The Creatures Series

Eighth Night

Eighth NightCreatures of the Night

© All Rights Reserved

##### Eighth Night #####

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Today we are being announced from the speaker that are placed all around the building, that all of us are ought to gather around the Sorcier’s meeting room. My friends and I are sticking with each other through the way there. Waiting for the elevator to reach us will be far too long, so Crease uses her wind magic to help us arrive earlier. The meeting room is more like a theater room, with golden walls, chandeliers at the sky viewing roof, with red curtains and chairs and carpets. This room is wide enough to keep them all in.

Me and my friends take our seats at the middle row. Crease, Nono, Banri and Shara are sitting together, while me, Arch and Shrade are just one higher row than the four of them. Stage presentators are putting microphones, lifting ladders, testing the lights and voice. It doesn’t take long for the whole theater to be full. And soon the leaders of Sorcier, Kev and Lara Noirmelns, a.k.a. my parents, step into the front stage and stand behind of the microphones.

“Thank you all for coming to this gathering,” my mother says with her soft woman voice, echoing through the room by the microphone effect. The light shine upon her from afar as her husband do. “Today, we shall hold our 109th Annual Anniversary of Sorcier Star. Are you ready?” Cheers and screams are filling the entire room as she asks.

Sorcier Star is a competition for deciding who will be our next golden star wizard. It is held every year, but no one really knows when it will happen until they come. The head (or in this case, heads) of Sorcier have the right to decide when will they hold the competition. It is a secret to when and where before the competition starts, so even family, such as me and Link, can’t know about it. Each year, only one winner will be picked among the billions of members. And to make it fair, the judges will have to be very critical to every participant. Everyone, as long as they are part of Sorcier, can participate. But as enthusiastic as most wizards can be, I’m not in that group.

“This year’s winner will not only have his or her face in every advertisement of Sorcier’s, but also featured in wizard’s weekly magazine Enchanted, and his or her very own golden brooch production,” my father announces the gifts for the winner.” Anyone can participate, but the spot for the winner will be one present for one lucky wizard. So, who will it be? Is it you,” my father point randomly at the front, “or is it you?” He switches to point someone farther at the back. “Who knows. Only you can decide by participating.”

“If you want to be the winner, make sure to sign up on the desk at the stage’s left side,” she points at the line of desk of twenty one.

“And finally, for this year’s judge will be presided by two judges only. Me and my husband have decided to retire from this year and let the youngster do the work,” my mother continues. “We decided that the strongest members for Sorcier, besides us, will become your judges for the 109th Annual Anniversary of Sorcier Star. And they are....” She purposely put the suspense so that everyone can be curious.

.”...the members of second ranks!”

I see Link make his way to the front stage, gaining many applauses and cheers as he walks. After he reaches the stage, everyone became quiet, as if waiting for something.

Finally, my mother say, “That means you too, Arsene.”

When my name is being called, half of the audiences clap their hands, while half just wondering who the hell is that. My friends are surprise to the fact that I’m one of the strongest in here, but they already know that I’m the strongest in the team. Even much stronger than Shara. But my reaction shows more surprised than they do, because my body jolts a little when she said it.

“Me?” I ask standing up, a little bit confused. “I thought you have found someone else to replace my spot.”

“Well, apparently, nobody here is strong enough to roll you off. So just get on the stage,” my mother says through clenched teeth. I walk to the front and stand beside my mother without waiting for another second.

My mother introduces both us off to the public, even though they already know Link. As for me, let’s just say that I don’t associate much with wizards much other than with my friends, that many even don’t know me. Plus, those who do only know my 15-year-old version, not the present 17-year-old one. I changed a lot in the past 2 years I’ve been away that it’s hard to recognize me when you don’t saw me every day.

“Now that you already have your judges, start signing up now!” My father says, turning his microphone. My mother copies his action.

“So, I take it that you listened to my advice?” I ask, folding my arms. I’d suggested them to go on vacation for a break from their jobs yesterday, when I visited them.

“We are going to Shanghai for the whole week while you two handle the competition. You two won’t mind giving us the old to take some breaks, will you?” He asks smiling.

I think about it for a moment before nodding. Link does the same.

“Excellent! Now, if you excuse us.” They step back three feet before a dark smoke fill the air around them, sending them to their destination.

“So,” I say turning to Link. From the corner of my eyes, I can see many wizards want to participate in this. “Since we are basically in charge, why not have some fun on the way?”

“Stage one for Sorcier Star competition: show us your best and most charming talent,” I announce through the microphone. “You all have 10 minutes to come out of something. We will wait until then.” Right after I finish announcing that when the last contestant has signed in, they all started busying themselves with figuring out what they’ll choose to do to impress the judges.

There are many participants. From youngster to elders even. With a variety of personalities. Some are shy when some are just so eccentric.

At the announced time, they all starts show various talents to us. From dancing to acting. From elegance to groovy. Dramatic to funny. Most just show the usual talent, but some use their magic ability to perform. Such as juggling the rocks, eating fire, lightning music, flying dance, ice making forms, and many more. I have some that I like and so does Link. We continue choosing until no one left. So now, we have from over 1000 to just up to 300. Well, what can I say? We are just too picky. There’s only one spot for the winner anyway.

This time, it is Link’s turn to announce his demand. “For round 2, I want all of you to team up. One group consist two wizards. You can choose whoever you want. You’ll need to form a group so that you two can join your performance into a spectacular show. That’s why you and your partner have to work together as a team to make it happen. I’ll give you twenty minutes before the next round begins,” he says, showing his public smile as wide as he can.

Break time. Me and Link, after the exhausting elimination, have some lunch. We walk to the backstage and head to the specially prepared room. The chefs have prepared us some spaghetti plates, salad and lemon juice. We eat peacefully with small chats in between. When we finished, I check the clock and we still have ten more minutes to go.

I use that opportunity to do something else. I excuse myself to Link and head to the end of the hallway and open the door that leads to a small balcony. I place myself on the wooden bench, and for once, just kept quiet. Feel the air, feel the clouds, feel the earth....

The focus start pounding in my eyes. It feels like I have two extra hearts, pumping fast as if with rush. I open my closed eyes, but my sight is not the view of the New York City anymore. It’s on the roads, traveling fast through the tracks. Framed with dark fog. My sights move to a deeper area, where there are more grass, greener than the Arizona forest. Trees start to appear more and more as my sights move deeper into the area, deep into the forest until the trees start to get less and less until none appear. This time I can see a field, wide to the very last horizon, until a pale shade appears.

With European elegant style, the building stands taller that it should be. It was painted white. Around 30 levels, I think, give or take a few floors. There are many windows, doors and balconies just from the outside, crafted with tendrils, roses and little angels. The main door is exclusive. But what can defeat the beautiful double goddess crafts are the voices from the inside.

I feel my dark-framed sights as they move through the doors, past the guest room and into the ballroom. Everything is beautiful in there, like a castle. I can see that from the corner of my eyes, but I can enjoy them more later. Right now, I have something much more interesting.

The Blancorts are having some arguments.

They are shouting in the ballroom, echoing each voice through the whole room. One middle-aged man with dark hair and beard is shooting a murderous look at a ginger-haired woman. While a man around his twenties is trying to separate the two from scratching each other’s eyes. An elder man with white hair is sitting calmly at the side of the ballroom. A few men are standing by his side with sturdy poses and blank expressions. More men and women are circling the angry middle-aged man and ginger-head woman. They all are wearing glamorous gowns and tuxedos despite the tensing situation.

I chuckle. I’m going to enjoy this, I thought as I cross my legs.

“This is your fault. If you had listened to me just for once, then all of this wouldn’t happen. Now look what you did. You doomed us all!” The woman spat venoms to every word she says. She’s wearing a dark pink gown with her hair up. When I zoomed in to look at her face, she looks around the end of her thirties.

“So? So what? Two of my monsters have gone missing. But why would they matter? They don’t mean anything,” the man shout back. He’s wearing some golden medallions on his chest.

“It matters. Do you think the Noirmelns are really as stupid as you think they are? It is you that’s the stupid one for not think it that way. They could be realizing your plan by now, and probably getting ready to attack us by now! I don’t care about you, but I’ll go to my safe house right after this,” she yells.

“You are overreacting, Marlyn. They don’t know anything about our plan yet,” he says, eagerly reaching her hand to calm her.

“No. That’s your plan, not mine. Not of any of us. You’re the one who suggested it and brought it up to our meeting before. And you are the one who launched it yourself, with your monsters,” Marlyn spat, swatting his hand away. “I am ashamed to have a stupid brother like you, Garret. That is why I never called you brother once I got married,” she adds with such sad eyes.

Garret’s expression is not sad, but angry. He tries to step closer and raises his hand up to hit his sister, but is stopped abruptly by the white-suited man that’s standing near them. I also realize that his hair is not just blonde, but also as light as milk, almost white. His skin is light, and eyes with a shade of unnatural dark blue. They look like gemstones.

There’s no wrong in his features. He must be one of the main family.

The Blancorts are known for their famous family core. Even though there’s only few who are born every decade or so, but their intermarriage can produce an heir that can be so powerful, they might just compete with the Noirmelns.

Members of the core family of Blancort have a certain characterization, such as light skin, white hair and blue eyes. But one rarely has every feature of it. Some just have one, while the lucky one has two. But to have all of them will mean that he or she is the strongest in the clan.

After being able to separate the two, the white-suited man pulls Garret back a couple of feet to ensure that Marlyn has a proper escape if he tries to attack her again. But they just can’t stop arguing. They keep mentioning something bad about someone else to each other. The rest of the clan that has been standing there watching all along one by one starts to get involved with the verbal fight, until almost everyone in the ballroom are joined in it. Almost everyone.

When he can’t stand it anymore, the elder man stands up and raises his hand. “Enough,” he says, with power echoing through this word. I can feel the wave of his energy, and he is powerful. Too bad he’s too old to fight like he used to when he was younger. The rest of the Blancorts can feel his energy wave and have to back off for a few feet from where they stand before being able to stand steadily again.

“You two, I have had enough. We don’t need to fight among ourselves again. The Noirmelns are getting stronger from centuries to centuries. We can’t lose our members if we want to win this. Every last wizard counts. We have to stay united when the time has come for us to battle. For now, I don’t want to see any of you fighting anymore,” he say, his voice is wise and heavy.

Right then the doors are open, revealing a small figure. All eyes are on him as he steps in, even the elder’s. He’s just a child in white suit. But what surprise me are his features. With white as hair and blue glowing eyes like sea. Very fair skin. He’s a member of Blancort’s core family. The strongest after the elder man, perhaps.