Dark Heart of Magic
Page 19
“Hey, Katia,” Felix said.
He smiled, but it quickly turned into more of a grimace, and he dropped his eyes from hers and started glancing around the tents, probably looking for Deah.
But Katia had no idea that something was wrong and sidled a little closer to him.
“I haven’t heard from you lately,” she said. “We used to text all the time, but not so much anymore.”
Felix’s grimace deepened. “Oh, I’ve been . . . busy. You know, with school and Family stuff and everything. Haven’t you?”
Katia frowned. “Yeah, I guess.” Another sunny smile split her face, lighting up her hazel eyes. “But I thought that we could catch up after the tournament is over for the day. Maybe go over to the Midway, get some food, and . . . talk.”
“Oh, um, I . . . well, you see—” Felix stammered, trying to find an excuse to turn her down.
Whispers surged through the crowd, saving him from having to answer her. People moved aside, and Blake strutted over to us, along with the other Draconi competitors, with Deah trailing along behind them.
“Oh, look,” Blake said, stopping and sneering at us. “It’s the losers’ bracket.”
“Always nice to see you too, Blake,” Devon replied in a calm tone.
Blake’s brown eyes narrowed. “I don’t know why you guys even bothered to show up. Everyone knows that Deah’s going to win again. Isn’t that right, Sis?”
He nudged her with his elbow, but Deah wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead, her gaze was locked on to exactly how close Katia was standing to Felix.
Her face turned as cold and hard as her brother’s. “Yeah. That’s right.”
Felix winced and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to explain himself to her, but he couldn’t do that with Blake and the other Draconis standing there.
Blake ignored the rest of us, his gaze moving up and down Katia’s body. “You know, I meant to tell you yesterday, but you are looking good as usual, Katia: too good to hang out with these losers.”
Katia looked at Blake, then Felix, then back at Blake. “Thanks,” she said in a neutral voice. “Good luck out there today.”
“Baby, I don’t need luck.” He smirked. “And neither do the rest of the Draconis. Come on, Deah. Let’s go tell Dad how much we’re going to enjoy beating these losers.”
Blake shoved his way right in between Devon and Felix, knocking them both aside. Devon glared at Blake’s back, his hands clenching into tight fists, but Felix stared at Deah the whole time. She dropped her head, skirted past him, and hurried to catch up with her obnoxious brother. Felix held his hand out, as if he was going to grab her shoulder, but he dropped it to his side at the last second.
Deah didn’t see the motion, but Katia did. The other girl looked back and forth between Felix and Deah. She frowned, realizing that something was going on between them, even if she didn’t know exactly what it was.
“Forget about them,” Devon said. “We should go over to the fence and scope out the obstacle course. They’ll announce the competitors for the first heat soon.”
“I’ll go with you guys,” Felix volunteered. He forced himself to smile at Katia. “We’ll catch up later, okay?”
“Sure,” she said, still frowning and looking at Deah’s back. “That will be great.”
“Great,” Felix replied in a too-bright voice.
He nodded at her, then whirled around and started walking toward the chain-link fence. Not quite running, but close enough to it. Katia’s frown deepened, but she nodded at Devon and me and headed back toward the Volkov tent.
“Let the games begin,” I muttered.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Devon and I caught up with Felix at the fence, where he was looking out over the obstacle course, along with most of the competitors.
The workers had completely transformed the stadium floor. Gone was the flat, empty, grassy field, and in its place stood hurdles, balance beams, a zip line, and a fifty-foot-tall rope ladder.
But the centerpiece of the stadium was a large, natural cold spring filled with fresh, clear water that constantly bubbled. Legend had it that the spring had the same healing properties as the water that flowed down the falls on Cloudburst Mountain, and tourists used to come and bathe in the spring, before the Families decided to build the stadium around it.
Natural rock formations shot through with veins of bloodiron ore rose up out of the ground around the spring, making it look like a miniature Stonehenge. Oh, sure, the rocks and grass and water made the spring seem pretty and inviting, like an oasis in the middle of the stadium, but really, the rocks, grass, and water were just more obstacles to get through.
Because this event was also for the tourists, all the obstacles, from the hurdles to the balance beams to the zip line, were decorated in cheesy ren-faire style, with flags, banners, and feathers, or adorned with snarling monster faces, just like all the Midway shops and restaurants. Fake tree trolls hung from portions of the rope ladder, while black plastic lochness tentacles stuck up out of the spring. The bubbling water made it look like there was a real lochness lurking in the cold depths there.
“Tough course,” I said.
“Yeah,” Devon agreed. “But how fast you finish it determines where you’ll be seeded in the tournament. So you want to get through as quickly as you can.”
The tournament had one hundred twenty-eight competitors, all members of the Families. After we finished the obstacle course, the one-on-one matches would begin, continuing over the next couple of days until there were two folks left standing, who would duke it out to see who won.
When I finished sizing up the obstacle course, I turned my attention to the competition. I recognized almost all the guards milling around the fence, since they were the same guards that I’d spent the last four years ducking when I was picking pockets, stealing cameras, and swiping phones on the Midway. But there were a few people I didn’t recognize.
Lucky for me, Felix was already chattering a hundred words a minute, telling me all about the Family members, including their strengths and weaknesses.
“See that Volkov guard? He has a major strength Talent. Don’t let him hit you, or he’ll knock you out with one blow. And that Salazar dude? He can form fireballs with his bare hands. Don’t let him touch you, or he’ll burn you so badly you won’t even be able to hold your own sword. And that Ito woman over there, well, she’s been known to. . . . ”
He smiled, but it quickly turned into more of a grimace, and he dropped his eyes from hers and started glancing around the tents, probably looking for Deah.
But Katia had no idea that something was wrong and sidled a little closer to him.
“I haven’t heard from you lately,” she said. “We used to text all the time, but not so much anymore.”
Felix’s grimace deepened. “Oh, I’ve been . . . busy. You know, with school and Family stuff and everything. Haven’t you?”
Katia frowned. “Yeah, I guess.” Another sunny smile split her face, lighting up her hazel eyes. “But I thought that we could catch up after the tournament is over for the day. Maybe go over to the Midway, get some food, and . . . talk.”
“Oh, um, I . . . well, you see—” Felix stammered, trying to find an excuse to turn her down.
Whispers surged through the crowd, saving him from having to answer her. People moved aside, and Blake strutted over to us, along with the other Draconi competitors, with Deah trailing along behind them.
“Oh, look,” Blake said, stopping and sneering at us. “It’s the losers’ bracket.”
“Always nice to see you too, Blake,” Devon replied in a calm tone.
Blake’s brown eyes narrowed. “I don’t know why you guys even bothered to show up. Everyone knows that Deah’s going to win again. Isn’t that right, Sis?”
He nudged her with his elbow, but Deah wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead, her gaze was locked on to exactly how close Katia was standing to Felix.
Her face turned as cold and hard as her brother’s. “Yeah. That’s right.”
Felix winced and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to explain himself to her, but he couldn’t do that with Blake and the other Draconis standing there.
Blake ignored the rest of us, his gaze moving up and down Katia’s body. “You know, I meant to tell you yesterday, but you are looking good as usual, Katia: too good to hang out with these losers.”
Katia looked at Blake, then Felix, then back at Blake. “Thanks,” she said in a neutral voice. “Good luck out there today.”
“Baby, I don’t need luck.” He smirked. “And neither do the rest of the Draconis. Come on, Deah. Let’s go tell Dad how much we’re going to enjoy beating these losers.”
Blake shoved his way right in between Devon and Felix, knocking them both aside. Devon glared at Blake’s back, his hands clenching into tight fists, but Felix stared at Deah the whole time. She dropped her head, skirted past him, and hurried to catch up with her obnoxious brother. Felix held his hand out, as if he was going to grab her shoulder, but he dropped it to his side at the last second.
Deah didn’t see the motion, but Katia did. The other girl looked back and forth between Felix and Deah. She frowned, realizing that something was going on between them, even if she didn’t know exactly what it was.
“Forget about them,” Devon said. “We should go over to the fence and scope out the obstacle course. They’ll announce the competitors for the first heat soon.”
“I’ll go with you guys,” Felix volunteered. He forced himself to smile at Katia. “We’ll catch up later, okay?”
“Sure,” she said, still frowning and looking at Deah’s back. “That will be great.”
“Great,” Felix replied in a too-bright voice.
He nodded at her, then whirled around and started walking toward the chain-link fence. Not quite running, but close enough to it. Katia’s frown deepened, but she nodded at Devon and me and headed back toward the Volkov tent.
“Let the games begin,” I muttered.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Devon and I caught up with Felix at the fence, where he was looking out over the obstacle course, along with most of the competitors.
The workers had completely transformed the stadium floor. Gone was the flat, empty, grassy field, and in its place stood hurdles, balance beams, a zip line, and a fifty-foot-tall rope ladder.
But the centerpiece of the stadium was a large, natural cold spring filled with fresh, clear water that constantly bubbled. Legend had it that the spring had the same healing properties as the water that flowed down the falls on Cloudburst Mountain, and tourists used to come and bathe in the spring, before the Families decided to build the stadium around it.
Natural rock formations shot through with veins of bloodiron ore rose up out of the ground around the spring, making it look like a miniature Stonehenge. Oh, sure, the rocks and grass and water made the spring seem pretty and inviting, like an oasis in the middle of the stadium, but really, the rocks, grass, and water were just more obstacles to get through.
Because this event was also for the tourists, all the obstacles, from the hurdles to the balance beams to the zip line, were decorated in cheesy ren-faire style, with flags, banners, and feathers, or adorned with snarling monster faces, just like all the Midway shops and restaurants. Fake tree trolls hung from portions of the rope ladder, while black plastic lochness tentacles stuck up out of the spring. The bubbling water made it look like there was a real lochness lurking in the cold depths there.
“Tough course,” I said.
“Yeah,” Devon agreed. “But how fast you finish it determines where you’ll be seeded in the tournament. So you want to get through as quickly as you can.”
The tournament had one hundred twenty-eight competitors, all members of the Families. After we finished the obstacle course, the one-on-one matches would begin, continuing over the next couple of days until there were two folks left standing, who would duke it out to see who won.
When I finished sizing up the obstacle course, I turned my attention to the competition. I recognized almost all the guards milling around the fence, since they were the same guards that I’d spent the last four years ducking when I was picking pockets, stealing cameras, and swiping phones on the Midway. But there were a few people I didn’t recognize.
Lucky for me, Felix was already chattering a hundred words a minute, telling me all about the Family members, including their strengths and weaknesses.
“See that Volkov guard? He has a major strength Talent. Don’t let him hit you, or he’ll knock you out with one blow. And that Salazar dude? He can form fireballs with his bare hands. Don’t let him touch you, or he’ll burn you so badly you won’t even be able to hold your own sword. And that Ito woman over there, well, she’s been known to. . . . ”
