The Hunter on Arena
Read The Hunter on Arena Online
Authors: Rose Estes
The regal voice intruded on Braldt’s thoughts, speaking in imperious tones through the silver disc fastened to his skull.
“As you will notice, each team consists of five members. Your first task will be the elimination of one member of your team.
That choice we leave up to you…”
A loud outcry rose from the armed gathering while others brandished their weapons.
“You will choose the member to be eliminated, or we will make the choice for you,” the speaker said, his voice growing harsh
and cold.
Randi moved to Braldt’s side, pressing her lithe form against him. Allo and Septua drew in as well, until the four of them
stood back to back in a tight formation. Marin was the odd man out.
“Marin, we do not have to do as they say,” said Braldt. “Let us fight together. They cannot make us fight each other if we
refuse.”
Marin was crouching low, trident jabbing forward like a tongue of a striking snake, nearly touching Braldt’s chest. In his
other hand his net swirled slowly. If he heard Braldt’s words, he gave no sign….
THE HUNTER
WARNER BOOKS EDITION
Copyright © 1991 by Warner Books, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Questar Is a registered trademark of Warner Books, Inc.
Warner Books, Inc.
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at
www.HachetteBookGroup.com
First eBook Edition: November 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-57016-9
Contents
Falling. It was not unlike the sudden, frightening
sensation of falling that sometimes comes with sleep, followed by the immediate jerk of wakening. This time, however, there
was no salvation to be found in wakening or at the end of the dream, for the endless drop persisted, accompanied by strange,
flashing lights and a roaring blur of vision and sound that so confused Braldt he was unable to tell whether he was sleeping
or awake.
He tried desperately to grab onto something, to catch hold, to stop the awful whirling that sickened his senses, but his hands
caught nothing but air. He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself, to take stock. Where was he and what was happening?
Slowly his senses cleared, and with an intense concentration of effort, knowing it was vitally important, he recalled the
strange series of events which had brought him to this point.
He was Braldt the Hunter, warrior protector of the Duroni, chosen to follow Auslic as High Chief. But Auslic had fallen ill,
and Braldt and his adopted brother Cam had been instructed to enter the Forbidden Lands to acquire a medicine which would
heal Auslic. This command had been given to them by the high priest and was
very unusual in that no one, not even the warrior protectors, had ever been allowed to enter the Forbidden Lands.
Their directive was strange enough, but many things had been peculiar in recent days. The God Lights, the bright display of
colors that had always leaped and danced in the night skies over the Forbidden Lands, had mysteriously ceased, revealing a
view of stars never before glimpsed.
There was also the matter of the karks, a lowly and unintelligent race of beast creatures who had begun to invade Duroni lands,
leaving violence and death in their wake.
Shortly after entering the Forbidden Lands, Cam and his sister Keri (who had joined them on their journey) were captured by
karks. Braldt and Beast, a half-tamed lupebeast pup who was Braldt’s loyal companion, had to join forces with Sytha Trubal,
a kark princess, in an attempt to save Carn and Keri from death.
Compromises were reached with the karks who referred to themselves as Madrelli and were far from the savages the Duroni priests
had led Braldt and the others to believe. Theirs was an amazing story, for they claimed that they were visitors from another
world. They had been the minions of a race they called “the Masters,” who had manipulated their genetics, raising them from
semi-intelligent, dextrous animals to reasoning, thinking beings.
But still, they were controlled by the Masters, their every move overseen by machine-like beings known as the hard ones who
controlled them through the administration of a pill which maintained their level of intelligence, without which they would
lapse into an animalistic state. But their most vulnerable points were their ears which
contained fragile, delicate implants which were surgically linked directly into the pain receptors of the Madrelli’s brains.
Should they offend or disobey their rulers, punishment by means of hideous pain was their instant reward.
Shortly before Braldt’s arrival, the Madrelli had been told that their mining efforts were no longer cost effective, and that
the planet was to be abandoned and destroyed so that the mineral the Masters sought could be more easily extracted from its
ruins.
The Madrelli had other plans, however, for they had found a shrub on the planet which duplicated the chemical which was so
necessary to their survival. They had come to love the planet and to hate their Masters who regarded them as little more than
valued slaves. Seeking an alliance with the Duroni, their efforts had been met with violence and death. It was decided that
the only way to prevent the Masters from carrying out their plan was to sabotage the mechanism that allowed their ships to
come and go unseen by the Duroni and other tribes that roamed the planet. These were the Duroni’s “God Lights,” actually no
more than an electrical aurora that masked the coming and going of the great space vessels.
Braldt and Keri were shaken by the Madrelli’s words, disturbed by the realization that their own lives had been manipulated
as well, for it seemed apparent that there was some collusion between their priests and the Masters. Their entire religion,
based on the cycles of the moon, was called into doubt and it seemed that many of their beliefs and taboos were conveniently
meshed with the needs of the Masters.
Carn alone had disagreed, maintaining that the entire
tale was a devious kark trick. Braldt and Keri had begged the Madrelli to help them find the medicine that would save their
chieftain’s life, but the Madrelli were reluctant to do so, for the medicine was to be found in the very chamber that controlled
the arrival and departure of the Masters. And it was that very lever that created the masking aurora that Braldt had been
commanded by the priests to pull. The conflict was obvious.
In the end, the Madrelli won their alliance, and it was agreed that a Madrelli known as Batta Flor would accompany them into
the mountain. They would make their way to the heart of the mountain, and if such a thing was possible, they would retrieve
the medicine kit, but not pull the lever.
The journey had been long and difficult and danger had dogged their heels. Carn had become separated from them, and after
being severely traumatized, had experienced a religious vision wherein he imagined that Mother Moon had spoken to him directly,
commanding him to serve her.
Braldt and Keri had survived, and had discovered the depth of their feelings for one another along the way. Batta Flor had
not been so fortunate. The Madrelli’s sabotage had blocked the flow of a subterranean river which now seeped into the heart
of the volcano, causing a tremendous build-up of pressure which threatened to destroy the mountain. Quakes had become a constant
danger and Batta Flor was seriously injured when his ear was nearly severed by a falling panel. This was far more than a cosmetic
injury, for the delicate tubes in the Madrelli ears controlled their balance, equilibrium, intelligence, and even the ability
to feel pain and procreate.
Batta Flor, who had hoped to win Sytha Trubal after the completion of the mission, had been strangely calm in the wake of
the accident and had brushed aside their concerns, determined to press ahead. They had honored his wishes and found their
way to the flooded control chamber. Braldt and the lupebeast had gained access to the chamber, and through the use of explosives
had diverted the flow of the underground river.
Their joy was shortlived, however, for even as they gained the precious medicine which would restore Auslic’s health, a crazed
Carn had appeared, and despite their horrified cries had pulled the lever.
The streaming blur of lights, the dizzying sense of falling, the roar of heavens in his ears… it was no dream, but the result
of Cam’s pulling the lever. What did it mean? Was he dead and on his way to take his place with the gods? No, one could not
be nauseous and dead at the same time. And if the Madrelli were right, the gods of his youth were but figments of another’s
imagination. Who were these Masters and what reason could they have for inventing a religion?
Braldt fought off the taste of sickness that threatened to overcome him and felt for his weapons. If and when the journey
came to an end, he would not be taken unaware. His short sword was gone, the scabbard empty, but his knife was still in its
sheath and he gripped the handle tightly. He wondered what had become of Beast and Batta Flor and more importantly, Keri.
He tried to look around, but any movement only seemed to make matters worse, sending him careening off balance, head over
heels,
spinning round and round until he lost momentum and bobbed to a halt like a twig in a stream. He had seen enough to know that
he was alone. The thought should have comforted him, but instead he was swept by an incredible feeling of loss. Where was
he? What was happening to him and would he ever again see those whom he loved?