Fantasy of Flight (5 page)

Darkness is falling by the time we finally reach our destination. Our group sits at one table in the far corner of Tricks’ fancy mess hall. The other four tables are full of their fighters. If you closed your eyes you’d never know what these men did for a living. There is laughing and joking between the two groups. It’s a roomful of happy people. Of course, the illusion is dispelled after opening your eyes and seeing the corded muscles, ropey scars and broken teeth.

The steady volume around our table grinds to a halt as Alzona draws a strappy bit of leather out of her pack and holds it up. Everyone at our table peers at it. By the silence behind us, I guess some of the other tables are doing the same thing.

“What is it? A harness?” I ask, thinking of dog sleds.

Alzona laughs and chucks it at me. I catch it, moving my head back to avoid the flailing straps.

“No, it’s for you.” She bends over her food, apparently dismissing the subject.

I look at it, pulling bits of it up. “What for? Is it a weapon?” I press. Flurry chokes on a bit of food. Avalanche thrashes him on the back, throwing him into his plate.

Alzona doesn’t look up. “I suppose you could look at it that way. But it’s supposed to be worn.”

My eyes widen. “Worn?” I hold the straps up, but can’t see how they would form anything wearable.

“Where is the rest of it? Or does it go over something else?” I say. I look over to Tricks’ table. They are definitely listening.

“Oh, wait.” She holds up a finger. I sigh in relief, there’s more.

“Use this to lace up the sides.” My mouth drops open as she chucks me two thin lengths of leather and bows her head over her paperwork again.

I shake my head. “I’m not wearing this.” I toss it on the table.

Alzona lifts her head and gives me a hard stare across the table and I have a second to remember why I don’t argue with her.

“That will help you win,” she spits. “And it’s not up for discussion.”

I pick up the leather again and shake it at her. “This. Is not clothing! I might as well not wear anything!” There is only so much I will do to fit in. This goes far beyond that point.

“If you do wear it, I’ll fight you first!” the beautiful man called Sin shouts out. I ignore him, locked in a battle of wills with Alzona.

“Listen, you little bitch. You know the deal. You do what I say, when I say it, or you’re out on your pretty little arse. Or more likely on your back, because that is the only future for you outside my barracks,” Alzona says, her voice rising. Usually, I can understand her motives. She’s a woman in a world dominated by males, and in the most dangerous area I know. But now? Her words make me furious.

I keep my expression blank, mimicking King Jovan. “You’ll be making me into one anyway, if you force me to wear this.” I hold her gaze. I know my worth. She can’t afford to lose me.

She snorts. “You ain’t seen the half of it, girly,” she says in a hard voice, adopting Ice’s phrase. “You put that on, or you can get out.”

I stand and place the “garment” down on the table. It’s a shame it’s come to this. I truly don’t know where I’ll go. At least I have some street smarts now.

“I’m sorry you’ve wasted your coin on these, Alzona. I would also thank you for taking me in, though as you once said, you didn’t do it out of the kindness of your heart.” I look around at the others. “It was lovely to have met and to have fought with you all.”

“Where will you go?” Shard asks, brows furrowed.

I wink at him. “Best you don’t know. You can’t follow me there anyway.”

Shard raises an eyebrow. He probably knows this means I don’t know. Avalanche rests a heavy hand on my shoulder. I turn and hug him. I nod at Blizzard, punch Ice on the shoulder and smile inwardly as I give Flurry a quick kiss on the cheek. His face flames red. I finally figure out what his issue is.

“Do I get one of those?” I hear Sin call out. I pick up my pack, turn and stride out.

“Is she fucking serious?” I hear behind me.

“Yep, you screwed up big time, Alzona. You just lost your best fighter,” Shard says.

“No I haven’t. You’re my best fighter.”

“Maybe for another week. She’s gonna overtake me soon.”

“Why won’t she just bloody wear it?”

“Doesn’t matter, does it? She’s gone now,” he says. And I nearly am. I even reach the outside gate.

“Wait!” a voice hollers behind me.

I turn, arms crossed against the chill of the Sixth. A strong wind picks up my braid and whips it around. I’m lucky we’re only on the edge of this sector or I wouldn’t have been able to leave at night. I would have survived the pits only to die of the cold.

“What?” I make my voice angrier than I am. I already know I’ve won. I don’t brag about it. It’s probably hard enough for her to chase after me. She won’t take attitude from me on top of our argument.

“You don’t have to wear the bloody clothes. But you’re making a mistake. You get the crowd on your side and you can win any fight. People cheer for Slay, because they hate him. They cheer for Shard because he’s honorable. And they love Sin because they lust after him. You should use your sex appeal.”

“You’ll never try to make me wear it again?” I ignore her continued attempts to convince me.

I can see her jaw clenching and her reply is grating. “No. But don’t think it means you can just do what you like. Nothing else is up for negotiation. You pull any more shit and I swear I’ll leave you at the closest whorehouse.”

“I love you too, Alzona,” I say and push past her.

I wait to find out who I’ll be facing today.

The roaring of the crowd is familiar now. I push their noise to the back of my mind and look absently around. My eyes fall on Sin, he’s talking to the man beside him. He catches me watching and winks, flexing a muscle.

I roll my eyes. I certainly don’t flatter myself by thinking I’m the only one receiving his attentions, but secretly, I find his antics hilarious. While we’ve been in Tricks’ barracks there have been no less than five females leaving his room. This wasn’t unusual in itself. The men at our own barracks had regular female company. But we’ve only been in Sector Six for three days. I wonder if he’s been through all the women on Glacium.

I don’t find the tension in the Cells threatening anymore, though I’ll never be comfortable with Hale and his men. My eyes search for the long black fur coat he always wears. The vile man faces me, talking to a man who seems familiar in some way. I can’t put my finger on it. I study the person’s greasy black hair. My heart jumps into my mouth as the man turns and recognition slams into me.

Blaine.

I’m half standing when I remember he can’t possibly recognize me. He’s only seen me with a veil on. I forgot he was exiled to the Sixth Sector for a year. What’s he doing here? I frown. Should a member of the assembly be on speaking terms with someone like Hale? Jovan can’t be aware of the relationship, though I don’t really know what Blaine’s role is in the castle. I never found out. The two men seem like they’re friends. They’re grinning. At ease with each other.

I’ve been staring for too long. Slay has noticed and his face is twisted into a snarl. I force my tense shoulders to relax and turn the other way to find Alzona coming back from the other side with Crystal. She looks up and freezes. I’ve never seen someone go white so quickly. She scurries back, dragging Crystal with her.

Confused, I whip my head around to see what terrified her. Everything seems normal to me. Then my eyes alight on Blaine. She knows him. Alzona’s afraid of him! I move around the curved wall of the pit towards where she whispers frantically to Crystal. As I approach, her gaze flicks to me and over my shoulder. Her face blanches all over again. She throws herself behind Tricks’ bench.

A sneering voice sounds behind me. “Where is this woman Alzona, then?” I turn and Blaine stops in front of me, glancing down his oily nose. Hale is no longer with him. I scan the area surrounding me. I’m surrounded by Tricks’ men.

I cock out my left hip, crossing my arms. “I’m her. Who’s asking?” Crystal fidgets next to me.

Blaine lifts his eyebrows and gives me another once over. “You’re her?” His tone is patronizing. Doubtful.

“You gotta problem with that, old man?” I snarl, moving closer.

His eyes narrow. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

I do, that’s what makes my next comment so much fun. “A greasy bastard with a stick up his arse?” I ask. Thank you, Alzona, for swearing so graphically.

“I’ll have you know I’m one of the King’s advisors.”

I snort. Bloody liar. “Are you just? And why’s the King’s advisor in the Sixth Sector? Seems to me the King don’t want you no more.” Tricks’ men watch the exchange, glancing at Alzona, who is hiding, and then at me pretending to be her. They don’t say anything.

At the edges of my vision, I can see her feet sticking out from the end of the bench. The temptation to look is overwhelming.

“I am conducting a tour,” he says, sniffing. His features settle into hard lines.

I clap him on the shoulder, giving him a knowing wink. “Sure you are, old man, sure you are.” I move past him. “Crystal!” I snap, clicking my fingers. She scampers up behind me. We return to our bench and Blaine sweeps past after a few tense moments. I ignore his furious look aimed my way.

“Ice,” I whisper. “Follow him. Make sure he’s leaving.” He looks at me strangely, but slides off the bench to do as I’ve asked.

Alzona stumbles back to our bench, still pale. Crystal squeezes her hand. The usually bossy barrack owner looks down at me, her expression impossible to read. I don’t ask any questions, she’ll tell me if she wants to. I seriously doubt she’ll want to. It doesn’t mean I won’t be trying to figure it out myself.

Ice slips back in. “He didn’t leave. He’s sitting three levels up.” I glance up, but he’s not in sight. I wonder who’s with him.

I wait for Alzona’s decision, until I see she’s still in shock.

“Do you need to get out of here?” I ask. She nods. I quickly gather my thoughts. Alzona just organized my fight so I can’t leave. If Blaine stays to watch my fight, he’ll know I’m not Alzona.

“Shard, Avalanche, Blizzard, Flurry. Get in.”  The other men have been watching during their warm up. I meet Shard’s gaze and then look up at Avalanche. “Alzona’s heading out,” I say. “Shard, I think it’s best if you take over organizing the rest of the fights.” Shard nods.

“Ice, take Alzona and Crystal back to Tricks’. Don’t let that man see them on the way out.” Ice jumps up and down, eyes gleaming. It’s the most energetic I’ve ever seen him.

“That alright?” I shoot Alzona a hasty look. She just nods again. Her meek attitude concerns me. She’s usually so strong. What has Blaine done to make her so afraid?

“The rest of us will fight and aim to appear as normal as possible. If anyone asks, Alzona was sick.” If we’re lucky, Blaine will leave before realizing the truth.

Alzona, Crystal and Ice leave and the rest of us try to settle back into our routine.

“Finally!” Blizzard says. “We can pick our own matches.”

Shard gives him a wry glance. “Wrong.
I
can pick them.”

I leave them to their work, starting my own warm up. Alzona’s absence doesn’t go unnoticed. There are a few speculative glances from Tricks’ bench as Shard begins to negotiate our fights.

Shard approaches after talking with Tricks. “I don’t think you’ll be happy, but I want you to know in advance that Alzona did it and this opponent is close to your level. If you’re focused, you’ll win.”

I narrow my eyes at him and wait for it.

“Sin.”

“No!” I gasp, swinging a punch at him even though it wasn’t his doing. He darts away.

“You’re on in two.”

I continue my stretches, huffing. There’s an actual twinge of worry in my gut. Sin is constantly joking, but I’ve seen him in the pit. He’s a deadly competitor. And I’m not entirely comfortable in close proximity to him. It’s one thing to laugh at his jokes and flirtations from another bench. It’s another to have our skin touching.

The next fight goes on. I run over my starting strategy, knowing I’ll likely have to adapt it during the fight. I can be sure he’ll do the same.

“It’s your face,” a soft voice blurts behind me. I turn toward Flurry, who is stretching.

“What?” I ask and watch as he blushes. It’s been worse since I kissed him on the cheek.

“Your face is your tell,” he says. “You show what you’re gonna do. It’s what Shard was talking about the other day. He uses it to guess your move. Rest of us aren’t quick enough for it to matter. But Sin is. And I bet he knows you do it.”

I go back to stretching, thinking on his words. Why didn’t I think of that? It makes complete sense. I’ve never fought with my veil off, so filtering my expression was never an issue.

My heart pounds as the warning bell tolls. As usual, I walk around the Cells to the door, passing Tricks’ bench. His men shout out at me. Not in a demeaning way - friendly. Sin stands in front of them. He bows and gestures me to enter in front of him.

“After you, Princess.”

“I can’t wait to see this!” I shake my head at Tricks, who cackles with glee.

We enter the pit side by side. The last few fights the crowd has been chanting my name, but today Sin’s name is the loudest by far.

“You’re fighting with fame here,” he drawls, dragging a finger down the middle of his chest.

“Is that the reason all the females go to your room?” I ask.

“No,
that’s
because I’m the most beautiful specimen you’ll ever see. And the most skilled.” He waggles his eyebrows at me. I shake my head, trying not to smile.

I grasp at focus and it comes quickly. The bell tolls. This fight is different from the others. We circle each other. His eyes move down my body. He’s trying to put me off. The crowd laughs with him.

I distance myself from my emotions. I leave them behind.

He inches closer. I smile at him and lunge forward, aiming a fake punch at his head. He moves to block. I anticipate this and my true blow flies toward his crotch. He just catches my foot before it connects.

I need to get out of this hold. I push off with my free foot and knee him in the face, then push off his chest to flip backward. He staggers, blood trickling from his nose. He drops his hand and to my surprise, he smiles. I see the first genuine emotion ripple across his face. Intrigue, anticipation. Again, I don’t flatter myself, thinking his interest is in me personally. I know because his expression mirrors my own.

We grin at each other.

He flies at me and we collide. I block his thrust and punches, taking the blows on my forearms. They’ll be black and blue later. Right now, I can’t feel them at all. One of his punches glances off my jaw. I hook a foot behind his leg, but he steps out before I finish the form. I land an uppercut instead.

We break apart and continue circling. I’m about to change direction when he does the same. Then I remember Flurry’s words. I’m letting my gaze fall where I intend to move, before I
make
the move. Sin is anticipating my movements.

I check to see if I’m right by flicking my eyes to the left. He moves to the right to counter my supposed movement. I keep my expression smooth, but inside I’m laughing. Got you.

I lose my focus for a split second while celebrating. It’s enough for him to rush me. I don’t have time to think. My body responds instinctively. I duck away from his long reach and swing up onto his shoulders, wrapping my legs around his neck. I throw my weight and he crashes to the ground. I roll, intending to scramble away, but he grabs my foot and in a flash, I’m pinned. He grins down at me as I try to bend my body out of the hold.

“I’ve got you right where I want you now, little Frosty,” he says.

I stop struggling. “Do you?” His hold is unbreakable for someone of my stature, but I’m not losing this fight. I give him a look I saw a whore use and raise my head to kiss him. My lips touch his. I don’t really have time to analyze it, but at some level I know it doesn’t feel the way Kedrick’s use to. It’s nice, but there’s nothing in the kiss apart from attraction.

He blinks and loosens his hold. I imagine no one has ever tried this on him in the pits before. The crowd is screaming. I thrust a palm up under his nose, hearing a satisfying crunch. As he moves to dodge towards empty space, my knee connects with the sensitive areas between his legs.

He falls to the ground and the men in the stands groan in empathy. I wait for him to stand up. He’s not grinning when he does.

I am.

I dart a look at his left leg, then I rush him, purposely glancing to the left again. Sure enough, he turns so his left side is away from me in the last second before I strike.

I kick out his right leg and he falls to the ground, legs splayed. I give him a right cross while he sits there, following the blow through with my full body weight, twisting my back leg to maximize the force of the hit.

Wrath grins at me as I saunter past. I imagine he’s happy to no longer be the only male beaten by a woman in Tricks’ barracks anymore. The others are a bit shocked, I think. In truth, I am too. The match was close. He wouldn’t fall for my deception twice. Still, I wink at the men as I go past. Let them think I’m the more skilled.

Shard claps me on the back as I throw myself down on the bench. The others cheer and whistle loudly. Avalanche brings over some clean rags and water. Apparently my face is bleeding. I don’t remember that hit.

“You just beat one of the best fighters in the comp!” Blizzard sings, bending down to grin right in my face. He literally sings it. It makes him look ridiculous. Completely ruins his image. His grin only grows when I tell him this.

Alzona will be ecstatic. We won all our matches. Blizzard went in the pit twice because he took down his first opponent in record time. He complained about the extra work, but I agree with Shard. If we aren’t exhausted from the first round, it makes sense to push on. But I worry what Alzona will do if she finds out he competed twice. I wouldn’t put it past her to start putting us in twice every week, regardless of the difficulty of the first fight.

Shard is a natural at organizing our matches, as I knew he would be. His personal experience in the pit gives him an edge Alzona can never achieve. Flurry said all the other barrack owners are ex-pit. If Alzona utilized Shard more often, our winning figures would soar.

We begin our journey back to the First with Tricks and his group. We pass many travelers heading back. It seems no one cares what the Watchmen see once the fun is over. I think it might be a way to let them know the pits still operate, despite their efforts to stop it. A quiet rebellion.