Rivals (Book 2 of The Warden series) Page 17

  The gym had been transformed from a giant pseudo airplane hangar with a tiny little workout area, to a giant pseudo airplane hangar with a tiny little bleacher area. The hard, cold metal seating seemed inappropriate for the caliber of people arriving, but it was either that or stay standing.

  Aside from a lack of snacks and beverages, the gym had started to look like a cocktail party. A low murmur of multiple languages spread over the room of fifty men and women.

  Once everyone had arrived, Cori stood off to one side looking the part of a wallflower. Only, instead of being shy and introverted with a preference for small intimate gatherings, she was terrified and antisocial with a preference for running like hell before the dragon arrived.

  She was starting to wonder if everyone had come there purely out of bloodlust. She’d had only eight months to train for this test and there was a distinct possibility that she might die. Given the caliber of her competition, failure could mean being his lunch.

  She looked around the room at all the smiling faces dressed in their Sunday best. They didn’t seem concerned about the ensuing bloodbath of A-negative that would be staining their designer clothes. Her Saturday worst—a pair of cargo pants and a “Bite Me” t-shirt—looked out of place. She had found great amusement in the t-shirt that morning, but as time went on, the humor waned.

  “Don’t,” Danato said as he came to join her on the sidelines. He was also in his Sunday best, which turned out to be a good look for him: Gray slacks and matching button-up shirt with a black sweater vest. He was even clean-shaven, which was a rare concession.

  She looked up at him trying to find the source of his objection.

  “Don’t psych yourself out. These people have nothing to do with today.”

  “They are but mere observers to the untimely death of a stupid, stubborn girl,” she quipped.

  “I would normally object to the description of stupid,” Danato said with a shrug, “but you are about to fight a dragon just so you can spend the remainder of your life trying to safeguard prisoners that at any moment could kill you.”

  Cori nodded. “I’m actually more concerned about the paperwork aspect,” she deadpanned.

  “As you should be,” Danato retorted.

  Cori waved to Ethan as he came in the door. She was relieved to see him in jeans and a t-shirt. Instead of his usual skintight black t-shirt, he wore a bright hot pink t-shirt with big words on the front that said, “YES I AM.” Cori smiled at the audacious shirt that already answered the question that it begged: “You’re wearing that?” Suddenly her own t-shirt didn’t seem so out of place.

  Danato gave Ethan a once over as he came in. Ethan smiled broadly at him, and propped his hands on his hips and nodded. “Was there something you wanted to ask me, Danato?” Ethan’s head bobbed as if he were daring the big man to bite on the joke.

  Danato shook his head and looked away, not willing to participate in the game. “You’re as bad as she is.”

  Ethan smirked over at her and she stretched her t-shirt out to show her style for the day. “Funny and slightly masochistic,” he joked.

  Cori smiled, pleased to offer someone amusement for her efforts, but she couldn’t keep it long. She was starting to feel sick with nerves. This entire situation was a masochistic endeavor and she was the star. A star that was about to fall.

  “Belus,” Ethan interrupted Belus’s approach to Danato. “What do you think of my homage to Cori?”

  Belus paused to look over the hot pink atrocity. A small smile played at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t think that means what you think it does, kid.” As Ethan re-examined his shirt, Belus turned to Danato. “They’re ready.”

  “Okay.” Danato nodded and glanced over at her. “Let’s give a few more minutes.”

  Belus nodded and moved back into the crowd.

  Ethan looked over the bustling room. “What’s with all the stiffs?”

  “Observers, board members, and judges,” Danato answered.

  “Who are the judges?” Ethan said, pulling a granola bar from his pocket to snack on. Cori wondered if he always had one hidden on him.

  “The three in the long gray robe-suits,” Danato answered.

  Ethan chuckled. “Oh, the Star Trek emissaries. Great they look the part: reserved and condescending. I get why the board members would be here, but who are the observers? You’re not selling tickets to this stuff, are you?”

  “I suppose in a roundabout way we are. They’re contributors. They pay the bills around here. Normally we might only get thirty people, but I think the female element here has intrigued everyone.”

  “They can smell the carnage and they’re here to watch,” Cori mumbled. “Savages.”

  “Well, that’s what I came for. How about you, Danato?” Ethan jabbed Danato.

  “Don’t tease her. She’s nervous enough.”

  “She was joking. I was joking,” Ethan defended.

  “She wasn’t joking.”

  Ethan eyed Cori from across Danato as if he might see this suggestive emotion dripping from her nose. “Cori, once that big fat beast comes at you, you won’t even remember we’re here.”

  Danato turned his head to Ethan. “Was that supposed to be encouragement?”

  “She’s going to do fine. She’s fought this dragon over fifty times in the last few months. She’s beaten her the last twelve times. She’ll beat her again today. Test aced. Hurray for Cori.” Ethan “raised the roof” but neglected the “whoop-whoop” that begged to accompany it.

  Cori looked up at Danato, who returned her look of distress. “Ethan.” Danato turned back to him. “Either you’ve forgotten, or I neglected to specify. Cori is fighting a male dragon today.”

  Ethan’s cheerleading spark extinguished. He stared at Danato for a long moment, at the end of which he looked to her with a combination of apprehension and shame. He managed to mumble a sympathetic curse that, albeit sincere, lacked the inspiration of his previous statement.

  Danato all but rolled his eyes at Ethan. “Listen, sweetheart…” He paused, looking her over. She waited for the inevitable, You don’t have to do this, or I’ll be proud of you either way. “We need to get started.” Danato stalked off to announce the impending battle.

  Her heart ached—she was having a heart attack.

  Her stomach seized—she was going to puke.

  Her head was spinning—she was going to pass out.

  She wanted off this ride, but no one was going to let her off. Danato was her big strong teddy bear…well, grizzly bear protector. He wasn’t offering any outs like she had expected. Then again, what could he do? Just announce to the board that he made a mistake in backing her? No, she had made her bed, and now she had to be eaten by a dragon.

  Ethan stood just a few feet from her, still trying to comprehend what was about to happen.

  “Any last words of advice?” she asked.

  After a moment of thought, he shook his head. “I wish I knew what to tell you. I’ve never fought a male before.”

  Cori nodded. Advice or not, she knew the battle was hopeless. As much as she hated the idea of an unsurmountable challenge, she didn’t really mind the thought of failing the test.

  It had occurred to her last night that if she passed the test, she would become warden instead of Ethan. That four-months-too-late revelation made her realize that if Ethan didn’t become warden, he wouldn’t come back to the prison. And if he didn’t come back to the prison, what did it matter if she was the warden?

  If she couldn’t have Ethan, she didn’t want any of it. Because he was the only thing that made this place tolerable, even fun.

  So, there she was, knee deep in the shit that her ego shat. Her options were limited. She couldn’t just walk away. Danato was clearly not offering that. She couldn’t just surrender. Danato would be humiliated and discredited by her lack of performance. She definitely couldn’t win, or she would lose Ethan. Her only real option was to fail at trying to win.

  No mat
ter how she looked at it, she had to fight this dragon… and lose.

  “Screw that!” Ethan said abruptly beside her. “You are going to kick ass. I don’t know how you’re going to do it, but I do know you are amazing. Everyone else is about to find out too,” he said firmly, refusing to allow any doubt into his statement.

  Cori smiled. He must have been pondering the negatives in his mind for a while before he decided that it wasn’t helping her to do so. “Thank you.” She was glad that he had faith in her, even if it was just her dumb luck that motivated it. She felt bad that she would have to dash his high hopes. Perhaps he would feel better after giving her a consolatory kiss after the match.

  The happy hour around them died down and the audience eagerly took their seats on the bleachers. Danato gave a short announcement about the rules for spectators. No yelling at the competitors, no throwing objects, and no crossing this line lest your head be cut off or bitten off by said competitors.

  Cori started to stretch her body and do a little light jogging. She had done a pre-workout earlier, but it mostly involved praying and bashing her head into the floor as punishment for her arrogance.

  She took in a few deep breaths. She cleared her mind and focused on her strategy. Almost win.

  She could save face for Danato, defend her right to compete, and win back Ethan if she put up a good, but not too good, fight. She glanced at Ethan, who was giving her a nod.

  Belus approached with her shield and sword. She glanced around to see where Danato was. He was by the front door, preparing to release the dragon. She had wanted him to bring her gear. She had wanted his loving and caring eyes to offer her reassurance at this moment.

  She knelt down to Belus and presented her arm for the shield. She searched his eyes for anything resembling friendship. She’d had a tenuous relationship with him before the elemental issues. Post-elementals she would be lucky to get a mumbled, “Good luck.”

  He lashed the shield to her arm tightly. It hurt, but she didn’t say anything. He held out her sword and she gripped it. He repositioned her hand. “Keep your fingers a little loose until you start to attack,” he said. “Otherwise your grip will wear out before the battle is done.”

  She nodded, appreciating any words from his mouth.

  “This shield,” he continued, “is your weapon, your only weapon.” He thumped the metal. “Concentrate on this first and foremost. It keeps you alive.”

  She shook her head fervently keeping her eyes locked to his. She drank in his words like air to her lungs.

  “Your sword is only used when you have the advantage, otherwise forget it exists. The male is faster, smarter, and meaner. He will pull every dirty trick that the female one does, but he will do it three times faster. You fall; you get back up. You get hit; you regroup. The vulnerable spots are still the same: the roof of the mouth, the feet, and under the tail. Don’t rush your mind. Rush your body, but let your mind decide where and when to attack. Your body is in defensive until your mind gives it permission to be offensive. Understand?”

  “Yes.” Cori’s voice caught, and she was shaking, but she felt exhilarated instead of terrified. She had just received the Belus version of encouraging words. His no-nonsense breakdown of the impending battle had done her more good than a heartfelt hug or perfunctory pep talk. He wasn’t trying to make her feel better. He was trying to keep her alive. “Thank you.” She searched his eyes for something more, just in case he might offer something in the way of a nod or wink.

  “Watch out for the fire.” Belus backed away, and Cori heard the hangar door crack. She looked over to Danato, who had pulled the lever on the wall already. No turning back now. The dragon had been released.

  41

  Cori centered herself in the battle zone as the hangar door raised.

  The dragon emerged.

  With tremendous speed and a loud shriek, not unlike an eagle, the shimmering green beast darted at her. Unprepared for a running-of-the-bulls attack, she tucked and rolled out of the creature’s way.

  She jumped back up just as Belus had advised. It was fortunate, since the creature turned and blew a billowing cloud of flames after her. She tucked behind her heat-resistant shield. It barely covered her body, and ‘heat-resistant’ was a joke, since her arm felt like she was leaning on a hot griddle.

  The ‘almost win’ strategy was laughable to her now. With the dragon’s speed, guile, and talent for combustion, she would be lucky to make it out of here with a pulse.

  The dragon darted at her again.

  She braced herself, prepared for another tuck and roll, but he stopped. She waited for an attack from the slithery beast, but none came. The creature’s long neck swayed its head like a cobra.

  Cori glanced to Belus on the sidelines. Danato had joined him. They both stood with arms crossed, watching her. Ethan was pacing the line trying to find a spot to stand, but finding something wrong with his view no matter where he stood.

  She saw a slight shake to Belus’s head. She wasn’t sure what he was objecting to. Her looking at him? Her standing still?

  She raised her shield and set her sword. She moved toward the dragon for an offensive move. She hadn’t thought beyond that and it was probably why Belus had shaken his head at her. She was rushing the battle. She was letting the stillness in the beast instigate her attack. Her body shouldn’t move unless she saw a weakness.

  The dragon’s snout struck her shield like a pecking chicken. The male was much smaller than the female, but his long, lean neck had enough strength to flatten her to the ground with one tap.

  She didn’t have time to get up. She ducked behind her shield, smelling a waft of petroleum even before feeling the heat penetrate her arm. As soon as the assault stopped, she rolled to one side and jumped up to defend her position.

  Her position proved to be negotiable, though. Her feet went over her head. A sharp pain rose from somewhere on her legs, forcing a scream from her. She didn’t know what had even tripped her. Only after did she see his tail sliding away.

  She rolled and regrouped away from the dragon. She saw blood trailing after her. She looked at her legs and found two long gashes across her calves. He had slashed her with the horny ridges on his tail.

  The dragon stalked her, not letting her recover. He darted and paused, only giving her enough time to get back up so he could make her move again. She was wearing out faster than she had planned. Almost winning was no longer in Cori’s mind. Almost dying was.

  Cori’s sword ricocheted off the dragon’s attacking claws. It batted at her like a plaything. Like a cat pawing at a mouse, first left then right, all the while sitting calmly on its haunches.

  To win the battle she had to stab the dragon in one of three non-lethal but painful spots. Her usual attack spot was the roof of the mouth. Unfortunately, the dragon’s fire-breathing capability had put that option on the back burner.

  The next was between the toe pads of the feet. That gave her four targets, if she could make it past the claws.

  The third was the underside of the tail right where it meets the butt. Outside of the dragon deciding to take a bathroom break in the middle of the match, this was an unlikely option.

  To lose the battle she had to run out the clock, become mortally wounded and/or incapacitated, or surrender.

  To surrender, she had to throw her shield and sword outside the gaming area. The dragon wouldn’t attack once she gave this signal. Unfortunately, no one would believe she had tried to win if she surrendered this early. She had already established her tenacity, and now it was biting her in the ass. Not to mention that in order to raise empty hands, she would have to get the shield off her arm, which, thanks to Belus, was on tighter than a straightjacket.

  She was hoping to avoid the latter two and run out the clock, but the longer she stayed in the fight the more she risked taking door number two to the mortally wounded or incapacitated exit.

  The beast blew another fire attack, but this time there wasn’t a gaseous pl
ume. The flames came out as raining fire. It was still fire, but not nearly as pervasive. She wondered if he intended this or if it was a glitch in his throat.

  She took the opening. With her shield as an umbrella she ducked under the dragon’s head and stabbed his shoulder. Her retreat was too slow. He countered with his paw. She flew through the air with the greatest of ease, just like the man… who got back-handed by an eight-ton dragon.

  As if it didn’t hurt enough to have a dragon bitch-slap your whole body, she landed with a jaw-rattling thump. She allowed for a slight groan before willing herself up again.

  She hurdled his swinging tail. On the leap over, she slashed it. Her blade only clinked off the ridges, but she was glad to get another parry in.

  After another round of fire, Cori went in for a full-blown attack. Her hope was to get to him just before he could blow another flame. Her initial run and war cry showed promise, but the dragon found her no threat at all.

  Once she was in his reach, his head bowed. She didn’t stop. As soon as he opened to breathe fire she would stab his mouth. His mouth never opened. His snout drove her to the floor with another swift peck. His front paw pressed her torso. His claws squeezed down on her shoulders.

  Breathing had just been removed from her list of autonomic nerve functions.

  42

  Ethan moved uncontrollably forward when he saw Cori was pinned. Belus’s hand shot out to block his forward movement. Ethan looked down at the red line he had almost crossed. Crossing it meant invalidating the test. He stepped back and came up on the other side of Danato. “What is he doing?”

  Danato stood with his arms crossed, seemingly unfazed by the danger before them. “He’s suffocating her,” he stated as if it was an everyday occurrence.

  “I thought the dragons were trained not to kill.”

  Danato scoffed. “Try training a male dragon.”