Peter steadied his hand and aimed his two and half inch blade at the arena master. “You’re issuing him a ban but are still allowing this… Criminal to continue in the arena?!”
“Do we eat him?” Galarion butted in.
I contained my chuckle. “No. Not yet at least.”
Galarion did a mental shrug and returned to chewing through his latest meal. Behind the bar, Igas prepared himself a cocktail and shaved a giant block of ice he grew from a bowl. Broken Tower made their own drinks, but they were obviously watching the sputtering man with critical eyes.
My gaze turned away from Peter and examined the third figure still sitting with his hood up. He hadn’t moved once since I entered.
Interesting. Possibly dangerous.
“He is not a criminal. There were no laws broken,” Myol explained.
“No laws broken?” Peter repeated. His frown turned into a snarl and he stepped forward. “He nearly killed Isaac! Opened a portal inside the city where shadespawn could roll through! He summoned monsters and forced you to intervene! He broke the enchantments endangering the lives of the audience! People! Citizens of Solunaria!”
With every sentence he moved closer and closer to Myol. His feet stomped, dragging his black boots across the floor. He stopped a couple of feet away but his hackles were raised and the glittering in his hair spread to his eyes turning the dark black into a sea of white sparks.
It finally clicked and I understood why the man was here. His hair should have been a giveaway but the eyes were impossible to mistake.
So he’s an Ajestella. Isaac’s father?
I hesitated to use Galarion. An intrusion now while being accused of being a criminal would be damning.
“Can you pick up anything from his surface thoughts?” I asked.
“Angry. Wants punishment… Looking for… Something.”
“Something?”
“Yes.” He paused and extended a tentacle through the back of my hoodie. “Push deeper?”
“No. Thank you, but let’s wait.”
Peter wasn’t short but wasn’t as tall as Myol. His glowering failed to invoke the same intimidation with the hulking woman standing above him. Her eyes radiated gold light and she leaned forward.
“He healed your son. Healed him when the healers were unable to enter the arena,” she said calmly. His mana started to leak as clouds of pure white that flowed between his fingers. Myol ignored it and moved into his bubble. Her voice turned low yet her words echoed around the room. “While the fool brought a monster into the arena, it wasn’t banned. Granted nobody thought that would be a problem but it's happened now. It's why he is banned for the next three years and not permanently. The move was foolhardy and beyond idiotic, but the arena enchantments failing were our fault not his. My skill did as much damage as the spirit. Furthermore, the tournament is hosted by the Dawnborn house, not yours. He will be allowed to continue in the competition. If you don’t like it, then take it up with them. But you won’t, will you.”
The cloud of pure mana turned into rings that surrounded each finger. He flexed and the mana snapped into place, earning a raised eye from Myol. She didn’t seem too bothered by the display, her posture open and unguarded.
“Well?” she prompted.
“He’s timing the skill,” Galarion bubbled.
Interesting. So he’s puffing up his chest.
Peter ground his teeth and his eyes flicked to me then back to Myol. “If he continues it’ll piss off the houses. Even the Dawnbornes.”
“And? If the brats misbehave I’ll beat them purple. And if the houses think they can assert their authority inside my arena, I’ll visit their bedchambers personally and spank their hides. Is that clear, Peter?”
The two continued their epic staring match with Peter being the first to give. He pulled away, and the mana retreated. This time he was the one to pull a dramatic exit and paused beside Myol on his way to the door. His head turned to me, openly glowering with barely-contained hatred in his eyes.
“If he continues, he’ll be targeted.”
Myol snorted. “That’s for Mordred to handle, not me. As long as they stick to the rules, I don’t care how badly you break him.”
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“We’ll see,” he spat.
“Oh! Elation! No… Satisfied? Sufficient.”
My eyes narrowed. Peter turned me a final time, a furious scowl on his face. He stepped closer but held himself back and moved toward the door, with Walter guiding him out.
As he left, Myol turned to me and shook her head. “Despite knowing what I’ll do to them, they’ll break the rules. They won’t go too far, but they’ll cripple you. How confident are you in your healing skill?”
“Decently. Though, I haven’t tested regrowing a limb,” I answered.
“It’ll have to do. Be prepared to lose a limb if not severe damage to your mana channels. Of course, you could always quit and save me the trouble.”
I waited to see if she was joking but her face was deathly serious. I shook my head and shrugged. “If I’m allowed to compete then I’ll compete. I’m here to improve myself. Some assholes with sticks up their asses doesn’t concern me.”
“Your funeral.”
Before she could leave I cleared my throat. “Can I ask one thing?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Just one. I don’t have all day to waste.”
There were a couple dozen questions I wanted to ask but there was one in particular that scratched at me.
“How come the healers weren’t able to come and help? There’s a couple right? Healing is expensive and there’s different skills. I’m guessing four to six people?”
“Four with one on rotation. To answer your question, the healers were in a secluded room. The healing area is guarded with enchantments and emergency procedures to lock down in case of an emergency. When my mana flooded the enchantment network…”
“It locked them inside. Got it.”
“Exactly” she grunted. “I’m taking my leave. Remember what I said, Mordred. I’ll be watching you.”
Walter escorted her out.
I turned to Broken Tower and gave them a thumbs up. “That wasn’t too bad.”
Teddy put on a polite smile and Celenae cleared her throat. Igas and Eodyne shook their heads while Isaac summoned a tentacle and pointed it toward their final remaining guest.
Right. Mystery man. What are the odds I can get him to leave and be done with this.
Right on cue, the man stood up. His dark red robe spilled forward, gracing the floor with silky fabric.
Now that I was paying attention, I saw the light from the window catch the sapphire-stitched sigils along its hem. They looked strangely familiar.
“Galarion?”
He locked in and pushed more tentacles into me, connecting us. I allowed him access to my memories as I moved to the now vacated seats.
Honestly, I was a little tired of dealing with people for the day. The faster I could get through this and take a nap, the better. Unfortunately for me, the man continued to stand without saying a word.
I sat down and waited, letting my mask settle into a neutral expression. More than a minute passed and I seriously debated on whether I should just get up and leave. But the moment I twitched a finger the man reached for his hood.
His hands were wrapped and meaty, bigger than Igas’ which was a surprise. But the most surprising detail was the dark-grey skin. It sported a tint of red in the undertones but the skin color wasn’t human, at least not part of the natural skin-tone ranges I had seen.
As he lifted his arm the sleeves rolled back revealing muscular barrels covered in taut skin.
Jeez, this dude is jacked. Has to be a strength passive, maybe a couple of them.
His fingers brushed against the edges of his hood, my mind itched and Galarion perked up. Mana flickered so minutely that I barely noticed it but the sigil underneath his fingernail shifted. The shadowy enchantment that obscured his face faded.
Not human.
His face was broad with a squarish jaw covered by a well-groomed beard. It extended up the sides and into his hair but there were no hair follicles above the chin. His hair stood up in a reddish-black points.. What stood out the most was the red paint covering his forehead and eyes. It stopped above the cheeks and combined with the glowing orange pupils that match the sclera, I almost thought it to be a burn scar. From his lower jaw extended two small tusk-like teeth that jutted from his lips.
His eyes trailed my body, moving from my mask to my tail before returning. When he grinned it exposed a set of pearly white chompers with more than a few teeth being far sharper than that of humans and elves.
“Galarion?”
My familiar shifted around, already sending snippets of gleamed emotions. First and foremost was a near heart-pounding excitement. It made my own chest thump and I stifled an involuntary cough. Followed with the excitement was anticipation, a sense of joy and fear.
“Finally… Excited to meet you. Master… Is the one?”
I internally sighed and parsed through the fractured thoughts. Clearly the guy wanted to meet me. Why? I had no idea. But the longer he stared the creepier it felt and I did not have enough energy to deal with it.
“Listen. I have no idea why you are here, or even who you are. Can we cut to the chase and quit with the staring? You’re one step away from looking like you want to fuck me, and while I appreciate the musculature, I need a nap,” I said, allowing my exhaustion to color my voice.
Maybe he’ll take the kind gesture and we can skip-
He blinked and cocked his head. The next set of impressions from Galarion were even more confusing which fed itself into a loop of static in my brain. I pushed it away and focused on his physical expression.
The excitement was still present, but more controlled. His grin continued to glare at me with his pointy teeth and I noticed his fists balling together.
“If he fights, overwhelm his mind. Keep the damage to a minimum and we’ll let the others handle this.”
“Ready!” Galarion replied.
“Well?” I prompted.
The brute stepped closer, towering over me. In the corner, Broken Tower started to prepare themselves and creep from behind the counter and closer to the couches.
He snorted and actual steam exited his mouth in a puff of air. It trailed up the sides of mouth like smoke, wisping off his tusks and into his hair.
Galarion tapped my brain and I opened the link, ready for another set of thoughts but the man breathed in. He sucked more air than I could in three breaths and puffed up his chest. My tail stopped its swishing and I aligned the head toward his throat.
Here we go…
Mana danced along his fingers and flames rose from the tips, he reached forward slowly and touched my shoulder.
“I warn-”
A loud booming laugh filled the room and a wave of heat pulsed outward. I paused, tensed but waiting for him to act. Instead, he continued laughing for a minute straight before lowering his head and swiftly grabbing me by the shoulders. His grip stung as the concrete sausages firmly locked around my bones. He leaned down, and pressed his massive face next to mine.
What the fuck?
“You!” he thundered.
“Yes?” I growled.
“Fight me!”
“I-what?”
He easily picked me up, and lifted me into the air without strain. His grin widened until it nearly split his face.
“Fight! Me!”
Shout out to the awesome people who popped up with those reviews. Brought a smile to my face during some crappy weeknights. Thanks guys.