The Download by R E Carr

Author:R E Carr [Carr, R E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-14T22:00:00+00:00

<Skipping to 06:04:17—Track 6: Gladiator >

Eon squinted, trying to get a better look at the two fighters circling in the ring. Winowa wrung her hands next to him. The last of the semifinal competitors danced their deadly waltz in the arena.

Eon artfully dodged a spray of ale from a drunken spectator, then turned to Winowa. “I bet the odds-makers down by the docks are going crazy right now,” he said.

Winowa kept her eyes locked on the panting gray man in the arena. “Eon, why doesn’t he submit? I thought he only—”

“Unfortunately, the person who made our original bargain is dead. Our only hope now is that he can finish off this pathetic excuse for a Knight and get on to the finals.”

“Pathetic? He’s mauling Kei!”

“No, he’s not,” Eon said, squinting more. “Damn, I wish I could see well. That Sir Gilliam is nothing more than a skilled copycat. I can tell by his archaic moves that he is merely remembering what his ancestors did. Once Kei pulls out something original, this opponent is sure to be defeated.”

“I wish I had your confidence. Oh no! Kei’s been cut!”

“Relax. He’s still on his feet, isn’t he? It can’t be that bad.” Eon looked up to the royal box. “I wonder if it’s the Baroness’s winning personality that has lowered the caliber of competitor here.”

Winowa ignored Eon’s musings and continued to grip the railing with white knuckles. Over and over again, Kei was forced to retreat, raising his arm guards to deflect a rain of sword strikes from Sir Gilliam. The Knight cackled with delight as Kei dropped to one knee. Winowa screamed as the Knight’s sword came down.

In a flash, it was over. The crowd went utterly silent. Sir Gilliam’s sword fell a few feet away, several of his fingers still attached to the hilt. He screamed and stumbled back from the blood-streaked Beast. Kei’s claws and the edge of his new forearm guards dripped with blood. The sheer force of his next strike sent Sir Gilliam flying, his ribs cracking audibly. The Knight flailed on the ground for a few minutes before calling out.

“Surrender!”

Kei stood in the center of the silent arena, licking the blood from his fingers. In the Beast Tribe language, he offered thanks to the Great Leopard and to the Lost God.

“He won!” Winowa gasped, finally sitting back in her seat.

“I told you once he pulled something different, he would win. Sir Gilliam is lucky to be limping out of here with only some broken ribs and missing digits. Those bloody blobs attached to the sword were fingers, weren’t they?”

Winowa nodded.

“Only one fight to go,” Eon said. The first strains of applause began rippling through the audience. Winowa noticed a conspicuous band of men in long coats who did not clap at all. In the royal box, the normally pallid and proper-looking Baroness Lenexa was scowling, red-faced, at her champion.

In the arena, Kei stared, dumbfounded, at the group of healers carrying his former opponent out on a stretcher. One of the medics ran over to him and checked the scrape on his side.

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