“What does that matter?” I scoffed. “I thought you were the god of champions. Not the god of keeping idiots entertained.”
The Gameskeeper shrugged. “In the arena, the crowd is the champion. Their screams are prayers to me, so it’s in my best interest to make sure they stay on the edge of their seats.” He spread his hands benevolently. “What god doesn’t wish for his followers to be happy?”
I didn’t think happiness gained through the suffering of others deserved protection, but I’d already made my opinion of his divinity clear, so I just motioned for him to get on with it.
“I’ve got a killer final match lined up for Mad Dog next Saturday night,” the Gameskeeper continued. “Something that will really make people sit up and take notice. It’s just the sort of spectacle a rising god like me needs to break into the big time.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And why would I help you do that?”
The bloody god’s smile grew crueler. “Because between you and me, it’s not going to be much of a fight. As good as my Mad Dog is, especially when I…encourage his underlying talents, he’s still only human, and that’s not going to count for much against this.”
He pointed over my shoulder at one of the dozens of security monitors bolted to the wall behind me. I’d ignored the video feeds since we’d arrived because I was focused on the threat in front of me. When I turned around to see what he was talking about, I saw something I really should have noticed sooner. A total game changer, hidden in plain view.
It was a dragon. A long, snaking white dragon inside a cage of glowing spellwork. She was curled into a miserable ball with her head tucked under her tail, but I still recognized her immediately. It was my father’s sister, White Snake.
“You have her!” I cried, whirling back around. “She didn’t run away in disgrace. You kidnapped her!”
“I didn’t kidnap anyone,” the Gameskeeper said, insulted. “I rescued her from the river after the DFZ struck her down and offered her a deal, just as I’m doing for you. See, for some reason, humans love dragons. Anything involving one of those snakes is guaranteed to be a hit. Just ask Marlin Drake. The First Dragon on Television has been making millions off the ‘put a dragon in it’ business model for almost a century. I’ve been trying to get one for my arena for years, but I’ve never been successful thanks to their famous egos and the Peacemaker’s ridiculous rules. But White Snake was in a, shall we say, ‘unique’ position.”
“You mean she couldn’t say no.”
The Gameskeeper chuckled. “Considering she was struck down while trying to kill you, I don’t see why you should care.”
“Just because she’s awful doesn’t mean you get a free pass to abuse her!”
“It’s not abuse if she agrees,” he replied with a grin. “At least in the DFZ. I’d originally planned to fight her against another animal, but I couldn’t find anything spectacular enough. Then I heard about poor Nik Kos, bereft of his dragon’s princess. He was so desperate for help finding you, he was ready to agree to anything, so I set him up for greatness. The undefeated Mad Dog, going toe-to-claw against the most feared monster in humanity’s history!” His eyes flashed with delight. “The crowd would eat it up, and Nik would be just plain eaten. All upsides.”
I opened my mouth to tell him Nik would kick White Snake’s scaly tail, but the angry words fell flat before I could get them out. Even I wasn’t that naive. Nik was good, but White Snake was a dragon. A small, cowardly one, but still way more than a single human could handle alone without an anti-dragon weapon, which I was sure the Gameskeeper wouldn’t allow.
“Why do you want Nik dead so bad?” I asked instead, trying another angle. “Isn’t he your champion?”
“He is,” the Gameskeeper said. “And that’s why he has to die. As I told you before, champions exist to be defeated. A winner who wins every time gets boring, and boring is bad for my reputation. That might not sound like much, but for a spirit, reputation is everything. As you saw last night, Mad Dog’s shine is already wearing thin. It’s time for him to go out in a blaze of glory, and what’s more glorious—or more blazing—than a dragon? It’ll be the biggest event in my arena’s history, the fight of the century! The only downside is that everyone knows he doesn’t have a chance. They’ll still show up to watch him get eaten, but it takes a bit of the wind out of a fight if the ending’s a foregone conclusion. Still, one must work with what one has…unless you can get me something better.”
His blood-colored eyes slid to my father, and my whole body clenched. “No.”
“But this gets you everything you want,” the Gameskeeper cooed. “White Snake told me all about your strained relationship with your father. I know how badly he’s treated you, and what you’ve done to him in return. Kos is different. He loves you. All I had to offer him was a chance at rescuing you, and he bared his neck to his most hated enemy. Surely that selfless act warrants some favoritism? And it’s not as if your so-called ‘father’ actually cares about you. To him, you’re just another collectible, and he and White Snake have been enemies for centuries. Their battle was always inevitable, so why shouldn’t I make a show of it? And meanwhile, you get to save your loyal knight who loves you with all his heart.”
The spirit held out his hand. “This is your chance, Opal,” he whispered as a pool of blood formed on his palm, the thick liquid trickling across his roughened skin to form a circle that was an exact miniature replica of the spell looped around Nik’s neck.
