It Rained Red Upon the Arena (14 page)

“Why would I follow you to a room? We are set to fight in a little over a week,” said Nick.

“I have information regarding your father’s death. Now come on before someone hears us.”

Nick had no choice but to follow the man. He had so many questions about his father; they circulated through his head constantly. Despite his instinct to stay in his cell, Nick walked with him. Through a few corridors the men landed in a storage room that was about the size of five of Nick’s cells put together. The two men stood face to face of one another.

The Reza man smiled at Nick, then said, “I...”

“No, let me start. Who are you? How did you get the key to my cell? What do you know about my father? How do you know my father? What do you know about me?

The man still had a smile on his face. Then he dropped the smile in an instant.

“I don’t like getting interrupted. I find it annoying. I was going to tell you all of that and more, so how about you sit back and listen to what I have to say?”

Nick simply nodded in agreement.

“My name is something you don’t need to worry about. I work for a certain group which all hold the same interest. We possess a power which has been thrown into the darkness for centuries. What flows through me, can also flow through you, if you wish it. See, a long time ago there used to be supreme Rezas. They had powers far beyond the ability to conjure ice, fire, and to heal wounds fast. But these powers were a threat to the king, so there was a war set upon these supreme Rezas. That story sounds familiar, doesn’t it? You were taught about the war against the Hetha, but this war was stripped from all history books, as it was only directed at a dozen Reza. Thousands of the king’s men and women were sent to battle to kill those twelve men. They were successful. All teachings of this form of magic was banned and condemned. I know all of this magic and so do the men who work with me. The best part about it is that although every single Reza is capable of knowing this power, they are all stripped of the true power which flows through them. Which is why I come to you.”

“Why me?”

“You are the Hetha. If you found your true abilities from within, everyone would want to follow you. People talk of you from here in Vincot, to Genold City, to Bounch Hill, and everywhere in between. Your superior Paplon abilities will be complimented nicely with what I could teach you.”

“What of my father? You said you had information.”

The man paused, lifted his hand, and a box began to ascend in the room. No one was touching it, the box floated before Nick’s eyes.

“Your father was a Hetha, just like you are. He never tested his abilities or told anyone. I know who killed your father and why they did it.”

Confused as to how the box was floating in the air it took Nick a moment to respond to the man. He finally asked, “Who killed my father? What was his name? Tell me, why did he murder my father?”

“All of your questions will be answered in due time. It’s complicated. But trust me, I will tell you.”

Nick nodded in agreement and asked, “How is that box in the air like that?”

“I will teach you,” said the man. “I will tell you and teach you everything.”

The man put his hand down and the wooden box dropped to the floor.

“All you have to do is follow me tonight,” said the man. “I will lead you out of the arena and you will be a free man.”

“But I would be a wanted man if we could somehow escape, not a free man,” replied Nick.

“Where we’re going there are no wanted men. There are only free men. I need your answer now, Nick. We don’t have much time before a Refect notices your cell is empty.”

Nick inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. He closed his eyes for a moment and began to think of his decision. His gut feeling was to not go with the man. He felt something off about him. But he would rather be a free man than a prisoner. The only thought that caught his attention was the question playing over and over in his mind,
How can I trust him?

Nick looked at the man in his eyes and said, “Tell me who killed my father and why, then I will join you.”

“We don’t have time, but very well. The man who killed your father was Jeff Stiner. He was a servant to the king. Jeff killed your father because King Dedan Hudson knew he was a Hetha. Not only that but a Hetha that conspired with others to kill the king. Jeff was an assassin sent to kill him. The king didn’t want to arrest and put your father on trial. That would cause a media frenzy. Instead he opted to kill him and kill the threat.”

Nick stood in silence as the words trickled off the man’s tongue. He stood there for a minute before the man broke the silence.

“You have the truth, Nick. Come with me now. We have quite the journey ahead of us.”

“No,” replied Nick. “I’m sorry, but no. I have no way, and you have no way, to prove that what you just said is true. I will stay here in the arena until my sentence is up. If you wish to escape tonight, that’s fine. Maybe another day in the future we can meet and talk about this again.”

The man cleared his voice. “Disappointing,” said the man. “Your father had the same answer as you did. Jeff should have killed you, too. We didn’t know that Christopher had a son.”

The man raised both of his arms in the air. He manipulated the locks on his wrists somehow and his handcuffs fell off. The man took off both of his gloves and threw them onto the floor.

Nick lunged forward to hit the man with his fist. The man dodged it, grabbed his arm, and threw Nick against the wall near the door.

The man raised his hands and two wooden boxes floated stationary in midair. He thrust his arms forward, and the boxes came hurling at Nick.

He jumped to the side to avoid one box but the other smashed Nick’s leg.

Nick pulled out a piece of the box that had a sharp jagged edge at the end of it. It was the best weapon he could find considering magic could do him no good. Nick stood up and ran towards the man.

Nick was stopped mid stride. He couldn’t move a single part of his body. He began to ascend off of the floor beneath him, and the man, extremely focused before him, had both hands pointed at Nick. Nick flung backwards, and he was pinned up against the wall. His body was floating, being slowly crushed by the weight of the man’s attack.

Nick let out a scream, only to be quickly muted by the grasp of the man’s power.

Nick’s hand began to move towards his neck. The jagged wood which he was holding inched closer to piercing the side of his neck.

“You chose wrong. The king will fall. A new era will be born in darkness,” said the man.

With his last statement made, the man maneuvered his hands one last time to end Nick.

The door swung wide open. The man was startled by the noise. The grasp the man had on Nick collapsed and Nick fell to the floor.

A Refect stood at the doorway and asked, “What is going on here, inmate? Put your hands behind your back!”

The Refect drew his sword and attempted to walk in.

The man summoned an attack that consisted of black waves with electric sparks. It hit the Refect, and he flew backwards into the hall.

Nick quickly stood up and closed the door behind him. Nick could hear the man’s footsteps as he inched closer to the closed door.

Nick spotted three Refect at the end of the hall. The hallways the Refect walked down intersected at the end of the hallway Nick was in. The three Refect just so happened to be walking by at the right time.

“Help!” Nick shouted.

The three Refect quickly turned to spot Nick in a full sprint towards them and one of their own men bleeding against the wall of the hallway.

“Stop right there, inmate!” screamed one Refect.

Nick continued to run towards the men. Two of them drew their swords while the third placed his hands near his stomach which Nick knew was about to wield fire.

“Not me! Behind me!” Nick shouted.

The man from the room stepped into the hall and started firing his mysterious dark attacks at all four men. One Refect who was wielding a sword got hit and quickly fell, his lifeless body slouched down onto the floor.

Nick ran to safety around the corner of the hallway. When he looked back towards the second Reza Refect he saw that he, too, had fallen to the floor in the same fashion. The third and final Refect ran towards Nick.

He ran past him while saying, “Follow me if you want to live. I need more men.”

Nick followed his footsteps. They landed in the barracks of the Refect. They were all asleep.

“Wake up!” screamed the Refect. “Wake up! Level three emergency! Wake up!”

Twenty or so Refect sprang up from their slumber and put on their armor. It was the first time Nick could see the faces of the men who held power over all the inmates. They all grabbed their weapons and were ready for a battle within a minute.

“Stay here, inmate,” said the Refect who had guided Nick to safety.

“Men, we have an inmate loose with extremely deadly powers. Devon and Hess have already fallen to this man. We will move out in three groups to cover as much ground as possible just as we have done in training. Move out!”

Nick stood idle in the barracks by himself. Frightened, he maneuvered two drawers to reinforce the closed door. He searched the barracks to find himself a steel sword. He sat down across from the door and held the sword close to him. T
he man could be back at any given minute. Those attacks killed the Refect instantly.

***

Hours passed. Nick sat quietly until he heard something from the outside of the door.

“Inmate, open this door right now.”

“Did you kill the man?” asked Nick.

“We did not find him. Open the door; it’s safe.”

Nick pushed back the drawers and opened the door to find five Refect standing before him. They were breathing heavily. They had just ran laps around the arena looking in every possible place to find the man.

“Come with me, inmate. I’ll have a few words with you.” Nick could recognize the man’s voice as it was the man who helped him earlier.

The two met in a confined room with a desk and two chairs.

He looked Nick dead in his eyes and said, “Tell me everything that happened.”

Nick thought for a moment.
The truth would be unbelievable to almost anybody I could tell it to.

“All that happened is the man unlocked my cell, brought me to the room where he told me he had a plan to escape the arena so that we wouldn’t have to fight each other to the death. When I refused, he attempted to kill me. That’s when a Refect came into the room and I escaped. I ran down the hall towards you and your men frightened for my life.”

“And that’s all that happened?” asked the Refect.

“Yes,” said Nick. “He told me he had to kill me to make a diversion for his escape.”

“Well, that does makes sense. We found three more of our men dead towards the entrance. There was a trail of blood leading to the exit halls of the main gate and they continued into the city. Then the tracks vanished. One thing is for sure: one of my men landed a strike on this guy Poloski and he escaped. It seems he is the first man to escape the arena in over eighty years.” He paused and waited for some response from Nick, but none came. “Is that all?”

“No,” said Nick. “I would like to ask a favor.”

“What?” asked the Refect.

“Tell the king that a supreme Reza tried to recruit me, the Hetha. And that his life may very well be in danger.”

“So first you tell me that’s all you had to say, and now this? The king is in danger? What is a supreme Reza?”

“The truth behind the matter is not comprehensible to you or me,” replied Nick. “The king and his vast amount of resources will surely understand what I mean. Please, just send a raven. It will not cost much. I would do it myself if I could.”

“I will do no such thing. I think you are simply a liar. A pathological liar at that. The only thing I will see to is that you are put back into your cell right now. And this is your last warning of being out of your cell without permission. Next time will be your last.”

Nick stood up as another Refect came to take him away.

“Please,” said Nick. “Please do this. It could be the most important thing you do in your entire life.”

The Refect sat silently as Nick left the room and was escorted back to his cell.

Helpless.

Nick could only sit in his cell and wonder of the possibilities of what numerous supreme Rezas could do to the king, the army, the civilians, and all of Hentrio. Nick’s mind ran different scenarios in his head over and over throughout the night.

That was the night where he got put in his place. He realized there were powers out there exceeding his own. Powers that could decimate entire armies and leave the rest running for their lives. No longer could Nick be cocky. There was something brewing out there in the shadows that could threaten every living soul. Nick had no way to warn the king. It was an extremely terrifying thought.

Chapter Eleven

Nick sat at the usual table with his friend Phillip. This time it was different, it was not a normal hellish day of eat, train, sleep. Rather it was think, sit, and think some more. Nick had been awake since the night before, weighing the significance of the night’s events that had transcribed. Nick would sometimes eat his breakfast or dinner and look at the faces of the surrounding inmates. He would look at them and wonder if it was the last time he would see that person alive. He would look at his friend and ponder how much longer he could fight his way through the arena. But this day was different, he could only think about the people living on the outside. The people in Vincot, Ralton, Ameros, Bounch Hill, and Genold City could be blindsided by an attack on a massive scale. Nick needed to find a way to learn more about the supreme Reza, or figure out a plan to have someone send a raven to the king. Nick’s plan had to start by explaining to Phillip what the mysterious inmate did and told Nick the night before.

He went into every detail with Phillip covering the events that had transpired, how it all involved his father, the king, and himself.

“Phillip, listen, I would go to great lengths to get this message to the king. I would give my life for a good cause, I’ve always thought that.” Nick leaned in closer to Phillip so he could whisper, “I could escape the arena and send the message myself. I just need my hands freed and a sharp sword.”