Supernatural Games (11 page)

“Hey, Lauren, you’ve got to hear this. We were reviewing audio from right before the opening ceremony. We took a chance and placed bugs out in the gardens near benches, in case someone wanted to talk without being overheard,” Tokem explained.

He handed me a headset, and I sat down to listen. It was two men. I didn’t recognize their voices, but it got my attention.

“What have you learned about tomorrow’s opening ceremonies?”

“Nothing. They moved their meetings to the council and I can’t gain entry. They didn’t catch me, but they are aware I’ve been infiltrating their planning sessions and universes.”

“Are they aware of your planted traps? We need to make sure the games are a failure.”

“They know familiars in the universes aren’t part of the plan, but they’ve no way to trace them to us.”

“You see it stays that way, because if they find out what we’re planning there will be war.”

“I thought that’s what we wanted?”

“It is, fool, but not with every race.”

“There is still one thing that troubles me. Who drained the guard? Someone else is operating off the grid. I only hope it isn’t Aerlene’s wizard trying to beat us.”

“Why would she bring disgrace to the games she is hosting? To frame us? It might backfire on her. No, I don’t think it’s her. Just keep your guard up. Remember, don’t underestimate Lauren, and remember - she is mine.”

“As you wish.”

“Tokem, where was this recorded?”

“Out by the fountain. There are several stone benches near it. I assume they thought they were safe there, and if they weren’t, the sounds from the fountain would drown out their conversation. We put a small camera there in case they come back.”

“Well done. It doesn’t tell us who. Still, they may slip up and use the same location twice, and then we will have them.”

I went back inside to check in with the rest of the crew. Everything was running smoothly, and time for me to get dressed for tonight’s festivities. I teleported home, took a shower and dressed for the evening. I was just strapping on my weapons when Traygen emerged from his shower. When he spotted me, he let out a low whistle.

“Thank you, my love, but if that is what you are wearing tonight, I must insist you stay home. I’m not sharing you, my handsome husband.”

“I like the sound of that. You know I hate these things.”

“I know, but you look great in your tux and besides, I need you to escort me. You’re my most cherished accessory.”

“Accessory am I?”

“No, you are the love of my life and I need you. Besides, I have a bad feeling about tonight’s activities.”

I filled him in on what Tokem recorded as we finished dressing. He didn’t like the part about me, but let’s face it; I’d made too many enemies over the years to identify which one from the voices on the tape. We would have to let this play out and try to stay one step ahead of our saboteurs.

I transported us back to the Four-Courts, where we joined the rest of the team at the opening dinner. Corbin looked dashing in his tux, Tokem was heading the surveillance team, and Jason was mingling. He had the emcee duties for the evening because he was heading the wizard’s delegation. Queen Aerlene made a speech as hostess of the games. She was brief, keeping things light, then everyone was seated for dinner. I didn’t think anything would happen until after dinner when the dancing started. Traygen and I worked the room and kept an eye out for anything that didn’t feel right. The respective competitors were staying close to their assigned tables, unwilling to mingle with their rivals.

As the evening wore on, I relaxed. The delegations appeared more focused on tomorrow’s games than on partying. The administrators for each group were dancing, but then they weren’t competing. Traygen and I danced a few times. He is a great dancer, and I gave myself over to his care. He twirled me effortlessly around the floor. Who knew a hundred plus year old dragon could display such amazing footwork?

The ball was breaking up. We were going to meet as a team after the hall was cleared. Traygen and I flashed home and changed into work clothes before I returned us to the meeting. When we walked in, everyone had changed and we were ready to get down to business. I asked Tokem to go first since he’d made the plans for protecting the first universe.

“As everyone already knows, there are four challenges in this universe, which is staged in a rain forest. Each team will have one competitor trying to complete all four challenges as quickly as possible. They will wear suits to record each challenge when met, and any hits that would eliminate them. If they are eliminated, they can have another team member replace them.”

I interrupted Tokem to clarify the way the games were to be run. “Tokem has accurately described how the games will work in each of our universes until we have a winner and/or a team is out. What do you want us to do?”

“We will have the council’s security teams monitoring the radios and the entrances and exits. What I need from each of you is to patrol the areas around each test to make sure there is no tampering. Corbin, you will have the second stage, Traygen will have the third, and Lauren will take the fourth. I’ll take the first so I can move between the rest, and help if I’m needed. I have suits and hovercrafts ready for each of you. Questions? No, well let’s get this done. You will need to check the area around your challenge and get in place well before the competitors arrive.”

“Remember your amulets and your bag of bearings. Those talismans will take out anything in a six-foot radius. Good luck. We are expected at our respective stages in five hours. It isn’t much time, but try to get some rest.”

I
transported Traygen and myself home, where we managed a few hours of sleep. I knew that once the games commenced, we would be lucky to get any sleep until they concluded. It seemed like I’d just closed my eyes when Traygen shook my shoulder and offered me breakfast in bed. He was a great cook, and I again thanked the Gods for his love.

Everyone was on time and ready to go when we arrived. I wished everyone well, hugged Traygen, then went to get my suit on. I put my amulet on and tucked the bag of bearings on my belt right next to my Glock, then strapped a knife to my ankle, my staff in hand and my bracelet on high. I was as ready as I could be. I went down, boarded my hovercraft, and scouted the area around the final challenge. It would take the competitors a while to reach the final stage in the first universe.

The final challenge in the opening universe was staged in a reproduction of a ruined Buddhist temple on a riverbank in the deepest part of the rainforest. The columns supporting parts of the temple were broken, and a section of the temple complex had sunk below the surface of the river water. Ferns, vines, and trees covered in moss grew in, over, and around the ruins. Statues of Buddha sprinkled throughout the temple complex. One of the statues had tipped over and hovered over the water, on the verge of a swan dive. Much of the structure was submerged.

An elephant sitting on a throne surrounded by two king cobras was the most stunning statue. I would bet a considerable sum this statue was somehow involved in one or more of the clues. The elephant symbolized mental strength and steadfastness. Ironically, these were two of the traits the competitors needed to survive the games. The cobras were believed to affect health, disease, and illnesses. However, their most enigmatic use was magic. They could transform their bodies to appear human. The cobras depicted the perfect blend of knowledge and mysticism. I’d take their word for that. As far as I was concerned, a snake was a snake. Icky!

After I checked everything, I steered my hovercraft up and out over the river. Besides the planned dangers the design team had added, there were plenty of natural hazards. I’d already seen several alligators and too many snakes to mention; not my kind of place. Rainforest rivers teem with leeches, more lethal than the alligators or snakes. This place made my skin crawl. I rechecked my shields, then settled into waiting mode. Time seemed to drag. I had been there for several hours and hadn’t seen anyone or thing. I hadn’t expected to get a glimpse of any of the competitors yet. I maneuvered my hovercraft around the area to help me stay awake. While I continued my rounds, I noticed a large jaguar lapping up water from the river. It lifted its head and studied me with indifference.

I started to get drowsy, so to keep from falling asleep and tumbling off my hovercraft, I ate fruit I’d brought. I drank water and felt a tad bit more alert. I wanted to check in with the team, but we thought we should maintain radio silence unless there was an emergency. There was no need to announce our whereabouts to our spy. I stretched and made another pass over my area. That’s when I saw movement in the brush about a half mile from the edge of my territory. I cloaked myself and the hovercraft to remain invisible to anyone below me. I sat there without moving for another ten minutes before I saw movement on the ground. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see clearly because of the dense brush.

I moved out over the water while maintaining my invisibility. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long before I saw one of the competitors running along the riverbank. The jolt of adrenaline from spotting my first competitor put my senses on high alert. It took me a moment to recognize the man as a member of the vampire team. He stopped, unfolded a paper, and seemed to be checking the description of the tests for this area. He refolded the paper and put it back in his pack. Then he continued jogging north along the riverbank, drawing closer to the ruins. He stopped and froze in place. I wondered what he was doing, then I heard it too. Someone was moving fast behind him. The sound seemed to spur him to action. He took off his shoes and clothes, then stuffed them into his pack. Dressed in only his boxers, he shimmered and turned into the biggest bat I ever saw. It hovered a moment before it picked the pack up in its teeth, then flew over the water and landed on a toppled stone column. He shifted back and dressed before he approached the elephant statue. Wondering where the vamp was headed, a crash in the brush behind startled me. Turning to see what had caused it, I circled my hovercraft around toward where I’d first heard the noise. That’s when I spotted a large wolf running at top speed through the brush. He came right up to the water’s edge and skidded to a stop. I saw him searching the area for a way around the stream. In an instant, he wheeled around and ran in the direction he had come. I figured he would circle around behind the ruins.

It didn’t take long for all the competitors to arrive. My team was fanned out around the perimeter of the final challenge. We continued our radio silence, all cloaked to make us invisible. The shrouding concealed our locations from the competitors and any potential saboteurs. As I watched the action unfold below me, the sups scrambled around the ruins, occasionally firing guns filled with paint at one another. Their outfits would absorb and record any hits to their suits. The hits add minutes to their overall time at the end of each challenge. The team with the fastest time while completing each stage was crowned the winner. Points were deducted if a team had to replace a competitor, and if they were unfortunate enough to lose all their participants, they would be disqualified. The proper strategy was essential and I could already see the competitors formulating their different approaches. The wizard, fae, and elf were busy trying to score on each other, the stronger vampire and lycan.

For their part, the lycan and vampire focused on trying to finish the challenge as fast as they could. Damn, that would leave a mark. Someone had hit the lycan and knocked him off the fallen column he’d been standing on. He fell into the water with a splash. He thrashed around until he got his feet back under him, then toward the riverbank. That’s when I saw the alligator glide toward him. It would be close, but he scrambled out of the river before the gator could bite him.

The vampire methodically worked his way through the ruins. He waded along the edge of the river to reach the overturned statue of Buddha, tilted at a right angle toward the river. He paused to look it over, studying the surrounding area before heading in the same direction that the top of the Buddha’s head leaned. He crossed the river by stepping across fallen tiles from the temple’s roof that had collapsed into the water. His progress was steady and he was nearly across the river. Then he leaped on to a large stone block five feet from the riverbank. He teetered and regained his balance before he scrambled nimbly across the top of the stone. Just when it looked like he was safely across, the slab tilted and he slid from sight. What in the hell? I moved my hovercraft over until I was right above where he had been standing. The stone block swung back into place and the vampire vanished. I sure hoped that was part of the plan. I thought it probably was, because each contestant had to retrieve five tokens before they could leave this universe.

The lycan and wizard must have assumed the vampire was on the right track, because within minutes of each other, they also disappeared from view. The elf and the fae followed them soon after, firing at one another. The elf scored a direct hit, allowing the fae to scramble ahead of him. Then all of them disappeared, swallowed by the tipping stone, which was actually a trap door. I knew the course, and the competitors planned to slide down a chute, dumping them into a large underground cavern. I landed my hovercraft near the entrance at the top of the ruins and started walking down. I turned my bracelet to stun and moved down the sloping ramp. Water dripped intermittently on my head, and I didn’t want to know what skittered around in the darkness that shrouded me. I shivered involuntarily at the thought.

This place creeped me out. There were spider webs the size of a VW Bug. I moved along and listened for the competitors or any sound out of place. Who was I kidding? Honestly, I could guaran-damn-tee you there was nothing normal about this place. The sound of running water made it hard to hear, and increased in volume. I stopped and listened, probing and searching with my senses. Then I heard a clicking noise. I scanned the area for the source. That’s when I saw it, a jaguar the size of a Great Dane, and on the wall behind it were the runes I’d seen earlier. I removed one of the talismans from my belt and threw it at the cat as it sprang. The pellet hit the big cat in the chest, causing it to explode. I threw myself to the ground and covered my head. The ground shook, and pieces of the jaguar rained down around me. My ears rang as I stood up and dusted myself off. There wasn’t enough of the jaguar left to fill a shoe box. BFO (blinding flash of obvious), don’t put so much power in something this small ever again. Shit! What was I thinking?

Once I heard my own heartbeat, I continued down into the underground structure. I went down at least four floors, which didn’t make any sense, because the building was only two stories on the outside. The temple might have been built below ground to fool attackers, or maybe the design team had built in an additional challenge. At the bottom of the stairs was a large square empty room. I couldn’t see any windows or anything else, for that matter. Four doors exiting toward the corresponding four points of the compass were the only distinguishing features.

As I checked my surroundings, I heard someone coming. I looked around until I saw the vampire enter from the north door, obviously looking for something as he moved around the outer wall of the room, because every few feet he stopped to tap the wall. When he came to the east door, he tried to open it but when nothing happened, he pushed it to the left like a sliding door. It moved sideways, and he rushed in before it closed behind him. I was itching to try it, but before I could, the wizard rushed into the room. Much the same way as the vampire did, he worked his way around the room. When he arrived at the east door, he pressed in on it, and again it didn’t budge. Next, he tried shoving it to the right and it slid open to reveal an outer garden. He hurried through and it glided closed behind him. Alice had it right, curiouser and curiouser, one of them was going the wrong way. This place was definitely not Wonderland.

Okay, now my interest was piqued. I moved over to the door and pushed it right and it opened to the outside. I let it close and then pushed it to the left to reveal a hidden staircase. I walked in and let my eyes adjust to the lower light, then followed the stairs. I wasn’t worried about startling anyone since the contestants couldn’t see me. I moved steadily down the darkened hall until I came to a small room. The vampire had found a small hidden chamber and looking over the clues the contestants were given at the start of the day. Apparently satisfied he was in the right place, he considered his surroundings.

A small altar and the statue of Buddha with a collection box alongside were the only things in the place. He walked to the statue and searched the area. Finding nothing, he knelt down in front of the collection box and opened it to look inside. He vanished right before my eyes. What in the hell? I moved to see what happened, noticed my vampire had fallen into a pit and would be charged with a point deduction. He didn’t look pleased but was unharmed.

I went back the way I came and took the door to the garden to see what became of the wizard. I exited into a small courtyard with water on two sides. In the back sat a stone structure covered with a roof supported by columns on each end. A bronze statue of an elephant seated on a throne sat underneath the roof. Flanking it on either side were two bronze king cobras.

I watched in fascination as the wizard approached the throne area. In the Buddhist faith, the elephant symbolizes mental acuity and a resolute nature. The cobra, on the other hand, often represents illness, disease, or a change in weather. Furthermore, they used magic to transform themselves to appear human. I didn’t like the way this was designed, and felt the magic. I didn’t know if the wizard had done something, or if it came from another source.

Fortunately, I didn’t have long to wait. The minute the wizard approached the altar, the weather changed. Gale-force winds and rain pelted the area. I held onto the doorway and the wizard scrambled to find something to hang onto. He finally threw his arms around the nearest column and clinged to it. The storm passed as quickly as it came. As soon as the weather died down, the wizard started forward, and this time, the cobra nearest him started swaying hypnotically, oscillating back and forth in a rhythmic manner. When the wizard didn’t move, the cobra slowed its movement for a split second before it sprang at him.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. He had no time to react before the cobra sank its teeth into his arm. Or had it? It passed right through his arm and disappeared. Okay, now I was seriously weirded out. The wizard looked like he was hyperventilating. He stepped back, examined his arm, then smiled. I’ll be damned, the cobra was a hologram. He gathered himself and again he approached the elephant, but he didn’t get far before the second cobra turned into a large jaguar and sprang at him. This time he was prepared, and adroitly stepped to the side as the image flew past him and into the water where it vanished.

Having vanquished the holograms, he advanced toward the elephant and studied it closely. He strode all the way around it, inspecting it for traps and clues. I think he was wisely afraid to touch it, and didn’t blame him one bit. He muttered a spell before pulling a shield tightly around himself, carefully sealing and shielding his body from looming hazards. He reached out and touched the elephant’s crown. As soon as he did, a horn sounded, indicating he’d won the first universe. Everyone else would be scored on how many of the four challenges they’d achieved before the wizard won. The scores were cumulative, so the games were far from over.