When nobody got up, Moore and I shared a glance as I stretched my arms out.
“Has there ever been a woman to win one of these games?”
I looked back at the woman standing with her arm in the air. Fairly attractive, slim athletic build with her eyes solely on me. Even Moore smirked as he nodded for me to answer.
“No. No woman makes it past the first round,” I said.
“I will,” she declared. “Jodie Smalls, third year. Intellectual student.”
I simply nodded. I knew the look all too well. Maybe in another lifetime I might take her up on the obvious invitation she was throwing my way with the look in her eyes, but my interest was only in winning.
“Has there been anyone to win it twice like you, coach?” Another asked.
“No. Although we don’t speak on my second win because many died during those games,” I said. A few students suddenly got up with a shake of their head as they walked off. “I cannot stress this enough, you can possibly die, lose a limb, your teeth, your mind…you will not come out the same if you agree to do this, but what comes with it when you make it out, unforgettable moments, fame, and lots of press for what it's worth. So… anybody else wanna leave before signing away your life?” Everyone just stared back at me. “Aight…it’s y'all funeral,” I muttered. “Let’s get started. See if we can knock y'all down to 20 by the end of the night. You know how I do, straight conditioning drills.”
“This is going to be the best part.” Moore muttered with a wicked grin before reaching into his shirt to grab the whistle to blow. “Let’s gooooo!”
Chapter Twelve
Souxie Lafayette
“Are you sure about this?” Isis whispered as we walked with our arms linked. Isis, and I stalked down the lit-up path towards the back side of Drew Collins where other academic buildings were originally made for Francis Holmes University. A school that never came to be. It was a late Thursday night, and the school was still buzzing with rumors and thoughts about the assembly from last week.
Maggie has gone missing.
Maggie Grey is on the run.
Danielle Jackson, a student seeking help, is in danger.
Join the Coven Council tonight! Hosted by Xavier Martin of the Southern Five.
The flyers around the Grounds were everywhere plastered on buildings and posts with a looping clip of Maggie’s eyes turning red and her fangs coming out, screaming silently at whoever looked her way. They made her look like a true monster.
“We need to know what we’re dealing with.”
“I can’t believe they’re still going through with the games even with all of this going on,” Isis sighed as we walked in unison in our shoes. She wore a gray pleated dress with a white blouse underneath. White knee-high socks and peeks of her tattoos that wrapped around her thighs only served as a tease to the men who were interested. Her hair was pulled back in a rarebun which only made her wide eyes look like black orbs. Her tiny fangs peeked over her bottom lip and her pointy ears were present. She was in her true nymph form tonight. I wore a long sleeve black dress despite it being in the middle of the summer night. The heat never bothered me out here. If you grew up in the true south where humidity laid thick in the air, this summer breeze was nothing at Drew Collins.
“I think this is it,” I said.
The building was being decorated to welcome the incoming students for the games where they would most likely be staying. I could hear the big commotion and loud conversations of students going back and forth before others began to clap when we stepped into the dimly lit halls of Francis Holmes. For such a modern looking building, the inside felt antique with old paintings of black monarchs, kings and queens sitting on horses in the field. Glass casings to showcase gold pieces that dated back to the 1400s and dark wood trimmings along the cherry-colored walls. A woman stepped out in all black with a program in her hand.
“Are you all here for the coven cause?” She promptly asked with a smile. “Xavier is welcoming of all mythics and wants everyone to hear the message.”
“And what is the message exactly?” I asked. The woman smiled.
“That real magic belongs to those like you and me, priestess.”
Her eyes widened as she stepped to the side to usher in the other students walking into the building in groups.
“Please! This way! I was just about to give the speech!” She waved. I looked at Isis who shook her head.
“I didn’t realize it was getting this…crazy,” she muttered.
“Yes! Please come quickly!” She said with excitement. “We are the newest organization to be formed here at Drew Collins and by far the fastest! My name is Nevine, co-founder of the Coven Council alongside yours truly Xavier Alexander Martin of the Southern Five Martin Family. All are welcomed but we do like to prioritize our witches, practicing priestess, mediums, and root workers alike…as well as our handsome warlocks, and necromancers. What you’re about to witness tonight is sponsored by the school. We do not condone violence, or the promotion of violence against any student regardless of their predatory ancestral past. Now,” clearing her throat. “Repeat after me.”
I felt my face stiffen before pinching Isis’s arm for her attention. She whipped her head at me, seeing the panic in my eyes just as the woman started.
“Before this door, I loosen what I know…Inside these walls the truth shall grow,” she said as everyone began to repeat the words. I stabbed my nail into the back of Isis’s arm, careful not to let anyone else see until I felt a faint drip of blood.
