Killing On Command

Chapter 18

Once the food was consumed and the guests pleasantly entertained, Lady Lamia stood to give her speech. She had dressed in a beautiful gown of gold and shimmering opals especially for the evening, in the hope that she would be respected again as the true leader of the Blood faction. However, with her husband sat beside her in his usual attire, she feared that their subjects would follow him rather than her, purely out of fright. She knew his true powers, after all, and the soldiers merely knew stories. She would assure them, is she was able, that his true powers were much more frightening and deadly than those told in legends.

Aware that most had not finished eating, she tapped her empty glass with a knife and let it ring for all to hear. It was, after all, time for her to speak, and she intended for every soul in the Hall to hear her speech whether they cared or not. Clearing her throat, she began to speak in her usual authoritative tone.

"I am sure we all know the terms on which this feast has been held." She began, looking around the Hall with her eagle eyes. "As you are all very much aware, tonight, as is the same for the final stage in our preparations every war, is the night for our glory. Tonight, we observe our newest recruits, and the skills they possess, as well as pushing them to their mental and physical limits. We will award them for all they give us, and punish those who do not follow orders, as disloyalty is punishable by death here at the Haven." She looked over at the newest recruit as she spoke. Alexandria Cheshire was the recruit who was most likely to betray them, and she wanted nothing more than to make her feel as though she could not get away.

Alex, however, didn't feel even the slightest bit intimidated my Lady Lamia's speech. She showed a blank expression as the woman spoke in her soft but clear voice, and caught her glancing over at her at one point, but kept her cool, even when she mentioned punishing them. He stomach did a back-flip and she felt slightly sick as the speech drew to a close and Requiem nudged her arm with his elbow subtly as her name was called.

"Alexandria Cheshire," A different voice called. She stood and made her way toward the front of the Hall, which was not far from her table. She lined up with the other recruits and straightened her back. She had noticed before that she was one of two female Blood soldiers who had been recruited for this war; the other was Maria, who looked terrified, with eyes darting around the room like she was about to be run down my a high speed carriage. 

"Now, I introduce to you our thirty new recruits. It will be this initiation which will fully determine the ranks you received by post, for we were unable to confirm them without the placement of this evening." One of the Elders explained. "The task is simple; narrow your numbers down to 15. You will be paired with your greatest rival in terms of your training, but you must defeat them with only the skills you know and the weapons we give you."

Alex looked around her. She could see Maria trembling next to her, and she grabbed her hand to try and calm her nerves. She could tell that it was making a significant difference, as Alex would be one less person Maria had to worry about fighting. Why, Alex thought, she was under the impression that she would try to kill her best friend, she didn't know. 

"Now, when your names are called, you will take a place atop of one of the tables in the hall. They will be your beginning arenas if you like." Requiem called as he stood and unrolled a list of names. "Maria, stop shaking, dear. You will be paired with Grey." He gestured to the table beside him, and the pair walked over towards their table. Alex noticed that Grey was a weedy looking man with a greyish beard and a bald head. He looked very weak, but relatively quick.

"Garret, you are paired with Char" Requiem announced, and he continued calling the names until he reached the final names at the end.

"Of course, the only pair left are Alexandria and Tiny." Requiem shot her a worried glance and rolled the parchment up again quickly. Alex looked to her right and saw what she could only describe as the most terrifying brute she had ever seen. Tiny was, as his name contradicted, huge. His arms were four times as large as her's, and he must have stood at least a foot taller too.  Alex felt her gut churn and she began to feel light headed, even though it would not benefit her in any way.