“Fuck!” Stryker yelled.
The arrow must’ve come close, but it missed him. Lee shook her head, then turned and handed the bow to me. “You’d better do the shooting.”
As I got ready with the arrow I’d plucked from Valeria, Stryker shouted, “Don’t do that again or I’ll have you writhing on lances, screaming your lungs out. ”
Lee yelled, “Chuck you, Farley!”
“Just listen to my offer! Do you want to die in that cage? Do you want the kids to die?”
Kids? He meant me, of course, but who else? Rusty and Slim? Bitsy?
Though I took aim at the shape that was probably Stryker, I didn’t release the arrow. At this distance, I’d be lucky to hit him. So I lowered the bow.
“You said you’d let Rusty go if I went up against Valeria,” Lee shouted. “So where is he?”
“You weren’t supposed to KILL her.”
“Fortunes of war, buddy. ”
“Here’s the new offer.”
“You didn’t keep the OLD offer. Screw you. ”
“Would you like a demonstration?”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
Suddenly, Stryker blew his whistle. It shrilled through the night like the sound of an angry track coach.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then spears were flying out of the darkness toward our cage. Lee threw me to the ground and shielded me with her body. I heard a clamor as if something had struck a bar and bounced off. Then came the wet thunking sounds of spears punching into the mud.
Lee climbed off me. Raising my head, I saw six or seven spears sticking out of the ground. They formed a rough circle around us.
We got to our feet. I still held the bow, but it didn’t seem like much of a weapon after the storm of spears. And I’d lost the arrow.
“Next time I blow the whistle, ” Stryker yelled, “they won’t miss. Interested in hearing my offer?”
“What is it?” Lee asked.
“You killed our sole attraction.”
“Not me, ” Lee said.
“You, your friends, it’s all the same. Valeria’s dead. We’re out of business unless we replace her. I want YOU to be her replacement. Agree to surrender and come with us as our vampire, and I’ll let the kids go home. ”
“Why me?” Lee asked.
“You’re perfect. You’re brave and strong ... and luscious. ”
“I’m not a vampire. ”
“No problem. All you need to do is travel with our show and take on all comers in the cage. ”
“For how long?” Lee asked.
“You can’t!” I blurted at her.
“For as long as I say. ”
“And you’ll let everyone else go?”
“Certainly. I would HAVE to, wouldn’t I? If I don’t release them, you won’t keep your side of the bargain. ”
“You’re right about that.”
“How about it?”
“Give me a few minutes to think it over. ”
“Of course.”
We turned away from Stryker and faced each other. “You can’t do it,” I said.
“What other choices do we have?”
“Fight.”
“They’ll kill us easily.”
“Maybe, maybe not. At least maybe we can take some of them with us.”
