Veltai mouthed a curse as she redoubled her attacks on Vesma’s shield. Vesma stomped her foot on the ground, flung her hands wide, and the Flame Shield exploded outward in a howling inferno toward Kegohr and Veltai. In response, they summoned their own Flame Shields to take the brunt of her technique.
Mahrai straightened up, grinning triumphantly as the Greater Stone Golem advanced on Kegohr with heavy, lumbering steps.
“My, that’s impressive,” Faryn murmured. “I’ve never seen anyone raise a golem without the use of a scroll. Where did she learn it?”
“An ill-spent youth,” a familiar voice said.
Kumi slid into the seat beside me, all dark curves and a blue silk robe that left very little to the imagination. The Qihin princess kissed my cheek affectionately and offered me a goblet of wine, but I turned it down with a shake of my head.
“I need to stay sharp,” I said.
“Of course, dear husband,” Kumi said. “Commitments later, I take it?”
“Probably. I’ve heard Xilarion has something special planned for the end of the exhibition.” I turned my attention back to the fight.
Kegohr’s mace crashed into the golem, but the elemental monster parried it with a flick of its forearm and countered with a crushing right hook. Kegohr ducked smoothly under the golem’s attack, caught its leg with a quick backswing blow, and staggered it.
Vesma raced past the golem in a flash of steel and smoldering fire, attacking Veltai with her spear. Veltai batted aside a thrust from the other woman’s weapon, tried to counterattack, and missed.
Mahrai circled around her golem, watched it brawl with Kegohr, and controlled it with small movements of her staff. Kegohr used the head of his mace as a battering ram against the golem. It staggered back a step before slamming both its arms into Kegohr’s chest. The half-ogre was thrown through the air before he struck the ground, skittering a dozen feet before stopping.
With a groan, Kegohr forced himself to stand, his mace stranded a few feet away. He smashed his fists together and activated Spirit of the Wildfire.
“Come on!” he roared as arcane flames coursed over his body.
The golem thundered forward with a huge left punch but missed when Kegohr slipped past it and smashed his own fist into its chest. My eyes widened as the golem shuddered. The unique Wild technique that enhanced Kegohr’s physical strength had always been impressive, but he had somehow managed to tap even deeper into it during the last few months of training.
A flare of fire drew my attention back to the fight between Veltai and Vesma. Veltai empowered her flails with Flame Weapon, turning them into spinning wheels of fire, and trapped Vesma’s spear. Vesma jumped into the air and arced a kick into the side of the other woman’s head. Veltai staggered at the unexpected blow, lost her grip on the opposing spear, and cursed as Vesma blasted her with a large burst of Untamed Torch. Vesma pressed forward, the head of her spear flaring white-hot.
The shaft of Vesma’s spear smacked into Veltai’s ribs, knee, and gut in a rapid flurry of blows. Veltai roared, swung blindly at Vesma, and found nothing but air. Vesma circled easily around the bigger woman’s attack, jammed her spear into the back of Veltai’s knee, and forced her to her knees.
The crowd around us exploded into cheers as Vesma rested the blade of her spear against Veltai’s collarbone. Veltai bowed her head in a sign of defeat before she retreated to the side of the arena to watch the rest of the match.
“Vesma is quite the little eel, isn’t she?” Kumi said.
“She’s come a long way in her travels,” Faryn said. “Veltai is one of our strongest Augmenters, but it’s clear that there’s no substitute for real-life experience.”
“Bring it!” Kegohr’s voice echoed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah! Come on!”
The golem sagged as Kegohr slugged it across the face, delivered another crushing blow into its hip, and tore out a chunk of stone and sand the size of my fist. Mahrai’s face fell, and she sprinted to the back of her golem. She pressed her hands to the golem’s lower back, and a flood of sand rushed up to piece her summoned monster back together. The golem straightened up, punched Kegohr in the gut, and doubled him over.
Vesma, having dealt with her opponent, closed in from behind Kegohr. She jumped into the air and smashed both of her feet into Kegohr’s back. He staggered forward into the golem’s massive arms.
Even with the odds stacked against him, Kegohr wasn’t giving up.
He jammed the golem’s leg, snaked his arms under its armpits, and torqued with every ounce of strength in his huge body. The golem’s feet left the ground in a whirl of dust as Kegohr took the monster down into the sand. Kegohr shifted onto the creature, pinned it down between his thighs, and rained powerful punches on its face as the Spirit of the Wildfire blazed through his fur.
Mahrai stepped up behind him and smashed her staff into the side of his neck. Kegohr flinched, lifted his eyes away from his target, and caught a kick in the gut from Vesma. He grunted and shoved himself into a backward roll. But Mahrai was already a step ahead of him. She jabbed her staff into Kegohr’s ribs with the full force of her body and danced away from a half-hearted swipe. An Untamed Torch propelled Vesma into the air as she reversed her grip on her spear and brought the shaft down onto Kegohr’s back. He floundered in the sand, trying to find his feet, but it was too late.
Vesma thrust the head of her spear toward Kegohr’s head but held back a few inches from his nose. She gave him a little smile and cocked her head. Mahrai came beside him, her staff pressed to his throat while her golem towered over him.
The Spirit of the Wildfire flickered out from around Kegohr, and he inclined his head in the traditional sign of defeat. Vesma grinned and
