Morpheus Road 03 - The Blood (7 page)

It made his knees grow weak.

"My god," he muttered.

The small gladiator . . . was Zoe.

He had found one of the missing spirits, and wished he hadn't. Any doubt Coop had about Damon being in that vision was gone. Zoe was about to be destroyed in a
very public way, but to what end? Revenge against her father, Adeipho? Retribution for having lost the Rift? Or was it just another example of Damon's sadism? Whatever the reason, Zoe would have no chance against her massive opponent.

Coop turned and sprinted up the stairs to the emperor's box. He only had seconds before the battle would begin. He vaulted over the low wooden rail and landed directly in front of the only guard who was there to protect the boss. Before the oblivious guard could react, Coop jabbed one punch to his throat and followed with a solid hook to his cheek. The stunned guard's head snapped to the side as he tumbled to his knees, clutching his throat.

If the emperor was surprised, he didn't show it. He turned in his ornately carved golden throne and peered down his nose at Cooper as if he were no more of a threat than a fly that someone beneath his station should have swatted for him.

"Your . . . Emperor-
ness
-Majesty, whatever," Coop huffed, catching his breath. "You can't let them fight. Not with those weapons. This isn't for show. Those black swords could destroy them."

The emperor tilted his head like a curious cat, trying to understand why a strange guy from a modern vision had dared to intrude on his personal spectacle.

"Please," Coop begged. "Stop the fight."

Titus opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another spectator who was sitting in the far corner of the royal box.

"I see you have taken the bait," the man declared.

The hair went up on the back of Coop's neck. He knew the voice. He spun quickly to see that the spectator had risen to face him.

"The glove, please," the man said, holding out his hand.

Coop pulled the glove from his back pocket, held it out . . . and dropped it on the floor.

The spectator didn't react.

"Bait?" Cooper repeated. "You wanted me to find you?"

"Of course," the man said with a sly smile that revealed his pointed front teeth. He reached down, picked up the glove, and slipped his hand into it. "And now that you are here, the next act of our little drama can begin."

Cooper's hunt was officially over.

Damon of Epirus was back in the game.

"Stop the fight," Coop demanded.

"You are assuming I have that power," Damon replied coyly.

"Give me a break. This is all about you. How else would they have gotten the black swords?"

Damon glanced to the arena floor, where Zoe and the gladiator stood poised, ready to do battle.

"I suppose it could be stopped," Damon said, sounding less than enthused. "But why disappoint all of these spirits who are so looking forward to the contest? It isn't often that they can actually witness a true fight to the death."

The crowd had grown eerily quiet as if holding a collec
tive breath in anticipation of the impending battle. Many eyes were on Coop and Damon, fascinated by the standoff that was being played out in the emperor's box.

"What's the point?" Coop asked. "Revenge?"

Damon chuckled. "Revenge against the daughter of Adeipho is a bonus, yes, but nothing more. My ultimate goal remains the same."

"The poleax," Coop declared.

"
And you can help me get it."

"What if I don't?"

Damon took a threatening step closer to Cooper.

"Do not make the mistake of thinking you have gained an advantage by my having lost the Rift."

"You lost your army too," Coop said, not backing down. "Let's not forget that little detail."

Damon shook his head in wonder.

"As always, so confident. But why?" He gestured down to the arena floor and said, "Because you have found the daugh
ter of the traitor Adeipho? Congratulations. But what of the others? The girl Maggie. And Foley, your grandfather? And of course the Seaver woman. Where could they be?"

Cooper had all he could do to hold himself back from lashing out and drilling his fist into Damon's smug face.

"I hold all of their lives in my hand, including that annoying urchin down there who is about to meet her end. Tell me, Foley, are you willing to risk their eternals souls?"

Cooper's body tensed as his anger grew.

"And then of course there is your sister," Damon con
tinued. "The poor girl nearly leaped to her death from that burning building. How much longer will her luck, and the luck of Marshall Seaver, last?"

"It isn't luck," Cooper said. "The crucible is protecting them."

"For now, but they are young. Most of their natural lives still lie before them. All it would take is one mistake over that lifetime, and they'd be mine. It could be ten minutes from now, or ten years. I am nothing if not patient. And I
promise you, they
will
make a mistake, and when they do, I will be there waiting . . . as I was with Ennis Mobley."

"Ennis? What about him?" Coop asked, not able to hide his surprise.

"Didn't you know?" Damon asked with mock surprise. "He has journeyed farther along the Morpheus Road."

"You killed him too?" Coop declared, rocked.

Damon shrugged and said, "The choice was his." Cooper took an impulse step toward Damon, but stopped himself quickly. He knew he had to stay in control.

"You have the power, Foley," Damon continued. "Espe
cially now that you can communicate with
your friends in the Light. Find the poleax, deliver it to me, and those you care about will be safe."

They were back to square one. As they stood facing each other under the hot sun, and the hotter gaze of thousands of spectators, Coop knew that there would be no reasoning with Damon. No negotiation. There was only one way to stop him, and that was by doing what Coop did best.

He looked to the emperor and said, "You have no idea what trouble you're getting into with this guy."

Emperor Titus shrugged and said, "Perhaps trouble is what I seek."

That was all Coop needed to hear. He was on his own. Before another word could be spoken, he swooped down and grabbed the spear from the guard he had knocked senseless.

"Oh must you?" Damon whined with annoyance.

Coop didn't attack. He ran. Leaping out of the box, he sprinted down the stone stairs, two at a time, headed for the edge of the balcony.

"Begin the contest!" Damon bellowed to the emperor.

Obediently Emperor Titus raised his right hand. Trum
pets sounded and the stadium erupted with ecstatic cheers. They were going to have their battle.

Several Roman soldiers ran down the stairs to stop Cooper, but too late. He reached the edge of the balcony,
looked over, and saw what he needed. A heavy rope net
hung straight down from the balcony to protect the spec
tators below from stray weapons that might fly into the
stands. Coop used it as a ladder. He tossed the spear over the edge, flung his legs over, grabbed on to the netting, and quickly climbed down.

None of the spectators moved to stop him. Their atten
tion was focused on the arena and the fight that had finally begun.

As Coop hit the lower level and recovered the spear, a cheer erupted for the big gladiator who was pummeling Zoe. The girl valiantly held up her shield to defend herself against his vicious blows but was hopelessly overmatched.

Clutching the spear, Cooper sprinted for the brick wall that surrounded the arena. While still running, he tossed the spear over the wall and then hit the bricks, digging the toes of his red Pumas into the mortar seams. He quickly climbed to the top and vaulted to the other side, landing in the dry sand of the arena.

Several spectators cheered as they realized the game had taken on a new wrinkle. Coop grabbed the spear and sprinted toward the center of the arena, and the battle. The screams from the crowd grew louder. Some cheered him on while others were trying to warn the gladiators that a new contestant was about to enter the fray.

Coop had no time to plan his strategy. He was a street fighter, not a trained warrior. If he had stopped to think about how to attack the gladiator, he wouldn't have done what he did. Coop was flying on adrenaline, fear . . . and hate. To him the gladiator who was hammering away at Zoe represented Damon. It made what he had to do that much easier.

Zoe fell to the ground, holding up her shield in defense. She was exhausted.

The gladiator raised his sword high, ready to end the battle with one final blow.

Zoe valiantly lifted her shield to protect herself.

The gladiator bellowed with bloodlust . . . and the scream caught in his throat as he froze, holding the sword poised high.

Zoe stared up at him, confused. What had happened? Why hadn't he finished her? She dropped her eyes and saw
the reason: A pointed metal blade stuck out from his chest. Behind him, Cooper stood with both hands on the shaft of the spear.

"This won't stop him for long," Coop said quickly. "We gotta go."

The gladiator dropped to his knees in a haze of pain and confusion. He wasn't going to die, he was going to get angry. "Fool!" Zoe scolded.

"Uh . . . what?" Coop replied, stunned.

The gladiator had gathered his wits and let out an angry holler that echoed through the stadium.

"Follow!" Zoe commanded, and took off running, sprint
ing for the gladiator's entrance to the arena.

Coop let go of the spear and followed quickly.

The boos rained down on them. The spirit spectators had expected a battle to the death, not a cowardly sprint for freedom.

Several soldiers clambered over the brick wall and into the arena to give chase.

Zoe hit the tunnel that led beneath the stands and didn't stop. Cooper was right behind.

"You should not have interfered!" she screamed angrily.

"Hey, I just saved you!" Coop yelled back.

"And condemned the others to death."

"What others?"

Zoe led Cooper into the bowels of the Colosseum, follow
ing a twisted route through narrow stone passageways and down steep wooden stairways. The rank smell of animals and sour sweat grew stronger the farther they descended.

"What do you mean?" Coop gasped as they ran. "Who's condemned?"

"Your friend Maggie."

"Where is she?" Coop yelled back, stunned.

"Here," Zoe answered. "Damon threatened to destroy them if I did not do battle."

"Them?"

"Your grandfather is here as well."

Coop didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified. "But . . . why don't you all just leave? It's not like he can lock you up."

"We stayed to protect Ree," Zoe answered, breathless. "Now you've condemned them all."

They hit the lowest subterranean level, where the only light came through narrow slits in the walls that allowed in a small hint of the sun. The tight corridor opened up into a wide paddock that was lined with cages. The floor was wet and the animal smell so strong that Coop had to fight to keep from gagging.

They were met by the angry growls of surprised lions, who resented the intrusion on their nap time. One male lion lunged at the bars of his cage, biting at the wooden bars. Coop instinctively jumped away, but slammed into the opposite cage that held an annoyed bear that tried to reach its paw out to slash him.

Zoe didn't stop running, so Coop had to collect himself quickly and keep moving. He passed more cages that were homes to tigers, hippos, and even a few ostriches. All were there to provide amusement for the bloodthirsty spectators
in the arena above, the same as when the Colosseum was open for business in the Light centuries before.

Beyond the paddock they moved through an equally dank corridor of cells that were used to house slaves bound for the arena. None were occupied. Spirits in the Black had choices, and none chose to be torn apart by lions for the amusement of others. The stretch of dark cells gave way to a wider corridor with better ventilation and light. These were the cells where the gladiators prepared for battle. Each room had a crude bed, table, and chair. They weren't luxuri
ous, but were far more comfortable than the slave quarters. These too were empty.

Zoe ran into the final room that was lined with several large cells. It was the place where the most popular and successful gladiators prepped. Cooper entered the spacious area to see that Zoe had stopped and was standing in the open doorway to one of the cells. Coop skidded to a stop and gulped air that was hot and worse than stale, but he was grateful to be away from the animals and their overwhelm
ing stink.

"We have to make a decision," Zoe said to someone inside. "Now, before Damon returns."

"Who's in there?" Coop called out.

A moment later Maggie Salinger stepped out of the cell. Her face brightened the moment she spotted her exhausted friend.

"Coop!" she exclaimed with joy.

Maggie ran to him and the two hugged. She didn't seem to care that he was drenched with sweat.

Coop held her close. It wasn't until that moment that he realized how much he had missed her . . . and how much he wanted to hold her. And protect her.

"So much has happened," she whispered.

"I know," he said. "We've got to get out of here."

"No can do," came a gruff voice.

Coop looked over Maggie's shoulder to see his grand
father, Eugene Foley, stepping out of the cell next to Zoe. "You okay?" he asked Zoe.

Zoe nodded.

Foley gave her a grandfatherly pat on the shoulder, then
looked to Coop and said, "So? Where've you
been?"

Coop reluctantly pulled himself away from Maggie and
went to his gramps. The two hugged with genuine warmth. "Looking for you," was Coop's answer.

"This Damon
fella
is bad news," Gramps said.

"You think?" Coop replied. He glanced into the cell and added, "Where's Ree?"

The others exchanged dark looks.

"Not here," Zoe answered.

"We don't know where Damon took her," Foley added. "He said if any of us tried to return to our own visions, he'd kill her."

Zoe added, "That is why we cannot leave."

Maggie looked to Coop with tired eyes and said, "The killing has to stop somewhere."

Coop pulled away from the group and surveyed the cell area. "So nobody can leave for fear Damon will destroy someone else. He probably said the same thing to Ree."

"Gotta give him credit," Foley said. "He knows we wouldn't let that happen, so here we stay."

Agitated growls and barks came from the animal pens. "They're coming," Zoe announced.

"Get out of here," Coop said, thinking fast. "All of you. Go to Zoe's vision. She's got one of the black swords now. She can protect you there."

"No," Zoe said flatly. "We cannot endanger Ree."

"If he wants to kill her, he'll do it no matter what you do," Coop said.

"But—," Zoe argued.

"It's not about you guys," Coop shot back. "It's about getting me to do what he wants. That's the real reason he's been keeping you here."