Skin Hunter

by Tania Hutley

  “Your leopard’s incredible, I know.”

  “But...?”

  He touches my upper arms again, but instead of holding me, he runs his hands gently down until my hands are cradled in his. “But with your human body at risk, you have to be cautious, and the others don’t. The devil bear’s stronger, the reptile’s a better climber, and the wasp is faster. All three are ruthless. If they need to hurt you to win, they won’t hesitate.”

  I stare at his long fingers, warm against mine. I was ashamed of my hands when I arrived, but they’ve healed a lot since then. They’re still scarred and battered if you look closely enough. I still have callouses on my palms. But apart from being paler, they don’t seem so different from his anymore.

  I can’t let him shake me. He’s wrong. I’m going to beat the others because I have to. I don’t have a choice.

  “Please, Rayne,” he whispers. “Won’t you pull out of the contest?”

  His face is so close, his breath lifts a strand of my hair. He lifts one hand to smooth it, and carefully tucks it behind my ear. The tip of his finger runs softly down the side of my neck. The way he looks at me, it’s as though I’m not scarred at all.

  “Please,” he murmurs.

  I can’t answer. I can’t move, or even breathe. He leans toward me, his eyes closing. His lips brush gently against mine, warm and soft. I feel them everywhere. It’s as though my whole body is connected to my lips, aching into his touch.

  He kisses me again, but this time his lips press longer against mine and I feel his longing for me, as plain as though he’d shouted it.

  His arms snake around me, trapping me. He’s bigger than me. Stronger. I can’t break away.

  I yank myself free, and stumble across the room. My head’s spinning, and I hate myself. Cale didn’t do anything wrong. He barely touched me. What’s wrong with me?

  “I’m sorry, Rayne, I shouldn’t have…Are you all right?”

  I swallow, trying to calm my racing heart. “It wasn’t you. I mean, it was—” I don’t know how to finish the sentence. How can I explain how broken I am? “I can’t do this. Not in this body.”

  “Because I’m not the tiger?”

  “Yes.” I don’t realize how it sounds until I’ve said it.

  His jaw tightens. “It was the tiger you liked, not me. It was never me, was it?”

  “That’s not what I meant. It’s just easier when you’re the tiger.”

  But it’s too late. His expression’s so desolate that I put my hand to my chest and squeeze my shirt in my fist. Why am I so bad at this? If we were leopard and tiger I could rip my heart open and show him. Look, here’s how I feel. Words are dead things, buried too deep. I can’t find the right ones. I don’t even know if the right ones exist.

  The guard sticks his head around the door. “Let’s go.”

  Cale nods. “I can only ask you once more, Rayne. Please pull out of the contest. Do it for me.”

  I can’t reply. That’s the one thing in the world I refuse to do.

  He waits for longer than I expect, not giving up until it’s clear I’m going to let him down. Then he picks up his suitcase and steps toward me. My heart pounds as I expect him to try and kiss me again. Instead he touches his band to mine. Here’s my number.” His voice is tight. Controlled. Then he turns and walks out. I can’t even tell him he’s given his number to a useless band, that I have no way to access it or call him.

  I’m left standing in an empty room with just his warm, clean scent left behind, quickly fading.

  My body trembles. It’s like when Tori left, the feeling of losing something so precious I don’t know how I can stand it. In the shelter, Tori was both my protector and best friend.

  Cale is... even more.

  But I failed him. If only I could go back in time, do things differently. I should have found the words to tell him how much he means to me. I should have kissed him back.

  But now it’s too late.

  25

  Early the next morning, I pace the hallway until the training room opens. I need to be the leopard so badly I have to fight not to scream at the guard until he unlocks the door.

  Transferring into my leopard feels so incredible, I groan out loud with relief. It takes a while for me to float down to earth. By the time I do, the others are on the climbing wall.

  I can smell the devil bear, but I don’t look at him. I can’t let myself think about him. Last time I was in this room, I almost lost everything. This time I’m not going to let anyone get the better of me. I don’t care what I have to do, or how hard I have to push myself. I’m going to win, whatever it takes. No distractions.

  The wounds Cale and Brugan gave me are gone, so either my leopard heals quickly by itself, or they worked on my Skin while I was at the hospital. I feel strong and fit enough to run circles around the others. Cale was wrong when he said I had no chance in the contest, and I’m going to prove it.

  There are only three days of training left, and I’m going to use every second of time I have.

  I spring toward the training wall. And stop.

  I can smell the Tiger Skin.

  It’s Cale! He’s padding out from his lab room. I almost trip over my own paws in my rush to get to him. The director must have let him come back after all. She must have—

  I stop just short of him. There’s something wrong. He doesn’t smell like Cale. Underneath the tiger scent, instead of Cale’s fresh, clean smell, there’s a tang of something rotten. Like meat that’s gone bad.

  My stomach clenches when the tiger’s top lip curls up to show more of its enormous fangs.

  “You glad to see me, sewer rat?”

  It’s a rough growl, nothing like Cale’s voice. My stomach heaves. I feel sick.

  “Max?”

  The tiger flicks its tail. “Hello sewer rat. I’ve been waiting for a chance to give you what you deserve.”

  Hearing Max’s nasty voice coming from Cale’s beautiful tiger makes me want to claw at my ears. I take off for the other side of the room, hoping he’s too uncertain in his new Skin to follow.

  Sentin’s nearby, not on the never-wall, but standing back so he can watch Aza and Brugan. I drag in some deep breaths to try to calm down.

  “Sentin, did you know about Max?” I ask.

  He’s standing on hind legs, and though his knees are bent in his distinctive reptile crouch, he’s still taller than me. “Not until now,” he says, dipping his neck to look at me.

  “Why him? There must be scores of people lining up to compete. Why’d it have to be Max?”

  “Does it matter?” He tilts his head to one side. “It’s irrelevant who wears the Skin. All that matters are his weaknesses, and how he can be beaten.”

  He’s right. I take another deep breath and try to force out my anger so I can think clearly.

  “Max won’t get used to the Skin in time,” I say. “Not in just three days. He won’t be ready.”

  “You’re wrong. Look.” Sentin motions at the tiger as it pads toward the never-wall. “Max must have used the Skin before. I suspect Director Morelle planned for him to step in if one of us couldn’t compete.”

  He’s right. The tiger leaps onto the wall and doesn’t hesitate before springing to the next platform. It took Cale several days to be able to jump as confidently.

  This is awful. The two strongest Skins are the tiger and the devil bear, and if either Max or Brugan get their claws on me, they’ll do as much damage as they can.

  “Sentin, can I ask you something? If you get hurt in the contest, are you afraid your human body might be injured?”

  “I considered the possibility and conducted my own test.” His voice sounds just as calm and even as it always does. “But it seems you’re the only one who has that problem.”

  “All of you know that if you hurt me, it’s for real. I can’t imagine that’ll stop you. It definitely won’t stop Brugan.”

  His silver eyes blink very slowly, the eyelids coming up from und
erneath. “I plan to win, and I’ll do what I need to, as will the others. If you’d prefer not to participate, I’m sure Director Morelle could arrange for another substitute.”

  “Not a chance.” The suggestion I pull out now is so unthinkable that funnily enough, it steadies me. I’ll risk anything. The stakes are too high to do anything else.

  And Sentin’s right, as much as I hate Max, he’s just one more obstacle to get past on my way up the tower.

  Sentin turns to look at Max and a wave of color ripples across his scales. They turn from pure green to turquoise, but I’ve no idea if that’s supposed to mean something. His scent never tells me much about the way he’s feeling. He’s almost as hard to read as the director.

  “Who are you, Sentin?” I ask. “Are you in the army?”

  “The army?” he repeats, and I don’t need leopard senses to tell he thinks that’s funny. “Not in the way you might imagine.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “The battle hasn’t started yet.”

  “What battle?”

  “You’ll see. After the competition, things will become far more interesting.”

  Fed up with his non-answers, I shake my head and ask the question that’s been nagging me. “Is the competition rigged? Do I have a chance at winning?”

  “I’m confident the contest result isn’t predetermined. Although the probability of my win is extremely high, I can’t predict everything that may happen. The element of chance makes the outcome uncertain.”

  My ears flick as I try to work out his meaning. “So you’re saying I might get lucky?”

  “Unlikely, but possible. And if you do, I’ll need you to remember our bargain.”

  “Bargain?”

  His scales change color again, silver rippling through them like water. “You know what I’m talking about, Rayne.”

  I flatten my ears against my skull and resist the urge to growl. “What exactly are you asking me to do?”

  “Maybe nothing. Perhaps a great deal. It hinges on the outcome of the contest and the events that transpire afterward.”

  “Can’t you ever give me a straight answer?”

  He drops onto all four reptile limbs. His sleek body is long, and lower to the ground than my leopard. He swivels his head to look up at me and his voice drops. “We both have secrets.”

  “You know mine. Now tell me yours.”

  His tongue flicks out for a second, long and blue, like he’s tasting the air. “My skill lies in analyzing information and predicting future events based on historical data.” He blinks, and I glimpse a second eyelid moving underneath the top one. “As I’ve already said, you’re not my primary interest.”

  “Then who?”

  His voice drops even more, so only leopard hearing could pick it up. “The contest is merely a diversion. She intends to start a war. I need to win so I can be close to her when that happens. It’s the best way to influence the outcome.”

  I sit back on my haunches, confused. Is he saying the director wants to start a war with Deiterra?

  “What are you talking about?” I murmur just as quietly.

  “About ambition. Or more precisely, thwarting ambition. Sometimes the greater good calls for the sacrifice of individuals.”

  “I have no idea what you mean. But if it’s me you’re planning to sacrifice, I won’t let you.”

  His scales get a little darker. “I’m afraid your sacrifice will be necessary. However, nothing is certain, and if I don’t win, I’ll need your help. Sooner or later I’ll call on you to play your part.”

  “I won’t let you win the contest.” I’d need a hell of a lot more than a vague suggestion about stopping a war to do that. Anyway, if the Deiterrans are angry about the Skins, and the ambassador’s son were really worried about it sparking a war, he wouldn’t be competing at all. Him taking part in the contest is likely to annoy the Deiterrans most.

  No, he’s just trying to mess with my head.

  “If my plan succeeds, you won’t be able to stop me from winning,” he says.

  “Is that your version of trash talk?” I slap my tail against the floor. “I should ask my friend Tori to give you lessons, because you’re not scaring me. I have a plan too.”

  Cale and I had our tactics worked out. Climb the outside of the tower. Let someone else get to the Kraken first, then slip past and get to the top. Maybe Cale thinks I don’t have a chance without him, but I know better.

  Stretching my limbs, I feel the strength and power in my muscles. “Get ready to lose, Sentin.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that. However, I sincerely hope you survive the day.” He says it straight, without any sarcasm. I think he means it. “And I find myself hoping you’ll defeat Brugan,” he adds. “With the extra practice you’ve had, you should be able to.”

  “You know about that?”

  Another color change ripples over him. Darker green this time. “Aza wasn’t reticent in relating how she caught you in here before the training room opened, but she doesn’t know Cale was training with you.”

  “How do you—?”

  The door opens and Director Morelle comes in. She stops in the middle of the floor to let the five of us gather closely around her.

  “The doctor has confirmed that Rayne’s wounds were caused by a rupture in the cells implanted when her eye was replaced. A rare problem, but one that’s not unheard of. I’ve been reassured that the timing was coincidental, and had nothing to do with the damage inflicted on her Skin.”

  Director Morelle’s gaze is on me, so I nod like I agree. Doesn’t matter if the others believe her story, they’re not about to object.

  “What’s the schedule for the day of the competition?” asks Aza.

  “You’ll spend the morning resting, mentally preparing for the contest. After lunch, you’ll be taken to the arena. Your Skins will be transported separately.”

  A whole morning in my human body. I’m already dreading it. If Cale were here, we could prepare for the contest together. His jokes would settle my nerves. The way he always looks at me makes me feel like I can face anything.

  Do you know how much I miss you, Cale?

  The others turn to stare, and with a shock I realize I must have sighed his name.

  The director frowns. “Don’t concern yourself with anyone no longer here, Rayne.” Her emphasis on my name makes the hair lift along my spine. “I advise you to think only of doing your best in the contest.” She lifts her hand, reaching for my face, and I have to force myself not to flinch as she strokes the tip of one perfect fingernail down my muzzle, following the same line as Brugan’s claw. “You should be concentrating on that very hard indeed.”

  26

  The noise is deafening. I’m in my Leopard Skin, stepping nervously from one paw to the other, in a small waiting room that leads onto the arena floor. This is it. The days of training are over, and the contest is about to begin.

  My human body’s here too, lying in a pod just like the one from my lab room. The roar of the crowd shakes the floor. Or maybe it’s my legs trembling? Waiting with nothing to do but listen to the cheering and shouting of the crowd is torture. There are thousands of people watching, crammed into the rows of seats that circle the arena. From the noise they’re making, it sounds like the entire city is here.

  This waiting room is at the bottom of the arena, which technically means I’m in Old Triton now. The thought gives me some comfort though I’ve never been into the arena before, and this is nothing like the Old Triton I know.

  Sentin, Brugan, Aza, and Max are also waiting in small rooms, probably just like this one. We’ve been spaced around the arena, so we’ll all enter it from a different angle.

  It doesn’t help my nerves that after forcing myself to spend most of the last couple of days in the vReal, I still haven’t made it up the tower far enough to see the Kraken.

  “Ten seconds until the speech starts.” The voice comes from the band of one of Director Morelle’s red
-uniformed guards. He’s been stationed with me to guide me through the opening ceremony, whatever that’s supposed to be, but he’s just making me more nervous.

  He touches his band. “Acknowledge.” Then he nods at me. “Ready?”

  I flick my tail in response.

  The room has two doors, one behind me, and one in front that opens onto the arena. But the doors are solid and there’s no window. I have no idea whether the arena’s going to look like it did in the vReal game. What if it’s completely different?

  The guard says, “When it’s your turn, walk a little way into the arena. You’ll see the spotlight you have to stand in. Stop there and wait until the contest starts.”

  I turn to him in sudden panic. “How will I know when it starts?”

  “You’ll know.”

  The roar of the huge crowd dies suddenly and an eerie silence takes its place. The silence makes the fur on my neck rise. The entire world holds its breath.

  Out booms a single voice, a man’s deep, practiced voice that echoes in the sudden quiet.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s finally here! The evening we’ve all been waiting for, the event of the century! Here to open the Morelle Corporation’s Skin Hunter contest is someone who needs no introduction. It’s the woman herself, head of the Morelle Corporation. The one. The only. Director Morrrrrrelle!”

  “Good evening, citizens of Triton.” It’s Director Morelle’s voice.

  The guard moves to stand by the door, ready to open it. Any minute now I’ll have to go out there.

  “Welcome, everyone, to the Morelle Corporation’s Skin Hunter contest.” The director pauses for the cheers to die down. “And a special welcome to the esteemed ambassador from Deiterra.” She pauses, but there’s only a scattering of applause for the ambassador. He’s probably here to watch Sentin compete while he decides how offensive the Skins are. What happens if he thinks they breach the treaty? Could he force the President to ban them?

  Too bad if he does. When I win, I’ll stay in my Leopard Skin permanently, no matter what anyone says. The President will have to kill me to get me out of it.