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With an odd sort of popping sound, the wings tore free from the blue creature's flesh. As blood and wings and screams filled the air, the creature - with Nerida still riding its back - plummeted toward the sand. As the other creature swooped to the aid of its mate, Nerida leapt. Not for the fast approaching ground but onto the back of the remaining winged creature.
It didn't seem to notice. Maybe it was too busy trying to stall the dive of its mate. Maybe it simply wasn't bright enough to realize it, too, was about to have its flight skills clipped.
Either way, Nerida grasped the wings and tore them free a second time. Then she leapt off the creature's back, hit the ground running, and finished off what she'd started with the wings.
Very quickly, very neatly.
The crowd was silent for several heartbeats, then applauded wildly. Anticipating the bloodbath that was to come.
My gaze went to Starr. He was leaning forward in his chair, talking to Merle. After several nods, Merle rose and made his way toward the arena.
The crowd became silent again. Nerida stood in the middle of the arena, breathing a little faster than normal but seemingly otherwise unperturbed.
"Any advice on beating this one?" Berna said softly.
"I've never seen him fight. I don't know what he can do." Or what Starr had ordered him to do.
But one thing was sure - it wouldn't be a fair fight. Starr not only played dirty, he played to win. I had no doubt his lieutenants would, too.
Merle leapt over the railing and dropped onto the sand. Nerida flexed her hands, but otherwise didn't move. Merle studied her for a moment, an arrogant smile touching his lips. "You will die, little fox. You have not a hope against me."
"Vengeance is a powerful motivator against the odds," she said. "Never dismiss it out of hand."
"Oh, I won't. But vengeance should never outweigh common sense." With those words, he took out a gun from behind his back and shot her. Red bloomed across her chest, and just for a moment, shock and anger touched her features. Then she dropped like a boneless sack to the ground.
Berna surged to her feet, crying out in denial and rage. The guard behind us stepped forward, gun butt raised. I twisted, knocking him off his feet, then froze as the muzzle of another gun dug into the back of my neck. Call me strange, but I liked my brains just the way they were.
Three guards jumped on Berna. She fought them, grabbing at their weapons, trying to claim one. More guards jumped into the fray, overwhelming her with sheer weight of numbers. As she went down, I heard a click, and realized someone had tried to fire a gun. In that mass of bodies it could have been deadly. But something had gone wrong, because there was no blood, no gore, no moans of pain.
Maybe the weapon had misfired.
Or maybe it hadn't even been loaded.
A freak like Starr wouldn't want loaded weapons within easy reach of his rivals. He wouldn't take the risk. Probably the only live weapons in the room where the ones being held by Starr and his entourage.
The guards finally managed to restrain Berna. Her gaze went to the arena, to the lifeless body lying on the sand, and her shoulders drooped. There was nothing anyone could do for Nerida now. Not even save her.
Movement in the shadowed corners of the room caught my eye. Ethereal wisps stirred in that darkness. The dead were gathering to collect their revenge.
My gaze darted back to the arena. Merle had lowered the weapon and was walking across to the fox-shifter's body. Underneath her chest was an ever growing pool of red-soaked sand. Nerida didn't appear to be breathing and yet the dead were holding themselves to the shadows.
Maybe the fox was foxing.
Merle stopped and kicked her in the side. There was no response. He did it again, harder this time. Still no response. He bent and warily pressed a finger to her neck.
"Not dead," he said, looking up at Starr. "But close to."
Starr waved a hand. "Feed her meat to the zoo carnivores. They will enjoy the sweetness for a change."
"No!" Berna's voice echoed around the room. "She's alive. You can't do that. It's not human."
"There are very few us of here who are human." Starr's dead gaze moved to me, and the chills running down my spine became a landslide. He knew. Who I was, why I was there. The knowledge was right there in his unholy gaze and in the arrogant smile stretching his thin lips. "But if there is someone who cares enough for this person, I will allow another challenge."
He was baiting me, challenging me. I didn't bite. I couldn't, not until I heard from Jack.
"What? So you can allow your coward of a lieutenant to shoot them, too?" Berna shouted, struggling against the grip of the men who held her. "I hardly call that fair."
"This is my arena, my rules. Those who disobey me or try to betray me must expect swift revenge. Justice will never enter the equation."
