Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series) (46 page)

“
We need to hurry. He's been in the arena for too long.”

“
Give me a minute.”
He hid behind some bushes and in less than a minute he appeared fully clothed and very human.

             
When he approached her she commented, “I miss my lion-dog already.” He grinned. “You
do
look a lot like a lion y'know?”

             
He nodded.“It's the hair.”

Do you think he's still alive?
She wanted to ask him, but was afraid to. She needed to keep this happy, ignorant banter going for as long as possible.

             
Instead she asked, whilst looking around, “Where's the arena?”

“
Underground.” He pointed to the wooden, derelict-looking shack. “There's our entrance. You ready?”

             
She sprayed on some more scent blocker. “How do I smell?”

             
He inhaled. “Positively Were, my dear.” She smiled self-consciously. “Don't worry. In here, you're mine. As far as Kain's Pack knows.”

“
They can't tell otherwise? Like smell it on me?”

             
Alf shrugged. “Not all of them. Maybe the Alpha's might. If they took the time to notice, which chances are they won't. If they do, I'll just say we're saving our consummation for a special day. Not unless you wanna do it in the bushes right now?” Jaz raised an unamused brow. He grinned. “Guess not.”

             
He strutted towards the shack and knocked on the metal door hard in a deliberate pattern. Two knocks then one long one, followed by three fast ones. “I can't believe you rejected me. That hurt, y'know,” he said jokingly, tipping his head back in her direction.

             
She stood behind him with her arms folded. “You'll live.” Whilst wondering to herself,
But will Nik?
before a scary, scarred face of a man opened the metal door, meeting their gaze with his black eyes.

~
Chapter 39-
Heal~

Friday, July 1st,  3:11 p.m.

             
Nik leant over the ice bucket, the stench of his vomit infected the air and slithered up his nostrils. He blocked his smell sensors as best he could as he gasped for air.

             
He had his small team around him, crowding the metallic, prison-like underground room that was a temporary separation from him and his rival waiting in his own room on the other side of the arena.

“
Jesus, Nik. Maybe you should just call it a day?” Carr eyed him worriedly as Stephanie, the Pack's doctor who had travelled with them, cleaned the cuts on his face, slashed back, and his left arm he'd used to block. She applied a salve that helped quicken the healing process.

             
Nik was exhausted from the amount of healing his body was performing. An alpha had the added ability of faster healing when the occasion called for it. It definitely called for it. “I'm not gonna give up.”

“
You can barely stand, what's wrong with you?”

“
I don't know.”

“
Kain looks worse than you and yet he was throwing in punches you'd normally block with your eyes closed. What happened?” Carr questioned with a puzzled expression.

             
Nik didn't answer. His eyes were squeezed shut as he held back the ball of bile. It slid back down his esophagus.

“
Your wounds are not too deep, you don't need to waste any energy healing them. The salve will do that. But you have to eat something,” Stephanie instructed.

             
She was a tall, slim brunette with an hourglass figure but her intelligent eyes and constantly serious expression just made her short of sexy. Which was a trait to avoid in her line of work, as far as she was concerned. “Okay.” She handed him a glass of green smoothie.

             
It looked disgusting but he took it thankfully, eyeing it dubiously. “Do I even want to know?”

             
She squeezed her lips tightly. “It'll give you strength, put it that way.” She watched him like a hawk as he gulped it down, only to puke it all back up a minute later.

             
He then clenched his fist over his chest as if he was having a heart attack.

             
Carr put his hands on his shoulders protectively, whilst Stephanie listened to his heart with a stethoscope. “Christ Steph, what the fuck is it?” Carr asked anxiously.

             
She looked up, her eyes wide as she removed the earpiece from her ears. “You're suffering from Tachycardia.”

“
What?” Nik asked breathing heavily.

“
Y-you're heart is beating very fast.”

             
Carr stared at him and then at Stephanie worriedly. “Why would that happen? He's fine. I mean Kain couldn't have done this to him right?”

             
She shook her head. “I don't see how.”

             
Nik covered his mouth that was wet and asked Carr for a towel. He dabbed the excessive drool and tried to calm his breathing.

“
You're drooling a lot?” Stephanie inquired.

             
Nik nodded.

“
Does that mean anything?” Carr pushed.

             
She studied Nik thoughtfully. “Open your eyes wide for me,” she flashed a light into them examining them carefully. When she found what she'd suspected she leant back, her expression unhappy. “Your pupils are dilated.” Then she looked into an unknown space between them thinking intensely, her eyes deep in concentration. “Vomiting, tachycardia, drooling, dilated pupils...” she muttered to herself. “Goddammit why don't they allow phones here?”

“
What is it!?” Carr growled. She glared back at him, daring him to speak like that to her again. “Sorry,” he muttered.

             
She looked away from him and rubbed her forehead. “I can't be sure.”

“
Steph. I trust your judgment. Just tell me,” Nik urged in a weak voice.

             
She stared at him, knowing that if what she suspected was true, things could get very ugly. And she didn't know if she could help him in time. “Those are symptoms of poisoning. I've seen it before. The only thing that's strong enough to do that to us. Hemlock.”

             
Nik and Carr exchanged looks.

“
He wouldn't do that, would he?” Carr in a hushed, high voice.

“
He'd agree to it,” Nik wheezed, rising to his feet. “But someone else did it. Someone in our Pack.”

             
Carr stiffened. “I'm sorry this is happening Nik,” he whispered in a pained voice.

“
It's okay.”

             
Carr swiveled round to face Stephanie, furious determination in his expression. “Can you get an antidote?”

“
There isn't one.”

“
Will it kill me?” Nik asked, holding his abdomen that felt like he was being kicked there repeatedly.

             
Stephanie eyed it, mentally adding abdominal pain to the list. “I think if it was intended only for that, you'd be dead already. We have a very strong immune system. You'd need a noticeable amount of it, more effectively injected straight into the blood for it to kill you. And it would. Within a few hours. When did you last eat?”

“
This morning. About ten.”

“
It's been nearly five hours.”

“
Wait you think someone put it in his food?”

             
Stephanie tilted her head to one side. “Easiest way to do it.” She turned to address Nik. “Your symptoms have been going on for how long?”

“
I'd say it started, over an hour ago.” Carr gave him a disapproving look. Nik rolled his eyes. “If I don't fight him, I'll end up leaving the fate of our village in the hands of the judges. Over my dead body.”

“
Careful what you wish for,” Carr muttered.

             
Nik scowled at him fleetingly before looking back at Stephanie. “Is there anything that can suppress it?”

             
She stepped away, needing a moment to think about it. She then asked to be excused from the room.

             
She came back a minute later, just before Nik was to be called back out again for round three, holding a handful of beads. No, Nik realized looking closer. They were acorns. She poured them into Nik's open hands.

             
He gazed at them uncertainly. “Er... thanks?”

“
They contain tannic acid. I remember reading somewhere it can counteract the affects of hemlock poisoning.”

             
Nik ate them all in one go without hesitation. He remembered reading the same thing in all those years of avid reading. 

Well done, Steph.

              Stephanie was handed a cup of coffee by an arena supervisor; a skinny teenager, with a ring in his nose and silver hair spiked in odd directions. She passed it to Nik, instructing, “Drink this. The stimulant should help to keep you awake and your core temperature up.”

             
He drank it down quickly, before being handed two more. He quickly went to the toilet before he was called back to the arena.

             
He breathed heavily, ignoring the fluttering in his chest, the kicking pains, the pounding headache and the sneaking urge to vomit again.

             
Two guards opened the door and he left. He marched up the walkway just outside the room. His bare feet slapping against the cement floor echoed through the tunnel until he reached the twenty foot door that separated him from the arena. The vibrations from the roaring crowd and stamping feet went through his toes, up into his throbbing head.

             
He stood still, moments before the gigantic metal door groaned, cranking sideways to flood the tunnel in blinding light. Nik held his hand up above his scratched, scabby face, squinting as he shielded his eyes. He then stood up straighter, put his hand back by his side, clenching his fists until they cracked.

             
He breathed in deeply, then out, and as he strode forward into the arena of death he muttered, “Okay. Lets get this over with.”

~
Chapter 40-
Thunder~

Friday, July 1st,  4:17 p.m.

“
Sorry we're late. Did we miss anything?” Alf grinned, excitement in his voice.

“
Who, are you?” the rugged Were with gold teeth asked in a contradictory high, posh accent.

“
We're of the Deer Creek Pack. I was supposed to be here to support my Pack Leader but my girlfriend took her time getting ready.”

             
Jaz smiled in embarrassment. “I said I was sorry already,” she rationalized, addressing the Were. He studied her uncertainly. She tried not to squirm where she stood.

“
Okay. They're just about to have another time out.”

“
How many rounds?”

“
This will be number three.”

“
Who's winning?” Alf asked him casually.

             
The Were leaned forward, suddenly looking interested for the first time. “Pack Leader Nikolas wasn't doing so well during the last round. He looked very ill. Pack Leader Kain was giving him his money's worth. But Pack Leader Nikolas pulled through. He was doing better this round. He broke Pack Leader Kain's collarbone. But then he seems to have gotten even worse than he was in the second round. I don't think it will go on much longer.”

             
Jaz's hand stiffened, and Alf tightened his grip around it.

“
It's been a long fight. It has to end sometime,” Alf muttered.

             
The Were nodded. “Well go. Before you miss it.”

             
He let them pass and followed behind them as Alf led Jaz down several flights of metal stairs until they reached an underground maze with many passageways that led to unknown destinations on both sides. The echoes of the roaring crowd reverberated through every tunnel. Jaz's heart began beating faster. Alf's grip remained firm and his thumb traced over her hand soothingly.

             
They reached a large hallway, where the noise was thunderous and frightening. She glanced up warily, fearing the ceiling would fall down on them any second. There were three wide metal stairways with a gap between each step. They led to the crowds' seats above them.

             
Jaz wondered what was going through Nik's head right now. Wasn't he terrified? Was he really sick? Did he know what was happening to him?

“
Go up. They'll start in a few minutes.”

“
Can't we go see Pack Leader Nikolas now?” Jaz asked the Were, trying to hide the desperation in her voice.

“
'Fraid not. Only those who he assigned to accompany him in the arena can see him. Until the end.”

The end,
said a hollow voice in Jaz's soul. She nodded complacently.

             
Alf touched the small of her back and guided her up the steps. The Were came behind them, slamming his fist against the metal door a few times and miraculously the Were on the other end heard it over the din.

             
The door opened with a groan and then the booming, ear-popping noise molested her ears and brain. She was incapacitated, in a stunned daze and unable to move. Only until Alf's gentle hand pushed her into the arena.

             
When she looked up, all she could see was a rowdy crowd supported high in something resembling a metal version of an ancient Roman arena, circling a lowered floor in the middle. She scanned around the enormous room in awe and fear.

             
When she realized the attention of the crowd was behind her, she looked down at the middle of the arena, where the sounds of pained grunts from two men focused her dazed mind. She zoomed in on the half naked bodies, the sweaty, bloody torsos of two opponents fighting violently inside a disturbing metal cage in the shape of a dome.

             
One with dark shoulder length hair, damp and clinging to his drenched neck and face. And the other, his back facing her, standing taller than his opponent and leaner, with a shaven head that was bleeding freely in several places. She nearly fainted when he turned to reveal his face. Even knowing it was him before he turned round wasn't enough to prepare her for actually seeing him there, fighting for his life.

             
Alf caught her before she fell back down the metal stairs. The guard shut the door just then and she was locked -trapped- inside this death pit. She gagged and Alf took her hand, somehow finding a seat as she followed blindly through the haze of people and sweat and stench of blood.

             
He propped her down in a seat and handed her a bottle of water.

             
After a minute of slow sipping she became more herself again and tried to remember what she needed to do. “We have to warn him.”

“
Even if he knows already, it won't help him. There's no cure for hemlock poisoning.”

             
Jaz reeled in her seat as she locked eyes on Alf. “Hemlock!?”

             
Alf's blue gaze pierced through her. “It's the only poison I can think of that is dangerous to us. That has any affect on us. At least that we know of.”

“
What about snake venom?”

             
Alf shook his head. “It hurts. We feel it for a few minutes, then it disappears.” Jaz raised her brows in bewilderment. “Hemlock is our Achilles heel. Our kryptonite. There's nothing I've ever heard of that affects us the way it does. No poison I've heard of that can kill us.”

“
Strychnine? Cyanide? Arsenic?”

             
Alf shook his head. “It would take a hell of a lot to kill you.”

“
But what if they don't want him dead? Just weakened?”

             
Alf's expression became thoughtful and then grave. “Possibly. But hemlock is more accessible. And effective. You don't need too much and it doesn't have a strong taste when masked by other food. In a meal, strychnine would be detected instantly, even in a small drop. It's supposed to be very bitter. And like I said, he'd need a lot to affect him. Cyanide he'd have noticed instantly from the bitter almond smell. Even if he was distracted, he's not stupid. And arsenic just tastes metallic. So for the same reason, that wouldn't be worth using.”

             
Jaz absorbed all this. It was the only thing stopping her from glancing at the cage. She could make out Nik's grunts of pain through the roars and cries of the people around her. “I'm gonna go and talk to the judges,” Alf announced, scanning across the arena.

“
I thought when we got here, we'd rush in here and scream for the fight to stop,” she confessed as he got up.

“
If you want to be killed before you'd have time to explain, then sure.” She ogled him uneasily. “I'll be back in a minute. You'll be okay?” She nodded quickly, unconvincingly. His lips pressed into a thin line. He leant into her ear and said, “If anything happens, please don't react on your feelings. Wait for me.”

             
She wasn't sure what he meant by it but bobbed her head again before he turned and squeezed past the crowd. She watched him move round the outside, dodging flailing arms, glancing at the cage every so often. When he was at the halfway point of the arena -to Jaz's right- where a wide box was positioned seating five important-looking members on a raised platform, he was stopped by a guard. Jaz stared, waiting. And then Alf was let past and she relaxed.

             
She turned back to watch Nik punch Kain square in the face. She was so caught up in the fight, her aching jaw clenched so tight, she didn't notice Alf's place was taken until the occupier spoke.

“
It's amazing how we can survive that long, isn't it?” The comment came from a cool, purring, low voice of a man.

             
She swiveled round a little too quickly, openly displaying her alarm.

             
She was met with the deep, stone-blue eyes of a handsome, but severely intimidating man. He had shoulder-length ash-blonde hair that swept attractively either side of his piercing eyes, framing his sharp, rectangular face. His black, expensive shirt and trousers contrasted greatly with his powder-white skin.

“
Excuse me?” she croaked. She interlocked her fingers self-consciously on her lap. Unable to lean back, her muscles had turned to blocks of ice, she stared at him with her chin touching her right shoulder.

“
You look uneasy,” he observed. She couldn't have made herself appear relaxed even if she tried. “It must be strange for you, as a new Pack member, to watch your Leader fighting so... violently.”

             
Jaz could feel the menace in his words scraping against her throat and back. The hairs on her neck stood up. “I don't believe we've met?” she responded, her voice barely audible above the cacophony of the crowd. She didn't look to see what had happened, but it sounded like someone, perhaps both of them, had climbed up the cage. The rattling of metal as bodies made impact, vibrated unpleasantly through her bones.

“
Njord. Pack Leader of Red Sword Pack.” He held his hand against his chest, bowing his head just a fraction.

             
Jaz's breath got lodged in her throat. She took another sip of water to wet her dry mouth. She did not return the bow, which she had learnt was as equally insulting as refusing a handshake, perhaps more, but she couldn't remove her hands from the water bottle. She gazed at it as if it held all the answers to her troubles.

“
From your expression I can see you've heard of me.”

             
She nodded warily. “You're a bloodthirsty ruler.” She opened her mouth in shock, then pressed her lips tightly together, ordering herself inwardly to shut the hell up. Her Beast voice had momentarily unleashed itself.

             
His expression froze, then his eyes were smiling as if he found her delightful. “Interesting,” he purred. She told herself to breathe. In. Out. “I can see why he likes you.”

             
She forgot to inhale and froze in her seat. It felt like her ass was glued there. Lactic acid surged through her tightly wound limbs. Her calves groaned in protest. She gazed down at her trainers, flexed and retracted her toes and her muscles loosened again. “Who? Alf?”

             
He gave her a disapproving look. “Now, Jasmine, we shouldn't lie to each other.”

             
She was pinned by his penetrating gaze. His cold-coloured eyes, in contradiction, looked like pools of hot, blue, molten fire circling the black vacuums that were his pupils. She was afraid she'd be sucked into them and drown. “Where did you hear my name?”

             
He smiled with approval. “You read between the lines very well, why not just ask what you really mean?”

             
After a moment's hesitation she probed, “Why have you been spying on me?”

             
He nodded, his approving smile widening on his strong Viking-like face.

             
The description of Njord was true. He did look like an ancient Viking. If they'd had a Viking Vogue magazine in their day, he'd have been on the front cover. Despite him being very intimidating, unnerving and creepy.

“
Good question. Keep it locked in here,” he tapped his temple, “And maybe one day, if you prove yourself, I'll answer it.” Jaz frowned in puzzlement. “Now here's my gift to you. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone where you got it. Including your Pack Leader.” He held out his hand to shake hers.

             
She reluctantly took it, only registered the piece of folded paper in her hand after he stood up and disappeared into the crowd.

             
She stared in the direction he'd gone, frowning, wondering what the hell had just happened.

             
The round was over and Nik was coming out of the cage. She didn't realize because her eyes were fixed on the open paper that had in tiny, italic swirly writing, one small paragraph.

             
Your sister was murdered. You suspect it, but I know it. I also know who did it. I hear on good authority you had a disagreement not so long ago.

              She looked up from the paper in shock. Then a whirlpool of biting, cutting and burning emotions flooded her head. There was one more line, but she didn't read it because it was then she saw Nik approaching her side of the barrier.

             
A large sliding door not far from where she sat, just beneath the crowds' feet, groaned open and Nik disappeared inside. She stared after him. His body was hunched over, she could see that he was having difficulty breathing. And knew for sure that he had been poisoned.