The next two rounds of the tournament went by quickly. Since Marie’s Talent was no longer a secret, she and Marl attacked as a team. They destroyed their opponents with an efficiency similar to that of Kevin and Mullet. Both teams had turned into crowd favorites.

  Only four teams were left in the tournament. Cameron had moved to the other side of the field to keep an eye on Jayde. She had spent many rounds talking with the man with a black beard. Jayde and the man both had large grins on their faces, but Cameron tracked her just the same. He glanced through the rest of the crowd, and his gaze landed for an instant on an old woman and her cat watching from afar. The cat looked at him for a split second, then faded into blackness; only the old woman remained.

  The crowd had doubled in size. Mullet and Kevin faced off against the two arachadons. The enormous four-foot-tall spiders darted all over the arena. They occasionally shot sticky strands of silk to snare their opponents. Mullet and Kevin had watched the spiders’ tactics in earlier bouts, so the humans were ready with a strategy of their own. Shortly after the start of the match, Kevin sprinted through a wall of sticky silk to grab one of the spiders in a giant bear hug. He pulled both the creature and himself out of the ring, not daring to release it.

  This left Mullet and the remaining creature in a one-on-one battle for the championship fight. In the end, Mullet had simply too much brute strength for the giant spider to overcome. Mullet landed blows through the silk. The creature could not trade blows with the massive Mullet and eventually was knocked out. The crowd grew silent, as Mullet approached the unconscious creature. Despite the crowd yelling for him to smash it to pieces or to kick it out of the ring, he gently picked up the giant spider and lightly placed it out of the ring, securing their spot in the finals.

  “Taters! Taters! Taters!” screamed Potato Man in what sounded like a respectful voice to complement Mullet’s gentle action.

  Marie had been tracking their opponents quite closely, discussing strategy with Marl during the ever-decreasing time between rounds.

  “We’re fighting a pair of nekarions next,” she said. Marl looked at her blankly. “They look somewhat reptilian in nature. Also they are much stronger than they appear. They are lightning quick and use their tails as an extra arm, so be ready for that. I’m not sure we could take them in a fair fight, but tonight the edge is in our favor. I’m interested in winning, not playing nice.”

  Marl continued to look at her blankly, so she explained more to him. “Nekarions have terrible eyesight. They can barely see anything besides shadows, but they can track movement very well. What usually gives them an edge is that they can see heat, as clearly as we see each other at noon. Thus, they can attack in absolute blackness without difficulty. Fortunately for us, we have the torches,” she said.

  “So how we use dat to help us win?” he said.

  Marie described her plan. Marl grinned in appreciation. Marie ran off to find the closest rain barrel, and, a short time later, they entered the ring.

  The nekarions looked like giant walking lizards. They had scales instead of skin, and their thin faces tapered into a snakelike snout. They flicked their forked tongues. Their eyes were orange with black crescent slits. Their heads swung back and forth in sweeping movements on long extended necks, taking in the battle arena.

  Marie and Marl entered the circle, as a bubble of laughter slowly spread through the crowd. Marie was drenched in cold water, shivering, and walking on top of Marl’s monstrous feet. She pressed herself into his chest. It appeared quite comical. Marl had altered the skin on his arms to give Marie handholds, so she could move as he moved.

  Marl stood with his back directly in front of the closest torch.

  “Fight!” called out Jenny, as she flew above the arena.

  The two nekarions rushed directly toward Marl. Their skin blurred and reappeared, making them difficult to track, even in the brightness caused by the torches.

  Marl glared at one, and the other appeared right next to him out of nowhere. It landed three quick punches before Marl could whip a crushing blow at it. It jumped backward, avoiding the blow.

  Marl again repositioned himself next to the burning torch. Marie remained pressed close against his chest, continuing to move with him.

  The reptiles rushed again and struck a barrage of blows. Marl spun with a quick strike, but again the creatures sprung backward before he could make contact. While Marl fought, Marie balanced on the tops of Marl’s enormous feet and mimicked his movements. Marie shivered but remained balanced.

  Over and over the two creatures worked in unison to keep Marl off guard. They landed glancing blows and slowly worked Marl closer to the edge of the arena.

  Some people in the crowd yelled at Marie, believing Marl was simply protecting her. Marl moved himself toward the middle, but one of the lizards spun and struck Marl with his tail, like a whip.

  “You ready?” Marie whispered, while the reptiles prepared for another attack.

  “For long time,” grumbled the rock troll.

  Several things then happened at the same time. Marie slumped off Marl and crouched in a tight wet ball. Marl launched himself at the closest nekarion, which retreated from Marl’s sudden assault. The nekarion’s partner began sprinting toward Marl in response to the attack.

  As the second creature darted toward Marl, it seemed unaware of Marie. Marl continued to attack the first with his back toward the second. The creature ran right next to Marie, oblivious.

  Marie launched her entire body into an uppercut. The creature shrieked in shocked surprise, as the blow lofted it into the air. Marie rolled onto her back and kicked both feet into the creature as it descended. The nekarion bellowed a second time, as it flew out of the arena.

  The crowd burst into cheers in response to Marie’s attack. She quickly rushed toward Marl. He and the other nekarion battled viciously, but the lizard creature had the upper hand. She ran to Marl’s side and whispered quickly to Marl, then retreated.

  Marl attacked with multiple swooping blows that caused the nekarion to backpedal. Marl retreated as fast as he could. The lizard rushed at him again but stopped in midstride. Marl ran past Marie and stopped near the edge of the circle.

  Marie looked over and heard a rasping hiss from the other nekarion that had already lost. The two creatures had a heated conversation. The nekarion in the ring shook its head back and forth rapidly, while the first continued to hiss, gesturing wildly with its arms. The remaining creature in the arena shook its head one last time, hissed vehemently at the other nekarion, and rushed at Marl.

  Marl stayed next to the edge of the arena. The creature ran along the edge to get to Marl. Marie crouched in waiting, perfectly still. When the nekarion sprinted past her, she struck in a flash. Marie tackled the creature; it lost its balance and fell out of the arena.

  Marie relaxed as they made their way from the arena to the cheers of the crowd. Marie warmed herself next to the closest torch. The finals would be Marie-Marl versus Mullet-Kevin.

  “Pretty clever, Marie,” Cameron said.

  “How’d you do that?” said Jayde.

  “At night, nekarions see primarily by the heat generated by creatures. We just warmed up Marl next to the torches till he kept in some of that heat. I stayed on the other side of him, protected from the warmth of the torch. After he spent so much time that close to the torch he was practically glowing to the nekarions. Me, on the other hand, my little body heat was hard for them to see,” Marie said.

  “Sort of like when you go inside a dark room after being in the sun. You can’t see anything, since your eyes are used to seeing in the bright,” Jayde said.

  “Exactly,” said Cameron. “Drenching herself in water before the match helped.”

  A squad of pixies fluttered into the ring along with Sarah. The crowd quieted when she reached the center of the arena. Sarah complimented all the competitors as the pixies flew around the ring one last time, showing off the two necklaces for the first- and second-place winners.

  Marl spoke quickly with Marie about strategy. Marie thought they were pretty evenly matched. She knew Kevin and Mullet had more than just casual training. She felt she could match either one individually, but together they seemed flawless. Marl would not be a match for either based on speed or technique, but he had plenty of raw power.

  The pixie yelled, “Fight!” and the final match began.

  Kevin sauntered casually toward the center. Mullet stayed right at his side.

  “Y’all’re good fighters. Mullet even thinks so too, and that’s rare. Best of luck to yah,” Kevin said.

  “Likewise,” Marie said, crouched in her ready position.

  Mullet glared at her, his face an unreadable mess of scars. Kevin looked at her stance. Despite the light banter, the match had already begun. “You fight like a war sage,” said Kevin.

  “Indeed,” Marie responded. “How about you two? I’m guessing either paladins or knights of Xavier?”

  Mullet looked surprised for the first time of the night. Kevin answered her question. “Paladins are rarely recognized, these days. This should be a good fight,” he said with a grin.

  “My thoughts exactly,” said Marie.

  Kevin and Mullet both held up open left hands and punched their right fists into it. They held their fists in place and bowed. Five seconds passed. No one moved.

  Mullet darted at Marie and missed a crushing blow by a finger’s width. His giant frame moved with impossible speed, yet Marie spun, twisted, and blocked every attack. The crowd roared. Marl stayed near Marie, but Kevin quickly split the two apart. He landed blow after blow to the rock troll’s face and side, remaining nimble enough to avoid all the troll’s attacks.

  Mullet continued his assault with a seemingly endless supply of energy. Marie had landed a few quick blows to his stomach and chest, but he seemed unaffected. Marie knew her blows struck much harder than anyone in the crowd would realize, but he shrugged them off as if they were mosquito bites.

  Marl continued to circle Kevin, moving from side to side to prevent the rain of blows from landing. After that did not work, he decided to launch himself at Kevin, to no avail. He rushed at him to tackle him. Right as he reached to grab him, Kevin dropped to the ground and kicked Marl forward. Marl fell, out of control. Luckily he collided into the back of Mullet.

  Mullet spun for a split second. This gave Marie the opening she needed. She landed both open palms on his chest and released an incredible supply of energy. Mullet exploded across the entire ring in a graceful arc and landed in a heap. Unfortunately he landed within the circle. Kevin backed him up in a flash, and the two began circling again.

  Marie pressed her advantage, but Kevin gave Mullet the little time it took for him to recover. The two switched, so Mullet again attacked Marie. Kevin slipped between the two, raining multiple blows on Marl.

  Marl swung at Kevin who bounced backward. Kevin then jumped straight up in the air nearly ten feet high from a standing start. When he landed he pounded his fist into the ground. An echoing boom came from the punch, and a split second later the ground under Marl launched him straight up into the air.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  In the air Marl pulled his arms and legs in tight, making a perfectly round rock. He came out of the ball facing downward. While high in the air, Marl had a unique view of the entire arena. He knew Jayde had been staying by the gamblers’ booth. He looked over toward the booth while in the air and instantly became terrified. When he landed he struck the raised circle of earth with tremendous force. The circle of earth compressed back into the ground. Kevin fell head over heels spinning in the air.

  Kevin landed in a tangled mess but bounced up immediately after the fall. He grinned and laughed. “Y’all fight well!” he said. The rock troll, however, had already disappeared. Marl ran out of the ring.

  Mullet on the other hand continued his assault on Marie, showing no sign of tiring.

  Marie looked over and saw Marl running out of the ring and through the confused crowd. She glanced in the direction he ran and realized why he had abandoned the tournament. Jayde was in danger. No tournament, prize, or any physical compensation was worth his friend.

  Near the outer edge of the crowd Cameron was surrounded by three figures in black. Jayde hid behind him, terrified and bleeding. Behind her a man with a large black spiky beard occasionally peeked from under his stand.

  Even in the dim light Marie could make out the glint of metal. She ran toward Cameron. As she made her way to the center of the ring, Mullet and Kevin flanked her on each side, not realizing that she had intended to give up on the tournament to help her friends. All she could do was block punches and kicks that came continuously as she backpedaled. Marie jumped out of the ring, then changed direction and sprinted toward Jayde. The crowd exploded as Mullet and Kevin remained in the arena.

  Marl ran where the three men had Cameron pinned down. The attackers had surrounded Cameron from a distance of twenty feet. Their arms moved quickly over and over as they threw metal needles half a foot long. Cameron’s long black cloak flowed and billowed, deflecting the needles as fast as they were thrown. The deadly needles created a nearly invisible barrage in the darkness. Barbs flew at his face, chest, and legs at the same time. Cameron continued to spin and flailed his arms while he pivoted, his cloak acting as a shield from the missiles. It sounded like metal rain as the small barbs continued to accumulate at his feet. Though Jayde was directly behind him, she could barely hear the slight tinkling of metal over the triumphant roar of the exuberant crowd. Two needles protruded from Jayde, one in her left forearm and another in her right thigh. She grabbed them to pull them out, but the blood made them too slippery.

  Jayde remained crouched. She realized that this prevented Cameron from attacking any of their assailants, but she could not get away. Cameron’s arms and body blurred with speed, and the vast majority of the needles landed on the ground. She could see his body was soaked with blood.

  As Marl sprinted toward the attackers, he saw other black-cloaked bodies lying dead. He counted nine bodies that matched the three remaining attackers. Had Cameron been attacked by twelve people? If so, how could he be alive?

  Marl finally made it to the nearest attacker and launched himself with deadly ferocity. The roaring crowd prevented the closest man in black from hearing his approach. The man’s side collapsed, as the immense bulk of stone-skinned terror collided with him at full speed. The collision tore the man’s clothes to shreds, yet the concave depression from the deadly blow remained. The man leaned forward once, gasping for air. Marl rewarded the killer’s efforts with a bone-shattering blow to the face. The man died instantly. Marl turned back toward the remaining two figures and bellowed.

  The other two continued to attack with the needles but realized that both their element of surprise and their advantage in numbers were gone. They exchanged quick glances as one rummaged inside his cloak. He pulled out what looked like a spiny sea urchin. It was a sphere the size of a fist, completely covered in long spikes. Connected to the spiky ball was a cord. The other nodded and pulled out a second spine-covered ball.

  Marie sprinted toward the figures in black. She screamed at the still cheering crowd to run away.

  Cameron saw the weapons. “Needle bombs! They shoot needles in every direction and explode if they hit anything hard!” Both assassins faced Cameron and whirled the wicked-looking balls. Jayde could see that he remained standing by the power of sheer will alone. He leaned forward, hands on his knees, as he breathed heavily, grateful for the halt in the attack, whatever the reason. A pile of needles that he had deflected lay on the ground in front of him; however, many needles had found their mark. Jayde saw that his entire body bristled with punctures. His arms, legs, and body were wet with blood.

  Marl remained at his side, not sure whether protecting Cameron or attacking the two killers would be the best course of action. Cameron’s voice was slurred with exhaustion, but he told the troll to run, since the needles would explode on his rocky hide. Marl did not move. He would sacrifice anything to protect Jayde.

  The two assassins stood side by side, as they swung their arms and hurled the spike-covered balls into the air. Immediately after throwing them, they both turned to run. As they did, each received a foot directly in the chest from Marie. She had come back after warning the crowd, who had already run in the other direction. The men collapsed in a tangle of body and limbs. But the two spiky balls had already been launched. Marie shoved one unconscious assassin on top of the other one.

  Marl hovered over Jayde, ready to envelope her in a rocky embrace.

  Jayde glanced around the large arena. Time slowed to a crawl. She saw the collapsed assassins. Twelve men vanquished, nearly all by Cameron. Two now lay unconscious on the ground. She saw the pair of arcing balls of needles gliding upward over their heads. She saw the distant crowd, still cheering on Mullet and Kevin. She even saw Potato Man running through the crowd, selling his baked treats. Jayde reached into her pocket and pulled out the potato that she had received from the man. She threw it in the air. In the terror and chaos Jayde could feel an untapped energy flowing through her. She released her energy, focusing on the floating potato.

  As the spiky spheres crested their arcs, they exploded, sending hundreds of spikes in every direction. The noise of the spheres exploding and shooting out their deadly missiles made a metallic snap, but this was overshadowed by a deep boom that emanated at almost the same time.

  The two men who had launched the needle bombs became skewered by hundreds of needles. Under the two bodies hid Marie, who had used their bodies as shields.

  The rest of the party had disappeared. They had all crouched to protect themselves from the bomb. Jayde was under Marl who was under Cameron, who was under something that had covered them all.

  “Everyone okay?” Cameron asked.

  “Me be fine,” Marl said, “but where me be?”

  “I’m okay. How about you, Cameron?” asked Jayde.

  “I’ve felt better,” said Cameron.

  “What you do?” asked Marl. “We be dead now?”

  “I didn’t do this,” responded Cameron.

  They could still hear the cheers of the crowd, but it sounded muffled or distant. Marl, Cameron, and Jayde remained in darkness.

  Jayde breathed heavily. “It can’t be. It just can’t, can it?”

  “What did you do, Jayde?” asked Cameron.

  “Well, I was thinking about what would protect us from the needles yet not squash us, but I didn’t know of anything soft that would absorb the needles. Except maybe, well, … Marl, see if you can just push up what’s covering us.”

  Marl stood in the dark and bumped his head on the low ceiling. He pushed hard, and the darkness disappeared. They apparently had not been transported anywhere; they were just covered. Marl lifted their protection, and the threesome crawled out. The man with the porcupine beard glanced up from behind his booth.

  “That’s the biggest dang potato I’ve ever seen!” he said, gaping.

  And it was. They had been saved by a giant potato, with a hole in the bottom—just big enough for them to fit under. Marie looked over at Jayde with a raised eyebrow.

  “It was all I could think of. I don’t even know how I did it,” said Jayde.

  “I think you just saved our lives,” said Cameron, “with a potato.”

  A small crowd had begun to gather around the massive potato. It was nearly twenty paces around, and the top and sides of it had a thick layer of spikes. Potato Man looked at it with reverence.

  The group took a few more looks at the giant spud and walked a short distance away to the stand of the man with the bristly beard. Cameron collapsed against the wooden side of the betting table.

  Marie sprinted to Cameron and began pulling out needles. He could not bend his arms due to the vast number embedded within. His clothes dripped blood. His breathing took obvious effort. He even looked ashen, which was something, considering he was a vampire. Many of the needles were in too deep to be easily pulled out. Most were coated with blood, making them too slick to grip.

  Cameron closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing on the multiple areas of pain throughout his body. A faint glimmer of blue light under the skin of his right hand slowly moved up his arm. The light crept across his body, down his legs, and then to the entire left side. His breathing became more relaxed.

  “Jayde, reach into the bag and get the large forceps in there,” Marie said.

  “Four sects?” Jayde asked.

  “The big metal tweezers. They’ll be wrapped in clean gauze. Let’s see how many quills this porcupine has.”

  Jayde grabbed the bag and rummaged through it quickly, pulling out the forceps, and ran them back to Marie. Marie unwrapped the forceps and quickly began pulling the deeply embedded needles from Cameron. Each time a blue light appeared under his skin after a needle was pulled. Some of the needles were buried so deep that the only sign was a slight glint in the skin.

  Marie quickly and methodically removed the barbs. The blue light glowed after each removal, and Cameron’s skin healed over. Jayde watched, fascinated. An impressive pile of needles littered the ground next to Cameron.

  “Feel better?” Marie asked.

  “Getting there,” he answered.

  “Did you manage to block any of the needles without getting them embedded in you?” asked Marie.

  Marie looked down at Jayde and tended to the needle in her arm and leg. The girl yelped, as Marie gently pulled them out. Jayde had no idea how Cameron survived with the giant pile that had skewered him.

  “I think I might not be all the way better yet,” he said.

  “You think?” Jayde answered.

  “No, I mean, a few needles might still be lodged. I wish I had a magnet. I don’t know how I’ll get these things out,” said Cameron.

  “I got yah covered, friend,” said the man with the huge pointy beard.

  “I always keep me strongbox cemented down with a strong magnet. It makes it a bit harder for the casual thief to make the box disappear. First rule of gambling, yah gotta keep what you make,” he said with a wink at Jayde.

  He walked back to his booth and grabbed an enormous crowbar. He inserted the crowbar under the metal table and heaved. The entire table bucked, but nothing happened. He heaved again, and a loud thunk followed. He reached under the table and pulled out a large U-shaped hunk of metal.

  “That’ll do yah,” he said, handing it to Marie with a grin.

  Marie walked over to Cameron and held the magnet to his side. She felt the pull of the magnet and heard Cameron groan at the same time. Hiding just under his skin appeared the tip of a needle, pulled out by the magnet. She slowly moved the magnet away from his body, the needle following. She continued a slow survey over his chest with the magnet. She found nineteen more needles. Cameron concentrated while she performed each extraction. After removal, a hint of blue light appeared, and his skin healed over. Marie sighed in relief after pulling out the last needle.

  The man with the porcupine beard paled after watching the needle extraction from Cameron. Marie walked back to him and returned his magnet.

  “Feel better?” the bearded man asked Cam.

  “You have no idea,” Cameron said, taking a deep breath.

  “Now what?” Marie asked.

  “It no be fair, but we no win fight,” said Marl, looking back toward the circle. Most of the crowd still had no idea that a separate battle had just taken place. Kevin and Mullet were receiving the Nautilus from the pixies, and the crowd showed its appreciation.

  “Now we go back to the Happy Smyle. I don’t know about you guys, but I really don’t feel like sleeping in garbage. We’ll figure out payment later,” Cameron said. The group followed his lead, as they stepped away from the fight crowd. Jayde however, lagged behind.

  Jayde looked at Cameron, walking slowly after the removal of hundreds of deadly barbs. Marie also lumbered along. After competing all night, she had had her fair share of injuries. Marl seemed sad but did not show any apparent injury.

  Jayde had been a vagrant most of her life and a gambler for all of it. She looked over at the man with the bristly beard, who looked right at her but did not say a word. Jayde sighed. Cameron had almost been killed trying to protect her. If not for her, he likely could have taken all the attackers himself, but instead he had protected her. He had gone out of his way with no thought of his own safety to defend her.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Jayde murmured. “Guys, wait one second.” She walked back to the bristly beard man. She had not bet on Marie-Marl versus Mullet-Kevin, since she had no idea who would win. Jayde had a knack for knowing the odds. The bristly bearded gambler had held on to all her vast winnings till the tournament was over.

  “You can pick up your winnings later,” he whispered. “You don’t need to do it in front of all them. With this much money, you could live like a princess for a year.”

  “Believe me, after living on the streets half of my fourteen years, I know. But maybe it’s time I did something for someone else for a change,” she said.

  The man grunted and walked back to his gigantic storage box. He pulled out a leather bag and counted. He handed Jayde the bulging bag.

  “You’re a good gambler. Yah earned this. Especially after your family saved me from becoming skewered.”

  “Oh, they’re not my—” and then Jayde stopped. She looked over at Cameron, Marie, and Marl trudging slowly in the direction of the pub. Her thief upbringing told her to bolt with her winnings and disappear into Grandeur. She had more money in her hands than she had ever seen.

  “Sure,” she said, “no problem.”

  Jayde ran and caught up with the rest of the group.

  “What was all that about?” Marie asked.

  Jayde explained how she bet on Marl and Marie and won a fair amount of money. They let Jayde finish her entire story, though Cameron wore a whimsical smile the entire time.

  “I saw how good Mullet and Kevin were, so I did not bet on either of you to win the finals. But I did manage to make a little bit of money from you guys winning so many rounds,” Jayde said and heaved the heavy pouch at Cameron.

  Cameron grinned at Marie.

  “What?” said Jayde.

  “Oh, we’re not as naive as you may think,” said Marie. “We realized you were betting on us at the tournament. Cameron actually was planning on betting on us as well, but then he saw you doing it and figured he’d take a chance,” said Marie.

  “A chance on what?” asked Jayde.

  Cameron looked into her eyes. “You, of course. You’ve led a troubled life, Jayde. You’ve had to fend for yourself at an age when little girls are supposed to be playing with dolls. Most people who grow up in such circumstances are quite reluctant to trust anyone and quite willing to betray anyone. You, on the other hand, seem to have acquired the skills of a thief without the mind-set and morality that normally go along with it.”

  “Thanks. I think. So now what?” Jayde asked.

  “Now we sleep. First thing tomorrow we have a clinic to clean.”