The Lost Queen Book 2 - Kehlani

18. Magician Match

The game board is set up on a table. Then there are 8 chairs. 4 on each side facing the play area. The play area is massive in the ballroom. A lot bigger than Alden's office. Then there are couches down both sides of the ballroom, facing the play area. The rest of the boys find couches. Then the students and pretty much everyone else in the castle grabs a couch to watch.

Jenny comes over to the game board. "You're going to continue the original game. Everyone wants to watch." She flips her wrist and me, Tye, Clark, and Nik's clothes turn red. The others turn full black. "As a reminder, you can help your team. Unless it says it's a single player challenge. Then you must remain seated and do not attempt to help, or it is an automatic forfeit of the turn. You will lose the player. If it is not a single player challenge, all game members are permitted to stand by the play field on this side. Try not to block the view of the spectators. Now go to your seats."

"It's Victors turn."

Jenny's voice comes through the whole ballroom, "Welcome. As a friendly reminder. Stay off of the floor. No help from the crowd can be given. You will be removed. Any cheating will result in the automatic loss of a game piece and points will be deducted from the team's score. Also, this version of the game is over 500 years old. A lot of the safety's are not included. I will be the referee. Enjoy the game."

Victor stands up. "No pressure or anything." All 8 of us laugh. He rolls the dice. Then he moves a piece. A board above the play area flashes, WEREWOLF ATTACK.

He goes over to the play area. 10 werewolves come out with their eyes red.

Jenny comes over. "His team can walk to the board and help. It's not a single player challenge." They bolt to his side and manage to get the werewolves killed.

I look at my team. "In the game. Don't forget your player has your skills and they are completely mastered. So, if you're earth, don't be afraid to throw boulders from the sky. It will work even if you can't do it for real."

Clark nods and goes to the board. The game flashes, BEAR ATTACK. We run over but Clark grabs it in a ball of water and the bear drowns.

Tre's turn flashes, SINGLE PLAYER. PUZZLE.

"They can't help."

Nik nods. "Yea, but he's a genius."

The player shows up with a red bar above his head.

Jenny puts her hands up. "GAME PAUSE. Sorry everyone, they have not seen this yet. As you noticed, this is a single-player challenge. Even the team can't help. I want to point out the red bar above the characters' head. The characters are human. They have to breathe. That red bar means he is holding his breath. He is underwater in this challenge. If he runs out of air, he dies. Are you ready?"

"Yea."

"GAME RESUME."

He blows apart a boulder in front of a cave. Then he swims in through a tunnel. He gets to a chest and can't figure out how to do the combination. It is tricky, and you have to use a lot of magic to rotate the stuff. He can't figure out how to use magic with his hands. He starts to get it and the man runs out of air and falls over dead.

The crowd makes a loud, "AAAWWW" noise.

Jenny comes over. "I want to show everyone that the box on the game board is now marked with a chest. Anyone can step on it and this challenge will appear again. Also note, anyone who can get the chest open will receive between 1 and 3 extra game pieces for their team. Nik your turn."

The game flashes, WAR 3 VS 3. The students on the couches jump up screaming.

Jenny nods. "Nik you are in war. You can choose 2 teammates. Black team, you need to pick 3 for war."

"What are you Nik? I'm water."

"Air. What are you 2?"

"Fire."

"Water."

"You'll want Tye and 1 of us."

Clark smiles. "You go. I'll watch this round."

"I'll go in. But you still play. You can summon stuff and throw shields. Do general magic. Stuff like that, you won't have a player in there. But this way, we'll have fire, water, and air in the box."

"That sounds good."

Tye nods. "And our player has all of our skills mastered?"

"Yes. Now it's war, so the object is to kill their player pieces. But if you hit 1 of their people it's an automatic forfeit, and we lose a s**t ton of points. The person who does it can also lose turns or be ejected from the game. So don't do that."

They nod and we take our side.

There are 3 characters on each side of the board.

Jenny puts her hands up. "War. Attempt to kill your opponents. It is Nik, Mayra, and Tye Vs. Nadine, Tre, and Victor. GO."

A wall of solid rock appears right down the center of the box. We can't see the other team. Nadine yells, "I NEED A MINUTE TO THINK."

I laugh and summon a monsoon on their side. I know it has to start filling up with water, the crowd cheers for us. "I put a monsoon over there. I'm going to drown them."

Nik laughs. "I'll make it cold and windy. We'll freeze them too."

I jump up and down. "Snow and ice."

"SHIELDS." Clark yells. A bunch of ice shards slam into the shields. "Sorry, that was close." Then our side gets a monsoon.

Clark does something and a water spout shows up in the middle of our side. It spins, and the water goes over the rocks right back onto their side.

I make it snow. "We'll bury them under snow."

Nik laughs and brings back the clouds and wind. "Blizzard even."

Then the rocks in the middle shatter apart. Tye's player goes invisible.

Then Nik jumps and vanishes. All 3 of them look at my player. I panic for a second. Then 1 of them act crazy and run at me. I use my sword and cut him in half. Nik's character pops out of him after I do it. "Possession."

"That was good thinking. Scared the hell out of me though."

Nik nods and a humongous man eating plant grabs his character's legs. I take my sword to the plant, as another one of their teammates die for no reason.

Nadine yells. "TYE IS INVISIBLE KILLING PEOPLE."

I keep swinging at the plant. Their team does something and Tye becomes visible. Someone yells. "I DID NOT KNOW THAT WOULD WORK."

Niks player finally dies. Nadine and Tye are sword fighting. He's letting her win. But while she's distracted, I throw a chunk of ice the size of a small car at her. It flattens her character.

A sign flashes over the board. -RED TEAM WINS. PLEASE CLEAR THE BOARD OF ALL MAGIC.- Suddenly, everyone in the ballroom is slammed with a blizzard. Wind, snow, ice. It is cold as hell.

Jenny starts doing magic at the board. Her voice gets loud again. "This is 1 of the things that are safe guarded against in the newer versions. Give us a minute to counter it." A table goes flying by in a gust of wind. "SOMEONE GRAB THAT TABLE." It smashes through the window. "Never mind." Everyone keeps trying to fight off snow. People are hiding behind their couches. I raise my hands and help her with the counter magic. We get it over after a minute. "The board has been cleared of magic. Everyone, please fix yourselves. Guards, can you go get that table out of the parking lot?"

We crack up laughing. There is so much snow everywhere. People are wind blown and the couches are everywhere.

Jenny wipes her eyes. "There will be a 5-minute delay. Air magicians, can you please send in warm air, so we don't freeze. Not hot air. Just warm."

I feel it warm up as we go back to our sides of the game table. I pull my team in. "Whoever has more pieces on the board when that treasure chest is opened will win the round. Right now, we're winning by 2. Tre lost 1, and they lost another during the war. The chest will give pieces though, up to 3. So they can still win the round if they get that open."

"What if we end up with the same number of pieces?"

"Then it goes by points. Everything we do gives points to our team, the game keeps track of it and will declare the winner of the round after that chest gets opened. But that chest, if anyone can try, you have to move the pieces of it with magic. Tre wasn't getting that part. Hold your hands towards it and you can move the pieces. Once they line up, the treasure opens."

"We want that box?" I nod fast.

The game flashes, WAR. SINGLE PLAYER. 1 VS 1.

Nadine points at me. "I COME FOR REVENGE."

I smile at my team. "You can't help. It said single player. So watch, I guess."

"She gets to pick her opponent?"

"Yes, in 1 vs 1. The challenger picks."

"Ok."

We take our sides and throw everything at each other again. It ends with me getting eaten by a big plant and her being flattened by an ice meteorite. We both die.

The game flashes, TIE. CALCULATING POINTS. After a few seconds. RED TEAM WINS.

I jump up and down. "I WON." I run back to my team.

Clark smiles. "That was close."

"It really was. I'm thankful for space ice right now." Then I roll the dice. I get on the treasure box. I run over to my side of the game box and get right to it. I use my hands and try so hard to sort the puzzle combination, but it's hard. I get it halfway and my guy dies. "UGH."

Johen gets these little flying creatures that have a lot of teeth. He ends up lighting them on fire and they die.

Tye gets the wind boss. It's a boss battle. There's 1 on every level. He lights it on fire too. The wind makes it spread, and it burns itself out.

Victor has to stay alive in a war zone, with everyone trying to kill him. His team helps though, and he makes it the 60 seconds.

Clark gets a maze. He makes it through, barely though. It was underwater.

Then Tre tries the treasure chest again. He gets it this time.

The game flashes, END OF ROUND 1. TIE. CALCULATING POINTS.... RED TEAM WINS. RESETTING BOARD FOR ROUND 2.

I watch a few boxes of round 2, then I fall asleep on 1 of the boys. Alden picks me up and I snuggle around him.

Jenny looks at the board. "Game, Dipak is going to take Mayra's place."

Clark stretches, "Can he take my place too?"

"Are you all wanting a break?" They make noise. "Do not end the game. I'll see if the rest of them want to try it out."

In the end, Dipak, Marcus, Mason, Victor, and Tre make up the 2 teams. I snuggle with Alden on the couch so we can watch.

I wake up with everyone cheering. There's a big rock golem in the box and a tidal wave knocks him on his ass. Then a fire meteorite slams down on him. He explodes. Alden rubs my arms. I cuddle with him. Then I wake up with them cheering again. The box comes down, and we're hit with a massive amount of sand this time.

"This is another thing the newer versions of the game safe guard against. 1 minute and I will have the sand storm stopped."

I stretch and Alden picks me up. I wrap around him and snuggle.

"You ready to get some dinner, baby?"

"Ok."

Dipak comes over. "We ended the game. Everyone is getting hungry. I want 1 of these games though."

Alden pats my butt. "Yea, they can help a lot with battle magic or even putting people in weird spots and forcing them to think their way out."

"Using their own skills even."

"I think they are 100k. I'll have to check. They usually have to be ordered, but occasionally 1 will be ready to buy. You don't want 1 this old, the new style has safeguards, so the magic is neutralized before the box opens." They laugh.

"Yea, I don't know if getting hit with a sand storm or a blizzard was worse."

Alden motions for a servant. "Set up the ballroom for dinner. Everyone can eat in here. The game is done."

"Yes sir."

Jenny speaks over everyone again. "Thank you everyone. The game is over. I hope you enjoyed it. The game is calculating points to see who won. I have been informed that dinner will be served here. Please feel free to grab a seat as soon as the servants set it up. Red team won the game."