As I walked down the long tunnel toward the arena, I imagined that it must be what Earthly football players felt like before a big game. Darkness surrounded me in the tunnel, and at the end of it a beacon of light directed me where to go. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. The mark on my neck smoldered as though it knew what we were about to do. To my right, Beckett strolled along the tunnel swirling a blue ball of magic in his hand as though it was more a comfort than readying to attack. Behind me I could hear the other large shifters sucking in deep breaths and grunting as they fought not to transform into their animal forms.
Grayson strolled up on my other side, seeming as calm as ever. “I’ll tell you this much. This lot isn’t going to last long unless they get their stuff together.”
I gave him a sideways glance but said nothing. He seemed surprised that I hadn’t expected his chatter. “Oh, come off it. A little fire between friends never hurt anyone.”
“Who says we’re friends?” I continued to march forward, doing my best to focus on the task at hand.
“A vampire chooses his friends wisely. I’d bet good money that you and I will be in the finals.”
“So?”
“So the way I see it, we should work together. I could always use a wingman.” He rubbed his elbow against mine.
“I think in this I’ll fly on my own.” I paused, letting some of the other Guardians pass by him. “I’m no wingman.”
“Suit yourself.” Gray strode forward, leaving me behind.
I took a second to listen to the crowd in the area. The walls around me vibrated with cheers and movement. As I walked toward the entrance the roar grew louder. When I passed out into the stadium I was momentarily blinded by the bright lights shining down on me.
“Tucker Brand.” My name blared out over a loudspeaker and the crowd went wild. I could feel the magic in the air, pressing down on me like an impending storm. All around shifters, vampires, the noble elves, and Demi-Greeks cheered from the stands. Pixies fluttered about dropping drinks and popcorn to waiting hands.
“My money’s on you, Tuck!” A being in the crowd called out to me. I turned slowly, looking up into the bleachers. I found myself in the center of an oval-shaped stadium. Boulders riddled the hard packed dirt field. It looked more like a rocky desert than a grassy football field. Gravel crunched under my feet. Straight above there was a box where three thrones sat empty. Three? I thought there were five queens. Odd.
The announcer’s voice boomed all around. “Citizens of Evermore, I give you your Queen Witches.”
One by one, three teenage girls walked out into the box. I’d expected them to be dressed like the queens they were, like my mother. In royal regalia. But they were dressed like they belonged in the middle of a human high school. Having lived my whole life in the Cindelore Kingdom with the other members of the Phoenix Clan, I’d become accustomed to our traditional dress. Now standing before the Queens of the Witch Casts I rather liked how normal they all were.
From out of nowhere Beckett appeared at my side. “I thought there were supposed to be five Queens. Where’re the other ones?”
“There are, I’m not sure what happened to the others.”
I would have thought that Beckett, being a witch, would know more about the five Queens. For the life of me I couldn’t understand why he was even talking to me right before the contest. Beckett rolled his eyes. “That’ll make this cycle even easier.” Sarcasm dripped from his every word.
I shrugged. “There’s got to be a good reason for the other two not to be here.” I hope.
“What’s to stop Alataris from coming here today and ruining everything, I wonder?”His icee gaze ran over the crowd as though he were waiting for Alataris to make an appearance.
“According to my mentor, this arena is mystically enforced to keep evil out.” I looked around at all the beings gathered to watch the Trials and wondered how many of them were spies for King Alataris.
“Good to know.” Beckett nodded at me then in the blink of an eye he was gone. How in the hell is he doing that?
“Serrina Darling, Queen of Desires,” the announcer boomed once more, drawing my attention back up toward the thrones. She took a small step forward and tossed her mane of hair over her shoulder. Blonde streaks wove through her thick brown waves, giving her a two-toned look. When she lifted her hand and waved to the crowd they went wild. Again it struck me how normal those Queens looked. With her black leather leggings and graphic tee, she’d fit in with any punk rock band. She was beautiful, with a delicate, oval-shaped face and small, straight nose, and I could see the other competitors gazing at her with interest. She didn’t smile or laugh, simply raised her hands to her lips and blew a kiss. Across her T-shirt in hot pink letters were the words ‘wild child’. I tilted my head to the side, wondering if indeed she was the wild child of the group.
She motioned for the crowd to calm down. The craziness settled to a low hum when she began to speak. “Thank you for coming to the Guardian Trials. As you know, there will be three separate events, in which each of the contestants will compete. As has been done in the past the Trials take place before the last Queen ascends to her full power. The fifth and final Queen will Ascend in two weeks’ time and we must all be prepared. All of you were born to be Guardian but not all of you will rise to the status of Knight. There is only room for six of you, there will be no more and no less, so says the law of Evermore and the elder witches of the five casts.” She waved to the girl standing next to her. “Nova Pass, Queen of Death.”
As Serrina took her seat, Nova rose and stepped forward. When I first heard of the Queen of Death I’d expected her to be a dark, goth-looking teenager. I was completely and utterly wrong. Her white hair hung in long, straight locks nearly to her bare waist. Though it was only about seventy degrees she looked as though the heat was bothering her. Sweat beaded her brow. She wore a burgundy tank top and cut off shorts, as though it were summer rather than a mild fall. Another thing that stood out to me as odd was that she wore bright red gloves that ran from the tips of her fingers to her elbows. She fanned herself with her hand. When she gazed out at the crowd they were rapt with her every word.
“Within the first Trial our volunteers will be sent to the depths. I will stress that in this trial it is important to defend our dear friend. To...” She paused, gazing down at all of us. “To protect her. Each competitor will be awarded points for how they complete the tasks. Whether they work together or alone, and if their style matches ours. I must point out that there will be three tasks each one focusing on a specific aspect necessary to become a Knight. Offensive skills, Defensive skills, and immunity to Magic. Each of these will serve us well in the time to come and the difficulties the Queens will face in the future.”
Nova sucked in a deep breath, as though utterly overheated, and sat back down. The crowd hummed with excitement. She popped back up to her feet. “Oh yeah.” She waved her arm toward the third witch sitting next to her. “Tabitha Spry, Queen of Elements.”
Tabitha’s shoulders shook as she chuckled at Nova. Her dark, wild curls seemed to stand on their own accord. Her ebony skin seemed covered in golden sparkles. A bright purple flower sat perched behind her ear, which matched the bright colors of her bohemian, floor-length skirt. She held her hands up. “For your second Trial you will be expected to find our volunteer within a challenging and dangerous terrain. Intelligence will be key in this Trial. Failure to find our volunteer will result in your dismissal.” She folded her hands in front of her and smiled down at us. Her bright white teeth stood out against her mocha skin as she chuckled again. “The third and final Trial…Well, that’s our little secret. And lastly, the rules. If you are a shifter you may not shift into your full animal form.”
I sucked in a breath. Shit. She continued. “If you are a magical being such as a witch or elf—” Her eyes landed on Beckett. “—you may only use two of your natural powers. And finally, you were all given a necklace with a crystal hanging from it. If at any point in time you wrap your hand around this crystal and wish to leave, you will be immediately pulled from the competition and the cannon will sound, letting your competitors know that one of you has fallen. There is no shame in this act. Out of all the beings in Evermore you few have made it this far. Good luck to you all.”
Tabitha raised her hands over her head and the ground under my feet rumbled. “Niche, come forward.”
A woman who looked to be in her late twenties strolled out in front of the three Queens. But then again all beings who lived in Elmore aged very slowly and looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties. When she turned away from the crowd, giving them her back, her deep red hair stood out to me. Is she a phoenix as well? She was so slight, maybe five foot two, and barely a hundred pounds. As the ground below me rumbled so hard I had to take a knee and balance myself while the other Guardians fell down. She pulled a small vial full of bright blue liquid from her jeans pocket. When she uncorked it I knew something was going to happen. She tilted her head back, draining the contents fully.
She swayed on her feet, and leaned against the rail around the Queens’ box with her back still to us. The rocks around me vibrated over the ground, shifting away from the center of the arena. Though we were indoors the wind kicked up, blowing across my face. A crevice opened in the ground, slowly expanding toward the outer rim of the arena. The ground dropped out from under some of the competitors and they fought to hold onto the sides, then screamed with terror as they fell into the abyss one by one.
The arena rocked as if the whole structure was going to fall into the opening. Screams of panic rang amongst the spectators. Yet I couldn’t take my eyes off of the swaying redhead who stood with the Queens. Her body went limp and she tumbled backward past the railing. Bright red streamed up past her face as she tumbled straight toward the center of the opening. I leapt forward, forcing myself not to phase into my phoenix form.
With the twist of my body I was only a foot above her. I dove straight down, then caught her before she could disappear into the abyss. I cradled her in my arms and skidded to a halt just on the other side of the crevice.
The three Queens peeked over the edge of the railing. Nova, the Queen of Death, canted her head to the side. “Interesting.” She tugged her red gloves higher up her arms. “Let’s see if we can give him a challenge.”
I felt the air move around me as though a weight were settling over the ground. The woman in my arms had yet to wake, while the floor began to vibrate once more. But instead of me falling down, I felt things coming up from beneath where I stood. “What the—?”
Skeletal arms shot up from the packed arena floor, and wrapped their hands around my ankles. With one hand I cradled Niche, their volunteer. With the other I summoned one of my swords. Flames shot down from my shoulder all the way to the tip of the blade. I swung the sword down, severing the hands that held my ankles. I stepped backward as more hands rose up. All around me green smoke and skeletons struggled to the surface, reaching, their mouths gaping with soundless screams.
“Hold on to your ass,” Tabitha called down from above.
What does that mean?
And then, with Niche still cradled in my arms, we plummeted.