The Arena

This story contains some of the same characters from the story Pancakes. It could be said to be a "The Continuing Adventures of...."

Carl: A many centuries old Paladin. Like all Paladins he has only limited magical ability. His main powers are derived from his ability with weapons, both magical and conventional, ability to heal quickly, his ability as a tactician and his years of experience.

Aradia: A relatively young witch who is near the end her apprentice ship under a powerful witch named Miranda.

Father Marcus: Father Marcus Van Helsing is a Vampire Hunter as well as a Priest. He is a descendent of the Van Helsing family of vampire hunters and he also has a passion for Dallas Cowboys Football.

Satan: The Devil. For the purposes of our story the evil one has no power to act directly on earth but commits his evil acts through his followers.

Vlad: Count Dracula. Lord of the vampires and challenger to Satan's throne.

Anton: Young wizard and Aradia's ex-boyfriend.

Countess Báthory: Evil Sorceress

There is no sex in this story.

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Carl had taken advantage of a naturally occurring storm to go out to a remote area to practice his lightning skills without attracting too much attention. In the old days he could have just gone out regardless of the weather and practiced but now with modern technology's ability to detect lightning strikes a lot of lightning occurring during a clear day would attract too much notice. He figured since he got a handle on the accuracy thing he needed to work on intensity and generating lightning indoors without blowing a hole in the roof or killing himself in the process.

The storm had blown through providing some much needed rain. The downside was it meant that Carl was going to have to mow the grass by the end of the week or the HOA would be having a fit. Through the centuries he had come up against evil in many forms but he felt a Home Owners Association was one of its worse incarnations. There was something about an HOA that seemed un-American. It was not that he was afraid of the HOA but as he needed to be fairly inconspicuous so he did not want to rattle their cage by appearing to be a troublemaker.

He was giving some thought to hiring a lawn and garden service since many of his trips were taking more time and he was not around to take care of the lawn but he was uncomfortable with having strangers poking around the place. The idea of the average human spending so much time in a relatively short life pulling weeds and cutting grass seemed to him to be a modern plague. Perhaps it was more like Sisyphus of Greek mythology. Sisyphus was condemned for eternity to push a large rock up a hill. Once he got it almost to the top it would roll back down and he had to start all over again. There were those in his neighborhood who spent every weekend pulling weeds and cutting grass only to repeat the process all over again the next weekend. He had considered moving to an apartment or condo but that would not provide the privacy he desired.

The sun was out for the drive back to his place but the streets were still wet and the humidity was making the air feel sticky so he had the AC going on full in the truck. Turning down his street he returned the waves of a couple of neighbors. When he got to his house there was jeep parked out front that he recognized as belonging to Aradia. As he got closer he saw her sitting on the hood waiting for him.

Aradia stood all of 5' 6" had a thin athletic build. Her hair color this time looked to be a reddish blonde. She changed it often so he did not know what her real hair color was and never really bothered to keep track. She was dressed in cargo shorts, t-shirt and running shoes and shoulder bag was beside her on the hood of the jeep. Instead of her normal wire rim glasses she had some stylish non Rx sunglasses, must be wearing her contacts he thought.

He pulled into his driveway wondering what this was about. He rarely had visitors except Father Marcus for an occasional Monday night Football game or a planning session if they were going on a mission together.

Carl was getting out of his truck as Aradia hopped off the hood of her Jeep and greeted him with bright smiley "Hey Sir Galahad".. He returned her smile and responded with a polite "Hello" an asked more cautiously "To what do I owe the honor of this visit."

"I understand you are taking a trip soon."

"I might be but perhaps we should discuss this inside" Carl said as he looked around to see if anyone was listening.

He lead the way to the front door checking to make sure none of his security measure had been tripped. His home was well protected by both "magic" charms, symbols and talismans a well as the latest in technology. The home itself sat on a large hexagram that extended out to his property line. In was blended in with landscaping so as not to be easily seen from the street or above. Each door had a powerful Mezuzah while each window had a amulet and crucifix above it to provide protection. He then held the door open for Aradia and followed her inside.

The house was cold, Carl liked his AC, electric bills be damned. Aradia looked around Carl's House as he escorted her toward the kitchen. It was a typical bachelor's pad except cleaner. The living room was dominated by a TV around which the furniture was arranged. There were no plants or sign of pets. There were no pictures on the walls but lots of old maps in frames and a couple of paintings. It turned out Carl's hobby was collecting maps and he favored old maps. Many for those he had were originals as old as he was. He was a fan of that art of cartography. He felt that a well made map was as good as well written book or a good painting. Technology was rending that talent obsolete, a fact that saddened Carl but he was no Luddite and accepted it.

She saw two paintings on his walls of some old battles she was unfamiliar with. If she was more up on her history and art she would have recognized one as a copy of Henry McArdle's "Dawn at the Alamo" the other a copy of Gibb's The Thin Red line.

The kitchen was relatively Spartan with appliances either basic white or stainless steel in color. The floor was a white and gold tile. There was no art work to speak of. There was a small table with 4 chairs around it. In the center of the table were a prepackaged salt and pepper shaker and bottle of Tabasco sauce.

"Have a seat "Carl gestured toward the table as he walked toward the refrigerator. "Would you like something to drink?"

"What do you have?" she replied taking a seat. As he opened the refrigerator she saw a Hooters calendar and a magnetic sticker with the number of a local pizza place on the door. He is a typical guy after all she thought; a 600 or 700 year old Paladin but a guy none the less.

"Beer, coke, water and V-8"

"Diet coke?"

He just stared at her

"Lite Beer?"

He continued to stare then said "You'll have a beer" and he took out two Ziegenbachs.

He took a seat across from her. "Let us see if I figured this out. Marcus told you I was going on a mission and you want to go along, correct?"

"Yes, I figure you and I have never worked together and I could use the experience. He even suggested it would be a good idea."

"Did Marcus happen to mention I was going to a Haiti? It is hardly a place for rookies."

"He did, but I am no rookie. I have been doing this for 5 years. Granted it is not equal to your centuries but I have experience. I was even with Father Marcus when we took out one of Vlad's main covens in Detroit last year. Father Marcus would not have suggested this if he did not think I could handle it."

"Well I see Marcus coached you well in your responses. Do you know what you are going up against?"

"No, and as I understand it neither do you."

"Well you got me there" He looked at her for a few seconds. His face was unreadable but for a fire in his eyes. She just sat there with a bemused smile on her face. "I need to make a phone call. Help yourself to food or another drink." He then got up and left the room.

While she could not hear what he was saying she definitely heard him raise his voice to whomever he was talking too. She figured Father Marcus was getting a butt chewing. Aradia got up and looked into his refrigerator. In it were two packs of microwave bacon, about 4 eggs, left over pizza, bottles of ketchup, mustard and steak sauce the beer, water, cokes and V-8. Surprisingly there was a premade salad, some oranges and a bag of cherries. She opened the freezer and found a half gallon of Cherry vanilla ice cream and a frozen lasagna dinner. On top of the refrigerator was a bag of chips and some dried beef sticks. She grabbed a couple of beef sticks went back to await Carl's return. She thought to herself "he is such a guy."

When he got out of the kitchen Carl used his cell phone to call Marcus.

"Hello"

"What in the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Hey watch the language; you are talking to a priest. I take it Aradia had paid you a visit"

"Don't give me that priest stuff I ought to give you good butt kicking. She is still here. What could you possibly have been thinking by suggesting that young kid come with me to Haiti?"

"Everybody is a young kid compared to you so settle down and listen. First, you are going to Haiti and that is not something anybody should do alone; even you. Second, I can't go with you right now as my shoulder still healing from last month. Nobody else wants to go to that hell hole so that leaves Aradia. Third, she is a darn good witch and I think she is ready for someplace like Haiti. She performed well in Detroit. Granted she is not as experienced or powerful as some but she has a good head on her shoulders and all she needs is some seasoning. Right now I can't think of anybody better for her to go to Haiti with and get that seasoning, can you?"

Carl was still mad but he had calmed down some realizing the Padre had some good points. "When did priests start overseeing the training of witches?"

"I am not overseeing her training but her mentor, Miranda, is going to be gone for a couple of months and she asked me to look after her."

"And what did Miranda say about you sending her pupil off to Haiti with me?"

"She laughed, she said that there was no way you would take Aradia or anybody else along, you are too much a loner. But she has no objection to her going to Haiti with you, she thinks she is ready"

Miranda was a respected and powerful witch, probably the most powerful in North America. Carl had worked with her in the past but she had stopped going on missions and devoted herself to training other witches and the occasional wizard.

Carl sighed "OK, I don't leave till next Friday so I will check her out and decides if she goes. If I don't think she can pull her weight she stays back. "

"Fair enough but if she does go I win $10 dollar off of Miranda."

"Good then you can start paying me back all the money you owe for the Dallas games."

Marcus started yelling about Satan messing with "God's Team so Carl gave him a quick goodbye and went back to the kitchen. Aradia was sitting on the table chewing on a beef stick. She looked up smirking "Well?"

Carl got two more beers for them and sat down across from her. "Here is the way it is going to work.

One. I don't leave till next Friday so that gives me six days to see if you are going along and if so to get you properly equipped. If I decide you don't go you don't go.

Two. Get over any sensitivity you might have. I am told I tend to be blunt and while in battle I cannot afford to worry about hurting your feelings.

Three. I do not run my missions by committee. What I say goes. I will listen to any suggestions you may have but once the fight is on the time for debate is over. When I tell you to do something you do it and you might stay alive. "

Remembering a Charlton Heston movie he added "I have only three commands. When I signal you to come, you come. When I signal you to charge, you charge. And when I signal you to run - you follow me and run like hell. Agreed?"

Aradia smiled and said "Agreed, what do we do first?"

"First at 5am tomorrow you show up here in whatever you exercise in and a good pair of running shoes so I can get a measure of what type of shape you are in. Also bring whatever magical implements you would normally take on a mission with you along with any other gear to include clothing."

Aradia looked down at her beer bottle "Well that sort of bring up a problem I would hope you can help me with."

Oh, Oh Carl thought "Would this problem have anything to do with all that stuff packed into your Jeep?"

"You noticed that?"

"I try to notice everything. Stay alert stay alive as they say. So instead of beating around the bush just tell me what this problem is."

She blushed a little still looking at her beer bottle. "Anton and I have split up. He said he needed some space and that he needed to devote more time to develop his skills. Anyway I am looking for a place to stay"

She was starting to tear up and Carl started to feel a high level of discomfort with this. He had trouble dealing with other people's personal problems. Give him a battle any day but a crying female was out of his comfort zone. Carl's people skills were not exactly he best in the world but even he could see where this was heading.

"Any luck?" He asked.

She just shook her head "There is an apartment opening in a month but I need some place to stay till then."

"What about your mentor Miranda or your friend Rebecca."

"Miranda has a strict no student s living with her rule and Rebecca is dealing with her own relationship problems" She looked at him with tear filled eyes. He could not tell if they were real or merely a ploy to gain sympathy.

"Father Marcus was not able to help you out? I know the school has some on campus apartments for faculty."

She shook her head "You know despite our being on the same side the Church is still not comfortable with an alliance with witches, wizards and such. Father Marcus felt it would be pushing things to have me living there with Nuns and Priests."

"So Marcus knew about your need for living space when he sent you over here?"

She merely nodded, not looking him in the eyes.

Carl made a mental note to himself- give severe beating to a football watching Priest. "OK I see where this is going, I am being played and I am going to regret this but how long do you figure you need a place to stay?"

Aradia instantly perked up. "No more than a month I. You will hardly know that I am here, I promise."

"I bet" He said shaking his head. What about Anton? I am not going to have to deal with domestic drama or a jealous wizard ex-boyfriend am I?"

"No, it was mutually agreed upon breakup. I will confess to hurting some but he should not be a problem. Besides this could be fun. It will be a chance to see what the Báthory bitch fines so attractive about you" she smirked.

Carl frowned at that remembering back when he had rejected Báthory's advancements at the pancake house. She totally lost it and he thought they were going to call the police. With all the shouting and threats it has all the earmark of being on an episode of Cops. Fortunately she just stormed off after unloading her bike off his truck. Nobody saw her for a month but the bodies of four men were found castrated and drained of all blood and it was attributed to her. Carl had some concern that she would, but also hoped, she would try to take her anger out on him directly. It would have presented an opportunity to put her down but it never happened. She showed up at the pancake house a month later acting like nothing ever happened.

"Never mind about her, before we unload your stuff there are going to be some ground rules, my place my rules. If you must listen to rap, hip hop or whatever they call it use headphones or ear buds. I do not want to hear it. You clean up after yourself. My den and bedroom are off limits unless I invite you in. Same applies to me and your bedroom. We respect each other's privacy. You can set up your witching stuff in the garage. I do not want you stinking up the house with your potion making in the kitchen. I have a camp stove you can set up so you can use your cauldron. No parties. You can have overnight guests but please show some discretion. You can eat what I eat or you buy your own food but do not think about changing my diet."

Father Marcus had warned her he would be liked this and she merely smiled and nodded in acceptance of the rules.

Carl had a bit of inspiration and he asked "Can you use a lawnmower?"

They got her stuff unloaded and she settled into the spare bedroom. He sent out for some Vietnamese food and they inventoried her battle gear as he called it. "No need to wait till tomorrow since you are already here."

"Is this cloak magical or is it just a regular cloak" He asked?

"Just a regular cloak."

He tossed into a corner. "It stays behind; a cloak will get hung up on something or can be used against you in close combat." Her jeans and athletic shoes ended in the same pile both inadequate he said. Even her underclothing, rather embarrassingly, failed to pass muster.

Fortunately all her magical items passed.

Then he stated. "Before I forget; no weird piecing, no visible tattoos and no unnatural hair colors. I know there are certain tattoos that you can wear as part of your craft but you can hide them under normal circumstances"

"Are you going to tell me I cannot dye my hair whatever color I want?"

"No, you are free to dye you hair blue, green or whatever, you can pierce your cheeks and eyebrows or get a tattoo on your forehead. What I am telling you is that you cannot do those things and work with me. Not only do those things attract too much attention they are unprofessional. I am surprised Miranda did not cover those things with you."

"She did but they seemed kind of silly and old fashioned. You would be judging me by my appearance not my ability and you know that is wrong. With respect, you are from a different generation. We are merely expressing our individuality "

"Nonsense. How individual is it when all of you have those tribal armband tattoos or tags above your butt? How about when everybody has their nose or belly button pierced? These are not expressions of individuality but fads. It is s not about individuality but fitting in with the so called cool crowd or with a peer group. What I am asking of you is no different than what many private companies expect of their employees while on the clock. They can wear their piercings and expose their tattoos all they want while off the clock but while representing the company they must conform to standards of appearance and conduct.

It is even more important in our line of work were a reputation is very important if you expect to be taken seriously. In this business you have to look as well as act professional. Take Miranda. She is a great and powerful witch who is respected by most all who know her, on both sides. Let me know when she starts dying her hair purple and piercing her nose. You are a young witch but once you get to the level Miranda has obtained you can tattoo your forehead and then it will be just dismissed as eccentric.

Until then just as you went to Miranda to receive training in your magical skills you came to me for battle experience and training. Those are my standards of conduct. You can either do what I tell you or you can stay behind. You did agree do as I say." He stopped for moment and then continued "You are of course still welcome to stay here till you find another place to live but we will not be working together."

Aradia was put back by what was obviously a scolding. Only Miranda had ever dared dress her down like that and that was a couple of years ago. Recovering from her shock she quickly moved to make amends, after all she need the experience he could provide. "You are right I agreed and will follow your rules, accept my apology."