The Akseli, page 19
Squinting her eyes against the hot, rancid wind buffeting her and the dust the beast had stirred up, she held her ground until it stopped.
The beast glared at her, air huffing in and out of its mouth like a bellows.
Simone coughed and grimaced. “I take it your captors don’t let you brush your teeth.” She waved a hand back and forth in front of her face to clear the air. “Seriously. You need to do something about your breath. That alone could slay your opponents.”
The beast’s brows lowered as it squinted golden eyes that were oddly pretty in its ugly face. And she could tell the spectators weren’t the only ones caught off guard by her response.
Okay, she thought and mentally rubbed her hands together. Let the show begin.
Drawing in a deep breath, Simone stepped closer to the beast and roared right back at it as she wielded the one weapon none of the others could see. Employing her empathic gift, she started sifting through its emotions, intent on altering them and twisting them to her advantage.
If Janwar had eaten anything before the match began, he might very well have soiled his pants when the massive Dotharian raced toward Simone and roared in her face. He was that terrified for her.
She was so tiny compared to it, not even big enough to fill its hand or mouth if it decided to grab her and stuff her inside.
Why was she not afraid?
Why did she not tremble as everyone else who got in the cage with the beast did?
Why the srul did she just stand there and grin?
As he waited, his heart in his throat, one hand creeping toward the tronium blaster he’d concealed, she merely waved a hand back and forth in front of her face and complained about the beast’s breath.
Its breath! Not that anyone close enough to hear her knew that. Most of those present either boasted outdated translators that didn’t contain Earth languages or had no translators at all, and she wasn’t speaking Alliance Common.
Much to his shock, Simone stepped closer to the beast and roared in its face. Not a high-pitched cry or screech, but a full, deep-throated roar he was surprised she could even make.
Eyebrows flying up, he stared.
Srul, everyone stared.
Even the Dotharian seemed taken aback for a moment. Then—head still bent to her level—it opened its massive mouth and snapped at her.
Janwar sucked in a breath.
Simone deftly dodged the beast’s gleaming teeth and swung a tiny fist, landing a punch on its scaled cheek.
The Dotharian’s head jerked hard to the side as if someone had instead hurled a boulder at it.
Janwar’s eyes widened. His heart pounded in his chest.
The crowd gasped.
How much strength did one have to back a punch with to knock the Dotharian’s head aside like that?
Simone shook her hand but displayed no pain. The scales on that beast’s face were rumored to be as hard as stone. He was surprised it hadn’t broken every bone in her—
His gaze dipped to her hand and caught a glimmer of light reflecting off metal.
Somewhere along the way, she must have donned the knuckle armor.
The beast shook its head and looked confused. Then fury darkened its countenance. Growling in outrage, it raised a fist high and swung it at her.
Simone ducked out of the way an instant before it hit the ground where she’d stood. Before the dust settled, she leaped onto the fist, sped up the beast’s arm, jumped, flew through the air, and delivered another punch to its ear.
The Dotharian staggered sideways as Simone dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch on the balls of her feet.
Spectators let out a collective gasp, then cheered wildly.
The beast went mad, slamming its fists down, doing its best to flatten her with strikes so powerful that the floor shook beneath Janwar’s feet.
Simone dodged every fist but lacked time to deliver more hits of her own. She was too busy darting this way and that, narrowly escaping being flattened into a small stain in the dirt.
The beast grew more frustrated by the second and even began to look confused. Simone seized an opportunity and—
Drek!
She scrambled up one of its legs so fast that her form blurred, continued up its spine, grabbed a tuft of hair on the back of its head, and rode its neck like a hoverbike. “Wooooohoooo!” she hollered in Earth English. “Someone had damned well better be filming this!”
“What the srul is happening?” Krigara asked over his ear comm.
Janwar shook his head. “I don’t know.”
The creature went mad, twisting and turning, trying to dislodge her. But every time its thick clawed fingers came too close, she slammed a fist into the back of its head. In an act of desperation, the beast suddenly jumped up in the air and reared backward.
Janwar’s heart lodged in his throat. It was going to flatten her!
Simone leapt free moments before the beast landed on its back in the dirt. Hitting the ground on her feet, she rolled forward, jumped up, and swung to face it. “Ha! Missed me!”
The Dotharian looked as astonished as the audience.
Relief rushed through Janwar, leaving him almost light-headed. Admiration swallowed his fear, and he began to believe. He’d known Simone was an incredibly proficient warrior. She couldn’t have defeated a ship full of Gathendiens otherwise. But this… defeating a Dotharian single-handedly…
This was something he didn’t even think a Cyborg could do.
The creature lumbered to its feet, roaring as it renewed its attempts to crush her.
Dropping her knuckle armor in the dirt, Simone drew her swords and began inflicting cuts on fists that came too close. Nothing deep. Nothing truly damaging. Nothing that would deliver more pain than what Lisa would call a paper cut to a creature so enormous it could use those blades to pick pieces of previous opponents from between its teeth.
And yet, as Janwar watched in amazement, the beast began to hesitate, as if it weren’t sure how to attack her. Its blows continued to fall but lost some of their strength. It ceased roaring, a low grumble emerging from its throat instead.
Simone stared up at it intently, a smile no longer gracing her pretty face, as she spun away from one giant fist and swung a blade at the other. Then she didn’t even do that, sheathing her swords. When she rolled to one side to avoid another hit, she came up with the knuckle armor once more in place.
The crowd around him shouted incessantly. Half of them wanted her to cut the Dotharian’s heart out. The other half encouraged the beast to eat her.
But something indescribably bizarre happened.
Straightening to its full height, the Dotharian studied her uncertainly, then began to back away.
Simone took a step toward it.
The beast backed away again, its head swiveling from side to side. One step. Two steps.
Its immense, muscled chest began to rise and fall faster. Its eyes widened and rolled around in their sockets in a clear display of fear as it sidled away from her.
“What the drek?” Janwar murmured.
A slow smile slid across Simone’s face.
She took another step toward it.
The Dotharian released a rumble of warning and again sidled away.
Her face brightening with delight, Simone began to shuffle her feet and jab the air in front of her with mock punches, spouting something about floating and stinging like Earth insects.
To the astonishment of all, the Dotharian seemed utterly terrified.
Spinning away from her, it raced back toward its tunnel. But the gate slammed shut.
Howling in fear, it glanced over its shoulder.
Simone did another little dance with her feet.
The Dotharian turned away and gripped the sides of the cage with giant fingers, its claws slipping between the bars.
The crowd on the other side shrieked and scattered, no doubt afraid the beast would crumple the bars and devour them. But the Dotharian couldn’t break a cage built specifically to contain it.
Not that it didn’t try. Roaring, it yanked and pulled and tried to rattle the cage apart to no avail.
Pausing, it looked over its shoulder.
Simone stopped dancing and strolled toward it.
Now the Dotharian shrieked. Desperate to get away from her, it started scaling the sides of the cage like a ladder. The spectators on the other side trampled each other as they scattered. Other occupants of the arena shifted uneasily as the creature climbed as high as it could before the cage’s roof sloped up to a peak.
Janwar returned his attention to Simone.
Assuming an exaggeratedly innocent expression, she shrugged and raised her hands—palms up—at her sides as if to say, “Hey, I don’t know what’s wrong with it.”
He laughed. Janwar couldn’t believe it, but he actually laughed and shook his head in amazement. What the drek had she done to it?
The creature huddled in a trembling ball on the side of the cage, feet scrabbling to maintain its purchase.
The spectators who hadn’t run in terror gawked in stunned disbelief.
Silence fell.
After several long minutes, Simone looked around until she spotted Pulcra’s stout form high up in his box and called, “Does this mean I won?”
CHAPTER TEN
“What the srul just happened?” Krigara muttered over the comm.
Janwar tapped his ear. “Show’s over. Meet me at the tunnel.”
“On my way,” Krigara, Soval, and Srok’a chorused.
“Already there,” Elchan assured him quietly.
Janwar waited only long enough to watch Simone shrug, offer the crowd a cheery wave, and head toward the tunnel from which she’d emerged. Then he spun and jogged through the throng, Dar right behind him.
Even in their current confused, what-the-drek-just-happened state, spectators recognized Janwar and jumped out of his way, speeding his progress enough for him to reach the lower level in mere minutes.
More guards than usual manned the entrance.
“Let me by,” Janwar ordered as he strode toward them.
One raised an O-rifle. The others closed rank behind him.
“Pulcra told us not to let you or your crew pass,” the one aiming his weapon uttered.
“No,” Janwar said. “Pulcra told you not to let me or my crew pass while the battle took place. The battle is over. Get the drek out of my way.”
Krigara joined them. Then Soval and Srok’a.
The guards looked at each other, then parted to let them pass. The large door slid up.
“Pulcra is incoming,” Elchan warned softly over the comm as they charged forward.
Janwar and his men arrived in time to see Pulcra and several more guards storm into the tunnel Simone had probably already reached. He couldn’t catch the arena owner’s expression, but the grunark’s stiff posture radiated displeasure.
Janwar followed, his men flanking him, and peered past Pulcra’s group.
At the far end of the tunnel, Simone waited in front of the lowering gate with a smile. She even waved, undaunted by the forces who marched toward her.
Janwar glanced at his men and Dar.
Each nodded, ready to leap into battle if Pulcra tried to pull any bura.
“That was awesome!” Simone declared, eyes bright, a wide grin betraying her excitement.
But Pulcra disagreed. “What the drek did you do to my champion?” he bellowed.
She shrugged. “I beat it. Wasn’t that the whole point?”
“The point,” Pulcra snarled, “was to give Promeii 7 something they’ve never seen before—a fight in which the Dotharian devoured a female!”
Her smile slipped into an expression of placating apology. “Well, you didn’t make that as clear as you should have, so that’s on you, not me. I thought I was here to put on a show and kick a giant beast’s ass.” She motioned to the arena behind her. “And I believe I accomplished that.”
Pulcra took a menacing step toward her. “You didn’t beat it. You ruined it! It’s terrified!”
“You don’t want it to be terrified?” she asked innocently.
“No!”
She threw her hands up in exasperation. “Well, how was I supposed to know that letting out one squeaky little fart would frighten the beast so badly.”
Janwar barked out a laugh.
The guards in front of him spun around, only then noticing his arrival, and aimed O-rifles at him.
Pulcra stood on his toes and peered through them. “You!” he shouted. “This is your fault, Akseli!”
“Actually, it’s yours, Pulcra,” Simone said behind him. A mischievous glint entered her brown eyes as she winked at Janwar. “You’re the one who sent us the food that made me gassy.”
Janwar laughed again, knowing she hadn’t eaten a thing and that gas had nothing to do with her victory. “Tell your guards to stand down.”
Face reddening with fury, Pulcra ground his teeth. “I should have them kill you all.”
“I don’t think you want to do that,” Simone offered conversationally.
Pulcra spun toward her. “Why? Because you know you’ll be next?”
She stared up at him with a dark smile. “Oh. I won’t be next. I’ll be too busy feeding you to the Dotharian.”
That bold declaration rendered Pulcra speechless. He opened his mouth to reply but paused. For several long moments, he just stared at her. Then he blinked, and a jovial smile slipped across his features. “Of course. Of course. I jest.” Turning to his guards, he waved a hand. “What are you doing? Lower your weapons and let my friends pass.”
What the srul?
The guards did as ordered, lowering their weapons and stepping aside.
Janwar walked straight to Simone.
“That was so much fun!” she blurted, delight returning as she jumped up and down in excitement. “Did you see me?” She even did another one of those funny foot shuffles and threw some mock punches.
He grinned, utterly charmed. “I did.”
Puclra loosed a hearty laugh. “Indeed, we all did. A fascinating fight it was. They’ll be speaking of it for years to come.”
Janwar studied him suspiciously. What was with the sudden good humor? Why had he changed his mind? What was he up to?
“So, Pulcra.” Simone addressed the arena owner with a smile. “You said that if I fought the Dotharian, you would give Janwar the information he seeks.”
“I did. And I shall.” He delved into a pocket.
Janwar tensed, barely stopping himself from grabbing Simone’s arm and jerking her behind him.
But Pulcra didn’t remove a weapon. He brought forth a datapad and offered it to Janwar with a good-natured smile. “This holds the information you seek: a location and a map to guide you there.”
Janwar motioned to it. “Show me.” He didn’t trust the grunark not to slip him a bomb instead.
Pulcra turned to his guards. “Look away.”
All of the guards turned their backs.
The arena owner sent Janwar a conspiratorial smile. “The fewer who know, the fewer who may succumb to temptation and offer bounty hunters information on your whereabouts in exchange for credits.” He activated the device.
A three-dimensional holomap rose from the tablet and hovered above it, displaying a planet with thirty-three moons. One of the smaller moons glowed red.
Pulcra poked it with a pudgy finger, enlarging it to show an icy sphere bereft of plant life. “That is the place you seek.” He closed the map and passed the datapad to Janwar. “But I fear approaching it and breaching the hidden compound without drawing notice will be impossible.”
Janwar frowned and feigned disappointment. “With no clouds or vegetation to hide behind, they would see us coming long before we reached the base.”
“Whether you approached by air or land,” Pulcra agreed and slid Simone a sly glance. “Should you wish to catch them away from the base, however, I may be persuaded to alert you the instant a Gathendien ship docks here again if this female will agree to return for a rematch with my champion.”
Simone grinned. “Technically speaking, I believe I am now the champion of Promeii 7’s most impressive arena. But yes, a rematch would be fun.”
“Excellent!” Pulcra cried with unusual excitement considering he had just been fuming over her defeating the beast. “Then we have an accord.”
Once more, Janwar wondered what the drek was running through the arena owner’s mind.
Pulcra clapped his hands with a smile. “Will you all join me for a celebratory meal?”
Janwar shook his head. “We must leave, I’m afraid.”
Pulcra seemed disappointed but didn’t press it. “Next time, perhaps,” he suggested and escorted them to the exit.
Everyone was quiet while they crammed themselves into another hovercar that took them to the docks. After bidding Dar thanks and goodbyes, they boarded Janwar’s transport and left Promeii 7 behind.
Simone couldn’t stop smiling. This had to be one of the best days she’d ever had. She couldn’t wait to tell Eliana about it.
As soon as they were back on the Tangata, Janwar handed Pulcra’s datapad to Kova. “Check this for trackers and explosives. I don’t trust that grunark. He was too happy when we left and may be plotting something.”
Simone shook her head. “It isn’t booby-trapped. I would’ve sensed his deceit when he gave it to you. But you can double-check it anyway.”
Kova glanced at Janwar before taking the device to a nearby station from which he retrieved a few tools.
Elchan abruptly appeared beside Simone.
She grinned. “That is so cool. Perhaps you should fight the Dotharian next time.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t always work as it should when I’m under stress.”
“I know how that is,” she empathized with a smile. It had taken her far longer than anticipated to seize control of the Dotharian’s emotions. She’d had to ride the damn thing like a bucking bull so she could avoid its fists long enough to concentrate. That big beast had even bigger emotions, all of which had driven it to try to kill her. Simone had never had to dampen mindless fury and bloodlust on such a large scale before. Nor had she ever infused such an enormous creature with undiluted fear.
