IE_701.mp3

The competitors' welcome dinner ended early due to new rules announced by Sean McAllister. Cheating will result in disqualification and loss of powers. Only one winner will be allowed, and the bottom 90 competitors will lose their powers. Kevin called his wife Lily and they discussed the changes. Kevin arrived at Tyler's home and found the Night King waiting for him. The Night King revealed that there is a second game happening behind the scenes with sponsors and bribery. He advised Kevin to trust himself and his skills. The Night King also mentioned a second secret book, which Kevin realizes was loaned to Malachi Turner. The competitors' welcome dinner ended early, after Sean McAllister announced the new rules no one felt much like celebrating. Instead, everyone was now panicked to spend their remaining hours before the epic clash preparing so they would have the best chance possible at winning. Kevin was even shaken a little bit. After his truth pills caused everyone to boast to the judges about their plans to cheat when the clash began tomorrow, the judges got together and put three new rules into place. One declared that any cheating would result in automatic disqualification and stripping of herbalist powers. That wasn't too much of a surprise. The second new rule was that only one person would win the entire contest and ascend to the upper realm. Usually the top ten competitors were given that honor. Being among the best was no longer going to cut it. You had to be the best of the best. And the third made it so that the 90 bottom competitors would have their herbalist powers entirely negated. That meant there was no room for error. No room for mistakes that you could hope to come back from. Kevin would have to be at the very top of his game from beginning to end. And when this was all over, 90 of the country's most powerful and promising herbalists would be no more. The game had changed. Kevin called his wife Lily on his way to Tyler Dawn's place. Tyler was an old business partner and a fabulously wealthy D.C.-based friend who had magnificent estates in nearly every major city in America. While Kevin was in Washington, D.C. for the clash, Tyler had graciously opened his Georgetown home to Kevin. As far as Kevin knew, Tyler was vacationing in his Anchorage, Alaska home, so he would have the place to himself to solidify his strategy. It was just a short walk from the event space where the welcome dinner was held to Tyler's home. And during his trek, Kevin was relieved to find that Lily answered on the first ring. Hi, my love. How's it been so far? Her voice was so sweet that for a moment Kevin forgot his mounting nerves about the clash. He stopped on his walk, standing at the edge of a park that had just closed for the night. It's kind of crazy, actually. Everyone here seems to be trying to cheat in the clash, and the judges have decided to punish all of us for it. Lily gasped. What do you mean? You haven't cheated, surely? Kevin smiled. Lily's faith in him meant the world. Of course not. But I got a lot of people to admit that they were going to, and now it's kind of backfired on me. Lily sighed. Well, if it makes things harder for the cheaters, too, then isn't it worth it? It is. But now there will be one winner instead of ten, and the bottom ninety competitors will lose everything. The stakes are much higher than they used to be, Kevin explained. Lily paused, choosing her words carefully. But you're going to win. The stakes are still the same for you because the outcome is the same. You're going to win, Kevin, and you have to keep believing that. I'm not worried about you at all. Kevin chuckled. He knew deep down in his heart that he would indeed win. He might have voiced some doubt, but he never actually felt it. But it amused him that Lily still had to do her wifely duty and bolster him when she thought he might have worries about his talents. What happened to all your warnings for me to be careful? Lily laughed, too. I still want you to be careful, but just because I know you're in a dangerous scenario doesn't mean I don't think you'll win. I know you will. Just try not to get too beat up along the way, okay? I promise. What's new in Chicago? I miss you. Kevin kept walking and made it to Tyler's place. He bit the key Tyler had left for him in the door and opened it into a grand entrance hall. This hall must have been built around the time of the American Revolution, but had been remodeled and updated many times since. The current architecture and design reminded him of the roaring twenties. Well, the gala is still the only thing I have any time to focus on. We have all of our vendors secured, and my research team is working around the clock to put together the main presentation. That's the part that I'll be on stage for. Everything else, the welcomes and the donations and everything, will be done by our celebrity host Nicole Sawyer. So I'm really nervous about making a good impression and being just as charming as Nicole. Otherwise people will be bored. Kevin wished he could give his wife a big hug and reassure her, but for now all he had were words. So he said, You're going to steal the whole show. When I get home, we'll run through your presentation as many times as you need to feel confident in it. Don't worry about that. You're always the most magnetic person in the room. These people don't know what's about to hit them. Thank you, baby. Come home soon, okay? I need you as my arm candy at this thing. Lily joked. I'll be there as soon as I can. Are you going to be watching me in the clash? It will be broadcast everywhere. You can see me kick butt and take names. Lily hummed. Of course, I'll be watching, probably between my fingers because I'll be so scared to see you get hurt. But I'll be watching. Go get him, Kev. I love you. I love you too. Kevin hung up with Lily and made his way up to the guest bedroom in Tyler's massive home. He had thought about raiding the kitchen for some snacks, but since learning about the new Epic Clash rules, he had lost his appetite. He knew he had to get some rest, but already he could tell that it would be another restless night of checking and rechecking herbalism tips and tricks, plus practicing his best battle moves. Kevin wished he had one more day to spar with his AI fight partner, Athena, that had been destroyed in the fire Mario Kessler and Ethan Williams set in his Chicago office. When Kevin made it to the bedroom, he closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes. When he turned to flop into the four-poster bed, however, he found that he wasn't alone. Oh. Hello. I didn't expect to see you here, he said. The Night King watched him from the foot of the bed where he sat. Good evening, Kevin. I don't suppose you're here with good news, Kevin asked. The Night King usually found him in these moments right before something big happened or to tell him something big was about to happen, but Kevin never walked away from the interactions with less stress than before. The Night King stood and slowly paced around, observing the various knickknacks Tyler had collected and stored in this guest bedroom. The Epic Clash is more than just a game in an arena, Kevin. I'm sure you've figured that out by now. There is a second game going on, on the sidelines. There are many of sponsors and mentors and secret dealings and bribery. For every fighter that goes into the Clash, a whole team is outside of it, convincing judges to add more points to his score and save him from being cut from the round, or convincing powerful people to send in extra herbs and elements they can use to their advantage. Kevin knew this in a vague sense, but after the crackdown on cheating, this seemed less likely. Even after what happened tonight, we're all being punished for a few of the competitors planning to cheat. I can't imagine anyone's team would risk disqualification by making deals on the sidelines during the Clash. The Night King shrugged. People are complex. They may preach a moral high ground and insist everyone follow their rules while breaking those rules behind the scenes. Don't underestimate these people, Kevin. Nothing they do should take you by surprise. As soon as you're caught off guard, you've lost. Kevin nodded, following these words as well as he could. However, the Night King was not known for being clear and straightforward in his messages. Okay, what should I do? he asked. The Night King paused in front of the large window at the front of the room. And looked out over the park that Kevin had just stopped at, bathed in moonlight at the late hour. You have an advantage. You spent your time honestly preparing to be the best herbalist and fighter in this match. The others wasted their time and energy figuring out how to cheat. Trust yourself. Don't be afraid to lean on your skills and your tried and true moves in combat. You are one of the few who are in this competition for the right reasons. And truth will win out, as they say. Kevin tried not to get too excited. Was the Night King ready to put a bet on Kevin's name? Does this mean you think I'm going to win? he asked, boldly. The Night King frowned. It's not always a matter of winning and losing, Kevin. Kevin didn't want to sound naive, but he had to point out. Actually in this case, it kind of is a matter of winning and losing. What if I'm stripped of my herbalism powers? The Night King shrugged again in that dismissive way of his. Then it will have been a pleasure knowing you. Kevin wasn't sure if that was a joke or not. What about this moral fiber I have? Will that win me points in the clash? The Night King didn't respond. Instead, he said, there's a plan in place for you, Kevin. None of this is happening by accident. Just know that. Trust yourself, and you'll do as well as you've prepared to do. That still wasn't a satisfying bit of knowledge or reassurement. But before Kevin could say anything else, the Night King reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small book. It reminded Kevin of his secret herbalism book. It had the same color binding and was roughly the same size. What's that? This is the second secret book. You have the first one currently. You may have noticed that the book is passed down from herbalist to herbalist. I own it, but I usually don't have it in my possession. I recently got this one back. I had it loaned out to an old chief herbalist by the name of Malachi Turner. I understand the two of you met. Kevin started putting the pieces together. Malachi had known Kevin was going to turn up. There was apparently a greater plan in place for Kevin. The Night King had been talking to Malachi about him. Malachi Turner told me he's used this second book as much as he could and that it's time it was passed on to you. You didn't hear it from me, but he's rooting for you. That made Kevin feel a little bit better. Malachi was an eccentric sort, and he'd lived underground for the last century. But he was a brilliant herbalist, and the idea that Kevin had impressed him in their meetings back in Nashville gave Kevin a boost of confidence. He took the book from the Night King and started flipping through the pages. The Night King watched him and said, Some of that you already figured out for yourself, but some of it will also come in handy during the epic clash. Sorry to get it to you at the last minute, but you have the rest of the night to read it. I hope you find it useful. Kevin closed the book and looked up to thank the Night King, but he had already disappeared. Kevin went over to a small writing desk and flicked on the little lamp that sat atop it. He brushed aside some notebooks and pens that Tyler had left there and dove right into the new secret book. Tomorrow would be the biggest day of his life, and if he wasn't getting any sleep, he might as well be learning something new. What secrets could this new source of information hold?