Not What It Seems

Chapter 3

Jocelyn cringed at the snapping of a bone. Fighters were always guaranteed to leave a duel with injuries, broken bones, or even internal bleeding. Some had died during or after duels, despite vampires having an accelerated healing rate. That was why she wasn't joyful at the idea that her other friend, Belinda, was due to enter the fighting circle any minute now. Even if she won the duel, she was still liable to be badly hurt by the end of it.

Jocelyn watched in morbid fascination as the losing contender dealt the reaper, Kendra, a series of hits that barely managed to register on the reaper's radar. She just lifted her contender by the throat and flung her across the dome. Belinda's eyes bled to black, which was a tell-tale sign that her inner monster was in control.

Much like shifters, all vamps – no matter the breed – had a dualism to the soul. Whereas shifters shared their soul with an animal, vampires shared theirs with a conscienceless dark predator that lacked empathy, was unable to emotionally connect, and had a strong sense of entitlement. An inner monster could surface, enabling it to then talk and take control. The only outward indication of such a thing would be that the person's eyes would turn totally black.

The reaper was currently looming over Belinda with her hand hovering over her chest, palm down. Belinda was crying out, her back arched like a bow. A few seconds more of what was clearly excruciating pain and Belinda raised her arm – a sign of surrender. The crowd went wild, cheering and chanting Kendra's name. She stood clenching her fists and breathing deeply, clearly battling her inner monster for control. Finally, her eyes returned to normal and the muscles unlocked as the monster retreated.

I'm up next, I can feel my own inner bitch getting twitchy with anticipation.

"For the next round me have our favorite of the Sup, Jocelyn!" The announcers voice rang out.

"Will the reigning champ be usurped tonight?"  "She will be dealing the new comer Wade!"

Why did it have to be him? Balls!

Seeming to revel in the noise of the crowd, Wade tossed Jocelyn a dismissive glance. "Joining me in this circle was a big mistake, Jocelyn." He said her name with distaste. Because Jocelyn  was known amongst her social circle for being an oddity. An abnormality. Some people made the mistake of believing that made her easy prey. Wade was clearly one of them.

Jocelyn simply taunted, "Prove it."

With a smirk, Wade conjured an orb of fire – a standard ability that most vampires had – and hurled it at Her. Sharply stepping to the side, She dodged the orb. But in spite of the anger threatening to steal her self-control, she didn't retaliate, which clearly puzzled Wade. What the he didn't realize was that Jocelyn  didn't want to duel with him. All she wanted was to get a grip on the dumb vamp.

Of course, she had abilities which would allow her to hurt Wade from a distance. But if she wanted to cause him real pain, she'd need to get her hands on him. Unfortunately, Wade seemingly intended to attack from afar. Jocelyn  needed to lure him close. That meant pissing him off – something which Jocelyn was totally okay with. By nature, she was a reasonably collected person. But she had a temper that ran quick and hot. "Do you feel empty inside? I mean, like, in your skull?"

"Bitch," hissed Wade. He launched one orb of fire after another; aiming for her head, chest, legs, and abdomen.

Jocelyn  evaded most of them, purposely allowing one to clip her shoulder and another to graze her leg. She didn't want Wade  to know how fast she was. She wanted Wade to be confident enough to come closer.

"Is that all you got?" "You throw like a bitch."

Snarling, Wade conjured two orbs of fire and threw them simultaneously. Jocelyn  ducked, evading both. Lightning fast, she whipped a stiletto blade out of her boot, curving her hand around the ruby-red marble handle.

Wade laughed. "You think a little knife will save you?"

Ordinarily, probably not.

"It's almost cute."

Jocelyn  sidestepped the orb of fire that flew her way. She could create fire shape it into anything. She could, however, do something more as well.

Generating fire in her left hand, Jocelyn  then infused it into the knife. Like that, the blade was aflame and totally lethal. Stilling, Wade gaped. For a brief moment, the crowd fell silent. They had all obviously assumed that the reason Jocelyn wasn't retaliating was that she didn't have any offensive gifts to boast of – wrong.

Wearing a patronizing smile, Jocelyn  twirled her blade on her finger. "Personally, I think this beats orbs." Because she could infuse fire into any object, making them instantly deadly. A blade. A pen. A hairclip. Anything. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that was fear on your chimp-like face."

Wade caught a dagger that one of his friends threw him and then launched himself at Jocelyn  – giving her exactly what she wanted. She evaded the sword, slashed Wades thigh, and then slammed her palm into His abdomen. He dropped to his knees, shuddering, with his mouth open in a silent scream of excruciating agony. It wasn't because of the fire eating away at his flesh. No, it was because of something far worse.

The crowd once more turned quiet, no doubt confused as to why a mere slice and a single hit had taken Wade down.

Wade fell onto his side and curled into a fetal position, sobbing, just as the umpire dashed over. "What's happening?" he asked. Jocelyn  returned her blade to her boot turned on her heel and walked out of the fighting circle.

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Thank you for reading. Maybe Wade isn't a nice vampy, maybe he is. Find out in the next chapters.