Page 60 of Dark Souls

“Yeah, pretty much. Although, sometimes, The Devil’s Pet is around too.”

“Devil’s Pet?”

Before I could get an answer, the lights dimmed and the music stopped. The entire room fell into a hushed silence. Anticipation crackled in the air like lightning and I felt my stomach flutter. I was excited. I was one of them. Feeding off the thrill of danger. I could see how this was addictive.

“Oooo, it’s about to start!” Sammi whispered, unable to contain her excitement as she clapped her hands together.

“Round One: The Wolf VS The Fae.” A booming voice echoed through the speaker as the spotlights danced around the room, landing on the two entrances that led into the centre of the arena. Two figures approached from the opposite tunnels with menacing expressions on their faces.

I leaned into Sammi once more as they approached each other, circling slowly. “What exactly are the rules here? Is it just hand-to-hand combat or are they able to use their powers?”

“Anything goes,” Sammi replied, not taking her eyes off the fight that was about to begin.

“Surely not anything…”

“Anything,” she repeated. “They fight to the death. There can only be one victor.”

I sat up a little straighter and stared down at the two men that were preparing to fight for their lives. Fuck, that must be such a rush.

In a split second, one man shifted into a gigantic wolf while the other sent a blast of fire from his hands. The room erupted, members jumping to their feet to cheer and jeer the fighters to tear into each other with savage ferocity. My heart was in my throat as I watched on with fascination. They didn’t hold back. The fight was fast, intense and unrelenting from both sides. But the final blow was from the wolf as his fangs finally got a firm hold on the fae’s body and ripped him to shreds. Members were on their feet, roaring with delight as blood sprayed the audience and his harrowing screams echoed off the walls of the basement.

“Fucking yes!” Sammi yelled, fist pumping the air. “Daddy is going to be so happy I bet on the right guy! Come on, round two. We are still in the game.”

I refrained from telling her that calling her lover Daddy was disturbing on so many levels after her confessed crime but I wasn’t about to ick on someone else’s yum. Instead, I was too shocked by the fact the wolf had barely had time to shift, lifting his arms to the audience in victory and soaking up all his glory before the announcer’s voice came over the speakers.

“Round two: The Wolf VS The Vampire.”

“Don’t they give them a breather between rounds?” I asked as the wolf immediately shifted back, blood coating his fur from his previous fight but more than ready to go again. A female body blurred out of the tunnel so fast, the audience barely caught the sudden snap of the wolf’s neck.

“Holy shit!” I shouted as the room went berserk, the fight already over before it had even begun.

“Haha! Welcome toThe Underground, Tamara! There is no place quite like it.”

Kill Or Be Killed

“Riphisfuckingheadoff!” Sammi yelled at the top of her lungs. I couldn’t stop laughing. I realised that my sense of humour was pretty fucking twisted and extremely inappropriate. Just like seeing Eddie Hughes’ dick in his mouth, watching Sammi become this feral, potty-mouthed cheerleader while supernaturals ripped limbs from each other was rather amusing. She was now standing on her chair, hollering and whooping as the wolf/vampire hybrid pinned the warlock to the floor and sunk its fangs into his neck.

It was the semi-finals and whoever won this fight would face The Dealer. My nerves were shot and my excitement sky-high. Tonight was eye-opening in more ways than one. Yes, this event was entirely immoral on so many levels, but at the end of the day, every fighter was there by choice. They signed up for this, hoping winning would earn them millions, fame and glory. So did I feel sorry for them when, at the end of each round, only one remained? No. They knew what they were getting themselves into and, I had to admit, it was thoroughly entertaining to watch. I’d only ever associated violence with my hunger or anger. To protect or to feed. They were the only reason I ever used my vampire skills. So sitting back and admiring the way a fight truly unfolded, to feel the explosion of feelings while being a bystander, was rather refreshing. But I also felt a small pang of guilt. My upbringing and my obligations to my parents taught me I shouldn’t enjoy this so much. It was wrong. If any of my family members were here, they wouldn’t be happy to see this. But I’d never tried to hide the fact that I was different. Sometimes, I just had to tame the wildness. But tonight, I could be free.

“Go for his hands! Remove his connection to magic!” I threw caution to the wind as I jumped up on my chair to join Sammi and shouted words of encouragement to the hybrid. Sammi had a lot of money riding on him, making it to the final, so the least I could do was show my support.

I doubted the hybrid heard me over the roar of the crowd, but he maimed one of the warlock’s hands a second later before finishing him by tearing his limbs from his body.

“Wooohooo! Yes!” Sammi turned and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me violently as I laughed. “I’m giving you a grand for that!”

“I’ll give you a grand to sit your fat ass down! Can’t see a thing with that full moon,” a spiteful voice from the row behind us caused us both to turn and glare at the bulky man with a face like a slapped ass.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” Sammi roared, diving at him to claw his face. Quick as a flash, I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her back before she started an actual fight in the stands and got us kicked out before the final.

“Not worth it, Sammi!” I warned her when I saw two bouncers walking down the aisles. I pushed her down in her chair by her shoulders as she gritted her teeth. “Just think of all that cash you are about to win. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves and get kicked out now.”

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as my gaze snapped over her head to the man, who was smirking at me with a seedy expression. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, so his face was in direct line with mine. “You’re a good friend, sweetheart. Or maybe you should let her get kicked out, so you can sit that pretty ass on my lap for the night. At least your ass is small enough, unlike hers. You’d fit perfectly.”

“Why? Do you have a small dick?” I smiled sweetly as his eyes squinted into slits, but he continued to smirk.

“Why don’t you come back here and find out?”

“I would if you didn’t look like you had just emerged from a slow cooker. I could work with a small dick but that face... nah.” I turned back around as Sammi burst out laughing and ignored the snarky comments, calling me a stuck-up bitch.

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