Suddenly, she paused, and looked up directly at the boys. It was as if she had sensed them staring at her across the great distance that separated them. Hyden swallowed hard when he saw her eyes. There were no whites at all, just jet black orbs that chilled his blood to the bone.
“Charm me will ya?” he heard Gerard say. He knew, without even looking, what his brother was about to do.
The witch jerked her head up a fraction and locked her eerie gaze on some other part of the crowd for a moment. Hyden realized what the tubular item in her hand was then. Her attention returned to the fight, and she put the thing to her mouth, and pointed it at the entangled combatants. Hyden watched on helplessly as she took in a deep breath and blew into the tube with a burst of force. A look of shock crossed her face then, and she twisted her black eyes up at Gerard, but Hyden didn’t see the gesture. He was looking at the tiny little needle dart protruding out of Lord Gregory’s shoulder. His attention was drawn from the dart when Gerard elbowed him excitedly, but not before he saw the Westland Lion swat the thing away into the trampled grass.
A gasping sound, as the entire crowd drew in a breath at the exact same moment, resounded again when the little witch ducked under the pike rail and stepped into the fighting circle. One of the Redwolf guards snatched at her robe and spun her, but she screamed out with wide, terrible eyes, causing the guardsmen to take a step back. The whole crowd fell silent then. Even the brawlers stopped, as the witch started spinning in a blurring circle, howling out with rage in a voice that was far from human. When she stopped spinning, she was no longer a woman. Instead, a child-sized, red-scaled devil stood there. It hissed and snarled, its dead eyes looking at Gerard. Then, it leapt into the air and flew away on thumping leathery wings.
Both fighters had staggered to their feet, and we’re looking up at the wild little creature, as it disappeared into the darkened sky. After few moments of bewildered silence, the battle slowly resumed.
By the smug look of satisfaction on Gerard’s face, Hyden knew his brother had caused the witch to step into the circle and reveal herself. He wondered if Gerard knew that the witch had put a dart that was most likely poisoned into the Lion Lord. No, he reasoned, Gerard wouldn’t have brought attention to the witch had he known that she was doing something that would ensure Bludgeon a victory. The idea that Shaella had something to do with it crossed Hyden’s mind though. He scanned the crowd for her, and noticed that his eyes were still focusing extremely sharp for some strange reason. Shaella was nowhere to be seen. He dismissed her, as he noticed the Lion Lord faltering. The Westland fighter was stumbling to and fro, like a drunkard trying to keep his balance. He wasn’t giving up the fight though, even though the bigger man was having his way with him. The lion was battered and bloody now, and taking sledge hammer blows to the neck and to the side of his head. In the middle of one such flurry, he slumped forward, put his hands on his knees, and heaved for breath.
The giant Seawardsman was breathing as hard as a forge bellows, but, he stood alert and ready to continue the pounding he was giving. He spoke a few words to Lord Gregory, asking him if he was ready to surrender yet, but no answer came. The Western Lord only swayed a little to one side, as if he were about to topple over. With a look of regret, tinged with sadness and frustration, the man known as the Seaward Monster took a quick step forward, and kicked up at the Lion Lord’s face with all he had. He was going to end it here.
As quick as a flash of lightning, the Lion rose up, letting Bludgeon’s foot glance off of his pectoral muscles. He twisted his entire body in place, and came around from the spin, with sickening speed and force. The back of his clenched fist cracked into the Seawardsman’s temple with a crunch of breaking bones that was heard over the din of the crowd. The Monster was left stumbling and dazed, unconscious on his feet.
Lord Gregory fell then, the poison had completely stolen his equilibrium. Face first, he went into the ground. The Seaward Monster stumbled as well, but, he caught himself. He reared back his head and let out a brutally primal roar. When the chilling sound subsided, the whole place was deathly quiet. Bludgeon bent over forward, and spat out a long, slimy string of thick, crimson muck. When he rose back up, his hands went reflexively to his grossly misshapen head, as if to feel if it was still there. Then, he too fell, face first towards the ground. It was nothing more than random chance that caused him to land right on top of the Western Lion’s poison saturated body.
Chapter 12