Before her was laid out the Roman coliseum, a massive arena, made entirely of stone. The stone was crumbling and deteriorated, and it had clearly been thousands of years since its heyday. But this vampire coven had somehow managed to bring it back to life. They didn’t seem to care that they sat in crumbling bleachers. And they’d managed to cover up the crumbling floor with a floor of their own, turning this ancient relic into a functioning Coliseum once again.
Tens of thousands of malevolent vampire sat in the bleachers, looking down, cheering. Caitlin was surprised to see how deep the floor of the Coliseum actually went, sinking hundreds of feet beneath the earth, in a maze of tunnels and traps and compartments. The floor they put over it was covered in dirt and dust, which rose up in clouds in the sunlight. The two vampire guards prodded her forward, dragging her down the entranceway, and out onto the main floor.
A huge roar rose up, as Caitlin appeared out in the open. The sun beat down on her, and she squinted at the glare, trying to get her bearings.
The guards unlocked her shackles and gave her another hard shove, and she went flying into the stadium, rolling onto the ground.
Another roar erupted from the crowd.
Caitlin got to her feet and looked around, her eyes slowly adjusting to the bright light. She was standing alone, thousands of evil-looking vampires looking down at her, shaking their fists. She scanned the bleachers and saw, up high, in a special box, stood Kyle. Beside him stood the Grand Council, old, decrepit looking vampires in black robes and hoods.
The one in the center stepped forward and raised his hands, and the crowd quieted.
“My fellow vampires,” he said, pausing dramatically. “Let the games begin!”
Another huge roar shook the Coliseum.
Caitlin heard a clang, then another, and looked down to see that the guards had thrown some weapons at her feet. She picked up a shield, a sword and a spear, which she shoved into her belt. She was dressed in a canvas tunic, crude and simple and rough against her skin.
She couldn’t believe this was all happening. These sick vampires truly intended to kill her slowly.
Somehow, they had managed to revive the cruel gladiator sport that people here had once enjoyed thousands of years ago. Weak, tired, confused, she felt a sense of despair, and wondered how she would ever survive.
Before Caitlin had a chance to take hold of her weapons, there came charging at her a dozen huge, muscle-bound warriors, all clad in full armor, all wielding fierce weaponry.
Caitlin could sense, as they approach, that they were humans. Still, they looked like formidable warriors, battle-scarred, and it looked like they had done this many times before. And survived.
They sprinted right for her, screaming with a battle cry, clearly wanting blood.
Caitlin focused, centered herself. She tried to remember all the things Aiden had taught her, all the techniques on Pollepel. She tried to breathe, to find the peace in the center of the storm.
She waited, a disciplined warrior. As they came within feet of her, she suddenly leapt into the air, way up high, did a somersault above their heads, and landed agilely behind them. She swung back around her as she did, and chopped off three of their heads.
The others kept running, falling into the dust, knocking each other over.
The crowd roared in surprise and delight.
The remaining warriors turned and faced her, indignant. They charged again.
This time, she stood and fought. She parried with them, blow for blow.
They were strong, and when one of their swords came down on her shield, she felt it reverberate throughout her entire body.
But she fought back valiantly. After all, she was quicker and faster than all of them. She was still a vampire.
Despite appearances, it was a mismatch. They were humans, and they fell like humans. Probably just a first attempt by the Grand Council to warm her up, to see if she could handle the first wave of warriors. She got slashed and bruised, but nothing serious enough to bring her down.
Within minutes, the dozen warriors were but a heap of bodies around her.
She stood there, victorious, and the crowd quieted, then jumped to its feet and roared.
Even from here, Caitlin could see that Kyle and the Council were not pleased by this.
“Send in the Lions!” screamed the Council leader.
There came a roar of approval, and Caitlin hoped that it was not what it sounded like.
To her dread, it was. A side chamber opened in the Coliseum, and in raced ten lions, all charging right for her. They were huge, male lions, faster than she could have imagined, with long claws, and fangs bared. They gained speed with each passing step.
Caitlin reached down and extracted her short spear, and hurled it at the lead lion.
A direct hit between the eyes. He fell.
But the others didn’t stop charging. She leapt high into the air just as one was about to pounce, leaping higher than the lion, and as she did, drove her short sword into its mane, behind his neck.
Down it went.
She landed on the back of another line, reached under, and sliced its throat, and it went down with her.
Another lion pounced on her from behind, knocking her over, it’s claws scraping up her back painfully.
On the ground, she wheeled, and sliced off its head with her sword.
The others pounced, too, but she was too quick for them. She suffered many scratches, and a nick from the fangs, but using her sword, she managed, after a long and gruesome fight, to bring the rest of them down.
Again, the crowd roared with approval.
She looked up and saw that Kyle and the judge were madder than ever. It looked like they had not expected her to make it this far.
The Council leader turned to Kyle, and he nodded back gravely. The judge then held out his thumb, and turned it down.
As he did, a huge metal door opened, and out came a single warrior.
He was clad in all black armor, with a black helmet, holding a sword and a shield.
Caitlin could sense, even from this distance, that he was not human. It was a vampire, and a formidable one. This frightened her more than all the rest.
Moreover, she could already sense that this was no ordinary vampire. It was someone she knew.
Even from here, she could sense it.
And then, she realized: it was Blake.
Blake.
He lifted back his helmet, and stared at her. Caitlin’s heart wrenched with grief at the sight.