Chapter 9

" Number four! The Blooded Boars!" Mika announced. Jace swallowed hard as he stepped back. He looked sideways at Michael, then at Gabriel. They kept straight faces, offering no support. " You have twenty four hours to prepare. May the gods give you luck."

The three vampires bowed before leaving the Hall of Princes. Gabriel and Michael walked in the front, leading Jace to the Hall of Games.

" Should I be worried? They're just wild pigs right?"

" Boars are much tougher, especially when they're juiced up on vampire blood," Michael commented lightly.

" Come now Joshua, we must train you in the art of fighting as much as we can," Gabriel said urgently.

Jace sighed as they hurried down the hall. It was a short trip yo the Hall of Games. The three entered one of the three rooms. Something that resembled an amateur wrestling mat was in the center. A large, burly man was wrestling with two, skinnier men. He easily floated around them, took them down, and flipped them over. The strong man got one of the guys in a headlock and started rapidly punching his face. Blood squirted onto the mat. The winner got up and let the losers crawl away in pain. He turned around and walked toward the Raine vampires. Jace held back a gasp as he saw the man had no eyes.

" Vanez, looking good," Michael greeted. " You should see yourself."

" I don't need eyes to see how good I like," he said with a smile.

" Joshua, this is Vanez Blane, the games master of the mountain," Gabriel said, introducing Jace to Vanez. " Vanez will help with your training."

" You don't have eyes," was the first thing Jace uttered out.

" And?" Vanez asked.

" I can't fight a blind guy."

The three adult vampire laughed. Jace looked at each of them awkwardly.

" Boy, you are standing four feet away from me and are so nervous your heart is rapidly beating." Jace's jaw dropped. " Now then, shall we start your training."

Training with Vanez Blane could easily make a US Marine cry. They planned to use every hour of the twenty four hours they had. 4 hours of training with a hour of rest in between each. At the start of every hour, Jace did 300 push-ups and 300 sit-ups. The rest of the session involved fighting. Basically it was just Vanez, Gabriel, and even Michael, tossing and beating Jace. They also practiced with weapons, including swords, daggers, and spears. Jace miserably failed at everything. The rests helped, but Jace looked forward to the last for hours of preparation, only because he could actually sleep that time.

During Jace's second rest, he laid in his hammock and talked to Cato in their room. His arms were aching, his legs were tensing, and every nerve of his body was paralyzed.

" So that following year, Prince Fredor Morsh took the idea to his fellow princes. They accepted the ideas, but it was Prince Raal Ghast who suggested the vampire blood. The Blooded Boars aren't one of the more frequent trials, but most succeed, save Darren Shan. It basically a primitive fight to the death."

" Unless history has any tips for me, please stop talking," Jace groaned.

The bell rang twice, signaling the turn of the hour.

" The bells tolls for thee Jace," Cato commented.

Jace whimpered before he rolled off the hammock to go back to hell.

Jace's third break went the same way. More of Cato's mindless stories. This time about a vampire named Gil who lost his hand to the boars. Jace's last break different. Something…….odd happened.

Jace and Cato were going to visit Maddie and her roommate. Jace walked slowly in pain as Cato babbled on about the boar farm deep within the mountain. They stopped at the door where Harkat the Little Person told them. Jace was so out of reality, on pain and annoyance for Cato. Jace opened the door without knocking, which proved to be a mistake.

" Maddie, are you in ther……." Jace froze.

Maddie stood in their direct line of sight, facing away from them. The two seemed to lose their ability to hold their mouths closed. They gawked at her dark hair parted over her right shoulder. Her caramel skin glistened, all of her skin. Maddie was butt-naked, her towel uselessly covering her unseen front.

" GET OUT!" she screamed over her left shoulder.

The boys immediately shut the door. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

" Cato?" a girl's voice called from the hall. The boys turned to the right. They saw a boy with his arm around the girl's shoulders. They were both blond, the girl's hair waving past her shoulders, the boy's like a silk blanket almost touching his shoulders. The boy was much taller than the girl, about the height of the six one Cato. The blondes looked like Cato, age wise of eighteen.

" Christy, hey," Cato greeted as the couple stood in front of them.

" Hi," she squeaked in a high pitched, child like voice. Although her body was far more……… developed than any child's. " Did you just walk in on my naked roommate?"

" Yeah," Cato replied shamefully. " Hi Darius."

The blond boy, Darius Shan, had been sizing up Jace.

" Who's the emo punk?" was the first thing he said.

" I'm Jace and I'm not emo," he said before brushing his long black hair from his eyes.

" Whatever you say kid. I'm Darius," he said flatly.

" And I'm Christy!" the short blonde girl chirped. " And my roommate's name is Maddie."

" Yeah, I know," Jace replied. " I came here with her. I also broke her ankle."

Darius let out a cocky snicker.

" Shame on you," she said before playfully slapping his gut. Jace let out a chuckle. " Shame on you too." Christy punched Jace on the arm. " Maddie may be a little rough shelled, but she's my friend."

" Did she tell you that?" Jace challenged.

" No, but I'm everyone's friend!"

" Okay, well I have a trial to face," Jace announced. " Nice meeting you."

" Good luck!" Christy sang.

" Don't die," Darius remarked.

Jace stood in the pit surrounded by a wooden face and cheering vampires. The ground was dirt and weapons were scattered around the death circle. Jace tried to keep his breath in check. Jace picked up a small sword at faced the gate. The doors opened and the two boars immediately charged out. Jace readied his sword as he entered a fight to the death.

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