Eternal Fire

Chapter 14

Azazel's POV

I leaned against the wall of the lounge in the stadium. Today is the first day of our in house games. Soon we'll know who gets to see who gets go to the official games. Joseph was leaning against the wall with me. Like me, he was the strong silent type. He was cunning and hard as steel. He and Cleo had an intense past. Cleo gave Jocelyn a vague run down of it from them growing up in the orphanage to them street fighting together. We were a strange group. Three warriors, only one of which is actually respected amongst us, and a High Priestess who is a loud Gypsy Witch. If you looked at us, the only ones who seemed friendly were the women in our group and truth be told they were far scarier than either of us. Jocelyn was a powerful witch and Cleo was an earthquake packed inside a tiny body. Watching Cleo in the games will surely be a sight to see.

Joseph pulled a cigarette out of his pack and held them out to me. I took one and borrowed his lighter. "Don't let Cleo find out. She'll knock us into next week, " he grumbled. "With her strength, I think she'll knock us to another planet, " I told him. He chuckled, but he has yet to see her strength. She was gonna really shock the world when she gets to the games.

We smoked our cigarettes as we watched the games begin on the TV screen in front of us. "So why can't Cleo take part, " He asked me out of curiosity as we watched Reginald compete in the archery contest with a few others. "Because she is our secret weapon so to speak. Most of the world thinks having a first-ever female warrior is just a myth. Even many of the students think it's just a myth since Cleo doesn't parade around." Joseph nodded, "Showing off has never been her style, that's for sure."

We fell silent as we watched the screen. Many of the others came here to win. Many wanted recognition, wanting to prove themselves. Others wanted the slight boasting of fame it gives you if you win and compete. Most would say, not all winners are remembered, sometimes it's those who put on a good show. With warriors, those that put on a good show, showing their strengths, intelligence, and abilities, are the winners. The year four students really had something to prove. It was their last time to compete if they make it to the games. At any moment their abilities could kill them, or they shine to show they have mastered them and graduate. It's rare a student is ever killed by their abilities before the fourth year, and it's even rarer for them to master them before they reach their fourth year. It's why there is such a wide difference in the attitude of students. The first two years students tend to be carefree and happy, simply cruising. By the third year, they're readying themselves that it could be their last year to live. Then during your fourth, they become serious and tense, knowing at any moment it could happen. It's a crazy way to live but we manage it just fine.

I put my cigarette out in the ashtray by the window. Smoking was pointless. The nicotine and toxins don't affect any of us once we're marked, and whatever damage is done prior to being marked is completely erased from the body as if you never smoked a day in your life. We also can't be affected by illnesses. Poisons and wounds, on the other hand, vary per person, depending on your race. Vampires aren't affected by poisons and even the most tragic of wounds can heal unless you're torn to pieces and burned. Witches have a high tolerance for poisons and will only be affected as if they had the flu, but they can die from simple wounds like humans, although witches have more blood in their bodies due to their bodies have adapted to be able to do many spells needing blood without the worry of dying from blood loss. They could lose a gallon or two and still live without the need for more blood being put back into them since their bodies can easily produce more once it has the strength. Werewolves, like vampires, can survive many horrific wounds, unless the weapon used was made of silver. Poisons, on the other hand, varied in their effectiveness. Wolfsbane will kill a wolf instantly, but something like cyanide gas will just make them sneeze. Humans, on the other hand, were such delicate creatures.