Page 101 of Tiger's Trek
“You just worry about finding Iriko and winning.”
Stacia nodded.
Zakhar helped her put on Father Frost’s cloak, handed her the repaired staff, then slipped the burning cresset into one of the pockets and the coin that could heal in the other one. Then he gave her the bag of rye. “In case they don’t feed you,” he said.
Just as she threw one leg out onto the plank, Belizna, the white ermine, hopped off Zakhar’s neck, ran up her leg, and climbed into the pocket of her coat. She glanced at Zakhar, who nodded earnestly. With that, Stacia quickly followed the large man toward the barracks, and when she glanced back, she saw the balloon that had brought them to the mountain flying to the opposite side of the coliseum.
“Where will they be staying?” she asked her warden.
“Where all the paridels stay,” he replied. “In the gambling section.”
They entered the barracks, and Stacia saw not rooms but cages. The few women she noticed were hard and filthy. One huge bear of a man lunged for her, stretching out his hands to grasp her coat. When he couldn’t reach her, his fingernails grew, and he bucked and scrabbled, trying to scratch her as they wove around him.
“Get back, you great lumping beast!” her guide said. He lifted a small rod attached to his belt and flicked it sharply. It expanded before her eyes, and though the man retracted his nails and whimpered, trying to back away, the guide still touched the caged man on the chest with his device, giving him a powerful enough shock to blow him back against the wall and knock him out completely.
“I appreciate your stepping in,” Stacia said diplomatically, “though it did seem he was cowed enough by your presence to back off even without your needing to take action.”
“That’s right,” the man said. “I like everyone to know I mean business, lest they get any ideas.”
“Yes. It’s quite obvious you have a nose for business.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean it cannot be just anyone who could be trusted to supervise the greatest champions of the realm. The one who put you in charge must have known you are much more than just a strong arm. A person running games like this has to be wily, clever, smarter than everyone else who crosses his path. Take my master, for example. He tried to bribe you, and I could see it on your face—you’re not the sort of man who dallies in whipsawing. You’d know that accepting bribes from various parties, whether dangerous-looking or not, is just as likely to cut the floor from under you as it is to benefit you in any way.”
“What are you getting at, girl?”
“I’m simply saying I can tell you’re a smart man, and a smart man might be interested in something more than money.”
He laughed outright. “Yeah. That’s right. If it’s yourself you’re offering, the other gals have already tried that. You are cleaner than most, I’ll give you that, but there’s no sense in offering what I could easily take, is there?”
“True enough, my friend, true enough. But it’s not myself I’m offering.”
The man frowned, then rolled his eyes like he’d heard every offer under the sun. He placed a meaty paw on Stacia’s chest and shoved her aside, then opened an empty cell. “Here’s your palace, Princess. Dinner will be served to Her Majesty in an hour.”
“Don’t you want to hear my offer?”
“Lady,” he said as he slammed her cell door shut and locked it, “I’ve heard it all. Nothing you could say would surprise me.”
“This one will.”
He sighed. “Fine. Seeing as how I got a nice piece of rare gold in my pocket, and knowing how you’re going to die tomorrow anyway, I’ll indulge you. Who is it you’re offering up for me to have a nicelongvisit with? Is it your mother? Your sister? Your best friend? A cousin maybe? Believe me—I’ve heard it all.”
Stacia placed her hands on the bars and smiled. “No, it’s nothing like that. I’m offering you a visit with a very charming fellow. One who might answer a question you’ve dreaded the answer to for quite a long time.”
Her jailer snorted. “I hate to tell you, but I don’t go in for that sort of thing. I’m disappointed. You weren’t even original.”
As he turned away, she called out, “I think you misunderstand. I’m not speaking of a man, exactly. I’m talking about Death himself.”
He stopped. “Death?”
“That’s right. I... well, we, have the power to summon him. If we do call him to visit a certain person, he will tell you the means and date of your own demise.”
Turning back to Stacia, he folded his arms across his chest. “Really?” After staring at her for several seconds, a grin lit his face. “You know, you did surprise me after all. I can truthfully tell you I’ve never heard that one before. Death? So what will he do? Summon a boat and usher me down the River Styx? Give me a vision of the future?”
“Something like that.”
He rubbed his lip. “You know, it would almost be worth my exhalation to try to smuggle you out of here just to see what kind of game you’re playing.”
