Chapter 175

Everyone in the hall stared at the guard waiting for something to happen. The silence was filled with a large metallic sound. One of the large frescos on the wall had started to move backwards. It was a huge door. Behind it was a large cavernous chamber that was dark and echoed like a cavern with all sorts of noises. Some sounding mechanical, and some sounded like animal noises. A large metal cage was being wheeled into the room. The guards that were already in the room had to move out of the way as well as the vampires. A second large cage was wheeled in right behind it. These long wheeled cages reminded Amaris of the type that you would see circus animals in when they are moved on a train, only these were much too large to fit on a train track. They were huge indeed. They were lined up end to end and took up most of the room. The prisoners were forced to spread into lines only two deep along the outside to be able to allow the guards to stay along the walls. The vampire delegation was all the way to the back of the room where the doors were. After the cages had been wheeled into position, the huge door was closed and the room was silent. All except for the heavy breathing of the animals in the cages. The cages had a closed off back section that had a door. Both of those doors were closed. Amaris began to worry. She knew there must be animals in those cages, what was the King going to have them do? She did not want to see anyone hurt, not even the animals if she could help it. Amaris also thought that this was a good time to try and find everyone. Her eyes searched the group to her left, and she found Anna. Near her Amaris was also able to find Lyle, and Nikos, Giorgos, and Nicholas. On the other side, in the other group Amaris saw that Alexis, Andreas, Christos, Marco, who now seemed more conscious but still needed help to stand, and Taji were all huddled in a group arguing quietly. Amaris did not see Gran any where and she also did not see Anna's parents either. Her eyes quickly scanned the two groups again and again, but she still could not find any of them. Amaris turned and looked around her on the dais to see if they had been brought to the front with them and she had not noticed, but they were not there. Jason, who was standing beside her seemed to notice her agitation. He side stepped ever so slightly, and whispered "With the vampires." so softly, that Amaris was not sure that she had heard it at all. Amaris' attention was suddenly pulled away as the King got up and moved down to the floor next to the first cage. He ran his hand down the side as he walked by it. He walked all the way down and around the second one and came back up to the dais. He turned and faced the waiting crowd. He now had their full attention. Amaris was watching him too. "It is time for the first task. Who are our first to challengers from each team?" Two of the men stepped forward. They were two of Andreas' soldiers. "Step right up gentlemen. Step right on up into the cage. Each of you will be in a separate cage." The King was moving back to the dais now so that he could be seen and heard better. He let his voice boom out loud so that it would go the full length of the room. Two of the guards moved to bring the men to their respective cages. Amaris gave an audible sigh of relief. She had been afraid that they would need to fight each other. Both men stepped into their cages and the guards closed and locked the doors behind them. Now that the two men were standing up higher and easier to see, she could see the fear and apprehension on their faces. They had both been willingly locked into a cage that they could hear an unknown animal in also. "Wonderful! Now here is what you must do. Inside each cage with you is a very special animal that I had brought in just for the occasion. They are the only two left of these ancient creatures. Now, each of these beauties will have a key to a cage tied to the end of their tail. You must obtain the key without being killed. However, there is a catch. The key on the tail of your creature belongs to the lock on the door of the other cage. You must choose whether or not to throw the key to your opponent. The first one to unlock their door and get out of their cage wins a point for their team." The King looked back and forth between the two men. The man in the back cage standing in the front corner to be able to see the King. Both men nodded their heads. The King looked like he was so happy he was about to jump for joy. He rubbed his hands together in front of him in anticipation. He looked around and realized that he had worked his way back down to the floor in front of the dais in his excitement. He turned and came back up the steps and found his seat on his throne once more. He reached over and grabbed Amaris' hand and gave it a squeeze. "Isn't this thrilling my dear?" Amaris was not sure that she would have chosen those words. The King signaled to the same guard who had brought the cages in, and he walked over to the first cage, while a second man walked over to the second one. Each of them lined up near the door to the back part of the inner enclosure where the animals were trapped. The head guard nodded to the other man and they both pulled a lever which allowed the doors to raise and give access to the rest of the cage where the two men were standing. Both of them were at the furthest wall of bars from the door, staring at the opening waiting to see what would emerge. There was a lot of noise and the second cage rocked from side to side with movement. At the door of the first cage a flash of dark red fur blurred by followed by the brief glimse of a tail with spikes on it. Amaris was not sure what was in there, but she was wracking her brain to recall some creature that had fur and spike on it's tail. Suddenly in the second cage a huge red animal lept gracefully out of the door and landed right in front of the soldier that was trapped in there. "A MANTICORE!"