I followed the Trad down the passageway. Ahead, another iron gate blocked the way, but more sunlight streamed through the grating. As we drew closer, I was able to make out the circular shape of the structure beyond, and my heart sank.
Fuck. A fighting pit. I hadn’t realized any of these things existed on Tradrych. That Polityk Borys had his own private one said a lot about what he thought of the law. He was the one who was supposed to make the laws around here, not break them.
“These things are illegal,” I said to the Trad.
He snorted laughter. “Only if you’ve got two intelligent races fighting.”
I bristled. “Athion are an intelligent race.”
He gave a sly grin. “It’s not you I’m referring to. It’s what you’ll be fighting that allows the polityk to be...” he sought the correct word, “flexible...with the rules. Now hold still while I undo your bonds.”
“You’re not making me fight while I’m still chained then? That’s good of you.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my tone. “What kind of weapon do I get?”
“There’s a dagger on the ground on the other side of this gate,” he replied, straightening from where he’d unlocked my ankles and wrists. “That’s all you get.”
They were sensible enough not to put a knife in my hand when I was in such close proximity, and while I was unchained. “I hope the other guy has the same.”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” And he reached past me to open the gate. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
There was no point in refusing. I had to keep telling myself that I was here willingly. If I won a fight, perhaps that would be enough to allow me into the main house, so I could find Tara.
I exhaled a sigh of resignation and stepped out into the arena. A cheer rose from somewhere above. I squinted against the bright sunlight and peered in the direction of the applause. Borys stood with a small group of other Trads, and there, at his side, was Tara. My heart soared. She was still wearing the dress we’d put her in for the auction, and her blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight. After several days of cold darkness, she looked like a goddess.
From my left, across the other side of the fighting pit, and still behind another wrought-iron gate, a roar sounded, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I remembered the dagger and quickly scanned the dusty ground, searching for it. A bright flash of sunlight on metal caught my eye, and I ducked down, scooping the small dagger up into my hand.
Borys turned toward the noise. “May the fighting begin!”
The crunching scrape of the gate opening came from the same direction as the snarl, and from beyond the gate, a massive creature stalked into the pit.
The creature was huge—easily six times my body weight. Its shoulders and head were by far the largest part of its body. Several rows of pointed teeth filled its jaws. Saliva foamed from its mouth, gathering in the corners of its curled lips. The muzzle wrinkled, its pinprick eyes glowing red. A line of bristles ran down its spine, momentarily reminding me of Mikotaj’s mohawk. He would have a fit if I compared him to one of these, and even through my dismay, I had to bite back a smile.
How the hell was I supposed to fight this thing?
Dark streaks marked the dusty ground, and I assumed the marks were blood. Had the blood been left by another one of these creatures, or by the slave who’d been forced to fight before me? Fresh anger surged inside me. These Trad needed to be taken down.
The creature paced and snarled, then spun in a circle, as though chasing the small stump of its tail.
The movement revealed to me what had gotten the creature so riled up. Arrows pierced the creature’s hide, the ends still protruding from its skin. The Trads must have done this to the beast before releasing him out into the pit, assuming it would just attack whatever it saw first—namely me.
We were both in the same position, the two of us. Both being used by the Trads for their entertainment.
I glanced over my shoulder to where Borys stood with his arm around Tara’s waist. She appeared pale, her eyes wide with worry. I hated Borys being so close to her. Had he touched her yet? Anger roiled inside me at the thought. Maybe I needed to cling to that anger to survive this.
I wanted to catch her eye and give her a smile to try to reassure her everything would be okay, but I was worried Borys would notice. The last thing I wanted was to get her in trouble. Besides, I wasn’t sure everything was going to be all right.
It was only a small group of Trads that he’d allowed in to watch this. Drinks were flowing; silver canteens crashed together to drink to the fight. There was a definite sense of celebration in the air, and I wondered if it had anything to do with the purchase of the two women at the auction.
Where was the other woman—the one who’d been in the pod next to Tara back at the facility? I’d been worried she’d recognize me when we’d all been put into the back of the transporter together, and would say something that would raise suspicions among the Trad guards. I guessed she’d had enough to worry about without giving any thought to the Athion she’d been bought with. I only hoped her presence hadn’t complicated things for Tara. I’d seen how the two of them had been together at the facility, with Tara always trying to look out for the other women, even though she was in the exact same position herself. Tara was strong, and I didn’t doubt her, but they were her weakness, and I wasn’t sure she realized that.
Speaking of problems of my own, I turned to face the creature. The small dagger in my palm seemed like a pathetic weapon to use against it. The spears sticking out of its rear end appeared bigger. I wasn’t sure Borys even wanted me to win. Perhaps he didn’t. Maybe they were looking forward to watching an Athion slave being ripped apart by the beast. I had no intention of letting that happen, especially not in front of Tara. She’d already been through enough, without having that horror imprinted upon her memory.
“Let’s see if this one does as well as the last one,” Borys crowed, and the group of Trads erupted in laughter.
Tara cringed at his side, but the moment he cast a glance her way, she straightened and flashed him a smile. I didn’t doubt for one moment that the smile was fake. She was playing him, and I was intensely proud of her for that. At least I didn’t have to pretend I liked or admired the son of a bitch. Quite the opposite.
I still had to figure out how to get out of this situation.
The beast prowled on the opposite side of the pit, its lip curled in a snarl and saliva dripping from its jaws. Every four or five paces, it stopped to snap at its hindquarters, but its focus was firmly fixed on me. I moved the dagger from one hand to the other, getting a feel for the weight of the blade, which wasn’t much at all. I did my best to zone out the raucous shouts of Borys and his friends. I needed to forget about Tara watching as well, and not be distracted by the way Borys’s hand sat on her hip, or the way his gaze kept dropping down the front of her body to linger on her breasts.
The creature let out a snarl and lunged for me.
A shriek came from the crowd, and I knew it belonged to Tara.
I darted to the right, and the beast’s momentum carried it forward. Its bodyweight crashed into the wall of the pit behind me, and I spun on my heels to face it again, knowing that having my back to it for any length of time would be a very bad idea. The creature staggered slightly to one side, and shook its head, and then returned its focus to me.
“Come on then,” I encouraged it. “Come and get me.”
The creature lunged again, and I darted out of its way, so it continued past me. As it did so, I grabbed one of the spears sticking out of its flanks and pulled. I needed to be fast, or it would get me. The animal’s natural reaction was to dart away from the pain, which gave me enough time to get out of the way, the spear in my hand. The small group of Trads cheered, clearly unaware of what I intended on doing with the spear. I threw it to one side, and the cheer turned into a boo.
I didn’t care.
The creature righted itself, co
ming back around to prowl in a semi-circle around me, seeming to try to figure out my weak side. I didn’t have a weak side, however. What might have looked like an unfair fight, with me being a fraction of its size and weight, and armed with only a small dagger when the creature had multiple huge, sharp teeth and claws, was skewed in completely the wrong way. I was fast and strong, while this poor creature was injured and in pain.
It came for me again, and I lowered to a crouch and sprang into the air, and over the top of its body. The animal was wide at the front but had a short body, and I cleared it easily. I landed in a crouch on the ground behind it and quickly rose, reaching for the second spear handle sticking out of its skin. I wrapped my fingers around the wood and yanked the spear clear from its flesh.
This time, the creature spun around and lashed for me, one huge paw swiping the front of my chest.
Another cheer rose from the Trads.
I staggered back, a burning pain scorching my skin. I glanced down long enough to see blood droplets hitting the dry ground beneath me like rain. For a second, I doubted my plan, thinking the creature might kill me before I got the chance to complete it, but then I shook it off. I trusted myself.
The slices from the claws hurt like a bitch, but I had to ignore them. There was still one more spear protruding from the beast’s back end.
Even though I was part of the Athion military, the Custos, I was a pacifist at heart. I joined the Custos because I wanted to end suffering, not cause more of it. I didn’t want to see anyone in pain, even if they were only seen as a beast in other people’s eyes.
I was breathing hard, my heart hammering.
The creature turned back to me. It snarled and shook its head, a combination of blood and spittle flying in all directions. Droplets hit my skin, but I ignored them. I needed to concentrate. One wrong or badly timed move could see me as this thing’s dinner.
The creature lowered its head, the huge muscles in its shoulders bunching, and it sprang for me. I threw myself to the ground in a roll, passing beneath its body, and then leaped back to my feet. Before it had had a chance to spin back around, I plucked the final spear from its hide.
It let out a snarl and twisted to face me. Blood covered its back half from where I’d unfortunately been forced to reopen the wounds, but it no longer had any weapons piercing its skin. It swiped at me with its clawed paw but then twisted its body to lick its wounds. Finding all the spears gone, it forgot about me, and set about trying to clean the puncture holes instead. The fight had gone out of the creature now the main source of antagonization was gone.
The final spear dropped from my fingers and into the dirt.
The fight was over.
Chapter Seventeen
Booing rose around me.
The Trads threw their hands in the air at the lack of climax to the fight, and then tossed their drinks down into the pit in disgust
Diarus stood before the beast, his chin lifted defiantly toward Borys and the others. My heart swelled with admiration and pride for him, though I did my best not to let my emotions show on my face.
I’d watched the fight happening with my heart in my throat. Diarus was beautiful when he fought, his chest bare, his muscles rippling, and skin shining with sweat. Watching him move so gracefully around the pit was like sitting in the audience at the ballet. I’d been terrified that he’d have been hurt, especially when the massive creature he’d been fighting had swiped for him. He was still bleeding now, the claw marks spilling blood down his torso. The creature had sat down, no longer appearing threatening. If anything, I felt bad for it. I was glad Diarus hadn’t killed the beast, but I worried about what would happen to them both now. They hadn’t given Borys what he wanted, had even made Borys look silly in front of his comrades, and I was concerned he’d punish them for that.
Borys turned to his guests with a smile. Just like me, he was doing a good job of hiding his true emotions.
“Well, I guess that means they both survive to fight another day. We’ll call that round one!”
I dared to speak. “You’ll pit them against each other again?”
“Yes, only this time I’ll make sure things will be a little more interesting. Seems to me, we gave the beast a weakness, but not the slave.” He raised his voice so his guests could hear, and perhaps even deliberately higher so Diarus caught his words as well. “Perhaps, next time, I’ll make sure it’s the slave who has the disadvantage instead of the creature. I’m sure if he had a couple of spears in his own backside, he’d have been less concerned about removing the ones from his opponent.”
The other Trads roared in laughter at the comment, and I sensed Borys studying me for my reaction. I forced a smile and a small chuckle of laughter, which came out as only a huff of air from my throat. I didn’t want to make Borys suspicious of me, but it was difficult to pretend that anything about this was entertaining.
“What will happen to the slave now?” I dared to ask.
“He’ll go back to his cage. You should appreciate what you have, Tara. I’m treating you human women like queens here. I could just as easily have you locked away like them.”
Was that a threat? If I didn’t go along with what he wanted, then I’d end up locked in a cage? Of course, that was the last thing I wanted to happen. It was bad enough that Diarus was locked up and unable to do much to help me, but if I was as well, there was no possibility we’d be able to complete our mission.
I fluttered my eyelashes and tilted my head to the side, trying to act coy. I reached out and touched his chest. “You know I’m truly appreciative of all the freedom you’ve given me, and for my beautiful room. I hope I haven’t done or said anything to make me sound ungrateful. I realize I may have come across that way when we first met, but it was just the shock of going through the auction and then coming here.”
He pursed his lips and glanced down at where my fingers lightly grazed his pectoral muscle. “I understand. All of this has been a lot for you to take in. It must take some adjustment, but I’m glad to see you’re coming around to my way of thinking.” He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “You know, I could make this a lot of fun for both of us, Tara.”
That rush of pheromones caught me in a cyclone, and my body reacted to them instantly. He knew exactly what he was doing.
For one stupid, crazy moment, I was actually drawn into the spin he was offering, to live in the room and allow him to treat me however he wanted, and be on his arm and attend functions with him as a willing volunteer rather than a bought breeder, but as quickly as the thoughts arrived in my head, I shook them out. That wasn’t me talking, or at least thinking. Those were the damned hormones again. They had a way of messing with the mind.
I wanted to take a step away, to try to clear my head, but I didn’t want him to take it the wrong way. I needed to win my freedom to move around his property as I wished, and I wasn’t going to do it by pissing him off.
Borys had turned back to his guests, seemingly bored of playing with me. He said something to them, and they all laughed, but my attention was drawn back to the pit. Several of Borys’s guards had entered with what appeared to be a kind of Taser, and were ushering the creature back into the cage they’d released it from. Two other Trads shoved Diarus between them as well. He glanced over his shoulder one final time and caught my eye in his amber gaze. My heart swelled. I knew what he was telling me in that look.
The fight was far from over. In fact, it had only just gotten started.
“Come, let’s go inside and eat. Tara, are you hungry?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t. “Yes, absolutely.”
“Would you care to join us, then? I know it isn’t traditionally the done thing to have a female at the table, but I believe we’d all like a little female company since it’s been so sparse for so long.”
Female company? I hoped I wasn’t about to be turn into the rest of that evening’s entertainment. I told myself Borys wouldn’t let one
of the other Trads touch me, not when he wanted to impregnant me himself. He couldn’t risk another Trad accidentally laying his eggs inside me instead.
But going to eat with them meant I was going to be shown more of the property, and if I could get an idea what rooms were in the house, I’d be able to figure out the most likely place he would keep any plans hidden. I was being far more useful out here than I would be if I stayed locked inside a room.
“That would be wonderful, thank you. I’m honored.”
My thoughts went to Zoe. How was she doing? I told myself it was a good thing that I was taking all of Borys’s attention. While he was with me, he’d be leaving her alone. She seemed so much more fragile than me, and she was younger, too. I felt protective of her, even though we were both in the same situation, and I remembered feeling the same way at the facility. At the time, I’d put it down to maternal pregnancy hormones, but now I had to admit that perhaps I simply cared.
“This way,” he said.
I tried not to shudder at Borys’s hand on my lower back, guiding me away from the pit and toward the house. His guests followed, voices thick and gruff, tails swooshing on the dusty desert ground as they walked. I didn’t think I’d ever been so aware of how exposed, fragile, and very human I was until right at that moment, my back turned to several alien males who I was certain would happily try to mate me given half the chance. Only Borys’s high power in their government did anything to stop them.
We stepped through the large hexagonal panel that was the main entrance to the building. When Zoe and I had arrived, we’d been brought in through the rear entrance, I realized now. I cast a quick glance over my shoulder. As far as I could tell, Diarus hadn’t been brought this way, so I assumed the cages, or whatever it was he was being held in, weren’t on this side of the pit. If I was ever given the chance to get to him, I was going to need to come out this side and go around the pit. Or through it. I didn’t much like the idea of possibly coming face to face with the beast, no matter how easily Diarus had managed to calm it down. I didn’t think I had the same way with alien animals as he did.
The Tradrych Strain- The Complete Series Page 21