The Trials (The Elite Series) (10 page)

“I brought you down here, Mr. Moore, because I wanted you to see what you ask. The crown is not an actual physical crown; our crown is the very heart of The Island. The very thing that makes this Island special, the reason we guard it as we do is to protect its innocence. Very few things in this world are as they were before, and even fewer things are still pure and untainted by the world’s darkness. This stone is one of those things, a source of pure, good power, capable of healing, restoring, and beyond corruption. This crown is something worth dying for.”

Zheng
stood silent now as he stared at the stone. Connor didn’t know how to respond. Half of him didn’t want to take the stone at all, he respected the men who protected The Island’s power and wanted no part in taking what they held so precious. The other half knew what he had to do. If he was going to be the Judge and one day lead the Elite race to victory over Vercin, he had to complete the trials.

“If ther
e were some way I could borrow The Island’s crown or—”

“That is impossible
, Mr. Moore. As a clan we are tasked with keeping the stone here and safe. The only way for you to take it is to challenge the king’s right as leader.” Zheng turned his gaze from the stone’s magical glow and fixed Connor with a stare that made him sweat. “To challenge me to one-on-one combat.”

The two men stood in
silence, staring at one another. Connor bit his lip in frustration but he knew what he had to say. “I have to, Zheng, and I’m sorry. I have no choice, but I will bring the stone back when I’m done, I swear. I have to challenge you or do whatever it takes. Too many people rely on me.”

Zheng
slowly nodded, accepting the course fate had taken. “Okay, Mr. Moore. As king, I have no choice but to accept your challenge, but know I will win. Whether your body breaks first or your will, I will break you. I will do my best not to take your life, but I cannot promise that. All I can promise you now is pain.”

Connor was at a loss for words. He quietly made the awkward trip back up the winding stairs
, remaining silent as Zheng led him to his room. Before Zheng left him to sleep, he addressed Connor one last time. “The challenge will take place tomorrow when the sun sets. I will inform Orion of the plan you insist on and he will give you any more information you require. Have a restful night, Mr. Moore.”

“You
, too, Zheng.”

With that
, Connor was left alone to think and second guess his own actions. Sleep escaped him.
What are you doing? Challenging the host that has shown you nothing but kindness to a death match in order to steal the power he has devoted his whole life to protecting?

Connor tossed and turned in his small bed. His room was cast in shadows
. He was lying on his back, fingers crossed under his head when he first heard the noise. It was a dull thud, barely noticeable. Soon it grew more and more distinct as footsteps in the hall outside his door.

The knob on his door began to turn and Connor sat straight up in his bed, the
moonlight reflecting off his bare chest. The door swung open slowly and Reap tiptoed in, dressed in a green pair of pajamas. He carried a small pillow, blanket, and stuffed animal with him. He entered the room quiet as a mouse and closed the door behind him as gently as he could

Making eye contact with Connor
, he smiled and tiptoed over to his bed. “Shhhhh—my mom and Laren will make me go back to bed if they hear. I came so we can have a sleep over.”

Connor smiled
, understanding the great adventure he must be on in his own mind. “Okay, here, you can have the bed. I can’t sleep, anyway.”

Reap smiled and
traded places with Connor, squirming deep into the covers and clutching his stuffed animal. Connor could see now that it was a small stuffed dragon. “We’re friends now, right?”

“Of course we are,” Connor said as he smiled and walked to the window to look out onto the palace’s peaceful courtyard.

“Good. Then can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Do you think I’m going to get better?”

“Yes, Reap
, you are going to get better.”

“But how do you know?”

Connor walked over, his own bare feet touching the cool wooden floor and knelt beside Reap. “Because you are just as strong as your sister and brother, your father and mother. You just have to show your strength in a different way. We all have our fights, Reap. Battling this sickness is yours.”

Connor could practically see thoughts form behind Reap’s dull green eyes
. “You mean I’m a warrior like you and Lu but I’m fighting being sick?”

“That’s exactly right. You may not have a sword or a shield
, but you’re not any less of a hero. This is your fight, your battle. We all have one, and I know you’re strong enough to beat this. Right?”

“Right,” Reap said with a smile. “My sister said that you have a pet dragon
. Can you tell me that story?”

Connor smiled
at his small friend. “Sure, I can.”

Reap was asleep before Connor even got to the capture of the dragon. He tucked his small frame in and spent the rest of the night awake and alone, thinking of what the next day would bring.

***

As the first rays of the sun peeked over the palace walls
, there was a gentle knock on the door. “Come in,” Connor said.

Orion opened th
e door, clad not in the traditional orange garb of the monks, but in his own sailor’s clothing of simple brown sandals, dark grey pants, and a loose tan shirt. “See you had some company in the night,” he said, motioning to Reap’s sleeping figure. “Zheng informed me of your meeting and that you insisted on challenging him to the right of kingship.”

Connor rose from his make shift bed on the floor stretching. “I didn’t want to
, Orion. If there was any other way—”

Orion stopped him,
his arm stretched out, palm facing in his direction. “I’m not here to talk you out of what you’re planning to do. I want to try and prepare you as much as I can before the sun sets and the challenge begins.”

Connor nodded
with gratitude. He turned to go to the restroom and change out of his pants and into the orange robe he had been given.

“Don’t bother with the robe, Connor
. It’s only going to get in the way.”

Connor nodded and followed Orion
, still barefoot and bare chested, wearing only the pants in which he had arrived.

Orion headed to the front courtyard and a small corner that concealed them with two large trees and an army of tall
, wild-looking plants.

“Why don’t you eat while I explain how the cha
llenge is going to work tonight,” Orion said, motioning to a bowl of what looked like oatmeal, two pieces of toast, and fruit sitting on a flat stone.

Connor seated himself
, food in hand, as Orion began. “When someone challenges the king it is by the clan’s own tradition that he must accept. In the history of this Island’s existence, no king has ever lost the challenge, thus ensuring the stone has never been taken. The challenge always occurs at sunset and consists of a ten round battle between the challenger and the king. Each round lasts three minutes and it is the king’s responsibility to break his opponent. By break I mean either the challenger gives up, or is physically unable to continue. As a challenger, you can win two different ways, either defeat the king, or last the full ten rounds still on your feet.”

Connor nodded, soaking in a
ll the information and making mental notes as he ate.
You just have to last ten rounds. You don’t even have to win. You just have to make it to the end.

“He’ll try and break you
, body and spirit. The only way you have a chance of winning, Connor, is if you hold onto something here.” Orion pointed to the area of his chest that concealed his heart. “This fight just won’t be a test of strength or intelligence, but a test of how strong your spirit can stay.”

“Not that I’m un
grateful to you for your help, Orion, but why are you helping me? And why would Zheng trust you to assist me?”

Orion smiled
, scratching his thick black beard and looking at him with his one good eye. “A very long time ago I had the same sickness Reap does. I came to The Island, ferried here by a man who I came to respect very much. The Island healed me, and when it was time for the ferryman to go on to a greater calling, I took his spot. That man, Connor, was your father.”

Connor put down the empty bowl.
“You knew my father? He was here?”

“Yes, that’s another reason
Zheng is so hesitant to fight you. He has a great amount of respect for Caderyn. Zheng knows how much I liked your father, so he trusts me to train you and give you all the knowledge I have. But more stories later. We have precious few hours to see where your fighting skills are and how we can improve them.”

Connor and Orion spent the rest of the day, only interrupted by a
mid-day meal, going over throws, punches, and kicks. “He’ll try and submit you first,” Orion explained as they both sat panting towards the end of the day. “If that doesn’t work, he’ll try and break your spirit and will to fight. Lastly, he’ll break your body, Connor. This fight will not be who is stronger or faster; this fight will all come down to who wants it more. Who will be able to stand in that ring, and when he has nothing else to give, be able to get back up and give more.”

Connor and Orion sat in the soft grass
, watching the sun descend slowly behind the palace walls. It was strange that a scene so calm and peaceful now would soon be broken with violence and blood. Violence and blood that Connor had brought with him.

“It’s almost time
, Connor,” Orion said as he stood up, stretching. “Let’s go inside and get you ready.”

Connor followed Orion back into the palace
. They didn’t pass a single person as they entered his room. Laren sat there waiting for them, folded clothes on the bed next to her. “There you are—hurry. The fight will begin soon. I’ve brought you some clean clothes.”

“Thank you,
” Connor said as Orion bowed out of the room to give the two time alone. “I don’t want you to come tonight, to the fight.”

“What? Of course I’m going to come.”

“If Orion is right and this is going to be as brutal as it sounds, I don’t want you to see me like that.”

Laren walked over to Connor and let her eyes play over his bare chest in a playful way
. “Well, if you think you can keep me away, you’re welcome to try. I’m not that girl who’s going to sit on the sidelines and wait to see if my knight in shining armor comes back to her. Besides, I’m guessing you’re not going to have much of a cheering section.”

The look of determination in her eyes was enough to convince Connor that nothing he said
would keep her from coming.

“Now clean up and change
. I’ll wait outside with Orion.”

She was gone in a few seconds and Connor was left to wash up and change. There
was a pair of black and red shorts that looked like they had seen better days lying on the bed. Connor changed into the shorts, feeling a strange sense of familiarity as he walked out of the room.

“How do they look?” he asked Orion and Laren.

“Those belonged to your father, “Orion said, smiling. “He’d be proud if he could see you now.”

Orion led the way with Laren and Connor following behind. “Connor
, you know you don’t have to do this?”

Connor looked over at Laren
, the worry she had tried to hide for so long was finally showing. “You don’t think I can do this?”

She reached over and interlaced her slender fingers th
rough his. “It’s the exact opposite. I know you can do this but at what cost? I know that you won’t give up, and you won’t back down, that’s what worries me.”

“I’m going to be fine,” Connor said
, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m going to win.”

The
trio could hear drums as they entered the courtyard. The monks had set up a makeshift ring, with the palace courtyard’s large stone walkway as its floor. It seemed like every monk in the palace was present for the fight. Three large drums were being pounded in unison as Connor, Laren, and Orion made their way to the ring.

Every eye was on them and Connor could practically feel their hate. The drums stopped as Connor entered the ring, Orion and Laren taking up residence in one of the far corners. All was quiet.

Then the drums started again, this time faster
, and a cheer arose from the crowd. Monks jumped up left and right, clapping and shouting as their champion approached. Zheng appeared in the courtyard. But this was not the Zheng that Connor remembered from the night before. Gone was the quiet, reserved man who sat on the simple wooden chair. Gone was the kind face and almost regretful attitude—in its place stood a lion. Zheng was also wearing shorts. His ankles, wrists, and fists were covered in white wraps and more tattoos than Connor could count. His hair was still pulled back into a ponytail and his athletic frame, once hidden by his robes, stood bold and intimidating.

Zheng
entered the ring and the drums and cheering stopped as his arms rose. “Connor Moore has challenged the Zhanshi King for claim to The Island’s crown. Now I answer that call!” A huge cheer erupted from the monks. “Let the challenge begin!”

A gong sounded
, signaling the start of the first of ten rounds. “Who wants it more?” Orion shouted from his corner.

“You can do this!” Laren
yelled.

Connor and
Zheng met in the center of the ring and circled one another. Connor could hear Orion’s voice replaying in his head, offering him advice on Zheng and his fighting style.
He’ll try and wear you down, don’t look for an explosion of power from him right away. His power comes from his holds and submission moves, don’t let yourself get caught in a bad position.

The two gladiators met and exchanged a series of blows,
Zheng landing strikes to Connor’s face and a kick to his ribs, Connor’s fists finding Zheng’s nose and left temple. The two circled, picking their moves and shots with surgical-like precision. The first three minutes ended without either one of them taking any serious damage. Connor walked to his corner, breathing evenly and steady. “Good round, Connor!” Laren said, offering him a ladle full of water.

“Keep on him
, Connor. This was just a test. He still has nine more rounds. He’s studying you right now, don’t get confident,” Orion advised.

Connor nodded
, sweat dripping down his face. The gong sounded, and Connor would later look back on the next seven rounds as a blur. Orion was right, Zheng had been studying him the first round, remaining patient as he learned how his opponent moved and reacted to strikes and kicks. Now he pushed the pace. It was brutal; Zheng was a god in the arena, not because he was faster or stronger than Connor. He just had so much more experience and his conditioning was amazing. After the first few rounds, Connor could feel himself sucking in breath, his lungs were burning, and the beating his body was taking was excruciating.

During the fourth round
, Zheng managed to take him down to the stone floor with a bone crushing tackle. The two men fought there for a few minutes, Connor relying on every ounce of training he had received in high school wrestling as well as his training since being an Elite, but it wasn’t enough. Zheng managed to isolate his left arm, and with both his legs across Conner’s chest and face, turned his lock into an arm bar. Connor screamed in pain as Zheng drew and pulled on his shoulder, threatening to rip it from its socket or break his arm if he didn’t tap in surrender.

Connor screamed in pain
over the sound of monks cheering for their king. It was only the sound of the gong signaling the end of the round that saved Connor. Each trip back to his corner, Laren looked more and more worried and Orion told him different versions of the same thing. “This is the time you show him you want it more. You break his will to fight by not stopping. Take from him any idea that he can beat you!”

By the sixth round
, Connor was exhausted. This is when he turned to the Elite power within. His vision turned from clear to red and he ran a slick tongue across a sharp set of fangs. As he approached his opponent, the sun was casting its final rays on the crowd and the moon was beginning its dominance of the sky. The sixth round went in Connor’s favor as he pulled deep from his reserves and put the pressure on Zheng, striking him multiple times in the face and body. Connor managed to throw a powerful right cross that connected perfectly with Zheng’s nose and he heard a satisfying crunch as blood began to pour freely from both of Zheng’s nostrils.

By the
eighth round, both contestants were a bloody mess. Connor seemed to be bearing the worst of the beating. It seemed like for every blow he managed to land, Zheng was landing two. Once again they met, both men dripping sweat and blood.

Connor had to make sure he was seeing right.
Zheng’s amber eyes were gone and in their place were a pair of white orbs. Zheng bared a set of violent looking fangs, embracing his own Elite gene before he rushed in, once again taking Connor to the ground. His power and speed for the eighth round was amazing. He seemed as fresh as he had been the very first round. Raining down blow after blow on top of him, Connor tried to weather the storm, but he knew he couldn’t.

Blood was running down his head from a gash on his right temple and his lip had been split. “Connor
, get up!” Orion screamed. “You have to get out of there!”

But there was no escaping this demon
’s grasp. When Connor was finally able to make his move, Zheng managed to put yet another arm bar on him and this time they both knew there was plenty of time left in the round for Zheng to work his shoulder clean out of its socket.

With his left
arm threatening to break, Connor had two options—submit, or bring his right arm across his body, pick Zheng up off the ground, and slam him down on the rock floor in hopes of breaking his grasp.

“Get up
, Connor, get up!” Laren shouted.

Hearing her voice added strength and urgency to his cause. Rolling his right arm over and locking his hands in a tight grip
, he made his way to his knees. Zheng grunted and strained to break his hold, but Connor was able to make it to his feet. The crowd that once roared stood stunned as Connor, with a roar of his own, lifted Zheng’s entire body over his head. As Connor brought the king down to the unforgiving stone floor, his arm finally gave in to the pressure and he felt a snap. At the same time, there was sickening thud as Zheng’s body hit the merciless rock floor. The palace courtyard was quiet for the first time that night as both Connor and Zheng lay quivering on the harsh stone ground.

The gong sounded
, signaling the end of the eighth round. His left arm hung loose by his side as Connor struggled to his knees. Orion and Laren rushed into the ring to help him to their corner, as did a group of monks for Zheng.

“Connor
, you can’t keep going—you have to stop,” Laren yelled.

“She’s right,” Orion said as they half supported
, half dragged Connor to the corner, making sure to steer clear of his left arm. “You won’t make it two more rounds.”

To their
surprise, Reap stood wide-eyed in their corner, just outside of the ring. “Reap!” Laren shouted at her little brother. “You can’t be here. You shouldn’t see this!”

“What
’s going on? Connor are… are you okay?”

Connor was beyond words as he focused on not letting the pain consume
him and carry him into unconsciousness. Lack of oxygen and loss of blood was making it hard to think or concentrate on anything.

“Reap,” Laren shouted again, “Go inside
. Mom’s going to kill you if she finds you out here.”

“No!”
Reap shouted back. “Connor needs me! We’re friends. This is his fight, he has to win.”

Connor
remembered their conversation the night before. The way he told Reap that he was strong enough to win his fight, to beat his sickness. What would it look like now to the small boy to see Connor lose his?

The gong sounded
, signaling the start of the ninth round. “You have to stop, Connor,” Laren insisted.

Connor looked at Orion as he stood up on his own, legs wobbling, “I have more to give, he can break my body, but he can’t break my spirit.”

Orion, grim-faced, nodded and held Laren back as she continued to scream for Connor to stop.

Connor couldn’t feel
, much less move, his left arm. It dangled, useless, as he approached the center of the ring for the ninth time. His opponent had recovered, a fresh pool of blood running down his face from the violent gash in his scalp. Later Connor would find out that Zheng had actually been unconscious for a few seconds after the blow. 

The ninth round was brutal for everyone to watch, Connor doing his best to guard his left arm,
Zheng still in a daze, punching and kicking in slow motion. The ninth round ended with only a few blows landed as both men tried to recover from their injuries. There was an unspoken agreement that they were both going slow now to give everything they had in the tenth and final round.

The gong sounded and Connor stumbled back to his corner. Laren was beyond words as she looked at his bloody face. Connor
’s left eye was swollen shut, blood and sweat covered his entire body, and his left arm was useless.

“You can
do it! You can do it, Connor!” Reap yelled, jumping up and down, rooting for his hero.

Orion smiled
grimly, “One more round, Connor. One more round. No matter what happens, your father would be proud.”

Connor tired to make rational thoughts come to mind
, tried to say something. There were tears in his eyes as the final gong sounded and the last round began. Not tears of pain or sorrow, tears of intensity and rage.

Zheng
managed to do it again. He came out in the start of the tenth round with a flurry of punches and kicks that forced Connor against the ropes. Every punch was like a sledgehammer colliding with his body. The punches that landed on his left arm were painful beyond words. Then it happened. With a hard right kick to Connor’s legs, his body finally broke like Orion had warned and he fell.

The world was spinning as the monks roared for their king. Everyone was yelling but one voice in particular reached
his bloody ears—it was Reap. “Get up, Connor! Get up! You said we all have a fight! This is your fight! Get up!”

His body was broken, but
Zheng hadn’t snapped his spirit. More tears came to Connor’s eyes as his vision blurred, but this time not from blood. His vision, already red, turned almost black as the animal in him lent him its strength. But this wasn’t like before. Before he felt in full control of his power, this feeling was consuming. Power pulsed through his body in a way he didn’t know was possible. He made it to his knees, breathing heavier and heavier as he embraced the rage and let the beast within have its day. He stood, baring fangs, consumed by the feeling.

The moon shown down bri
ght now on the palace courtyard. Zheng had his back toward him, oblivious to Connor’s resurrection. He turned when everyone stood, stunned and quiet. A roar ripped its way through Connor’s throat as the animal instinct deep inside forced his body towards Zheng.

Zheng
’s white eyes were huge. Before he could react, Connor was on him. Left arm dangling useless beside him, he made good use of his right fist and elbow.

The pain was gone now and in its place was only
a tingling sensation of rage and power. The animal that had possessed Connor’s body struck Zheng over and over and over. Zheng tried to cover up, tried to fight back, but he wasn’t fighting an eighteen-year-old Elite any longer. He was fighting a Judge.

Then
Zheng’s body broke. He wasn’t fighting back anymore, just trying to shield himself, and then after a few more blows, not even that. Zheng’s eyes shifted back to amber. Arms at his sides, he leaned against the ropes, the only thing supporting him now.

Connor,
or rather the beast within Connor, stood in front of Zheng and roared victory, reading the final blow that would send Zheng not only to the stone floor but most likely to his grave.

Shouts and yells were
tuned out as Connor cocked his right fist, aiming for Zheng’s exposed throat.

“Connor, no! This isn’t you! Stop! You’ve already won!” Laren
yelled.

Her voice made him hesitate, hesitate long enough for the gong to sound and Laren and Orion
to jump into the ring and separate the two combatants. Connor struggled to free himself from Orion’s grip, snarling and gnashing his teeth.

“Connor, stop. It’s
okay, it’s us,” Laren reassured him.

The
last thing Connor remembered was Laren’s worried face over him as he finally submitted to his broken body’s demands and fell to the ground, into the blackness of unconsciousness.