Demon Accords 8: College Arcane (42 page)

“Because anyone who gets in the God Hammer’s
way doesn’t survive?” I asked.

She laughed. “Something of the sort. I don’t
fear for my survival, young warlock, but I don’t believe it is wise
to side against the One God’s champions. So I put out the fires and
I watch, guide, and temper my people. I calm them down and if that
doesn’t work, I cull them from the Coven. This is not the time to
react from fear or anger. It is the time of careful thought and
even more careful maneuvering. Christian has a way of overcoming
everything thrown at him. Part of it is the extraordinary people he
draws to him and surrounds himself with. You are obviously the
latest.”

The witch, Veleslava, said something rude in
her language. Janek sucked a breath and Senka glanced at her
companion before looking back at me.

“Vel is of the opinion that you are nothing
special. That you are all hype. She complains that you haven’t even
tried to smash her fire.”

I looked at the orb of fire. Sorrow’s spell
was now ripe with absorbed power, the shield almost gone. Reaching
forward, I lightly tapped the burning ball with my left index
finger, absorbing the spell and snuffing the flame at the same
time.

“She may be right. I have no way to judge
these things,” I said as I leaned back, my eyes on Senka, but my
peripheral vision watching the witch. Her mouth hung open a bit and
Senka looked amused.

“I, on the other hand, have over a thousand
years by which to judge,” Elder Senka said. “I am very glad to have
met you, young warlock. Take care of yourself and your friends,
especially young Ariel. Many factions covet the powers of a Seer.
And remember, Christian and Tatiana are impervious to much, but
those they surround themselves with are not.”

Janek touched my arm at the same time that I
came to the conclusion my audience was over. Fine by me. As
welcoming as she was, I hadn’t for a second been able to forget
that she was the oldest vampire known, sitting here in broad
daylight.

Backing away, I nodded respectfully to the
Elder and ignored the witch, turning when Janek tugged my arm and
following him out the door.

“Thank you Declan,” he said before his father
began asking him questions in their own language. Darina was
nowhere to be seen, which struck me as an excellent example and I
headed to my room, where I locked the door and warded it with
everything I had. My head spun with the events of the morning and
when I finally dozed, my dreams were disturbing. I was back home in
Castlebury, at my friend Jonah’s house, which was normal enough.
But his mother, who was very attractive despite being a mom, kept
growing fangs and chasing me around their house while Darci, in
full uniform, just watched with her thumbs on her gun belt. After
an hour, I woke up sweaty and less rested than when I laid down.
This day couldn’t end soon enough.

Chapter 37

A shower helped, as did clean clothes, and by
the time I was done, it was two-forty in the afternoon.

Caeco answered my text immediately, telling
me that she was in the dining room with Mack and Ashley. More
importantly, if I hurried, I could scavenge some snacks they had
wheedled from the staff.

Cheese, crackers, and fruit were all that was
out, but I was a non-choosy beggar. Between bites, I updated them
on my day of meetings.

“You met the head of the Coven?” Ashley
asked, incredulous.

“I think she’s one of the heads. Chris said
there are like three Elders,” I said.

“But she’s the real leader. I was on a
Wytchwar team with Katrina and we talked a bit about the Coven
while we waited to ambush the bitches… I mean the witches.”

“She actually talked to you?” Mack asked.

“Yeah. We’re not BFFs or anything, but she’s
okay. Has absolutely terrifying ideas about how to eliminate
avatars, though.”

“So, the de facto head of the worldwide Coven
came here to meet you?” Caeco questioned.

“That’s what she said, although we need to
find Ariel because Janek introduced her as well,” I said.

“And Janek is buddy-buddy with this ancient
geezer of a vampire because…” Mack asked.

“His father is Alpha of the Carpathian Pack.
I get the impression that Senka has lived near them or was from
their territory and worked out an alliance generations ago. The
Vranas were nervous as hell around her, though,” I said.

“I just texted Ariel. She and Jetta went out
shopping; they’re on their way back,” Ashley said.

“Senka wanted to meet you and Ariel because
Chris and Tanya are focused on you,” Caeco stated.

“On us. Focused on you and me. But I’m a
witch and Chris doesn’t like witches, except me, and my aunt, and
Senka is fascinated by anyone that Chris is interested in. She said
he has this thing for gathering special people around him,” I
said.

“Special like short bus special?” Mack asked,
straight-faced.

“No, because then you’d be in the first
seat,” I said.

“Does anyone else get the impression that
Break week is really just an opportunity to display us to any group
interested in supernaturals, which is like, everybody,” Ashley
questioned.

“It does feel like we are being put up for
inspection,” Caeco said. “What happened with that Macha witch and
her ringer?”

“My aunt wouldn’t say much when I texted her.
Said we would talk later, at dinner. She’s going to be overseeing
the tournament, acting as the final word on disputes,” I said.

Every kid in the school had played the game
and had driven an avatar, but not all of them liked it. Pushing
your consciousness into a dirt creature wasn’t for everyone, so
some of our classmates had taken on the role of referees and
gamekeepers. They would run the tournament under my aunt’s careful
supervision.

It was almost three, so we headed down to the
basement, finding it crowded with parents and visitors. Gina must
have anticipated the interest as additional folding bleachers had
been brought in.

Krupp and Mazar had claimed seats on one of
the new ones, so I led my friends over and sat beside them. Mack
made sure to sit last in line, as far from Krupp as he could
get.

Out by the course, two teams were getting
ready to go at it. Wytchwar had evolved way beyond my wildest
dreams in the last few months. All the dirt avatars had been
customized by their drivers, painted in bright colors, and equipped
with all manner of spelled weapons. The kids sat on two separate
benches like any standard sport, except most of them had their eyes
closed. Out on the course, a dozen avatars, split into two groups,
worked through a series of exercises to limber up their mental
muscles.

“How are they connected to the golems? Not
all of those kids are witches, right?” Mazar asked me.

“None of those are witches. Each player,
actually every kid at Arcane, has a dirt person linked to them with
sympathetic magic. We used a hair from each when we built them,
then sealed them to their avatar with a drop of blood when we
activated them,” I said.

“But what powers them?” Krupp asked.

“He does,” Caeco said, poking my
shoulder.

“Not exactly,” I said, forcing myself not to
rub the spot. That only encouraged her.

“We link each avatar to the building and
parking lots.”

“What?” Krupp asked.

“This building and the lots around it are
active places. People coming and going, cars and delivery trucks
driving around it at all hours. Lots of energy. The spells pull
some of that energy the same way that a hybrid car recaptures the
breaking energy when the car comes to a stop,” I said.

“You can pull energy from the environment?
Just hoover it up and use it?” Krupp asked.

“It’s complicated and the spells require
renewal and attention. But yes,” I said.

“And that’s enough?, To power all those
little golems?” Mazar asked.

“Usually, although sometimes we have to give
them a little extra juice,” I said.

“That means him, by the way. The other
witches generally don’t like to share their power, except for
Michelle,” Caeco said.

“And Ryanne,” Mack said, unexpectedly and so
not helpfully.

Caeco just grunted.

“Okay, welcome guests and visitors. Our
Wytchwar tournament begins with a match between the Burlington
Brawlers and the Psychic Swarmers. Captains, please lead your teams
to their assigned starting points. At the whistle, you may hide
your flags and begin,” the girl who was lead ref announced.

Little figures ran across the course, six
headed one way, six headed the other.

“We are playing a basic Capture the Flag
game. First team to gain the other’s flag wins. If one team
eliminates the others players entirely without finding the flag,
they will be declared the winners,” the ref explained to the
audience. Turning to her assistant refs, she got okay nods that the
course wards were all up and running, which would protect the
audience and seated players when the game got rough. A sharp blast
on her whistle and the game was on.

“So you either find the hidden flag or knock
out all the other team players?” Krupp asked.

“Yup,” I said.

“How do you knock out a golem?” Mazar
said.

“Well, remember, they are not full golems.
Each avatar is dirt formed over a spelled steel wire skeleton. The
dirt is hardened, almost like clay or pottery, but if you knock
enough of it off, the avatar will collapse,” I explained.

“How will they do that?” Mazar asked. “Knock
the dirt off, that is?”

“You will see,” I answered, getting a look in
return.

“Any predictions?” Krupp asked, watching for
movement.

“The Brawlers will make short work of them,”
Caeco said. At the agents’ questioning glances, she explained.
“They’re a mixed discipline team: a couple of pyschics and two
weres, versus a team of pure psychics. The best teams mix and match
strengths.”

“With the exception of the Witch Pack,”
Ashley commented.

“As I said before, witches are the
generalists of the supernatural world. We’ve got pretty good
versatility, plus the game favors those with the best spells,” I
said.

“Or best tactics,” Caeco added.

“Are you in the tournament?” Krupp asked.

“Yes, all four of us are, plus Jetta and our
friend Justin. Caeco’s Commandos,” I said.

“Your Commandos?” Mazar asked, surprised.

“I’m the best tactician,” Caeco said with a
shrug.

“But you invented it?” Mazar said to me.

“Doesn’t give me any special advantages,” I
said.

Both Ashley and Mack snorted at almost the
same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

“Declan is modest. He’s the most dangerous
single player in the game, but his enthusiasm requires direction,”
Caeco said. “Also, he designed the game and its rules to eliminate
many of a witch’s advantages, to level the field.”

The game started in earnest and twenty-one
minutes later, it was done. Short by Wytchwar standards. The
outcome was just as Caeco predicted: The Swarmers had chosen to
split into three two-man teams to hunt the Brawler’s flag. The
Brawlers had split into two three-man teams to hunt the Swarmers.
The course is big enough to hide a flag well, but not big enough to
hide dirt people all that well. When it was done, the Brawlers had
taken out all of the Swarmers with the loss of only two of their
own people. One of those had stepped on a wind spell, one of
Erika’s creations that they must have traded for.

At the conclusion of the game, all the
injured players were allowed to activate the rebuilding spells, but
the girl Brawler whose gal had been wind torn was having problems.
Seeing as the team might have to play again the next morning, it
was understandable when she got a bit panicky. She glanced around
the room and locked onto me. I wasn’t the only witch present, but I
was the avatar guru. I excused myself from the agents when the girl
frantically waved me over.

“She won’t take any dirt on her right leg,”
the girl, whose name I remembered was Lacy.

I picked up her red-and-blue-painted dirt
princess and looked at the exposed steel thigh wire. Sometimes the
runes inscribed in tiny detail on the coat hanger wire get burred
by smashing rocks, and that’s what had happened this time. I set
the avatar on the course and held my left hand over it, keeping it
upright while I telekinetically spun all the remaining dirt off
it.

“Shit, what did you do that for? Now I gotta
repaint her,” Lacy protested.

“Gotta repaint anyway, and I want to check
all the runes. Ah, see, this one is f’d up, too,” I said, looking
through a little pocket magnifying glass. The rest of my little
portable repair kit had come out of one of my coat pockets and I
snagged a dental pick to re-scribe the damaged runes. Seconds
later, I was done and I reversed the spin maneuver, only this time
the dirt leapt off the course and flowed up around her legs, body,
and arms. Then I pulled some heat from the orb floating over the
course’s hot zone and baked the dirt hard.