into one head, while slashing at the other with her sword. Both heads reared back in surprise and pain, which gave Loor the time she needed. With one continuous move she spun back, slashing her sword again, severing the rope that tied her fallen friend to the zhou. Their other teammate was able to pull the guy to his feet and get him away before the zhou could come after them again.
Round one went to the zhou beast. Round two went to Loor. But the beast didn’t look any worse for the wear, and both Ghee teams were hurting. I wondered what would happen if there was no way they could slay this thing. How would this end? Was this going to be a fight to the death for both sides?
The next move was the beast’s. Loor had hurt him. She had drawn blood. He was ticked. He wanted revenge. He went after Loor.
Before she realized that she was being attacked, the beast lashed out at her arm, slashing her shoulder. Loor dove away, and dropped her sword. This was bad. All she had left to protect herself was the lame little shield. The beast kept after her. Loor needed help.
“The rope,” she ordered her teammates as she rolled away from the two-headed cat. Her team went after the rope as she jumped up and bolted in the other direction. The zhou wasn’t fooled. He was right after her. Loor sprinted toward the fallen warrior from the other team. What was she doing? The big zhou leaped into the air. Loor dove to the ground, tucked, rolled, and grabbed the sword from the injured warrior’s hand. Yes! She was armed again! The zhou landed, ready to attack. Loor quickly slashed at its front paws. The beast screamed in pain and fell hard, headfirst. Or, headsfirst. Face-plant into the dirt. Or faces-plant.
Loor rolled away, having dodged death once again. But the zhou wasn’t finished. Not by far. Loor jumped to her feet, and was headed back to her teammates when one of the rival warriors tackled her. I couldn’t believe it! She never saw him coming. The crowd booed, but it didn’t stop the warrior. He yanked the sword away from her. I guess he felt it belonged to his team, but c’mon! Before Loor had a chance to react, the rival warrior was scampering back to join his own teammate. I was beginning to hate these guys. Loor was once again without a weapon.
The zhou was getting back to his feet. Loor’s teammates were on the other side of the square, holding the rope, ready to help. She wasn’t even close to them. She was on her own. The zhou got its wits back, scanned the square with both heads, and spotted Loor. She was out in the open, totally defenseless. The zhou squatted down like a cat ready to pounce. I thought there was nowhere for Loor to go. But I was wrong. Before the beast leaped, Loor sprinted for the center of the square and the statue in the dry fountain.
“Run!” I shouted, like she needed to be reminded.
She made it to the statue of the Ghee warrior battling the zhou and climbed. The crowd was going nuts. Loor had become the favorite. I had no idea what she was going to do up there, except maybe buy a little time. I sure hoped the zhou couldn’t climb. If it could, Loor would be trapped, and finished. Her teammates didn’t know what to do, and the rival team certainly wasn’t going to bail her out. She was climbing up onto a dead end. Dead being the operative word.
She had gotten partway up the statue when I saw someone sprinting across the square. At first I thought it was one of the other warriors, but a quick look showed me that someone else had entered the contest. It was Saangi, Loor’s squire. What was she doing? She definitely had a plan, because her head was down and her legs were pumping. She didn’t have a weapon, and even if she did, I didn’t think she stood a chance against the zhou. One thing was sure. This young girl had guts.
On the other side of the statue, the zhou was crouched and stalking. Either it didn’t feel like there was any need to rush, or its paws were too slashed up to run. Whatever. It was closing in on Loor. Whatever Saangi had planned, she had to do it fast. She ran to the spot where Loor had dropped her sword, and scooped it up. Without hesitating, she turned and sprinted for the statue.
“Loor!” she shouted, and threw the sword.
Loor looked in time to see her sword sailing toward her. For a brief second my heart stopped, thinking Loor was about to be impaled by her own sword. I should have known better.
Loor plucked the sword out of the air like a pro because, well, she was a pro. I guess Saangi wasn’t so bad either. But this impressive move alone wasn’t going to win the battle.
The zhou had decided to throw away caution. It began to charge. The final attack was on. Loor was about to reach the highest point of the statue, which was on top of the stone heads. There was some kind of symbolism here that I didn’t bother to analyze. It was pretty clear to me that this statue wasn’t tall enough. If the zhou could still jump half as high as I’d seen before, he would nail Loor, sword or not.
But Loor’s teammates didn’t let her down. Before the big cat made its final leap, they tossed the rope at it, lassoing its leg. The beast’s eyes were intent on Loor and didn’t see it coming. The two warriors yanked hard, keeping the zhou from leaping. The surprised beast looked down at the rope…
And Loor made her move.
She leaped off the statue and onto the back of the zhou. But unlike the rival warrior who had tried this before, Loor’s weapon was ready. I think the sword hit its mark before Loor’s feet hit its back. The power of her fall drove the sword deep into the back of the zhou, all the way to the handle. It was horrible and strange to see both heads react with surprise and agony. Its body arched up so quickly, it threw Loor off. She landed hard, rolled, then popped up, ready to finish the job.
She was too late. No sooner had she been thrown, than the two rival warriors leaped onto the back of the wounded zhou. Using their swords, they slashed at its dying heads. This time I had to look away. No way I wanted to see this. Luckily the crowd was in an uproar, so I didn’t have to hear it either. Half the crowd was cheering because the battle was won, the other half was booing because the true winner, Loor, was not going to come away with the prize. This was all about who got the heads. Loor and her team may have stopped the zhou, but they did not get the heads. A technicality, but those were the rules. I didn’t think it was fair, but I was more relieved that Loor had survived.
I stood with my back to the square, not wanting to imagine how gruesome the scene was on the ground. As I stood there, I glanced up to the next level to see how the strange observer with the purple robe was reacting. Whose side was he on? Would he be cheering, or jeering?
I never found out, because he was gone.
JOURNAL #20
(CONTINUED)
ZADAA
“Donot move,” Saangi ordered. “This will only take longer if you do.”
It was the first time I heard anyone give Loor an order. Or maybe I should say, it was the first time I saw Loor obey an order. Saangi may have been her younger aide, but she acted more like a stern, caring mother. Loor sat still, impatiently, while Saangi sewed together the wound in her arm. I’m serious. Needle. Thread. Skin. Gross. It wasn’t a deep wound that the zhou beast had cut, but it was serious enough that it needed stitching. To these warrior types, it was no big deal. Loor didn’t even wince. But I had to look away, or I would have ralphed right there on the floor of Loor’s home. That wouldn’t have been cool.
“Does this bother you, Pendragon?” Saangi asked. She knew it did.
“Nah,” I lied. “I’ve seen worse.”
Loor and Saangi exchanged glances. They knew I was just trying to be casual. I needed to change the subject or risk being revealed as a full-tilt wussy.
“What happened out there wasn’t fair,” I said. “You should have won.”
“You are correct,” Loor said. “It was not fair. Saangi should not have interfered.”
I didn’t expect that. I looked to Saangi. Saangi didn’t react.
“Once she entered the contest, it was over,” Loor continued. “Outside interference is not permitted. No matter what happened after that, my team would have lost.”
“But she saved your life!” I exclaimed.
