by E. S. Maya
Safi covered her face, fingers open, feeling her cheeks go hot. Rebecca turned away, Raven raised an eyebrow. Wulf and Jabbar shared a look while Stiv stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak. “I can beat them,” he said.
Safi and Raven spun towards him. “No, you can’t!”
Stiv made an insulted face. “And just why not?”
“Didn’t you get a good enough beating last time?” Safi palmed her forehead. “You don’t stand a chance against the fifth-years!”
Stiv’s expression went from insulted to angry. “Last I checked, this wasn’t Camp Safi, so why don’t you and Raven take your Resmyran friend get the hell out of here!” He glanced sheepishly at the ground, then back towards the bonfire. “This is boys’ business.”
Safi lowered her head and frowned, more hurt than she’d like to admit. She stared at her work boots and said, “I thought it was our business. We’re a team, aren’t we?”
Stiv looked away and shrugged.
An eager smile came over Jabbar’s face. “We Abed have a saying. Be there wind on his tongue, fire in his heart, and stone in his fists.”
Stiv’s showed toothy grin. “That’s right!” he said, slapping together palm and fist. “Someone’s got to put those fifth-years in their place.”
“Well it won’t be any of us,” said Wulf, in a voice that commanded respect, at least Safi thought so. She nodded along as he continued, “Better to let the fifth-years be. The less enemies we’ve got, the better things will go for us. So we stay put, and you keep that big arm of yours tucked away, or—ah, Titans!”
Stiv was ten paces away by the time Wulf caught up. “Nothfff—” he attempted to shout, as Wulf grabbed him by the face and dragged him stumbling back.
Jabbar unfolded his arms to reveal two dark, bony fists. “This is a matter of honor! Losing is fine, but after the wounds he suffered, he must stand up to them!”
Raven scoffed. “Kid, you weren’t even there!”
“Yeah, Wulf, listen to the Abed!” Stiv said, batting away Wulf’s hands and taking hold of his wrists.
Wulf snapped free at once. He lunged forward with open arms, throwing them around Stiv’s shoulders. To Safi it looked like a great big hug. “I’ll let you go when you stop struggling!”
Stiv went limp in Wulf’s arms, and they shared a collective sigh of relief. Then he began to jerk and twist. “I’ll stop struggling when you let go!”
Wulf rolled his eyes. His shoulders and chest flexed as he tightened his hold. “On Faerana’s red teat you will!”
Rebecca gasped, but made no motion to interfere in the matters of boys.
“Blasphemer!” Stiv burrowed his hands beneath Wulf’s elbows and burst free. He stepped away from the Anderan with an outstretched arm. “Keep those hands back, you bald-headed stain of street soot!”
Wulf’s eyes went wide. “Why, you’re just as bald as I am!” he said, breathing hard, then throwing himself upon Stiv once more. “And that doesn’t even make any sense!”
Safi slumped with embarrassment. For every limb Wulf pinned down, another Stiv broke free. Then he bent Wulf’s neck with a stiff forearm to the face. Clutching her head, Safi turned away and spotted Noth rising from the fifth-year table. How odd that he was standing. How odd that he was walking towards them…
She gave Jabbar a look, and her face seemed to unsettle him. “You’ve got to break them apart!”
“Me?” Jabbar scratched his skinny neck. He glanced at the two tussling boys, looking huge beside him. “Really?”
“Well, you can’t expect me to do it!” Safi said.
Jabbar stared at the boys for a moment. “It’s not my place to interfere.”
Beside her, a wide-eyed Raven was already shaking her head no.
With a groan, Safi began picking stones off the ground and chucking them at Wulf and Stiv’s legs, all the while whispering “Noth, Noth, Noth!” The blows sent them dancing, and Jabbar’s shin earned a stone or two, not entirely on accident. When she looked again, Noth was coming closer, and he was bringing all the eyes of the bonfire gathering with him. Wulf and Stiv fought on, failing to notice the recruit foreman until he lowered a hand onto each of their shoulders.
Then there was stillness, and silence.
Aside from Raven’s fingers, squeezing up and down the front of her burlap dress.
Noth looked around at the first-years, settling his eyes upon Wulf. He cleared his throat before speaking. “The first rule you learn is to follow orders. Here’s the second: there’s to be no brawling in Camp Cronus.”
Wulf let go of Stiv. His boots scraped dust as he put some distance between them.
“That’s a good dog,” Noth said, though his hands remained on their shoulders. “But I’ll still have to report you two to the enforcers. Since we’ve got a full load of witnesses, and since you’re both at fault, it shouldn’t land each of you more than, say, a week in the stockades.”
The first-year boys murmured in disbelief.
Safi swallowed and found her throat dry. The thought of spending a whole week without Wulf and Stiv left made her knees weak. Stiv began to speak, but Wulf silenced him with a look. That surprised her. His calm facade had dripped away, revealing the angry and rebellious boy within. A child of the Anderan streets.
“If you’re expecting me to beg,” Wulf told the recruit foreman, “it won’t work.”
Noth tightened his grip on their shoulders and Stiv out a small cry. Despite himself, Wulf winced. “I suppose we could let stone slide,” the recruit foreman said. “We’re not exactly on Blackpoint territory, and first-year yields are low as it is.”
The first-year boys hung their heads in shame.
Wulf dipped his chin and stared vaguely in Safi’s direction, though his focus was kingdoms away. “What exactly do you want?”
“Just a round of arm wrestling.” Noth released Wulf’s shoulder and gave him a few hard slaps on the back. “It’s only a game, after all.”
“I’ll play,” Wulf said cautiously. “But just once. And if you lose, I don’t want any complaints.”
Noth laughed, and Safi couldn’t help but notice how easy it came to him. Letting go of Stiv’s shoulder, the recruit foreman made a welcoming gesture towards the bonfire.
She watched in silence as Noth and Wulf walked away, crunching dust at a businesslike pace. Then she threw herself at Stiv, grabbing him by the collar, shaking him back and forth. “Now look what you’ve done!”
Stiv’s voice sputtered as his head flopped around. “It’s not my fault!”
Raven kicked at his shin, and the boy yelped in pain. She grabbed his shirt and joined the shaking. “You wretched barnyard oaf! It’s entirely your fault!”
Jabbar reached for Safi’s shoulder, but stopped short. “They’re starting,” he said quietly.
Fists full of work shirt, Safi turned to look. The recruits were converging around the table, first-year boys included. The crowd was buzzing with voices, and someone had started beating that loud little drum. She shoved Stiv away and started off in a huff, hearing the crunching of dust behind her as her friends ran to catch up.
Raven appeared at her side, stepping quickly to match her strides. “At least it’s Wulf,” she told Safi. “The kid knows what he’s doing.”
Stiv stomped ahead and glared at them over his shoulder. “What do you mean, at least it’s Wulf?”
Safi rolled her eyes. “He beat you soundly, didn’t he?”
“That was weeks ago!” Stiv reached to massage his right arm. “That was luck.”
“Please,” Raven said. “He had you duped and you know it.”
Stiv looked back and forth between them, stopping on Safi. “What does she mean, duped?”
“Don’t you remember?” Safi held up her hands and clasped them together, wiggling both thumbs. “He used one of those fancy Anderan hand tricks.”
Stiv stared blankly, and Raven exploded into a fit of laughter. “He doesn’t know!” she said. “You thought Wu
lf beat you fair and square?” She cackled loudly, slapping Stiv across the arm. “Titan’s ass, he played you like a lute!”
“Why, that no good slum rat!” Stiv said. “No, less than that—an insect! I knew you Anderans were no good tricksters!”
“Which is exactly why Wulf can win,” Safi said, breaking into a sprint. “Let’s hurry!”
30
Boy's Business II
Thank the Titans for Stiv’s big right arm.
Safi chased after the boy as he shoved a path through the crowd. They came to the open center, and she stepped aside before Raven and Jabbar came barreling through behind her. Looking back, the passageway was shrinking fast. Rebecca was gone.
Safi and Raven looked at each other and shrugged.
The four of them put their eyes on the table, and Safi gasped at the sight. Wulf was by no means small, but Noth, hunched over as he was, displayed the sheer breadth of a boy grown on porridge, potatoes, and years of manual labor. His right arm was a drumstick, and each finger a sausage. She reckoned they ought to let Wulf use both arms, if only for fairness’ sake.
“Perhaps arm wrestling was not such a good idea,” Jabbar said.
Safi gawked at the Abed. “Now you say this!”
“What a treat, what a treat!” Spanky began, standing at the head of the fifth-year table. While he spoke, Hannah balanced an elbow on the boy’s plump shoulder. “The recruit foreman of the Foot, facing off against a first-year! I sure wouldn’t want to be in his place right now, Titans no! We hope you can last longer than a few seconds, eh kid?”
Wulf gave Spanky an uncertain look before scanning the gathering crowd. When he met Safi’s eyes, she strained in an attempt to smile. Then he faced the recruit foreman, bringing his belly close to the table. The roundness of his back was apparent, and his shoulders looked slouched and powerless. The firelight showed the sweat on his face, casting shadows over his downcast eyes. He was too afraid, Safi realized. Which meant he wasn’t afraid at all.
At least she sure hoped so.
“What have I done?” cried Stiv, laying the side of his face over Raven’s messy black hair.
“Get off’a me!” Raven said, raising a twitching hand to send the boy stumbling away. She stood next to Safi instead. Together they watched as Wulf and Noth began fixing their arms on the table.
Raven brought her lips close to Safi’s ear. “Look at Wulf’s elbow. See how he keeps it close to his chest? That ain’t no mistake. And the way they’re putting their hands together, Wulfy’s tucking his thumb under his forefinger, and he’s all high up on Noth’s fingers. Got his guts against the table, too, for leverage.”
“So that’s how he got me,” Stiv said, mere inches from Raven’s face.
“Bwah!” Raven squawked, tucking herself between Safi and Jabbar.
“Well, kid?” asked Spanky. “Have you got any last words before going up against the recruit foreman?”
Wulf furthered his frown. “I hope he doesn’t go too hard on me. I’m only a first-year, after all.”
The crowd rustled with laughter. Safi noticed Noth and Hannah sharing a conspiratorial smile.
Spanky cleared his throat. “If there’s nothing else, then let’s get ready to begin!” The announcer pressed his belly against the edge of the wooden table. He reached forward to set his hand over Noth and Wulf’s fists. “Hands together and forearms straight, that’s right.”
Safi folder her arms, fingers tucked into armpits. All about the crowd, recruits were watching with closed hands and smiling faces. To her right, Stiv’s mouth hung open, his big right arm curled against his chest. To her left, Raven—
Safi felt a chill. Why was Raven smiling?
Spanky drew a breath. Within that moment, Safi heard a flurry of hollow drumbeats—or was it her own heart she felt in her ears? The announcer puffed up his chest and opened his mouth, to shout for the arm wrestling match to begin.
“HOLD IT!”
Spanky jumped at the interruption, then bent over coughing. The crowd went silent. All eyes turned towards Safi and her friends. To the first-year girl named Raven.
Safi’s nostrils flared. “What do you think you’re doing!”
Raven flashed her a smile as she sauntered up to Noth and Wulf. With a hop, she spun through the air and landed bottom-first on the tabletop. Safi watched helplessly as Raven batted her emerald eyes, made bright by firelight, over every inch of the crowd.
“Arm wrestling ain’t fun if there aren’t any stakes,” Raven said sharply. The bonfire crackled softly as she took turns looking at Wulf, at Noth, at Hannah, then back at the recruits. To Safi’s surprise, the audience sounded in agreement.
Wulf looked towards Safi and Stiv, as if searching for an explanation for Raven’s actions.
Raven folded her legs in the manner of a lady. “There ought to be a prize for the winner, don’t you think? The winner ought to get a kiss from the prettiest girl around.” She winked at Safi, then offered her grin to the crowd. “And who other than the head girl, Hannah?”
The boys groaned with laughter as the girls made a high-pitched sound. Safi voiced a protest, but her words were swept away as the crowd began to chant, “Kiss, Kiss, Kiss!”
Set firmly on her hip, Hannah’s right hand closed around the fabric of her fine red dress. Then Safi noticed her face. If she truly was the prettiest girl around, she wasn’t anymore.
Amidst the commotion, Raven slipped down from the table and scurried to Safi’s side.
“You want Wulf to kiss Noth’s girlfriend?” shouted Safi the moment she came within reach. Raven rattled with laughter, and Safi set her shaking hands over the smaller girl’s shoulders, fighting the urge to pick her up and toss her into the bonfire.
Through all this, Noth sat still as stone. Finally, he waved over Hannah. Her thick legs carried her stiffly towards him. The head girl leaned close, and Noth began whispering into her ear.
Hannah’s flush face blossomed into a smile, looking a little too eager for Safi’s liking. She whispered something back, and Noth boomed with laughter.
The head girl stood up straight. Her right hand ran down her hip, smoothing the wrinkles of her dress. She waited for the noise to settle, then announced to the crowd, “We think it’s a fine idea. And to add to that, the loser must kiss the winner’s shoe!”
The audience threw up their arms and cheered.
Noth adjusted himself in his seat, smiling across the table. “Agreed, pup?”
Wulf turned to glare at Raven, and Safi ducked out of the way, just in case. Returning his gaze to Noth, he adjusted his fingers around the fifth-year’s meaty hand. “Agreed.”
Spanky raised his arm, catching the recruits’ attention. He brought the noise down to a simmer. Hannah gave him a nod, and he opened his mouth to shout, “Begin!”
Safi covered her ears as the crowd flared with noise. After what felt like seconds, the excitement died like a smothered flame. There was stillness all around her. She lowered her arms, listening to the bonfire’s hiss, and the few dozen recruits stepping nervously in place.
At the table, Wulf and Noth stared into each other’s eyes, arms locked, chests breathing.
Safi looked at her friends. “When are they—”
Raven’s blurring hand took hold of Safi’s wrist. “Shh!”
“It’ already started,” whispered Stiv.
Jabbar folded his arms and nodded.
Deep within the bonfire, Safi heard a piece of wood snap. The fire leapt high, throwing sparks at the starry night sky. Noth’s eyes gleamed yellow and bright. The crowd flinched, but Safi held her gaze, catching the briefest of grins on the recruit foreman’s face.
The crowd gasped as Wulf’s fist started backwards.
Noth looked down at their hands and smiled. “Not bad for a first-year.”
Wulf bared his teeth, pushing back against the recruit foreman’s powerful forearm. For all his effort, Noth looked unimpressed. He began twisting Wulf’s arm at an awkward angl
e. Wulf shut his eyes and cried out in pain.
Safi bounced nervously on her heels. Here feet were itching to move. To throw herself forward and stop the match. To protect Wulf from getting hurt.
Instead she watched closely, and smiled.
The crowd made an impressed sound as Wulf’s forearm stilled itself. Noth looked down in surprise. He grunted with effort, but their arms merely trembled.
Wulf narrowed his eyes, glaring. It wasn’t any face Safi had seen him make in the barn with Stiv. He drew a breath and pivoted his shoulders, bending Noth’s arm at the wrist. His sneaky hand closed tight around the Serk’s clustered fingers.
Noth muttered a curse as their forearms returned to the starting position.
“Wulf’s winning!” Jabbar shouted, clapping Safi on the shoulder. At the Abed’s comment, the crowd burst into cheers.
Safi grew a great big smile. Wulf smiled as well. Renewing his efforts, the fifth-year’s hand began sinking backwards.
“Push harder!” Hannah shrieked, elbowing Spanky out of the way so hard he fell to the ground. The head girl slapped her hand on the tabletop. “Don’t you dare embarrass me!”
“Still your tongue, woman!” Noth growled, returning his focus to Wulf. The fifth-year gripped the edge of the table with his free left hand, pushing against Wulf his right. He let loose a low groan, and the veins of his forearms looked ready to leap from his skin.
Wulf’s eyes began to twitch. Despite his superior leverage, their hands rose to the starting position. The boys paused there, chests heaving, forearms shaking. Though most of the crowd watched silently, a few of the fifth-years miners began to shout.
“The hell are you waiting for, Noth?”
“Quit fooling around and beat the kid already!”
“He’s a Goddamn first-year, for Titan’s sake!”
Safi noticed Noth’s face had swelled to a deep Blackpoint red, white teeth showing, yellow eyes more monstrous than ever. Across the table, Wulf held his ground, dipping his chin to his chest until his body began to shiver.