by Angela White
Encouraged, Kendle headed for the collateral area to discover which team members Renda had released. She expected it to be the two weakest of the men, which meant Tyler and Carl would be with Conner right now, spilling their guts. She wanted to stop by and remind them to keep their mouths shut about Safe Haven and the descendants. Market Town knew too much already.
5
“Where is she now?”
Renda gestured toward the screens lining the wall of Xavier’s lavish apartment. The entire market was on camera. “Visiting her men.”
Xavier leaned back in his padded rocking chair, contemplating Renda’s accusation. “If you’re wrong, you’ll owe for it.”
“I can afford the fine,” she insisted. “I’m telling you–she’s hiding something.”
“You have permission to determine what it is,” Xavier granted, over the protests of the other two masters in the room. He glanced at Yuri and Iram. “You will not tell her that we are investigating. If she discovers it, that will prove the accusation and she will be arrested.”
Yuri’s lips disappeared into his pudgy face as he fought not to argue.
Iram shrugged, returning to his charming smiles and tones. “I have no deals with her.”
“But you do have bets,” Xavier reminded, making Yuri tense. The Russian had multiple deals with Kendle.
Iram spread his hands out in a gesture of acceptance. “I will not tell the woman. My word.”
Satisfied, Xavier glared at Yuri. “And you?”
“I will not tell her,” Yuri gave grudgingly.
Renda marched from the meeting area in high spirits, content that Kendle wouldn’t know she was being investigated for magic use. Renda had observed her fighter’s flinch from the handshake, like the others, but she hadn’t forgotten it. The scarred woman was hiding her power, but Renda wasn’t afraid. In fact, she now hated Kendle more than she already had. The only thing worse than a do-gooder, was a descendant. Renda had warned her sister about using her gifts, but Malia hadn’t listened. In the end, her power hadn’t even tried to save her. Renda had been glad, but it wouldn’t have mattered at that point. She’d hated her sibling for most of their lives. When the market citizens and the masters had fallen for Malia’s charms, Renda had snapped. She’d been the little sister, the unwanted third wheel, for too long. Once she’d become a master here, Renda’s needs and orders had been satisfied first. She’d enjoyed it for six months–until Kendle’s arrival. Now, it was starting to feel like it had before she’d caught her sister alone in the bathtub, back when Renda had been so tightly wound that only death satisfied her.
Renda snarled at the men she passed, hands in her pockets to keep from reaching out with swiping claws.
Realizing the old rage was getting the best of her again, Renda detoured from the upstairs shops to a rear training cubby that was for their fighters and monitors. If she didn’t work off some of this heat, she would explode. Sniffing out clues would have to wait.
Rita breathed a sigh of relief as Renda abruptly spun toward the stairs. The nail technician quickly closed the gates and secured them with her thickest lock. There was no evidence of what Rita was, but all she owned in the world was inside these walls. If Renda got in, nothing would survive. Rita had witnessed Renda at her worst, back when the market was first beginning and Yuri was on track to be named leader instead of Xavier. Renda wasn’t stable and Rita wanted no part of that din. Rita was an invisible. She was also weak and lazy. She would flee into the night before challenging Renda directly, but supporting someone who might be able to kill the slave master was an easy choice. If Kendle could take care of Renda and give Malia justice, the ghosts in this place might settle down enough for Rita to sleep at night. She was tired of hearing the dead cry for blood. It was exhausting.
6
“This fight is not to the death,” the referee announced. “Battle begins in one minute.”
Kendle rolled her eyes at the same lackluster introduction, but didn’t protest. She had to stay focused. Her opponent was a huge female that would have been right at home on a WWE program. Even her flaming hair and blue painted cheeks matched the image. Kendle wanted to laugh, but the voice inside said to end this as fast as she could.
Dangerous, the witch warned.
Kendle nodded at the female and got nothing in return, not even the flicker of a lash. Great, she thought. Only match two of six and I already have the ice queen, Ivanna. Godzilla must come next.
Kendle stepped forward to shake, controlling the shield over her skin this time. When they shook without a problem, not squeezing or playing games, the crowd was disappointed.
So was Renda, who was sure of what she had witnessed before the first fight. The Iranian moved closer to the ring to observe.
Ding!
Kendle lunged forward, but Ivanna beat her to the move. She hefted Kendle off her feet, arms like a vise around her ribs.
The crowd roared in approval as the females grunted and struggled.
Quickly! the demon ordered.
Kendle squirmed loose, sliding through the bottom of Ivanna’s grip to land in heap at her feet.
Ivanna frowned, peering down.
Kendle grinned, glad she’d thought of the oil. Before her opponent could figure out how she’d lost, Kendle slammed her new fingernails into the woman’s exposed ankle, ripping upward.
Kendle scrambled away as the fighter lunged down for her, slamming a boot into the female’s big nose.
Blood ran down Ivanna’s cheeks to pool with the puddles from her ankle; her tan and black uniform was dotted in crimson.
Kendle stood up in the tense silence of the crowd, attention staying on her opponent.
“Why isn’t she screaming?” someone called from the crowd.
“She can’t,” Kendle told them, still not glancing away as Ivanna struggled to talk, to move. “She’s paralyzed.” Kendle flashed her nails, wiggling her fingers. “I added the gift, but the chick who does these is awesome. Best set I’ve ever had.”
Hoping that small bill would be paid, Kendle glanced down at her opponent. “I don’t have the antidote. I couldn’t take the chance.”
The Dutch woman began to convulse.
“The Black Widow has struck again!” the speaker informed the spectators. “Collect your winnings.”
Kendle left the ring as the crowd cheered wildly. They cleared a path for her, she noticed, being sure that her claws didn’t brush them even in passing.
Enjoying the feeling, Kendle breathed a mental sigh of relief and headed for the showers without glancing toward those plush master couches. She could feel Renda’s rage from across the cool basement. It wouldn’t take much to set that off and there were still three other matches to go before they could fight.
Mind now on the next challenge, Kendle guided attention to the shops where she needed fans to spend their winnings. She waved and called greetings, talking happily about the stock and the service. It was up to the shopkeepers to convert the sale.
When she walked by the empty pharmacy, Kendle nodded to the owner to indicate that she would be by later. Hopefully the owner would wait up for her. If not, she would stop by in the morning. Kendle knew the next fight would be harder. She needed to get the proper supplies.
7
Kendle slid into the collateral room as the market closed for the night, bell ringing to signal the sentries to lock it all up.
Kendle glanced to the monitor on the room, noting his bored air. She joined Conner and her four men at the center table.
“Good timing,” Conner praised angrily. “Tyler was planning how we escape from this place and kill all the troops on our way out.”
Tyler paled at being ratted out.
Carl grinned at her. “Conner and I keep telling him you have things under control, but he’s a rookie.”
Kendle didn’t show amusement at the joke. Carl was also a rookie. Kendle took the bottle of water that Conner handed her, but she didn’t open it. She was busy
reconsidering an option. She’d been in the market enough to pick out the weakest and sympathetic guards. An escape might be possible. A good leader considered all avenues.
“Would you leave your team?” Kendle asked Tyler curiously. “Go get help and leave them to her anger?”
Tyler shrugged. “It’s what we’re taught, I think. We didn’t get to these lessons yet.”
“You stay with your team,” Conner instructed. He’d heard his father repeat it too many times to be confused. “She has it covered.”
“Do you?” Tyler demanded suddenly. “We’ll all be crippled if you don’t.”
Kendle placed a hand on Tyler’s hairy wrist. “You’re an Eagle. Act like it.”
Tyler’s face flooded with anger and embarrassment, but he held silent.
“Fear is a hard thing. I understand,” Kendle offered.
Tyler let out his anger in a thick snort of resignation, but he didn’t argue further. He’d been reminded of who he was now, of what Safe Haven taught.
“We’re not the underdogs,” Kendle commented, smirking. “They have no idea who we are. It’s a huge advantage.”
She left them with that reflection, glad only one of them was upset with the delay to their freedom. She was also encouraged that none of the men had been harmed so far. If their care had been bad, she wouldn’t have handled things this way. If their care changed, she would adjust her plans. Their safety was a priority–right behind Renda. That evil had to be snuffed out. Kendle wasn’t leaving Market Town until it was done.
Chapter Fifteen
Big Orders
1
“What are you doing?”
Tommy had dropped his dirty shirt onto his cot and knelt in the center of the room. They only got clean clothes weekly here.
“My morning workout. All this time lying around is making me fat and tired.”
The six other Eagles quickly joined their team leader, eager for the activity.
The guards watched them suspiciously, but didn’t protest. They also weren’t certain if this behavior was allowed. None of their other captives had tried to exercise.
Renda found them all a while later, sweating and laughing as they put their bodies through a much-needed workout.
“What’s going on?” she demanded, slamming the door.
Tommy finished his last pushup, grunting, “We needed exercise.”
Renda kept her distance as the travelers continued to stretch and kick, to spin and spar. It looked as though they’d practiced it regularly.
Renda crossed her arms over her chest as she noticed the team leader giving her hot glances. She knew what he wanted, what he was, but she had no time for mating. She wanted information on Kendle.
“Where do you come from?” she asked, including all of them.
“North,” Tommy replied, sticking to the small bits that Kendle had been able to pass to them during her walks and tours. “It got cold.” He looked toward the wall, where a window would have been if not for being cemented. “Is it cold here? It wasn’t when we came in.”
“It is warm and sunny,” Renda stated. She lifted a brow. “Would you like to see the sunlight?”
Tommy snorted. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”
“I will trade a walk, bound, for information on your owner.”
“Kendle doesn’t own us,” Tommy corrected, standing up. “And I don’t need bonds. I’m not leaving my men.”
The other team members didn’t know what Tommy was up to, but they all suspected it had something to do with the new slaves that had been brought in. They would be waking up soon, with their guts rolling.
Renda had noted their loyalty over the days she’d held them and didn’t doubt his words. She wondered what their scarred owner might think of Tommy roaming without bonds and grunted, “Let’s go.”
Tommy slid his shirt over his head, aware of Renda’s hot gaze on his sweaty skin. He’d been a camp provider long enough to know what she needed, but he doubted she would make a deal for company until the night before the final fight. He was hoping for a few hours alone with her at that point.
Tommy slowly approached her and held out an arm like a gentleman. “Shall we?”
Renda hesitantly took his arm, transported to her father and his friends doing the same thing for her sister when Malia reached puberty. They’d both been trained to dance in all styles, even those of the hated west, but Renda had never felt special doing it until now.
Tommy tucked her hand around his arm and patted her wrist. “Sunlight, you say?”
Renda was startled into a smile at the charm. “Yes.”
He led them toward the exit, ignoring his surprised team and gaping sentries. “Good. I’ll bet you’re beautiful in the sunlight.”
Renda blushed down to her roots, speechless at the flattery even though she was well versed in sex and the foreplays that led up to it. Something about Tommy drew her like a moth to a flame.
Pretending to be distracted, Renda studied him intently, searching for the lies that she could feel he’d told. Maybe a walk in the sun and few drinks would give her the secrets she knew existed. If not, she would threaten to cut off his penis. That tactic usually got her whatever she wanted, especially once the blade was against skin. She didn’t bluff.
Tommy knew he was playing with fire, but he also knew Kendle needed every advantage she could get in the upcoming fight with Renda. Tommy wasn’t positive that Kendle knew what she’d gotten herself into. He wasn’t certain of his own chances against the Iranian, let alone Kendle’s, considering that she was a rookie who had only received a couple months of training from Marc and the Indians. He didn’t think it would be nearly enough.
2
Kendle enjoyed the hot water, taking advantage of Yuri’s hospitality to use the shower in his apartment. Yuri’s accommodations were lavish. The three rooms were layered in rich, exotic furnishings that Kendle thought would have set well in her former home in California.
While she let the water beat on her, Kendle carefully scratched the poison out of the acrylic nails, but left the talons. It would make her next opponent think her hands were still lethal. If they were distracted by it, she could use a different method to end the fight quicker.
Yuri knocked. “We have chosen battle axes!”
Kendle snorted at his cheerful call. He clearly wasn’t the one who had to use them. “Be right out.”
“Take your time,” Yuri shouted from the main room. “New supplies and slaves have come in. I must go collect my share.”
Kendle heard the door slam, but not lock, and shut off the water. She had to stay alert.
She dressed quickly, donning her weapons and setup for the next fight over wet skin. The door opened again as she came from the bathroom.
The guard set a tote on the ground. “Gifts.”
“From who?” Kendle asked, dropping onto the bed to tug on her socks and boots.
“A mix,” the sentry responded, scanning the area to be sure things were calm in here. “Lots of newcomers arriving to see your next fight.”
“Will you be there?” she asked politely as she laced up.
“No. I have duty over Renda’s apartment.”
“Are you on that post alone?” Kendle went to the window. Another group of people was entering the town. Most of the locals had chosen trousers and lose-fitting shirts, but the newcomers were clad in heavier, more durable gear that suggested some of them had traveled a long distance.
“Why do you ask?”
Kendle spotted a large group of troops coming through the closest gate with another load of supplies. She could tell they’d made several trips because of how tired and sweaty they were. “I’d like to get in there.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Can you get in there?”
“Of course.”
Kendle regarded him, encouraged by the tone. “Will you?”
The guard, part of the rotation that had originally landed with the UN convoy, answered, “F
or the–”
“Yeah, I know,” Kendle interrupted sarcastically. “For the right price. Can’t anyone here just do the right thing?”
Ori stared at her as if she had grown two more noses. “That sounds like something an old-worlder would say. I thought you’d been around.”
Kendle pulled a face. “That is an understatement.”
The guard studied her, amusement dropping from his profile. “You can’t give me what I want. No deal.”
The Iranian man spun to leave and Kendle threw her knife, hoping the aim was good. Marc had praised her progress with it.
The blade wobbled painfully as it stuck in the wooden frame by Ori’s arm.
“Tell me what you want,” she insisted coolly.
The man’s hand tightened on the knob. “To go home, Ms. Roberts. Give me that and I’ll strangle her in her sleep.”
“Wow. Big order,” she breathed. “I don’t suppose you have a second choice?”
The door shut softly as Ori left without answering, closing out the noise of the crowd gathering to witness this evening’s fight.
“No, I didn’t think so,” Kendle muttered. She hadn’t wanted to let anyone know about Safe Haven because she hadn’t believed these people were good enough. After that, she’d realized she needed to let Angela make the choice. Now, she might have to take a UN guard with her in order to win the final fight.
“Man, the boss isn’t gonna like this,” Kendle stated, heading for her daily workout and tour of the shops. She would explore the gifts in the totes when she returned. “Angie isn’t gonna like this one bit. Maybe I can get Conner to explain it.”
3
“Are you ill?” the shopkeeper asked in quiet concern.
Kendle shook her head, placing the packaged syringe near the cash register. “I’m good as gold. I also have no money, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”
