The Mage in Black (24 page)

“Charming,” I said.

“Cool, huh? Slade had them made for me.”

“Yeah, that Slade’s a real peach. Who’s your opponent?” I glanced across the ring. He had the head of a jackal, and a thick black animal pelt was draped across his shoulders.

Giguhl sneered. “Chaos demon. Nasty fighters, the lot of them.”

From the looks of the Chaos, I was relieved Slade insisted on the brass collars. Giguhl would have enough of a fight on his hand without magic entering the equation.

“Do you have a strategy?”

Giguhl shrugged his shoulders and stretched his arms across his chest as he spoke. “The thing with Chaos demons is they fight like berserkers. Look at him.” Giguhl pointed a claw across the ring. The Chaos danced in frenzied circles; with each pass, his muscles contracted and bunched. A low rumble started deep in his chest and grew in intensity until it was a full-on growl. Finally, he stopped circling and clenched his muscles, widening his arms and throwing his head back. A ferocious roar emitted from his mouth, full of razor-sharp teeth.

“Someone’s pissed,” Giguhl said in a singsong voice.

“Again. What are you going to do?” I glanced at Maisie. Her face had gone pale as an albino’s ass. I’d deal with her in a second. First I had to get Giguhl squared away.

“He’ll come on strong at first, trying to intimidate me. I just have to ride it out until he wears himself down.”

The Chaos growled and snarled across the ring, his glowing yellow eyes on Giguhl. “Good luck with that.” I patted Giguhl on the shoulder.

Slade jumped into the center of the pit and raised his hands for silence. “Good evening, fight fans! Tonight we have a special treat for you. Our new champion, Giguhl ‘the Killer’ from Gizal, has been challenged by two opponents.” A roar of approval from the crowd.

I grabbed Giguhl’s arm. “Did you know about this?”

He nodded, his eyes still on the Chaos demon. “Yeah, the second challenge came in last-minute.”

“This is bullshit,” I said. “How can he expect you to fight twice in one night?”

“I’m cool with it.” Giguhl shrugged. “Plus, I told him I’d only do it if he gave us a bigger cut of the winnings. He was fine with it.”

I’ll just bet he was, I thought. Knowing Slade, he had all the Black Light District bookies in his pocket. Giving Giguhl a slightly bigger cut of the purse wouldn’t affect Slade’s bottom line too much.

Slade carried on with his showboating in the ring. I turned to Giguhl and made him look at me. “If you lose this fight, I’m going to kick your ass. You got that?”

Giguhl frowned. “You suck at this motivational-speech stuff. You know that, right?”

The bell dinged. I punched him in the shoulder, racking my brain for something more inspiring. “Go get him, Killer!”

Giguhl rolled his eyes and jogged into the ring like a boxer. Not to be outdone, Chaos performed some sort of crazy spinning entrance. Like a whirling dervish. Or the Tasmanian Devil. Giguhl jumped out of the way when a spin turned into a leaping kick. The Chaos turned and growled, spittle dripping from its jagged teeth. It pounced then, going after Giguhl with sharp claws. It slashed and snapped its teeth in a frenzy of movement. By the time Giguhl extricated himself, he was covered in red slashes across his chest and face.

He fell back, bleeding and bruised. I held my breath as the Chaos went in for another round. Only this time, Giguhl was ready. He punched Jackal Face right in the snout and followed that with a swift kick between the legs. The Chaos howled and fell to the ground. But Giguhl wasn’t done. He grabbed the demon by his ears and pulled him off the floor. Giguhl’s biceps heaved with the effort. He tossed the Chaos across the ring. The demon crashed into a group of spectators, who fell like bowling pins.

Giguhl turned to receive adoration from the cheering crowd. He absorbed their attention, inflating and expanding with it. A roar made the hair on my arms raise. Giguhl turned just in time to receive a punishing kick to the face from the livid Chaos demon. Blood spewed from Giguhl’s mouth as he fell back, almost in slow motion.

The Chaos followed him down, going for the neck with his snapping teeth.

“Giguhl!” I shouted and moved forward. A hand caught my arm. I turned around to see Maisie frowning at me. I’d been so caught up in the fight, I’d forgotten about her.

“Let him handle it.”

I opened my mouth to tell her to butt out, but she nudged me just as a cheer rose from the crowd.

“Look.” She nodded toward the ring. I swung around to see the Chaos fly through the air again. This time, those standing in his path scurried out of the way. His body slammed into a cinderblock wall, cracking with the force.

Giguhl rose from the pit covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. He swiped a claw across his lips and stalked after the Chaos with murder in his eyes. This time, the Chaos didn’t fight back when Giguhl dragged his ass off the ground. Giguhl punched until his claws were bloody and raw and the Chaos’s teeth started raining down like hailstones. Giguhl moved to the midsection, savaging ribs and internal organs. The Chaos’s broken jaw moved crookedly, spilling out blood and saliva. A faint yelp emitted from the shattered maw. “Mercy!”

An hour later, Slade stuck his head into the locker room. “Hey, Killer? You ready to kick some more ass?”

Giguhl sat on a bench with the hood of his red-and-black robe pulled down over his head. If Slade had come in five minutes earlier, he would have caught Maisie performing a quick healing spell to speed up Giguhl’s recovery. I’d been worried about bringing my sister along, but now I thanked the goddess she was here to help. Even with Giguhl’s healing powers, two demon fights in one night wouldn’t be easy without some magical intervention.

I intercepted Slade and pushed him back into the hall.

“What can I do for you?” he said, seemingly unperturbed by my brusque interruption.

I crossed my arms. “What the hell were you thinking accepting two challenges in one night for him? I’m his manager—you should have asked me first.”

“Calm down. The second fight is rigged.”

My eyebrows slammed down. “What?”

He smiled, looking pleased with himself. “The demon’s handler’s in to me for a lot of money. I told him his debt would be cleared if he ensured Giguhl would win the fight.”

“Why would you do that?”

Slade smiled. “Surely you’re not that naive, Sabina.”

“You bet on Giguhl.”

He smiled. “I knew you were a clever girl.” He moved closer. “So just relax. Giguhl will breeze through this next fight, and when he’s done, we’ll all be a little richer.”

I sighed. “Next time, you talk to me first before you make decisions regarding Giguhl. As his manager, I have the right to veto these decisions.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I moved back toward the door. “I’ll send Giguhl out in a sec.”

“Sabina?”

I stopped at the door and turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

“Any chance you can ditch your mage friend after the fight?”

I cocked my head. “No.”

He shot me a heated glance I felt all the way to my undercarriage. “Pity.”

I
’d expected Giguhl to start shit talking the minute we reached the ring and saw his opponent. Instead, he stopped short, his gaze transfixed on something across the pit.

“Hey!” I complained when I bumped into his back.

He didn’t say anything. I followed his eyes and realized the problem. A gorgeous chick stood in the other corner. She was about six feet tall, and her long, peacock blue hair shimmered in the overhead lights.

I felt Maisie lean around me and let out a low whistle. “Is she for real?”

Normally, I don’t approve of catsuits. Very few females can pull off the skin-tight, one-piece garments. But I had to admit this chick was working it. The outfit clung to her generous curves from her collarbones down to her ankles. Something blue—almost like a train—trailed behind her, which seemed a tad overkill. But this chick obviously wasn’t into subtlety.

“Man, Slade’s going all out for this,” I said. “Your last fight didn’t have a model to strut around between rounds.”

Giguhl swallowed and nodded absently. Then he stopped. “Huh?”

I nodded toward the chick. “The model you’re ogling. I’m surprised Slade is willing to lay out the cash for the talent.”

Giguhl tore his eyes from the vision in gold. “Sabina, that’s not a model.”

I frowned. Giguhl looked at me with exaggerated patience, waiting for the lightbulb to click on. “Wait,
she’s
your opponent?”

Before Giguhl could answer, the crowd gasped as a magnificent fan of peacock feathers unfurled behind her. Well, I guess that explained the blue train. And now that I took a closer look, I finally noticed the two small horns jutting from the sides of her head.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” I whispered.

Giguhl groaned and adjusted his codpiece. A snarky comment died on my lips as the vixen began to unwrap the golden chain from around her neck. She swung it around her head a couple of times before cracking it like a whip in Giguhl’s direction. Once she made sure she had his attention, she blew him a kiss.

The seven-foot-tall demon at my side whimpered. “I think I’m in love.”

I grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at me. “Giguhl, get a hold of yourself.”

He peeked out of the corner of his eye at her, but I grabbed his chin. “Listen to me, you can’t let her psych you out.”

“She’s not psyching me out, she’s making me horny.”

I closed my eyes and repressed my gag reflex. “You’re gonna have to focus if you’re going to win.”

“I can’t help it. I’ve never seen a more gorgeous demon.” He sighed like a lovesick teenager.

Of all the times for the demon to reveal his romantic side…

“You’re going to have to fight her. You know the rules. Once a challenge has been issued and accepted, you have to fight.”

Giguhl looked like he wanted to argue, but at that moment, Slade walked into the center of the pit. He went through his little spiel about the rules of Demon Fight Club, but tonight there was a twist.

“Tonight’s match will be a little different, friends,” Slade announced. “For the first time in the history of Demon Fight Club, we will be allowing the demons to use weapons!”

As a roar rose from the crowd, I glanced at golden demon’s whip. “You’re going to have to watch out for that whip,” I whispered to Giguhl. “Do you have any weapons?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t know he was changing the rules.”

Yeah, I thought, nice of Slade to mention this wrinkle when we talked a few minutes earlier. I reached down into my boot and pulled out a knife. The six-inch blade wouldn’t do much damage to a demon, but it might slow her down.

“If you can get close enough, you’re going to have to cut her.” He opened his mouth to protest, but I shushed him. “I know, I know, she’s too beautiful. Slade said she’s going to throw the fight, but we’re going to have to make it look real.”

He frowned but nodded. His claw curled around the handle of the knife.

Slade had finished his rule rundown by now and was introducing the fighters. “In the left corner, we have the prettiest killing machine this side of Irkalla. Don’t let her good looks fool you; this Vanity demon is pure evil. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Valva!”

I choked. “Did he just say ‘Vulva’?”

Giguhl rolled his eyes. “Vahl-va,” he corrected.

I shook my head. “What were her parents thinking?”

Giguhl nudged me. “Hush.”

Slade turned to our side of the ring. “And in the other corner, a demon who needs no introduction after his recent victory over Rargnok, the former champion of this fight club. The big, bad Mischief demon from the Gizal region of Irkalla—Giguhl!”

The crowd went wild. Giguhl stood straighter and pumped his claws in the air. Relief flooded through me. It looked like my demon’s head was finally back in the game.

The bell clanged and Giguhl strutted into the pit. Valva sashayed toward Giguhl, who stood entranced by her shimmery curves. The demoness stopped in front of Giguhl and placed a manicured hand on her slim, gold-clad hip. Her other hand swung the necklace-whip back and forth, taunting him. Giguhl, gods love him, tried to hold firm. He swiped halfheartedly with his blade, narrowly missing her pert nose. She didn’t even flinch.

At a loss, Giguhl took a couple steps back to regroup. Valva beckoned him with a finger. The move distracted him, so he didn’t see the other wrist flick the whip like a lasso. The chain caught him around the neck, and she jerked it taut. Giguhl had no choice but to follow where she pulled. His claws worked at the whip, but before he could make any headway, Valva hooked her leg behind his. He fell hard on the concrete.

The demoness loomed over him and dug a heel into his chest. My heart pounded, thinking Giguhl was done for. But a slow smile spread on his black lips. He grabbed the chain and jerked Valva down on top of him. She gasped and scrambled, trying to dismount him. She dropped the end of the necklace, allowing Giguhl to unwrap it from his neck. He grabbed for Valva, but she moved too fast. As he jumped to his feet, her expression went from shocked to determined. The flirtatious vixen of a few minutes ago was gone.