by Rock, R. A.
I bit down on the things I wanted to say.
“Shit, Chad. Tone down the swearing. My mental ears are delicate,” Yumi sent on a tight band. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so damn tired. I relaxed a bit hearing her mental voice. We had exchanged a few words throughout the day but mostly I had been lost in the hard physical labour.
“I’m pretty sure you could out-swear a starship pilot,” I sent back, thinking of the reputation the profession had and of the foul mouths of some of the pilots I had known. Her mental laughter came to me. But a moment later her tone was worried.
“Get out here,” she sent. “This is a set up. Bakersfield it definitely testing our loyalty.”
“What do you mean?”
There was a mental head shake.
“You’ll see.”
I supposed I would, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t want to.
I COULD NOT believe the choice of fighting outfits that Bakersfield had provided me with. The one I had on was the most conservative and I felt icky wearing it.
It was a jumpsuit that fit tightly to my body, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. There was some armour on the torso that no doubt would give me some protection but it also pushed up my breasts into completely unnecessary cleavage that I was not used to and that I hoped wouldn’t get in my way. The jumpsuit was, of course, cut away across my chest to give a good view of the aforementioned unnecessary cleavage. The only good thing I had to say about my clothes was that my breasts were held tightly and wouldn’t move around.
I had pulled my hair back and braided it in preparation for fighting but Bakersfield’s personal attendant had undone it and redone it so that it was piled on my head in what could only be considered provocative fashion. The hairstyle was completely ridiculous for sparring, and once far enough away from her, I tucked in the tendrils that she had carefully curled to frame my face. I didn’t dare take it down and braid it. I only hoped it wouldn’t get in my face.
I had chosen two short swords and a bow staff, as well as a set of bow and arrows. I studied the guards he had picked for us to fight, who were standing in the middle of the arena. Each of them was huge, muscled, and looked mean. I wondered that he would pit me against them.
And that’s when I realized that my submissive act was probably wasted because he must have heard of our prowess in battle. There’s no way that he would send some random woman into a training ring with these warriors unless he knew that she might actually put up a good fight. His people wouldn’t stand for a woman getting beat up, unless she gave as good as she got, which I fully intended to do.
Where the hell was Chad?
“Here I am,” he sent, appearing across the ring from me wearing some sort of European sword that I didn’t know the name of and carrying a bow staff. He was wearing black pants and no shirt.
He looked bone tired.
“What did they do to you today?” I sent, shifting my weight restlessly from side to side. He had been gone since breakfast.
“They worked us like dogs.”
I could sense how weary he was and it worried me.
“Can you fight?”
“I can but I’m afraid I may get hurt because I’m so damn tired.”
I seethed inside while maintaining a bland expression on my face. That little bastard. He had done this on purpose. He was setting us up to fail. And if we refused, then he would kick us out. Fuck, but he was good. I couldn’t help but admire the little asshole.
“I’m afraid that’s exactly what Bakersfield had in mind,” I sent and Chad gave me a nod, his face as serious as I had ever seen it.
WE SEEMED TO be in what was probably once an ice hockey arena. And the whole place was packed with people. There was dirt where there would once have been ice.
I could barely stand up straight and my stomach was growling, protesting its emptiness. I felt a little dizzy from not eating all day. My hunger made worse by the smell of some kind of roasted nuts that they were serving to the crowd.
A man came over to talk to me. He was short and stocky, with grey hair and a nasty scar down the side of his face.
“So, here’s how it works, Bud,” he said. “Each of Bakersfield’s champions fights five guards.”
“One a at a time?” I said, taking in the large men.
“Ha, funny,” the man said. “There’s no rules except that you must stay in your half of the arena.”
“No rules?”
“No rules. Last man standing gets a week off from their usual work.”
That sounded unbelievably good at this point.
“You have anything to eat?” I said.
He laughed again and clapped me on the shoulder.
“You must be an amazing fighter if Bakersfield is trying to give you such a handicap. You should take it as a compliment.”
“Forgive me if I don’t,” I said, feeling disgruntled.
“Good luck,” he said, with another laugh. “Because if you’re not the fighter he thinks you are, then you’re going to need it.”
I turned to face the arena where the five large guards stood, looking cruel. There was a big wall dividing the arena in half that looked as though it could be taken apart of they wanted to use the whole arena. Yumi would be fighting on the other side so I wouldn’t get to see what was going on. I hoped she would be okay.
What was I thinking? Of course she would be fine. It was me that might get my ass kicked.
The crowd was yelling and seemed to be placing bets. I stared up at Bakersfield my mind spinning as I tried to figure out why he had chosen Yumi and I as his champions for this month.
Presumably this was one of their most entertaining diversions, other than what went on behind closed doors with their spouses. So it was a good bet that Bakersfield thought we would be amusing. Then I thought of him sending Yumi into the ring as one of his champions.
Shit. Our reputations must precede us.
No matter how ruthless the young man might be, he would keep up appearances. He was all about appearances. That was what Madeline had said and what I had observed up to this point. So that meant that he would not send a woman into the ring. Not only based on her word that she was a good fighter. He must know something about what we could do.
That changed things somewhat. And I was sure Bakersfield wouldn’t be content with just having us get our butts kicked. There must be something else that he was planning but I couldn’t figure it out. I was too tired and the men staring me down were too intimidating.
I drew a deep, centring breath and got my head into battle mode. I’m not naturally violent and I don’t really like hurting people. Sparring yes. Actually causing pain. Not so much.
And I had a bad feeling that this fight might be to the death if I couldn’t keep them off me. They might not stop before they killed me. At the very least they were likely to cause me significant pain.
But if I was to be of any use on this mission, I could not get my ass handed to me. I needed to stay unharmed. I eyed the men that were all nearly a head taller than me and considerably wider. I’m not scrawny. But these guys were hulks.
I would have to use my head of I were going to win this.
I looked up at Bakersfield again and he met my eyes and held them. Then he smiled and it was the smile of a predator. The smile of someone who has seldom lost and doesn’t intend to start now. It was the smile of my downfall.
But there was something that he didn’t know.
I didn’t intend to lose either.
With a surge of adrenaline, I grinned back at him and grabbed my bowstaff, spinning it wickedly around me, until I ended pointing the bow in Bakersfield’s general direction.
He didn’t mistake my intention and the smile fell from his face. Good. He should know that I was no one to be screwed with. He might be playing with us. But we weren’t about to just lay down and let him win.
With a signal from Bakersfield, the men advanced and the crowd cheered wildly. I clutched my bow tightly reme
mbering the good luck that the man had offered me.
I was pretty sure that I would need more than luck to get out of this alive, though. And with one more deep breath, I advanced.
I STOOD IN the middle of my half of the arena where I was to fight, readying myself. Before I was prepared, they came at me and I felt my vision narrow and my hearing dim as I went into battle mode.
The guys that Bakersfield had sent me were big but clumsy and I quickly dispatched them, knocking three of them out using the bow staff, and leaving one gasping for air on the ground.
The fifth gave me a bit of trouble and disarmed me but I have a pretty vicious left hook and I managed to get in a shot to his right ear. He should be hearing bells ringing all night. The sore nuts probably would keep him occupied for a while, too.
The crowd was quiet and seemed stunned as the last man fell, but I ignored them, running for the wall that was keeping me from seeing what was happening with Chad.
I got up my speed and jumped, catching ahold of the top of it and hoisting myself over, dropping to the dirt on the other side. There was a roar of cheering but I didn’t bother listening to this fickle sign of affection. I was pretty sure they would have applauded if I was lying unconscious right now, too.
As I landed, I whipped out the swords from the scabbards on my back, looking around to see what was going on. And when I spotted Chad, my heart jumped into my throat to see that he wasn’t doing so well.
Damn. He was too tired.
If he was fresh there was no way he would be losing this badly. I thought that I could see a black eye already forming and he seemed to be favouring his left side. Four of the men were still standing and they had him cornered.
I wasn’t going to fight his battles for him. He wouldn’t appreciate that at all. Besides it would make him look weak.
All I was going to do was even the odds.
I sheathed the swords again and ran, keeping close to the wall and heading for the stands near where Chad was trapped. He was keeping them away with his staff but one of them must have knocked him in the head maybe. Something was wrong.
I didn’t send to him telepathically, not wanting to distract him. When I reached the edge of the arena, I planted my hands firmly and vaulted over the boards, landing solidly on the wooden floor on the other side. I glanced around. I was in the space where one of the hockey teams would have sat.
Chad was in the corner where the boards curved creating the oval shape of the rink. He had knocked one of the men down but the guy was already getting up. And Chad was staggering as if he was about to fall down.
I had no doubts about what would happen if he did.
These guys weren’t going to go easy on him.
He would be in the med bay for a week.
I scanned the area for something to use and spotted one of the heaters that hung over the crowd. These would have warmed the people while they watched a hockey game or maybe some figure skating. The angle of the heaters would keep the crowd warm while preventing the heat from reaching the ice and melting it.
There was no electricity going to those old things. I calculated the distances and, sure that I would make it, I took off running from one end of the box. I jumped on to the bench at top speed and jumped with as much force as I could muster onto the plexiglass. I heard it groan under my weight but I was only on it for a second before I leapt for the heater.
I flew for only another second until my hands clasped the thick wires that held up the heaters. I swung back and forth a couple times and then flipped my legs up on top. I arched my back and pulled with abs made strong from thousands of sit-ups, till I sat up on top of the heater which was just big enough for me to straddle like a horse.
Not daring to look where Chad stood, I whipped out one of my swords and hacked at the spot where the wire connected to the heater, after a half a minute of sawing, the old plastic gave and the heater fell to the bleachers below me with a crash.
Fortunately the crowd had seen what I was doing and had cleared out the area underneath. I let the sword drop too with a metallic clang. I grabbed the wire with both hands and began swinging. Back and forth I went until the arc took me over top of the ring of men surrounding Chad.
They were too busy with their business to notice me above them. A heartbeat later I let go, timing it perfectly if I do say so myself. I fell in what felt like slow motion, dropping down on the first man in the row that faced Chad.
But I didn’t just flatten him, I knocked him sideways. He hit the next guy, who gave a grunt of surprise. Then he knocked the next guy over and they all went down like dominoes.
I took a second to survey the scene before me and then I grabbed Chad’s hand, dragging him away to the other corner of the arena. The man who had explained everything to me was hanging out of the penalty box yelling at me.
“What?” I said over the roar of the crowd.
“You can’t do that!” He shouted.
“You said no rules,” I said, making a rude gesture at the crowd. This made them cheer again. I smiled, pulling Chad as far away from the guards as I could get to buy us as much time as possible.
“Hey, are you okay?” I said, examining him while keeping an eye on the guys in the corner, who were slowly getting to their feet.
He shook his head.
“A few of them got some shots to the head. I think I might have a concussion. Can I be conscious and have a concussion?”
I stared at him.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Kiss me.”
“What?” He stared at me stupidly and I knew that he was worse off than I thought.
“Never mind.”
I wrapped my arms around him and planted a big, sloppy kiss on him, at the same time connecting minds with him to create a Circle. He seemed to understand through his brain fog what I was doing and clung to me.
The crowd didn’t know that I was practically holding him up while we healed him — all they saw was us kissing madly. And as his strength came back so did his desire. Soon the kiss was so hot, we definitely needed to get a room.
I pulled back, planting one more kiss on his cheek. He gave me a grateful smile and I noticed the dazed look was gone from his eyes and the colour had come back in his cheeks.
“I’m good,” he said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” I said, nodding to where the guards were approaching. “Kick their asses.”
“Will do. Nice outfit, by the way.”
I rolled my eyes at him, then gave him one more quick kiss and jumped over the boards into the opposite team’s player box, making it clear that I wasn’t helping. I was only making sure things were fair.
When I caught Bakersfield’s gaze it was assessing. I looked away quickly. There was something in his eyes that scared me and I didn’t like that. I’m not easily scared.
But that young man seriously freaked me out.
I FELT BETTER.
Much better.
Not a hundred percent.
But way more like myself.
I surveyed the arena and the guards coming towards me, promising myself that once this was all over I would have a huge supper. God, I was famished. Then I focused on the fight and when they came at me this time, I knew I could win.
Now that I had some energy and wasn’t dazed from a half dozen knocks to the head, I could fight the guards off no problem. To be fair, it’s not like they were really a challenge because Bakersfield had obviously chosen them for their size and not so much for their fighting skills.
And none of them were trained in martial arts, which Yumi and I have studied for years. It was really no contest.
Soon the five men were lying on the ground and the crowd was cheering. Yumi gave me a broad smile and a wink from where she sat on the bench in one of the team’s boxes.
Fuck, I loved that woman.
She could have interfered. She could have kicked all their asses. She could have done a lot of different things. But all she did was support
me so that I could take care of my problems myself. She just made things fair.
But I didn’t have time to think about what an amazing wife I had because Bakersfield was standing up and the crowd was quieting down. Hawkings approached him and Bakersfield gave the man a small white square of paper. The older man took it and bowed. He left and Bakersfield began to speak.
“As usual,” he said, his clothes impeccable, his face coldly handsome, his voice ringing across the arena. “The two champions will fight each other.”
He looked down at me and held my gaze and his eyes were triumphant.
“Till first blood,” he added and the crowd roared.
What the hell?
I MET YUMI’S eyes and she looked as worried as I felt. She had retrieved her other sword from where she had dropped it and was now standing beside me. Bakersfield calmed the crowd again.
“Whoever loses goes to the water chamber.”
The water chamber, also known as his particular brand of torture that probably would kill you, too?
Fuck me.
The cheering started up again.
“Draw your swords my champions,” he said, giving us a self-satisfied grin. Yumi and I looked at each other and didn’t move. Bakersfield sat down again, not looking at all worried that we weren’t doing what he told us to. A moment later, Hawkings appeared and handed me a note. The folded square of paper looked exactly like the one Bakersfield had just handed to him.
“What’s this?” I said.
“A note from his excellency,” Hawkings said, his eyes once again regretful.
“Thanks, Hawkings,” Yumi said with a smile for the older man. His eyes got a little warmer for a moment but he only nodded, then left. I stared another second at the note and then began to unfold it.
“Open it,” she said, even though I was clearly already opening it.
“Oh shit,” I said, as I read the short letter.
“What?” Yumi said, frowning and grabbing the paper from my hands. I didn’t dare look up at Bakersfield. He was playing with us. He had been totally playing with us all along, pretending that he didn’t know who we were.