Page 28 of Beast Unburdened

I had lost track of the male with the sword but Ziame clearly hadn’t. When that male suddenly charged him from behind his tail was ready, catching the blade and spinning it away. While the male was off balance he ducked the other guy’s spear, spun around, and charged, hitting the now swordless opponent in the belly with the top of his skull. For a moment I figured Ziame had impaled the guy on his head spikes but when the guy was flung ass-over-teakettle it became clear he’d flattened his spikes at the last moment.

The guy groaned but didn’t get up and there was loud cheering from the stands, possibly trying to incite the guy to get back up again. Meanwhile, both red-skinned males had rallied and while one now had a spear without the sharp pointy bit the two still charged him from behind. One deftly engaging Ziame’s tail and the other ducking that still functioning spear under his guard and jabbing him in the hip.

I saw blood this time and whoever was in the editing room for this broadcast clearly did too because they showed a close-up of the injury, the way red droplets dripped down his leg and fell into the sand. The red males cheered as they backed off, not pressing their advantage but egging on the crowd instead.

“Why are they doing that?” I asked and Sunder answered, pressing a reassuring palm to my shoulder. “The idiots think they have the upper hand. Ziame looks dazed but he’s just playing it up. That little nick in his scales? That’s nothing to him.” I hoped Sunder was right because it sure looked like something to me. “That’s some of his thickest scales,” Kitan murmured, “The outsides of his legs and back are the most heavily armored. He’s fine.”

But Ziame favored his other leg when he moved to face his opponents. The black-skinned, horned male had stayed down so far but the other two were cheering and yelling taunts, egging on the audience. When they charged again it looked as if Ziame was off-balance, braced on one leg but when they got within range his tail whipped out, not aiming for the shields but swiping low and catching them in the ankles.

One went down, the other managed a glancing blow to Ziame’s shoulder but it lacked punch as he was tripping and trying to regain his footing. In the distraction, Ziame punched out and hit the tripping male’s shield, actually sending him sprawling. Then he was on the other male, batting aside the broken spear, ripping the shield away, and then punching the downed guy hard in the face.

They showed a close-up of that too, showing the way the male’s nose broke and blood sprayed. How his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out. It was honestly horrifying how they were so focused on any show of blood.

“Watch your back!” Sunder suddenly urged and then I saw why, the male who’d seemed down had just been biding his time. Now he was up, running for Ziame as he was distracted by the other two. He’d picked up his sword along the way and send it swinging for Ziame’s exposed back. Horrified I watched, that was a deadly-looking blow, there seemed zero effort on making that non-lethal.

Ziame rolled just in time off the now unconscious red male and I saw his mouth open, arms coming up for a block with the blades on his forearms. Not fast enough though, not fast enough. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst from my chest.

Fire blew in a stream from Ziame’s mouth then, engulfing the blade and both of the male’s hands where he held the weapon. There was screaming, and a lot of cheering from the stands, but the blade was already in motion. It came down, by sheer luck I imagined, on Ziame’s left horn. Then the male was stumbling back, staring horrified at his still sizzling hands.

I figured Ziame would go after him and knock him out but I’d forgotten about the second red-skinned male and he hadn’t. He spun on that one instead, the male had just recovered and was moving in on him, not fast enough. Ziame moved, so fast his tail blurred. He whipped it round again and wrapped it around the spear, yanking it away, and then he moved in.

The two traded blows but it was clear that the other male was no match in sheer brute force compared to Ziame and soon he too bit the dust. When the male passed out after a fierce right hook Ziame spun on the other male with the burned hands but the guy was still on his knees, and the moment they shared a look Ziame’s opponent bowed his head, signaling surrender.

In the arena the crowd was going wild, cheering for the Beast who’d just won his first match. On the bridge of our stolen pirate ship, I was quaking in my seat, my legs jelly and my belly so tied up in knots I couldn’t even puke even though it felt like I was about to hurl. Ziame was hurt and he had to do this all over again in five minutes, probably less.

He was raising his arms, accepting the adulation of the crowd like it was his due, roaring for effect. Standing tall, he acted like he wasn’t hurt at all but I saw it, saw how when he left the arena he limped, still favoring his leg. Saw how just as he entered the exit tunnel he rubbed at his shoulder where he’d taken that glancing blow. He was hurt and he still had to do this again. I couldn’t stand it.

Kitan and Sunder were talking as they spoke about placing the bet but to me, it sounded like they were talking underwater. I couldn’t believe how quickly Ziame had come to mean the world to me but he had. It was rash and crazy and clearly partly because of our extreme circumstances but I loved him, I did. The revelation itself had me as dazed as my worry for him a moment ago.

I loved him. I needed him to come back to me and there was absolutely nothing I could do from here. I was helpless to stop this second fight, they’d never let him out there. All I could do was wait, pray that he’d survive, have faith in his skills. Clenching my fists I tried to ignore the stats now displayed on the viewscreen, showing the next three fighters Ziame was about to face.

“He’s coming back,” I whispered to myself, then I said it more firmly out loud. A hand folded over my shoulder and squeezed hard, Tori was suddenly at my side, her eyes filled with sympathy. “Yes, he is. Ziame will do anything to come back to you,” she said gently. And suddenly I was incredibly grateful the girl was there, so far I’d felt like the big sister, trying to look out for her. Right now, she was there for me though and that mattered far more to me than I thought it would. I’d never had anyone look out for me like that before and now I had Ziame, I had Tori and a ship full of gladiators.

If they all made it back here that is.

Chapter 14

Ziame

The moment I was out of sight I dropped the limp and headed for the bench where Luka was waiting with the other gladiators. They handed me water that I quickly guzzled down and the Doc hurriedly ran his scanner over me, checking both the shoulder and the hip and making sure to apply some healing gel that sealed the minor cut.

“No deep bruising, you are fine,” Luka murmured, then he shot a glance at the guards at the end of the long corridor. There were some other owners of fighting stock as well but most had already left with their winning or losing fighters.

The red Xurtal twins had been revived after they’d been stretchered off the battlefield and they studiously ignored me as their trainer tore into them about all they’d done wrong. A harried-looking medic was treating their bruises and the broken nose I’d given one of them. They would be fine and probably up for another fight the very next day should their owner want to, no serious harm. Didn’t sound like they were into hot waters with the owner either so that was good.

They brought in my third opponent then, he was on a stretcher too because I’d cracked several of his ribs when I headbutted him. I had been shocked to find him on his feet after that and even capable of lifting the claymore. I fingered the slight notch in my horn where the blade had hit as I eyed the Kertinal on the stretcher being carried by.

His purple eyes focused on the movement, pain-filled from the burns covering his hands from the tips of his fingers all the way to his elbows. I’d held back on that breath of fire but that probably was a cold comfort to him. Still, he tipped his chin to me in respect and I found myself even more sorry that I’d hurt him so badly even if it was a life or death kind of situation.

“Are you ready for the next round?” Jakar asked, interrupting my thoughts. I eyed him but focused on the Kertinal’s progress down the hall until they dropped the stretcher unceremoniously near a wall where his handler was waiting; there was no medic and the handler barely glanced at the male. I had a bad feeling about that but I couldn’t afford to lose my focus now, I had another fight to win.

“Some muscle fatigue,” I said honestly as I shook out my limbs to stay limber and warm. “No issues from the hits I’ve taken so far. Hip good Doc?” I asked. I kept my voice pitched low so that only the males I trusted surrounding me would hear me speak. Wouldn’t do to give away the trick this late in the game of course.

“All patched up, should be fine, want a stimulant?” the Doc asked me solicitously and I shook my head. “No, this win needs to be undisputed.” As I shared looks with the other gladiators we all knew that such honesty would likely not be followed by the next three fighters I was up against. Their owners could decide to dose them up for better performance. These fights were more often than not rigged so the organizers and owners made big bucks on the betting.

I eyed the Kertinal with the burned hands again, well aware he’d been slated to fight Sunder and win. Before the fight, they’d have shot Sunder up with a drug to make his coordination off, not enough to make the crowd notice, enough to make it a sure win for the other male. The Kertinal’s owner would have lost big money by the change in fighting schedule.

Then the announcer was calling out my name again, my cue to walk back out onto the sands. I shook out my limbs, accepted claps on the shoulders from my brothers, and then set all thoughts of the Kertinal’s fate from my thoughts. I couldn’t afford distractions now, my mind needed to be on the fight and the fight alone.