More Than Chains To Bind (8 page)

In the end, and much to my utter relief, the visitor backed down. He was not happy at losing his
entertainment,
but Cor'lyn reminded the guest he was responsible for us and fully within his rights. I didn't give a damn about his so-called rights. I couldn't bear the thought of really fighting Hollis.

However, as the man returned to his position, Cor'lyn moved closer, looked from Hollis to me and said sharply, "You will put on a proper display of swordsmanship. I want to see near misses, I want to see hits, I want it to be clear who scores and how. I want a winner, not a draw. Let me make this clear--you don't make me happy and you won't be happy. I can punish you without the lash. I don't have to mark your skin for you to feel pain."

As Cor'lyn stalked back to his seat, Hollis turned to me and whispered, "Go for it, Lian. We can make it look good."

I nodded, knowing what he meant. We both let our control drop enough we gave them a good show and we both had the bruises to prove it. In the end, as Hollis planned, I won when my sword slipped past his guard and the tipped point pressed against his throat.

I relaxed then thinking it was over, but it wasn't. Next they brought out the real pilums, much more lethal as the whole thing was metal and perfectly weighted to fly true in a horizontal line. Its perfect balance did mean, though, it could be swung with ease, and a skilled user could block moves or twist it around one's body to throw an opponent off balance and make a killing move. It had taken a couple of days to get used to it, but now both Hollis and I felt as comfortable with it as we had with the wooden version.

What worried me now was if they expected us to fight with them as they were presented to us, because they weren't tipped. The pilum Guide had explained they were so finely balanced that tipping a pilum threw them off for infighting and made them impossible to throw. We trained throwing the untipped weapons against targets and fought with them under the strictly watchful eye of the Guide. Did Cor'lyn expect us to fight all out with these?

I looked at Hollis and clearly he had the same thoughts. He stepped forward to ask the question I expected, but it wasn't necessary as Kano came to us and informed us we were not permitted to throw the weapon. We were to demonstrate our skill with infighting and the first hit would be considered as final. In other words, one visible hit would be enough. This we could do. It would be just like fighting under Hollis' instruction. He'd taught me many choreographed moves to help me to learn control. The moves were automatic now.

As Hollis moved to get into position he mouthed, Set one, to me, and I answered with an infinitesimal nod. We really were on the same wavelength.

We set up moves, drove forward, feinted and blocked. Hollis feinted left, then swung behind me, and I had to twist half sideways to block his weapon. He ducked and came up at my side. I moved my pilum across my body, blocked and slid my weapon up against his to force him aside. I carried on with the move, swinging the pilum toward his right shoulder. He twisted to avoid the blow and in doing so got behind me and swung his weapon against the back of my knees, knocking my legs from under me. I landed on my back, my pilum still in my hand already beginning to raise my weapon, only to find Hollis' pilum pressed lightly against my chest, over my heart. He looked down at me, the expression in his eyes vastly at odds with the action of his body. I had to fight not to grin at him.

Cor'lyn seemed well pleased with our display. I saw him glance over at the disgruntled guest and raise an eyebrow at the man. The man inclined his head, indicating he was satisfied, and it was finally over. Kano and another guard led us back to our respective halls.

But that night I had a nightmare in which the sword had been real and the point kept moving straight through Hollis' neck. I woke up, gasping, to hear Fortil's husky voice asking if it was a good one. I just felt nauseous.

Now, while we sat relaxed side-by-side, I was desperate to speak to Hollis, if only for a minute. I just wanted to hear him say a few words to me. It didn't really matter what the words were, just so they were for
me.
I needed it. Perhaps I was weak, but I needed it. Though, with the others surrounding us, plying Hollis with questions, I couldn't have my wish.

The metallic twang came to signal the end of the food break, and everyone began to scatter. We'd learned early the guards didn't like us to linger. So I got to my feet with a sigh. Hollis rose, too, and he leaned toward me as he gained his balance, "accidentally" brushing his arm against mine. I reached out to steady him and just that touch of skin on skin sent shivers tumbling down my spine. My eyes flicked to his face and I saw the words he could not say in the depths of his eyes. My heart fluttered in my chest.

"We would both die that day," he whispered suddenly, then turned away as the guard escorted him back to his section.

His words should have shocked or scared me, but I was relieved. He understood. I should have known he would. If my fear ever came true and we were forced to face each other in the arena, he could no more harm me than I could him. We knew from what the guards had told us that if a fighter lost in the arena, his fate was judged by his performance, but if two fighters failed to perform, they would both be killed on the spot. That was Hollis' message to me. That would be our final victory.

It didn't mean he was giving up, not by any means. He simply wanted me to know he understood and he accepted that would be the final straw. I knew he was still trying to find a way to escape, but time was running out.

As I turned away, I almost walked into Fortil, who was leaning against the wagon. I'd not had any trouble from him since the first night; in fact, he'd hardly spoken to me, which suited me just fine. I made to step to one side and pass him, but he moved as I did and blocked my path. Frowning, I looked at him.

He smiled, like a wolf baring his teeth. "Now I understand." He smirked and walked away.

He knew. I don't know how, but Fortil knew. I wasn't sure what he intended to do. I mean what could he do, really?
Oh, Lords--Cor'lyn!

I felt a tug on my arm and realized I was the only one left at the food wagon. The guard admonished me for lingering as he dragged me back to the training field.

I was supposed to spend the afternoon practicing the use of the pilum, but my mind was not on the training and I made a few glaring errors that earned me a dressing down and the threat of punishment if I didn't pay attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fortil grinning at me and realized I was letting him win. I had to pull myself together and put this out of my mind until training was over.

One of our group, Canto, had been punished two days earlier. They had stripped him, spread-eagled him against the main gate, and Kano whipped him. Cor'lyn told us he'd been lucky to get away with a "light" punishment, only receiving a dozen lashes. Those dozen lashes had cut his back badly as Kano had struck him six times from each side so the lash marks cut across each other. Canto was still in pain and could hardly function during the training. The guards taunted the poor man that only a poor stable would bother to buy him and he wouldn't last long in the main arena. I had to get a grip; I didn't want to end up on the end of Kano's whip.

Longin called me out and made me attack him, and I had to concentrate to defend myself and make acceptable attacking moves against him.

After a few minutes, he called a halt. "Good, good, that is much better."

He called the rest of the group over and paired us off. Of course, I ended up with Fortil.

"You don't actually think you can beat me, do you?" Fortil mocked. "Longin was going easy on you, but you'll have no such luck with me. I'm going to take you down and show him who is really good at this."

I tuned him out. Years of concentration came to my aid and I channeled all my energies into beating him--jabbing with the point, blocking with the stave, using it to knock him off balance. Finally, I body-blocked him and while he was trying to recover, I twisted behind to come up on his blind side. I knocked his pilum from his hands, using the same move to push him to the ground, then I pressed my own point to his heart.

I looked into his eyes and, with an expression I knew was cold and hard, I stared down at him. Had it been a real fight, Fortil would be dead and he knew it. I saw the fear flicker in his eyes.

"Excellent. Well done, Lian. You have learned well after all," Longin declared.

My point was still pressed against Fortil's heart and my own heart was beating fast in my chest, my breath panting past my lips, anger rolling through me.

"Retire, Lian," said Longin, pressing gently on my extended right arm, which was locked with tension.

I released my breath with a gasp and stepped back, pulling my pilum into my side, its tip pointing up in the rest position as we'd been taught. Fortil got stiffly to his feet, copied me and purposely moved to stand at my side as Longin moved off to instruct another pair.

He kept his voice low so only I could hear. "I've been watching you for days, watching as you always sit together, watching as you talk quietly, secretly when you thought you were on your own. Other days, when you couldn't have your secret talks, I watched your little touches, glances, smiles. Oh, you were so careful, but you didn't know I was watching, did you?"

"So, what does it matter?"

"Oh, it explains much." He smiled that calculating smile. "I wonder if Cor'lyn knows," he said walking away.

Something was wrong. Liander was distracted, and Longin was obviously upset with him. It couldn't be what I said to him, surely? No, I saw his face and I knew it was what he'd wanted to hear. There was no fear in his face, only acceptance. Whatever it was, it must have happened after the food break. Damn, it was my turn in the wrestling square and my opponent was Ledo. He was good; wrestling was his best discipline.

We made a few good moves and neither of us was gaining any advantage, which considering I was doing my best to see what was going on with Liander was quite remarkable. I could hear raised voices, cheering, I think.

In desperation, I murmured to Ledo, "You have to take me. Use the left shoulder roll and I'll let you pin me."

Lian? he mouthed at me, and I nodded. He did as I asked, and I went with it, put on a bit of show of struggling and let him hold me down, his arm resting lightly across my throat. If he wanted, he could lean all his weight on my exposed throat and crush my trachea, a killing move.

Our trainer, Englo, praised him and asked Ledo to take on another opponent, while I slipped to the edge of our group, in a good position to watch Liander without it being too obvious. Whatever was going on, it involved Fortil, who was standing like a statue with Liander's pilum pressed against his chest. Even at this distance, I could see the tension in Liander's stance, and, as I watched, Longin slowly pushed his pilum down. What the hell had happened now? Fortil hadn't even been a blip on the horizon since the first night. Liander had told me that, despite being chained together every night, the man ignored him. Something must have occurred, and I needed to know what, but the odds against me getting anywhere near enough to Liander to speak to him were infinitesimal. Once the afternoon session was over, we were sent back to our halls to bathe, eat the evening meal and then rest.

I'd have to wait until the food break the next day and I had the feeling Liander was going to have a difficult night. Not that I doubted he could take care of himself. I just wish he didn't have to and that I could take care of him myself. In the biblical sense, too.

Fuck, this is so not the time for me to get hard. Englo wants me back in the wrestling square. Think of something, quick. Fortil naked?
Hell no, that just makes me hard with a need to commit violence.

Fortil has been watching me every second since they locked us in our hall. Seeing we're chained together, what the hell did I expect? However, every other night he had purposely kept his gaze away from me. This evening, he was sitting on the lip of the pool after taking his bath and waiting for me to finish mine. His constant staring was making me very uncomfortable, which was his intention, I'm sure. I could feel his eyes assessing me, running up and down my body, lingering on my genitals and butt. I couldn't let him know it was unsettling to me, so I plastered a blank expression on my face while I washed my body.

When I was finished, I started over to the bundles of fresh clothing left for us every evening after our bath when all of a sudden I was yanked back by my wrist chain, only just managing to keep myself from falling. I turned to see Fortil still sitting on the pool wall, one foot on the wall, the other on the floor, exposing himself for my benefit. I lifted my gaze to stare at his free hand gripping his chain as he grinned at me.

I raised my eyebrows and simply said, "Clothes."

He lifted the chain and gave it a little shake. The bastard wanted me to try to pull him, knowing the odds were his greater bulk would make it very difficult. I had no intention of falling for his stupid mind game.

Keeping my eyes on him, I raised my voice, "Clothes!"

One of the guards stood from his leaning position against the back wall, took in our little tableau and yelled in a bored voice, "Fortil!"

Fortil wasn't stupid enough to buck the guards, especially after seeing what happened to Canto, so he made a pantomime of dropping the chain, rising to his feet and giving me a scornful bow. Then he marched over and grabbed a handful of clothing so I had to hurry to grab my clothes before he tugged me to our usual place near one of the columns.

I turned my back on him and, using the column for support, began to pull on my clothes; I'd gotten quite efficient at it now, even one-handed.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my back and I froze for a second before I pulled away, not bothering to hide my shudder. "Take your hands off me!"

"Hush now, Lian. Don't make a fuss...I just want to talk quietly," Fortil whispered in my ear. "I know your secret, and if you want it to stay secret, then you have to pay my price," he said with a decided smirk.