The Demigod Games Book One: Knives of Blood

Chapter Six: Private Sessions

Disclaimer: I don't own Stardust

Chapter Six: Private Sessions

Seneca walked onto the Gamemaker's balcony with a confident air, prepared for the tributes sessions.

"Send the first one in," he said.

After a moment, a scrawny boy with bleached hair entered. He had a cocky grin on his face as he walked over to the spears. Picking the first one up, he threw it at the target. It hit the bullseye. He continued throwing spears until Seneca told him to leave.

The next tribute was an extremely attractive girl. She had long, lustrous curly hair and big brown eyes. She winked at the Gamemakers and batted her eyelashes, her lip curled up in an confident sneer. She pranced over to the targets and picked up a bow and arrow. She hit a couple bullseyes, but mostly the outer rim. Seneca dismissed her after she was done.

The next Tribute was a large, beefy girl that immediately picked up the largest sword. She picked it up and skewered the dummies around her. Then she picked up some weights and through them around. Seneca dismissed her after she threw a hundred-pound weight ten feet.

The next person to enter was also very muscular. He grabbed a broadsword and hacked the already dismembered dummies into pieces of fluff. He was dismissed after a moment.

After him, a scrawny Latino boy with curly brown hair strolled in. He headed over to the electronics section and grabbed a large hammer. Seneca watched as he fiddled with wires and pressure plates, attaching them to the hammer. After a moment, he threw the hammer at the ground. It exploded with a BOOM! leaving the boy grinning maniacally and covered in soot. The surprised Gamemakers dismissed him quickly.

The next girl to enter was shorter, with curly blonde hair and stormy gray eyes. She looked around the room with a keen intelligence you didn't usually see in Tributes. She moved over to the knives. She threw a few, hitting the outer rim mostly, but a few bullseyes as well. She used the knives to slash a few dummies, and after a moment she was dismissed.

Next was a tall girl with straight, black hair and dark eyes like obsidian. She had a regal air, and her eyes swept across the room, assessing it. She grabbed a spear and skewered some of the mummies, and then she threw the spear and hit the bullseye. After that she was dismissed.

The next Tribute was a young man with sea green eyes and raven black hair. He grabbed a sword and hacked at dummies, leaving them in fluffy pieces.

A redhead entered next. She had a mischievous look on her face as she headed over to the climbing wall. She scaled the wall, the slid down smoothly. She was dismissed quickly.

Next was a pale boy with black hair and dark eyes. He slashed at some dummies with a sword before he was dismissed.

The next person to enter was a girl with wispy cinnamon hair and caramel eyes. She headed over to the edible bugs test, blushing when she got one wrong. After a moment, she was dismissed.

Next was a boy with golden hair and blue eyes. He headed over to the medic station, grabbed some supplies, and then shuffled over to the dummies. He cut a slit in the dummy's arm, and then he stitched it back up.

The next Tribute was an older boy with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He picked up an ax and threw it at the targets, hitting most of them but missing a few.

The next person was a girl with pale brown hair and pale green eyes. She painted herself and wedged her body between a rock and a tree, almost blending in save for the fact that she forgot to paint her neck.

The next person was a boy with brown hair and blue eyes. He tried the obstacle course but only made it a quarter of he way through before he was knocked to the ground and dismissed.

Next was a younger girl who headed straight for the snares. She fastened a few and demonstrated some of them, but was dismissed after her last one failed to work.

A younger boy with blond hair and strange violet eyes came in next. He picked up a sword and tried to use it against some dummies, but tripped and almost impaled himself. He was dismissed quickly.

Next was a girl with bright red hair and green eyes. She also camouflaged herself, and was much more successful than the other girl who tried. She stayed hidden for a while before she was dismissed.

The next Tribute was a larger boy who picked up a bow and arrow. He hit all bullseyes, and he looked surprised by his success as he left.

Next was a smaller girl with curly hair and golden eyes who picked up a Calvary sword. She slashed a few dummies and left looking pleased.

The next boy simply walked in and dumped out his pockets. Seneca recognized watches that belonged to other mentors, and even some personal items that belonged to the Gamemakers. The other Gamemakers looked furious and Seneca dismissed the boy before he was killed.

The next girl was the most surprising. She was smaller, with emerald eyes and brown ringlets. She quickly scaled a climbing rope in the middle of the room and jumped to the rope beside it. She jumped from rope to rope before sliding down one smoothly. 

Next was a muscular boy who picked up a two hundred pound weight and threw it ten feet. Seneca's eyes widened at the boy's strength.

The last tribute was a girl with choppy brown hair and color-changing eyes. She picked up some knives and threw them, one hitting a dummy in the heart. The second severed the rope holding a sandbag up, which burst open when it hit the ground. She then threw one at the light fixture, releasing a flurry of sparks. 

Seneca nodded in approval, and was about to dismiss her when the roasted pig across the room caught his attention. He turned to see a look of pure fury on the girl's face. Before Seneca could comprehend it, the girl had thrown a knife and hit the apple in the pig's mouth. Most of the Gamemakers stumbled back in panic, but when Seneca turned to face the girl, but she was already gone.