Page 21 of Ironhold: Trial Five

I return my focus to myself andCesca. We step out together, listening to the cheers of the crowd. It is notlong before our opponents step through the gate at the opposite side of thearena.

“I give you Barca and Zax!” theannouncer says.

Barca goes bare-chested, and evenas I watch, the muscles of his chest and arms seem to swell. It seems thatCesca was right about his magic. He wields a great hammer, which he slams downinto the dirt as if to demonstrate his strength, sending up a shower of sand.

Zax is slender, dressed in mobileplates of armor. He follows in Barca’s wake, using a sword and shield. Even asthe sand comes up into the air, Zax sends it my way. In this, it seems thatCesca has underestimated him because it's like standing in a sandstorm. Thebattle is joined without warning, and I must move to react in time as our twoopponents charge at us.

I wheel away from that charge,raising my spear and my net, ready to advance on them. Even as I do it, theeyes of the birds show me the figure moving in behind me, sword already raisedfor a killing blow.

If I weren't expecting the attack,I suspect that Cesca would be able to land it on me before I could react. As itis, I whirl with my net, wrapping it around her quickly, whipping her feet outfrom under her. She goes down with a cry, which is only made louder as I usethe bottom of my spear to knock her sword from her hand. She tries to strugglefree from my net but I wrap the trailing rope of it around her, pinning herarms to her sides and then tying the end of it said that she will not be ableto escape the tangling net.

Some of the crowd cheer at thatdevelopment, while some make sounds of shock. Cesca glares at me, strugglingagainst her bonds, but I'm already moving away from her. I can see Alariclooking down with worry.

I have taken Cesca out of thefight, at least for now, but I don't know how long it will be before she breaksfree. In the meantime, I am fighting two gladiators with just a spear. I dodgethe next attack, borrowing a hint of speed and agility from the birds to beable to lean back far enough to let a hammer blow pass above me. I cartwheelout of the way of a thrust from Zax, then move back, knowing that I can't allowthe two of them to flank me.

We exchange attacks. I thrust withmy spear and they attack into every opening I give them. Even when they arevulnerable I cannot press the attack against one of them, because to do sowould be to leave me open to the other. They are ignoring Cesca. Perhaps theyhave decided that she is out of the fight. Perhaps they think they can justfinish her at their leisure.

It means that their full focus ison me, and fear starts to fill me as the bout goes on. I can feel my strengthstarting to wane. I'm having to do so much just to survive these two opponentsthat I know I will not be able to keep it up forever. Already, sweat isdripping from me, meaning that the sand Zax sends at me sticks to my skin. I amstarting to breathe heavily, and the two of them seem to take that as their cueto intensify their attacks.

I need more if I'm going to fightthem and win. More strength, more stamina, more power. And I know where to getit. It is simply that doing so is dangerous, risks changing me forever.

I reach out with my talent, feelingthe creatures of the beast pits below the colosseum. I reach for them, and Itake what I need. I take strength from a great ape, there to crush criminals. Itake stamina from a mighty iron hide, the rhinoceros-like creature I havefought before. I borrow agility from the birds and speed from a snake. I take alittle from each place, hoping that if I spread it out enough, I will notdestroy the creatures I am borrowing from.

I sway aside from Zax’s attack,lashing out with my spear to sweep Barca’s legs out from under him. The big mangoes down with a thud, roaring as he comes up. He charges at me and I sidestep,parrying another of Zax’s attacks as I go.

“Lyra! Lyra! Lyra!”

The crowd is chanting my name now,and I spin my spear, turning its movements into a web of attacks and defenses.Barca grabs for me, but I duck at the last moment, thrusting up with my spearso that my movement drives the weapon through him. I abandon my grip on it,throwing myself forward into a roll even as I draw my short, curved dagger.

Zax swings at me, but I'm under thelevel of his attack thanks to my roll. I slash at his hamstrings as I go pasthim, feeling the impact as my blade tears through his flesh. He cries out inagony and falls. I come to my feet and the crowd are roaring my name now.

My heart is still beating far toofast. I look up to the emperor's box. It is obvious that the fight is over inall but name, but will he demand that I kill these foes as he did with Aya?

There is a brief pause, presumablyas the emperor makes up his mind. What would I do if he demands that I kill allthree of my foes? I hate it, but I already know the answer. I will do what hewants. I have no choice.

A gong sounds though, signaling theend of the bout. The announcer steps forward.

“The gladiator Lyra and herteammate Cesca are the victors of this bout!”

The idea that we're a team is afiction, one that the crowd can see right through, but my victory is realenough. Barca is lying on the ground in agony with a spear still protrudingfrom his guts. Zax is crawling, blood pouring from the back of his legs. Idon't know if even the healers here can give him back the ability to walk. AndCesca lies where I left her, still bound.

I leave her there as I walk fromthe sands, slowly returning the attributes that I borrowed from the animalsbeneath the colosseum. It is a pointed move, showing the crowd what I think ofher betrayal. I hope that my victory has been a powerful message to anyone elsewho wants to betray me, but even as I walk from the sands with the cheers ofthe crowd ringing in my ears, I can't help feeling a note of pain.

It isn't just that Cesca hasbetrayed me. No, this pain comes from the realization that if I hadn't takenthe emperor's offer, I would be just one fight away from freedom. Just onefight from being able to call myself a noble of Aetheria, and being able toleave, to go back to my home.

I could have all that if I werewilling to abandon Alaric to his fate. If I were simply willing to walk away Iwould be able to take my freedom and step away from all of the plots and theintrigues of the colosseum. I could ignore the various groups vying tooverthrow the emperor, and simply let the city of Aetheria devour itself in thecoming violence.

But I cannot simply bring myself toabandon Alaric. I cannot allow the emperor to execute him. And that means I'mstuck in the middle of all of it. A wave of violence is coming, and I do notknow which way to go when the time comes.

Chapter Twelve

After my victory, I onlyneed a little time among the healers. I have suffered no major wounds thistime, nothing that requires their talents to help me. I do, however, need aminute or two sitting alone to make sure that I have let the last of the abilitiesI have borrowed from the beasts flow out of me. I can feel my heartbeat slowinga little and I don’t know if it is because the adrenaline rush of the fight isfading, or because some aggressive animal essence is leaving me.

But I don’t get to sitthere for long.

“Move,” one of the trainerssnaps at me. “You’re wanted up above in the receiving rooms.”

I force myself to head upto the space reserved for meeting with the nobles. I can feel the eyes on meas I enter that space, and I wonderwhat I must look like to them. It is normal that we come into the receivingrooms without cleaning up after our fights. The nobles like to see a littleblood, like to convince themselves that, because they can touch the dried bloodon someone's arm, it is almost the same as being in the colosseum themselves.

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