Page 12 of Survivor
I looked up at Tide. “What’s he saying?”
“Asking them to open up, he has customers for Braker.”
The door swung open, and Vartin babbled a moment longer before ushering us inside.
A feminine, dark-skinned creature stepped back to admit us. Her pupils were vertical like a cat’s, but her eyes were round, wide, and lashless.
Vartin herded us past her and up a flight of stairs. “Registration above. Fight below. Not much time.”
Shit, this was happening fast. The stairs were metal-grilled and shook as we climbed them to the floor above. A narrow walkway greeted us, and then an arch opened out into a small reception area. A blob sat on a stool before a large halo screen. An actual gray blob with two blinking eyes and a slash of a mouth.
It studied us for a long beat and then turned its attention to Vartin.
They stared at each other for a long second, then Vartin nodded.
“You wish to register?” The words echoed around us.
Shit, who’d said that? I glanced about.
Tide gripped my hand. “It’s okay.”
A wheezing sound filled the air. Vartin was laughing at me.
I glared at him. “What’s so funny?”
“Bilon speaking,” Vartin said. He pointed at the blob. “He project voice.”
“Yes, we wish to register,” Tide said to the blob.
The blob shuddered, and then slender gray projections extended out of its skin and began tapping away at the halo screen.
“Numbers 148 and 149.” He finished tapping, and an alcove in the wall opened up. “Suit up. The fight begins in twenty minutes.”
Tide led the way into the alcove. Suits hung on pegs, bodysuits made of some kind of stretchy material that had weird silver pads all over it.
“Sensor pads,” Vartin said. “Hit pads to score points. Highest points win.”
Well, that made sense, but it also meant there was no way to hide what I was. Human and female.
I turned to Vartin. “Who attends these fights?”
His eyes narrowed. “You hiding?”
Tide stepped forward. “Would it matter if we were?”
Vartin smiled slowly. “If you hide, you come to the right place. Braker don’t like officials. No officials. Ever. This is Braker’s world, and he has own rules. Even enforcers not mess with him.”
Okay, that made me feel better.
Vartin turned his back on us. “Dress, and I take you down.”
I grabbed a suit off the peg and began to strip. I was down to my underwear when I noticed Tide had stopped moving. He was staring at me, his silver gaze running over my bare flesh.
He turned his back quickly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. My fault. I’m used to not thinking about my nakedness. We changed communally and showered communally on Vesper.”
“And the Trads locked up with you … they never …”
