Page 19 of Ironhold: Trial Five

It occurs to me that, if I were toask the people of the city about beast whisperers, it would not be Valerian’sname that they say. I would be the one they speak about. My fame has grown, andI'm not sure how I feel about that. There is something powerful about hearing acrowd chant my name, but I also hate that they only know an image of me craftedby the emperor and others. Even Lady Elara has sought to craft that image toher own ends, from the rumors that we are lovers, designed to hide our real aims,to her insistence that I must be loved by the crowd in readiness for her andthe spectral covenant to make their move.

I sit by the statue of Valerian,tucked away in the corner of the room behind several other statues,contemplating her past and my future. I'm still there when I hear voices comingfrom another part of the room. People come in, and I wonder if I should makemyself known. If this is some couple who is looking for a quiet place to betogether I don't want to be in here.

“Are you sure no one more will overhearus here?” a man asks.

“This is as good a place as any,” awoman replies. “Have you managed to persuade many of the others?”

I shift my position, wondering if Ican sneak out without being seen.

“Some,” the man says. “But toincite open rebellion is-”

“Wait,” the woman says. “There'ssomeone here. Who's there? Show yourself! Come out now.”

I step out from the shadows of thestatues, wondering what will happen next. After all, I've just heard them talkabout rebellion. Can they let me go after that?

The woman is vaguely familiar. Shewas a rebel before she was put here. Her name is Bella, and she was forced tofight one of her fellow rebels out on the sands. The winner got to live butonly as a slave within Ironhold.

She looks at me with suspicion fora moment, but then seems to recognize me.

“I know you,” she says. “LyraThornwind. The beast whisperer.”

“Not much of one,” I reply, liftingmy left wrist to show the dampener there. I need to maintain the lie.

“I’d forgotten that part,” Bellasays. “Although I haven't forgotten that it wasn’t so long ago that the emperorwas your patron.”

“To try to control me,” I say. “Andhe put me aside quickly enough.”

“I heard that you killed your lastpatron,” the man says.

I don’t reply to that. It's thekind of thing I can't admit without condemning myself.

“Edron, don't be stupid. Of course,she's not going to admit to that,” Bella says. She looks me up and down. “Butit occurs to me that you might be the kind of person who wants to join ourcause.”

“Whatcause?” I ask.

“We've heard the rumors ofrebellion around Aetheria. I was a part of it all. It’s the reason I wascaught, the reason I was put in here. I didn't think I'd have a chance to domore. I thought I would just die here. Now though, maybe there will be a chanceto rise up, to overthrow the people who keep us in chains.”

It's a dangerous thing for her tosay. If I were to go to the guards with it, Bella would be punished, possiblyeven executed. If I don't and someone learns that we are having thisconversation, the same might happen to me.

“So you want me to join your… what?Escape attempt?” I say.

“Not just that,” Bella insists.“The gladiators here are some of the best trained fighters in the city. If werise up, and the gangs join us, we can rip the throne away from the emperor,kill the nobles and run the city for the benefit of those who matter.”

“And you want me to be a part ofthis?” I say, trying to hide some of my surprise. Lady Elara asked me to stirup the gladiators towards rebellion, but it seems that there is a group of themwho are already on the brink of it. It doesn't sound as though they would havemuch time for Lady Elara, though.

“People will listen to you,” Bellasays. “And yes, you might not have much power now, but when we cut that thingfrom your wrist… then you will be able to do a lot for the cause.”

“I… I’ll need to think about it,” Isay. I can't give her a commitment, because I know that the moment I rise upagainst the empire, the emperor will have Alaric killed.

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, details of mynext match are up on the board. It is to be a pair’s match, in which I am dueto fight alongside Cesca, against a pair of opponents whose names I do notrecognize.

I collect my armor and take myplace in the procession down to the city. I find Cesca along the way, walkingclose to her, hoping that we can coordinate our tactics. She looks over at meas I approach, and there is something calculating about her stare.

“Are you looking forward to ourmatch?” she asks.

“I never look forward to any ofit,” I say. “But we need to work out how we're going to fight together. I don'tknow much about these opponents.”

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