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Cats were sacred to Freya, so Fen whispered an apology to the goddess and lifted her ax. The first lot of screams started. Fen twisted to see what was coming up behind her. Two of the slaves were getting mauled as another tried to shove his spear into the creature's side. Fen's head swiveled back around as the baker shouted a warning.
Fen had her shield up, and she shifted just in time as a massive paw swiped at her head. The force of the blow sent her skidding back into one of the stone pillars. The baker cried out as the cat pounced on him, knocking him down onto the sand.
The iron and honey taste of runes seared Fen's tongue, Týr's marks burning all over her. She rushed the cat while its attention was on the screaming baker and struck it hard on the left side with her ax. Týr's strength drove the blade through the creature's ribs, and it yowled in fury, swiping at Fen before it collapsed on the sand.
The crowd gasped in shock as she put one foot on the beast's side and pulled the bloody ax free. The other cat was still distracted by two slaves with spears.
"H-Help," the baker garbled.
Fen skidded across the hot sand. The baker's side was clawed to pieces, with bones, muscle, and intestines on display.
"Look at me, rest now. Shh, rest now," Fen said, and with a bloody finger, she sketched a rune on his forehead. It wasn't much, but it would take the pain out of his death.
"I have to go and help the others. You stay here," she said with a smile. The baker's face went soft as the magic took hold, and he nodded.
Fen was up on her feet and moving across the sand to where only one of the slaves remained, pressed against a pillar as the cat bashed against his large shield.
She put down her ax and grabbed a spear from the dead hands of the one-eared man. Whispering a prayer to Týr, she threw it at the other cat as hard as possible. The other slave gave the cat a hard shove back simultaneously, pushing it right into the spear's path. The cat screamed, the steel blade piercing its neck. It stumbled on the sand before collapsing.
The crowd was roaring again. Fen did her best to ignore them as she picked up her ax and ran to join the only other surviving slave.
"We did it!" he cried in excitement and surprise.
A black shadow soared over Fen, and the protective runes on her arms pulled her to the sand. She felt the air of the chimera's wings brush over her, and the other slave screamed in terror. The chimera lifted him up in its massive claws and tore the man in half, showering Fen in a rain of blood. She scrambled over the bloody sand and ripped the spear out of the dead cat.
The chimera screeched and swooped again. Fen twisted, slipping on the bloody sand and onto her back. The chimera cried out in victory and dropped on her…just as Fen lifted her spear upright.
Wings and claws beat against Fen as the creature impaled itself. It screeched, but Fen shoved up with the last of her strength. The chimera flailed, Fen trying to dodge the claws and wings of its death throes. It died with one last pitiful cry, sagging on top of her. Fen tried to push the hot bloody beast off her, but the rune magic was fading, the last of it burning away.
Defeat three monsters and then die from suffocation. No wonder Odin has abandoned you.
Fen pushed her hand up through its feathers, trying to get some air down to her. Voices were shouting around her, and the chimera was dragged off her. The guard who had given her the fruit that morning stood over her. His face broke into a grin as she heaved in a huge breath.
"Still alive!" he shouted. He grabbed her by her bloody hand and pulled her upright. The noise around her was blurred, her ribs screaming in pain, but Fen managed to stay on her feet as the guard lifted her hand up high in victory.
"Stay on your feet, witch girl," the guard said, letting her hand go. "Don't let them see your pain. Start walking back to the ramp so Nektos doesn't decide to release something else on you."
"Thank you," Fen managed to say between heaves.
"You killed two saber cats and a chimera; you deserve to live," the guard replied. She felt a calm whisper of the stranger's magic against her, but Fen didn't have the strength to turn to find him.
Enjoy your winnings,she thought bitterly.
She waited until she was down the ramp and out of the crowd's sight before she sank to her knees and vomited.
The guard tugged what remained of her broken shield off her arm. "Breathe, slave."
"My name is F-Fenrys," she stammered.
"Mohar. Fenrys is a strange name. Does it mean anything in Geb?"
"The wolf that destroys the world."
"A good name for a gladiator." Mohar smiled. "Come on, wolf, you need to get cleaned up. I doubt Nektos will wait long to call on you to congratulate you for winning today."
Fen dragged herself to her feet and stumbled after him. "I can hardly wait."
Six
