Fayn approached, not wearing a stitch, and addressed him as if they were having a regular conversation.
“We came in here to settle a debt with Kren,” Fayn said. “This has nothing to do with you. He probably saw us coming and took off like the coward he is. We found her here. So, we’re going to take what he owes us out of her. I doubt there will be much left after we’re finished but you’re welcome to have her then. I can’t say fairer than that.”
Trayem nodded and scratched his chin as if he liked the terms.
“That sounds like a really good deal. But I’ve got a better one. How about you guys leave and I keep the girl for myself?”
Fayn chuckled and his cohorts joined in as if he had made the funniest joke in the galaxy.
I didn’t chuckle. This guy was about to lose his life for no good reason and bring the bloodlust down on me.
“It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to do this. These guys are used to getting what they want. You’re only going to get hurt if you try to help. Just go.”
Fayn pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders.
“She might be a dirty whore, but she has some sense. Leave now and we’ll forget this whole thing happened.”
Trayem peered at me. His eyes didn’t drift to my naked body but stayed on my face. Those dark circles were cold and hard like stone. And, unless I missed my guess, angrier than anyone had good reason to be.
Then his expression broke into a grin of agreeableness.
“Let me go second. And I swear I’ll never whisper a word of this to anyone.”
My heart sank. Even if the guy couldn’t help me, there was no need for him to make the situation even worse.
Fayn snorted and peered from Trayem to his men and back again.
“Can you believe the balls on this guy?” he said, not without a hint of respect in his tone. “He wants to go second, bypassing all you guys.”
He glanced at the gang member with a flat shovel-like face and a nasty gash through his bottom lip.
“Olkas,” he said. “What rank are you?”
“Must be around fifteen after my last fight,” the one called Olkas said.
“And you, Chisa,” Fayn said, nodding to the gang member with long white hair that reached his ass. “What rank are you?”
“Lucky thirteen,” he said.
“And you, Etib,” Fayn said, addressing the thick-chested alien behind Trayem.
“Seven,” Etib said.
“Seven,” Fayn said, impressed. “I’m number five. In the entire prison. He’s seven, he’s thirteen, and he’s fifteen. And you’re in the mid-hundreds. Around five hundred maybe. On a good day. Why don’t we tear you apart right here and now and make you watch us take this Prize?”
Trayem scratched his chin.
“Now that is a very good question. I guess I’ll leave you to it.”
“I think that’s for the best,” Fayn said.
The leader turned back to me, still standing proud. His cock looked even harder than before.
“Oh, there is one more thing,” Trayem said at the door.
Fayn growled.
“What?” he barked. “Do you want tickets to watch?”
“I remembered the answer to your question,” Trayem said.
“What question?”
“About why you shouldn’t tear me apart right here and now.”
“So?”
“Maybe I’ve been holding back all this time.”
Fayn smacked his knee and his cock wobbled to and fro.
“Holding back!” he said. “That’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard! Why would anyone hold back in the pit?”
His gang chuckled along with him.
But there was a dangerous glint in Trayem’s eye, one I had seen many times in the pit fights. It happened the moment the victor realized they were sitting on an ace card and were about to release it and claim the victory.
The gang must have noticed it too because their bodies tensed and their muscles tightened, preparing to spring forward and destroy Trayem. Adrenaline flooded their systems and they would release it on my body.
Thanks a lot, asshole.
“You can’t claim a prize until you win a fight,” Trayem said.
He turned his head to one side and the bones cracked in his neck.
“I’m here to provide that challenge for you,” he said, glancing over his shoulder and watching as the entrance shut.
Fayn had had just about enough of this guy.
“I warned you,” he said. “Now we’re going to have to beat you.”
He nodded to his men, who descended upon Trayem.
I couldn’t catch what exactly took place the following moment from my position on the bed. My head was thrown back and my neck was turned at an uncomfortable angle. All I could make out were blurred fists, grunting, smacking, and the shuffling of feet on the floor.
In the blink of an eye, two of Fayn’s gang members were on the floor. One lay unconscious on his back, the other screamed as he clutched his fractured arm in his other hand.
I focused on Trayem, who drove his knee into the third gang member’s gut, then spun his elbow around and caught the creature on the side of the head with a hard thwak noise.
Trayem marched on Fayn. His movements were confident, determined. He didn’t stop.
Fayn bent down for the clothes he’d removed earlier and came out with a pair of sharpened blades.
Trayem altered his stance. It was strong, his movements stiff and yet graceful. Precise, powerful, and faster than a python’s strike.
Fayn attacked Trayem. His blades sliced through the air, making a sharp hissing noise.
Trayem backed away, but not quick enough. One blade found his cheek, another his forearm. He shifted his weight and went on the attack. He lurched out with a coiled fist to Fayn’s chin.
Fayn staggered back, stunned.
Trayem pressed the advantage, throwing one blow after another, striking the leader in the face, gut, and chest.
Fayn was nothing if not tough and struck with his blades, slicing Fayn across the stomach and chest.
Fayn backed away.
Injured.
Bleeding.
Beaten?
As Fayn leaned forward to maintain his attack, Trayem leaped, spun, and performed a perfect kick that I’d only ever seen in
