The Arena Wars

  Part of me wanted some alone time, but the other part wanted to see what had been done about the vampire Quinten had staked. Would I find anyone at the park that could give me information?

  The park was completely empty, and the bathroom was taped off with police crime scene tape. It was almost nine o’clock, so I wasn’t surprised to find that I was the only one in the area.

  I sat myself down on a metal bench. The park was still beautiful at night, even with the bright yellow police tape glaring at me. The white sand around me seemed to glow in the moonlight, and the flowers and trees swayed gently in the breeze. This was peaceful.

  This was heaven.

  I took a deep, calming breath, and began to think. I was worried about Ilene and her recent behavior. I’d had a slightly rebellious phase, but nothing like what she was doing.

  She put our lives in danger to satisfy her pride last night.

  No matter how strong my urge to hunt might be, I would have never attacked a flock of sheep knowing that the farmer might come out with his shotgun. We were strong and we healed fast, but we were most definitely killable. A gunshot would drop us, and then we’d turn back into our human forms.

  And he’d be stuck with a dead, naked child.

  Our secret would be at risk.

  Was that what Ilene was doing? Was she trying to expose our race? What would be in that for her?

  Maybe she was tired of living in the shadows. If everyone knew of our existence, werewolves could make a play for ruling the world. It wasn’t that farfetched of an idea. Some werewolves had tried it before. They were usually fanatics that couldn’t get support for their movement.

  But if someone did get the support needed, it was very likely that we could reveal our existence in the next few years. Then Ilene wouldn’t be the shy, weird, social outcast that people thought she was. She’d be able to be the strong, agile, confident immortal being that she actually was. And the one thing I knew most about her was that she hated not fitting in; she hated being teased and made fun of. If she could prove all of those people wrong, would she?

  Ilene could never get any support though, but did she know somebody who could?

  The breeze blew through the park, carrying with it a musky woodsy scent that was mixed with something foul smelling. It smelled like cheap cologne and whisky.

  Someone was here with me. I stood and scanned the park, looking for anyone lurking around, waiting for a helpless victim.

  I’d teach them that not all women are helpless.

  Nothing stood out though. I couldn’t see or hear anyone, but I knew that they were there, hiding from view. Watching.

  Waiting.

  The feeling of eyes on me caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise for the second time that day, and goose bumps broke out over my arms. Was it a vampire?

  I wasn’t going to wait around and find out. I hurried back to my car and made my way home.

  When I arrived back home at our cabin, I was ready to talk to Ray on behalf of Quinten and his grandmother. It was obvious that she needed the help, and that the way she was living wasn’t good for her. I just hoped that Ray would understand that Quinten wasn’t just trying to get a free payday from him.

  As luck would have it, Ray was alone in the living room when I returned home. He looked up as I took a seat across from him and I sighed. “Dad, I need to talk to you about something. Something that I don’t think Quinten would appreciate if he knew I was doing this for him.”

  Ray frowned. “Is he in trouble? He should know that he only has to come to me, and I’ll help him in any way that I can.”

  “Quinten’s very proud, Dad, you know that. He’d been planning on talking to you about this tonight after dinner, but after I told him how proud of him you were, he got cold feet. He didn’t want you to think that he was taking advantage of your newfound pride.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  I took a deep breath. “You know that Quinten’s grandmother isn’t well, right?”

  He nodded once. “It’s a sad thing, to watch someone you love wither away like that. Your mother’s grandma was that way. By the end, she had to live in an assisted living facility.”

  “Quinten has a nurse that comes in and helps him with her whenever he needs to go out, but he’s finding it difficult to take care of her the rest of the time. Her doctors have told Quinten that they think it best if he puts his grandmother in an assisted living facility, and he’s not happy about that. He’s angry because he thinks that they’re hinting that he can’t take care of her himself.”

  “You’re right. Quinten’s a very proud man, and I know he wouldn’t like to accept help unless absolutely necessary.”

  I nodded. “Yes, and now he needs your help. He admitted to me that he thinks it would be best if she goes, but he can’t afford it. I told him that if he talked to you, you might be able to help.”

  Ray thought to himself for a minute, before nodding. “I understand. I’ll talk to him tomorrow and do what I can to help.”

  I smiled in relief. “Thank you,” I said, taking his hand. “This means a lot to me, and I know it will mean a lot to him too.”

  Ray smiled back. “I’m sure it will. I’m glad you said something to me. If you hadn’t…I can’t imagine how long he would have suffered without saying something to someone.”

  “He’s a lot like you in that department. Too proud to ask for help unless absolutely necessary.”

  Ray chuckled. “You might be right,” he looked at me. “You look tired, kiddo. You should turn in for the night.”

  I hesitated. I wanted to tell Ray about the feeling I’d had, twice, of being watched. Would he think I was just being paranoid? Probably.

  Finally, I decided against it, and I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve had a rough day.”

  In the morning, I drove Ilene to school. We sat together in my car in stony silence, neither of us speaking or looking at the other. When I pulled up to the school, Ilene got out without so much as a single glance in my direction. She slammed the car door shut and stormed up to the front door of the school. It was obvious that’s she and I were not ok.

  Will we ever be alright again?

  Ilene and I had such different views on pretty much everything. How could one person change so much in such a short time? It seemed like just a few months ago she’d been a happy giggling girl that wouldn’t have harmed a fly.

  But now that she’d shifted for the first time, she was an animal, even more so than me, or Ray. How long until her humanity was gone completely? Would there be a time when she’d cease to be my sister? Would Ray and I eventually be enemies in her eyes?

  Shaking off bad thoughts about Ilene and the creature she was becoming, I swung by Quinten’s to pick him up. Ray wanted to talk to him man-to-man, so I’d have to give them some privacy once the talk started. After I explained everything to Quinten, he stopped talking.

  He was as silent in the passenger seat as Ilene had been. He wasn’t happy with me for talking to Ray, but I knew that he’d eventually understand why I did it. I just hoped it wouldn’t take too long for that realization to hit.

  I didn’t like it when Quinten was angry with me. We didn’t argue a lot, but when we did, we usually went days without speaking to each other. It had been a while since our last fight, and I’d almost forgotten how much I disliked being given the cold shoulder.

  Quinten and Ray disappeared into Ray’s study for almost an hour. During that time, I sat alone on the couch, praying that Quinten wouldn’t hate me for speaking up. He had to understand that I did it for him and his grandmother. He just had to.

  When they finally emerged, Quinten looked troubled. Ray clapped him on the back, took his car keys, and closed the door firmly behind him. What was that about? Surely Ray would have offered to help.

  Quinten slowly took a seat on the couch beside me. Neither of us spoke for a moment and, just when I thought I might burst with impatience, he forced a smile. “Your dad agreed to help my grand
ma get into one of those facilities.”

  “Then why do you look so upset?”

  He sighed. “It’s nothing. Your dad just kind of mentioned something to me. It’s got nothing to do with money though,” he assured me.

  “Ok.”

  I was confused now. If it didn’t have anything to do with money, then what could it have possible been about? Me? I was pretty much the only other thing that they both had in common.

  Quinten obviously wasn’t going to say anything else about the subject, and even though I wanted to press him for information, I didn’t. I considered myself lucky that he was even speaking to me right now, considering I’d sort of just broken his confidence to talk to Ray on his behalf.

  Peeking at him out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed he was looking at his feet, and he was messing with his hands. It was something I recognized instantly as what he did whenever he was nervous.

  The silence stretched between us, and I tried not to show how uncomfortable it was. Ours silences were usually not this awkward. When he reached over to take my hand, I was so happy I almost broke out into song. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t have been angry with you for speaking to Ray.”

  “You have every right to be mad. I just didn’t want to see you struggle to help your grandmother when I knew that Ray would be more than glad to offer his assistance in any way he could.”

  He nodded. “I shouldn’t have doubted him, or you, but I just didn’t want him to think–”

  “That you were trying to take advantage of him, I know. He understands why you were hesitant to talk to him. Don’t worry. Ray knows that you would never think of abusing his generosity.”

  “I swore to Ray that I would try to find a way to repay him for what he’s done for me today.”

  “You know Ray will never accept any kind of payment but your thanks. He’s happy to help. You’re like family.”

  Quinten chuckled. “Yeah, I know, but I figured it was worth a shot.”

  I smiled, glad that my best friend wasn’t angry with me anymore. He looked down, and I realized that something was still bothering him. “Quinten? Are you alright?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “You’re a poor liar.”

  He shrugged. “Believe me or not, it doesn’t matter. Either way, I have to go home to check on my grandmother. Ray pulled some strings and she’s going to the facility tomorrow. I’m going to see if I can’t explain things to her. Hopefully that will make this easier.”

  “Alright, you and I can talk on the way there.”

  “That’s ok, Ray’s taking me home. He’s out there waiting in the car. He wanted to give me a chance to talk things over with you.”

  If I hadn’t already guessed that something was wrong, I would have figured it out then. “Ok, what’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” he lied, closing the door behind him.

  There was something that Quinten wasn’t telling me. Ray’s help didn’t come with strings, did it? Surely he wasn’t asking anything of Quinten. I didn’t think that Ray would ever do that. He was like family, and Ray respected him as a man.

  So what was wrong?

  When Ray returned later that night, I asked him what was going on. He avoided answering my question, and he helped himself to a beer from the fridge. Ray wasn’t big on drinking and I wondered just what was going on. “Dad, did something happen with Quinten’s grandmother?”

  He looked up from the bottle, a surprised look on his face. “No, his grandmother’s fine. She’s getting ready to moe into her new home.”

  “Then why are you and Quinten both acting so strange?”

  He tried to smile and failed. Instead, it just looked like a painful grimace. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”

  “Stop!” I said, slamming my hand down on the counter. “I’m not stupid, Dad. Something is obviously wrong and I want to know what it is. Stop jerking me around and just tell me!”

  Ray sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. “Roger has asked the four of us to a fancy dinner party tomorrow night.”

  “Wait a minute. Four?”

  “He requests that both Ilene and Quinten be there as well. And turning down Roger Mason does not happen. Ever. So, go find something suitable to wear to a formal dinner party tomorrow night.”

  “Define suitable,” I asked with a smile. “I don’t think I have anything that will qualify.”

  Ray flinched, and I frowned.

  “Dad, what’s wrong?” I asked, exasperated.

  “I don’t think Roger particularly wants Quinten, Ilene, or I to be there. I think he’s only interested in inviting you.”

  “Why would he–”

  “I think he wants you to be his second mate.”