“We’ll go over to the village square; it’s made for this kind of thing. Or at least it is now, we had to do some renovations when we moved here,” Tallis said.
Tallis was right; the central area of the village had been cleared and sand put down on top of the grass to create a fighting ring. This made Kane more nervous. “You guys fight a lot?” he asked.
“Sure, it’s a good way to release tension. Stops us having any real bust-ups. Well, that’s the theory, although Brandon and Sean are known to be more than a little tense around each other. Twins, you see, and Brandon argues that just because Sean was born six minutes earlier, does not give him the right to think he naturally has more authority. Brothers—although you’ll probably know all about that,” Tallis said.
“No. I don’t. It was just me and my uncle,” Kane said as he entered the square.
“I thought Amara said you had brothers.”
“Somewhere, I believe, but I don’t even know if they are in the Prime or whether they crossed the border too.” Throughout the long journey, Kane had spent so much time thinking about what Serrif had done to his father, he had forgotten that there were two other men like him. Orphans. Even though it was only their father who was dead, their mother had abandoned them to whatever fate had in store, and lived all her life with the man who killed her husband.
He felt unfair in his criticism of his mother. Yet part of him wondered why she hadn’t taken her sons and kept them safe herself. If she had hidden away, no one would have found them. Or maybe she should have left with Darius, who was more than capable of keeping them protected and safe.
“Kane,” Albert said sharply. “First rule, get your head in the game.”
“I’m ready,” Kane said, shaking off his thoughts of the past. He needed to keep his wits about him if he didn’t want to end up knocked out by one solid swipe of Tallis’s paws. For he had no doubt Tallis knew how to fight.
“Then bring it, O Lion King,” Tallis bowed theatrically and then in an instant he had shifted into his lion. A great big, well-muscled lion, who in no way reminded Kane of the man he had been only seconds earlier.
This shocked Kane. So the lion part of him didn’t reflect the man. Did that mean his lion looked wimpy and weak, whereas he believed himself to be muscular and strong? Was he going to be a laughingstock?
He turned. Was he seriously thinking of running? No. His eyes caught Amara’s, standing next to her dad, her face bright with happiness. He could not let her down—even if it meant getting beaten to a pulp, he could not run. And Tallis would take it easy on him, wouldn’t he?
Spinning back round, he prepared to change. Then he hesitated. He couldn’t afford for Tallis to take it easy on him; he needed to learn how to fight properly, he had to learn all the tricks these big cats had. Or he would never beat Serrif.
The lion opposite him began to prowl along his side of the town square, his tail swishing impatiently. Kane focused, keeping his lion in his mind, and then allowed him to come forward into the real world, while the man disappeared, his flesh replaced with fur, and a big thick mane sprouted around his neck, a shield against the claws and teeth of his opponent. Frasier had taught him that at least.
Tallis must have been playing fair, or else he would have pounced as soon as Kane had shifted. It would have given him an advantage for sure, because it took Kane several moments to get full control of his body. His tail seemed too heavy, his paws too big and clumsy as he took a step forward and faltered. In the back of his mind he could feel Amara’s presence, feel her concern, something he had never experienced before. He zoned in on her, testing the sensation, seeing if it lasted when he moved away, or grew stronger when he took a step towards the outside of the sand arena.
It was there, a constant, wherever he moved. He would ask her about it later, find out if she experienced it too.
Then his thoughts were ripped away from Amara, as an impatient Tallis roared out his challenge and the battle began.
Tallis leaped forward. Kane dived, rolling over to miss the blow aimed at his head, and in return, struck Tallis on the rump. Tallis slid to a halt, and without hesitation, he swung back for another attack. This was where the lion was different to the bear. Frasier had been content to let Kane do all the running, perhaps because lions are so much swifter on their feet, and bears tire easier. He relaxed and began to enjoy the fight, this was just like business: you had to learn your opponent’s weakness.