Lottery King 2, page 19
Then a series of trumpets sounded nearby, and Lord Oba’s wrinkled face lit up with giddy excitement.
“It’s time to begin preparing for the race, your majesty,” the balding harpy told me. “It would be my honor to show you back to the prerace area and introduce you to your fellow competitors.”
“That would be great,” I said. “Thank you, Lord Oba.”
“Certainly.” Lord Oba bowed his chin respectfully.
“Firo,” I said as I turned to the dragon-man.
“I will stay with Lady Helena, Poppy, and Rune, your majesty,” Firo said as if he could read my mind, and then he lowered his voice. “Nyxx and Kage will go with you.”
“In the shadows,” I said.
“Of course.” Firo nodded.
“Be safe, my king,” Poppy murmured to me as she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me.
“I will,” I assured her. “It’s just a fun race, and I’ll have Kage and Nyxx with me.”
“Respectfully…” Helena murmured with a sly smile. “Kick their asses, your majesty.”
“Oh!” Surprised laughter burst from my chest. “I’ll do my best.”
“Then you will win,” Helena predicted.
Poppy started to go with Firo and Helena, but then she rushed back and kissed me hard on the lips.
“For luck,” my fiancée said, and then she scurried after Firo, Rune, and Lady Helena.
I chuckled as the group walked behind my seven-foot-tall head of security, and I turned back to find Lord Oba watching me with friendly eyes.
“She is a wonderful woman, your majesty,” the old man said.
“Poppy?” I asked. “Yeah, she’s amazing.”
“Oh, yes, Miss Poppy is very sweet,” Lord Oba said. “I am sure she will be a fine bride for you, but I meant Lady Helena.”
“What?” I asked with surprise.
“If I may be so bold…” Lord Oba said as his wrinkled face flushed a slightly ruddy shade. “Lady Helena looks at you with longing.”
“She does?”
“Mmhmm.” The balding harpy nodded, and then he started to walk toward the rear of the stadium. “This way, your majesty.”
“Uh, yeah…” I mumbled.
I followed the man as my head swam, and I couldn’t stop thinking about when I’d brought Poppy to my sister’s wedding. Both Katie and my best friend, Robin had insisted that Poppy had feelings for me, and I’d been pretty blind to it.
Was I just as blind to Lady Helena’s deeper feelings now?
Lord Oba led me around to a wide-open staging area behind the stadium seating, and I shook my head to bring my thoughts back to the present. Wondering about Helena’s feelings for me would only be a distraction right now.
And it looked like I was about to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The area was set up with huge canopy-style tents, and wooden stalls were set up all along one side of the hundred-yard-long space. Each stall was occupied by every shade of horse I’d ever seen. There were eight single-person chariots lined up in front of the horses, and a large staff of workers rushed around with reins, tack, tools, and all kinds of other things in their arms. It looked like they were mostly sirens, merfolk, faes, and several gorgons, but what really caught my attention was the pair of centaurs at the far end of the tent.
The two half-horse, half-men looked very similar, except for the stark contrast of their hair and the horse-halves of their bodies. One of the centaurs was dark like rich soil, and the other was a light golden-brown color. They were strapping several large sacks of seed into an empty chariot, and a group of five satyrs who were about five feet tall rushed around them.
“Ah, it looks like the twins will be racing,” Lord Oba remarked, and his pleasant eyes were locked on the centaurs.
“The twins?” I asked.
“Yes. Peter,” Lord Oba identified the dark-haired centaur with a nod. “And Philip. They are the reigning champions, in fact.”
“They race?” I asked with surprise, and I tried to picture them standing in the chariots.
But my jaw hit the floor when I saw the team of satyrs begin strapping the chariot’s harness around the centaurs’ bodies.
“What?” I breathed. “Is that… I don’t know… legal?”
“Well, they do run at the same speed as a traditional horse, your majesty.” Lord Oba mused thoughtfully. “The only condition they are required to fulfill is to load their chariot with the average weight of the racers. I believe those sacks total around one hundred and eighty pounds. So they don’t have any significant advantage over a racer with a well-trained team of horses.”
“That’s wild,” I breathed as the horse-men checked the harnesses around their lower bodies.
“Will his majesty be gracing us with his participation?” a merman with soft yellow scales and white hair asked as he walked over to us.
The merman narrowed his deep blue eyes at me with curious suspicion, and he waited for an answer. He wore a short toga that hung from one shoulder and a leather chestplate with sculpted pecs and nipples. He looked like he was about to be an extra in Troy behind Brad Pitt.
“Uh, yes,” I said.
“Then you shall need a change of clothes, your majesty,” the merman said with a smirk at my street clothes.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s traditional to dress as the ancients did, your majesty,” Lord Oba said simply. “This is Lord Atlas.”
“It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, King Michael,” Lord Atlas said, and he bent in a slight bow.
“It’s good to meet you, too,” I replied. “So where do I get the, uh, proper attire for the race?”
Another round of trumpets sounded on the other side of the stadium seats, and Lord Oba’s blue eyes went wide.
“Oh, I should get back to our companions,” the old harpy said. “I wouldn’t want to miss the start of the race. Lord Atlas, will you show our king around?”
“I’d be happy to,” the merman said.
“Excellent.” Lord Oba rubbed his palms together with excitement. “Race with the vigor of the throne, your majesty.”
Before I could ask what the hell that meant, the gray-winged harpy ducked out of the huge party tent, and I was left alone with the yellow-scaled Lord Atlas.
“Come with me, your majesty,” Lord Atlas chuckled. “I believe they have reserved the finest stallions from your stables for you.”
“Right, my stables.” I nodded as shock coursed through me again.
I’d read that I had homes, cars, stables, art galleries, and all kinds of other assets in several major countries and cities around the world. My eyes went round as I was struck again by the insanity of my life, and I thought it was a good thing my heart was healthy, or I might keel over from all the different shocks I received on a daily basis.
This was going to be totally awesome.
Lord Atlas brushed his hand through his chin-length white hair as he led me past the waiting chariots and the row of stalls. He stopped at a pair of stalls that housed the most beautiful black stallions I’d ever seen.
“Here you are, your majesty.” Lord Atlas smirked at the pair of horses.
“They’re gorgeous,” I murmured, and I held my hand palm-up to the horse on the right.
“Ah, and here are your attendants,” Lord Atlas said with a gesture to a group of sirens who were approaching. “I’ll leave you in their much more capable hands so that I may prepare for the race. Good luck, your majesty.”
“Thank you,” I said with a friendly smile. “And good luck to you.”
Lord Atlas smiled brilliantly before he dipped in a slight bow and walked off to a pair of white mares.
“Your majesty,” a shockingly gorgeous female siren murmured. “Here is your racing attire.”
She had long sandy-blonde hair that was half-tied up, and the rest fell down her back in tight spirals. She wore a complicated headband of gold bands and a modern sundress in a toga-inspired style. There was a folded white garment and a leather chestplate like Lord Atlas’ in her outstretched hands.
“Great,” I said as I took the pile, and I looked around.
“You may change over there, your majesty,” the siren said, and she blushed fiercely as she pointed to a curtain across the way.
“Thanks,” I said with a charming smirk that sent the girl into a fit of giggles.
I chuckled to myself as I walked over and found the curtained area was roped off into several stalls like the changing rooms at department stores. Several of them were occupied, and I went to the one at the far end. I shed my clothes and pulled the toga-style costume over my head before I buckled the chestplate into place.
Then I stepped back out to find the sandy-blonde siren and the other workers had finished strapping the black stallions into the chariot’s harness. The pair of horses blinked curiously at me, and I slowly reached out to stroke down the centers of their faces.
“Your chariot is ready, your majesty,” the beautiful siren said in a soft voice.
“Thank you,” I said with my most charming smile.
The group of sirens dissolved into a giggling mess as a brunette siren woman stepped forward.
“While you race, you’ll want to brace your legs a little more than hips-width apart, your majesty,” the siren murmured, and I nodded along as I tried not to get distracted by the hint of a melody in her tone. “Hold the reins and pull each side to direct your horses accordingly, but they are well-trained for these races, so you won’t need to steer them too much. You’ll only need to urge them onward and help them avoid any oncoming obstacles if necessary.”
“Excellent,” I said with another nod, and the brunette blushed as she continued.
“If you lose your balance, simply grab hold of the chariot’s edge in front of you,” she lilted. “And when you reach the curves in the track, be sure to sink into your knees ever so slightly more, and lean your body into the turns.”
“I think I can manage all of that. Thank you for your help.” I grinned, and the siren blushed all over as her eyes briefly met mine.
“It is my pleasure, your majesty,” the brunette seemed to purr.
Then the whole group of them dissolved into giggles once more as they walked away, and I smothered a smug grin as I petted the horses gently. They were calm and peaceful creatures, and I immediately liked them. I wondered how obedient they would be to me, considering I was a total stranger to them, and then I had a strange idea.
I wondered if I could touch their minds through Poppy’s enchantments, and I figured there was no harm in trying. I didn’t even know if Poppy was close enough to me to be able to do it, so I reached out to her mind first.
The familiar presence of my lover’s mind was pretty far off, and it felt like stretching a sorely overlooked muscle as I reached out to the filigreed wisps of her mind enchantments. The sticky fibers came slowly to me, and I guided them gently to the horses in front of me. I kept a hard lock on the power and eased just the tiniest bit of the power to the stallions so I wouldn’t overwhelm them.
The teal tendrils wafted slowly around the horses’ minds, and their black eyes focused solely on my face.
I instantly discarded the idea of speaking directly to them, and instead, I imagined the three of us racing hard and fast down the track. Then I pictured us crossing the finish line with the other racers far behind us in a cloud of dust, and the pair of black stallions nickered softly as if the image was very pleasing to them.
“Think you can bring me to a victory today, boys?” I whispered to the horses.
The pair whinnied gently in response, and there was a vague sense of focus and determination that flowed from their minds now.
I smirked to myself as I released my connection with Poppy’s mind, and a second later, the trumpets sounded once more.
“Racers to the starting line!” one of the gorgon attendants declared in a thick accent from the tent’s entrance. “Racers to the starting line!”
“Good luck, your majesty.” Lord Atlas smirked as he guided his team of white mares toward the procession of chariots leaving the tent.
I nodded my thanks as I stepped up onto the little racing chariot, and I scooped up the leather reins in my hands.
The other chariots and racers wished me words of fortune for my race, and they offered respectful bows as they joined the line.
“It’s an honor to race with you, your majesty,” a male siren with slicked back platinum-blond hair said as he passed.
But the racer behind the siren glared at me with an unreadable expression as he guided his maple-brown horses past. He was a gorgon with white snakes that had a strange red diamond pattern down their backs. The pattern screamed “poison” to the primitive parts of my brain, and the snakes hissed at me as the racer went by.
“Fun,” I muttered sarcastically under my breath, and then I guided my horses into the line with the other chariots.
The two black stallions obeyed my gentle tugs on the reins without hesitation, and I had a feeling we were going to be an excellent team.
The string of chariots wound out of the tent, around the stadium walls, and to the inner tracks. The place was much larger than I’d first thought, and I wondered if a local witch had used a bit of magic to extend the place like Isla did with my mansion in Orlando.
It didn’t take me long to spot Poppy’s bright teal hair and Helena’s tawny wings in the stands. They were in the fourth row up, and around the center of the turn at the far end of the track.
A group of werewolves, faes, and gorgons directed us to the starting line, and my opponents’ horses bristled with excited anticipation as the crowds cheered and hollered.
I was directed to a middle lane, and there were three chariots to my left and four on my right. The gorgon who’d glared at me as he passed was in the further lane on the outside of the track, and his white-and-red snakes continued to glare at me as he stared straight ahead. Lord Atlas was in the lane one over from me, and he gave me a friendly nod and a smile as we waited for the race to start.
“Welcome!” a female voice shouted over the loudspeakers, and the crowds erupted into a frenzy of cheers. “Welcome to the Royal Races! We honor our new monarch, King Michael of the Eternal Realms!”
Another hurricane of shouts, cheers, and applause thundered through the open-air stadium, and I wondered how far the sound carried through the city.
The announcer waited for several long seconds until the cheers died down a little bit, and then she spoke again.
“King Michael,” the female voice announced, and all heads turned toward me except the irritated gorgon at the outside lane. “We welcome you to Athens, and to our world. May the Goddess protect you and guide you for many years to come! Now, let’s race!”
The crowds made so much noise then, and I wondered if the ancient stadiums would crumble to dust under their stomping feet and screaming voices. The cacophony was so loud that I almost missed the sound of the trumpets, and I only realized it was the prestart signal because all the other racers took hold of their reins and focused on the track ahead.
Thankfully, I spotted the readiness of my opponents out of the corner of my eyes, and my black stallions pawed at the ground with impatience. I grabbed hold of the reins as I reached out quickly to Poppy’s enchantments, and I gave the horses a quick reminder of our goals for the race.
The beautiful pair whinnied with excitement, and a second later, the trumpets sounded one sharp note.
My brain felt like it wound the whole world down to super slow-motion, and everything happened all at once.
Dust puffed up into the air as sixty-four hooves dug into the dirt and launched all eight chariots into the race. The crowds exploded with the adrenaline of exciting competition, and my body was jerked forward in an instant.
“Fuck!” I gasped.
I clung to the reins as my black stallions shot forward, and I had to lean hard toward the front of my vehicle. My knees bent just enough to buffer the impact of the old-fashioned wooden chariot wheels over the dirt track.
About half of the racers had made a better start than me, so I was smack in the middle of the group. Lord Atlas laughed noisily in the chariot ahead of me, and he let out a whoop of excitement as we all barreled toward the first turn.
The pair of centaurs were just a hair behind me, and I wondered if they were intentionally holding themselves back. That suspicion was confirmed when the lighter centaur gave me a sly grin, and the pair dropped even further back.
A sharp whistle accompanied the familiar voice of my fae lover cheering me on as we swerved at top speed around the corner, and I did just as the beautiful brunette siren had instructed me. I sank more into my knees and leaned into the turn as I attempted to work with the momentum of my horses.
The track was rough, and there was no suspension system on the traditional chariots. My teeth rattled inside my head as my horses galloped down the dirt path, but we quickly overtook Lord Atlas.
“Whoo! King Michael!” the white-haired merman shouted as I passed him.
I couldn’t stop the grin or the gasp of excitement as the thrill of the race consumed me. A snap of the reins drove the black stallions to a new level of energy, and a slight sheen of sweat started to cover their black coats.
We gradually passed a male harpy with ruddy wings, and he gasped as my horses and I inched closer to the lead.
The gorgon with the white-and-red snakes was currently in third place, and he’d worked his way to the center of the track. My chariot pulled up alongside his as my horses and I worked to move through the pack.
I shot him a grin that was both friendly and competitive, and the gorgon glared at me like Luigi with a green turtle shell. My chariot inched ahead of his for a moment, but then he snapped his reins hard on the backs of his horses.
The hostile gorgon’s chariot started to pass mine once more, and we battled back and forth three times for an advantage over each other.
Then he did something I wasn’t expecting.
The hostile gorgon yanked so hard on the reins that his horses whinnied with pain, and his chariot slammed sideways into mine.
