Dark Heart of Magic (8 page)

Several tables had been set up outside the white tent, which was serving as command central and the medical center, and we got in line with the other competitors. In an instant, everyone turned from cheery and loud to tense and quiet, their gazes cutting left and right, scanning the lines, and checking out the competition.

As the Sinclair bruiser, Devon got his share of speculative looks, but most folks were focused on Deah, who stood at the front of one of the lines, along with Blake and the rest of the Draconis.

Deah was dressed in a red T-shirt with a gold snarling dragon crest and matching shorts, just like the rest of the Draconis. Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her gold cuff glimmered on her wrist. Instead of smirking at everyone like Blake was, Deah stared straight ahead, pretending she didn't notice everyone staring at her. She didn't seem to like being the center of attention any more than I did.

Each competitor was assigned a random number. Devon drew number seventeen, while I was number three. Naturally. Bad things
always
came in threes. I wondered if this was an omen that I wouldn't do well in the tournament. Probably. But I pinned the paper number to my T-shirt anyway.

Once we got our numbers, there was nothing to do until the first event, an obstacle course. So Devon, Felix, and I ended up hanging around outside the Sinclair tent, watching the ebb and flow of people and pixies.

“You guys are going to do great,” Felix said. “It wouldn't surprise me if you both ended up facing off in the final round against each other.”

Devon groaned. “I hope not. Lila will kick my ass for sure.”

I lightly punched him in the shoulder. “You'd better believe it, Sinclair.”

He laughed and looked at me, and I found myself falling into his green, green eyes—

“Felix! There you are!” a voice called out.

The three of us turned to see Katia Volkov weaving through the crowd and heading our way. She bounced up beside Felix and gave him a dazzling smile, her dark red braid swishing across her back. Like everyone else, Katia was dressed in a Family T-shirt and matching shorts, dark green with the silver wolf head that was the Volkov crest. A matching silver cuff glimmered on her wrist, while the number thirty-three was pinned to her T-shirt.

“Hey, Katia,” Felix said.

He smiled, but it quickly turned into more of a grimace, and he dropped his eyes from hers and started glancing around the tents, probably looking for Deah.

But Katia had no idea that something was wrong and sidled a little closer to him.

“I haven't heard from you lately,” she said. “We used to text all the time, but not so much anymore.”

Felix's grimace deepened. “Oh, I've been . . . busy. You know, with school and Family stuff and everything. Haven't you?”

Katia frowned. “Yeah, I guess.” Another sunny smile split her face, lighting up her hazel eyes. “But I thought that we could catch up after the tournament is over for the day. Maybe go over to the Midway, get some food, and . . . talk.”

“Oh, um, I . . . well, you see—” Felix stammered, trying to find an excuse to turn her down.

Whispers surged through the crowd, saving him from having to answer her. People moved aside, and Blake strutted over to us, along with the other Draconi competitors, with Deah trailing along behind them.

“Oh, look,” Blake said, stopping and sneering at us. “It's the losers' bracket.”

“Always nice to see you too, Blake,” Devon replied in a calm tone.

Blake's brown eyes narrowed. “I don't know why you guys even bothered to show up. Everyone knows that Deah's going to win again. Isn't that right, Sis?”

He nudged her with his elbow, but Deah wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, her gaze was locked on to exactly how close Katia was standing to Felix.

Her face turned as cold and hard as her brother's. “Yeah. That's right.”

Felix winced and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to explain himself to her, but he couldn't do that with Blake and the other Draconis standing there.

Blake ignored the rest of us, his gaze moving up and down Katia's body. “You know, I meant to tell you yesterday, but you are looking good as usual, Katia: too good to hang out with these losers.”

Katia looked at Blake, then Felix, then back at Blake. “Thanks,” she said in a neutral voice. “Good luck out there today.”

“Baby, I don't need luck.” He smirked. “And neither do the rest of the Draconis. Come on, Deah. Let's go tell Dad how much we're going to enjoy beating these losers.”

Blake shoved his way right in between Devon and Felix, knocking them both aside. Devon glared at Blake's back, his hands clenching into tight fists, but Felix stared at Deah the whole time. She dropped her head, skirted past him, and hurried to catch up with her obnoxious brother. Felix held his hand out, as if he was going to grab her shoulder, but he dropped it to his side at the last second.

Deah didn't see the motion, but Katia did. The other girl looked back and forth between Felix and Deah. She frowned, realizing that something was going on between them, even if she didn't know exactly what it was.

“Forget about them,” Devon said. “We should go over to the fence and scope out the obstacle course. They'll announce the competitors for the first heat soon.”

“I'll go with you guys,” Felix volunteered. He forced himself to smile at Katia. “We'll catch up later, okay?”

“Sure,” she said, still frowning and looking at Deah's back. “That will be great.”

“Great,” Felix replied in a too-bright voice.

He nodded at her, then whirled around and started walking toward the chain-link fence. Not quite running, but close enough to it. Katia's frown deepened, but she nodded at Devon and me and headed back toward the Volkov tent.

“Let the games begin,” I muttered.

D
evon and I caught up with Felix at the fence, where he was looking out over the obstacle course, along with most of the competitors.

The workers had completely transformed the stadium floor. Gone was the flat, empty, grassy field, and in its place stood hurdles, balance beams, a zip line, and a fifty-foot-tall rope ladder.

But the centerpiece of the stadium was a large, natural cold spring filled with fresh, clear water that constantly bubbled. Legend had it that the spring had the same healing properties as the water that flowed down the falls on Cloudburst Mountain, and tourists used to come and bathe in the spring, before the Families decided to build the stadium around it.

Natural rock formations shot through with veins of bloodiron ore rose up out of the ground around the spring, making it look like a miniature Stonehenge. Oh, sure, the rocks and grass and water made the spring seem pretty and inviting, like an oasis in the middle of the stadium, but really, the rocks, grass, and water were just more obstacles to get through.

Because this event was also for the tourists, all the obstacles, from the hurdles to the balance beams to the zip line, were decorated in cheesy ren-faire style, with flags, banners, and feathers, or adorned with snarling monster faces, just like all the Midway shops and restaurants. Fake tree trolls hung from portions of the rope ladder, while black plastic lochness tentacles stuck up out of the spring. The bubbling water made it look like there was a real lochness lurking in the cold depths there.

“Tough course,” I said.

“Yeah,” Devon agreed. “But how fast you finish it determines where you'll be seeded in the tournament. So you want to get through as quickly as you can.”

The tournament had one hundred twenty-eight competitors, all members of the Families. After we finished the obstacle course, the one-on-one matches would begin, continuing over the next couple of days until there were two folks left standing, who would duke it out to see who won.

When I finished sizing up the obstacle course, I turned my attention to the competition. I recognized almost all the guards milling around the fence, since they were the same guards that I'd spent the last four years ducking when I was picking pockets, stealing cameras, and swiping phones on the Midway. But there were a few people I didn't recognize.

Lucky for me, Felix was already chattering a hundred words a minute, telling me all about the Family members, including their strengths and weaknesses.

“See that Volkov guard? He has a major strength Talent. Don't let him hit you, or he'll knock you out with one blow. And that Salazar dude? He can form fireballs with his bare hands. Don't let him touch you, or he'll burn you so badly you won't even be able to hold your own sword. And that Ito woman over there, well, she's been known to. . . . ”

After a while, all the names, faces, and Talents ran together, and I couldn't remember who did what. And still, Felix kept right on talking. Sometimes, I thought that he must have speed magic to talk as much and as fast as he did.

“Hey, guys,” a voice called out, interrupting Felix. “What's up?”

We turned to find a slim, petite girl standing behind us. She was wearing a purple T-shirt patterned with a cluster of purple wisteria flowers and matching shorts, along with a silver cuff stamped with the same design. The number twenty-one was pinned to her shirt, and her black hair was pulled back into a pretty braid.

“Poppy!” I said, reaching out and hugging the other girl. “It's so good to see you.”

Poppy Ito laughed and returned my hug. “You too, Lila.”

She hugged Felix and Devon as well, then drew back, grinning at us. “You guys ready to rock 'n' roll?”

Felix jerked his thumb at Devon and me. “They are. I'm just a spectator, as usual.”

“Well, I'll be hanging out with you soon enough,” Poppy said. “Probably by round three or four.”

“I'm sure you'll do great,” Devon said.

She waved her hand. “Don't sugarcoat it. I'm quick, but my fighting skills aren't the best. But it's always fun to compete.”

Poppy was the daughter of Hiroshi Ito, the head of the Ito Family, and was training to take over as the Family broker. She was as powerful and well respected in her Family as Devon was with the Sinclairs.

She grinned again, her dark eyes gleaming with mischief, then balled her hands into fists and threw a couple of mock punches. “Besides, this is the only chance I get during the year to bust out all the cool moves I see in the movies. Right, Lila?”

I laughed. “Don't you know it.”

Poppy loved action movies just like I did; a couple of weeks ago, we'd had a girls' night in where we'd stayed up late, eaten way too much junk food, and watched a whole bunch of superhero and other movies we both loved.

Felix slung his arm around her shoulder. “Well, no matter where you finish, you're still my girl.”

Poppy huffed at his flirty tone and smacked his arm away. “I'm not your girl, remember? That would be Katia. I'm surprised you're not glued to her side, like you were last year.”

Felix winced. “Is every single person going to bring up Katia and me? It was just a summer fling.”

“Not from the looks she's giving you right now,” Poppy said.

Katia was standing about twenty feet away, staring at Felix and frowning at how close he was standing to the other girl. But Poppy, being Poppy, waved at Katia and went over to talk to her. Soon, the two of them were smiling and laughing.

Devon drifted off to talk to some of the Sinclair guards, but I stayed with Felix.

“You need to talk to Katia,” I said. “It's obvious that she still likes you. You need to tell her there's someone else. It's not fair to keep avoiding her and letting her think the two of you are going to hook up again.”

Felix sighed. “I know. I'll tell her . . . after the tournament today.”

I eyed him.

“What?” he said in a defensive tone. “The tournament's going to start in a few minutes. I wouldn't want to wreck her concentration.”

“Someone has a rather high opinion of himself.”

“I am rather handsome. And charming. And an exceptionally good kisser.” Felix waggled his eyebrows. “Or so I've been told.”

I snorted. “Well, you'd better tell her soon, or she's likely to punch you right in your good kisser. And don't worry about upsetting Katia's mojo for the tournament. You might even help her.”

“How do you figure that?”

I shrugged. “Because there's nothing more vicious than a girl who's just had her heart broken.”

 

The workers put a few finishing touches on the obstacle course, and the officials strolled out into the middle of the stadium and lined up in front of the cold spring. There were five of them, one from each Family, dressed in white cloaks and cavalier hats, which was supposed to be a sign of their neutrality. Heh. We'd see about that.

I looked around the stadium, scanning the crowd. Claudia, Reginald, and Mo were sitting up in the Sinclair box, with Oscar buzzing back and forth from one side of the glass windows to the other, a stick of cherry cotton candy clutched in his hand. The pixie noticed me staring and whipped his cotton candy back and forth like a flag, almost knocking Mo's hat off. Mo grabbed for the cotton candy, but Oscar was too quick and darted out of his reach. I grinned and waved back at them.

I swung my gaze to the opposite side of the stadium and the Draconi box. To my surprise, the box was empty except for a single woman. She was wearing a large white hat with a black ribbon around the floppy brim, so I couldn't see her face, just the long, blond hair trailing down her shoulders. I wondered who she was, but it didn't matter. If she was sitting in the Family box, then she was a Draconi and an enemy.

Three men carrying trumpets strode out into the middle of the stadium and blasted out several loud, cheery notes. The crowd hushed, and a low drumbeat rang out, getting louder and faster with every second. Everyone on the bleachers leaned forward, while the competitors did the same around the chain-link fence.

“And now, the event you've all been waiting for, the Tournament of Blades!” a voice called out through the sound system.

Everyone inside the stadium went wild, including me. I didn't know why, but I was yelling, cheering, and clapping as loudly as everyone else. The noise went on for more than a minute before the officials waved their hands, calling for quiet.

“And now, to get things started, let's welcome last year's returning champion, Deah Draconi!” the announcer boomed.

Hearty cheers filled the air as Deah left the fence behind and strode over to the start of the obstacle course. As the reigning champion, she had the honor of being introduced first. A smile split her face, and she bowed to one side of the stadium, then the other.

Beside me, Felix clapped and clapped his hands before letting out a loud, ear-splitting whistle. I looked at him, and he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't help himself. Not where Deah was concerned. I didn't know if that was sweet or stupid.

Once the cheers died down, the officials welcomed everyone, then started randomly calling out numbers, since the competitors would be split into four groups for the obstacle course.

Devon's number was the first one called. He winked at me, waved to the crowd, and went over to stand beside Deah. They nodded at each other.

More numbers were called, including Blake's, Poppy's, Katia's, and Vance's, until there was only one spot left for the opening round of the obstacle course.

“Number three, Lila Merriweather!”

What was it with me always being picked last? If this kept up, I was going to develop a complex or something. But I fist-bumped Felix, waved to the crowd, and took my place at the starting line next to Devon.

“I would wish you good luck, but you don't need it,” he said.

I grinned. “You're right. I don't. Eat my dust, Sinclair.”

He laughed and nudged me with his shoulder. I nudged him back, staring into his eyes—

“Well, isn't this sweet?” a snide voice said. “You going to help your girlfriend get through the course too, Devon? I mean, you already got her into the tournament.”

Vance swaggered up next to me, the number nine pinned to his chest. He nudged me with his elbow too, but it wasn't a friendly gesture. I nudged him back even harder, right in his stomach, making him wince.

“The only one who needs help here is you, Vance,” I snarked. “How are you going to get through the course without messing up your hair?”

Vance reached up to pat his golden locks and make sure they were slicked back into place. When he realized what he was doing, he dropped his hand and scowled at me.

Then, he noticed Katia standing on his other side, and he perked right back up again. “Hello, there,” he purred. “I don't think we've met. Vance Groves, future winner of this tournament.”

“Charmed,” Katia replied in a dry tone, rolling her greenish eyes.

Vance would have kept trying to flirt with her, but the officials called us to the starting line, and we all took our places single file. I looked out over the course, the hurdles, the cold spring in the middle, the towering rope ladder at the far end of the stadium, visualizing how I would get from here to there.

An official stepped forward, drew the sword from the scabbard belted to his waist, and raised the weapon high. The crowd hushed, and we all leaned forward, trying to get every inch of advantage we could.

“For honor . . . for glory . . . for Family!”

The official dropped his sword, and the tournament was on.

 

The first stretch of the obstacle course was a flat, straight, mad dash, and the folks with speed Talents sprinted to the front of the pack, led by Katia. Felix was right. She was
fast
—faster than anyone else—and she jumped out to a big lead. Katia had already reached the hurdles before I was even halfway there. But there were plenty of obstacles up ahead to slow her and the other speedsters down.

I hit the hurdles right in the middle of the pack, which was exactly where I wanted to be. Despite Devon, Mo, and Claudia claiming that I could win the tournament, I didn't necessarily
want
to. Oh, I enjoyed winning as much as the next person, but doing so would draw the unwanted attention of everyone in town, including Victor Draconi. So my plan was to do just enough to appear completely average.

But everyone else was giving it their all, including Devon, who was several feet ahead of me, along with Blake and Vance. Deah and Poppy were right on Katia's tail, something that the other girl didn't like, judging from the dark scowls she kept shooting over her shoulder at them, especially Deah.

All the while, the crowd cheered, yelled, and screamed, urging us to
go
,
go
,
go
,
go!
I blocked the noise out of my mind and concentrated on getting through the course.

I cleared the hurdles and sprinted over to the next section, where the competitors had to climb one of several knotted ropes twenty feet up to a platform. Katia slowed down considerably here, since she wasn't nearly as strong as she was fast, but climbing was one of my specialties, and I was able to make up some time on her and everyone else ahead of me.

Katia, Deah, and Poppy all reached the platform at the same time, with Devon, Blake, and Vance right behind them. The girls took hold of the multiple zip lines that had been strung up and leaped off the platform, causing the crowd to cheer even louder. I got to the top of the platform just in time to see the three of them drop into the soft sand at the bottom, scramble to their feet, and start running again.