by Anna Zaires
“In the Arena, we honor all those who came before us – and all those who will come after. With this rite of violence, we honor peace – and the laws that make it possible.”
Now the floating image was showing the same colorful forest as before – only this time it was populated by the pale oblong structures that served as modern Krinar dwellings. A couple was strolling through the woods, a K male and female, wearing the light-colored clothing Mia was used to seeing. They looked beautiful and happy, walking together while holding hands. The image lingered for a few seconds, then winked out of existence, leaving only Voret standing in the middle of the Arena.
He remained quiet for a second, and then his voice boomed again. “Now it is time for the fighters to join me. Loris and Korum, please enter the Arena.”
Mia held her breath as the two Ks emerged, Korum from a structure to the right of Mia and Loris from a structure to the left. Instead of the usual Krinar attire – or the formal white clothing of the spectators – they each wore a pair of calf-length pants that were the color of fresh blood. Their feet and chests were bare, except for swirls of red paint that decorated their arms and torsos.
Swallowing to moisten her dry throat, Mia stared at her lover in fascination. He looked gorgeous – and utterly savage. Sitting in the front row, she could see the yellow-gold color of his eyes, light and striking against the bronze hue of his skin. His semi-nakedness only accentuated the power of his body; his muscles flexed and rippled as he walked, his posture graceful and threatening at the same time.
The other Krinar was an inch or two taller, with a slightly bulkier build. The expression on his hawk-like features was dark and full of hatred.
The two fighters approached the blue-clad figure in the middle of the Arena, pausing respectfully a couple of feet away. Voret turned toward Loris and addressed him, “Loris, you have chosen to challenge Korum today. Is that true?”
“Yes,” the Krinar said, his eyes glittering with the same dark anticipation Mia could see on Korum’s face.
Voret nodded, apparently satisfied. Turning to Korum, he asked, “Do you accept Loris’s challenge?”
“I do,” Korum replied.
“Then let the fight begin.”
Chapter 15
Korum watched as Voret lifted his arms – a signal to begin. At the same time, the float that was underneath Voret’s feet activated, lifting the Councilor into the air high above the Arena. It was the only way the Mediator – a role filled by Voret today – could stay safe during the fight.
His eyes glued to his opponent, Korum slowly began circling Loris, looking for the best opportunity to strike. He could feel his heart beating harder, the blood circulating faster through his veins. His mind was clear and razor-sharp, focused entirely on his enemy. It was always that way for him in the Arena; the adrenaline boosted Korum’s concentration, enhanced his reflexes. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that Mia was watching him right now. He could feel her gaze on his skin, and it gave him even more of a rush than the upcoming fight itself.
Loris responded by moving in a slow circle as well, his dark eyes burning with hatred. Korum gave him a taunting smile, wanting to enrage him further. It was one of the most basic principles of defrebs: the fighter who keeps a cool head wins. When Loris had attacked him in the Council meeting chamber, it had been laughably easy for Korum to subdue him – partially because the Protector had been completely out of control.
A smile: such a simple thing, but it worked. Loris’s jaw tightened, the muscle near his ear twitching. And then he struck, his right arm lashing out, his fingers hooked into a deadly weapon.
Korum avoided Loris’s strike with ease, his body twisting at the last moment. At the same time, his foot kicked out, hitting Loris’s knee with so much force that Korum could hear the other man’s joint snapping in half.
Loris screamed in pain, stumbling back, and Korum leapt on top of him, using the momentum from his jump to bring the Protector to the ground. Up-close combat was dangerous, but less so now that his opponent was partially – albeit temporarily – crippled. His fist smashed into Loris face, once, then again and again, each movement lightning-fast. At the same time, Korum’s knee slammed into Loris’s side, bruising his internal organs.
This was not going to be a long fight.
In fact, subduing the Protector was so easy that Korum should be able to avoid killing him altogether.
* * *
Two rows away from Mia, Saret waited for the perfect moment to strike, all of his attention focused on the combatants. It was risky to be so close to the stage, but it maximized his odds of success – and put him within grabbing distance of Mia, if the opportunity presented itself.
Of course, when he’d chosen this location, he didn’t know Korum’s charl would be so heavily guarded. Not only was she sitting next to Arus, but there were also at least two guardians watching her. Saret had spotted them earlier. They tried to blend with the crowd, but their sharp gazes betrayed their true purpose: they were there to protect Mia.
Saret wondered if Korum suspected anything, or if he was just being paranoid about his charl’s safety. Either way, it looked like Mia was out of Saret’s reach for now – at least while Korum was alive. Once his enemy was out of the way, however, it would be a different matter. Unless another influential Krinar took Mia as his charl, she would be brought to Krina, where Saret would be able to claim her under his other identity.
Saret’s interest in different identities had started several centuries ago, long before he had begun developing his plans for humans. He had been put in charge of rehabilitating a criminal who was a master of disguises, pretending to be three people at once, complete with different physical appearances, legal documents, and established lives. Saret had been so fascinated that he’d spent countless hours learning all about the man’s craft. The criminal had been more than happy to tell him everything he knew in exchange for a milder version of rehabilitation than the one he’d been sentenced to.
Saret’s second identity had started off as a joke, as a way to see if he could get away with something like that in their technologically advanced society. And, to his surprise, he’d discovered that he could; all it took was the right tools, knowledge of several government databases, and a couple of centuries to create a convincing new persona.
Saret – the mind expert – was now considered a criminal. Juron, however, was a law-abiding citizen of Krina who was currently doing some individual space exploration in the Krinar solar system. It would be Juron who claimed Mia as his charl next.
All Saret needed was to kill Korum right now, and at least that part of his plan would be successful. Then he could try to bring peace to Earth again.
His current disguise was yet another identity he had started to develop here on Earth. It was not as airtight as that of Juron, but it was good enough to get him past all the security and into Lenkarda for the fight. No one suspected right now that the man sitting so close to the stage was the most wanted Krinar in the universe.
Saret glanced at Mia again, then looked away. It wouldn’t do to stare at her openly, even though many others were doing the same thing. She was oblivious to everything, all of her attention focused on the fight. Saret cursed under his breath. It seemed like his little experiment had backfired in a major way, and she was growing attached to that bastard again.
That was really unfortunate. Now she would be more than a little upset when he died.
Slowly raising his hand, Saret aimed at the stage and waited for the perfect moment. When Korum jumped at Loris, Saret knew the time had come.
Taking a deep breath, he activated the weapon.
* * *
Korum raised his fist to deliver another blow, and in that moment his arm froze.
A wave of pain traveled down his body, starting at the back of his neck. His limbs felt uncontrollably heavy, his muscles shaking with the effort of holding himself up.
A basic stun weapon. Korum kne
w it with sudden certainty. The guardians’ scanners were designed to catch anything dangerous, but this kind of stunner used an older, simpler technology – one that was much more difficult to detect from a distance.
Reflexively clutching the back of his neck, Korum felt himself sliding off Loris’s body. His back hit the ground, leaving him lying there helpless, unable to move for a few precious seconds. To the spectators, it would look like Loris had delivered him a hidden blow of some kind; the stunner possibility would not occur to anyone right away.
Despite the danger – or maybe because of it – Korum’s mind operated with crystal clarity, analyzing the situation in an instant. There was only one person motivated enough to risk doing something like that.
Saret. He was here at the fight.
The hit had been to the back of Korum’s neck. He knew what a basic stunner felt like, had experienced its sting before. Just like a human gun, it was a weapon that had to be aimed from a specific location.
A location that could be triangulated.
Ignoring the pain and weakness racking his body, Korum sent a mental query to his internal computer . . . and then he knew.
His enemy was only steps away from Mia.
Fear, sharp and gut-wrenching, slithered through Korum’s veins, followed by a rage so intense his entire body shook with it.
He couldn’t save himself right now, but he’d be damned if he failed to protect Mia again.
Closing his eyes, Korum focused on connecting to the guardians’ private communication network.
* * *
Mia stifled a scream as she saw Korum jerk convulsively and then slide off Loris’s body. Up until now, he had seemed invincible, utterly in control of the situation. She had even begun to relax, some of her fear ebbing as she’d witnessed her lover’s effortless display of skill in the Arena.
Until everything changed in an instant.
What happened? She could see Korum clutching the back of his neck as if something bit him there. He seemed dazed, weakened by something.
What the fuck happened?
She could see Loris rising to his feet. He was already moving better, his Krinar body recovering from the injuries Korum had inflicted on him.
And Korum was still lying there, like he couldn’t move. Even his eyes were closed, preventing him from seeing his opponent.
“No!” Mia heard her own scream echoing through the Arena. Delia grabbed her arm, keeping her from jumping from her seat as Loris attacked Korum’s prone body.
She could see the glee on the other K’s face as he struck again and again, could smell the metallic odor of blood that turned their painted bodies a brighter red.
It was Korum’s blood.
“No!” Another agonized scream tore from her throat. Now there was a sickening sound of fist connecting with flesh, over and over again. “No, stop!” Mia wrenched her arm out of Delia’s hold and jumped to her feet.
“Mia, don’t! You can’t interfere –” The Greek girl tried to grab her again, but Mia shook her off like a fly, desperate to get into the arena.
She managed to take two steps before a steely arm went around her waist, pressing her against a hard male body. Mia clawed at that imprisoning arm, heedless of all but the slaughter happening in front of her eyes. “Stop the fight! It’s a setup! Can’t you see? He can’t fight! It’s a setup!” The arm only tightened further. “Let me go! Let me fucking go!”
Mia was vaguely aware that she was screaming like a banshee, yelling out anything that came to mind, but it didn’t matter. Arus was holding her now, and she was furiously fighting him, trying to twist out of his grasp. It was impossible to win against a Krinar, but it didn’t matter.
Mia was past any semblance of rationality.
* * *
Korum could feel the blows from Loris’s fist, his body shuddering in agony as the Protector’s claw-like fingers gouged out chunks of his flesh.
Emboldened by Korum’s apparent weakness, his enemy was taking his time torturing him before inflicting the killing blow. The pain was shocking, nauseating, but Korum fought the darkness that threatened to pull him under, knowing that all would then be lost. He was vaguely aware that his kidneys and spleen were damaged, that his ribs were crushed and his left collarbone broken, but it didn’t matter because he could feel the effect of the stun shot starting to wear off.
In the background, he could hear Mia screaming and crying, the pain in her voice ripping at his heart. With each second that passed, the debilitating weakness that rendered him so helpless was dissipating, his body beginning to function with a semblance of normality.
He needed to survive a little longer. Just a little more, and he might stand a chance, instead of lying there like a piece of meat.
For now, though, he was still far too weak. To fight back at this point would be deadly. Loris was playing with him, putting on a show, trying to regain his standing through this display of his fighting prowess – but at any sign of renewed resistance from Korum, he would go straight for Korum’s throat.
So Korum let the blows rain down on him, not even groaning when Loris kicked him over and over again. He ignored the pain of bones breaking and tendons ripping apart, concentrating only on remaining conscious.
And when Loris finally reached for his throat, Korum gathered every bit of strength in his damaged and torn body . . . and let his rage boil over.
His left arm – the only limb that remained semi-functional – hooked around Loris’s throat with a deadly grip, pulling the Protector close. And before his opponent could react, Korum’s teeth were sinking deep into his flesh, biting through his spinal column and severing the connection to the brain.
Blood spurted everywhere: in Korum’s eyes, his hair, his mouth . . . He was covered with blood, the taste and smell of it consuming him, adding to the black fury surging through his veins. He was no longer thinking or reasoning; he was bloodlust incarnate, craving more and more. His teeth sank into Loris’s throat again, ripping at it, tearing it apart, until there was nothing left.
Chapter 16
Saret watched in shock and furious disbelief as Loris’s severed head rolled down the field. The Councilor’s dark eyes were open and unseeing, his mouth slack and covered with blood.
All around him, the crowd was going wild. People were on their floats, in the aisles, screaming and stomping their feet. Korum’s name was being chanted over and over again, making Saret feel sick to his stomach.
He had to get out of there. Now, before it was too late. He could analyze his failure later; all that mattered at this point was getting away.
Rising from his seat, he joined the screaming spectators in the aisle. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mia struggling against Arus, trying to get to her lover. Saret desperately wished he could grab her and take her with him, but she was too well-protected here. He would have to come back for her again.
Pushing through the crowds, Saret slowly made his way toward the exit, doing his best not to draw undue attention to himself. He was almost there when he felt a sudden zapping sensation through his entire body.
Stunned and helpless, he collapsed on the floor, barely cognizant of the guardians surrounding him.
* * *
Korum didn’t know how long he remained in that mindless state of rage. It could’ve been minutes or hours. By the time he came back to his senses, Loris’s head was lying several meters away from his body, his eyes vacant and his neck looking like it had been savaged by a wild animal.
Dead. His opponent was dead.
Korum’s own body was in agony, and he could feel the darkness trying to overtake him again. Only the knowledge that there was still something he needed to do kept him from the sweetness of oblivion.
His greatest enemy was not the one lying on the field; he was the one hiding among the spectators – and Mia was still in danger.
Groaning in pain, Korum managed to get up on his hands and knees, his muscles shaking from the effort. He was dim
ly aware that the crowd was cheering for him, that Voret was formally announcing him as the winner.
None of that mattered to him now. All he cared about was Mia, and getting to her before Saret did. Korum’s body was healing, but not fast enough, and he cursed himself as his shattered femur refused to hold his weight, his leg collapsing beneath him as he tried to get to his feet.
“We got him. It’s all right; she’s safe.” Strong hands were suddenly holding him up, helping him get to his feet. It was Alir – the leader of the guardians.
Korum’s head spun, and his stomach churned with nausea as his damaged body protested the new vertical position. “Where is he?” he managed to say, his voice hoarse and ragged.
“There.” Alir pointed near the exit with his left hand while providing support for Korum with his right.
Korum squinted in that direction, the sun blinding him for a moment. When his vision cleared, he saw an unfamiliar Krinar being collared by three guardians. The man’s features were completely different from Saret’s, his eyes larger and his chin more prominent.
“He’s got a very good disguise,” Alir said, understanding Korum’s unspoken question. “Even the outer layer of DNA is different, which is how we didn’t detect his presence before. But the shooter’s coordinates you sent us matched this man’s location perfectly, and an internal DNA sample showed that it is indeed Saret.”
Intense relief mixed with bitter regret, leaving Korum conflicted about this turn of events. He had wanted to be the one to catch Saret, to punish him for what he’d done to Mia. But instead, his former friend was now in the hands of the Krinar law keepers. No matter how badly Korum wanted to kill him, Saret would now live to stand trial.
“Korum!” Mia’s voice reached his ears, jerking him out of his dark thoughts. Looking up, he saw her slight figure running down the field, her dark hair flying behind her. The happiness that filled him at the sight was so acute that he forgot all about Saret and his betrayal, focusing only on the girl he loved.