“Your husband, I’m sure. I’m looking for Valor at the moment. One idiot never travels without the other,” Neph replied. “Ahh, there he is,” he mumbled and began to pull her away from the circle and toward a rickety looking set of stairs. “Should have known he would be gambling”
Jala allowed herself to be pulled along willingly but kept her attention on the ring of people behind them, trying in vain to catch sight of Finn. “I can’t see any sign of him,” she said to Neph as they reached the first of the stairs.
“You will be able to from the balcony. He is in the pit right now,” Neph assured her. “Though I doubt you will like what you see,” he added in a quieter voice.
Frowning at the words, Jala followed him up the narrow stairs and paused, looking back over the side once they had reached the top. The ground just beyond the ring of people dropped away into a massive hole about thirty feet in diameter. Mage lights hung suspended at intervals and illuminated the occupants of the pit in bright white light. There were perhaps ten figures in the pit, six of which lay unmoving on the ground with growing pools of blood beneath them. Finn stood in the center, bare chested as always with one sword held in defense. His other arm had been tied behind his back. Blood and sweat coated his body and his breathing seemed labored. She watched in frozen horror as the remaining three figures circled him like a pack of wolves. They wore armor and held viscous looking weapons at the ready as they waited for the perfect chance to skewer her husband.
“What is he doing?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.
“Winning, by the looks of it,” Neph replied quietly. “Nine to one. I’m sure the odds on that fight were spectacular despite his reputation.”
Silently, Jala studied the figures circling Finn and her gaze lingered on one. He looked young and didn’t appear to have any Elder Blood. She felt a nagging feeling in her gut as she studied the young man and tried desperately to determine what it was. She watched Finn rush another of his opponents and slice the man from groin to throat in one fluid stroke. The young man backed off farther and she could see his axe shaking slightly in his grip as his companion fell limply to the dirt.
Finn rounded on the last two with a predatory smile. He raised his eyebrows at them twice and the smile widened. “Shouldn’t pick a fight you can’t win, boys,” he said in a low humorless voice, an echo of the words he had used on Cassia.
Jala’s gaze followed the young man as he strove to move behind Finn. His companion was edging in and looked as though he meant to attack. Jala shook her head in disgust and wrote the man off as dead, her eyes traveling back to the young one. He was familiar somehow but she couldn’t place him. She certainly hadn’t seen him at the Academy and she didn’t think she had met him in the market. The thought struck her just as Finn wheeled toward him, his blade arching in a silver streak toward the boy’s throat. “Finn! No. Don’t!” she screamed, though she knew it was too late. She had to fight to keep her eyes open as the death stroke came.
A strangled sob broke from the young man as Finn’s blade came to a stop resting firmly on the side of his throat. A slow trickle of blood ran down his neck and Finn smiled.
“You should thank my wife,” he said with a smile, his words barely reaching Jala’s ears over the roar of the crowd. The young man let out another sob and fell back into the dirt one hand rising to clutch at the wound on his neck. “Hello, love, didn’t expect to see you here,” Finn called up to her with a pleasant smile.
Numbly, she waved back down at him, still shocked that he had managed to stop the sword blow. “Hi, Finn,” she called weakly and lowered her hand to grasp the railing.
“What the hell was that?” Neph asked, leaning on the railing beside her.
“I know that man. It took me a long time to place him but I remembered at the last moment. He was a childhood friend of mine. His name is Joseph Walker,” she explained quietly and glanced over to meet Neph’s curious gaze. “I want to know how he is still alive. I didn’t think anyone else survived,” she added quietly, her gaze slowly returning to Finn who was climbing quickly from the pit. “Damn I hope he isn’t mad at me,” she breathed and rubbed a hand across her face.
“Doesn’t look mad,” Neph offered with a shrug and pushed off the railing. “I’ll be by Valor if you need me, though I doubt you will,” he said with a gentle pat to her shoulder as he moved off.
She watched Finn take the stairs two at a time and smiled weakly as he approached. “Are you mad?” she asked quietly as he stopped beside her. He was still breathing heavily and the scent of blood was thick on him. “How much of that is yours?” she asked with concern.
He glanced down at himself and shook his head absently. “None of it. Would you mind untying my arm please?” He turned slightly, offering her a view of the trapped appendage and she nodded quickly. He flexed the wrist and smiled the moment she had him released and shook his head at her slightly. “Nah, I’m not mad. I am a bit curious though. Why did I just spare him? And why are you here?” he asked.
“I don’t understand why you were killing any of them but you spared that one because I know him. He grew up where I did,” she explained, adding emphasis to the last.
He nodded in understanding and wiped an arm across his sweaty brow before leaning on the railing. “I killed them because they were dumb enough to get in the pit with me. Even with one arm tied behind me, they should have known better. I needed to test something before tomorrow and this was the best place to do it,” he explained, letting out another long breath. His breathing was slowly returning to normal but she still watched him with concern. She had never seen Finn this winded from a fight, even the hour long bouts he had with Valor each free day.