“Unrivaled.”
Arziani smiled and said, “Good. My champion is a Russian, too. Taken as a child from an orphanage and raised to be exactly the kind of killer I dreamed about.” His face then flashed with annoyance. “Though he has lost my favor of late.” He stepped back, eyes bright. “This 818 seems he could perhaps give him a challenge. I will look forward to seeing it.”
Master then moved to Valentin and his lost his humor. Valentin stared straight ahead, frozen to the spot. Master lifted his hand and brushed his fingertip over the scar on Valentin’s neck, but he didn’t stop there. He moved to his scarred face and traced the lashes that Valentin’s Mistress had meted out for his disobedience, permanently disfiguring his face.
Master stepped back and regarded Valentin coldly. “So this is the mutant that slaughtered my sister?” Silence. The air pulsed with electricity as we waited for what would come next.
I could feel our byki loosening their holds on our ropes. They expected a fight. So did I.
But when Arziani’s lips spread into a wide grin and a booming laugh came from his mouth, that expectation fell away. Arziani slapped Valentin on the shoulder. “That woman was the bane of my life. You did me a favor by killing her.” He looked to Zaal. “And her asshole of a lover. The one you killed. You did me a favor. Jakhua had thought himself higher than his station. I had already issued his death warrant. You just beat me to it.”
I waited as Arziani’s eyes fell back to Valentin. I waited for him to mention his sister. I waited for him to taunt him with the fact that he had her under his control and in his bed. But Arziani didn’t say a thing. I wondered why, then thought that maybe he didn’t know. Maybe he didn’t know Inessa was Valentin’s blood. Maybe his sister had never told him.
Arziani looked to Viktor. “Your gulag must be strong. You are the last fighters to arrive, and none have males to rival yours. After the tournament we should talk.” He smiled. “We Georgians need to keep our business close to home, no?”
“Of course, Master,” Viktor replied. Relief trickled down my spine.
“We have quarters for you and your fighters. The tournament begins tomorrow. You will receive good fights. I’m interested how your males will stand up to my champions, but maybe they are matches for the later rounds. If they make it to the final round, they will be awarded the champions’ quarters, and you will be given better accommodations, too. We honor our victors here in the Blood Pit.”
“Thank you,” Viktor said. Arziani flicked his wrist in dismissal. The head Wraith led us out of the hall and down the hallway. With every step, my blood pumped faster and faster around my body. This could actually work, I thought to myself.
We walked through three long hallways, then arrived at a section filled with several large rooms. When I looked through the open doorways, fighters of all nationalities sat inside. They glared as we passed, holding their weapons or sitting drugged on the floor.
We arrived at an empty room, its walls and floors made of dark stone. Several beds lay on the floor, with a side room at the back that was probably for washing. The head Wraith pointed for us to enter. Viktor hung back and was told, “Your food will be brought to you. You don’t leave these quarters until training. The fighters will be taken to the training pits and will be there all day. If they win, monas will be provided for relief.”
Valentin growled beside me at that news. Zaal discreetly put his hand on his arm to shut him up. He did, but his body shook as he held back his need to kill.
“No monebi,” Viktor said. “They don’t get females in our gulag.”
The head Wraith’s eyes narrowed, then he shrugged his shoulders. “Your choice.” He stepped away and continued, “You’ll be told of your scheduled fights soon. There will be a viewing cage for your fighters to watch the other matches. We find that the fighters who watch the other men perform better when they enter the pit. The bloodlust makes for a more interesting battle.”
Viktor nodded and the head Wraith walked away. Viktor hovered near the door until the coast was clear. The byki released our ropes, but we stayed sitting against the wall of the room, just in case we were being watched.
Viktor sat opposite. Not looking at me, he said, “I have never seen anything like this place. Who would ever believe something like this existed?”
“Me,” the three of us replied in unison.
Viktor’s head turned to face us, and he nodded sadly. He sighed and said, “We should all get some sleep. We have to be focused tomorrow, in case you are announced as a first match.”
“Agreed,” I said quietly. Before we all moved to our beds, I said, “No matter what happens in these few days, even if one of us falls, we carry on. We bring this place down.”
“Agreed,” Zaal and Valentin said in unison.
I moved to a bed without another word, slipping off my ’dusters and laying them at my side. The sound of fighters practicing echoed off the walls. A constant dripping from a leaky pipe splashed repeatedly on the floor. Hearing Zaal and Valentin moving to the beds near me, an image of Kisa’s beautiful face filled my head.
I wondered if Zaal and Valentin were thinking of their females, too.
Because if they were, if they were fighting to return home with everything they had, we couldn’t possibly lose.
We had been thrust back into hell.
But this time the only way out was to burn it in our wake.
And we had only limited days to see it through.
12
901
Everything about today felt different. I had awoken with 152 in my arms, like every other day. But today wasn’t like every other day. We had changed. Things between 152 and me had changed.
I was changed.