Amaris looked between the King and the man on the floor. She was not sure if she had heard him right. Amaris pulled out of the King's grasp before he could restrain her, and stepped forward. She bent down and gently put a hand on the man's shoulder "Lyle?" She said softly. The man looked up and for the first time Amaris could see his face. Like many of the other men here, he had been beaten badly, but his beating was different. It was clear that his face and chest had deep lacerations. Amaris was shocked at the state of him and horrified and disgusted at what they had done to him and the state that he was forced to live in. If it weren't for the eyes, Amaris would not have known him. The momentary hope in those eyes disappeared when he misinterpreted the look of horror and disgust on Amaris' face. Amaris briefly wished that her powers would work in here. Although she had not tried them in this room. Amaris put both hands on Lyle's arm as he turned away and became a heap on

The King stood and Sveta his daughter walked forward with him. The look on her face said she knew what was about to happen, and she was going to enjoy this. The look worried Amaris. The King walked down from the dais to the center of the cirlce that the guards had created. He looked at the group of prisoners in front of him and then turned around and looked at the group behind him. The King spun around one more time making Amaris dizzy looking at him. In a loud booming tone he began. "We have our two groups all set down here, but I think that our guests from the vampire relm will not be able to enjoy the show in their current spot. Let us give them better seats to enjoy the show. Come right down here." The King waved his arms as if he was directing air traffic. He pointed from them to the open space toward the back of the room. Everyone waited for the vampires to move from their alcove to the space at the back, facing directly opposite of the dais. The King stepped back t

"A MANTICORE!" someone shouted. Many of the prisoners that had been standing near the cages took a few steps back. It looked like a lion but it had dark red fur and wings. The wings did not have fur and looked like something that you would find on a gargoyle. It had a distored looking human quality to it's face which was alarming. The long, thick, powerful tail had fur with large spikes that were made up of many smaller spikes. They seemed to glisten as it tail moved and twitched. The creature let out a loud growling roar. The second one followed quickly after hearing the first, only it spun around and looked at the cage behind it to see its fellow creature. The soldier in the first cage decided to take advantage of the momentary distraction and moved forward to try and grab the key tied on a gold cord to the largest pike at the center of the upper tail. He reached out slowly eyes on the head of the creature. His hand closed on the cord and as he pulled the cord with the k

When Amaris was led back to the thrones on top of the dais the whole room looked different. The two huge cages were gone, and there were now enormous fence panels creating a large fenced arena in the center of the room. The two groups of prisoners and the group of vampires were pushed further back and now were in a single line around the outside of the ring. Inside this huge oval there were now huge bushes, small trees, and even boulders. There were stacks of hay bales, and a small forest of stone columns in the very center. The huge side door was again open, and this time there was what looked like a huge cattle chute running from inside the door and out to the fence. The King walked up behind Amaris. "Sit down my dear, the show is about to start." He whispered to her. The guard who had let go of her arm, but stayed standing next to her, put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her in the direction of the chair. Amaris sat hard with a thump. She scowled up at the guard who

"Now!" Michalis jumped out of the bush and pulled a rope in the trees. The trees sprung up into the air and pulled the ropes attached to the nets. The nets pulled up around the boar and held. Michalis grabbed the ropes to help pull it taught and hold the boar. Nikos ran over to the other side and grabbed another set of ropes. Between the two of them, they were able to subdue to boar. As they tied the final ropes to the trees and a nearby rock they raised their arms in celebration as the on looking groups of prisoners cheered, jumping up and down and yelling. The two brothers embraced and high fived. The vampires booed and some of them started to walk away. The King pounded the arm of his chair with his fist. It was clear that he was not happy with the outcome of the match. Amaris stood up and cheered for the two men who had outwitted the King and his game by both of them winning together. It was then that Amaris noticed that Jason was back at her side with his mate. His f