The Collar and the Cavvarach

by Annie Douglass Lima

  “Yeah, I’m fine to move.”

  “Stand up slowly, then.”

  Coach stood up too fast, and Bensin and Officer Shigo both reached out to steady him as he reeled. “I’m fine,” he repeated, wincing, as they helped him toward the vehicles. The officer opened the back door of the other Watch car and he perched on the edge of the seat. “Is that what these cars are like on the inside? I’ve always wondered.”

  Bensin grinned. “You could have asked me, Coach. I’ve got lots of experience.”

  The officer’s phone buzzed, and he stepped away to answer it. In a moment he returned, grinning too. “They’ve got the second guy in custody and are releasing the children now. You can go up and help bring them down, if you want, Bensin. Let Ellie know we’ll get the duct tape off down here. It can be pretty nasty to remove from skin, but we keep a bottle of solvent in the trunk of every Watch car that should do the trick.”

  Bensin took the steps two at a time, arriving at the fifth floor just as the little party approached the doorway. The second criminal, hands cuffed behind his back, was being dragged toward the door by two officers. The other two shepherded the three children, strips of duct tape trailing from their wrists and ankles and still plastered across their mouths as they stumbled toward the door.

  “Ellie!” Bensin crouched down and held out his arms. At the sound of his voice, his sister looked up, brightened, and flung herself into them.

  “Mmm-mm!” She clung to him, her grip surprisingly tight. Her tears wet his cheeks, and he could feel her body shake as she started to sob.

  “Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Don’t cry. Everything’s going to be okay.” He hugged her. “We’ll get that tape off your mouth as soon as we get downstairs.”

  The older girl and the boy were looking at him as though needing reassurance too. “We’re all safe,” he told them. “The other guy’s tied up as well.”

  Ellie refused to let go of him, so he picked her up and carried her down the stairs. “My owner is here, too,” he told her on the way down. “And you know what? He’s going to buy you!”

  “Mm-mmm?”

  “Yep. He’s going to call the Creghorns and work it all out. He’ll offer them more money than any of the other people, so they’ll say yes for sure.” Assuming I win tomorrow. But there was no point in worrying her by mentioning that. “And you know the best part?” Abruptly, he thought of the two other kids following behind, and decided not to say anything in their hearing. “Well, it’s a surprise. I’ll tell you in a little bit.”

  It didn’t take long to remove the rest of the tape. Ellie clutched Bensin’s hand with one of hers and rubbed at her lips with the other. “It hurts.” She wiped at her eyes and gave another sniff. “I don’t like being taped up.”

  “It’ll feel better soon, and no one will ever put tape on you again.” Bensin led her to where Coach Steene still sat, half in, half out of the Watch car. “Come meet my owner. He wants to meet you, too.”

  “You must be Ellie. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Coach smiled at her, but she stared at the blood on his shirt and shrank back against Bensin.

  “She’s had a long day,” he apologized.

  “Oh, I completely understand. I have too. But don’t worry, my arm’s not as bad as it looks,” he assured Ellie.

  “This is Coach Steene,” Bensin told her. “And guess what? After he buys you from the Creghorns, he’s going to set you free! That’s the surprise. You’ll be free, Ellie, and without even having to escape!”

  “But I want to be with you.”

  “You will be with me. After he sets you free, he’s going to adopt you. Then he’ll be your dad, and you’ll get to live with him and me for the rest of your life, and go to school, and everything.”

  She didn’t reply to that. It was too much for her to take in all at once. But she stared at the blood, and her lip trembled. “Is he gonna die?”

  “No, of course not. It’s just a little cut. Besides, he’s really strong, and you know I’ve told you strong people hardly feel any pain.” Over her head, he saw Coach and Officer Shigo exchange amused glances.

  Another siren had been approaching from a distance, and now a third Watch car joined them with a whirl of lights. “Time to go,” one of the women ordered the kids, holding the back door across from Coach open. “We’re taking you three to the Watch station for the rest of the night. We’ll call your owners to pick you up in the morning.”

  Officer Shigo turned to Coach. “You’ll need to go to the station too, just to give a quick report, then someone will run you over to the hospital.”

  “What about Bensin? He needs to get home and get what rest he can before tomorrow.”

  “That should be okay since he isn’t either a victim or in the wrong for anything that happened here. He may need to answer some questions later, but I can drop him off at your apartment tonight, if you like.”

  “Yeah, thanks. But what about my rental car? I’m not sure I’m in much of a state to drive it at the moment.”

  “You probably won’t be driving for a while. We can send somebody to take it back for you in the morning when we come by for the other two cars.”

  “Okay. Oh, and you may need a tow truck for the other two. I slashed the tires earlier, just in case.”

  “Let’s go,” repeated the other officer, gesturing to Ellie. The other two kids were in one of the cars already.

  Bensin turned back to his sister. “You’ve gotta go with Coach Steene and the officers now, okay?”

  She clung to him. “But I’m scared of Watch officers.”

  “There’s nothing to be scared of. They’re going to give you a place to sleep tonight, and then tomorrow they’ll call the Creghorns and arrange for Coach to buy you, and after that you’ll come live with us.” If I win. “So don’t be afraid. Get in the car.”

  “I gotta go to the Watch station again?”

  “Yeah, but it’s okay. They’ll be nice to you, ’cause you’re not in trouble this time. And we’ll see each other again tomorrow, I promise.”

  “I promise that, too,” Coach told her. “And in the meantime, I’ll sit right back here next to you and come with you into the station, and I’ll make sure you get something to eat and a comfy place to sleep. And one way or another, you’ll get to see your brother tomorrow after his tournament is over. Okay?”

  “Okay, sir.” She let Bensin lead her around to the other back seat, where the officer was still holding the door open.

  Bensin remembered to grab the cavvarach and the duffel bag before climbing into Officer Shigo’s car. But Coach got up and came over to the window, so he rolled it down. “Listen, Bensin, get some sleep, all right?”

  “I will, Coach.”

  “I mean it. Don’t lie awake thinking about what went down tonight or what’s going to happen tomorrow. You’re going to be short on sleep regardless, but you don’t stand a chance in the morning unless you get some rest. Go straight to bed and sleep as long as you can. I don’t know when I’ll be home, but I’ll get there in time to get you to Red Arena before the semifinals start, even if I have to break out of the hospital and flag a taxi to do it. Ellie will be fine tonight, and so will I, so you just take your mind off of everything and get yourself some rest.”

  “Don't worry, Coach. I will.”

  But Bensin was still so full of excitement and adrenaline that sleep barely seemed possible. Officer Shigo didn’t talk at all on the way back, though, just turned the radio to a classical station with the volume down low and let the soft music fill the car. Gradually, Bensin felt his adrenaline draining, leaving him limp and worn out, so that he was starting to doze by the time they pulled into the apartment parking lot.

  “Thank you for the ride, sir,” he mumbled, rousing himself enough to open the car door. “And — well, for everything."

  “You’re welcome. Now go get some rest like Steene said. I’m looking forward to watching you win the Grand Imperial on empirewide television tomorro
w.”

  Bensin had been planning to take a shower and get a quick bite to eat, but he found he didn’t even have the energy for that. He dropped the duffel bag in the living room, stumbled into his bedroom, and kicked off his shoes. He barely had time to crawl under the covers before he was sound asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Prove it to the World

  Bensin woke to the sound of a knock on his bedroom door. It took several seconds for him to realize what the sound meant and where he was.

  “You still asleep in there?” The door opened and Coach Steene poked his head into the room. “Good. Time to get up, though. It’s nearly eight thirty. I’ve got oatmeal on the stove for you, and I’m just about to call a taxi to take us to the arena.”

  Bensin sat up, squinting. “Is Ellie okay?” His eyes fastened on the bandage poking out from beneath Coach’s left sleeve. “Are you okay?”

  “I didn’t end up getting any sleep, so all I can say is, nobody’d better mess with me today. But I did get four stitches, a jar of pain pills, and a warning to take it easy for a couple of weeks. Other than that, Ellie and I are both fine. She’s back with the Creghorns for now, but I paid them an extra five hundred imps in exchange for a written promise not to sell her to anyone else before tomorrow no matter what. We’ll make the official transaction in the morning when the slave office is open. Of course, that’s assuming I have the money by then.” He gave Bensin a meaningful look. “Now you’d better pull yourself out of bed and go shower. You look like a zombie, and I bet you feel like one too. Nothing a little hot water and soap won’t solve, though. But make it quick.”

  Bensin did feel a lot better after an encounter with hot water and soap and a change into clean clothes. He had quite a few scrapes and bruises, the back of his head was tender, and the mirror showed him that one eye was a little puffy, but it wasn’t much worse than he often felt the morning after a competition.

  Only this time the competition wasn’t behind him. The most important part was coming up today, and if he didn’t win, everything he had gone through yesterday would be for nothing.

  Coach had a big bowl of warm oatmeal, full of toasted nuts and seeds and chopped fruit, waiting for him when he got out. Bensin was starving, and he wolfed it down while he paced back and forth across the living room to loosen up his stiff limbs.

  “Don’t eat too fast,” Coach warned from the desk over his own bowl. “Last thing we need this morning is for you to get a stomachache. Why don’t you come take these pain pills I got you for that lump on your head, and then you’d better put your shoes on.”

  Bensin gulped down the pills and obeyed. A moment later, they heard the taxi honking from outside.

  At the top of the stairs, he paused and peered up at the sky. Dark gray clouds were crowding together, pushing each other around. A distant flicker of lightning caught Coach’s attention too. “I wonder if we’re in for a storm. Jarreon could use the rain.”

  “I don’t think so, Coach.” Bensin followed him down the steps toward the waiting taxi. “I think we’re in for a change.”

  But what kind?

  The arena was packed. They had arrived late since Coach wanted Bensin to get as much sleep as possible, so they had missed the first part of the day’s events. But Bensin didn’t care who had made it to the finals among the younger contestants. All that mattered today was winning the two rounds that lay between him and victory. Actually, that was all that mattered in life anymore. Because the only other things that mattered in life all depended on it.

  They went straight to the Contestants’ Cave. “Jump,” Coach ordered, digging out the rope.

  Bensin pulled off his shoes and socks and then warmed up, jumping in time to the music resounding throughout the arena. A band was playing outside, shiny brass instruments reflecting the shafts of sunlight that found their way between the top of the stands and the edge of the high roof. He knew that on the last day of the Grand Imperial, a different musical group performed in between every match. It helped to fill in the time and make this an all-day event, as well as giving the athletes more of a chance to rest in between their duels.

  Coach set out the padding and shil and then went to check the schedule posted on the wall. “Wow, we cut it close. You’re on right after this, fighting an Ivan Makay.”

  It took Bensin a moment to remember where he had heard that name before. “Oh, Ivan. The guy from the qualifiers.” The guy who beat me. And there he was, Bensin realized, warming up on the other side of the Cave, his parents hovering nearby.

  Coach glanced Ivan’s way as well and lowered his voice. “No wonder the name sounded familiar. He was hoping to come in second to get into some martial arts academy, wasn’t he? Well, poor Ivan; he’s not going to make it. But after you beat him in the semifinals, he still has a chance of coming in third. Don’t think about him. Better start stretching.”

  Bensin set the rope aside and bent to stretch. “Don’t worry, Coach. I’m ready.” He hoped.

  “I know you are. After last night, there’s no doubt.” Coach kicked the rope out of the way and came around to face him. “You proved last night that you’re a more talented warrior than any other contestant in this tournament will ever hope to be. It’s not a question of whether you’re better than this Ivan now or not. It’s just a matter of letting everyone see it. And for Ellie’s sake, you’re going to prove it to the world in just a couple of minutes.”

  When Bensin was done stretching, Coach handed him the padding and then the shil, and after those were securely buckled on, he solemnly held out the cavvarach. But when Bensin reached for it, he pulled it away. “Don’t just grab it without thinking. This weapon is your best friend. We’ve called it that before, but now it’s true in a new way. Last night it partnered with you to save your sister and two other kids from a notorious criminal. Today it will help you set your sister free. Take it and respect it like the ally it is.”

  Bensin nodded and wrapped his fingers just as solemnly around the hilt. The soft, slightly squishy feel of the foam rubber, and the weapon’s familiar weight in his hand, brought last night’s adventure rushing to the front of his mind. The struggle by the stairwell. The panic, replaced by confidence, followed by victory, resulting in Ellie’s rescue.

  “And that’s exactly how it will go right now.” There was absolute assurance in Coach’s voice. “The cavvarach that brought down Lachlan DeSalle will help you bring down Ivan Makay just as easily.”

  Applause swept across the arena and the musicians began to gather up their music stands and instruments. It was almost time.

  Ivan came over from the other end of the room and eyed Bensin. “Hey. Looks like they’ve got us against each other again.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’d say good luck, except I don’t really want you to have any luck against me.” Ivan grinned nervously. “Well, may the best warrior win, I guess, huh?” He stuck out his hand.

  I’m planning to. But that was the kind of thing Jayce would have said. Bensin kept his mouth shut and shook the other boy’s hand, smiling in return, as the musicians streamed into the Cave around them.

  Outside, the emcee was addressing the audience, and Bensin heard both their names. He gripped his cavvarach again, recalling what Coach had said, what it had helped him do, what it was going to help him do today. He closed his eyes and twirled it, letting his Zone rise up around him.

  “All right, you’re on,” Coach called from behind him. “Get out there and show everyone!”

  Bensin and his cavvarach jogged out toward the ring, side by side with Ivan, who held in his hand only a tool.

  They positioned themselves in the rope circle. The starting whistle blew. Bensin leaped forward, filled with the joy of the sport that was his life and the path to his sister’s future.

  His cavvarach struck. Ivan blocked. Swing. Strike. Parry. Kick. Dodge. Kick. Parry. Bensin and his cavvarach fell into the rhythm of the game, dancing together through Ivan’s attempts to separate them.
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br />   Ivan was fast, though, and he was taller than Bensin. He used his height to his advantage, bearing down on his opponent. But Bensin dodged again and again, watching for just the right opening.

  Surprise him. The next time he dodged a kick, Bensin pretended to stumble, turned the stumble into a roll, switched his ally to his other hand mid-roll, and leaped smoothly back to his feet with his left hand around its hilt. Slash!

  Ivan’s attempted parry was angled the wrong way, and Bensin’s blow struck him across the chest with enough force to send him reeling. Wham! He struck again, not giving Ivan time to catch his balance.

  But Ivan slashed back even as he staggered, and Bensin caught the blow on his side. He had let his defenses down, and it rattled him. But he was already swinging his leg out in a low hook kick, and he caught his opponent behind the knees.

  Ivan realized what he was doing and tried to sidestep the move, but it was too late. He toppled backward, and Bensin flung himself against him. They fell to the ground together, Bensin on top, Ivan straining to roll aside and reverse their positions. Bensin braced himself, knees apart, gripping his opponent’s shoulders with all his strength.

  “One!” called the emcee into his microphone.

  The audience took it up, as audiences usually did. “TWO!” echoed from the stands on every side. “THREE!” The noise was deafening.

  Ivan managed to tug one arm free and his fist flew out. Bensin turned his head just in time to protect his sore eye, but the blow slammed against the side of his head, throwing him off balance, jarring his hold. The next thing he knew, his opponent was shoving his way out from under him, and the two of them were wrestling on their sides in the coarse sand, each struggling for the hold that would pin the other down.

  He’s going to beat me! A finger of panic poked its way into Bensin’s mind, but he forced it back. Panic would defeat him much more surely than any human opponent.

  In its place, he heard Coach’s voice: Anyone who can defeat a notorious criminal has nothing to worry about from a kid with a cavvarach. You’ve got it in the bag. He couldn’t remember if Coach had actually said those words, but it was the kind of thing he would have said. Along with Do it for Ellie.