72

It took another two weeks for Coach to organize the fight and he wanted me to be first up. I had started spending time with the other ten guys at school. They weren’t professional fighters but the fear of juvie kept them fighting even when most of them didn’t want to.

The fights usually consisted of them being beaten up by adults which was hardly fair and I could see some of them were sick of it. They got paid just enough to keep them wanting more but not enough to stop or say anything.

“It’s basically a blood sport where people bet on how fast our asses will be kicked in that ring,” Michael said as we sat at one of the outside tables.

“Grown ass men, ex boxers, fighters or just plain crazy guys looking to vent kicking our asses all over the place, no fear of being arrested and they pay to hit us,” Denver remarked.

“That’s bullshit actually,” I said as they looked at me.

“There’s nothing we can do, we come from the wrong side of the tracks, bad track record at school and the coach has us by the balls,” Shane said and I shook my head.

“So what happens if I win?” I asked them.

“Nobody ever wins,” Shawn said.

“It’s better to just lose that first fight and still be able to walk away,” Henry said.

“So are we all fighting on Friday night?” I asked.

“Yeah, every first Friday of the month,” Malcolm said.

“One day I’d like to kick Coach’s ass,” Will said and we all laughed.

“Don’t we all,” Carl mused.

I spoke in detail to Wentworth that afternoon and he told me that Felix was already here in Monterey. He would be joined by another team that would track my movements, break up the fight ring and take the Coach and organizers into custody. I wasn’t to do anything accept help apprehend and detain.

Felix was waiting in my living room when I got home later on to get ready for the fight and I smiled as he lay on the couch and flicked through the channels on the television.

“Still breaking and entering Felix,” I said as I closed the front door behind me.

“I didn’t break anything,” he said as he smiled and we bumped fists together.

“Did you already finish your assignment?” I asked him.

“Of course, I don’t waste time like other people,” he said and I laughed.

“Of course not, how did it go?” I asked him.

“Ah the usual, quite boring actually, we broke up a coven of witches dealing in dark magic,” he said.

“I should get ready for tonight,” I said as I put my bag down and headed to my bedroom as Felix followed me.

“It’s not a fashion show Ryder, what do you want to get ready?” he asked me.

“Have you seen the state of my hair?” I asked him and ran my fingers through it as he laughed at me.

“Shit man, just do your thing,” he said as he left my room and I laughed lightly.

I packed a backpack, shorts to fight in, a towel and a water bottle. I didn’t want to shower before the time since I’d have to shower afterwards in any way. Felix was lounging on the sofa again as I took the seat across from him and lay down with my eyes closed.

“That was fast,” he said and I grinned.

“Do you know if Wentworth’s going to wait for me to physically fight tonight?” I asked him.

“Probably, more proof if there are a few fights before we swoop in and close it down,” he said.

“Yeah, I just feel sorry for the other guys, they’re basically being paid to get their asses kicked,” I said to him.

“Shit and they’re all human?” he asked me.

“Yeah they are,” I confirmed.

“You should get going, I’ll see you there,” he said.

“Be careful, we know nothing about the organizers, but Wentworth didn’t want to wait with this,” I said to him.

“I bet you a hundred bucks the organizers are either wolves or vampires,” he said with a grin.

“No thanks, you always win these bets,” I said as he laughed again.

I left Felix at the house and headed to the forest where we met up with Coach and followed him to the venue. He didn’t tell us where it was before the time and I had to figure out a way to let Wentworth know because I had no idea if they were going to take our phones or not.

It was already seven thirty pm when we reached the dingy boxing club and parked in the back. Coach led us through a back door and I hung back to send my location to the team. I switched the phone off and went inside where Coach stood with a plastic basket and I saw several other phones in it already. I left my phone in the basket and followed the guys through to a dressing room.

I was up second and Henry’s fight was first. We stripped and put our shorts on and then made our way to the boxing ring. The crowd stood shoulder to shoulder, shouting bets as they looked at us and I could smell the pungent aroma of sweat, adrenaline and fear.

I watched Henry’s mismatched fight. The man he was up against was probably twenty-five or so and he was muscular, much more than Henry and he was much taller than him too. Henry didn’t stand a chance and he was knocked unconscious after forty seconds into the fight.

Coach nodded to me and I climbed into the ring, I was taller and much more solidly built than any of the other boys he had brought and the man that entered the ring was actually shorter than me. People were whispering wondering if I was seventeen and Coach showed them the fake birth certificate that had been sent to the school when I was enrolled.

I rolled my shoulders a few times as I looked at the man. He looked like a fighter and I could see that going for his stomach might not be a mistake. His abs were defined but my punches would hurt as I could smell he was human. These muscles were more for show than from actual fighting.

The bell rang and he came at me quickly and I gave him two short jabs to the nose and made it bleed. He had underestimated my youth for inexperience. Coach had lectured us before the time, we were supposed to lose these matches, people paid to watch us lose.

Losing wasn’t in my nature and even if I wanted to lose I couldn’t. Abeloth wasn’t a loser either and I could feel him as he nudged me to win. The man connected with my ribs but I barely felt it as I went in with both fists and I heard the satisfying crack as two of his ribs broke.

He slowed down and his breathing got more labored and I went in again and hit the same two ribs before pulling him down to the floor and squeezing his throat shut with my arm. He lifted his body with his heels and pushed back with his shoulders but I gripped him tighter and he tapped out.

Coach was glaring at me and a lot of people cheered not realizing yet that they had lost their money. I stood up and made my way to the corner to climb out when Coach hissed at me to stay inside. The second man climbed into the ring and from the corner of my eye I saw Felix as he watched me.

“Lose this match or you’re done for,” Coach said as he glared at me.

“Sorry Coach then I’m done for, I don’t lose,” I said to him as all chaos broke out.

People crashed into the room wearing combat gear with rifles aimed at the organizers and I leapt out of the boxing ring as I saw the Coach make a beeline for the back entrance. I punched him once in his kidney as he faltered and I pushed him forward against the wall.

“Devlin Jones, you are hereby placed under arrest for the illegal organization and participation of fight clubs with minors under Section Eleven of the Council Law of the jurisdiction of California,” I said as I held my arm against the back of his neck pinning him against the wall.

“The what?” he asked me.

“Who are you working for?” I hissed near his ear.

“Jackson Clark,” he said and Felix nodded as he moved away from us.

One of the team members that I only knew as Six handcuffed the Coach and led him outside to the transportation van that would take them to an undisclosed location where they would stand trial and be executed, their bodies disposed of never to be found and the world would always wonder what happened to the beloved football coach of Monterey.

I saw the blur from the corner of my eye and timed my movement as I grabbed the vampire by his neck and picked his body up and slammed it down hard on the floor. I twisted his neck in one movement and called another team member over to inject him with Angel’s Trumpet which incapacitated them the same as Wolfsbane did to wolves and Dragon Lily did to dragonkin.

It was over with fast as the humans that were betting were taken away by local police after a noise complaint was called in and we had taken the supernatural beings away. We had arrested just one human, the Coach, and he would stand trial with the others. Four vampires and three wolves were taken too as the ring leaders and organizers of the fights.

“You did good Ryder,” Wentworth said as he walked over to me. I was now dressed in my jeans again and I had spoken to the other guys from school and told them that I was working undercover with the police and that my name couldn’t be mentioned in any statement as I was still busy with my investigation.

“Thanks, when do I leave on my next assignment?” I asked him and he laughed.

“Hey, Joe, you owe me a hundred, the kid already asked,” Wentworth yelled over his shoulder and I saw one of the trainers sigh and take out his wallet.

“Assholes,” I said as Joe paid Wentworth.

“You’re with Felix now, there are rogue wolf packs and vampire covens organizing attacks on both groups. Search and kill,” he said and Felix slung his arm across my shoulders.

“You up for a road trip?” he asked me.

“Are you driving?” I asked him.

“Not my fault I can go longer without sleep,” he said with a smile.

“You drive like a maniac,” Abeloth said as he pushed through and my eyes blazed yellow.

“Come on Abe, be on my side for once,” Felix said as Abeloth grunted in response.

“I hate it when he calls me Abe,” Abeloth said in my mind.

“One of these days he’s going to kick your ass,” I said to Felix.

“Let’s get you home and clean Cinderella,” he said to me.

“Piss off Felix,” I said to him, “I barely worked up a sweat.”

“I know but your hair looks terrible,” he said and laughed as he mussed it up and ran full speed out of the back door.

“Felix has your itinerary and the first location of where we traced these groups to, you kids have fun,” Wentworth said as he turned back to speak with Joe.

We weren’t sentimental and I left right after that not even saying goodbye to anyone, we never said goodbye, it was bad luck for us to do it. I got in the truck and drove home to find Felix waiting there sipping his drink from a chilled blood bag.