The woman landed in a crouching position, whipped out a foot, and hit the one who’d thrown her on the knee. Her knee buckled, forcing her to go down. Her opponent didn’t give her a moment to recover. She jumped on top of her and started pounding on her.
Nausea hit me. This was not wrestling. This was mixed martial arts without rules. It was barbaric, but the crowd ate it up, cheering and howling. While the fighters looked pretty young, the spectators were middle-aged, except for a few groups here and there. I touched the elbow of a woman, and she whipped around.
“What?” she snapped and glared at me. My hands were clammy, so I was sure she was getting enough of my serum.
“Sorry to bother you, ma’am.”
“If you don’t want to bother anyone, you could start by not touching people, girl, or someone will plant a fist in your face.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. Where do I place a bet?”
“With the men by the doorway.” She pointed to our left at a group of men standing by a woman in a skirt suit, but her eyes didn’t leave me. “I haven’t seen you in here before. I know all the regulars.”
They had regulars? “This is my first time here. I’m not sure how it works.”
“Then you don’t want to bet on the girls. The fight’s already begun. Wait for Lou the Hammer. He is a sure bet with a mean hook. He has a new challenger tonight, a first-timer. Barnes told me the kid is unseasoned, but since he is going against Lou, he might prove to be entertaining.”
My stomach had dropped the second she’d mentioned a first-timer. Could it be Wes? When had he arrived here? We were a fifteen to twenty minute drive from Seattle, depending on traffic, so he’d either used taxi services or caught a ride from someone.
“How much are you betting?” the woman said, inching closer.
Yeah, like I was going to tell her. She reeked of cheap perfume and desperation. “I don’t know yet. Thanks for the tip. Excuse me.”
I made my way toward the front. The place was packed, and stale sweat and smoke hung in the air. When a hand landed on my ass, I gripped the offender’s thumb and twisted, engaging strength runes for added oomph. He squealed.
“You don’t touch me,” I snarled into his face. He nodded and flexed his fingers. A few people stared at us and smirked. At least my runes were still effective.
That didn’t stop more groping hands and deliberate brushes. I elbowed my way to the front of the crowd just as the fight ended. Bruises covered the winner’s knuckles, but her opponent looked like roadkill. She had a split lip, and her left eye looked like she’d never use it again. Two men carried her out of the ring.
The MC announced the next fight, and the room exploded with screams and people rushing forward to place bets. Someone bumped into me, and I found myself looking at a familiar face from Wes’s wrestling team.
“Greg Emerson?” I said.
“Hey, Lana,” he said a little too quickly, his cheeks turning pink. He tried to move around me, but I grabbed his arm. His gaze dropped to my hand. “You’re not wearing your gloves.”
“And you look guilty as hell. You gave Wes a ride, didn’t you?” I had to scream to hear my voice above the noise.
His focus was still on my hands. “Your hands look normal. Why do you cover them?” He touched my knuckles. “Wow. So soft.”
I slapped his hand. “Forget my hands, Greg, and focus. Where’s Wes?”
“In the changing room. He’s fighting Lou the Hammer.” He gulped.
“Did you give him a ride? Are you the one who introduced him to Barnes and this hell hole?”
He went pale. “How do you know his name? Wes said you wouldn’t.”
“Answer my question. Did you bring Wes here?”
He nodded. “I’ve been coming here since I turned fifteen, but I’m not as good as Wes. When Barnes said he was looking for younger fighters, I mentioned Wes. We were supposed to check it out over the weekend, but Wes called me this evening and told me to pick him up. He wanted to make quick cash, so I called Barnes.”
Part of me wanted to smack him for introducing Wes to this Barnes guy, but Greg wasn’t the problem. Wes was. He needed a place where he could be himself, and that was Mystic Academy, not this underground fight club.
“Which one is Barnes?” I asked.
“Over there by the doorway.” He pointed at the same people the woman had said were taking bets. “The guy wearing a black beanie.”
A man in a golden satin robe with a hoodie joined them, and Barnes slapped him on the back. His hoodie shifted, and my breath caught. It was Wes.
I wanted to run across the room and beg him not to fight, but I knew this was something he needed to do. He didn’t look left or right as he and Barnes walked down the cleared path to the ring. He wasn’t doing this to thrill the crowd, or he’d be smirking and grandstanding. No, he was out to prove something to himself.
Just before he slid under the ropes and onto the stage, he glanced toward Greg and his steps faltered when he saw me. A frown creased his forehead. I waved at him with a broad grin and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Go, Wes.” I cupped my mouth and yelled, “I’m rooting for you.”
He scowled. People flocked around Barnes’ people and placed bets. He stood on the side, talking to the woman in the skirt suit. I pulled out the wad of money I’d carried and waved it at him. I had a point to prove, too.
“Whoa, that’s a lot of cash,” Greg said. “How much is that?”
“Four hundred.”
Barnes had noticed me, or should I say he’d noticed my money, and was coming to personally accept my bet.
“Put it on him.” I pointed at Wes, who was still staring at me with narrowed eyes. A rebel to the end. He was so stubborn.
Barnes smiled. “Of course. Tonight the bets are on rounds, winner, and method. Plus-300 odds on the winner, 500 on the round, and 500 on the method.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that for every dollar you bet, you win three dollars if Wes wins. Five if you guess the round, and another five for the method he uses to win,” Greg explained. “The methods are knockout, submission, or judge’s decision.”
Wes would never submit. “Who’s the judge?”
Barnes pointed at his female companion. If the house decided when to stop the fight, the odds were in their favor.
“Divide the money equally between knockout and first round. My bet is on Wes.”
Barnes studied me. “Do you know something I don’t know, sweetheart?”
“He’s my brother, and he will win tonight.”
He counted my money and wrote down my name. He was still smiling when he moved on to the next person.
Greg nudged me. “Wes wants to talk to you.”
Wes was squatting by the edge of the ring. He’d already removed his robe. I walked to him.
“Was that the money from the pawnshop?” he asked.
I nodded. “I believe in you, Wes, so I’m betting it all on you. Give him hell.” Lou the Hammer had yet to make an appearance. “When you finish, we’re going home.”
He stared hard at me. I could tell he was undecided on what to do.
“Or if you choose to stay for more fights, I’ll stay too and bet whatever I win. It’s up to you.” The crowd started to chant, so I stepped back to where Greg stood.
“Hammer. Hammer. Hammer. Hammer…”
A man in a black satin robe entered the room. I expected to see a hulking man who looked like he chewed and spat out guys like Wes daily. Instead, he was average height and build. In fact, Wes was taller than him. But I didn’t celebrate because I saw the runes dotting his arms and face.
What was an Immortal doing fighting Mortals? Wes didn’t engage his runes. Worse, he didn’t appear surprised Lou was an Immortal. Was he trying to prove he didn’t need runes to win? I swear if he didn’t engage his, I was personally getting in the damn ring and punching his lights out.
The buzzer went off, and the round began.
Lou lunged and swung, but Wes was ready. He ducked and came up with a right hook, aiming for Lou’s ribs, but the man stepped out of range. Speed runes appeared on his arms as he shot forward and aimed a punch straight at Wes’s gut.
“That’s cheating,” I yelled.
Wes didn’t get a chance to put his arms up in defense. Lou kept raining punches on Wes’s gut. Wes tried to block, but Lou had the advantage of speed runes. He backed Wes into the corner of the ring and delivered a resounding uppercut to his jaw. Wes’s head jerked upward. Lou danced back as Wes braced himself on the rings, blood trickling from the side of his mouth.
He still didn’t engage his runes. Instead, he straightened and rotated his shoulders. When Lou rushed him, Wes was ready. He ducked, drove his shoulder into Lou’s gut, and propelled backward. Lou brought his fists down on Wes’s back.
A gasp filled the room when Wes used a technique I’d seen him pull while competing and jackknifed away. Wes was fast. I’d never missed his wrestling matches and knew he had quick reflexes, but he couldn’t beat speed runes.
He still refused to use runes.
Grinning, Lou rushed Wes, aiming for his jaw with a right hook. Wes dropped and locked his legs around Lou’s, tripping him. The man went down. He turned his head and used his hands to minimize the damage, and I saw his expression. Blue eyes flashed with rage. He hadn’t expected that. Wes bounced back, giving him time to get up. He was playing nice when Lou was a cheat.
Strength runes dotted Lou’s arms and body as he hopped to his feet. A snarl clawed its way to his throat as he charged Wes. Wes sidestepped, whirled around, and aimed for Lou’s ribcage, but he wasn’t fast enough. His punch went wild as Lou’s fist collided with his cheek, knocking him sideways. The crowd went wild.
“Hammer. Hammer. Hammer.”
Damn strength and speed runes. Their hero was an asshole.
“Engage yours, Wes,” I screamed, but I doubted Wes heard me. He was back on his feet, clawing his way to keep up with Lou, blocking, kicking, and taking swipes, but Lou was always one step ahead of him. His flying fists kept landing on Wes’s face and upper torso. The last one knocked him off his feet.
Pissed, I marched to the ring and yelled, “Hey, asshole. How about you fight fair and see how well you do.”
A sweat-drenched face turned toward me as Lou smirked. At least he stopped going after Wes, who was trying to peel himself off the floor.
“Want to rescue your boyfriend?” he snarled. “Promise me a night, and I’ll spare him.”
“In your dreams, pal,” I yelled, wanting to hurt him. Someone grabbed me from the back and dragged me away from the ring. It was Greg.
“You do not want to piss off these people,” he hissed. “Lou is their favorite fighter.”
I didn’t care. “Damn it, Wes. Engage.”
He peeled himself off the ground and got to his feet to face Lou. Pride coursed through me. He didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. As far as I was concerned, he’d won.
He threw a punch, but the blow whizzed past Lou’s jaw without making contact. Lou aimed a jab at his nose, his fist a blur of knuckles, and a crunch filled the room. Wes staggered backward, blood pouring down his face. The crowd cheered.
Lou winked at me, and I knew I had to do something since Barnes had no intention of stopping the fight. He stood a few feet away, watching the fight with a smirk. The female judge beside him was also grinning.
When Lou grabbed Wes and lifted him up, I knew what was coming. He could break Wes’s back and not care. I didn’t stop to think. I engaged invisibility runes. Then speed and strength runes.
I took off, rolled under the bottom ring, and aimed for Lou’s stomach before he knew what hit him. An oomph escaped him, but he caught on fast. He threw Wes toward the corner of the ring. I raced and reached it before Wes. He slammed into me, pain shooting into my back, but I cushioned the impact and grabbed his arms, stopping him from collapsing.
“Get. Out. Please,” Wes begged.
“Not happening,” I shot back. Up close, Wes looked worse. His nose was swelling fast, and he had bruises on his face and chest. “You want to die today, little brother? Then we go down together.”
“Stubborn,” he ground out.
“Takes one to know one. Engage your runes.”
“I can’t. Tried.”
“Then it’s just you and me. You watched my back; now I watch yours.”
The sound of laughter reached us, and I looked up to find Lou standing over us, flashing his teeth. I scrambled and tried to move to the front so I was between him and Lou, but Wes pinned me to the corner.
“Useless runes mean you are a bunch of mongrel Immortals. Did you turn each other, sweetheart? Share a blade?” He moved closer. “I could snap your necks, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Mortal laws won’t apply to me, and Immortal laws won’t protect you because you’re nothing.”
A hush fell in the room. I wasn’t sure whether the audience had heard Lou. To them, he had cornered a helpless Wes.
“Drop to the floor,” Wes whispered from the corner of his mouth.
Was he trying to protect me? He’d be open for an attack if I moved. I was no fighter, but I had working runes. He didn’t. I’d also watched him fight, so I knew the basics.
Lou laughed and whipped around, unleashing a kick. His blurry booted foot flew toward our heads. Wes couldn’t survive a hit like that. I pushed him down and blocked Lou’s foot, the impact sending a shock wave through my body and causing my teeth to rattle. I shoved his leg out of the way and aimed for his chest. My hand connected with his chest, and pain shot up my arm. It felt like I’d hit steel draped with skin.
Lou backhanded me, catching me on the side of my head. The sharp sting sent white-hot needles of pain through my head, and the impact spun me around, knocking me out of the way.
The pain didn’t stop; my healing runes were failing me. It was only a matter of time before I became visible.
Chapter 11
A roar filled the air. I didn’t know where it was coming from and didn’t have time to find its source, but something blurry shot across the ring. Syn caught me before I hit the ground and cradled me closer. Rage turned his aura dark red.
“You okay?” he asked, glowing green eyes searching my face for injuries.
“I’m fine,” I lied. My ears were still ringing. I looked at where I’d left Wes.
Lou had him in a headlock, and from Wes’s face, he was struggling to breathe while attempting to break from the hold.
“Help him, please,” I said.
Syn let me go and closed the gap between him and the two men. He didn’t hesitate, just grabbed Lou’s head, twisted it, and snapped his neck. He was back by my side, helping me to my feet before Lou’s body hit the floor with Wes on top of him. Syn pulled me into his arms. I could feel his body shaking.
“I’m okay,” I reassured him.
“When the portal opened and I saw you inside the ring, I thought I was imagining things. Then he hit you…” He swallowed and leaned back, his hand unsteady as he stroked my cheek. “It still hurts, doesn’t it?”
I nodded. “A little. My runes are still working but slower than usual. Wes’s aren’t. He needs help.”
I became aware of the silence and peered around Syn at the audience. The shock on their faces was obvious. Since Syn and I were invisible, all they could see was Wes pinning down their favorite fighter. He lifted his head and looked up with a dazed expression.
“We’ll heal him. For now, stay with him while I empty this dungeon,” Syn said.
Clear how? I wanted to ask, but I’d learned never to underestimate Syn. He knew things and had no problem breaking the rules. He waited until I went to Wes, and then he walked to the rope.
/>
“Barnes, clear the room.”
He knew Barnes? Wait, Barnes could hear him?
“The door is that way, folks,” a familiar voice called out before Echo hopped into the ring.
“Where were you?” Syn asked.
“Hauling Barnes and his lovely companion back here while you played the hero. I told you they’d run the second we appeared. They’re all yours.” Echo came to squat beside us. “Hey, sweetheart. That was a very brave thing you did for your brother. Lou would have snapped your neck to win.”
“You know them?”
“Oh yes. Every time our paths cross, we warn Barnes to stop pairing Immortals and Mortals in these stupid fights, and he moves to another town to open a new dojo or start a fight club. I think your man is going to put him out of business permanently.” His focus shifted to Wes. “You look like shit, Immortal.”
For one brief moment, I expected Wes to flip him off. Instead, he grinned, which impressed me. He was in pain and leaning against me.
“I feel like shit,” he said. “Who are you?”
“Syn’s sometimes partner and the kind of Grimnir you Immortals love to—”
“Echo,” Syn called out, but he didn’t turn around. His gaze was on Barnes, who was ushering his clients out the door. “Be nice.”
“I am nice.” Echo smiled at us. “He always thinks I’m up to no good. I was going to say the kind Immortals love to love. We need to patch you up, young man. Can you engage your runes, or do you need more?”
Wes and I exchanged a glance. Syn hadn’t told Echo about our situation. I appreciated that. The only person I wanted to know the truth was Syn and maybe Lavania since we would be attending her school.
“He needs more, but, uh…”
“He left his artavo at the mansion in Kayville,” Syn said, moving away from the ropes. “Talia has them. She’s waiting for you.” He must have seen the question in my eyes because he added, “I wanted her somewhere safe before coming after you and Wes, so I left her with Lavania at the mansion.”
[Mystic Academy 01.0] Fated Page 10