The Tribrid War: Book 1 of the Tribrid series

Dusk slowly overcame the sky causing the streets to take on a new life of their own. The taverns and surrounding alleyways came alive as men and women, worn out from their long work day looked for different ways to relax. The Midnight Rose, the largest tavern in Alaria, well-known for its loose women and strong alcohol was bustling with activity. The bartender took his time as he poured the patrons drinks with care, while waitresses in skimpy outfits and high heels delivered the drinks to their intended recipients. The overall mood was energetic and lively as the usual patrons had ordered their drinks and circulated to their usual activities of gambling and spectating.

Next door to the main tavern, an adjoined room was often visited by the gamblers of Alaria. This room was filled to the brim with people and helped fill the tavern with the strong aroma of smoke and alcohol. Placed strategically around the room, numerous tables were occupied as the occupants sat quietly. The ‘poker faces’ were out in full force that evening, as the poker players continued to throw their cards with confidence. The gamblers kept their faces void of emotion and their voices silent as the stakes continued to increase with each chip thrown on the table. The grim reality of the situation was overshadowed by the hope that these gamblers would be blessed by Lady Luck allowing them to win their fortune. However, a few knew that they could possibly lose all that they hold dear.

At the far end of the card room sat a staircase, this staircase descended into one of the busiest sections of the Midnight Rose. Entrance into the arena came with a steep price, but once paid, a whole new world opened up at the foot of those steps. The Midnight Arena was a place where humans, Werewolves, Vampires, and other mystical creatures congregated. They used this room to place bets and watch interspecies fights that took place in a large square ring in the center of the room. This particular evening the room was buzzing; filled with gamblers who were frantically trying to reach their bookies to get their bets in on time, as another fight was about to begin.

An eerie silence soon filled the room as all eyes followed the announcer, who was headed towards the ring to announce the contenders of the next fight. This fight was extremely important as both contenders were the best at what they did. The winner of this match would rise in the fighting ranks, increasing their reputation as well as their overall payout. The announcer carefully grabbed the microphone from the sidelines and sent a strict look toward the Bookies. He followed that look with a distinct hand motion that was signifying that it is time for them to close down all bets. The Bookies finished their current transaction and closed their windows; the disgruntled sighs of those who couldn’t get their bet in instantly filled the room.

Once the announcer had acknowledged that all of the bets were completed, he took a breath and looked around the crowd. The anticipation had filled the room and he couldn’t help but be excited about what was about to happen. “Ladies and Gentleman welcome to the Midnight Arena! Tonight we match two contenders with less than three defeats apiece. Only one will come away victorious. Let me introduce the challenger! With a record of 35 wins and one loss, this fighter is well known for his quick thinking and even quicker punching. Please welcome Armando!”

Armando walked up to the stage and she watched her opponent carefully. His black hair was full of gel and slicked back into a ponytail. The white T-shirt he was wearing was filled with dirt, holes, and blood. The stains that this simple T-shirt contained expressed to her the fact that this man is no stranger to fighting. The shirt also enhanced his muscular build and tattoos, Raven couldn’t help but be impressed with this man. Armando climbed into the ring and began to stretch his arms in preparation for the upcoming fight. He turned and smirked at his opponent as the announcer began to continue.

“The challenger is also well-known in the Midnight Arena with a record of 35 wins and two losses. She is known for her quick feet and black mask, please welcome Raven!”

This is it.

Raven thought to herself as she began to walk towards the ring, she focused her eyes only on her opponent and blocked out the roar of the crowd. The butterflies in her stomach were making her feel sick, it was a feeling that could make or break this fight. She knew that the nervousness was due to the potential of another loss. She had to win this fight, a win this evening would positively impact her fighter ranking in the arena. The rise in rank would give her even more credibility and access to tougher opponents, which would result in bigger payouts. Raven slowly climbed into the ring and removed her oversized hoodie and tossed it over the side of the ring. She pulled her long black hair into a ponytail and adjusted her mask to ensure it stayed on and didn’t impact her vision. Her eyes once again drifted towards her opponent, who stood there with confidence. Once their eyes locked, he glared daggers at her, an arrogant glare which she instantly returned.

“Keep the fight clean you two: the first one to get their opponent to tap out or knock out their opponent is the winner.” The announcer specified the rules to the contenders as he switched his gaze between the two of them. Once they both nodded in agreement, the announcer slowly stepped back towards the edge of the ring, crawled under the ring ropes, and exited. The room got quiet as Raven and Armando stood there and continued to stare daggers at each other.

Raven and Armando squared off and continued to stare at each other with pure disgust; they finally stopped once the familiar bell rang to start the match. With the signal to start, Armando wasted no time and charged toward Raven as he threw a right hook aimed at her face. She ducked the punch and dodged to the left a bit which exposed an opening in his stance, she exploited this opening with a roundhouse kick to his side. The first connecting attack caused the crowd to fall into silence, only to be drowned out by the loud snapping sound of bones as they broke. Armando fell to his knees, his face distorted in a scowl as the pain of his broken ribs overwhelmed him. He knew he had lost the upper hand, and that he needed to figure out a way to get it back quick.

Raven charged him as he sat on his knees in pain; however, he saw her coming. Armando used the opportunity to follow up with a sweep kick. The kick connected and knocked her feet out from under her, causing her to collapse to the ground. With Raven lying on the floor in front of him on her back, Armando used this advantage to roll onto her and straddled her. He followed up with numerous punches that connected with her face and chest.

Raven knew she needed to find a way to break free of this position or she was going to lose the fight. She quickly threw up her left arm which blocked his latest punch and countered with a solid right hook to his ear. The impact from the counter punch managed to knock him off of her; which gave her the time she needed to stand back to her feet. She noticed that Armando was attempting to stand as well; he had a firm grip on the ropes and was wearily trying to pull himself up. With all the strength she could muster, Raven charged him quickly. However, he saw her coming and ducked out of the way of the right hook she threw towards his face. He straightened his body and managed to get his arm around her head and locked her in a tight headlock.

Darkness started to overcome her as his arm continued to grip tighter around her throat. Desperation overwhelmed her at the thought of losing this opportunity of rising in the fighters’ ranks. However, she knew that in order to win she needed to get free of this headlock. A memory crossed her mind; the memory of a move that she was taught to her for just this scenario. Smiling to herself she allowed her body to go limp, The false sense of victory gave Armando a confidence boost of victory and he began to weaken his hold. Meanwhile, Raven slid her arm behind him and up to his face; she then slid her thumb directly under his nose. Once her thumb was in place, she pushed up with all the strength she could muster, which caused his head to yank up and backward. With Armando off balance, his grip loosened and gave Raven the opportunity to wrap her arms around his neck and lock him in a chokehold. The fatigue was wearing on them both, and Armando was gasping for breath as he tried shifting his body to break the hold. Eventually, he stopped his struggling enough to cause Raven to look down at her opponent. Her mouth grew into a smile as she looked at the man who lay limp in her arms; she had determined that Armando was unconscious.

Raven released the body of her opponent and backed away slowly. She turned and smiled announcer as she held her hands in a surrender position and nodded her head in a ‘yes’ motion. The announcer nodded in acknowledgment and climbed up onto the ring apron; she beamed and threw her arms in the air as the crowd erupted in excitement for the fight they just witnessed. “THE WINNER IS RAVEN,” The announcer proclaimed to all of the spectators in attendance. His voice was drowned out by the excited cheering of the crowd. The cheers of the winners filled the room, while a patron or two screamed in defeat, knowing that their hard-earned funds were long gone. Raven swiftly exited the ring, looked around the room, and found her hoodie. She scooped it up and began to walk towards the exit of the arena. Her walk through the spectator area of the arena was filled with numerous pats on the back and congratulations from those who watched the fight.

She had almost reached the door when her eyes settled on a man who was sitting alone drinking his bourbon and smoking a cigarette. The man observed her as she walked out of the room, he couldn’t help but let his eyes roam her body and smirked once he realized she saw him and rolled her eyes in disgust then left the arena. The man downed the remaining half a glass of his bourbon and took a drag off of his cigarette. He glanced over the fight roster and began to check out the contestants who were next in line to fight. The options in this fight were boring; they were two humans who were relatively weak in ranking. The man began to observe the interactions of those in the tavern when his concentration was quickly broken by the sound of a message coming across his phone.

It is time.

These three words could mean anything to anyone who received it; however, they meant one thing in particular to this man. He took the last drag off of his cigarette and slammed it down onto the ashtray which the flame extinguished into a puff of smoke. He stood to his feet and walked to the exit of the arena, followed by the exit of the tavern.

The bustling nighttime streets of Alaria surrounded him as he closed the door of the tavern behind him. This particular night was foggy and cloudy. This fog filled the air with an extremely ominous aura, which caused the overall mood in Alaria very unsettling. The man continued to walk down the street until the lights of Alaria castle came into view even through the dense fog. The castle was located at the head of the town and was home to the Alarian ruler King Richard and Queen Katherine. The King and Queen were well-loved by their subjects, not only for their honesty but also because of their empathetic ideals. It was because of these two monarchs that peace continued for years in Alaria. It was due to their persistence, that a peace treaty was formed with the Vampire and Werewolf kingdoms. This accord allowed the shifter kingdoms to take part in local festivities allowing intermingling between the three races. Each of the kingdoms signed this treaty; however, they tended to stay to themselves. With the exception of the Midnight Arena which tends to feed off of the primal urges that the shifters have when it comes to fighting.

The man kept to the shadows and continued to follow the road towards the castle. He stayed hidden and mainly walked in alleyways and dark corners. Eventually, he stopped and took shelter in a dark alleyway. It was in this alley that the man took the time to turn his phone on silent and spray himself down with a special smell canceling serum as a precautionary measure. He noticed the glow of his phone as it lit up, he glanced down to look at it as another text flashed across the screen.

Use the right-side entrance.

The man smiled in affirmation and excitement as he quietly followed the castle walls past the main entrance, and made his way to the right side of the wall. A few conveniently stacked boxes leaned against the wall almost like an invitation to enter. “How convenient,” the man said quietly as he sneered in anticipation. He used the boxes to scale the wall and gave him access to enter the castle grounds. Bushes and statues provided cover for the man as he continued to sneak through the courtyard. Finally, he found the door which was used for entry by the servants. He pulled his lock-picking tools out of his pocket, picked the lock, then carefully and quietly opened the door and the castle kitchen.

The castle was dark and quiet, with it being 2:30 am many of the servants were asleep. Those who were still awake were in their chambers, which easily allowed him the freedom to exit the kitchen and enter the main castle hallways. The man continued to follow the hallway, he crept past numerous doors undetected and continued towards his target of the steps to the upper levels. Before he could reach the stairs, the muffled sound of footsteps drew closer, which caused the man to take refuge in one of the unlocked rooms on the left side of the hallway. He quickly shut the door and peeked out of the crack he left in the door. A quick glimpse of a passing guard coming closer caused the man to tense up. He quietly shut the door and exhaled a nervous breath.

“Who are you?” The words projected from the other side of the room as he turned to see a servant. The servant held tightly onto the handle of his broom with a confused and scared expression on his face as he stared back at the man.

“The last thing you will ever see!” Was the answer he gave as he sprinted towards the curious servant with non-human speed. He quickly snapped the servant’s neck before the innocent could even scream for help. The man quietly placed the servant’s body on the ground and began to sneak back towards the door. He placed his ear against the door and listened intently for any noise, hearing none, with the silence that awaited him, he assumed the guard has moved on to a different hallway. Silently he opened the door, returned to the hallway, and checked his surroundings one more time. The room was empty so he exhaled in relief and began to refocus on his goal of the steps to the upper levels. Finally, he reached his intended destination; the steps to the royal wing on the third floor. He silently ascended the stairs as caution and excitement fill his body.

He continued his stealthy walk down the hallway towards the last door of the royal wing, when suddenly; he was alerted by a passing guard. The man quickly hid in the shadows and held his breath to help avoid detection. The unaware guard continued on his patrol, allowing the man to exit his hiding spot. Finally, he ended up at his intended destination and stared at the cherry door in anticipation. The man grimaced in annoyance as his eyes moved over the one last obstacle that prevented him from his entering that door. That obstacle was one palace guard who stood there alert and aware of his surroundings; as he scrutinized intently for anything or anyone that shouldn’t be there. The man decided that continuing to keep his distance as he handled this issue would be best, so he remained hidden as he crawled into a dark corner. The corner allowed him a good view of the guard who was protecting the door. Once snug in his protective spot, he grabbed a small dagger he kept in a holster on his ankle, aimed, and threw it towards the guard. The knife hit the unsuspecting guard right in the heart and instantly he fell to the floor dead. Once the guard fell to the ground lifeless, the man began to slink closer to the room, grabbed the corpse, and quietly opened the cherry door the dead guard was protecting.

The man dragged the guard’s body into the room behind him and dropped it to the floor as he scanned the room. His eyes locked onto his target that was lying on the bed in slumber. Smiling defiantly, he stayed low to the ground as he stalked his prey, and slinked towards his destination. He approached the bed and looked down at the person who slept peacefully in it; an evil smile crossed his lips from the excitement of what he was about to do. Suddenly, Queen Katherine opened her eyes in surprise and fear as hands were harshly thrown over her mouth.

“Allow me to apologize to you Your Majesty, but this is going to hurt you much more than it will hurt me.” He smirked at her as his teeth began to expand into canines and claws and fur was growing from his hands.