Someone must have reported back what I’d done. She and the guard smuggled Ebon into the arena at great risk to their own lives. It gave me yet another advantage over our opponents. I was ready for the fight, no matter who I was fighting.
“The gladiators,” Siddith howled outside, “don’t know what they’ll find in their cart. It might be great weapons, forged by the finest engineers on the planet. It might be a collection of pots and pans, in which case, Reaver should have a distinct advantage!”
The crowd joined Siddith in his merriment at Reaver’s expense. She didn’t show any sign that she was bothered at all by the jab.
I wanted to reassure her, to tell her about what the guard had brought, but camera drones were nearby, and I wasn’t sure how sensitive their microphones were. If I told her what I’d seen, it might give away the guard’s secret.
“Tonight, for The King’s Wrath,” he announced, “the gladiators will be fighting four of the most vicious, dangerous, and ugly creatures on the planet. Their opponents have come from the four corners of the land, conquered and tamed. Today, they will be ridden by four of our own Sentinels, elite guards who have sworn their lives to the king.”
The crowd roared before Siddith continued. “They have been instructed to… not exactly go easy on the gladiators. Let’s hope they make it last longer than 20 seconds. No promises.”
The crowd erupted into laughter. The sound of it sickened me. They’d get their show. But it wouldn’t be the one they thought they’d see.
Beatrix was acting like a caged animal, pacing back and forth in front of the gate. “What are they waiting for?” she murmured. “Just open the gate. Get this over with.”
I knew if she saw Ebon before I got to it, she’d take it. I doubted I’d ever get it back. I had to be the first one out, so I planted my foot against the back of the pen and got into a crouch with both hands on the floor like a runner waiting for the starting gun.
Reaver looked curiously at me, then at Beatrix, and back to me. She shook her head, obviously confused by our behavior and waited.
I’d trained Reaver, so I knew exactly what she was capable of. I’d fought against Beatrix, so I also knew how fast and deadly she was. Our enemy, on the hand, didn’t know what was coming. The king had made a critical mistake having all of us grouped together.
“...our mystery warriors will take on the beautiful Beatrix the Bloody… and two somewhat capable humans,” Siddith was saying. “Will she be victorious, or will the meat-shield humans get in her way? Let’s find out in five…”
I slowed my breathing to control the pulse of adrenaline.
“...four…”
I checked the position of my feet to make sure I wouldn’t slip and fall flat on my face when the gate opened.
“...three…”
I wiped my hands on my pants, making sure they were dry when I reached for Ebon.
“...two…”
Beatrix was right at the gate. She’d have a distinct advantage of starting closer to the weapons, but I’d get there first.
“...one…”
I didn’t wait for the gate to open or the pen to tip. I exploded toward the gate and almost had to roll to make sure I made it under the heavy bars as they were lifting. I left Beatrix in the dust, reached the cart outside our holding cell, and pulled Ebon free of the other junk surrounding it. Less than a second later, I unsheathed the sword and took a position at the center of the battlefield.
Four creatures thundered out of the gates opposing us. They were enormous reptilians with heads like dragons, but one was gold, two were black, and the other looked very much like Amin, the silver dragon who had taken us here.
These were same creatures that I’d promised to help rescue from the city. Yaltu’s creatures.
All four roared in unison. Instead of sounding majestic or even intimidating, their roar sounded pained, tired, and artificial.
I fixed on the closest contender—one of the black dragons—and studied her for weaknesses.
The creature was a mess. She had a metal helmet, of sorts, covering the place where her left eye used to be. In place of the eye was a mechanical or medical scanning device, which probably enhanced her vision somehow. She was surrounded in old scars and fresh blood. Whatever had happened to the poor creature looked like it had occurred over time with several surgeries. She was no longer in control of her own faculties. She was a slave, kept so by an electronic leash threading across her body like a spider might prepare its prey.
The two black dragons had six legs and looked as if they used to have wings, but that had been several surgeries ago. In their place were heavy-looking metal plates, round like shields. They would provide good protection against attacks to their flanks—or would have had I not been armed with Ebon.
A burly guard in heavy armor sat astride one of the black dragons, carrying a short metal rod. A moment later, when a thin chain extended from the stick and crackled to life with electricity. A second later, the whip was white-hot.
The gold creature could barely be called a dragon. She walked on huge hind legs, and though she had wings, they were too small to be effective at flying. Her head was huge compared to the rest of her body, and her silver teeth jutted out at odd angles. Of all the creatures, the gold dragon was the most modified. The places where natural joints should have been had sharp spikes extending from them. Based on the light-colored scars, I guessed the spikes had been implanted somewhere else and had merely erupted from the creature’s body.
The silver dragon squirmed in pain, equal part machine and organic. Her scales were huge compared to those of Amin, and some of them stuck almost straight out. The creature’s rider
