The Great Game Trilogy

by O. J. Lowe

  “And problems are meant to be overcome,” she said. “Can you picture it, gentlemen. Our resources together. Our people. Our intelligence. My grand plan. What can stop us? Join with me for together we can be legion. We will be many. Join with me and I can give you something nobody else can.”

  “And what’s that?” Cyris asked.

  “The future,” she replied. “A very long and very profitable future. Now, what do you say to that?”

  It had precisely the sort of effect she had expected. To say both looked interested would have been an understatement.

  Chapter Seven. Seeing It Coming.

  “Foresight of the future is a remarkably difficult skill to master. Any idiot with half a brain can see what’s coming. Making sense of it however, is harder. Some people have the knack for it. Many don’t. Some can cut through the bullshit with ease. A lot can’t. I’ve never managed to work out the correlation between those with and those without. As much as anything can be in this world, it does appear to be truly random. Breeding, heritage and family… They don’t come into it as much as you might think. One of the true mysteries we have yet to unlock…”

  From the writings of Bedoul Ghi-Zal, on precognition.

  The eighth day of Summerpeak.

  He chose Palawi.

  It was a choice he would ultimately succeed or fail by, he’d come to accept that. He also knew should he fall, he’d be universally derided for his choice. On the surface, it looked like there would be no contest. If Crush had been dwarfed by the cavern crusher, then Palawi was like an ant stood next to an elephant. Just for a brief horrible moment, he felt regret tugging at him. Maybe he should have gone with Snooze. At least they’d be on a par in the same weight class. Too late now. Come regret or rejoice, he’d made his choice.

  It’s all up to you, Pal. If you can’t do it, we’re out. Don’t let me down. Silently he pleaded with the hound and he could see Steven’s eyes narrowing as he studied the scene in front of him. If he were in his opponent’s shoes, he’d be overjoyed. Maybe, just maybe he could use his overconfidence against him. What people always neglected to mention with that cliché was those who found themselves overconfident usually had a damn good reason for said overconfidence. Steven couldn’t see himself losing this bout, Scott could see that from here and it looked a tough ask to prove him otherwise.

  “Oh well,” he said. “We’ve all got to lose sometimes, right?” He grinned, seeing the look of confusion on his opponent’s face as if unsure what Scott was talking about. That suited him fine. A glance to the side, he could see the video referee ready to commence the final round of the bout. The decider. Mentally he tried to find his focus, he needed to be at his absolute best here, if there was to be any hope of victory. No distractions!

  “Irrow, let us deal with this rapidly,” Steven said slowly. Did he detect a note of uncertainty in his opponent’s voice? If he did, it was no matter. To win, his prerogative was not for his opponent to slacken but for him to shine.

  He couldn’t contain his surprise as Irrow rose without warning, right foreleg ready to smash down onto an unsuspecting Palawi, a smirk on Steven’s face and Scott let out an involuntary yelp and recoiled. What the fuck!

  He said as much, blinking rapidly as he took in the scene ahead of him. Nothing. Irrow remained as it had a moment earlier, Palawi was looking at him like he was sick in the head. What the hells had just happened? The buzzer hadn’t even gone yet, he knew what he’d seen, the smirk Steven wore was the same…

  Then the buzzer did sound and Irrow rose high, right foreleg ready to smash down on Palawi, a Palawi who still had his back turned. Still reeling from the image, Scott found the coordination to give the mental command and the dog rolled away from the crushing claw. Claws tore through the ground like it was water, showering Palawi in dust and dirt.

  Something was messed up here. Last thing he needed was his head going kerplooey in the middle of the most important bout he’d had since… Well, the last one. He tried to ignore it, gave Palawi a command to zap the thing. If it was metal, then maybe it conducted electricity. That’d make it a very short bout. He doubted he’d be that lucky, and as electricity arced from Palawi and crashed into Irrow, the static dancing along the illuminated metal skin, he was right. It didn’t look like it had been ineffective. But at the same time, the cavern crusher remained standing, an amused look on its face. It ground its teeth together hard…

  …Came in hard and fast at Palawi, pushing off from the ground with a great roar of effort, ready to bite down. They’d snap the pooch in two pieces easier than breathing…

  … lingered for a moment, studied the dog and then lunged, pushing itself towards Palawi with a great roar of exertion and this time Scott was ready, Palawi hurled himself off the ground with a yip of effort and sprang off one of the giant legs for extra height. Level with the gap between the eyes, Scott gave the mental command and Palawi spun, tail glimmering with silver as he drove the appendage hard towards one of the giant eyes.

  Briefly, he felt a sense of elation running through him, this could be a decisive blow. Irrow, curse the thing, twisted below Palawi and managed to take the blow between its eyes, metal meeting metal with an ear-splitting scrape. He winced, the brutal keeee-skreee ripping into his head but didn’t let it distract him. If whatever was going on with his head wasn’t distracting him, the sound wasn’t going to.

  Irrow’s eyes looked unfocused for a moment by the blow and then it snapped to attention, raising both forelegs…

  …Smashing one down to the ground, Palawi dodged only to be crushed by the second one coming down even harder…

  … Scott didn’t hesitate this time, Palawi leaped out the way of the first one, barely dodged the second one, he saw the uniblast coming a few precious seconds before it left the jaws of the cavern crusher, Palawi already jumping high into the air before the blast tore into the ground cutting a deep groove through the dirt. He could see the stone glowing red where the heat had touched it, almost melting it into magma.

  For the first time, Steven looked worried, adrenaline surged through Scott as Palawi dropped another blast of electricity onto Irrow. This time it looked good, all five legs looking unsteady as Palawi landed on the cavern crusher’s head and fired off another blast in quick succession.

  … bringing one of the legs down onto its head, crushing Palawi to a bloody smudge…

  Already Palawi leaped free, as one of Irrow’s giant clawed legs came smashing down into its own head, there was an explosive clang and Scott saw the grooves left in the metal by the blow, could see cracks spreading from the point of origin like a spider’s web as it staggered. It didn’t fall but for a moment he thought it might, at least until the eyes refocused, looking plenty mad.

  This time he didn’t get an early warning of what was coming but he didn’t need it, he saw the attack coming from a mile away with his eyes, not his mind. All five legs went crazy, Irrow trying desperately to smash Palawi into the ground beneath it, crazily trampling stone into dust-sized chunks as it flailed angrily. All brute force and no finesse. He could work with that. Still he needed to observe Palawi’s movements, giving warning when one large chunk fell dangerously close to the hound but following the tantrum, the dog still stood relatively undamaged, if in possession of a newly dust-matted coat.

  As Irrow scanned the area, trying to search out Palawi, Scott gave the command and the dog lunged, body enveloped in a swathe of static and hit the giant iron spider between its eyes, not stopping there but carrying on running up and up the huge face until he was back on the head again, ready to unleash a blast of electricity down into the shattered skull…

  …Rearing up, thrown back…

  … Not enough time for the blast, Palawi was hurled into the air as Irrow rose onto its back three legs and let out a huge roar from within its huge body that made Scott wince. The entire stadium felt like it was shaking under the sound. The electricity rose impotently into the air, fizzled out into nothing.

/>   Shit! Scott saw it all twice, first in his mind and then with his eyes as Palawi flailed at the empty air, falling towards the open maw ready to swallow him. So near, yet so far… He’d nearly done it and he’d blown it. Those jaws were big, it had managed to swallow Palawi without biting down, that was the only thing that gave him some slight relief. If it had bitten down, it would be all over, and he’d be out. As it was…

  He’d had a strategy earlier, one with Crush he’d need to deploy now. It wasn’t quite the same, but it would have to do. Just for a moment it flitted across his mind and suddenly exploded through him like a river of perfect clarity. Scott’s face lit up with a smile, he could still connect with Palawi despite the six inches of iron between them and that was all he needed.

  Everything you have, pooch, he thought. Right now. Don’t hold back.

  It couldn’t be armoured on the inside, surely. He could feel Palawi struggling for oxygen, he hoped there was enough to get do what needed to be done. Irrow looked uneasy, like it was struggling with indigestion. That more than anything gave him hope it was working. Steven looked worried, doubtless he could sense discomfort through the connection he shared with Irrow. The cavern crusher continued to struggle, wobbled unsteadily on its back three legs, scratched at its body with the two forelegs. A deep moan escaped its jaws, just for a moment as its mouth opened, Scott saw a glimmer of light deep inside.

  Pal?

  Nothing. He couldn’t sense Palawi anymore and that sudden lack of a presence within him hurt, he almost bent over and retched.

  No! No! Not like this!

  All in silence of course, all the better to hear the suddenly audible cracking heard around the arena, followed by the sudden bellow of pain. He jerked his head up, glanced to Irrow who was suddenly clawing at its eyes. As it lowered the forelegs, Scott saw the cracks down the pupils, just before…

  …Cutting and shredding, mangling naked flesh…

  … He threw a hand in front of his face to shield himself from the debris, blood and glass raining down on him, shredding his arm. If he hadn’t, it would have been his face. Somewhere ahead of him, he heard a giant thud drowning out a howl, his arm stung in the sun and slowly he lowered it from his eyes to the sound of panting.

  Scott dared to look. Palawi sat there, tongue lolling out, fur covered in a sticky black substance he’d rather not think too deeply about. Behind him, Irrow lay defeated, two great holes where the eyes had been. Even if it could get back up, it wouldn’t be able to see and Palawi would have two targets to fire electricity into.

  It didn’t matter, because as the crowd rose as one in an ocean of rapturous applause, the video referee announced the conclusion of the bout and Scott bent down to scoop the victorious Palawi high into the air, all the pain in his arm suddenly gone and right there, he felt on top of the world, like no challenge was too great for him to overcome.

  Oh yes!

  It was the first time Peter Jacobs had found himself truly surprised in a while as he exited the stadium, almost walking into a familiar redhead in a scruffy black dress and oversized belt combination. In the stadium, you didn’t notice the heat as much. Out here, he suddenly felt the need to mop his brow. Which he did as he contemplated several sarcastic comments he could hurl at the girl.

  “So,” he said, mentally high fiving himself. Way to go Pete, that’s the highlight of wit. “Stranger.”

  Jess turned, glared at him. Ah, he hadn’t missed that. Not even in the slightest. He folded his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts and shot her a grin to counter her glare.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she said. Her expression softened a little. “I thought you were Scott.”

  “No, you really didn’t,” Pete said. “I look nothing like Scott. We’re different colouring for a start. And I’m taller. That’d be like me confusing you for someone who isn’t a complete bitch.” Ouch, he mentally congratulated himself. What a burn.

  For a moment, he saw the look on her face and steadied himself for the tirade surely about to come his way. He’d had a moment of bravado and he was surely about to pay for it. One simply did not just talk to Jesseka Blake like that without serious reprisals.

  They never came. One moment, she looked ready to cut loose and then her lip trembled. Apparently, surprise was more contagious than he’d been willing to believe before. She turned her head away and just for a moment, he felt bad. Really bad. Maybe he should apologise… He should but that’d be giving in. He wouldn’t put it past her to be faking just to wring one out of him. Or, he could just act like a human being. He gritted his teeth and sighed. This was going to be painful. “Ah, I’m sorry Jess. Been a long few days. Nothing personal.”

  She didn’t say anything, he frowned and strode to her. Her eyes were red, she looked tired, suddenly he felt worse than before.

  “You don’t look good,” he said.

  “Way to state the obvious,” she said. Her voice lacked the usual snarl. He thought she looked vulnerable, small and very, very worried. “What’s next?”

  “How about I ask you what’s up?” he asked. “I thought you’d left the island when you and Scott…” She stiffened at the name. “…Split up.”

  “I’ve not…” She rubbed at her eyes, he could see they were wet. “I think I made a horrible mistake.”

  Slowly he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat. “Well it’s a bit late now, I think.” That didn’t sound reassuring, he quickly realised as she looked even worse than before. “Although I might be wrong. It’s been known to happen. Come on, let’s get you out of here. I’m sure you don’t want people to see you like this. My room’s pretty private.”

  He wasn’t quite sure he was comfortable with the way she linked her arm into his as they left the stadium. Sure, it could be a neutral gesture. At the same time, he was glad Scott wasn’t here to see it. Last thing he wanted was his best friend to do something stupid like see his ex and feel pity for her, going back to someone who’d been completely horrible to him.

  Even if he was putting himself on the line by putting up with her. He cut a rough smile, weary but ready on his face. They might not like each other, but they did have some history together. They’d known each other for a decent amount of time. Long enough for him to be a shoulder to cry on. And it wasn’t like Scott was going to find out. He’d be sure of that.

  She glanced around his room and gave him a sad lopsided smile he returned with a heavy heart. Jess Blake should not look like that. He’d never seen her cry, he’d always thought she was like a Vazaran and just got more pissed off. “So, this is where you’ve been living?”

  “Yep,” he said. “Sure is.”

  “Smells like it.” Her grin perked up a little and she folded her arms as she sat down on the edge of his bed.

  “You know, I’m rapidly running out of sympathy if you’re commenting on my personal hygiene,” Pete said, sitting next to her, slid an arm round her and sighed. “Look it’s not important. I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I think Scott’s moved on.” He felt her stiffen at that. “He went with someone to that…”

  He felt her anger flare up as she jerked away from him, glaring angrily. “Was it that little bitch Mia?”

  Okay, no easy way to answer that… He shrugged. “Not sure.” It sounded like a lie as it left his lips. “Might have been. Might have been someone else built like her.” And looked like her, with similar hair, also called Mia. None of which he said aloud. “I don’t think it was though. I never saw her up close.”

  Something which had been tugging at him ever since Scott had first mentioned the arguments popped to the forefront of his mind and he looked at her with sincerity in his expression. “It was a bit of a weird night. A weird spirit dancer guy tried to kidnap…” Mia… “… Someone. It was a messed-up night.” He’d gotten into the news over that. Him and Scott and Mia and Wade and Harvey Rocastle all part of the same article. Scott had saved one as the background on his summoner screen, apparently proud
of it. He wasn’t sure why, it had made the two of them sound like they’d cocked up. Now, it felt like one of the last things in the world he wanted to bring up. “Jess, I talk to Scott, right? He said some stuff, you know. About Mia and…”

  He swirled saliva around in his mouth, wondering how to word it. She glared at him and he decided to come out with it. “Okay so why is it you went into a jealous rage every time he even went near her? I’ve never seen you do that before with anyone else. And even then, is Scott worth it? I mean, I’m at least twice as good looking as he is, and he seems to be having to beat the ladies off with a stick.”

  She said nothing, just tried to bore him through with the intensity of her stare, dulled by the smudged black around her eyes. He stared back. Nothing he wasn’t familiar with. She wasn’t going to get to him.

  “I don’t like her,” she said. “Mia Arnholt, the little harlot has a bit of a reputation on the spirit dancing circuit.”

  Something twigged in Pete’s memory. “Hey, that isn’t why Rocastle wanted to kidnap her, is it?”

  Jess snorted. “Rocastle is a fucking freak. All cock and no balls. Don’t even think he leans towards women. Whatever he wanted her for, it wasn’t to fuck her.” It didn’t surprise him, he’d already gotten that impression from the rooftop.

  “What sort of reputation?” he asked. “I thought you were all sleazy as hells anyway?”

  She ignored him. “Okay so she slept with a bunch of guys on the circuit.”

  “Yeah. Your point is?” Pete wasn’t impressed. He’d expected a little more. That alone wasn’t quite enough for stupidly irrational jealousy

  “Couple of them weren’t single.”

  Ah, that might explain it. He smiled and said as much. “So, you were worried she might steal Scott from you?”

  Jess rose up to her full height, putting his eyes level with her breasts and narrowed her gaze at him. “No. I was worried Scott would fall for her I’m-such-an-innocent-little-cock-tease act. I mean, we’d had problems before…”