Page 39 of Gladiator Moon

I sigh. “No, I don’t want your town to suffer, but I suspect I will need your help to break into the armory, find the sword, find the Dark One, break the spell, dismantle the Games, bring down your ruler, free the prisoners, and escape home.”

“You suspect correctly. You will need my help for all of the above and more.”

“How long can your town go without you?”

“A day. Two, tops.”

“Okay, so we have two days to take down a kingdom.”

“And destroy the most powerful dark force to have ever plagued the planet.”

“Then let’s get going.”

“Don’t forget the prince. He’s your ticket in and out of the place. Not to mention, the guard and Baltazar himself will be less likely to attack you with him in tow.”

“Exactly. I think we should first find the armory.”

“A wise choice.”

“Do you know where this armory is?”

“I do, yes.”

“Can you make an invisibility bubble around us, too?”

“I can, yes, but you would be unable to leave it or even fight from within it. In essence, you would be trapped.”

“Gotcha. Okay, ditch that idea.”

“Consider it ditched.”

I also ditch the fancy harness since I am now down to just Pickles and Azul, carrying one in each arm. Up and up we go, soaring over rolling hills and wooded valleys toward the massive arena, which still shines with an unnatural brilliance even in dawn’s first light.

Chapter Fifteen

With the rush of the wind drowning out our voices, I switch to telepathy.

Tell me, wizard. How is it your Dark One lives beneath the arena? Is it some form of hell? And what about this rumor that the arena is actually an extension of his body?

It’s no rumor, Azul replies. The Dark One and his demons built the arena ages ago. They also carved the vast dungeons beneath it.

He lives in the dungeons?

Not merely dungeons. There is a dark palace beneath the arena, too, where he holds court and rules over his demons and prisoners. That is where he resides.

And the arena is a part of him?

Yes. Or perhaps he is part of it. No one alive knows which came first. We only know they cannot truly be separated.

Why would he allow the Devil Killer sword to be so close at hand?

It is likely he doesn’t know what the sword is. Perhaps it wasn’t fully utilized during the Games. Perhaps its owner fell quickly, and the sword was preserved as a prize only. From what I gather, it’s just another sword until it’s wielded against demon or devil.

Truth is, I have never used the sword against anything other than demons and the devil himself. I am not sure how it would fare against others, though I suspect it could probably kill vampires and werewolves just as readily.

Sam, if there was no obvious reaction to the sword, it might have been erroneously stored with the others, dangerously close to the intended target.

And the Dark One was none the wiser.