Change of Darkness

by Jacinta Jade

  ‘So now,’ continued Raque’s voice, ‘it appears like we have a bit of a unique situation in the pit tonight. Two of the contenders, it seems, have banned together.’

  Siray cursed herself for not planning for this. She and Baindan should have pretended to be enemies when the captain looked into the pit. She exchanged a nervous glance with Baindan. What was Raque up to?

  ‘Now this seems a bit unfair, really, on the poor third party …’

  Baindan snorted, and Siray grabbed at his arm to shush him, though she shared his contempt. The day Raque actually showed any real pity was probably going to be the same day the sky turned yellow. Never.

  ‘ … so I’ve decided to even things up a bit,’ the captain finished cheerfully. Silence for a brief moment. Then: ‘Ah, here comes Master Herrin now.’

  Siray froze, shocked that Herrin left the arena at all, and then alarmed. Why was Herrin coming out to the yard? He wasn’t actually going to jump in with them, was he? Though it might be something she could imagine the master trainer doing just for a workout …

  Siray glanced up again at Baindan, but his grey eyes, dull in the little light left, remained fixed intently on the edge of the pit.

  ‘Master Herrin,’ said Raque in a bright and welcoming tone. ‘It seems that we need to even up the numbers in the pit a little, given that two of our candidates have formed an alliance.’

  Herrin said something to Raque in his deep, gruff voice, which Siray couldn’t make out, but she could picture the training master standing beside Raque, his posture oozing the promise of violence, his scarred face a study in blankness.

  ‘I agree,’ responded the captain. ‘I would ask for a volunteer, of course, but I doubt that I’ll get one.’

  Silence for another moment, then the sound of approaching footsteps right before Raque’s head and shoulders appeared by the brink of the pit again, his face now almost completely in shadow as the sky darkened to an even deeper shade of purple.

  ‘While Master Herrin makes his choice, let me explain the new rules.’ Raque had raised his voice so it would carry back to the watching captives, and he punctuated his words by every so often glancing down into the dirt prison. ‘They’re fairly simple. The pair that kills the other two gets to rejoin the training program.’ He smirked, enjoying the moment. ‘Any questions?’

  Siray glared up at him.

  ‘I didn’t think so,’ Raque remarked as he turned away. ‘Master Herrin, have you decided?’ His tone was conversational, as if he and Herrin were merely discussing the pros and cons of a particular fighting technique, rather than picking out someone from the larger group who was about to fight for their life.

  ‘Yes,’ Herrin said coldly. ‘That one.’

  A frightened shout followed a moment later as a captive was obviously grabbed.

  Siray couldn’t tell if the cry had been male or female but was praying over and over to the Mother that it wasn’t one of her friends. Then she berated herself. As if it being a stranger would make what she and Baindan had to do any easier.

  Suddenly, three shadowy forms materialised at the edge of the pit, and a yell was the only warning Siray and Baindan had as the middle form was shoved into the hole.

  Flailing legs and arms hit the dirt, a male voice cursing soundly as the figure quickly tried to raise himself to his feet.

  ‘Quick, move,’ Baindan urged Siray, and they both backed farther into one corner while the captive who had already been in the pit rushed to the new male’s side, throwing wary glances at Siray and Baindan as he tried to help the other stand.

  ‘Don’t touch me!’ screamed the new male, flinching away, right before he observed Siray’s and Baindan’s dark forms in the corner and recoiled a second time, his body moving backwards until he hit the wall halfway along the pit.

  The male’s voice was distinctive to Siray, and with a start, she realised it was the arrogant male who had pushed her and Genlie out of his way earlier that day. The same male who had led his unit to defeat against Siray’s.

  Herrin had obviously chosen someone who wasn’t performing to his demanding standards.

  The strongest survive, thought Siray ironically.

  ‘Don’t take too long now.’ Raque’s voice made Siray glance up again, though the captain was now barely more than an outline against an ever-darkening sky. ‘The longer you all wait, the weaker you’ll become.’ He chuckled again and whirled away.

  Siray thought the other captives, including her remaining friends, would now be dismissed, but further words from Raque drifted to her, although she only managed to catch part of what he said, due to the cool night wind that had begun to whisper past the top of the pit.

  ‘Well, only a couple of days left … narrow it down to … that will make up … and apply your … can’t have you … can we?’ finished Raque on a cheerful note.

  Siray narrowed her brows in confusion, unable to determine any meaning from the mix of words. She glanced up at Baindan. ‘What was that about?’ she whispered.

  But Baindan shook his head. ‘I’m not sure.’

  So he hadn’t heard all of Raque’s little speech either, then.

  The sounds of many moving feet made Siray promptly raise her gaze up to the edges of the pit. She could see darker smudges that she supposed were the heads and shoulders of the guards who had obviously been posted by the low wooden barrier surrounding the rectangular hole. Perhaps the guards have been put there to ensure the other captives don’t try to come to our aid, Siray thought. Which they might have, if Raque hadn’t been so flaming good at his job. Mother take him.

  Siray’s face was still tilted upwards when the smell hit her like a smack in the face, and she breathed it in deeply, without thinking. Hot food. That was all it took to set off the clamouring of her body as it became aware that it needed—nay, was owed—nourishment. Her stomach felt like it was hollowing itself out, its depths only now being realised as Siray’s shock at finding herself in the pit wore off. Yet Baindan must have been far hungrier having forfeited his midday meal so he could keep a clear head during their earlier fight against the other unit.

  She went to place a comforting hand on her stomach but remembered in time that there were probably two sets of eyes peering down this way, so she placed the hand on her hip instead.

  ‘We’ve got to work together.’ The murmur wasn’t meant for her or Baindan’s ears, but Siray heard it anyway.

  She leaned into Baindan, seeking comfort. She really didn’t want to hear any of the pair’s scheming; it made her automatically think about how they were going to survive this. Yet, while the means were terrible, Raque’s alteration to the rules meant that there was now hope for her and Baindan—hope that they might get out of this together. And then …

  She shook her head, pushing the thought away. One thing at a time.

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  Siray looked around at Baindan’s whisper, then realised he’d felt her shake her head. So she told him a half-truth. ‘I’m not sure if I can do it.’

  Baindan seemed to know what she meant. ‘I don’t know if I can either. But it’s us or them.’

  She shook her head again, terrified of what surviving this hole might turn her into. The image of Melora’s hard, joyless eyes, her face dripping blood as she stepped out from a killing ground of thirty or so captives rose starkly into Siray’s mind. ‘There must be another way.’ Yet even as she said the words, she knew they were empty. What else could they do?

  Baindan settled himself more comfortably into his position beside her, one of his hands sliding along the dirt wall behind them to wrap around her waist. ‘Well, they’re not our enemies until they make themselves so,’ he said, the motion of his head letting Siray know he was gazing across the dark pit in the direction of the other pair.

  The quiet, almost imperceptible sounds of whispers echoed back across to them.

  ‘Let’s just see how long that takes,’ Siray replied hoarsely.

  CHAPTER FIF
TEEN

  SIRAY FELT LIKE something was tickling her hand, and she tried to brush away whatever it was so she could keep sleeping. She’d been having a lovely dream, and if she could just doze off again … Yet the same soft roughness was now being applied to Siray’s face, and she sat up indignantly, blinking her eyes as she readied herself to abuse whomever it was who had woken her. But as she kept blinking, she became aware that the darkness wasn’t evaporating. Just to check, she waved a hand in front of her face. Yep, I’m awake. Then the previous day came back to her in a flood of memory and feeling. And she realised what the rough, soft thing was.

  ‘I’m awake, I’m awake,’ she murmured, low enough to know that he could hear her voice even if she almost couldn’t. ‘My turn, huh?’

  Another wet lick confirmed her guess. Baindan must not want to Change back from his cripwof form until she had Changed. Good idea in this darkness. Siray stepped a little away from Baindan to give herself room, then took another step. Hard to know in the blackness if she had enough room, but it would have to do. Her sevonix form would, of course, have been ideal here, as it was equal to, if not more of a keener predator, than Baindan’s cripwof form. But it was too risky—she’d be signing up for a worse fate than the one staring them down now if she were caught. She shrugged to herself. Her yeibon form would have to do.

  Siray focused inwards, her mind zeroing in on that hard core of power. In her mind, she brushed fondly over one shape chain before she moved onto the one she actually sought. Grabbing on to it with imaginary hands, she felt her body begin to shift, muscles stretching and a brief itch coursing over her as hair erupted all over her body. She breathed in deeply as her lungs enlarged, her nose twitching as she began identifying individual smells. Her altered eyes, once they had adjusted, allowed her to see more in the dark than she had before, although obviously not so well as Baindan could in his cripwof form.

  Now Changed, Siray paced carefully back over to Baindan, being cautious to keep her heavy steps quiet, her nose and ears constantly moving as she located the two males across from her and Baindan in the dark.

  They remained in the same corner as before, their evenness of breathing telling Siray that they were both most likely asleep.

  Once she was in a suitable position, her head with its sharp horns angled so that it pointed towards the other males, she stopped and proceeded to get comfortable, listening to the minute sounds of Baindan circling twice before he laid himself down to sleep.

  Her ears and nose told her that Baindan hadn’t Changed back after all, and she realised that he wanted to be able to leap into the fight straightaway if he had to.

  When she felt something warm and furry touch her right front leg, Siray peered down. She could just make out Baindan’s muzzle resting against her foot, his large head rising a couple of handspans up the length of her leg. She looked back up and began her vigil over the corner where she could smell the two males resting. She hoped they stayed asleep throughout the night.

  ***

  It was a shout of surprise that first startled Siray. She hadn’t been sleeping, of course—she wouldn’t endanger Baindan that way—but she had been enjoying the stars, counting how many she could see and marvelling at their distant beauty. For the past three nights, she hadn’t been able to savour their luminescence, being contained every other evening in her cell. Not that she had been able to appreciate them on the march here either, an endeavour she and most of the other captives had barely survived.

  But now a yell from outside of the pit put all her senses on full alert, her sensitive yeibon ears twitching in response to the cry of alarm. Hearing the slightest noise from her right side, she knew that Baindan had also heard it, and a gentle, moist touch to the back of one front leg told her that he had risen to stand beside her, an almost inaudible huff escaping his cripwof lungs.

  More yelling from outside the pit and what sounded like a stampede of running feet. Now grunts and shouts could be heard, mixed in with the sound of animal screams. Then, from closer by, but still above them, a terrible growling resonated through the night, and Siray ears communicated the sounds of two beasts ripping into each other.

  She couldn’t understand what was happening. Had some of the captives attempted an escape? Had … Her thoughts trailed off in horror. She bent her head down carefully towards Baindan, meaning to communicate with him in some manner, but a quiet growl from deep in his throat made her swing her large head back up in alarm.

  She couldn’t pierce the darkness with her eyes like he could, but her hearing was good enough to confirm what was missing. She couldn’t hear the other males breathing anymore. Her whole body tensed, at the ready, as she scanned the darkness, her nose quivering. There was a new scent in the pit …

  The attack came from head-on, and Siray only had the sudden sound of hooves hitting the soft ground to warn her before she felt something slash her shoulder open to the bone. She let out a yeibon scream of pain and turned to confront her attacker.

  But then a savagely snarling form dashed out from between her four legs and leapt into the dark onto a slightly darker patch of the night. Baindan was defending her. Ignoring the fire in her shoulder, Siray started into the darkness after him, proceeding carefully as she tried to make out what it was that had attacked her.

  As torches were rapidly lit in the yard above while the guards dealt with the disturbance, the sudden flare of light in the pit made Siray rear up in surprise. All at once, the night had been chased away by flickering radiance, clearly revealing the situation unfolding within the hole.

  Creeping around to Siray’s left against the pit wall, and now just as surprised as she at the sudden illumination, was a thin and scaly creature. Its body was one thick serpentine muscle that curved down to the sand, and its head, back, and tail were covered with hard chitinous plates like armour. It had sharply pointed teeth and a wide, curved mouth in an intelligent face that reached almost to Siray’s current height, but the teeth were the least of her problems. The issue, she knew, would be dealing with its two large claws, similar to arms, but with pincers that contained a strength that could crush bones the way a rilander snapped trees … easily. She knew its name—had disliked the creatures from the moment she had first seen a picture of one when she was a youngling. A sandiota.

  Siray only spared the briefest glance out the corner of her eye to note the creature Baindan was now facing off against. An oreto—a four-legged creature with an almost skeletal thinness and that stood just as tall as she. With a neck that was ridiculously thick with coiled muscle compared to its slim body, the oreto had a curving head with two long and very sharp horns. And one of them was dripping blood. Her blood. Although the creature might have looked like a herbivore at first glance, it most certainly was not.

  As Baindan carefully dodged the oreto’s stabbing horns and snarled back viciously at the thin-legged creature, Siray’s yeibon mind went white with fury. The other two had started this. They were doing exactly what the Faction wanted—allowing themselves to be used as pawns.

  Obviously willing to kill their own to survive, Siray guessed the pair had decided to use the commotion still playing out above to cover their attack.

  A pause in the sandiota’s movements made Siray turn all of her attention back to it, right before it made the decision to ignore her completely and go for Baindan.

  With the barest hint of a rasp, a scream of fury and panic erupted from Siray’s large throat, and she put her head down and charged.

  Baindan, who took her scream for the warning it was, whirled away from the oreto and, spying the sandiota stalking towards him, launched himself at it instead, teeth bared as he ducked its snapping limbs, his nimble form better equipped to deal with the creature than Siray. Which left the oreto to her.

  So Siray threw everything she had into her charge, some inherent instinct in her form recognising the predator sizing her up and urging her to increase her speed even as she adjusted her angle of attack. And although her char
ge brought her larger bulk swiftly down upon the oreto, in the moment before she connected, it turned and lowered its head, and their horns came together in a great crash, locking against one another.

  Siray braced her body as the oreto pushed back against her, trying to force her to give ground. This type of fighting was something she had never experienced before, but it didn’t matter—her yeibon instincts were taking over. Yet Siray was careful to let them only rule her to a point, and she maintained enough awareness of herself that she remembered who and what she really was at all times. Enough to pull back from the yeibon mind if she had to.

  Her opponent’s strength surged against hers again, but while the oreto had the more powerful neck, she had the dominant body strength. And the fiery anger that was a deep-rooted part of a red yeibon.

  Digging her front and back legs into the soil, Siray shoved her own head forwards in an attempt to make the oreto retreat. Being a male, the oreto could apply a lot of strength, but unlike Siray’s yeibon form, that power was nearly all focused at the one point—in the oreto’s muscular neck. And when that neck could take no more of the strain, there was nothing to back it up.

  The oreto’s hooves slid, just a little, in the dirt of the pit, Siray feeling more than seeing the slight shift in the wavering light.

  She pushed harder against the male’s horns, every muscle straining as she bore down with all her strength. Then she ducked her head lower still, trying to work her horns around the other’s and gouge at his face and neck. Yet when the creature twisted its neck to the side with one shockingly powerful move, Siray rapidly learned that oretos’ necks were thick and strong for a reason.

  With their horns locked together as the oreto continued to turn its own head bit by bit, Siray could not break away, and she found her own head and neck rotating due to the superior strength of the other. As she felt her own neck begin to shift into an unnatural angle, her feet slowly slipping out from under her, Siray had no choice but to let her body roll with the force, or risk her neck being snapped. But even as her shoulder crashed into the hard ground, the flesh bruising, Siray saw her chance. The oreto had disengaged its horns from hers, having successfully thrown her to the ground, and was rearing up in an expression of victory.