Taming The Ringmaster

by Erin O'Kane

  Forcing myself to nod, I turn away from him, unable to look at him anymore. I make myself start warming up, the same one I would do if I was getting ready for a show back at the circus. I can feel his eyes boring into me as I stretch, but I refuse to meet his gaze.

  After what feels like ages, the rattling of keys echoes around the room, announcing that the guards are returning for us. Walking to the front of the cage, I wait for him to unlock my cell, holding out my wrists for him to lead me away. Giving me a look, he lets out a barking laugh.

  “Eager to fight today, huh, freak?” he sneers, as he grabs my wrists before leaning closer, his rank breath making me wrinkle my nose is disgust, but otherwise I don’t move away from him as he continues to leer at me. “Learning to enjoy the blood lust?”

  I’m used to guys treating me like this, and I know I will get my revenge on him one day, but until then, I just need to get through today. The guard jerks next to me and makes a choking noise, so I spin and raise my eyebrows when I see Xavier has grabbed the man through the bars, and wrapped his hand around the guard’s neck. I can’t help the sick little smile that crosses my lips as I watch the guard struggle, his face becoming more and more red, his eyes darting around as he begins to panic.

  “If you want to live for another day, you will stop talking to her like that.” Xavier’s voice is low and dangerous, and as the guard tries to nod, I see his mouth opening and closing as he gasps for breath like a fish out of water. Taking this for agreement, Xavier releases the guard who stumbles away, glaring at him with a hatred I know too well.

  “Fucking freaks,” the guard spits, before grabbing my wrist again and marching me out of the room as three guards enter, their eyes trained on the only cell still occupied. “He’s feeling feisty today. Maybe remind him who’s in charge here,” my guard instructs the others with a smirk. I want to protest, but I know it will only make things worse, so I keep my lips sealed as I’m walked away, the sound of flesh hitting flesh following me out.

  I focus on the noises of the crowd as I’m led out into the holding area. The shouts for blood, the banging of feet on the stands, and my pounding heart are all I hear as I wait for Xavier to join me. A chain is clipped to me and I glance up when I hear feet shuffling in the doorway. It’s not Xavier making the noise, he never drags his feet, but it signals that the guards who are bringing him are here. Xavier is dragged in, his face bloodied with bruises forming where they weren’t before. I want to go up to him, to run my hand over the wounds and shout at the guards, but I don’t, it will only make it worse for us if they see how it affects us. Instead, I meet his eyes as he is brought closer. His expression is heated, determined.

  The guards pull us towards each other, attaching Xavier to the other end of the chain that will keep us together during the fight. I keep my gaze ahead of me, unable to look at him anymore, not when I consider what could be the outcome of today. What if it all goes wrong? Could I cope with losing Xavier as well as Jessie?

  Marched forward by the guards, we are taken to the holding area before they remove our manacles from our wrists. Immediately, I feel the return of my powers as they back away, locking us into the holding area. My whole body is tense, and I can feel Xavier glance over at me, but I refuse to meet his gaze, instead staring at the gate that will lead us into the arena.

  “I’ll be fine,” Xavier mumbles quietly as we wait. We’ll be punished if they see us talking, but I don’t care. Staring ahead, I feel the tension rippling through my body whereas he seems calm as he rolls his neck and stretches his arms out next to me.

  “Don’t do it, it’s too risky.” I feel him still as soon as the words leave my mouth, but I refuse to look at him since I’m not sure what I would do if I did. Would I cry? Would I scream or beg? No, I won’t do that, the Masters would take too much satisfaction from actions like that, and form the way that they expect me to act.

  “Rhea, I’ve had enough of not doing anything. We need to know if I’m right about my gift, we can’t risk relying on it when we escape and it does not work. What if your other guys got killed because of it?” That thought makes me feel sick, and it must show on my face since he continues, “I thought so. We will know today, one way or another.” So I have to sacrifice Xavier to protect my other guys? If you had asked me a month ago if I would sacrifice this battle-scarred fighter to save my men, I probably would have said yes, but now? Now that I know him and am coming to care for him, it’s a different story.

  “Trust me,” he whispers, and I turn to him, meeting those imploring eyes, and nod. What else can I do? He has made up his mind and he is right, trust is all we have now. So I stumble after him as we are forced into the pit. I ignore the announcement, instead staring out into the crowd with a determined look on my face. I won’t let them see me weak or broken. They will never get that again.

  Our chain slithers between us as we wait, ready for whatever they will throw at us today. When the cranking of the gate comes again, I know the other fighters are here. I suck in a steadying breath, looking at Xavier once more, taking strength from the steel in his eyes. He stands tall, waiting, like the warrior he is. His head is lifted, his eyes sharp and feet already turned to face whatever threat is coming through that gate. I turn with him and my mouth drops open in shock before I can stop it. It’s not fighters we are facing today…but animals.

  Xavier hisses out a breath, his only reaction as I swallow hard, my eyes dragging across the animals pulling against the chains that hold them. Snarls cover their hideous faces, and their fangs flash as drool drips to the arena below. I love animals, but these...these are nothing but monsters—four of them, bred and trained to kill. I heard rumours from the other fighters. Demons, they call them, only brought out to punish slaves or if they want a death. They only have one thought—to kill. They play with their food, chasing them and wearing them down. Circling and attacking as a pack until it’s too late.

  They are similar in size to Fluffy, their eyes black and unseeing. They rely on sound, another fact I heard. The chains cut into the rough brown skin at their necks, where there are old scars from previous battles. They have four legs, like a dog, I think they were called, and long, thick, whip-looking tails. Their faces are flat, eyes small and pinched, with a snout bigger than their head housing sharp-looking needle type teeth and fangs. They look deadly, fast, and scary as hell.

  True fear runs through me. How are we going to win this?

  Xavier steps forward then, blocking me slightly, and I know he is going to die protecting me. I pull my sword. I refuse to let him die without a fight, even if it is the plan. I will fight, keep swinging and battling for as long as I can, protecting his back like a partner does.

  “Stay as quiet as you can, keep behind me. They like to sneak up on their prey. Move quickly and get to high ground,” he whispers, but even the low timbre of his voice alerts them. They growl now, low and menacing, all their heads turning in our direction.

  Nodding, I look around. The only high ground is if I get up the side of the barrier, so that’s what I will have to do. I don’t know what his plan is, but I trust him, and I know he won’t lead me wrong. I widen my stance, lowering myself with my sword held in front of me, and quieten my breathing as much as I can, but I know it won’t be enough. The ground is sand, but they will hear us running or moving and the chinking of our chain will give us away…unless.

  “Trust me,” I whisper, eyeing the demons who are yanking at their chains now, trying to get to us as the announcer prattles on about their breeding and our powers.

  Keeping one eye on them, I force my powers from their place. They aren’t fully healed yet, but there is enough to draw from. It turns my hand to stone and I yank and pull, the chain creaking in protest until finally...finally it snaps. I almost stumble back from the force, the two ends long and dangling in the sand. He looks back at me with a smirk on his lips and watches as I wrap the chain around my wrist to stop the noise, and then he copies me, both of us turning back t
o face the demons just in time as the announcer finishes talking.

  “Are you ready, my good people, for the battle of the monsters?” he calls, and everyone cheers.

  The gong sounds and my heart slams in my ribcage, my feet hesitating, but the chains on the demons don’t release straight away, and with each prolonged second, I start to get more and more nervous. Then as suddenly as the cheers started, they stop, the stadium going deadly silent until we hear the chains snap, releasing the demons.

  Screams mixed with cheers go up as they race forward, heading straight towards us, almost pushing at each other to get to us first. Xavier stands strong, not backing down even as I shuffle back a step before I force myself to remain still. They are almost on us, eating the distance quicker than I expected, their heads tilted as they listen for us. When the first one reaches us, Xavier tightens his grip on his sword and races forward, striking at him before jumping and kicking off of the creature’s head, flipping over him to face the next one. The one he stabbed stumbles forward, and a gasp leaves my lips upon seeing the gash carved into its face. It hears, its head snapping to face me as its back end goes into the air. Its head is almost on the ground as he growls and prepares to pounce. He’s behind Xavier when he grunts and the demon freezes, starting to turn towards him, and I know I have to do something.

  “Hey, you! Ugly!” I scream, and then start walking backwards. It concentrates back on me, stepping in my direction until I suddenly turn and sprint away. It lets out a roar and I hear it racing after me as I head straight across the arena towards the barrier.

  Almost there.

  One more stride...

  I can feel it snapping on my heels, ready to pounce, and at the last second, I duck and roll out of the way as it soars over my head and smacks right into the barrier. It shakes its head, struggling to get up, so I hold out my hand, my power leaving me with a scream. A fireball heads straight towards it before it goes up in flames, a squeal escaping its snout as it tries to roll to put out the inferno. It falls back to the ground, crying out in pain as it burns, and when I’m sure it’s not going to get back up, I roll to my feet and turn to see where the rest are.

  My body is throbbing from the way I am using my powers, forcing it to comply to my will. My powers are primarily to protect me, adapting to defend me against any threat, but I am asking so much more from it, and the last few days are taking their toll on my body. Not that I will let the Masters or the screaming crowd know that, and as I see Xavier fighting against two massive demons, I know I have to help him. He’s holding his own, and I know it’s part of the plan for him to die in this fight, but that was when we thought we would be fighting humans. This will not be an easy death, not with these starved and feral beasts. They will toy and play with him.

  Checking my sword, I start to run towards him at the other side of the arena, but something is bugging me. A shadow falls over me and a sick feeling in my stomach reminds me what I had forgotten. There were four animals in the arena. While I had been fighting with one of them, the other had been stalking me, hunting me down like its prey, and now it has decided to attack.

  Spinning at the last moment, I raise my arms above my head to protect my face as it rears up on its hind legs, its sharp, gleaming claws slashing towards me. I feel my skin harden a second before the beast crashes into me, pinning me to the floor. It lunges forward, its teeth aiming for my face and arms, but thankfully it can’t penetrate my skin. In the attack, I dropped my blade, and I can see it glinting to my left. Trusting that my powers will protect me, I throw out my hand, but the blade is just out of reach. Letting out a cry of frustration, I try to buck and shift my hips, hoping to throw the beast off me, but it’s too heavy. The animal above me is getting frustrated, its attacks getting harder and more violent as it grips my arm in its jaws and drags me across the sand, taking me farther from my blade. I’m going to have to channel one of the guys’ powers, but trying to concentrate when I’ve got a vicious beast trying to tear me apart is hard, especially the longer I’m under it. Fear stirs in my belly, only riling the animal into a frenzy.

  “Rhea, fucking concentrate!” Blain shouts, as if he knew exactly what I needed. Focusing on Blain, on my need for a blade, on the need to protect myself, I try to block out the sounds around me, of the fighting and the crowd, concentrating only on his voice. “Fucking fight!”

  It might not be an eloquent speech, but it’s exactly what I need, and my eyes snap open as a burning in my wrists tells me the blades are appearing there. Baring my teeth at the animal that is continuing to attack me, I lunge up, stabbing the creature in its belly, slicing down and ignoring its cry of pain. I realise my mistake as it begins to fall down on top of me, and push with all my might so as it drops, most of my torso is out of the way, leaving only my legs trapped by its body. The creature yowls and yips in pain as its blood and organs spill across the ground, and even though it tried to kill me, guilt fills me that it has to die this way. Leaning forward, I shove the creature and pull my legs free.

  Pushing up onto shaky feet, I stare down at my blood-stained clothes and grimace, but the crowd loves it. I look exactly like the fighter they want. Walking away from the creature, I grab my dropped blade, the daggers I had created disappeared as soon as I used them—some magic I’ve never understood—but I turn to face the slowly dying creature and decide to put it out of its misery. As I stride over to it and press the knife to its throat, I swear I see something in its eyes that resembles acceptance. Is this what my animals will end up like if we don’t get out of here? Determination steadies my hand as I swipe the blade across the animal’s throat, and it quickly dies beneath me.

  Xavier’s shout of pain has me spinning around, my blood turning cold when I see the scene before me. One of the creatures is dead, leaving the largest fighting against him, except Xavier isn’t fighting. Sure, he’s defending himself, but he’s not attacking the creature, and I realise this is it, this is the moment he is going to let himself get killed. As if I’m watching in slow motion, the creature lunges forward and bites into Xavier’s left side, causing the big man to cry out as his knees buckle, his body falling to the floor. The creature then continues to attack him, but he’s just playing with him—a bite to the arm, to his leg, dragging him across the sand.

  Fuck this, I can’t watch him die like this. My body tingles and as I glance down at my hands, I see gleaming blades appearing from my skin. Sheathing my sword, I grip the magical blades, examining them quickly. They are light, perfect for throwing. I’ve been practicing with Blain, my aim isn’t perfect like his, but good enough.

  Shifting into the stance drilled into me over and over, I switch the blades to one hand and raise my fingers to my mouth, the piercing whistle cutting through the noise of the arena. The crowd falls silent as the beast turns, narrowing its grotesque eyes at me, but I don’t give it a chance to move as I throw two blades, one immediately after the other. The first one missed, landing uselessly in the sand before disappearing, but the second imbeds itself into its target, the beast’s eye.

  Throwing its head back in a pain filled cry, it moves away from Xavier, shaking its head as it tries to dislodge the knife. It collapses, pathetically whining as it crawls away, a trail of blood following it. I had really hoped that throw would kill it. Sighing, I unsheathe my sword and slowly walk towards it. The beast hears me coming and looks up, snarling at my approach. Then it does something I never would’ve expected. Glancing up at the Masters, it pushes up onto shaking paws and throws itself into the barrier. The smell of burning flesh makes me crinkle my nose as I watch the creature kill itself, my heart bleeding for the creature.

  “No!” Xavier cries out, his plan ruined as the crowd bursts into applause and cheers. The announcement overhead declares we are the winners, but I keep my gaze on Xavier. His eyes are locked on me and I know what I need to do. Checking the grip on my sword, I stride over to Xavier and kneel down next to him, ignoring his open wounds and pained, shallow breathing. Looki
ng up at the Masters, I see unhappy expressions. They wanted us to kill all the animals, but we refused, so they didn’t get the ending they wanted, as a show for the crowd.

  Narrowing my eyes at them, I turn away. I won’t let them see my tears. Raising my sword and whispering my apologies, I plunge the blade into Xavier’s chest.

  After that, the crowd went wild. Fighting broke out and I was dragged out of the arena then chucked into my cell. The others were already there and called out to me, but my mind was numb.

  What did I do?

  Curling up at the back of my cage, I stare at the bars, the sounds of the other slaves blending into the background. The only noise that breaks me out of my trance is when my cell door opens. Sound suddenly hits me and I can hear the guys shouting obscenities at the guards. I try to make out what they are saying as two guards bustle into my cell, dragging something behind them.

  “Fucking bitch, I lost money on that fucking fight,” one of the guards sneers, dropping something on the ground before the other guard drags him from the cell. It’s not until they leave that I realise what it is.

  Xavier.

  Jumping to my feet, I rush to his side, only to cry out as I see his glazed over eyes. I drop to the floor and press my hand against his arm, checking his pulse. Nothing.

  No. This isn’t right, this can’t be happening.

  Leaning forward, I lay my forehead on his chest as I begin to cry, the sobs racking my frame as grief, shame, and despair run through me.

  I’m not sure how long I stay like that for, but my body feels stiff and my face itches from my dried tears. Exhaustion falls over me. I’m not sure how long I can keep doing this, I can’t keep losing people like this. I run my hand over Xavier’s warm arm, wanting to hold on to his hand.

  Wait, warm? Pulling back quickly, I stare down and see his grey skin has regained its colour and his chest starts to rise. Tears form in my eyes again, but this time, for an entirely different reason. Looking down at his stomach, I see the horrendous wounds have scabbed over, and when I glance at his face, he’s smirking at me.