Iska

by Arcadia Shield

  “I’m not fighting,” Avril said.

  “Then you should be dying.”

  Iska growled. “I’ll fight you, pretty boy.”

  The soldier’s head shifted toward Iska, his expression unreadable hidden behind the helmet. “You shouldn’t even be here.”

  “Are you going to evict me?” Iska asked. “I’ll be happy to leave.”

  Avril looked up at him and felt his tail curl around her waist.

  “The human comes with me,” Iska said.

  “Neither of you is leaving,” the soldier said. “You’re both here, so you both fight. If you follow the game rules, everything will be okay.”

  “I don’t call fighting to the death okay,” Iska said.

  “Those are the rules. You fight, or you die. It doesn’t matter how it happens.”

  Avril felt Iska’s tail slide down her back. It was both reassuring and arousing.

  “Hold your hands out so we can restrain you,” the soldier ordered.

  Iska growled. “We stay together.”

  “That’s not happening. We don’t like gamers joining forces. It makes things messy when they have to kill each other.”

  Avril’s throat tightened. “I’m not killing Iska.”

  “Then he’ll kill you,” the soldier said. “Everyone says the same thing when they make a so-called friend in here. When it comes down to it, it’s your life or theirs. People always choose to save themselves. There are no exceptions.”

  “We’ll be the exception,” Avril said.

  “Damn straight.” Iska’s tail rested briefly on the back of her neck as he leaned down toward her ear. “You think you can fight?”

  She nodded, and her jaw clenched. She could fight. She had the training and put it to use every day in the games. Using it against a real person felt brutal, but if it meant she got out of this game and took Iska with her, then she’d do it.

  “Hands out,” the soldier ordered. “We’ll take you by force if we have to.”

  Iska’s mouth brushed against her ear. “You focus on the short one on the left. I’ll take the rest.”

  She glanced up at him, concern filling her. Iska could fight, but three against one was terrible odds.

  “That’s the deal,” Iska whispered.

  She gave a quick nod, and her gaze shifted to the soldier she was to fight. He looked a lot bigger and meaner when she focused on him. Avril needed to disarm him. If she took a blow from that stick he carried, it would break a bone.

  The tall soldier in front of them shook his head as he gestured to the other three soldiers. “Hold them down. We’ll do this the hard way.”

  “Get ready,” Iska whispered, already crouching his knees in a fighting stance.

  When she fought, Avril blocked out all distractions and focused only on her enemy.

  She studied the soldier and noticed he limped slightly on his right leg as he walked closer. He could have an injury. She’d use that to her advantage.

  Despite her concentration, she still gasped as Iska lunged. With one arm, he grabbed hold of the soldier at the front, used him to gain height, leaped over his head, and slammed his feet into the chest of a second soldier.

  Avril took a deep breath and held her hands out in front of her, gesturing for the soldier she had plans for. She needed to draw him closer. She had neither Iska’s strength or speed and fought better in close contact.

  She licked her lips and thrust her small breasts out as the soldier grew closer. She didn’t care how she kept his attention, and although her cleavage was nothing to brag about, she’d use any weapon she had.

  The soldier’s gaze dipped to her outfit. Avril couldn’t see the expression on his face given the black helmet he wore, but he seemed intrigued by what she had on offer.

  She took a step forward and raised her hands, her palms out. “I think you’re here to tie me up.” She was surprised by how suggestive her tone was.

  The soldier glanced at his companions battling Iska before he holstered his fighting stick, reached around behind him, and pulled wrist restraints from his belt.

  Avril refused to look at the fighting going on to her right and forced herself to keep looking at the soldier in front of her. She had a job to do. Bring down one soldier. If she did that, she’d help Iska, and their chance of getting away would increase.

  The soldier caught hold of her wrist. His fingers dug into her skin as his thumb ran across her palm.

  She looked up at him. “Do you think you’re going to play with me?”

  He nodded, and a cold sounding laugh came out from behind his helmet.

  “That’s good to hear. I want to play with you too.” Avril shoved her elbows back and slammed her palms flat against his chest.

  The soldier staggered backwards, caught off-guard by her surprise assault.

  Avril grabbed the wooden stick from his holster and smashed it against his right leg, hoping the injury that had made him limp would flare up. “Sorry about that.”

  Muffled curses came from the soldier as he doubled over.

  Avril slammed the solid wooden stick into his thigh again. “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t enjoy real violence.”

  The guard groaned and grabbed his right leg.

  Avril smashed the stick into the side of his exposed neck. “Sorry. Please, just run away so I can stop hitting you.” Despite her inability to stop saying sorry every time she hit someone, she felt a thrill of pleasure at seeing her enemy on his knees.

  The soldier lunged at Avril’s legs and knocked her to the ground.

  She didn’t tense as she fell backwards to avoid being winded as she hit the ground. Avril kicked her feet from between the soldier’s grasp and slammed the flats of her boots into his face.

  The soldier made several incomprehensible noises as he fell backwards.

  Avril jumped to her feet. He was not going to beat her. “I’m so sorry about this.” She whacked the stick on the soldier’s neck. He stopped moving.

  Avril waited a few seconds to make sure the soldier wasn’t getting up before letting out a long, slow breath.

  She spun around and smiled as she saw two of the soldiers Iska had attacked were already down. He was left fighting one soldier. That should be no problem. He’d beat him easily.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Iska turn and look around the clearing. He was looking for her, checking to make sure she was okay.

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  Iska shook his head, his gaze moving over her shoulder. His eyes tightened, and he turned as if meaning to run toward her.

  “Look out!” Avril was too late with her warning. The soldier saw his advantage and slammed his stick into the back of Iska’s head.

  Iska groaned and hit the ground face first.

  It was only then as he laid on the ground, not moving, that Avril saw how bloodied and bruised he was.

  She heard movement behind her and turned. Her heart thudded in her chest at the sight before her.

  Iska had heard the other soldiers arrive and had been running to protect her. Six more armed soldiers emerged from the trees. Behind them stood a tall, muscular Mehab. He wore a long black robe edged with silver embroidery.

  “Take the fallen captive away,” the Mehab in the robe said. “I will deal with him later.”

  “You can’t take him.” Avril ran over as two soldiers marched over and caught hold of Iska, lifting him from the ground.

  A strong pair of hands wrapped around her middle and pinned her in place. A fighting stick pressed against her neck, warning her not to move.

  She watched helplessly as Iska disappeared from view. Avril’s initial victory felt hollow. She was surrounded, and they’d been defeated.

  The soldier holding her turned Avril and marched her toward the waiting soldiers.

  The Mehab in the black robe moved through the soldiers as they parted for him until he stood in front of her.

  He was tall, standing well over six foot
. He gave off the musky scent of a male lion. He stared down at her, unsmiling and silent.

  Avril looked up at him several times but couldn’t meet his stern, cold gaze.

  His large, furry hand lifted her chin until their gazes met. Curiosity lit his amber eyes. “I admire you.”

  Avril blinked several times. “You admire me?”

  The smile the Mehab gave her held no kindness. “I have followed your progress. I had assumed when I saw you excel in the virtual reality world that you were some kind of autonomous cybernetic hybrid. It is rare to find a human with such skills as yours.”

  Avril licked her dry lips. “It just takes a lot of practice.”

  “You sometimes play for twelve hours without a break.”

  “How do yo-yo-you know that?”

  “I watch you. I know all about you, Avril Anwell.”

  Her name on his lips made her grimace. There was something twisted about this Mehab. She felt like a toy being played with before he ripped her apart. “When you have the right setup, you don’t need breaks.”

  “You have taught yourself well. You have my respect.”

  Respect was not a word someone used around Avril often. It felt hollow and unimportant. “Should I be grateful?”

  Anger flared in the Mehab’s eyes. “You should be grateful to be included in such an elite contest. I usually pick humans because they make entertaining game fodder. After receiving dozens of nominations for Warrior Princess to enter True Fight, I had to bow to my audience’s demands.”

  “It wasn’t only Malka who wanted me dead?”

  “Not dead. They want to see you play. See your skills in a truly immersive game. You have shown yourself to be resourceful by bringing an unexpected... guest into the game.” The Mehab’s gaze shifted in the direction Iska had been taken. “How did you achieve that?”

  “I didn’t. Iska found a way in.” Avril had no clue how Iska had gotten into True Fight. Only that he’d done it, and he’d done it to find her and keep her safe.

  “He always was a sneaky one.”

  “You know Iska?”

  The Mehab raised a hand. “That is not important. I hope you will not prove me wrong in my decision to bring you here to play the games. I demand entertainment from my gamers.”

  “This isn’t a game,” Avril said. “What you’re doing is murder. You’re ta-ta-taking humans into this place without their consent.”

  “Some consent. Others, much like you, are enticed in here. You had the option not to move through to the next level when it was offered.”

  “I would never have come here if I knew what it really was.”

  “Are you certain? Not even if this is the only way to win the championship you so desire?”

  Avril shook her head. “That’s not true. Nobody wins the championship by going through this.”

  “You’ve yet to win. You don’t know that.” Amusement danced in the Mehab’s eyes.

  She didn’t believe him. Avril’s gaze shifted to the soldiers surrounding the Mehab. “Mehabs and Vincole are working on this together?”

  “Vincole?” The Mehab looked around him as if not seeing the soldiers.

  “I didn’t think you were friendly with each other.” The last time she’d seen the Council of Representatives meet, the leaders from the Mehab and Vincole parties had to be separated before they ripped each other apart.

  “Close enemies are sometimes better than distant allies.” The Mehab tilted his head. “What makes you think these are Vincole?”

  “I recognize their weapons. And Vincole aren’t fans of humans.”

  “Clever girl. Bringing you into these games was the right thing to do.”

  “I won’t play.”

  “Not even if it’s a matter of life or death?”

  “No, definitely not.”

  “Not even if it saved my son, Iska?”

  Avril stared up at him, her stomach roiling in shock. “Your son?”

  The Mehab chuckled. “Forgive my lack of introduction. I am Tarle Matusa.”

  Avril’s eyebrows shot up. “I know about you.”

  “I am pleased my son has spoken about me to you.”

  Avril couldn’t believe she stood before the person who had made Iska’s life so miserable. “He hates you. You abandoned him. You left him to die.”

  Tarle lowered his chin, his eyes narrowing. “I gave him a series of tests to see if he could survive. To show he was worthy of the family name, given his... lack of natural ability.”

  “All you needed to do was say a few kind words to Iska and make sure he stayed safe. What kind of father are you?”

  Tarle grabbed her chin and squeezed. “The kind who knows not to waste resources on the litter runt. Iska was pathetic when he was born, and nothing has changed now he has grown. He is a disgrace to my family, even more so given his association with a human. I’m assuming the two of you are together.”

  Tears sprung into Avril’s eyes as the pressure on her chin grew. “You can assume what you like. He’s decent and kind. He is nothing like you.”

  “Then he is a fool, just as I knew he would be. He will die because of it.”

  Avril swallowed her horror. “What has his life got to do with this game?”

  A sly smile spread across Tarle’s face. “I have one final challenge for you if you wish to fulfill the dream you have chased for so long.”

  “Which is?”

  “I can guarantee you a top-ranking place and victory. You just need to do one tiny thing for me.”

  Avril trembled as she stared into Tarle’s eyes. This was what she had wanted for so long, and it was finally within her grasp. “What do I have to do?”

  “One simple challenge. You must fight Iska and kill him.”

  Avril staggered back. Two soldiers stepped forward and held her in place as if anticipating she might run. “I can’t do that.”

  “You will, or you die.” Tarle dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Take her to the cages. She can consider how important her life is while we prepare.”

  The soldiers holding her shoved her forward. She couldn’t hurt Iska, even though everything she’d fought for was being offered to her. There was no way she’d ever cause him to suffer.

  A cold, dull ache shifted inside Avril. But if she didn’t, she would die, and her dream would be shattered.

  Chapter 20

  Iska swiped his tongue over a wound on his arm. He didn’t care about the beating he’d received at the hands of the soldiers after they’d dragged him away from Avril. All he wanted to know was where Avril was and what his crackpot father was doing to her.

  What the hell was he doing inside this game? This was another of his twisted ways to show his dominance and prove to Iska how easy he was to drag down and defeat.

  He slammed his feet repeatedly against the bars of the cage he was in. “Answer me, you damn bastards.”

  No one responded. He’d been raging and fighting to try to get out of the cage for the last hour, and nobody had come.

  Iska’s heart ached at the thought of what those soldiers were doing to Avril or what his father had commanded them to do to her.

  She had proved she could fight for real, not just in a game. He’d seen how she’d drawn that soldier in and slammed seven shades of shit out of him. She was a plucky little fighter. Avril deserved victory.

  But she was also his undoing. Iska had lost focus and let the soldier take advantage of his distraction. He’d been so intent on keeping Avril safe that he hadn’t stopped to think about what had lurked in the trees. If he’d known his father was waiting for him to emerge from the cave with Avril, he’d have attacked him first and tried to rip out his throat. That walking ball of artificially enhanced fur deserved everything he could throw at him.

  Never in a million years would Iska have believed his father would enter the game. He never liked to get his hands dirty. He paid others to do that or ordered family members to wallow in his dark desires. That was why his bro
ther was wanted for murder. Tarle Matusa was like a glass of poison at a family reunion. Whenever he was around, someone got injured.

  What could he want with Avril? How would he inflict his brutal cruelty on her? A dark sense of unease settled on Iska’s shoulders. Everything his father touched turned bad and rotted. If he’d laid a finger on Avril or hurt her in any way, Iska wouldn’t rest until he’d served him justice.

  Avril deserved so much better than this. She shouldn’t be fighting for her life inside this nightmare. She should be safe in her room, enjoying her games. That’s where he wanted to see her. Screw that. He wanted more than that for Avril. He wanted her in his life and by his side. He wanted to show her how much was out there and all the fun they could have together.

  Iska didn’t know how she’d done it, but Avril had chipped away at the solid wall of rock he’d built around himself. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling. He didn’t have a crapping clue how to deal with these new emotions, but now he was feeling them, he didn’t want it to stop.

  He needed Avril to show him how to control himself. At the moment, Iska felt like a ball of something spiky was lodged in his gut. His heart hurt, and his eyes felt hot and uncomfortable. If he didn’t get a handle on these confusing sensations, he could go nuclear on someone who might not deserve it.

  Iska jumped into a crouched position at the sound of footsteps. The cage he was in was too small to stand in, and he’d resorted to squatting on the floor like some animal.

  Two soldiers dressed in black appeared in front of him.

  One tapped their wooden fighting stick on the bars. “Are you going to behave yourself if we let you out for some play time?”

  “You let me out, and I’ll tear out your throat. Is that playful enough for you?”

  “You be a good pussycat and follow the rules, and you’ll get to see freedom soon enough.”

  Iska snorted in disbelief. They wouldn’t let him get out of here. He knew too much. If he did get out, he had every intention of bringing this sick game to its knees. No one would ever take part in True Fight again.

  The other soldier moved forward, a pipe in his hand. “We’d better make sure he can’t do us any harm.” He raised the pipe and blew into one end.