Chapter Six

  Part Seven

  The room was dark. So dark that she couldn’t see the walls around her. She didn’t know how big this room was, since when she reached out with her hands she touched nothing. Then she heard it. Cheers. There was thousands upon thousands of cheering and shouting. Then it hit her. She knew exactly where she was.

  Light parted the darkness in front of her. A door opened. She was blinded momentarily and had to clench her eyes shut against the bright light. But the cheering grew louder. So much so that it almost deafened her. Then the smell came.

  Fresh blood.

  She forced her eyes open, and saw she was now standing in a large round sand pit splattered with blood. Tall thick sandstone walls surround her, and above those walls were people. All of them shouting and cheering, calling out names. She recognised one of them. It was her name. She could hear her own name being called.

  This was an arena. One she was very much familiar with.

  The heavy wooden door behind her closed, as the matching door opposite opened. The man walking through it was instantly recognisable to her. His dark skin glistened with sweat, causing his muscles to shine. His lip was already burst, and his hands already bloody. It looked he has just recently fought.

  Damon walked into the ring.

  Fear and worry tugged at her heart. But it was getting harder and harder for her to think, all she could mutter was a weak “...brother...?”

  He was upon her in an instant. His heavy fist colliding with her face. She was sure she now had a matching bloody mouth. She stumbled, and just barely managed to reclaim her bearings before another rock like punch sent her stumbling again.

  She didn’t want to fight back, she couldn’t. So she let him give her another heavy hit to her stomach. Time seemed to slow, as she looked into his amber eyes. It had been five years since she had saw them last. Time quickened around her, as another heavy punch smashed into the side of her jaw.

  She fell to the side. There was a moment of silence. Not because the crowd had stopped cheering, but because her ears had stopped listening. Something tugged on her long dark black hair. That’s right, she had yet to cut it. Damon pulled her up to her knees by her hair, and an elbow found its way to her face.

  Sound returned to her. If she kept going like this, Damon would surely kill her. Her instincts couldn’t help but to cover up. Her arms blocking another elbow. No, she didn’t want to block. She deserved his beating. She fought against herself and managed to drop her arms, letting more pain explode across her face. Her vision dimmed. Her vision blurred. Yet the bright light seemed to grow brighter.

  Until finally, everything was shrouded in darkness.

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  *

  She jolted awake.

  Ali was lying in the bed next to hers, still soundlessly asleep. Yet Line was covered in a cold sweat. The bed creaked underneath her, as she swiftly swung out from underneath the woollen covers. The beds at Candour Monastery are much nicer than these ones. Line quietly made her way through the door, careful to not make any more noise.

  They were still in The Nights Rest. Everyone had made plans to leave in the morning. So Line followed the hall, down the stairs and out through the entrance door. The cold night air hit her like a wall, making her let out a small gasp. She hugged her bare arms and slowly walked down the gravel path.

  Being under the star speckled sky and surrounded by green trees helped her mind calm a little. It had been a while since she had that nightmare, maybe it was the sibling dilemma that had brought it out.

  A familiar red long coat was suddenly draped over her shoulders. Vax’dian was standing next to her. His long dark hair was fully loose, perfectly framing his handsome face. He didn’t say anything, he just gave her one of his smiles.

  She looked down at the gravel underneath her feet “a colosseum”

  Vax’dian frowned “I’m sorry?”

  “You once asked me what I do actually fear. I fear a colosseum” she turned to face Vax’dian fully “you need to stop looking for Miracle Powder, and instead look for Null Powder”

  “...Null Powder?”

  “It’s the real name of that green powder, and if concocted differently, it makes something else entirely”

  “What does it make?”

  “poison. A potent one at that”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I’ll tell you if you tell me who’s buying this ‘Miracle Powder’?”

  Vax’dian hesitated “... my brother is”

  “...your brother?”

  “I’ve been collecting evidence against him. The process has been slow, but the evidence is still there”

  “...why?”

  “Tell me why you know about Miracle Powder, or Null Powder I mean”

  “...Null Powder is used in a colosseum far south of Yor. It would be used on the fighters to rig the betting. But Null Powder is still a poison, if your body got used to the effects, you would just be given a larger dose. The fighters would be lucky to even be alive right now”

  “Line...? You were one of those fighters?”

  She clenched her jaw “I don’t want to talk about my time there. I just want it to stop”

  Vax’dian reached out and placed a hand on her arm “alright, it’s alright. We’ll stop it”

  “Jonah Ridley”

  “...Ridley? I know that name”

  Her head snapped up “what!?”

  “He’s a Marquess”

  “Since when!?”

  “since eight years ago”

  She scoffed “of course. I wonder how he managed that”

  “I’m sure my brother helped him”

  “This ‘Miracle Powder’ was at least planned for over eight years. Why did I not know of this? He always said I was his favourite. He would tell me most of his plans, and he would even see me often” this was when she realised, she was gripping onto Vax’dian’s arm.

  With his free hand, Vax’dian wiped a tear from Line’s cheek. She hadn’t even realised she was crying either.

  “Line...” Vax’dian pulled her into a tight hug “I promise you, Jonah Ridley will be punished”

  Line didn’t respond, she just buried her head in his shoulder.