The Trouble with Hades

Chapter 44

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."