Mystics 3-Book Collection (89 page)

The more they walked, the more a plan of
escape seemed ridiculous. They weren’t going anywhere, except to
meet Gigor. Who was this Gigor anyway? The fact that he made deals
with Mrs. Dupont didn’t paint him in a very good light. For all she
knew, Gigor was as evil and horrid as the psychotic woman, or maybe
even worse.

Mrs. Dupont walked ahead of them, deep in
conversation with Nazar. Were they discussing how they were going
to kill everyone? The way Nazar had looked at her mother still
bothered her, but she wondered if she hadn’t actually imagined the
whole thing.

They had arrived at a colossal building
without a roof, like a baseball stadium. Built of black stone, it
stood out among the other buildings like a giant spaceship. She
could hear mumbled voices inside.

They followed Mrs. Dupont and Nazar through
an archway and into an open area the size of a baseball field. Like
a sports stadium, rows of seats circled the field, and doorways led
to upper levels. Keepers guarded every exit.

Thousands of mystics sat in the seats. They
were drinking, chanting, and some were even dancing. It was like a
big party before the show. And Zoey had a horrible suspicion that
she was it.

They made their way along the right side of
the stadium, towards a raised platform on the upper first
level.

An enormous creature with two massive black
horns sat on a large throne made of bones in the middle of the
platform. Its skin was the color of fresh blood, and it had a
series of black symbols tattooed all over its body and face. It
looked humanoid from the chest up, but hooves peeked from the
bottom of its leather black pants, and
talons gleamed
 
at the ends of the thing’s
fingers.
It looked like a cross between a man and a
bull.

Two large troll-like bodyguards in metal
breastplates and armor sat at his sides. Zoey suspected the
creature didn’t need them and that they were more for show than for
protection.

But then Zoey saw something that was more
upsetting than the giant bull-man. A young woman wearing a metal
collar stood in the shadows with a tray with food and bronze cups.
Although her face was bruised and blood seeped from a cut on her
lips, Zoey recognized her. Her name was Sonya, and she was an
Agent. But how had she gotten here?

Mrs. Dupont stopped and raised her arms in
the air. “Gigor, my lord. I bring gifts, as promised.”

The great red beast
smiled. His eyes looked like black bottomless pits and his black
forked tongue flicked out of his mouth as he spoke.

“So, these are the agent
trouble makers? They are just children with an old man and a sick
woman!” Gigor’s laugh resonated like an earthquake.

He flicked his hand,
and
Sonya shuffled forward, her feet shackled with chains.
He took a goblet from her tray and drank from it. For a moment he
sat silently.

When he stood up suddenly, his long black
cape spilled behind him.

“Why are they such a threat to you, Mrs.
Dupont? I see nothing extraordinary about them apart from the
Mysterian. Is he why you wanted to bring them to me? Mysterians are
of no value to me. But still, he will play his part in the
games.”

Zoey frowned and mouthed to Tristan,
what
games
? He shook his head and shrugged.

Mrs. Dupont pushed Zoey and her mother
forward roughly. “I’m not talking about the Mysterian. These two
have the blood of the
Originals
.”

Gigor regarded Zoey and her mother lazily.
He still didn’t seem interested.

“I never cared for the Originals. I never
saw anything special about them. Humans with gifts, that is all.
Mortals are weak. What good are they if they do not provide me with
some entertainment? They will all join in the games. That is what I
promised my people.”

Mrs. Dupont smiled. “Of course, my lord. It
will be an enormous pleasure to watch them die.”

She turned to Elizabeth. Her face twitched
in a failed attempt to look apologetic.

“This is what you get for lying to me about
your daughter,” she spat. “If you had told the truth years ago, we
could have avoided all this unpleasantness now.”

“Unpleasantness?” hissed Elizabeth. “You’re
crazy. You’ve always been crazy.”

The cat-faced woman laughed softly. “I will
rejoice watching you die, Elizabeth. And your troublesome daughter
will die alongside you. You’ve been meddling in my affairs for too
long. But I won. You lost. Goodbye.”

Mrs. Dupont walked away. Her Alphas moved
with her, but Nazar stood still. His face was drawn, and his eyes
were fixed on Elizabeth.

“Nazar,” Elizabeth pleaded. “Don’t let her
do this, please. Stop her—”

But Nazar had turned away. He made his way
to the first level and joined Mrs. Dupont on the platform to the
left of Gigor.

Behind Mrs. Dupont, Zoey could see a man
with dark hair, pale skin, and a hollow face. It was Director
Martin.

The beige carry-on bag rested on his lap—the
UECs.

“Zoey, do you see what I see?” whispered
Tristan.

“Director Martin,” she answered. She felt a
flicker of hope deep inside her belly. There was still a chance to
close the portals. All she needed was a miracle.

The Keepers made their way across the
grounds and stood in line formation against the inner walls.

“And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting
for,” bellowed Gigor.

The crowd in the stands cheered wildly. It
sounded like the crackling of thunder. He waited for the crowd to
settle down and raised his glass.

“As promised, I give you four new warriors
for the Blood Games!” The crowd cheered loudly, as though they were
at a baseball game.

“Is it me or does that sound really bad?”
said Simon. His face fell.

“I’m awesome at video games. I can even play
a wicked game of Monopoly when we lose power . . . but
blood
games? Not so much. What’s going to happen to us?”

“I don’t know,” said Zoey. “But we stick
together. And we stay alive. Have faith Simon, we still might have
a chance to get out of here.”

She glanced at Director Martin. He had to be
here for some reason. She didn’t believe in faith, but this was
pretty close. She had to do something before it was too late.

The crowd quieted down, and Gigor raised his
voice. “Let the Blood Games begin!”

Zoey leaped forward and cried. “WAIT!
STOP!”

Gigor frowned and lowered his eyes until
they met Zoey. Clearly he wasn’t used to being interrupted, and for
a second Zoey thought he was going to lunge off the platform and
step on her. But he didn’t. He waited.

She cleared her throat nervously. “Mr.
Gigor—uh—
Lord
Gigor,” she said clumsily. “We only came here
for one reason—to
shut
the portals down. Both our worlds are
collapsing,” she said as fast as she could. “Neither of us can
survive a permanent doorway. They need to be shut down, or we’ll
all die.”

Gigor measured Zoey and then said. “Close
the portals? The worlds are collapsing?”

He laughed deeply. “This child amuses me.
Child, why would I want to shut them down when
I
wanted to
open
them in the first place? Mrs. Dupont has promised me
more slaves.” He turned and gestured over to Sonya who was cowering
at the edge of the stage.

“We have an agreement. I helped her open the
portal, and in return her world will become enslaved to me!” His
voice reverberated throughout the stadium like an earthquake.

Zoey looked quickly at Mrs. Dupont. She
doubted that the woman would have agreed to such a thing. Mrs.
Dupont wanted to rule both worlds
herself
. Zoey was sure
that Mrs. Dupont had tricked Gigor somehow. She must have had
something else up her sleeve, Zoey was sure of it.

But right now, she didn’t have time to think
about that. She needed to stay alive long enough to get her hands
on the bag . . . .

Tristan moved in beside Zoey and raised his
voice. “What are the rules?” he called. “There must be some rules.
All games have rules.”

Gigor smiled, and for the first time Zoey
noticed that his teeth were as red as his skin. “Yes, Mysterian,
you are correct. The rules are the same for beasts and humans. If
you
survive
the games, then you may leave in peace.”

Simon gave a little gasp.

Tristan looked at Zoey, his eyes filled with
new vigor. “If we live, then we can go,” he called out again to the
mystic lord. “Do we have your word?”

Gigor raised his glass at Tristan and said.
“You have my word as lord of this world. In fact, if you survive, I
will personally escort you back to your portal.”

He shook his head. “But no mystic or human
has ever survived the Blood Games, so I wouldn’t get too excited.
Your death is inevitable. Still, you will be given as many weapons
as you want. Good luck.”

“As a senior citizen, don’t I get a free
pass, or a discount, or something?” bellowed Simon, but the mystic
lord ignored him.

Zoey turned to Tristan and lowered her
voice. “What’s your plan?”

“Stay alive,” he answered. “Whatever we’ll
be fighting, at least we’ll be able to fight back with
weapons.”

“I can fight, too,” said Elizabeth with
determination. “I know I don’t look it right now, but I can.”

“I’m sure you can,” said Zoey. “But if you
get tired, stay behind us.”

Just when Zoey started to wonder when they
were going to get their weapons, objects flew from the crowd and
landed on the ground. Daggers, swords, rocks, and even a variety of
fruits were tossed at them from the onlookers. Even some of the
Keepers pitched them their swords.

“Nothing like getting the crowd to
contribute
,” said Simon grimly as he struggled with both
hands to pick up a heavy sword. “I’m too old for this.”

Tristan grabbed two black Keeper swords. He
twisted them skillfully, as though he were a Keeper himself. His
determination reassured Zoey that they might survive.

Elizabeth picked up what looked like a
silver sword, and Zoey found a short bronze one. It felt light and
balanced in her hand. The edges were sharp. She could do some real
damage with it. For a second she thought about grabbing two weapons
like Tristan, but she was not as ambidextrous as he was. She wished
she had her boomerang, but it was gone forever. Her short sword
would have to do.

“Open the gates!” bellowed Gigor. He tossed
his goblet into the arena to signal the start of the games.

The sound of metal chains rattled over the
cheers of the anxious crowds. Zoey turned towards the noise. Four
iron gates lifted at the western end of the stadium. With her heart
in her throat, she waited to get a look at whatever would come out
from behind them. She felt like a gladiator.

“Stay together,” said Tristan. They all
stood back to back. “Don’t break the formation. We’re stronger
together.”

At first she could see only shadows behind
the gates. But then they came out.

A hoard of the most horrid, vile, and
dangerous creatures from her worst nightmares came hurtling towards
them with one purpose—

To kill them all.

Chapter 21

F
or a moment, Zoey
forgot to breathe.

The ground shook. It was like watching a
scene from the movie
Gladiator
, but instead of great
half-naked warriors lunging across the grounds, beasts from the
gates of Hell had been unleashed upon them.

She could see two giant wolf creatures with
glowing red eyes and fur that looked more like spikes than hair,
enormous spiders the size of lions, winged beasts with the heads of
women and the bodies of bats, and a legion of humanoid
skeletons.

It was a savage, brutal army. Zoey
understood why Gigor had said that no one had ever survived the
games. How could two kids, an old man, and a sick and fragile woman
defeat such foes?

“This reminds me of a dream I had once,”
noted Simon. His sword shook in his hand as he shifted his weight
from side to side as though he was about to hit a tennis ball with
it.

Zoey kept her eyes on the advancing threat.
“What happened in the dream?”

“I died.”

Zoey glared at Simon. “Nice.”

Simon shrugged. “What? I’m just saying . . .
forget it. It was a stupid thing to say, sorry.”

“Just—”

Zoey suddenly was really worried about
Simon. The spell still
hadn’t
worn off. His face seemed to
have more wrinkles than before, and he was losing more hair. Was he
still aging? He caught her staring at him, and she looked away.
“Just try to stay alive, okay?”

“What? More
alive
than in
this
body,” Simon pointed to himself. “I’m already running on used fuel.
But don’t worry, I might be an old fogey, but I still have a few
good moves left in me—hopefully.”

“Get ready and stay together!” Tristan’s
voice sounded over the savage cries and shrieks from the avalanche
of beasts tumbling towards them.

They had nowhere to go. There was no
escaping. Their DSMs didn’t work. They would
have
to fight.
How could they defeat such a brutal force? They were going to die .
. . .

“Zoey,” said Elizabeth suddenly, and Zoey
turned towards her mother. “I—” she paused as though she wasn’t
sure whether or not to say what was on her mind. “Be careful.”

Zoey reached out and squeezed her mother’s
hand. “I will. We’re getting out of here, mom, I promise.”

Her mother’s eyes filled with tears, and her
own eyes burned. She turned quickly away, not wanting her mother to
see her cry. She glanced over at the platform. Mrs. Dupont was
smiling so much that Zoey thought she might swallow her own head.
She was leaning forward in her chair like she was watching her
favorite live theatre performance. She was thrilled they were about
to die.