Kannon. I indulged in a little bit of light reading last night, and according to the law that the European vampires follow, there is an order that must be maintained. From leader down to the lowest subordinate, that is how you accuse, judge, and sentence. Curiously though, you can undertake the trial for the Lothaire's as a group rather than individually. Their crimes are exactly the same so there is a ruling that states that any members within a family that are charged with the same crime, and are likely to be found guilty or innocent as a group, can be judged as one. Thoroughly fascinating, you should read the series when,"
Carsten looked at me and then at the belly that was a little more prominent than it had been the last time he saw me.
"You probably won't have a spare moment for a while. Well, I'm sure it can wait. Tell me the plan after the Ring of Fire."
"Beyond the trial and Drakkus is found guilty, I have to kill him. I don't want to get too close, so I need to create a sharp implement to impale his heart, then remove his head."
"Well, start with the first before thinking about the big picture. You have this area," Carsten said as he enlarged the smaller version of Drakkus.
His finger circled the heart area on the figure.
"However, there is a slight dilemma with this situation. The physiology of a vampire is slightly different in this area. The gaps between the ribs are narrower. If you plan to impale Drakkus, your strike range goes down to this."
Carsten scrubbed out the circle and created another. This time, it was more like a thin oblong.
"What can you create?"
It had to be thin, but it could be wide.
"A sword." I offered.
"Remember, in a youngling like yourself, a spell draws from the surroundings that they can pull easily to them. We cannot wait for time to pass so that you can age and learn how to draw minerals from the ground."
"Okay, so I could form it into ice."
"Interesting. It has an element of rigidity, but you would have to remain mindful that ice can be broken or melted. You would have to actively maintain a high level of frost to ensure that the body temperature doesn't destroy the blade, but it can be done. Okay, I like it."
The small figure was impaled by a long ice shard.
"Do you think that you can draw enough water to create and maintain the ice blade between yourself and the target?"
I nodded. Holding up my hand, I felt the pull in my fingers as I dragged the water to me. My hand felt incredibly cold as it began to form the ice. It didn't take long for the blade to rise into the air. Long, sharp, deadly.
As soon as it was created, I sent a shot of warmth through it. Water dropped to the leaf litter below my hand.
"Well done. So, we've established that you will impale Drakkus with the ice blade, which leaves us with the final blow. I assume that you don't want to get too close with that either?"
I shook my head. The further I was away from him and the blood-spurting mess, the better. Carsten moved in front of me, forming a sword made of wood. He held it at arm's length and then moved forward.
"With a sword," he said, moving to the side of the sword that hung in the air next to me. "This is how close you could get. Is that something that you can handle?"
"No."
The sword disappeared as my father moved back to face me.
"Then you need to think of a weapon that is effective at a distance. Alternatively, you can create something like the wooden sword and send it flying through the air. You would have to be fast, but if the wood had a sharp edge, it could work."
"What about a whip?"
"There are no cows here or in Hades to make leather."
"I could make it from something else."
"Like?"
"How about the moon?"
My father was silent as he stared at me.
"Evie," he said softly. "I don't want to discourage you, but younglings should harness the products available to them in their environment. Calling the moon to you is no small feat. Not only is it a celestial body that has its own rules when it comes to interacting with this land but it is so far away. It would be easier for you to call iron. I won't stop you, and the idea certainly has merit,"
Carsten paused, looking at me with fear. A soft smile filled his face.
"You know what? The moon is up, she's shining bright, and you are stronger than others who are at your stage of learning. Go for it. Are you ready to begin the mock fight?"
I nodded. Carsten let go of the miniature version of these figures, then stepped back.
"Final check."
"I'm good to go. Call it."
Carsten smiled at me.
"Pumpkin pie."
I frowned but was quickly distracted by the advancing figures. Throwing out the blue flames, I watched as it surrounded the figures, subduing them. They could not go beyond the flames.
Taking a moment, I calmed myself down now that they were contained. Drawing water from the air, I sliced through the chest with ease. Now all I had to do was call the moon to me, to make it obey my request. I looked up at it and wondered if I'd bitten off more than I could chew.