Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

" W hoa, no way! Henry's going in for the kill!" Dewey shouted. "Wow, I never saw this coming. Damn Devon and his stupid beefy muscles that make him seem so capable. He's going to cost me a fortune."

"He's going to cost me a shot at finding my mom!"

"Right, that too," Dewey answered with a nod.

Paige clamped her hands on her head as the events unfolded on screen.

"I will not allow you to win, you foul beast."

"Can you cut out the nasty comments? I'm not that foul."

Henry jiggled the sword at him. "Yes, you are. You have no business even touching Paige's fair skin, let alone marrying her."

"It's getting really tense in there, Sam."

"You're right," Charlie agreed. "This woman must really set hearts on fire."

"And with that name…"

"Very funny, Charlie Competition," Paige murmured.

Suddenly, a picture of her appeared on the screen along with a number of stats. "Sam, let's take a look at the woman in question. This is Paige Turner, who, apparently, is intriguing enough to have caused an Amor Fortis between these two men."

"And it looks like it may go to the death, Charlie. Things are getting really heated."

"Right, and I'm trying to figure out why."

Both men chuckled as the picture of a glasses-clad Paige floated on the screen.

"Maybe if we take off the glasses…" Sam began.

"Oh, there we go. Thanks to the tech team for a quick wipe of those hideous glasses and now it becomes just a little clearer."

"You're right, Charlie. Without the glasses, everyone becomes automatically at least a point hotter. But the real question still remains, what about this kind of awkward gal has led to a battle of hearts that may claim a life."

"I sure don't know, Sam. But the tension is fraught between these two, that's for sure. We're still waiting to see if Devon can talk or cheat his way to freedom and possibly win, or if Henry, will walk away with the prize."

"Did you mean the win or the girl, Charlie?"

"I meant the win. There's still a debate about the prize."

"Hey," Paige said with a wrinkled nose. "What a jerk."

On-screen, Devon danced backward another step. "Really? You want to end me here and win by cheating? I thought you were an upstanding guy?"

"I'm totally upstanding. Which is why I would gut you and leave you to die right here. The world should be rid of beasts like you."

"Yeah, well, Paige is wearing this beast's ring on her finger, and she was about to marry me, not you. So, she may have something to say about that. "

"Wow," Sam announced, "Devon's really going for the jugular with the taunts."

"Sure is, Sam. A barb reminding the other competitor that they were not the choice is always unsettling. Kudos to Devon. Even if he dies in this round, this was well-played."

"Absolutely," Charlie answered.

"I'm certain she has her reasons, but they likely have more to do with fear than love."

"Put down your sword and find out. Let's let the best man win, shall we?"

"Fine," Henry agreed as he backed closer to the realm exit. As he lowered his sword, Devon dove for him and pulled him away from the door.

The two men struggled, wrestling around as each tried to stop the other from exiting first.

"What a good show these two are putting on, Charlie. Who will exit first?"

"That's the question on everyone's mind, Sam. I'll bet Paige Turner is out there somewhere wondering which man will have the edge going into round two."

"She is," Dewey shouted at the screen. "Oh, wow, this is really getting tense. Come on, Devon, slug him and get out of there."

"I wish you'd stop betting on these things. You're going to end up losing so much money…"

"Right? Well, if Devon would put his big boy vampire pants on, I would have made money, but he's such a wimp."

"At least he's trying."

"Do I detect a note of care in that voice?"

"Yes," Paige said with a bob of her head. "I care because I want that stupid soul compass so I can find my mom. And if Devon loses, I'll never get it."

"Really? Is that the only reason?"

"I'd feel sort of bad if Devon dies. "

"Oh, I knew it," Dewey said with a shake of his head. "You're falling for him. Him and his dimples and muscles and great hair."

"No. But he's my friend. And he's helped us out a lot. I don't want either of them to die."

"Which one do you want to die less?" Dewey snatched another container of popcorn from a passing waiter.

"What kind of question is that? I don't want either of them to die."

"But if you had to pick…"

"I don't. And I'm not going to. This is insane. I can't believe this is happening. And they're still fighting in there. Can there be a draw?"

As she asked the question, both men tumbled through the door, still locked in their battle. They rolled around on the floor of the ballroom, grunting and growling at each other until bystanders pulled them apart.

Dominic stood with wide eyes between them. "Well, it appears…it appears we have no clear winner."

Gasps sounded from the crowd before silence stretched as the crowd awaited the next steps.

A man ran toward him with an ancient leather tome. He pointed out a passage that Dominic read. Color drained from his face though he tried to remain stoic. "In this rare event…where both competitors have emerged from the realm at the same time, the artifact retrieval time is used instead. Though instant replays have shown that this, too, was a draw."

Dominic eyed the crowd, swallowing hard before he continued. "In the event that both of these have resulted in a draw…the round shall be determined by a best of three Rock, Paper, Scissors."

Paige's jaw dropped open. "He's not serious."

"I think he is. The tome has spoken," Dewey answered .

"Seriously? They're going to let my marriage potentially be determined by Rock, Paper, Scissors?"

"Looks like it," Dewey answered as he fluttered into the air to get a good look at the competition as the two men came closer to each other, each one resting a fist in his palm.

"You've got this, Devon," Drucinda told him. "Play smart, play big."

"What is she saying? It makes no sense," Paige said.

"Doesn't matter. It sounds good. I was encouraged," Dewey answered.

Devon and Henry tapped their fists against their palm three times before they revealed their first selections. Devon chose rock while Henry chose scissors.

"Haha, yes!" Devon shouted, his chest puffing. "Yeah, baby." He waved a fist in the air.

"That's it, Devon," Drucinda said. "Put him away with this one."

Devon danced around, hopping from foot to foot before he rolled his neck as though preparing for an intense battle. The two men squared off again, pumping their fists against their palms before revealing their next choice.

Devon picked rock for a second time, but Henry's paper trumped it.

"Shake it off, Devon, shake it off," Drucinda said as she massaged his shoulders again.

"One more, beast, and I am one step closer to marrying my love."

"Oh, gosh," Paige said with a shake of her head. "Is it possible that they both can lose, and I can just stay single?"

"Time," Drucinda said. "I'm calling a time-out. I must confer with the contestant."

"Seriously?" Paige asked as Drucinda pulled him aside and they stuck their heads together.

"This is a big deal. If he loses…not only am I out a cr apload of money but also, he's down a win. This is make or break, Paige." Dewey shoveled more popcorn into his mouth. "This is so crazy."

"Yeah. What's crazier is they are literally playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who is one step closer to marrying me."

"Nuts. Who will win? Drucinda is really talking strategy over there."

Paige eyed them, still deep in discussions over the ridiculously trivial game they were playing to win her hand in marriage. Finally, Devon broke away and returned to Henry.

"Let's finish this, beast."

"You got this, Devon. You know what to do," Drucinda said.

"I'm ready." He thumbed a fist against his chest before they faced off again.

Paige held her breath as their fists pumped before they revealed their choice. Henry returned to his choice of scissors, and Devon's rock crushed them.

Dominic grabbed his hand and thrust it in the air. "Devon is the winner!"

Cheers resounded through the hall as Devon shouted, "Yeah! Woooo!"

"Your boy's excited," Dewey said.

"He's not my boy. But this is the best outcome. We're one step closer to the soul compass." She stared at it ruefully as Dominic took it from Devon to return to wherever he kept it.

Henry was stripped of his diamond-dipped blade, too.

Devon raced around the room amidst chants of his name before he rushed toward Paige and scooped her up in his arms. "We did it, baby! One step closer to getting married!"

He tossed her in the air before he caught her and bounced her up and down a few more times .

"Whoa, watch it. I had a lot of chocolate, and now I don't feel so great."

"Well, you should," Devon said as he set her down. "We just need to win one more round each and we're on our way down the aisle."

"Yay," Paige said, her voice sounding anything but excited.

"You ready for the banquet? I'm so stoked to celebrate with you."

"I mean, I ate a lot already, but sure I could eat."

"Paige could always eat, that's why she needed the butter and plastic wrap for those leather pants," Dewey said as he patted her head.

"Hahahaha, ohhh, you're so funny, Dewey," she said as they shuffled from the ballroom into a massive banquet hall. The din of chatter filled the air as Devon wrapped his hand around hers and tugged her forward to a long rectangular table on a platform.

"We're up here with my dad. Get used to being royalty, Paige, because you're about to become a princess."

"Hopefully," she said as she settled into a seat with Dewey on one side and Devon on the other.

Drucinda eased into a chair on the opposite side of Dewey. "Planning on losing?"

"No, but…I'm also not that good at this stuff. I nearly lost already."

"You did fairly well, but you left a lot to be desired. You've got to go into these things with an attack mentality," Drucinda answered.

"Ohhh, shrimp cocktail," Dewey said as he clapped his paws. "Devon, your dad knows how to put on a spread."

"I know," Devon said with a grin. "Just wait until the wedding banquet."

"I hope I'm alive then. "

"Paige, babe," Devon said as he lifted his wine glass, "the way you attacked Ivy…"

He pressed a hand against his heart. "Wow. I am so thrilled you agreed to marry me."

Paige held his gaze for a moment, trying to discern whether he was serious or jesting. Regardless, she decided to take it as a compliment.

She pushed her shrimp around in the cocktail sauce before she popped one in her mouth. At least the food she'd enjoy before she potentially died was good.

Dewey babbled on about her tight schedule tomorrow, but she barely heard him as exhaustion settled on her. She hoped she made it through the weekend.

When the meal finally came to an end, she shuffled upstairs to her room with Dewey, Devon, and Drucinda in tow. After a brief conversation, she turned in for the night.

The quietness of the room set her nerves on edge as she slid between the sheets. "Why did I have to get involved with a vampire prince?" she asked herself, her words echoing off the walls.

In the dim light, everything took on a sinister appearance. She made a face at the creepy painting of a former Durand on the wall before she shifted her eyes to the devils decorating the fireplace.

"If I do marry Devon, I'm redecorating. This place is hideous."

"That's a big if," a new voice answered her.

Without thinking, she responded, "Yeah, I know. I'm not sure I–"

Her eyes went wide as she realized she wasn't alone. She clutched the covers, pulling them up to her chin. "Who's there?"

"Who do you think?" Ivy answered, slinking from a dark corner toward Paige's bed .

"What are you doing here?"

"What I should have done a long time ago," the woman answered, sliding a long, sharp blade from the folds of her dress. "Killing you."

Paige sucked in a sharp breath as she stared up at the knife glinting in the room's dim light. She'd never find her mother because she wasn't going to live beyond today.