Chapter 124: Challenge

I didn't sleep. I paced the room. I tossed and turned in bed, but I never managed a wink of sleep. Hours ticked by. Painful minutes ticked by. There was nothing. No word. No text or message. I was just stuck in the dark and I didn't dare bother them because it could mean life and death.
At seven o'clock in the morning, I stumbled down the stairs on tired legs. I wanted to sleep, needed it, but I couldn't. I made some cereal and sat looking out at the sun in the sky over the city. The harsh sun reminded me of my garden. I let my mind wander to that peaceful place. I thought about the blooms, the sun, and the pink glow. Before I knew it, I was standing in my garden.
The plants were still there, but they looked wilted. The ones next to the stream were okay, but the rest looked a little frazzled. I added more of the glittering water next to them and they slowly perked up. I touched others and they blossomed again. The tiredness slowly drained from me as I walked through my creations.
I worked at some hedges that grew into shapes of animals. I changed the marble ground into a soft soil full of nutrients for the plants. I got lost in creating things again.
A small irritation struck me. I couldn't quite pinpoint it. It was like it was calling to me from far away. I tried to ignore it, but it grew more persistent. I realize someone was trying to wake me. I willed myself awake. Liam's face loomed in front of the table. He was bent down eye-level with me, his face a wash of concern.
"Beloved?"
I lifted my head off the table. The bowl of cereal sat next to me only half-finished with a splatter of milk across the table. I looked around. The sun had risen. The clock read one o'clock.
I turned back to Liam. "What's wrong?" I asked. My tongue felt thick as I fought to wake up.
"The leader of the Elves, Lord Quillion, is here to see you."
"I thought you were handling all the faction business from now on?"
"He has brought his army. He has come to issue a challenge to you for rights to this faction."
I frowned. "Well, that's not good."
I pulled myself up onto my feet using the table to steady myself. I had almost no energy left. I used all the crystals I had to barter for those contracts. How was I going to defeat this guy?
Liam must have caught my expression because his worry lines deepened. "Beloved, are you okay?"
I nodded. "Yes. Do we have any crystals in storage?"
"A few. I will send for them." He pulled out a phone and texted.
I still wore my boots, jeans, and a t-shirt. I didn't feel like a badass, but I did feel like me. That was a step in the right direction, I supposed. I grabbed my leather jacket from the back of the dining room chair and threw it on. Surprisingly, that did feel like me. I liked the weight of it and the protection it offered.
Liam finished his text and looked down at me. "Are you ready?"
I nodded. "Let's do this."
I walked down the steps with as much purpose as I could muster. I was still battling back the grogginess from my garden time. I wasn't sure if I was actually asleep and dreaming it all up or what was going on with that.
One of the brothers met me on the bottom of the steps in the bar with a basket of crystals. They glowed all sorts of colors, some white, some blue, some green. They were not ones I had filled. It seemed that Matei didn't know how to change power into his own, either. I set my hand on the crystals and drew in their power.
I wanted to burp, I felt so full. All the different powers jostled around inside me.The nausea made me sway. Liam held my waist to steady me. I swirled the powers together with my own. Slowly they started to morph, but it was going to take time. I was going to need to stall.
"You need to hurry," Amaan said, "They are getting antsy out there."
I nodded. Liam supported part of my weight as we wove through the bar. Brothers and sisters stood with guns and swords drawn. There weren't many in the bar, which meant everyone else was outside, ready to fight.
I took one last look over my shoulder at the bar. This may be my last time seeing it. Cherry shot me a thumbs-up. A few others nodded to me. I nodded back, then turned and headed to my fate.
We exited the double doors. Liam let me walk on my own for the last couple of steps before they opened. The afternoon light was bright compared to the dimly lit bar. It took my eyes a few minutes to adjust, but I stood tall as I strode forward into it.
My vision cleared. I took in the army that had amassed outside our gates. Brothers and sisters of Ardor stood with weapons clenched in their fists. They tried to put on relaxed looks like they weren't worried, but I could feel the tension in the air. The other side was a solid wall of elves. They stood tall and thin, but didn't move. They looked like frozen statues. If I stared long enough, I would see one blink, but I had to stare a long time.
Lord Skorn Quillion stood at the front. He held a long sword in his hand with the blade towards the ground as he waited. I marched towards him with Liam to one side and Granite on the other, who had joined us on my short walk across the parking lot.
I bowed my head slightly as I approached. "Lord Quillion," I said, coming to a stop.
His cold ice-blue eyes watched me. "I would greet you, but I don't know your name."
"I'm not here for niceties. I hear you wish to challenge me."
"Indeed. I don't think you really are the leader of this faction, or if you are, you're doing a poor job of leading them. I have come to relieve you of your position. They will be in very capable hands with me. I have led my faction for fifty-four years."
"And I see you have only promoted elves to the battlefield."
"I have only brought my most superior fighters. They only happen to be elves."
"And where would orcs and giants appear in your order? Perhaps scraping out the sewers? Hauling garbage? In my faction, race doesn't matter. Anyone can do anything."
"You are so na飗e. You will learn, little girl." He tilted his head to the side with a jerk. "Actually, you won't. Today will be your last day. I challenge you for your faction. Choose a champion if you don't think you can handle it, but at the end of the day, you will die."
"And if I win?"
"You won't win."
Liam and Granite growled behind me. I lifted my hand to quiet them.
"Then it's not a challenge; it's an execution. Tell me what I win if you die at the end of the day. What does the Great Lord Quillion have that I want? Do you wager your faction? Your firstborn? Your left arm?"
The sneer he gave made his handsome face ugly. "All of it."
I shook my head. "I don't want all of it. I don't want your people as part of my faction. They are bigots and entitled elites. They will only treat us as like dirt. I don't have the energy to reteach them how to treat others equally."
"Then what do you want?"
"If you win, then I will step down as leader. I don't know how these guys will take it," I pointed my thumb over my shoulder at the brothers, "But stepping down is the best I can do. If they fight back, that's on you. If I win..." I surveyed his army. "You leave. We call a truce and lasting peace between your faction and ours for the next fifty years. It will be written in blood."
"How can I sign a contract when I'm dead?"
I smiled to myself. If only he knew that death was all about contracts. "I don't want to fight to the death. If you want to kill me, then try, but I won't kill you. We will fight until one of us submits."
"I will kill you."
"I realize that. I'm not afraid to die for these men and women. What I'm saying is you don't have to."
"I won't. You are very cocky for a little girl."
I shrugged. "I am only trying to be myself."