Rowan shakes his head.“No, because their planning to execute criminals on the sands as part of it.”
The shock of that hits me.The Senate has long talked about the inclusion of such executions in the games as a way of giving people the blood they seem to crave without risking the lives of true gladiators.Now Selene has control of the Senate, it's going ahead.People are going to be sent into the arena just to die, without a hope of winning.
I know instinctively that I need to be there.I need to understand this latest spectacle in the games.I can’t just stand by and ignore it.I need to see it for myself, and hope that I can find a way to stop it.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
There’s tension in the air as I make my way into the stands of the colosseum, the crowd on edge, the excitement building as their numbers grow.I wonder if they know what they’re going to see today, but no, there has been no public announcement, no proclamation to say people are going to die today.
I wonder, if there had been, whether the stands would be empty or even fuller.Do people really want blood and death above all else, or are those things just what the rulers of Aetheria give them to placate them, not caring whether it’s what most of the people truly want?
The trouble is, the people who want that blood and violence are exactly the ones who need to be placated most, the ones who might bring that violence to the streets if not appeased.
The sounds and sights of the arena are building around me.Runners working for the bookmakers are shouting odds on the bouts to come.People are pushing and shoving to find their accustomed places on the stands.I know Alaric and a couple of other members of the resistance are here somewhere, but I can’t make them out.This isn’t a place we can hope to target Selene successfully.
Or is it?There are plenty of tricks people have tried in the colosseum’s long history to deal with gladiators they dislike, or who simply have the misfortune of being linked to the wrong patron.There was a point where hurting or killing a gladiator was seen as an easy way of sending a message to their patron.Gladiators have found themselves poisoned, given substandard equipment, attacked before bouts, and more.The colosseum is hardly a safe place for them, as I know better than most, given some of the ways people hurt me during my time in the colosseum.
I push that thought to one side as the traditional procession of gladiators makes its way out onto the sands.I can see the condemned prisoners with them, held in chains, surrounded by guards.There are half a dozen of them, both men and women.Selene is there, of course, smiling and waving as people start to chant her name.
“Selene!Selene!”
There are other gladiators too.I’m surprised to see Cesca’s there.I’d have thought she would have quit after her last bout.
Marcus waits for the crowd to fall silent before he takes his place at the front of the senate box.
“Citizens of Aetheria, we have another great day of games for you today.We will see contests of skill and bravery, see blood spilled on these sands, see the finest magic this city has to offer.Are you ready to begin?”
The crowd roars in response, and Marcus beams out.He seems to be alone in the box.Is this what Selene's offered him?A position of power within her new order?
The gladiators are making their way into the preparation areas beneath the colosseum.The members of the crowd are leaning forward, eagerly awaiting the first bout.Cesca is the first to come out onto the sands, standing there in her all too brief armor while a gate on the far side of the colosseum opens.
“In this corner, we have the fan favorite, Cesca!”Marcus calls out.“And on the far side of the sands, we have a creature worthy of her powers.I give you, the storm leopard!”
The storm leopard from the emperor's menagerie comes stalking out onto the sands, and I see Cesca pale.I know why.Electricity crackles from the leopard's coat in a way that makes it clear it won't be brought down by her power to summon lightning along her blade.It charges her, and she's barely fast enough to wheel out of the way.
When the second charge comes, sheisn’tfast enough.Claws rake across her torso, spraying blood over the sands.Lightning crackles between them, but neither of them is affected by it.This is a simple contest of strength and skill, and it’s a contest where Cesca has a clear disadvantage.
The leopard stalks her now around the sands, while Cesca looks around frantically, trying to find a way to survive this.Her blade is sharp, but mostly, it’s designed to conduct lightning into her foes.With this one, it won’t do any good.
“Kill, kill, kill!”a portion of the crowd chants.Will Marcus allow that?Will he stop the contest before Cesca can be hurt more?It’s obvious the games are slowly taking away every safety precaution, building towards the grand tournament to come.
The storm leopard pounces, and Cesca raises her blade, but the thrust misses its mark and the creature lands on her, clawing her again.It rears up, ready to bite, and while I might not like Cesca much, I know I can’t just let her die.I reach out with my powers, making it hesitate, holding it back just for a moment or two.
I realize my mistake as Cesca sees that opening and thrusts her blade deep into the leopard’s heart.The creature howls and then collapses, lightning crackling out around it as it dies.I feel grief at the creature’s death and guilt for my part in it, but I also can’t regret coming to Cesca’s aid.She stands unsteadily, bleeding from several wounds, before staggering from the sands into the arms of the healers.
Around me, the crowd roars its approval for the violence.Trainers run onto drag the carcass of the storm leopard from the sand, while a silent tear touches my cheek in commemoration of the death of this great beast.
Silence falls as soon as the creature is gone from the sands, expectation filling the air.
“For our next bout, we will be seeing a return to an old tradition,” Marcus says.“Those who have been condemned will have the chance to fight for their lives here upon the sands.Today, you will see half a dozen people who stand accused of heinous murders, of serving gangs against the interests of the city, of pushing the people into the worst vices!Send out the prisoners!”
The gates to the preparation areas open, and guards push the half dozen prisoners out onto the sands, tossing short swords and knives out after them.They grab for those weapons, standing there unarmored, in only dirty rags.
“Facing them will be a woman who needs no introduction.Who better to administer justice than the former arch-magistrate of Aetheria herself?I give you Selene Ravenscroft!”
I feel the stirring of anger as Selene steps out, elegant in her brief scraps of armor and holding a single curved blade.She waves with her left hand, displaying the leather dampener around her wrist.The fact that she’s tampered with that dampener isn’t obvious to the watching crowd.As far as they’re concerned, she’s a hero, working with only a fraction of her power.
She moves out into the center of the sands, taking her stance and waiting.
