Changing Course

by Brey Willows

  When she was alone in the room, Jessa rested her head on her arms. Was it true? Was she so far removed, so used to the pristine environment she’d lived and worked in, that she wouldn’t ever be truly a part of Kylin’s world? It felt false, like it didn’t have to be one or the other, but when she thought of the people who were shouting to Kylin, there was an undercurrent that made her skin crawl.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Asol carefully wrapped Kylin’s hands, paying attention to how the wrapping went on and making sure there were no awkward overlays. Kylin had been on her way to the Stables to get ready in the room set aside for fighters, and she’d never felt so alone in all her life. Even with the crowd pressing around her, wishing her luck, she hardly knew a single face. When Asol had bumped against her and raised Kylin’s arm in the air, the resulting cheer had made Kylin shake her head, but the relief of having a friendly face who actually cared about her at some level was almost dizzying.

  The crowd had thinned out by the time they got to the Stables, with just the usual lowlife bet takers hanging around. Kylin had stopped at the entrance and told Asol she should head back to Blue’s, but Asol had laughed her off, saying she wasn’t about to miss this.

  Kylin flexed her hands. The wrapping was perfect. Not too tight but not loose enough to come unwrapped. Her knuckles were perfectly protected. “Where’d you learn to do this?”

  Asol played with a piece of tape, sticking it to her nose and eyes and making funny faces. “Dock rat, remember? We used to set up fights at night just for something to do.” She stuck her tongue out, doing a good impression of a tree waftler. “And my bio dad. He was a fighter, like you.”

  “In debt and about to get his ass handed to him?”

  Asol laughed. “All the damn time.”

  Kylin rolled her shoulders, trying to work out the tension. “Hey, before I get in there. I know Blue’s is nice, but I thought you might want a space where you can settle in a bit. If you want it, my couch is free.”

  Asol dropped the tape. “You mean it?”

  “Yeah.” She pressed along her collarbone. All the color was gone, and it was only a little tender. Thank the universe she was a quick healer. “And if things go flying prowler shit wrong tonight, that offer stands, even if I don’t make it home.”

  Asol frowned. “You think there’s really a chance of that?”

  It was more than a chance. And if she did walk out of there, she might not be around long anyway. “It’s always a possibility when you get in the ring. You know that. And I think the stacks might be weighed against me this time.”

  Orlin pushed open the creaky door and scuttled slowly inside. Even upright he looked like something that should be spinning a web somewhere. His ugly, foul-smelling guards were behind him. “I see you’ve finally got someone in your corner. How adorable.”

  Kylin smacked her fists together and started bouncing lightly on her toes. Oftentimes her opponent had been bigger, but she’d been faster. She moved and turned until Asol was effectively hidden behind her. “Your pep talk could use some work.”

  “Oh, no pep giving here. Of course, it would be best if you lasted long enough to give the audience a show, but no matter when you go down, I’ll be happy.”

  She shadow punched a shot near his head and then squared up to him. “And if I win?”

  He laughed that slick, oily sound of his. “You won’t.”

  “But if I do?”

  Instead of looking pissed off, he looked like he was having fun. “If you do, your debt with me is cleared, and we never do business again.”

  That told Kylin what she needed to know. If there was any chance at all that she could beat her opponent, he wouldn’t make that kind of wager. Her stomach churned, but she wasn’t about to let him see any fear. The fact was, she wanted to win on every level. Winning would get her clear of Orlin, even though it would make him an enemy she’d probably have to watch for throughout the rest of her life. Winning would also get her clear of Maana, which meant she was free, and Jessa would be safe. Winning would mean everything. Too bad there wasn’t a flagweed’s chance it would happen.

  “Deal.” She held out her arm and had to work not to pull away in disgust when he clasped it with his own skeletal one.

  Orlin kept talking to his guards about how wonderful the evening was going to be as he pushed back out the doors, though they never responded.

  “That sounds like a good deal, right?” Asol asked. “And what possessed you to make a deal with that crawler?”

  “It’s a good deal if I had any chance of winning, which I don’t. And you do what you have to when someone you love needs help.” She slumped onto the bench. “Asol, if I don’t walk out of here, you need to get Jessa out of Quasi. Take her to Fesi, to the administrator’s house. Promise me.”

  Asol nodded, pale. “I promise.”

  Kylin pulled the little blue vial from her pocket and watched it sparkle in the sickly light of the dressing room.

  Asol glanced at the closed door and moved to block Kylin from anyone who could look in, then she put her hand out and Kylin handed it over. She pushed the little button on the side and grunted softly when the needle popped out. She pushed the button again, and it retracted. She reached for Kylin’s hand and studied it, turning it over and over. Then she pushed the vial below the fabric between her thumb and forefinger, and it looked like it was just a bubble of wrapping. She nodded at it, and Kylin pressed her thumb against the side of her hand. The needle popped out through the wrapping and disappeared again when she pressed her thumb against the side of her hand again.

  Their eyes met and Asol said, “Whatever it takes to get out of that ring and back to Jessa.” She grinned. There was no telling who was listening. “How can I be like you when I grow up if you’re not around?”

  They spent the next hour getting ready. Kylin moved around, got the blood flowing, warmed all her muscles. Without knowing who she was fighting she couldn’t picture any specific moves she might make, so she practiced all the ones that had worked in the past. Asol commented and teased, and she had to admit it kept her shoulders relaxed. She’d never had someone there before a fight before.

  The blue light flashed on over the door, and she took off her robe. She wore only a tight tank top and knee length shorts. Her feet, also wrapped up, were otherwise bare. Other fighters liked to have on all kinds of crap, but she wanted to be able to move freely and as lightly as possible.

  The blue light turned green, and she took a deep breath.

  Asol went and pulled the door open. “Come on, prowler scruff. Go kick his ass so you can get out and teach me how to build shit.”

  Kylin bounced at the entrance to the door. The crowd was chanting her name, a solid reminder of how long she’d been doing this. “You’ll remember your promise?”

  Asol punched her shoulder. “I’m not senile. Yeah, I’ll remember.” She lifted Kylin’s right hand and tapped the hidden vial. “But make sure I don’t have to, okay?”

  And then the announcer was yelling her name, and she half-ran out the door. Time was up.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Cosmos shit and prowler tits. Kylin stared at her opponent and tried to make out what she was seeing. One creature, two ugly, massive heads. A long, snake-like body covered in flashing, buzzing orange scales turned into a human torso, complete with four arms that looked made of stone. Three eyes on each face made it hard to know where to look, though it seemed to be able to look everywhere at once.

  She looked down at Asol, who waited by her corner with a towel and water pouch. She shook her head, her eyes wide. She’d probably never heard of a creature like this, either. Imagine a planet full of those, Kylin thought and shuddered. She needed to get her head in the game. She studied it, scanning it for any potential weak spots. The scales covered it from the neck down, and aside from flashing, which she took to mean some kind of electricity, they also looked like metal. The bulbous heads were knobbed and hairy, and the eyes
mean and dark.

  If she hit the scales, she’d likely get a shock. If she took a hit with those massive hands, it would probably knock her out. Avoiding its sight would be next to impossible. And there was nowhere to slide the vial in, even if she got the chance.

  No, it didn’t look like she’d be going home after all. All she could do was hope Asol could get Jessa to safety, and that the government official would come through and get them off planet. Surely once she was dead, Maana wouldn’t bother with Jessa. It wouldn’t get her anywhere. And Orlin would have his money, so her dad would be safe.

  The problem was, she didn’t want to die.

  The bell rang and she moved forward, moving cautiously. It was easily three times her size and when someone threw liquid at it, the liquid hit its scales and sizzled, sending steam into the air and making the orange flickers burst into suns along its body. Heat surged off it, making Kylin jump back. Its black eyes followed her every move, and when its tail lashed out, swinging around to knock her feet from under her, she barely escaped being sent flying. She leapt, landed lightly, and spun to face it. The crowd roared its approval.

  The tail came back and slammed into her stomach, knocking the wind from her and pushing her into the corner ropes, but there was no electrical shock. She threw herself into a roll to avoid another hard hit and managed to dodge it a second time. Back on her feet, she thought quickly. It liked to stun with its tail, which meant she needed to keep avoiding that. She bet that once she was down it would use those enormous fists to finish the job.

  She ducked, dodged, jumped. There wasn’t anything to hit, though she did manage a good solid kick to its side. The metal edges cut her foot, but she saw its eyes widen at the impact, so it must have felt something. She couldn’t understand why it hadn’t shocked her yet. Maybe it had been told to make the match last long enough to please the crowd.

  The bell rang, and she retreated to her corner. Asol handed her a water pouch.

  “I don’t see how this ends,” Asol said close to Kylin’s ear. “Why isn’t it attacking?”

  Kylin shook her head, equally puzzled. “No idea. See any openings?”

  “I think I saw one under the tail, and another right up in its sweaty armpit. That’s it so far.”

  The bell rang again, and Kylin moved forward. Under the tail might be an option, but it meant getting hit and holding on. Not optimal.

  She jumped over its lashing tail and missed the fist coming at her until it connected to her side. It missed her ribs, but the impact on her kidneys made the sick rise in the back of her throat. She hit the mat hard, gasping for air, and couldn’t help the cry that escaped when the tip of the tail, glowing orange, touched her hip, sending a shock through her that made her body arc.

  Faces melded into each other as she looked at the crowd, sound far, far away, mouths contorted in screams and grisly laughter. The world slowed into a blur and water blurred her vision. There wasn’t another strike, and slowly, sound returned, deafening. They didn’t care if she died, they just didn’t want it to happen too soon. She blinked against the slowly receding pain and saw Asol yelling at her to get up, to move.

  She struggled to her knees, then to her feet. She swayed, the section of her side pulsing. Turning, she looked at the creature who waited in his corner, one head tilted as it looked at her, the other gazing at the crowd.

  And that’s when she saw it.

  The intelligence in the creature’s expression. The emotion. It grimaced and snapped its tail as someone in the crowd hit it with a stick. The eyes looking at her were sad, the expression contemplative. It didn’t want to fight any more than she did, and she wondered just how a creature like this had been forced into one of Orlin’s fights. Had it been captured? Could it speak the common tongue?

  In the moments that they stared at each other, Kylin knew they were the same. Captives, forced to do what was necessary to survive. With that kind of electric power, it could have killed her quickly. What would happen to it if it lost?

  She moved toward it, circling it, and they went back to their dance of ducking and dodging. It let her get in a few kicks before it swiped at her, knocking her across the ring. The crowd was growing restless, drinks and food being thrown at the fighters as they circled one another, and Kylin kept looking for a moment, a way out that wasn’t immediately obvious.

  The creature roared with both mouths as someone stabbed his tail. It jerked forward, swinging his mammoth fists, and there was no way for Kylin to get out of the way. One fist connected to her temple, another to her opposite side, and she thought she might actually break in half as her body moved in horribly opposite directions. She put her hands up to ward off another blow…

  And slid her hand against the creature’s exposed skin under its arm. She managed to activate the needle and plunge it in before her body slammed into the mat and nothing but a rush of red filled her vision. She rolled to her side, gasping, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to figure out if she was still in one piece. The crowd came into view once more, and she wished she’d kept her eyes closed.

  Jessa stood with her hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks. As Kylin watched, she backed into the crowd and disappeared.

  The bell rang and Asol was instantly beside her, half-lifting, half-dragging Kylin to her corner. She emptied a water pouch over Kylin’s face before giving her one to drink while Asol dabbed at the blood coursing down her face and dripping from her chin. But all Kylin could see was Jessa’s look of horror as she’d run the other way, just the way Kylin had known she would.

  Asol shook her, forcing her to focus. “C’mon, Kylin. Look at me.”

  Kylin blinked and wiped the blood from the corner of her eye. “I did it.”

  Asol frowned slightly and then her expression cleared as she understood. “Well, thank the prowler tits for that. Let’s hope it works.”

  “Jessa was in the crowd. She saw.” The words burned.

  Asol flinched and shrugged slightly. “She was bound to find out, and now you don’t have to explain why you look like you’ve been used as a flyer runway.” She squirted more water on Kylin’s face. “Right now, you’ve got to worry about not dying, okay? Stay out of its way until you’ve got a shot. You’ve hung in and taken a good enough beating. Time to end it.”

  Kylin nodded and managed to stand when the bell rang. Her legs shook and her hands trembled as she held them in front of her. The creature moved toward her, but three of its six eyes were glazed. If she could take it down, they wouldn’t have to kill each other. Maana would get off her back, and Orlin wouldn’t have a spider leg to stand on.

  It moved toward her in a kind of falling, graceless movement, swinging wildly. She got ready, bracing herself. One swing swept passed her, and she kicked with all she had, connecting to its side, throwing it off balance. But where her foot hit she met pure, horrifying electricity that shot up her leg and slammed into her spine, sending her crashing against the ropes. She hung on, barely holding back the scream that needed to erupt, and watched as the creature fell and stopped moving altogether.

  The final bell rang and the crowd went silent. Asol jumped into the ring and caught her as darkness swallowed the last of the light.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  The tea spilled as Jessa tried to pour it for Kylin’s father. He hadn’t woken, but when she’d fled back to the house, unable to watch the brutality Kylin was involved in, she hadn’t known what else to do, and being next to the person closest to Kylin seemed like the only place she could be. He coughed occasionally, his breathing shallow. Did he know where Kylin was? He’d asked to speak to her alone. Did he actually approve of what she did? Was this how she earned money?

  Jessa covered her face with her hands and cried. Seeing Kylin fall to the floor, her body wracked with pain, while the horrid creature loomed over her had been too much. The agony in Kylin’s eyes, the shame in her expression as she’d met Jessa’s gaze…was this why she knew they could never be to
gether? Jessa had learned so much in the time she’d been here, but she’d never thought for a second that Kylin would be in the midst of that kind of violence.

  What if she didn’t come home? What if that thing killed her? Sobs shook her as despair swamped her. She should have stayed. She should have been beside Asol, taking care of Kylin and making sure she had whatever support she needed. But the roar of the crowd desperate for blood, the creature’s flashing scales, the knowledge that Kylin had walked willingly into that ring…it had all been too much. The market stalls had blurred as she’d shoved past people, desperate to get back to a place of safety. Did she know Kylin at all? How was the woman she’d grown to care about willing to use her fists against another being? Even one as disturbing as that one. The horrors of this planet were never ending, and now she saw what Blue had tried to say. There were things you should never find out about the woman you cared about.

  Kylin’s father coughed, and she wiped away her tears as he opened his eyes. When he focused on her, he sighed softly. He accepted the cup of tea she offered, then handed it back after only a small sip.

  “She didn’t want you to know.” His voice was hoarse.

  “I wish she’d told me. At least I would have been prepared.”

  He took her hand in his own. “Can anything prepare you for that?”

  She took a shuddery breath. “No. Perhaps not. It was so awful.” She stared at the paper-thin skin of his hand covering hers. “How can you allow it?”

  He was quiet for a long moment, and she looked up to see if he’d fallen back asleep. Instead, he was looking at her thoughtfully. “I imagine she’s told you that life here isn’t what you’re used to?”

  She nodded but didn’t want to interrupt his train of thought.

  “When you’re raised in the gutter, you learn how to live there. Thrive there, even. She’s done what she has to, and you may not like it, but she’s good at it.” He frowned. “Did you see who she was fighting?”