Chapter one
I look around at the crowd and I could sense that they wanted my blood. They were waiting for these guards to fulfill their duty and get rid of me once and for all. Braden wanted to do something, but he had been told by one look from me that I didn’t want his assistance. The guards had pulled their weapons and the tendrils of energy that came from their fingers were destructive and could cut me into ribbons. They raised their hands and I could see the smug look on Lord Vadam’s face, as he looked on and waited for the inevitable to happen.
“Before you do something that you’ll regret, I think that you should refer to the rule book.” Nobody expected me to say anything in the form of an argument, but now they were standing there with bated breath to see what was going to happen next. “I would ask for a reading.” There was an awe amongst the crowd and you could sense that nobody had asked for something like that in some time.
“I don’t think that you know exactly what you’re asking little girl. If we go through with a reading and there’s nothing to prevent us from killing you, then your execution will be held immediately. Be sure that you are in the right, or at least able to defend yourself.” Lord Vadam was laying down the gauntlet and daring me to pick it up in defiance.
“I’ve already said it once, but if it takes two times to get it through your thick skull, then I’ll be more than happy to repeat myself. I want a reading.” Once again, the people could not believe the audacity of a woman taking a stand like this. I felt empowered and I stood tall and proud with a grin on my face that was making Lord Vadam a little nervous.
“Very well, you have asked for it, so you will receive it.” He turned to a young man with a bald head and glowing green eyes. He came forward with the book in question.
“What exactly am I looking for?” He was wearing some kind of white ceremonial robe with a black cross in the middle with what looked like blood dripping from the ends.
“You’ll find what you’re looking for on page 77 section two paragraph one.” I don’t know how I memorized this, but it came to me like a flash of lightning in my eyes. I could see that the guards were itching to use their weapons and they were waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I want you to read it verbatim and for everybody to hear. This is not just for Lord Vadam and the reading is to be public.”
He went through the pages and he came to the specific location and began to read it out loud for everybody to hear. “The Tournament of Dragos is open to everyone, including any race, creed, color or….gender.” This was the word that I was waiting for. Lord Vadam was on his feet in a flash to look at the evidence for himself. “Apparently, this addendum was put in many years ago by the queen of the black castle. There was no Lord at the time and it wasn’t until her death that a man took over the rule. It has never been excised from the book and can never be, unless agreed upon during a three day trial for information.” I stood their triumphant. I looked towards the guards to see that their weapons had now slipped back through their fingertips.
“I will not tolerate this kind of outburst during the Tournament of Dragos. If a woman feels that she is worthy of the title of being one of my guardsmen, then by all means give it your best shot. It’s not like you stand a chance anyway. After all, you are just a woman. Your gender is the weaker inferior member of our species. You’ll fall and you’ll cry and everybody here will laugh at your expense.” He didn’t have to worry about me crying and if I were to fail, then I would fail on my own merits.
“I appreciate your openness, Lord Vadam. I will do my best not to let you down. I will show that courage and strength comes in many forms. I will walk the path that was meant for man and I will do what others have not been able to do in the three times that they have been allowed to take on the Tournament of Dragos. I believe that the first game is the flying of the arrows.” He nodded his head and I stepped away to allow the two warriors to continue what they had started.
Those energy arrows took aim and fired at will. Each man rolled to prevent certain injury. This continued and you could tell that eventually one man was going to lose the stamina to keep up with the pace that was set.
“As the Lord, I have since decided that two arrows are better than one.” This was when everybody’s eyes were now glued on the spectacle that they were witnessing with their own two eyes. The two men fired two arrows and continued to fire two at a time. The one in the gray helmet was now losing steam and you could see that he was struggling to keep up with the demands that were set on him.
The other guy looked like he hadn’t even gotten his second wind. It was obvious that he was superior and he would vanquish this man eventually. It came in the form of two arrows flying from both of their quivers at the same time. One contacted with the other and canceled it out, but the other one sailed right by, sparking along the edges, before embedding itself into the armor of the man that wore the gray helmet. He fell dead on the ground with a thud that could be heard for miles. I did not realize that it was supposed to be life and death. Now that I had broached the topic, there was no way that I could take back what was said.
“The first to move on is Claudius. Let the games continue.” Each member was taken out one at a time, until finally Braden was standing toe to toe with a man that was two times his size. I did not know that that was even possible and Braden was blotting out the sun as it was. This guy was a planet of rock and he knew how to intimidate with just one look. I wanted Braden to stand strong, but I’m not sure I could if I were in his shoes. This guy was obviously the pride and joy of Lord Vadam. You could see him beaming with a smile from above. He was counting on his number one to do what was needed with efficiency and precision.
“Braden, you’ve stuck your nose in my business for the last time. You were lucky the last two times. My arrow took you down, but I only eliminated you from competition. This will be different and I assure you that the third time is the charm.” It was obvious that he was trying to get in Braden’s head and corrupt him enough that it would distract him and make him a little careless in his approach. “I will kill you and then I will do the exact same thing to the woman. I will stand victorious and the others will soon fall during the competition phase.” I found out from one of those that were standing beside me that his name was Camden.
He was feared amongst all those that had come before him. He was already one of the guardsmen and he was now protecting his position by fighting one on one against the competition. It was allowed, but it was rarely done. He was changing the perception of the rules and it was painfully clear that he had his sights set on taking Braden to task.
“I don’t think that you understand, little girl. You may have weaseled your way into the tournament, but there is no way that you will survive it long enough to hold court with one of the guardsmen. Your fate is sealed and you may as well kiss your loved ones goodbye.” He was very convincing and I was starting to doubt myself. I didn’t want to admit that I had made a mistake and I wasn’t even sure if I could, even if I wanted to.
Braden took his position and he stood firm and at the attention of a warrior in training. He was ready and I could see his resolve and this time Camden would have a real fight on his hands. There was no telling which side was going to win, but my fervent hope was that Braden would stand tall over his enemy. I would hope that he wouldn’t resort to the same measures, as others have apparently decided to do. I would hope that his blood lust for competition would not overshadow his good judgment and character. I didn’t want him to carry the blood of others on his hands. I didn’t want that for him. I didn’t want him to look at himself in the mirror each and every day and know that he had killed in cold blood. There were ways to vanquish a foe without killing them. If anybody could do it, it was him, but I don’t think that Camden was going to play by the same rules. His determination and his eyes for the kill was quite evident by the way that he was staring down his opponent.
“I’ll tell you what, Braden; I’ll give you the first one for free.” This was met with a chorus of laughter and applause at the way that he showed his immeasurable ego. “I won’t even try to fight back. If you can make your mark, then by all means make it true.” This was his way of breaking down the defenses of Braden and making him think that he didn’t have a chance. I knew that there was no talking with other members of the tournament, especially when they were in the field of battle at the time.
“If you expect me to turn down the opportunity to strike you down, Camden, then you’ll be waiting a long time.” Braden pulled two arrows and fired them with the intention of taking down Camden and wiping that look off his face once and for all. The first arrow barely missed, but it did scratch the surface of his ear enough that he would need medical attention. The second went a little wide and at the last moment, Camden reached out with his red gloved hand and extinguished it in flight.
Braden was beside himself and I could tell that this had seriously made him rethink his position. He was going to make a mistake, unless of course he could look at me in the eye and know that I believed in him. I wasn’t allowed to say anything, but that didn’t stop me from waving my arms. He must’ve caught something in his peripheral vision, because he turned and we made eye contact for that split second.
The slouch in his posture that I had seen became more rigid and he was ready to fight back with everything in his power. “That was pretty good, but it wasn’t good enough, Braden. Remember, I only gave you one free one and you took advantage of that by shooting two at the same time. I applaud your effort, although I do not appreciate the method in which you decided to pursue me.” This was the kind of smack talk that was meant to disable your opponent and give them something else to think about, but the task at hand.
“What makes you think that I missed?” This made Camden smile and then he laughed, so loud that the entire crowd joined in. They were following the leader and you could tell that a lot of them were not impressed by his need to pump out his chest.
“You can’t possibly think that I’m going to believe for a second that you fired that shot on purpose. That you meant to miss your target and just nicked me enough to draw blood. You must have known this was not going to be enough to make me fall at your feet. You must know that this is a losing battle and that every opponent that I’ve come up against since becoming a guardsman has not got past the first round. You’re lucky that I did not kill you the first two times, but this is your third and final attempt. That can not go unanswered.” It was then that he moved his hands in a blur of motion that almost made it difficult to see what he was doing. His arrows took off at a speed that didn’t seem possible and Braden barely moved in time, so as to not become impaled on one of those energy arrows. The second one skinned his cheek and left a permanent reminder of just how deadly these games really were.