He gives a pained roar, and his knee gives out under him, hitting the floor with a crack that makes him squeal like a beast. He finally gets the sheet away, giving her a look that promises all the injury he can mete out without breaking the rules and killing her.
Staggering to his feet, he launches himself at her, catching her finally and pulling the sheet around her neck. He uses it to subdue her, pulling her up so that she’s on her toes and can’t breathe. A small stalactite falls from the cavern ceiling, striking him in the head. He frowns and looks up in confusion, but he’s not hurt enough for it to matter.
Bere and the orcs all peer up into the cavern ceiling to see where it came from. I notice that Warrior is the only one who doesn’t and my brow furrows a little as I turn my eyes back to the fight.
Maldred lets her dangle, touching her roughly while the orcs and the fae throw pouches of coins into each other’s laps and laugh.
I let out a defeated breath.
It’s over. I’m going to have to watch him defile her. It’s what they wanted me to see. And then they’ll probably kill me.
The other orc, Kobeth’s second, is talking. He’s loud. Deep in his cups. I can’t help but listen as I watch Bryn struggle. The human male pushes her against the wall and spreads her legs, and Warrior stands and moves closer to watch.
That cunt.
‘Aye, it’s true that many humans pass through. They give us first pick, but we don’t usually want ’em. They don’t fight welland can’t put on such a show as this. Weak. Soft and fragile from the Light, they are. Most don’t know the work of a slave. The females are sometimes a bit entertaining, though, when they have a little Light Realm spirit, but it leaves them quickly when they understand there is no hope for them. The slaves in the pits need to be strong. The Light Realm ones are not for us.’
Bere is nodding sagely as he watches Bryn and the human male. ‘A fae, is she? Does she come here herself?’
I abruptly realize that I’m finally hearing something specific about what I came here for. Only it’s too fucking late to do anything about it. My fists clench as I push all thoughts of the mission away, all the questionable actions I’ve performed in its name. It’s too late for all of that. It’s over. And it’s my own fault. I should never have brought Bryn here, should never have used her the way I have.
I focus on her but, chained where I am, I can’t completely block out their chatter. In the room beyond, I’m sure the fight is finished. The human male has Bryn against the wall, immobile and awaiting her fate. My stomach sinks, but then I see her face snap forward and she bites his nose. The fight isn’t finished for her. She still has too much to lose.
His squeal is shrill like a pig and he pulls them both from the wall, dancing around and trying to get her off him. He jerks at her ineffectually.
The orcs in the room guffaw loudly.
Maldred finally pulls Bryn’s teeth from him, and I see her spit out a chunk of his nose. There’s blood everywhere. He screams in her face and grabs her hair, pulls her head back and exposes her throat. He bites her where her neck meets her shoulder in retaliation and she screams loudly. She kicks out and catches him in the same knee again.
He drops her just as another piece of the cave ceiling falls on him. A much bigger piece this time.
He lurches to the side and drops to the floor, blood pooling around his head. It’s sudden and oddly anticlimactic. But the spectators must feel the same because all of them are silent now. Like me, they’re not sure what they’re seeing. And I’m half sure that I’m simply hallucinating what I wish would happen.
Bryn skitters back to the wall, sinking slowly down, one hand clutching at the bloody bite on her shoulder as she curls into a ball.
Kobeth examines the ceiling again, searching for an explanation.
‘Fuck!’ he exclaims belatedly. ‘He was my best fighter.’
But Bere is frowning, looking up at the roof of the room, to the dead human male, and then at Bryn.
My sluggish mind is trying to catch up, reach a realization, but I can’t quite get to it.
‘Gods,’ Bere says before turning to the guard. ‘You, bring the human to me.’
Kobeth scowls at Bere. ‘You’ll not punish her for winning, nor reward her neither. Coin’s changed hands, my fae friend. She’s mine now. I’ll be making sure she gets what’s coming to her later.’
Bere shakes his head, opening his mouth to say something, but then quickly shuts it again, looking extremely annoyed about something.
My view of him is blocked as I find Warrior in front of me, grinning from ear to ear. ‘Quite the exciting fight, eh, Locke? Didn’t see that coming, did you?’
‘No,’ I grind out, knowing that he’ll have an answer from me one way or another.
He’s spent hours making sure I know exactly what he’s capable of, and what his rules are. Questions without answers mean deep cuts in painful spots.
He takes a step closer, looking commiserative. ‘How about this?’
He turns his head just as Bere, the two orcs, and the guard all fall to the ground.
