by KM Fortune
“Where am I?” he asked.
“Miles from the Great Cave,” she answered. “Don’t bother yelling for help.” Gabriel blinked, unable to comprehend how he was so far away from the road and up under a rocky bluff along the treeline. The woman apparently saw his look and smirked.
"Wondering how I got you up here?" she asked. Gabriel was torn. He wanted an answer but did not want to lower himself to having any sort of conversation with the woman. Finally, he spat a mouthful of blood into the thin layer of snow around him and shrugged as nonchalantly as he could despite his soreness.
“Your men carried me,” he growled. The woman barked out a laugh.
"Look around. Do you see anyone here but us?" she asked. Gabriel shifted his eyes from side to side. There were no fresh footprints or signs of others. His curiosity got the better of him.
“So how then?” he said.
“I carried you,” the woman said. “Dropped you a few times. You might have broken a rib or two when you landed on some rocks. But I’ll admit, you’re dang heavy. They must feed you well in there.” Gabriel refused to believe her. There was no way this weak agent of sin could pick him up and move him, let alone for miles. Unless she is channeling Satan’s power, he thought. Suddenly things started to make a little more sense. He knew now his life, or even worse, his soul was in more jeopardy than ever.
CHAPTER 6
The two golf carts trundled along the city's main street. There were bumps from where the road was cracked or buckled, but for the most part, it was well patched and completely clear of debris. Still, Matthew held on to where he sat in the back of the first cart. The Duke was an aggressive and unpredictable driver, and it crossed Matthew's mind the man would be more than happy to send his extra passenger flying. The numbers dictated someone had to ride along with both The Duke and Raven, which The Duke was clearly not pleased about. It was obvious the cowboy wanted Raven all to himself, and Matthew was not entirely sure of his motives, but he had an idea they were not in Raven's best interest. All the more reason I’m in the car with them, Matthew thought. Blaze had not been too happy when Matthew jumped at making an offer to join them, but it was important he help keep Blaze and his temper away from The Duke. Although Matthew was not a fan of the stranger and agreed the man was trouble, he could at least keep his cool no matter what was overheard. So far, thankfully, The Duke was sticking to showing off his town. Matthew had to admit the sights were impressive.
Among other things, they were driven to see Reno's landmark welcome sign as well as the one still functioning poker room. When Matthew inquired about the city's power and food sources, The Duke brushed him off with a vague answer about nuclear transformers and greenhouse farms in outlying areas. This led Matthew to want to ask another hundred questions, but before he could press The Duke for more details, the cart slowed to a stop at another interesting building. The second vehicle pulled up alongside, and Matthew glanced over to see a mixed bag of faces. The driver, the same mustached man who got the drop on Matthew and his friends out in the desert, was grinning. The twins in the back of the rig were looking around wide-eyed and curious, while Blaze scanned left to right. He’s up to something, Matthew thought with a hint of concern. The last thing they needed at the moment was a confrontation. He could only hope his comrade would keep his cool a little longer.
Refocusing on where they had stopped, Matthew took in the sight of the building. It was not as tall as the other hotels where the city's residents lived, and some of the windows were covered with plywood, but otherwise, it was in excellent condition. The marque over the revolving front door was the most interesting. A hundred or more colored bulbs outlined the letters "The Stage." Matthew had no doubt it would be quite stunning when it was lit. "And now, let me introduce Reno's most exciting venue," The Duke said with a broad smile. "Entertainment every night."
Matthew saw Raven nod and then look at her host. “Live theater?” she asked. The Duke laughed.
“Not exactly. But live action for certain,” he said. “People come from long distances to take part in what we offer here. One night can change a man’s life.”
Matthew frowned, not liking the sound of The Duke’s tone. He was proud, yet there was a touch of sinister. “What happens here then?” Matthew asked. “Some sort of competition?”
“Good guess!” The Duke answered. “Welcome to Fight Night, boys and girls. Let me show you around.”
KIT WAS IMPRESSED. The skinny man with the broom had coaxed her down and then proceeded to show her the place. She had not made it easy for him as the last thing she wanted was to interact with a stranger in this bizarre city. Still, when he offered part of his large lunch, Kit relented. A meal of any substance was welcome after many days of almost nothing to eat. Besides, the man appeared to be unarmed and was as thin as a stick. With her knives and fighting skills, she was sure she could kill him quickly enough if there were a problem. All of which was what led her to be standing in the center of the ring admiring the painted emblem on the canvas flooring. The stranger was just finishing up retouching some of the colors which had become stained. Kit was not entirely sure what the marks were made of, but based on the hue and resilience to being cleaned up, she guessed it was blood. It all made her curious. What sort of thing goes on here? Fighting? she wondered. The atmosphere mixed with the excited attitude of the man with the broom led her to believe the event in this ring was for entertainment. She could not quite see the point and wondered how she could ask when she heard muffled voices coming through the doors to the foyer.
Kit started to bolt for the cage's exit. "Whoa, whoa," said her guide. "That sounds like The Duke. You should meet him." Kit had no interest in meeting anyone at the moment and kept going out of the ring and toward a row of seats away from the door. She did not know if there were other exits out of the building, so she ducked down behind a set of chairs to wait. If it came to it, she would fight her way out. As she watched, the foyer doors swung open, and she saw a tall, lean figure with white hair topped by a broad cowboy hat on his head. He was talking with gusto to the people behind him, obviously proud of the fighting arena. Kit looked past him, and her eyes widened when she saw the tour group consisted of Raven, Blaze, Matthew, and a couple other men. They did not seem to be in any danger, and she breathed a quick sigh of relief, yet still stayed where she was hidden to listen unobserved.
“Howie!” Kit heard the cowboy exclaim. “Looking good in here.”
Howie grinned and nodded with pleasure at the praise. "A little touch-up, sir. Last night was rough," he said.
“That it was,” The Duke agreed. “But I have a feeling tonight will be even better. Let me introduce you to some new guests.”
THE CAT MUTANT, SERGEANT Gray, stood before Hector. The news he delivered had been grim, and Hector set his jaw and stared at the floor. He felt Helen's gentle paw touch his arm and he took some comfort from it. At least she was safe at the moment. I’d go crazy if I did not know where she was right now, he thought. Things were dire in the kingdom and, even though she was still officially the queen even after the king's death, Hector had no doubt his evil brother would come after her. Prince Edward was on a mission to be king, and he did not appear to be letting anyone stand in his way. Already he had moved to round up people who even hinted at supporting Hector's claim to the throne. Even though Hector was the older of the brothers, and therefore the rightful heir by lineage, Hector knew his prolonged absence was working against him. Finally, Hector nodded and looked at the sergeant. "So what are our numbers?" he asked.
Sergeant Gray shook his head. "Not good," he responded. "The prince moved quicker than we anticipated. Almost all of the guards who supported you are now locked in the dungeon. Without them, you have less than a dozen who will stand with you in a revolt. Maybe fewer considering how futile things look.” Hector growled deep in his throat and paced across the cavern where he and Helen had been hidden. He was so frustrated. While he waited, his brother was taking action. It was
all Hector could do to not charge forward with the few allies he had and try to make a play. As if sensing his recklessness growing, Helen interjected.
"And the citizens of the city? What is their sentiment?" she asked. Hector paused his steps. It was a good question. If the general masses were set against him, there was no point in trying to be king at all.
"Primarily, there is concern and unrest," Sergeant Gray answered. "No clear favorite is being announced publically, but there could be reasons for that."
"Like what?" Hector asked.
"Fear of the prince's retaliation," Helen answered before the sergeant could speak up. "Any city leader would be risking his livelihood in the least, but possibly even the safety of his family if he declared allegiance to anyone but Prince Edward."
Sergeant Gray nodded in agreement. "I think the wisest of them are simply waiting to see what happens. Having you back, Your Grace, has given hope to many of us who feared Prince Edward's tyranny." Hector frowned. None of the information helped him make up his mind on what to do next. As much as he hated it, he knew he would have to rely entirely on the advice of others.
"What do you recommend I do now?" Hector asked.
Sergeant Gray looked thoughtful. "We need a force to free the guards locked in the dungeon. You came here with humans. If they have numbers, can they aid us?" Hector thought about what the cat mutant said. He did know humans, although he was not sure they would come to his aid. Their relationship was rocky at best, and he had no easy way of getting them a message. He knew he would have to leave the city and find them. Find Raven, he thought. Will she help me? Hector could not be certain, but in his heart he knew she was his and quite possibly his city's one hope.
CHAPTER 7
“Whoa,” Raven heard one of the twins say behind her as they all looked around the large fighting venue. “This place is something else.”
“They don’t know what they are missing back home,” said the other twin, with a laugh. “Can we look around?” Raven turned to The Duke, who was smiling broadly.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Just don’t leave the room, got it?” The twins nodded excitedly and moved toward the cage. I have no idea where those two came from, Raven thought, but she had to admit their playful, although a bit naive, attitude toward things helped break the tension. And there is a lot of tension. Raven looked at Blaze. He was frowning as his eyes darted around the room. Raven did not blame him. Things in the city of Reno did not feel quite right, but the best all of them could do was roll with it until they could find a way to work with The Duke. She could only hope Blaze understood it too.
Looking back to the elevated cage in the center of the room, Raven did not know what to make of it. She knew almost nothing about fighting competitions. Her vague memory pulled up hazing images of celebrity figures who became famous by using their fists, but she knew it was not something she had been interested in during her previous life. Regardless, The Duke's excitement over what he called "Fight Night" was a bit contagious. She watched as the charismatic figure walked through the gate into the ring, a grin of pride on his handsome face. After a slap on Howie the janitor's back, which was hard enough to almost send the skinny man sprawling, he took off his hat and waved it around to showcase the space. "This is the place where men, and occasionally women, come to change their fortunes. And in the process, provide my city a source of endless entertainment," he said. "Come in, Raven. Take a look around."
Uncertain as to precisely what to do, Raven looked first to Blaze, who was clearly unhappy with the idea and then at Matthew, who nodded slightly for her to go ahead. Raven gave him a small smile and then walked to the ring. "I'll admit," she said to The Duke as she climbed the few steps to the platform the cage sat on. "I know nothing about this sport."
The Duke held out his hand to help Raven clear the threshold. Returning the courteous gesture, she took it. With her hand in his, The Duke's eyes twinkled with satisfaction. After she was safely inside the ring, he held on a moment longer than necessary. Even though the man's hand was warm and strong, the possessive feel Raven felt from it alarmed her. The absolute last thing she wanted was to have to deal with was rejecting any advances by The Duke. Still, she knew better than to make anything of it at the moment and smiled sweetly at her host. "This is interesting," she said. "Like boxing?"
The Duke laughed. “Oh, much more than boxing,” he said with a grin. “This is full contact fighting.”
“So anything’s allowed?” one of the twins standing at the edge of the cage asked.
“Even weapons?” said the other. I really need to learn their names, Raven thought, still unable to tell the two blonde men apart.
The Duke shook his head. “Nope, no weapons. And no shots to the genitals,” he said. “But otherwise, it is game on.” He moved closer to Raven and put his arm around her shoulders. “You’ll see more of what I mean tonight.”
It took all of Raven's willpower to not react to The Duke's touch and instinctively shrug off his arm. His move was gentle, yet clearly testing her. Still smiling, Raven stepped out from under his casual embrace and made a show of wanting to examine the emblem painted on the center of the ring. It was a wolf's head with gleaming eyes and bared teeth. "What does this mean?" she asked.
“A warrior spirit,” The Duke answered with pride in his voice. Raven nodded, suddenly reminded of another wolf. One which hid in sheep’s clothing.
WHEN THE DUKE PUT HIS arm around Raven, Blaze clamped his hands into fists and started to move toward the ring. Enough of this crap, he thought, but before he could take a step, he felt Matthew's hand on his arm. Turning to look at the man, Matthew gave him a subtle shake of his head. Blaze puffed out a frustrated breath. The last thing he was in the mood for was taking direction from an ex-member of The Patrols, yet he knew the man was right. Running down to the cage and getting into a fight with The Duke would not make things better. Still, he was not going to just stand by either.
Shrugging off Matthew’s hand, he started toward the cage, while at the same time scanning the room for other threats. It appeared, other than the janitor, there were no more of The Duke’s men. The driver of their second golf cart had stayed outside. It seemed unlikely The Duke would allow himself to be unprotected though. Is he that confident we are not here to hurt him? Blaze wondered. It was true, Blaze and the others were unarmed while The Duke wore a gun on his hip, but still, they outnumbered the man. Blaze was not sure what to make of it.
As if The Duke was reading his mind, Blaze saw The Duke staring at him as he approached the cage. The charming smile he had been giving to Raven was now nowhere to be seen. Instead, his eyes were cold and threatening. “So, what do you think, Red?” The Duke asked. “Ready to watch some action tonight?” Before Blaze could respond, he felt Matthew beside him.
“Where do you find fighters?” Matthew asked. Blaze saw The Duke flick his eyes to Matthew. There was no warmth there either. He hates us both, Blaze thought. Because he knows we will die to protect Raven. Suddenly, the situation became apparent to Blaze, and he felt a ball of both rage and fear starting to build in his stomach. And he wants her for himself.
KIT COULD NOT MAKE up her mind. Reveal herself or stay hidden a little longer. There seemed no reason to keep hiding now that her friends were here and were in no immediate danger, but still, it went against her nature. Deciding to keep to the shadows a little longer, especially considering the awkward friendliness of the guy in the cowboy hat toward Raven, Kit moved subtly to scan the room. As she did so, a hint of movement near the back caught her eye. Someone was there. In fact, it looked like more than one person. Now on alert, Kit held her weapons close and made ready for action in case she thought Raven or any of the others were in danger.
Shifting her eyes to take a quick look back at the center of the room, she saw Blaze, followed by Matthew, were moving into the ring. The sight did not feel right, yet Kit could not put her finger on why she was so alarmed. Is this some kind of trap? she wondered. Just
then, Kit noticed one of the blonde twins was bumbling in the direction of the people hiding in the shadows. He was headed straight toward where Kit knew they were waiting. Now she was torn. Apparently, the blonde men were allies of her friends and so should be protected. Yet, if Kit made a move to stop him before he ran into trouble, she would reveal her position and give up any element of surprise.
Before she could make up her mind, it was made for her when the second blonde man called out to the first. “Brody, come look at this,” he said, standing in front of a wall of framed posters. “All the big time champions.” Brody turned to look. Kit saw the figure in the shadows sneak forward and raise what looked like a club.
“Like pictures?” Brody asked, clearly not seeing the danger. Kit knew it was act now or never and she leaped onto the top of the row of chairs in front of her. With a quick twist of her wrist, she sent one of her small but lethal throwing stars in the direction of the shadow.
"Kit!" she heard Raven yell. "No!" It was too late for Kit to stop. The star flew true and would have struck the person with the club if not for Raven's shout. Turning, the stranger caught the star with a thunk in the wood of his club.
“What in the hell is going on?” the man in the cowboy hat roared. “For the love of Pete, Andy is that you back there? Are you nuts? And what in the world is the thing in the cloak?”
“That’s Kit. She’s with us,” Raven murmured.
“Well, I’ll be,” said the cowboy with a broad grin. “Get her up here. I need to see this. That was some kind of throw.”
