Celie arrived at the arena, relieved her walk had been uneventful. Gibson’s caution, unnecessary it seemed.
Two huge Brutes, stood near a couple of gates off to the right of the main stadium entrance. The sign above them read ‘Competitors’, so Celie headed towards it. She was not the only one. A sizable crowd had gathered at this point. To keep the people from pressing too close, a ring of armed guards had formed around the gates.
Celie pulled her cowl right down over her face and elbowed her way through to the front. As she did, a big cheer erupted as a tall Krill suddenly appeared in the midst of the gathering. She hadn’t noticed anyone close to that size earlier so he had clearly been disguising his height somehow.
As he made his way through the throng, the captain nodded and opened a gap in the ring of guards, allowing the tall Krill to pass through.
The chant of, “Mill, Mill, Mill,” rang out as the Krill became visible to all.
Celie guessed his name was Mill.
Celie now made her way around to the guard captain and tried to catch his eye but he was busy repelling the now more enthusiastic crowd as they surged to get a better look at Mill.
Celie figured there was nothing for it, but to push her way past. But as she tried, the guard grabbed her with considerable force and flung her back.
At least she had his attention now. “I need to get to the gate over there,” Celie said, scowling.
The guard was about to push her back a second time but there was something about the look in the girl’s eye that made him hesitate. “You know what that gate’s for, right?”
“Of course,” Celie said.
“Stand aside,” shouted the guard captain, “Competitor.”
The guard moved slightly to his left and gestured for Celie to pass.
All eyes were trained on Celie now, as she broke through the ring and walked towards the gate. She had her hood pulled down to cover her face.
There was no cheering or chanting of her name. Just a murmur of curiosity. Mill turned around to look at Celie, seemingly unamused that the crowd’s attention was no longer on him.
As Celie neared the gate, Mill moved and blocked the entrance.
“Are you lost, little boy?” he said.
Celie stopped, the tall frame of Mill blocking the way.
The crowd was quiet now in anticipation of some sort of confrontation.
“The latrines are over there,” Mill continued, starting to play to the crowd.
The crowd began laughing at the unexpected entertainment.
Warming to his role as entertainer-in-chief, Mill continued, “Are you not going to show your face, boy?”
The crowd latched on to the comment and started chanting, “Face, Face, Face.”
Celie stood there for a few moments, before pulling her cowl back. She stared directly at Mill, ignoring the gasps of surprise from the crowd.
The crowd was clearly overreacting to the fact she was a girl, it was hardly all that surprising. Half of accuracy affines were presumably female, but the crowd was enjoying its role in this little drama.
Mill smiled at the crowd before looking at Celie. “Now, I know you definitely have the wrong place. My bedroom is over that way,” he said pointing towards the spires of his mansion. “You can wait for me there.”
The crowd roared with laughter.
Celie knew she should just walk past but before she knew what she was doing, she found herself grabbing Mill's lapels and pulling his face down to within an inch of her nose. “Be careful,” she whispered, “You have no idea who you are talking to."
Their eyes met and they held each other's stare for what seemed like an age.
Eventually, one of the guards, tapped Celie on the shoulder, “Time to go in, Missy.”
After which, Celie calmly pulled her cowl back over her face and continued on her way past Mill. She didn't even flinch as her shoulder brushed against him.
“Face, Face, Face,” the crowd chanted as she went in through the side entrance. So much for keeping a low profile, she thought.
Inside the door, a small thin Terron sat behind a desk, his thinning grey hair was brushed back over his head but did little to cover his baldness. He looked up from his notes as she approached and raised his eyebrows by way of a greeting.
“I’m here to register for the Tourney,” Celie simply said.
“I know,” the man replied.
Celie looked at the strange little man, expecting him to say something more, but when he ventured nothing, she said, “So what do I do?”
“You tell me your name.”
She gave her name and handed over the small note Gibson had given her.
The man read the note without even a flicker of surprise.
Putting the note to one side he said, “Celie of Mabel Forest, there is one more thing you must do. See the target at the end of the corridor, please hit it.”
“Have we started already?”
“No,” said the little Terron, “This is simply to check you are in fact an affine and not just wasting eveyones’ time.”
Celie quietly pulled an arrow and hit the target making sure she was well off the centre while still being comfortably on the target.
The old man checked the shot and then looked at Celie, giving her a slight smile. In that small smile, Celie had the distinct impression the man knew she had missed the exact centre on purpose, but he said nothing except, “Holding room eleven.”
A guard appeared from a door behind the man’s desk, “Please follow me,” he said.
As she turned to go, she noticed Mill was in the room. He had been watching.
Staring Celie right in the eye, Mill said, “If you don’t make the duels, my first duty as Seeker will be to find and kill you.”
Celie looked at him and decided to return to Gibson’s plan. “I barely hit the target over there, so the duels are likely out of the question for me,” and looked at the little man for confirmation.
The man nodded slightly.
“So you see, I’m no threat to you,” she added and then in a lower tone whispered, “To tell the truth, I only came here to see Lerrick Y’Kara. I hear he’s the greatest shot in the land.”
And then with her best moon eyes expression added, “I just want a chance to see him up close.”
“Y’Kara,” Mill spat. He was turning red again. “I will crush that upstart and his pathetic little House.”
The guard then coughed, bringing Celie’s attention back to him.
She left her conversation with Mill there and followed the guard out of the entrance hall, but not before noticing the enigmatic smile was back on the strange little administrator’s lips.
She followed the guard down a long corridor to a room, with a big number eleven on it. Once inside she heard the lock turn and guard walk away. Cell number eleven, she thought.
YOU ARE READING
Chasing Sparks
Fantasy[Completed] [The Affinity Series: Book 1] The affinities are echoes of magic from a time long past, giving enhanced powers to those that have them. And for any affines that bond with a spark, their powers are increased. One such sparked affine is Ti...
