by Leslie Chase
Gennafera looked up at me and I met her gaze with a wordless plea. She sighed. Even from this distance I could see the pain in her eyes as she shrugged.
There was no choice in a slave’s life, none at all.
But Athazar straightened, lifted his sword above his head, and turned to face the VIP box. His back to the Greens, he was vulnerable, but none of them took advantage. Instead, they hung back, waiting to see what he had planned.
“Enough,” he shouted, voice amplified to echo through the arena. “I have killed for you, Princess Tlaxanna, but I will not kill my mate’s friends for you.”
He dropped the sword and relief flooded through me. I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding, my fingers trembling and heart pounding.
Tlaxanna laughed again, this time sounding a little forced.
“You know what will happen if you defy me, Athazar,” she said. “Your darling Emma will suffer the consequences of your disobedience.”
That was too much.
“You’d punish me anyway,” I shouted, my voice echoing through the arena. “That’s your plan, isn’t it? To push Athazar until you can tell everyone he failed your test.”
Tlaxanna smiled like a cat, all malice behind that beautiful face. “Of course it is, though I didn’t expect him to fail so easily. You will suffer as much as I can arrange, and Athazar will die knowing that he failed to save you.”
I swallowed, and for a brief moment considered attacking her. It was pointless — my implant would stop me, and even if it wouldn’t, her bodyguard stood behind me, ready to intervene. There was no chance I’d achieve anything more than irritating Tlaxanna.
Around the arena, the crowd shifted and muttered. This might be fun for an Imperial Princess, but the audience had paid for bloody sport. Prodrirs looked a question at Tlaxanna and she nodded impatiently.
“If he won’t fight, kill him where he stands,” Prodrirs said, addressing the other gladiators. They looked at each other reluctantly and then Armax walked forward raising his club.
Gennafera stepped into his path, axes at her sides. She made no motion to defend herself, just blocking Armax’s advance with her body.
“No,” she said simply. The crowd muttered again, and someone cheered. Whether at her heroic defense of a friend or just because there was going to be a fight, I couldn’t tell.
For a moment, she and Armax faced each other down. Then he sighed, cursed, and lowered his weapon. Gennafera relaxed and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
All of the Greens turned to face Prodrirs, and his face darkened apoplectically. Under other circumstances I’d have enjoyed his spluttering outrage as his slaves defied him.
“What are you waiting for?” he demanded. “Get on with it.”
“We’re fighters, not murderers,” Gennafera replied. She shifted her weight and glared, lowering her axes. “Kill him yourself if you must.”
Even Tlaxanna looked taken aback for a moment. Prodrirs’s face darkened, grabbing the controls hanging from his belt and hesitating. He could punish them all, but that wouldn’t look good for the crowd — and he’d promised a show to end all shows.
Instead of activating the agonizers, he hit another switch, and arena doors slid open. More gladiators filed out of the barracks. The Red team, then the Blues, and finally the Golds, all walked out onto the sands. They spread out, forming a circle around the Greens.
Even they looked reluctant to attack. The arena fell silent, the crowd waiting for something to happen, and my emotions warred with each other. Pride in my friends against pain at their certain deaths.
I wished I was down there in the arena, taking part in that doomed last stand.
Prodrirs’s patience ran out, and he lifted his controller where the gladiators could see it. “Any of you that wish to live, strike down Athazar now!”
The Blue gladiators stepped forward, only for Tybin to step into their way. They glared wordlessly at each other, and then the rest of the Greens stepped forward to join him. Even Armax shrugged reluctantly and came to Athazar’s defense.
“Fuck this,” he said, grabbing a rock from the floor and throwing it at the Prodrirs’s face. It glanced off the forcefield, a harmless display of defiance.
“You’re not killing our friend,” Mixal said, glaring around as he joined Tybin. Athazar looked as shocked as Prodrirs as the Greens formed a defensive circle around him.
They’re all going to die, I thought despairingly. Even together, they were outnumbered three to one — but the fighters from the other barracks didn’t seem to relish the fight, despite the odds.
Tlaxanna looked amused by the confrontation, but Prodrirs ground his teeth in fury. What had looked like a profitable match was now going to cost him at least a quarter of his best fighters, after he’d already lost his champion.
Why isn’t he using the agonizers? As soon as I asked the question, I realized the answer. They were fine for punishing wayward slaves in the barracks, but out here in front of the audience? That was no kind of a show. He needed this day to be a success.
Unfortunately, he had other tricks up his sleeve. Jabbing his fingers at the controller, he opened the beast cages. Growls and roars sounded from around the arena, making the fighters flinch and look around.
“Either you kill those upstarts, or you all die,” Prodrirs hissed, his mask of paternal concern gone. The crowd held their collective breath, watching, and I could feel their anticipation. If all the beasts in the arena were loosed on all the gladiators, it would be the fight of the century.
Bloodthirsty bastards, I thought. I wonder what you’d think if the animals got loose in the stands? Now that would be a sight to see.
I blinked. Looked at the controller again, and wondered.
It was a stupid plan. A crazy one. Probably it wouldn’t work. But what did I have to lose? Everyone I cared about on this planet was going to die anyway. The worst that could happen was that I’d achieve nothing.
At best… I didn’t know what I’d achieve, but it had to be worth a shot. It all depended on how others reacted.
All eyes were on the confrontation between Prodrirs and his gladiators. Even the princess’s bodyguard was distracted, and that gave me a chance. Bracing myself against the wall of the box, I pushed off with a kick that sent me flying into Prodrirs.
My shoulder hit his ribs, knocking the air out of him, and I snatched the controller from his hand. He stumbled aside, his grip loosening, giving me a moment to act before he recovered. Or before the bodyguard reached me.
I had no time to figure out the details of the display, but fortunately it was intuitive enough. Icons floated above the screen showing the various parts of the arena, and all I needed was one thing. There! An icon that looked like the box we were in, and under it the switch I wanted.
I jammed my finger onto what I hoped was the emergency shutdown, and prayed.
Around me, the box powered down. The drive wobbled, the lights faded, and most importantly the forcefield in front of us flickered and failed.
“No!” Prodrirs shouted, pulling the control free from my grip as the box angled down. Tlaxanna’s bodyguard grabbed my arms, pulling me back, and I howled. If Prodrirs had the chance to switch the shield back on my little rebellion would have achieved nothing.
Below, I saw Athazar understand, and his smile was a thing of feral beauty. Our eyes met as he kicked a spear up into the air, catching it. Bracing himself. And throwing.
It sailed up in a perfect arc into the VIP box, striking Prodrirs in the chest and driving him back into the guard to the floor, immobilizing him.
That moment was all I needed to pull free of his grip.
Prodrirs kicked and died, and as he’d promised, the arena died with him. Lights, holograms, forcefields — all flickered off in his final act of spite.
Tlaxanna stared, outraged, her eyes wide as the VIP box dropped to the sands below. Moments stretched as we fell, and I met her gaze with a grin. Maybe I c
an’t attack you directly, but that doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you, I thought as the ground rushed up to meet us.
The VIP box plowed into the sand, impact throwing all of us out. Tlaxanna landed hard but my training kicked in and I hit the ground rolling, coming up to my feet with a few new bruises.
Around us, hell had broken loose. Prodrirs’s emergency shutdown had killed the shields protecting the audience — and the shields that kept the animals in their pens. Screams echoed as the bloodthirsty audience realized that, for once, their own blood might stain the sands.
Good, I thought. For too long they’d come to watch slaves fight and die without feeling any consequences for their actions. Now, as the starved beasts rushed out to feast on them, they could feel what it was like.
Maybe some of the survivors would even learn from the experience.
I shook my head, trying to clear it of the effects of the crash. Not safe yet, I told myself. The monsters weren’t only attacking the crowd, plenty of them were headed onto the sands and at the gladiators there. Chaos and death surrounded me, and it was pure luck nothing had torn my head off before I got my bearings.
I was half an arena away from Athazar and our allies, and the space between us was full of chaos as the animals fought gladiators in a wild melee. I’d have to fight my way through. Grabbing the spear Athazar had left impaled through Prodrirs, I pulled it free only for Tlaxanna’s guard to grab it by the bloody end.
Our eyes locked, and I knew that in a contest of strength I’d lose. Even one-handed, he held the spear still, his other hand grasping at his belt for a gun.
Screw this, I thought, dropping the spear and charging. If he drew his pistol, I was dead.
He hadn’t expected me to rush him, and that gave me a second. My shoulder hit him hard, knocking him back into the path of a death-bear.
With a casual swipe, the creature tore off his head and kept going. Blood sprayed as I dove back out of its way, narrowly escaping the same fate.
“I’ll have you skinned alive for this,” the princess hissed, struggling to her feet. Her blazing rage was terrifying, but at least she’d lost her poise. Her dress was torn, her face streaked with blood, and her hands shook as she steadied herself.
“You’d have done worse, no matter what happened,” I reminded her, grinning. “This way you’ll have to fight the death-bears for a chance.”
Then I turned my back on her and ran into the chaos.
Gladiators screamed as the animals tore through them. Only the center of the arena was safe, where the circle of Green warriors fought side by side. Hoping I could make it to the ring of safety before some monster decided to make a feast of me, I wove my way through the melee.
Gunshots rang out, the Princess’s guards trying to keep her safe in the chaos, and a blast of energy kicked up sand next to my feet. Behind me, someone screamed, and I dove to the side just in time to avoid another bear’s claws. They slashed through the space my spine had been, and I rolled up as the monster reared up over me.
Oh god, I’m going to die. My mind went blank as I stared up at the huge creature, its limbs raised to crush me. Even if I’d had a weapon, I couldn’t have defended myself.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The bear’s gigantic paw came down at my face. I started to pull back, knowing I couldn’t get out of the way in time.
And then Athazar was at my side. With one hand he grabbed me, holding me tight. With the other he braced a spear against the creature’s chest.
It slammed down onto us, its weight pushing down onto the sharp point, and the spear’s shaft bent as the bear struck it. The creature’s roar changed from rage to pain, and Athazar pulled me out from under it as it clawed at the weapon lodged in its chest.
“You’re crazy,” he shouted over the din of battle. It wasn’t a complaint — he was grinning at me, his hand squeezing mine as though he never intended to let go.
That was fine with me. I’d had enough of being parted from him.
Someone dashed in from the side, a club in hand, and Athazar clawed his throat open without pausing. It seemed that some gladiators were still hoping that killing him would spare their lives. I grabbed the club and hoped I wouldn’t have to use it.
Another fighter came in slow and careful, spear pointed at us. He was bleeding already, claw marks across his chest, but his eyes were clear and focused. In this chaos, all he had to do was slow us down and something would kill us soon enough.
Athazar growled at the man, bracing himself for another fight. But before he could attack, the gladiator stiffened and fell face-first into the sand. An ax protruded from his back.
“Get the fuck back here, you two,” Gennafera called from behind him, waving. “And bring me back my ax.”
The ring of gladiators opened to let us in and then closed around us. Genna laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.
“We’re probably all going to die, but at least you two gave us some revenge,” she said, quickly switching her attention back to the battle. I tried to make sense of what was happening, but it was far too chaotic. All I could see was people and animals fighting and dying in a crazy mess.
There were gunshots from the stands, armored guards wading into the fight trying to restore order. If they’d been facing the gladiators alone, that would have been easy, but the animals were a different matter. Starved, angry, and unleashed, they weren’t going to quit without a fight, and they were driving the audience into the advancing guards.
The panicking crowd spread chaos, getting in the guards’ way and trampling them. I didn’t want to bet on who’d win, or even who’d be left standing.
“What now?” I asked, panting for breath and looking around. Athazar grinned.
“I don’t exactly have what you’d call a plan,” he admitted. “At least we’ll die together.”
“Screw that,” I told him. “Dying together’s better than nothing, but I want to live together.”
His laugh was loud and full, and he pulled me into a powerful hug that drove the breath out of me again. It only lasted a second, but it made me feel like there was hope.
“Your wish is my command,” he said as he put me down. A quick look around the chaos of the arena and he nodded. “Right, here’s what we’ll do. All the inner doors are open, so we fight our way back to our dormitory, and out the far side. That brings us to the spaceport, and we steal a ship.”
Corven snorted laughter, slamming his shield into the face of some kind of tentacled tiger that got too close. It snarled and turned away in search of easier prey. “That’s a stupid plan. Even if we get through—”
“—which we probably won’t,” Tybin put in, jabbing out with his paired swords as Mixal protected him. A monster yowled and leaped back, looking for easier prey.
“—even if we do, what are the odds of us finding a spaceship we can steal?” Corven finished.
Athazar laughed again. “Better than they are if we stay here,” he pointed out, pulling me in the direction of the barracks.
No one could argue with that, and our tight little group made our way through the chaos. I stayed in the center, wishing I could be useful — but the best thing I could do was not get in Athazar’s way. The skills I’d learned over my weeks of training weren’t enough to keep up now.
A bubbling roar announced the return of the tentacled tiger creature, and Tybin cried out in pain as it managed to lash him across the face. But Gennafera was there, her ax cutting the tentacle and sending the monster staggering back. A death-bear charged into the group, smashing past Armax before Athazar smashed its snout in with the club he held. The beast reared up, its deadly claws ready to rend and tear, but Mixal stabbed it in the side before it could attack.
Alone, none of us would have made it across the arena. But together, it felt like we were unstoppable.
Eventually, we crossed the threshold into the barracks and I could breathe easier. Anyone in here would be hiding from the violence, and that meant that they w
ouldn’t want to bother us. That was what I told myself, anyway — though it didn’t stop me peering into the gloom as though a squad of Tlaxanna’s guards might leap from it at any second.
No one attacked us as we made our way through. Something growled in the darkness, but we were too formidable a group to look like prey. Or perhaps whatever had found its way in here had already sated itself before retreating into the dark to rest. Corpses lay on the floor, and I was glad I couldn’t see what had happened to them.
At last we came to the doors through which Athazar and I had entered. They were locked, of course: Prodrirs hadn’t wanted his death to let his slaves escape. But Corven laughed as he pried off a panel.
“I was a thief before I was a gladiator,” he said happily. “Opening a door that should stay shut is my bread and butter.”
“Hurry it up then,” someone else snarled at him. I couldn’t tell who it was, but I shared the sentiment.
“Don’t rush me, this isn’t exactly easy in the dark,” Corven replied, humming as he worked. In the dark I thought I could hear movement, and I hoped it wasn’t something hungry stalking us. Around me the gladiators tried to get into position, muttering. None of them seemed to like the darkness any better than I did.
“It’s getting closer,” Gennafera muttered. “Whatever it is, it’s hunting us.”
“We’re too big a meal for it,” Athazar said, and I hoped his confidence was warranted. Something growled in the dark, and the gladiators stabbed blindly. A muffled yelp answered them, and I thought I heard something heavy back off.
Not far, though.
“Got it,” Corven shouted, and a shaft of light shone past as he threw his weight against the doors. Tybin joined him, and between them they forced the doors wider.
In the light, something gleamed. Scales and teeth and eyes braced to pounce as we hurried to slip through the gap. Enraged by the sight of prey escaping, the creature leaped forward.