Chapter 11

Three days later I found myself in what appeared to be a Roman coliseum. I looked around me in wonder as thousands of vampires filed into the bleachers around the arena. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the many scents swirling around me. Chris had explained to me that each type of vampire had a different scent.

Our type smelled of flowers after a rainy day. Darrin's type smelled of fire and some kind of spice. Sapphires smell of the ocean breeze. Topazes smell like honey and sugar. Onyxes have an earthy aroma.

There was a new scent, unfamiliar to me. It was the sweet scent of peppermint. My nose crinkled as I inhaled the sickly sweet scent. My eyes scanned the bleachers, trying to locate the scent. My gaze came in contact with amethyst eyes. I retracted inwardly in surprise; Chris had never mentioned this clan before.

"I see you're surprised as well," I heard Darrin's voice beside me.

"Who are they?" I asked, trying desperately to conceal my emotions.

"I wish to know that myself," he replied coolly.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I spat. "This is a fight between the females."

I heard him chuckle, causing a small pain to spread through my chest. I missed his laugh.

"You could say that I'm a special case in this fight," he whispered. "If you look around I'm not the only male here. And do you honestly think I would let Raven fight you?"

I looked up at him surprised. Did this mean he had forgiven me? He looked down at me and I was lost in his ruby eyes. I could feel the familiar blush spread across my cheeks.

"I mean we would hate to have our leader get killed in these games," he said hotly.

I turned my eyes down, hiding how much his words had hurt me. I looked around; at the sky, the people, just anywhere but that beautiful face of his that caused me so much hurt.

"So it appears that I'm the only female," I commented looking down the line at the 5 other fighters, all of them male.

Darrin only nodded, slowly moving away from me as a new person stepped forward. His dark brown hair was pulled back at his shoulders loosely. He had well toned muscles that moved beneath his dark skin. He was all around a very handsome man. It was his scent, however, that made me cringe away. It was the sickly sweet scent of peppermint. I locked my gaze with his dark amethyst eyes.

"Hello, my name is Triton," he said his voice thick.

I only nodded, my skin crawling slightly. He was making me feel very uncomfortable.

"I'm Dana," I replied quietly.

Triton turned towards Darrin, his eyes hardening.

"And you are?"

"Darrin Cobalt of the Rubies so back off," he growled.

Triton's eyes flashed down to me then back to Darrin.

"Is the female yours?" he asked coolly.

"I belong to no one!!" I snarled.

Triton eyes brightened as he looked back at me. He turned his gaze up to Darrin, a sly smile spreading across his face.

"Let's make a bet," he began.

"I'm listening," Darrin mumbled.

"The winner gets the female if she's still alive," he said mischievously.

My mouth dropped open as I stared wide-eyed at him. I looked over at Darrin to see his reaction. His expression was blank. He looked at me briefly before answering.

"If you want her…take her. Her heart belongs not to me."

I felt another pain go through my chest. His words cut deeper than any dagger could hope to. My eyes began to burn with unshed tears as I staggered away from the two men.

"Are you aright?" a soft voice asked.

I looked up to meet a pair of golden eyes. They belonged to a beautiful boy with short bronze hair. I nodded, smiling at him.

"I'm Jack," he said pleasantly.

"I'm Dana," I replied smiling brightly.

"This is Borden," Jack said pointing to a boy with dark onyx eyes and red hair. "And that's Damon," pointing to a boy with sandy blond hair and sapphire eyes.

I nodded to each of them saying my hellos. The four of us chatted for awhile, whereas Darrin and Triton were having a glare off. Before long, the six leaders stepped out onto a balcony nestled above the stands. One came closer to the edge, looking down at the vampires.

"Greetings all!!" he addressed in a booming voice. "Welcome to the Vampire Games. It is time once again for us to decide which clan shall rule us all. If I remember correctly, it was us, the Amethysts that won the last Game. Now it is time to see if a different clan shall rule supreme!!!"

The crowd let put an excited cheer that rang out through the stadium. I could make out the cries of my own family yelling out my name.

"First we shall have Dana of the Emeralds vs. Damon of the Sapphires."

I looked over at Damon, sizing him up. He appeared to have some pretty big guns, but he moved with a grace I never expected a man of his size to possess. However, his movements were sluggish so speed was on my side for this battle.

We met in the center of the arena. The other contestants had been moved to a gate that was positioned on either side of the arena. This made me feel even more like a gladiator fighting for the citizens of Rome. Once in the center, I locked gazes with Damon. His eyes were burning brightly as he raised his eyebrows challengingly.

"And now," the announcer began. "LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!"

A/N: And that's how I worked the title into the story!!! Will Dana be able to win her first match? Or will she lose her life? Find out in Chapter 12!!