Several players turned to watch Sedom as she made the statement. The normally noisy room grew quiet. They may have all been killers, but if given the opportunity every one of them would help another escape.
The man from the cage beside her tossed a piece of fruit into Sedom’s cage. Two other players did the same. She knew it was their way of thanking her. She grabbed the fruit, nodding her appreciation. Even though she now belonged to Lord Wyice, he had yet to change her diet and she was starving.
She gathered the food, shoving it into her mouth with mad hunger. As she shoved the last piece into her mouth, she could hear someone clearing his throat. She glanced up out of the tops of her eyes to see Lord Wyice standing above her, staring down at her as if she were truly acting insane. He knelt so he could look into her eyes.
“They haven’t fed you?” he asked with concern.
Sedom motioned with her eyes to the platter of meat next to her cage. “I don’t eat meat!” she growled.
Lord Wyice took the plate, sneering down at the food. “No… you don’t.” He tossed the plate to the side where another game player snatched it up. The Lord stood, snapping his fingers at one of the guards. “I’m Syrok Canto’s owner. Feed her vegetables, immediately!” he ordered.
He turned back to her, shaking his head as if she amused him. “Syrok, Syrok, Syrok… do me a favor, please stop harassing the media. You have the head of the Cassaus’ media relations in tears. I have no doubt that news of this attack will reach every crevice of the galaxy before morning. Typically I would find it amusing, but I’m very busy and limited for time. Don’t make me come down here again.”
“Not my fault!” she howled.
“No, it’s mine. I should have check up on how you were being treated,” he admitted. “As soon as my paperwork is cleared, I’ll transfer you into my custody. We won’t have any problems like this again.”
He remained until her food arrived. Before he left he watched her as she ate. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he assured then left.
___
Jeina appeared in the doorway of the mission control room looking haggard and disgruntled. Ryn, Aris, Zion, Rosanheer, and Avant Nigeer turned to her, all startled by her appearance. Her uniform shirt was untucked and had blood stains splattered across the collar. There were deep scratch marks over her left cheek and her eyes were swollen from crying. Zion seethe when he noticed the dark bruise marks around her throat in the shape of fingers.
“What happened to you, girl? Did you fight a hell cat?” Aris questioned from the other end of the table.
“Something tells me she did,” Zion mentioned from beside Aris. “Sortec?”
“Yeah, Sortec,” Jeina grumbled back. She repositioned a bag of ice around her throat as she took a seat at the head of the table. “I’m waiting for the doc to finish with his patient then I’ll get this taken care of.”
“The Chadon did this?” Ryn questioned.
“It’s a good thing she didn’t kill you,” Avant Nigeer said. He stood, patting her shoulder. “How did she manage to lay hands on you anyway?” He opened a glass cabinet behind Jeina full of weapons and handed her a pistol.
Jeina handed it back. “You know I can’t carry a weapon near the Cassaus. Besides the way she attacked me, I wouldn’t have been able to defend myself with a pistol.”
Rosanheer and Zion glanced at each other, not saying a word. Their looks to each other and their lack of words caused the others in the room to take notice.
Zion walked to the food replicator on the far west wall, all the while chuckling.
“You find this amusing?” Jeina screeched, near tears. “The Chadon hates me before I even get the chance--” she returned with a quivering bottom lip as she pointed to her own chest. “I can’t believe I allowed this to happen.”
“Jeina, I doubt that’s the case. She doesn’t know you. To her, you’re just another Clove,” Aris pointed out.
Rosanheer shook his head, his mind deep in thought. He ran his hand over his bald head, obviously still unnerved by his lack of hair.
“Neither, actually.” He stood with hesitation, his mind racing as he took a standing position behind Jeina.
Frightened, she glanced back at him over her left shoulder then her right. “What are you doing?”
“Trust me for a moment,” he requested. She hesitated but nodded. Carefully, he wrapped his arm around her throat just as Sedom had, but not close enough to touch her bruised skin. “Is this how she held you?” he asked.
Jeina nodded against his arm. “Yes, exactly.”
“If she would have touched you…” he pressed his index finger softly against one small area of her throat, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He released her neck.
Jeina turned to Zion, who was watching with amusement as he sipped a cup of tea. “What do you mean?”
“Sortec’s an AO. One small spark of her power to that area would cause your brain to shut down. We’ve both seen her do it on a number of occasions, even in the arena,” Zion explained. “She knows how to kill a Clove. She spared you though. She was probably… pretending,” he warned.
“AO?” Ryn questioned. “That’s a real thing?”
“Full-blood and yeah,” Rosanheer answered.
Jeina slowly nodded, partly from her bruises and partly as she thought about what Zion said. “Master Waar Hiylenveer was accusing me of talking to her. He demanded to know what I told her,” she explained.
“She saved your life,” Avant Nigear pointed out.
Jeina stared down at the map on the table, thinking. Small chuckles escaped her lips. “Taskesk. I should have realized. She screamed it as she attacked me. It means allies in Celibec.” She sat back, moving the ice to the back of her neck. “Wait, an AO? She’s been cheating?” she gasped.
“Sending her into the arena without weapons and armor?” Rosanheer pointed out. “That’s not cheating, that’s justice!” he spoke outraged as he sat.
“And I thought you were the overbearing one,” Aris mentioned to Zion.
Zion raised an amused dark eyebrow as he regained his seat between Aris and Ryn. “Sortec is more than our leader, she is our friend. And being that she is so young, we tend to be overprotective of her.”
“She’s a teenage girl who can remove a man’s head clean off his shoulders,” Aris pointed out.
“Yeah, about that,” Orion spoke up from the doorway. He was standing with aid of a cane, but at least he was standing. He hobbled over to touch Jeina’s shoulder. “He’s ready for you,” he whispered. She immediately left, allowing him to take her seat. “I’ve been meaning to ask which one of us is standing in for the Cassaus’ guard?”
Rosanheer raised his hand. “The one of us who best fits the part. Which reminds me, I need to be fitted for my uniform. You good without me?” he asked around the room.
“I’ll catch you up,” Zion offered, sending his friend to fetch his uniform. “Besides, we’re only using him for the first part. What we have to figure out now is how the hell to break into the warriors’ housing without being caught.”
“That’s Jeina’s task,” Aris said as he drummed his fingers on the table. “Let’s have another look at that map.”
As the group looked over the map again, Rosanheer poked his head back inside the room. “Forgot to mention,
Tausi is an ex-game player and knows the underground holding cages. You might want to talk to him.”
“Who’s Tausi?” Zion questioned.
“Ask Jeina. They’re old friends. It’s a good idea. I’ll see if I can find him. Until then, perhaps we should reconvene tomorrow morning,” Aris offered.
___
The next morning started with a plate full of fruit and vegetables delivered, not dropped, next to Sedom’s cage door. She blinked her eyes open, surprised to see so much food beside her.
“Eat up. Your new master wants you to have time in the training arena this morning,” Cizel mentioned.
She slowly sat
up, taking a few pieces of food off the plate. “Training? He’s planning on me fighting?”
Cizel shook his head. “Not until your arm is healed. It would be against regulations and considered an unfair fight. Though, I believe you could probably still win with one arm,” he mentioned.
She shoved a few more pieces of food into her mouth and stood. “I thought you worked for Terrill?”
Cizel grimaced. “No. I work for the gaming council. I was assigned to Terrill while you were in his custody. Now the council believes I should remain with you until after your acquisition is complete,” he explained. “You ready?”
He led her into an indoor arena about a tenth of the size of the outdoor one. Inside were weapons, practice dummies and plenty of room to stretch her legs. She scanned the small arena, smiling with her amusement.
“This is nice,” she mentioned.
“Only the Cassaus’ players are allowed to practice in here. She’s making an exception for you. All doors are locked, so don’t get any ideas,” he warned.
He returned to guard the door as Sedom continued over to a large station sporting several long spears. She chose a spear, feeling the weight of it in her right hand. It felt good. She plunged it into the sand near her feet and carefully removed her sling from around her arm. Pain stabbed her at first, but subsided into a tingling numbness.
The room was quiet, too quiet. Eyes were watching her, she could feel them, but she couldn’t see who. She balanced the spear in her right hand, using her left shoulder as leverage. It wasn’t until the spear was released did she realize Lord Wyice was watching her from the other side of the arena in the exact location she had hurled the spear.
“Get out of the way!” she called in a panic.
Sedom gasped, seeing the spear pass close to his ear. The spear sliced close to his cheek. Instantly he cried out. “Son of a,” he screeched, cupping his ear.
“Lord Wyice, you shouldn’t be in here. I could have killed you,” she called as she dashed to him.
Lord Wyice stared at the spear then turned to Sedom. His hand shook as it attempted to hold back the blood of his injured ear. “What the hell, Syrok?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you,” she insisted.
“That wasn’t intentional?” he questioned sternly. His eyes shone with panic as he turned to look at the spear now lodged in the wall.
“No,” she said as she skidded to a stop before him. “You… are my master,” she said with heaving breaths. “I couldn’t intentionally kill you, even if I wanted to. And trust me… I really want to.” She eyed him up and down as if sizing him up. She removed the spear from the wall with some difficulty, only able to use her right arm then plunged it into the ground.
“Let’s have a look,” she offered, motioning to his ear.
“You’re joking,” he scoffed.
“You enjoy bleeding?” she questioned as she forced his hand away. There was a small chunk of skin about the size of a dime that had been cut away from his ear. She moved his hand to her shoulder. “Brace yourself.”
Softly, she pressed her hand to his ear, weaving a fine membrane to seal the wound. She then healed over the skin so it looked almost as good as new. For some reason, her healing magic always created a small dint in the flesh.
“You need to be careful. I thought you were a practice dummy, not a regular one,” she jabbed.
Lord Wyice felt to his ear, his eyes wide with amazement. “How did you do that?” he gasped.
“Full-blood,” she returned cryptically, pointing to her chest. “Stand back,” she insisted, grasping onto the spear.
Lord Wyice stepped away as Sedom pulled the spear from the ground. “A dummy? I’ve been called many things, but this… this is a first,” he spoke sarcastically. “Amazing aim,” he complimented.
Sedom grimaced. If only he knew the truth. She adjusted the spear again, tossing it across the arena and straight into the head of a dummy thirty meters away.
“What do you want? You come to collect me or just watch?” she spat as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
“I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better. You didn’t look well last night. I talked to your doctor. He’s concerned about your injury being infected. It’s possible that’s why you were so emotional,” he mentioned.
Sedom lifted her broken arm for him to inspect. “The Doctor says I need to keep it immobile for a few weeks.” She rolled the shoulder, seething. “As for last night, I hadn’t eaten in three days. You’d be moody too,” she explained.
He examined her arm, scowling when he noticed just how swollen it was. The arm was twice the size of her right and very bruised. “I don’t like the look of this. When we return to Cariou, I’ll have my own physician look at it. I know you want to train, but I need you to keep it wrapped up. And I’ve seen to it that you’re delivered three vegetarian meals a day,” he said, the care in his words shocking her.
“Uh… thank you,” she returned uncertain. No one was kind to her unless they wanted something. Instead of dancing around, she decided to ask. “In exchange for?”
Lord Wyice glanced at the door where Cizel stood. “Do you think you can still, well--”
“Kill? Yes, obviously,” she said. “But I’m not allowed into the arena until this has healed,” she explained, looking into his heated eyes. He had the eyes of someone wanting revenge but was unable to do it himself. “Not the arena?”
He grunted. “No. Rumors state you’ve met Parro Jarvol in the past?” he asked.
Sedom thought. She never heard the name before. Lord Wyice took a computer from the pocket of his cape and handed it to her. She looked down at the computer screen and snarled. “Renca… tried to kill me after my first game,” she growled as she handed the computer back.
Lord Wyice grinned. Finally, he had something that Sedom wanted. “Renca is a title. His name is Parro Jarvol. He’s in the palace for the night,” he whispered near, but not too close to her ear. Sedom’s eyes turned to slits. “Would you like to go for a walk?” he asked slyly, knowing she wasn’t about to turn down his offer. She nodded, Lord Wyice was right, the offer was too tempting.
Lord Wyice walked to the entrance of the tunnels leading towards the main palace. Sedom followed closely behind, all the while wondering if anyone was going to stop them. In the past, she was never allowed to venture into the palace or anywhere public without at least four heavily armed guards.
Cizal ran over to them in a mad panic, concerned that Sedom was attempting to escape. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
Lord Wyice turned to the man. “For a walk. I’ll return her when we are finished.”
Cizel shook his head. “Sorry, Lord Wyice, but I’m under orders that Syrok Cantro must be guarded by me or three other men at all times. She’s attacked too many civilians in the past. She’s dangerous, Lord,” Cizal insisted.
Lord Wyice looked the man straight in the eyes. Cizal began to sway slightly, almost as if he had been hypnotized. “We’ll be back shortly,” he spoke as if it were an order.
Cizel backed away. “Yes, sir.”
Lord Wyice smiled boyishly as he motioned for Sedom to continue. “Shall we?”
“Nice trick,” she mentioned.
“We all have our unique gifts,” he returned.
She grinned devilishly, knowing at any time she could kill the Lord and make a break for the doors. That was if she knew where the doors to the outside were. She opted to follow Lord Wyice peacefully. Besides, she never liked an unfair fight and the man, Parro, didn’t fight fair.
Lord Wyice remained behind Sedom as they walked the halls of the palace. Everyone in the halls moved out of their way. Sedom wondered if they moved for her or for Lord Wyice. It didn’t really matter, but it was definitely fun.
They came upon a door. Lord Wyice didn’t bother to knock. Instead, he knocked the door off its’ hinges. Sedom followed close behind him. She was amazed at the Lord’s powers and of his strength.
/> The main room they walked into was large, but it was nothing she hadn’t seen before. Three women, slightly older than Sedom, sat lounging in the room on large pillows. Each jumped to attention when they saw the visitors, but no one stood to greet them.
“What do you want, Lord Wyice?” one woman cawed as she twirled her blond hair around her index finger.
Lord Wyice took a pistol from his cape and pointed it at the woman. “Stand,” he ordered.
“Oh, put that thing away,” called another of the girls.
Sedom stepped from behind Lord Wyice and the girl’s eyes bulged. Each one stood with their hands raised. “Where is he?” Lord Wyice barked. The third of the girls motioned her eyes to a door to the side. “Syrok,” Lord Wyice spoke calmly. “Go pay Parro a visit.”
Sedom grinned. She started toward the door. When her back was turned, she could hear the sound of pistol shots ring out. She spun around to see two of the three girls lying on the floor, the third cowering on her knees. Sedom hurried over to Lord Wyice and forced the weapon from his hand.
“No. They are innocent,” Sedom shrieked.
Lord Wyice snatched back his weapon. “It doesn’t work that way, Syrok,” he said, snatching back his weapon.
Parro emerged from his room, pistol firm in hand. “Lord Wyice!” he gasped as he aimed his weapon.
Sedom pushed Lord Wyice out of the way as the weapon discharged. The Lord tumbled to the ground next to the woman he hadn’t shot. The woman slugged Lord Wyice across the face.
She kicked the woman across the face, knocking her out cold. She dashed towards Parro as he fired at her. She bounced off the wall, using it to gain enough power to knock the wind from his chest, forcing the weapon from his hand.
He dashed to the ground, trying to retrieve the weapon, only to find Sedom’s hand around his throat. Moments later, he gasped his last breath only inches from his weapon. Sedom released his neck and hurried back to Lord Wyice. He was gone.
Sedom gazed around the room seeing four dead bodies. In a panic, she ran to the door only to be blocked by the Cassaus’ guards. Sedom looked back to the bodies then to the guards. Six men aimed their pistols at her, forcing her further inside. She raised her right hand above her head. Seconds later the Cassaus herself entered the room.
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