Belligerent (Vicara)

by B. N. Mauldin

  Ryan nodded. “I've been working with nunchaku.”

  “Really?

  “Eva approved them,” Ryan said.

  She had allowed him to try numerous types of weapons, each with completely different styles and then slowly guided him towards which she felt he seemed the most talented at handling. She had left the ultimate choice up to him, telling him that it was important that each combatant be comfortable with their weapon. He had liked the way the nunchaku had felt when he used them. Encouraged when he managed to hit the center of the red mark on the practice bag on his first try, he then continued to show a natural ability with the weapon.

  “Is there a problem with my choice?”

  “No problem. Eva knows what she's talking about. I would never question her on something like weaponry,” Shifter assured. “It's just an interesting choice, as I said. That's all.”

  Ryan glanced over to Mackenzie wondering if she would fill him in on what was so interesting about his weapon of choice. Nunchaku seemed no stranger than any of the weapons the others used, especially considering Daylan's scythe and Clarisse's metal fans.

  “Most transportation specialists prefer distance weapons that could be used from the safety of the get-a-way vehicle. Nunchaku, as you should have already learned, are close range,” Mackenzie explained with a bored tone. “You would actually have to leave the safety zone in order to help us in a fight.”

  “Why would a transportation specialist stay in the vehicle if the rest of his team was out fighting anyway? Besides, couldn't I have a second weapon for if I couldn't leave the car for some reason?” Both Mackenzie and Shifter seemed startled by his question. “What? Did James stay in the vehicle all the time?”

  Mackenzie shook her head. “No, but he was my brother and our friend. He cared more about the rest of us than a transportation specialist normally would.”

  “And I'm not your friend?”

  “Let's get back onto the subject of pit games, shall we,” Shifter suggested before Mackenzie could reply. “Before the actual games, there's the obligatory socializing with the Elites as well as any of the other Owners who happen to be in the area. Belligerents who are competing come along. Beta Belligerents, that is,” Shifter clarified. “It's drinks, hors d'oeuvres and boring conversations.”

  “You love it. You love going in and antagonizing everyone, even though you know it only endangers all of us,” Mackenzie said, chiding him.

  “Endangers?” Ryan asked.

  “She means in our social ranking. Talent will only get you so far. In the real world, the name you earn for yourself is claimed through charming others.”

  “I don't mean only the social rankings,” Mackenzie said. “You know other teams have attacked us on campus solely because you’ve annoyed their Owners.”

  Ryan wondered if the attack that had injured James had been for that reason. He couldn't imagine so, or they wouldn't be discussing them so lightly.

  Mackenzie glared at her Owner. “You were the reason Mystique’s team was so determined to convince Ryan to leave campus and then attack the rest of us while we were separated.”

  “And that had nothing to do with them being intimidated by your team and taking advantage of what they considered a prime opportunity to take down some of their competition? That was all because of my being a nuisance at dinner parties,” Shifter stated sarcastically.

  “Exactly,” Mackenzie said. “Everything is always your fault. Besides, everyone knows you and Mystique have been rivals for years, ever since you refused to join her team back when you were in the academy.”

  Ryan would love to hear the story behind that sometime and started to say so, but Shifter was too quick to reply.

  “Think of the attacks as extra practice for the arena,” the Owner said. “And please try to be more optimistic, Mackenzie. You're going to get early wrinkles if you keep crinkling your face up like that.”

  “Shove it.”

  “How do you two get anything accomplished?” Ryan muttered under his breath, but they both heard him and turned their attention in his direction.

  “We manage,” Shifter said. “Anyway, we have the socializing tonight then we'll need to head to the arena first thing in the morning... Which will be sometime before ten. In case you have not been told, while you are off campus, your band has been modified to inject you with the sedative if you wander more than two kilometers from my presence. I suggest you not plan on going sight-seeing without me. Mac, you get ten kilometers as usual. “

  “I wasn't planning on any sight-seeing,” Ryan said. “I don't even know where we're going.”

  “Nowhere very exciting,” Shifter said with a wave of his hand. “Such an unfortunate matter. I was hoping for a vacation.”

  Mackenzie snorted. “If you had thought you had any chance of going anywhere fun on this trip you would have brought Clarisse and Aria along since they're the ones who will actually follow your plans without you having to make sure they don't lose their tempers. Do you really think it's appropriate to be taking your Belligerents to a carnival and allowing them to eat copious amounts of cotton candy and funnel cakes only an hour before their matches?”

  Shifter laughed. “When that guy punched Kenichi in the stomach only to be covered in purple puke for his efforts, it was totally worth it. Kenichi won that match, you know. His opponent was so startled and disgusted that he froze up long enough for Kenichi to end the match shortly after.”

  “Don't forget that Clarisse thought it was a good idea to play tag and made her opponent chase her around until she finally tired herself out,” the strategist said.

  “She still won,” Shifter pointed out.

  “Because her opponent tired out before she did. Thankfully, she was against a tech specialist, who hated running more than Clarisse does.”

  “You have to admit, it was hilarious to see Clarisse running to win a match though. I saw you crack a smile when you were watching the replays.”

  “She only ran because she had eaten enough sugar that she couldn't hold still.”

  Shifter chuckled. “That was a fun day.”

  Mackenzie released a long suffering sigh. “And that is why I always come up with an excuse for you to take only Kenichi and Clarisse to a pit game with at least one of us to chaperone.”

  “Could we focus on the pit games again?” Ryan asked, wondering again how Mackenzie and Shifter ever got anything accomplished.

  “Right, well, you've seen it. You go out, and you fight until the other person surrenders,” Shifter said nonchalantly.

  “What if the other person doesn't surrender? What if I'm the one who ends up surrendering?”

  “Won't happen,” Shifter said.

  “But what if...?”

  “We don't lose,” Mackenzie interrupted.

  Shifter smirked and shrugged. “That's really all you need to know.”

  Ryan had never known that much about Belligerents outside of their arena statistics. No one who wasn't an Owner or a Belligerent seemed to know that much about their lives, so Ryan had never really considered what it meant for a Beta Belligerent to be competing. He didn't know that they were signed out of the academy and then flown to the arena while accompanied by their Owner. He hadn't known that they stayed in lavish hotels and were waited on as if they themselves were members of the Elite. It was a surreal experience, and Ryan was kind of wishing that Shifter had pulled anyone but Mackenzie out of the academy to accompany him for his first arena showing.

  *

  They were in the hotel for a little over two hours. Ryan explored the suite several times, flipped on and off the video set and even glanced through the room service menu. Room service? He and Alex would dream about such things on their pitiful mattresses back in the Darton apartment. His nerves were finally beginning to settle down when Mackenzie barged into his room.

  “You're not ready yet? Of course, you're not ready yet,” Mackenzie said, mostly to herself.

  Ryan started to reply but was
distracted by Mackenzie's appearance. Her hair was out of its typical braid and was instead styled in an elegant up-do with loose curls falling to frame her face. She wore a ball gown that was, unsurprisingly, silver. The dress was form-fitting starting from her shoulders and skimming down past her thighs. There it began to flare out a bit until the hemline which barely swished against the floor. A slit ran to just a few inches above her right knee allowing Ryan to see the heels she had chosen to wear.

  “What are you staring at?” For once Mackenzie seemed genuinely curious. “What? Don't tell me there's a stain on this dress. I only got it recently, and this is the first time I've worn it besides trying it on.”

  Ryan shook his head. “No, there’re no stains. I had just never seen you in anything other than uniforms and what you wear around the villa.”

  “You mean sweaters and jeans or pajamas,” Mackenzie said. “Just because I don't care to dress up in ruffled dresses for teatime like Clarisse or play around with accessories all the time like Aria doesn't mean I'm not still a girl.”

  “Hey!” Ryan exclaimed holding up his hands in defense. “I just meant that I wasn't used to seeing this style on you. You’re always… Well. It’s not like you don’t always look good-”

  Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “I'm sure that's what you meant.”

  “Really! It was.”

  “Please say you remembered to pack a suit.”

  “Clarisse packed everything for me.”

  Mackenzie instantly looked relieved. “That's good. That means you'll have everything you need. You should get ready though. We need to leave in less than a half hour.”

  “Okay, I'll get dressed as soon as you get out.”

  “Good. Whenever you're ready, come down to the lobby,” she said, already turning to leave the suite.

  “I really did mean what I said.”

  “Sure.”

  “I mean,” he said, “just because you throw on a dress doesn't mean you're a different person. It just means that you have a new look, and the looks are only as important as the personality and intelligence behind them.”

  Mackenzie glanced over her shoulder at him. “You're just a walking self-help book, aren't you? You're not an informant for a reason. You couldn't lie or flatter to save your life.”

  With that said, Mackenzie left a stunned Ryan to get ready. He cleaned up as quickly as he could and even took a moment to debate whether or not to shave the beginnings of scruff he was finally growing on his chin but decided that looking a little more mature could only help him when it came to his matches. He didn't want people thinking he was some child standing out there in the middle of the arena. He wanted people to think he was a challenge, that he was a threat that others should be on guard around.

  Ryan was glad to see that the suit that Clarisse had chosen for him wasn't green. Color-coding people was a ridiculous idea in his opinion. The suit was black. The only green that accompanied it was a forest green shirt. He glanced over himself in the mirror, and for a brief moment, didn't recognize the person staring back.

  “This is only temporary,” he reminded himself. Four years seemed like a very long time though, even if it was only ‘temporary’.

  Shifter was already in the lobby when Ryan arrived.

  “Where's Mackenzie?” Ryan asked. “Did she decide to be 'fashionably late' because I already saw her and she was completely ready?”

  Shifter chuckled. “She stormed by a little while ago. Right now, I think, she's outside making a call. I didn't ask about it. Any particular reason why she's in such a mood?”

  Ryan plopped down across from Shifter. “She asked me why I was staring at her, and I told her that I had never seen her dressed like that before. She apparently took that as my implying that she wasn't girly enough or whatever, and then after I explained that wasn't what I meant, she called me a 'walking self-help book.' Then, she left.”

  Shifter shook his head. “Figures.”

  “What? What did I do that was so wrong?”

  “You didn't do anything really, but Mackenzie's only fourteen no matter how mature she appears. All of you are at that awkward phase.”

  “I am not in an awkward phase,” Ryan said.

  “Yes, you are. Wait a few years, and then you'll see. In the meantime, stay out of slapping range whenever you speak, especially when it comes to Mackenzie and Kenichi. They've both got tempers.” Shifter stood and grabbed his cane. “Looks like it's time for us to be heading to the party,” he said as Mackenzie reappeared in the lobby.

  The party was not nearly as dull as Shifter had described it, but Ryan figured that could be because everything was so new to him. There were around twenty Beta Belligerents there, ranging in age from ten to eighteen. All of them were dressed to impress and were indulging in the food. A few of them were taking advantage of the alcohol being served, and none of the Owners seemed to mind that much. Only one of the Owners really acknowledged the underage drinking, and that was when she warned the ten year old in her care that he had better not make himself sick.

  Those who were over sixteen, and therefore legal to drink, were the ones who seemed the least interested in the glasses of wine and champagne being carried by on trays. The host of the event was an Elite, who owned the local arena. Shortly after everyone arrived, he made a speech welcoming everyone to his home.

  Ryan immediately felt out of place and searched for a corner where he could hide away unnoticed. Before he could make his way over to the comfortable couches that would place him out of the way of anyone's attention, an older girl walked up to him. She had long, ebony hair which was pulled up in a chic ponytail and a daring, plum colored dress that was slit up both sides to nearly her hips.

  “Ah! New boy, I've been looking forward to meeting you,” she said.

  In one hand, she held a glass of barely touched red wine. She rested her other hand on his elbow, but fortunately Clarisse had already taught him to not let an information specialist touch him.

  “Touch can be used to manipulate a person's subconscious. A hand on the small of the waist can direct the path they're walking. A hand on the elbow can instill a feeling of trust,” she had revealed to him one day when the others had been busy with their own projects.

  Ryan took a step back. “My name is Ryan, not 'new boy,' and I would appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself.”

  She smirked. “You're one of Shifter's mutts, aren't you.” It wasn't a question no matter how she phrased it. “That means you're here with Mackenzie then.”

  “That's right. He is,” Mackenzie confirmed while moving to stand next to him. “How have you been, Terra? I heard your team's a bit behind in points at the moment and it's your last year at the academy, isn't it?”

  “Well, Cerbi is a little more competitive than Proserpine. We don't get awarded points for merely existing.”

  Mackenzie pursed her lips before releasing a small, breathy laugh. “The entertainment's about to begin, and as Ryan's never been to one of these lovely events before, I promised I would show him around. I'd say I look forward to seeing you again, but let's face it... You'll be sent to a Belligerent cell by the end of the year.”

  Ryan had to give Terra some credit. She didn't react to Mackenzie's harsh words beyond a tight smirk.

  “You've always had some trouble when it comes to socializing,” Terra said. “If it wasn't for the academy, you'd be alone, especially if what I've heard about James is true.”

  Displaying incredible self-control, Mackenzie slipped her arm around Ryan's and said, “Let's go see the performances.”

  Ryan nodded.

  When they had covered a decent distance from Terra, Mackenzie's dropped Ryan's arm as if his touch burned her. Ryan tried not to be too insulted by the action.

  “So what kind of entertainment will we be seeing?” he asked.

  “Dancers typically. Maybe some vocalists. A lot of them used to be Betas themselves. It's one of the few more appealing options we have after the academ
y if we don't qualify for Vicara.”

  “Is that why Kenichi and Clarisse both take dance lessons? They're making sure they won't end up in a holding cell after graduating or working in labor or domestic?”

  “Shifter wouldn't let that happen to us. Besides, we know we're going to qualify. We're too talented not to, so those two fruits are only taking dance lessons because they enjoy it.”

  “And what will Shifter do with us if we don't qualify for Vicara?”

  Mackenzie directed Ryan through a doorway to a large room where people were reclined on couches against the walls. Servers stood nearby waiting for directions. The attendants had no bands on their left wrists. Instead, they had bands on their left ankles marking them as domestic Belligerents. Ryan wondered if any of them had once been Betas.

  Mackenzie sighed. “I just said we're going to qualify. Do you not have faith in our skills?”

  She motioned for him to take a seat on one of the couches then gestured for a server to make his way over before taking a seat herself. “Two sparkling ciders,” she instructed casually, and Ryan realized she was already accustomed to this lifestyle. He couldn't understand it. How could she so calmly be surrounded by the only people who had it worse off than they themselves did? It was like staring straight into your future, and it was a future of servitude, one that Ryan had no desire to join. Though he guessed it was better than being placed in a holding cell that basically served as a prison and only being allowed out when someone needed them for a specific task or to compete in the arena.

  “Just humor me,” he said. “What would Shifter do with us?”

  It wasn't just for himself that he wanted to know. If he managed to escape, they would be down a player. What would happen to the others if he abandoned them? Would he be sealing their fate inside a two meter square cell?

  Fire performers made their way to the center of the room, and Mackenzie directed her gaze to them, to the smaller bands on their right wrists.