"Not at all," Owen said. "The clan would be weak if we all tried to help each other. Winning individual events strengthens the avatars, and that strengthens the clan."
"Spoken like a true clan leader," Anya said as she came closer. She slipped an arm through Owen's. "That's also why Owen is here
mostly to give pep talks and sign autographs. And, apparently, help you cheer up, too."
"Cheer up?" Alison asked.
"Yes. Didn't you know? Quinn is Sienna's baby sister. Owen's taking care of her for a while," Anya said. "By the way, Owen, you and I have that panel discussion."
Before Owen could say anything else, he was led away.
Alison put a hand on my arm and said, "I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. She wasn't right for Owen, but that doesn't mean any us of wished her ill."
I shrugged off her hand and sympathy. It felt exactly as if Anya had cast a Frostbite Spell over me. The rest of the Light Clan gathered to discuss lunch, and it was clear that Anya had spoken to them all.
"Dear girl, want to join Tony and I at the spa after lunch? Owen's got a full schedule and we don't want you to feel lonely," Milan said. He brushed my hair back over my shoulder.
"Lonely? No, I'm fine. In fact, I have to go get ready for my tournament," I replied.
"You're going to play? That's great. Owen tried forever to get your sister interested. I mean, good luck," Artemis bit her lip at the mention of my sister.
"It’s okay," I said, facing the group. "My sister and Owen were over before the rest of it. You can stop treating me like the sad little sister. Owen doesn't. He and I have known each other for years, and our friendship had very little to do with Sienna. I don't know what Anya told you, but I'm not here to be taken care of or pitied, and that's not why Owen invited me."
They all nodded, but I could tell by their looks I had more to prove than my playing ability.
I left the ballroom as fast as I could and was glad the desk clerk Dave had given me a map. I found the conference room just in time for check-in. Dave had saved me a seat.
"Quinn, over here," he said. "Sorry, can I call you Quinn?"
"Do you really think I'm going to make you call me Ms. Thomas?" I asked. I slipped in to the chair next to him.
The conference table was set up with two rows of six computers, one down each side of the table. There were headphones, controllers, and keyboards for each of us. The rules were posted on all four walls and Dark Flag was paused until the overseer started the game. We each had the same quest, and points were awarded for speed, dexterity, creativity, and skill.
"What's your avatar name?" Dave asked. "I'm Davon the Orcan. Though you can't really tell yet 'cause, like I said, I'm still evolving."
"I'm human," I said. "My avatar's called Arrowa because the first weapon I earned was a quiver of poison tips."
"Seriously?"
I looked up from my monitor and realized half the room had stopped to look at me. "Yeah, wait, what's wrong?" I asked.
"What's wrong? You're all over the chat rooms. No one's seen a player evolve as fast as you. No wonder Light Slayer is trying to recruit you to his clan," Dave said.
I sat back in my chair and let the compliment spread through me like honey. Arrowa was fully evolved before I even ran into Owen's avatar during the game. I had done that on my own. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was not just here on Owen's good will. Anya was wrong, and I was going to prove it.
#
The quest was to retrieve a spell from a Green Witch named Ayaan. She turned out to be very fast and very combative. The strength of Dave's Orcan avatar helped him, but only for so long. From the corner of my eye, I saw his screen go black after 15 minutes. One by one, other competitors leaned back in their seats. They watched the progress of the tournament on a projected screen at the far end of the conference room, but I did not dare look at it.
I could not defeat the Green Witch in combat, though I was able to disarm her long enough to make her listen. We struck a deal – I gave her one of my poison-tipped arrows so she could create an antidote, and in exchange, she gave me the quest spell. I was so engrossed in the deal that I did not hear the applause.
"Congratulations, Quinn. That was amazing," Dave said. He helped me out of my chair and raised my hand up in victory.
I was so shocked that I hugged him. Over Dave's narrow shoulder, I saw Owen in the doorway. His jaw was tense, but when he saw my eyes he smiled.
"This calls for a celebration," Owen said to the room. "Ayaan the Green Witch would like to invite you to happy hour." He gave out the number of the villa and the 12 newbies erupted with excitement.
"Are you going?" Dave asked.