The Great Game

by O. J. Lowe

Briefly, he felt a sense of elation running through him, this could be a decisive blow. Irrow, curse the thing, twisted below Palawi and managed to take the blow on the metal skin between its eyes, metal meeting metal with a deafening scrape. He winced at the sound, a brutal keeee-skreee ripping into his head but didn’t let it distract him. If whatever was going on with his head wasn’t distracting him, then that sound wasn’t going to.

  Irrow’s eyes looked unfocused for a moment by the blow and then it snapped to attention, raising both forelegs up…

  …Smashing one down to the ground, Palawi dodged only to be crushed by the second one falling even harder…

  … Scott didn’t hesitate this time, Palawi leaped out the way of the first one, barely dodged the second one, he saw the uniblast coming a few actual seconds before it left the jaws of the cavern crusher, Palawi already jumping high into the air before the blast tore into the ground cutting a deep groove through the dirt. He could see the stone glowing red where the heat had touched it.

  For the first time, Steven looked worried, adrenaline surged through Scott as Palawi dropped another blast of electricity down onto Irrow. This time it looked good, all five legs looked unsteady for a moment as Palawi landed on the cavern crusher’s head and fired off another blast at close range, the second in quick succession.

  … bringing one of the legs down onto its head, crushing Palawi to a bloody smudge…

  Already Palawi leaped free, just as one of Irrow’s giant clawed legs came smashing down into its head, there was an explosive clang and Scott saw the grooves left in the metal by the blow, could see the cracks spreading out from the point of origin like a spider’s web as it suddenly staggered woozily. It didn’t fall but just for a moment he thought it might until the eyes refocused. And they looked plenty mad.

  This time he didn’t get an early warning of what was coming but he didn’t need it, he saw the attack coming from a mile away with his eyes, not his mind. All five legs went crazy, Irrow trying desperately to smash Palawi down into the ground beneath it, crazily trampling the stone into dust-sized chunks as it flailed about. All brute force and no finesse. He could work with that. Still he needed to Palawi’s movements every few moments, giving warning when one was about to come down close to the hound but following the tantrum, the dog still stood relatively undamaged, if in possession of a dust-matted coat.

  As Irrow scanned the area, trying to search out Palawi, Scott gave the command and the dog lunged forward, his body enveloped in a swathe of static and hit the giant iron spider between its eyes, not stopping there but carrying on running up and up the huge face until he was back on the head again, ready to unleash a blast of electricity down into the shattered skull…

  …Rearing up, thrown back…

  … Not enough time for the blast, Palawi was hurled up into the air as Irrow rose high onto its back three legs and let out a huge roar from deep within its huge body that made Scott wince. The entire stadium felt like it was shaking under the sound. The electricity fired off impotently into the air and fizzled out into nothing.

  Shit! Scott saw it all twice, first in his mind and then with his eyes as Palawi flailed at the empty air, falling towards the open maw ready to swallow him whole.

  So near, yet so far… He’d nearly done it and now he’d blown it. Those jaws were big, it had managed to swallow Palawi without biting down and that was the only thing that gave him some slight relief. If it had bitten down, it would be all over and he’d be out. As it was…

  He’d had a strategy earlier, one with Crush that he’d need to deploy now. It wasn’t quite the same but it would have to do. Just for a moment it flitted across his mind and suddenly it exploded through him like a river of perfect clarity. Scott’s face lit up with a smile, he could still connect with Palawi despite the six inches of iron between them and that was all he needed.

  Everything you have, pooch, he thought. Right now. Don’t hold back.

  It couldn’t be armoured on the inside, surely. He could feel Palawi struggling for oxygen, he hoped there was enough to get do what needed to be done. Irrow looked uneasy, like it was struggling with indigestion. That more than anything gave him a huge amount of hope that it was working. Steven looked worried, doubtless he could sense discomfort through the connection he shared with Irrow. The cavern crusher continued to struggle, wobbled unsteadily on its back three legs, scratched at its body with the two forelegs. A deep moan escaped its jaws, just for a moment as its mouth opened, Scott saw a glimmer of light deep inside.

  Pal?

  Nothing. He couldn’t sense Palawi anymore and that sudden lack of a presence within him hurt, he almost bent over double and retched.

  No! No! Not like this!

  All in silence of course, all the better to hear the suddenly audible crack that broke around the arena, followed by the sudden bellow of pain. He jerked his head up, glanced out to Irrow who was suddenly clawing at its eyes. As it lowered the forelegs, Scott felt his spirits rise once more, he saw the cracks running down the pupils, just before…

  …Cutting and shredding, mangling naked flesh…

  … He threw a hand up in front of his face to cover himself from the debris, blood and glass raining down on him, shredding a few dozen grazes into his arm. If he hadn’t, it would have been his face. Somewhere ahead of him, he heard a giant thud drowning out a howl, his arm stung in the sun and slowly he lowered it away from his eyes to the sound of panting.

  Scott dared to look down. Palawi sat there, tongue lolling out and fur covered in a sticky black substance that he’d rather not think too deeply about. Behind him, Irrow lay defeated, two great holes where the eyes had been moments earlier. Even if it could get back up, it wouldn’t be able to see and Palawi would have two great targets to fire electricity into.

  It didn’t matter, because as the crowd rose as one in an ocean of rapturous applause, the video referee announced the conclusion of the bout and Scott bent down to scoop the victorious Palawi high into the air, all pain in his arm suddenly gone and right there and then, he felt on top of the world, like no challenge was too great for him to overcome.

  Oh yes!

  It was the first time Peter Jacobs had found himself truly surprised in quite a while as he exited the stadium, almost walking into a way too familiar redhead in a scruffy black dress and oversized belt combination as he hit the outside air. In the stadium, you didn’t notice the heat quite as much. Out here, he suddenly felt the need to mop his brow. Which he did as he contemplated several sarcastic comments he could hurl at the girl.

  “So,” he said, mentally high-fiving himself. Way to go Pete, that’s the highlight of wit. “Stranger.”

  Jess turned, glared at him. Ah, he hadn’t missed that. Not even in the slightest. He folded his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts and shot her a grin to counter her glare.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she said. Her expression softened a little. “I thought you were Scott.”

  “No, you really didn’t,” Pete said. “I look nothing like Scott. We’re different colouring for a start. And I’m taller. That’d be like me confusing you for someone who isn’t a complete bitch.” Ouch, he mentally congratulated himself on that one. What a burn.

  For a moment, he saw the look on her face and steadied himself for the tirade that was surely about to come that way. He’d had a moment of bravado and he was surely about to pay for it. One simply did not just talk to Jesseka Blake like that without serious reprisals.

  They never came. For a moment, she looked ready to cut loose at him and then her lip trembled. Apparently, the surprise was more contagious than he’d been willing to believe before. She turned her head away and just for a moment, he felt bad. Really bad. Maybe he should apologise… He should but that’d be giving in. He wouldn’t put it past her to be faking just to wring one out of him.

  Or, he could just act like a human being. He gritted his teeth and sighed. This was going to be painful. “Ah, I’m sorry Jess. Been a long few days. Noth
ing personal.”

  She didn’t say anything, he frowned and strode to her. Her eyes were red, she looked tired and suddenly he felt worse than he had before.

  “You don’t look good,” he said.

  “Way to state the obvious,” she said. Her voice lacked the usual snarl. For a moment, she looked vulnerable, small and very, very worried. “What’s next?”

  “How about I ask you what’s up?” he asked. “I thought you’d left the island when you and Scott…” She stiffened at the name. “… split up.”

  “I’ve not…” She rubbed at her eyes, he could see they were wet. “I think I made a horrible mistake.”

  Slowly he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat. “Well it’s a bit late now, I think.” That didn’t sound reassuring, he quickly realised as she looked even worse than she had a few minutes since. “Although I might be wrong. It’s been known to happen. Come on, let’s get you out of here. I’m sure you don’t want people to see you like this. My room’s pretty private.”

  He wasn’t quite sure he was comfortable with the way she linked her arm in with his as they left the area outside the stadium. Sure, it could be a neutral gesture. At the same time, he was glad that Scott wasn’t here to see it. Last thing he wanted was his best friend to do something stupid like see his ex and feel some pity for her and go back to someone who’d been completely horrible to him.

  Even if he was putting himself on the line by putting up with her. He cut a rough smile, weary but ready on his face. They might not like each other especially but they did have some history together. They’d known each other for a decent amount of time. Long enough for him to be a shoulder to cry on. And it wasn’t like Scott was going to find out. He’d be sure of that…

  She glanced around his room and gave him a sad lopsided smile that he returned with a heavy heart. Jess Blake should not look like that. He’d never seen her cry, he’d always thought she was like a Vazaran and just got more pissed off. “So, this is where you’ve been living?”

  “Yep,” he said. “Sure is.”

  “Smells like it.” Her grin perked up just a little and she folded her arms as she sat down on the edge of her bed, her hands on the edge as she straddled it.

  “You know, I’m rapidly running out of sympathy if you’re commenting on my personal hygiene,” Pete said, sitting down next to her. He put an arm round her and sighed. “Look it’s not important. I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I think Scott’s moved on.” He felt her stiffen at that. He went with someone to that…”

  He felt her anger flare up as she jerked away from his arm, glaring at him. “Was it that little bitch Mia?”

  Okay, no easy way to answer that… He shrugged. “Not sure.” It sounded like a lie even as it left his lips. “Might have been. Might have been someone else built like her.” And looked like her. And had similar hair. And was also called Mia. None of which he said aloud. “I don’t think it was though. I never saw her up close.”

  Something which had been tugging at him ever since Scott had first mentioned the arguments popped to the forefront of his mind and he looked at her with sincerity in his expression. “It was a bit of a weird night. A weird spirit dancer guy tried to kidnap…” Mia… “… Someone. It was a messed-up night.” He’d gotten into the news over that. Him and Scott and Mia and Wade and Harvey Rocastle all part of the same article. Scott had saved one as the background on his summoner screen, he was apparently that proud of it. He wasn’t sure why, it had made the two of them sound like they’d cocked it up. Now, it felt like one of the last things in the world he wanted to bring up. “Jess, I talk to Scott, right? He said some stuff, you know. About Mia and…”

  He swirled saliva around in his mouth, wondering how best to word it. She glared at him and he decided to come out with it. “Okay so why is it you went into a jealous rage every time he even went near her? I’ve never seen you do that before with anyone else. And even then, is Scott worth it? I mean, I’m at least twice as good looking as he is and he seems to be having to beat the ladies off with a stick.”

  She said nothing, just tried to bore him through with the intensity of her stare. An intensity dulled by the smudged black around her eyes. He stared back. Nothing he wasn’t familiar with. She wasn’t going to get to him.

  “I don’t like her,” she said. “Mia Arnholt, the little harlot has a bit of a reputation on the spirit dancing circuit.”

  Something twigged in Pete’s memory. “Hey, that isn’t why Rocastle wanted to kidnap her, is it?”

  Jess snorted. “Rocastle is a fucking freak of nature. All cock and no balls. Don’t even think he leans towards women, the giant mincing cunt. Whatever he wanted her for, it wasn’t to fuck her.” Unsurprisingly, Pete had already gotten that impression from that night on the rooftop.

  “What sort of reputation?” he asked. “I thought you were all sleazy as hells anyway?”

  She ignored that. “Okay so she slept with a bunch of guys on the circuit.”

  “Yeah. Your point is?” Pete wasn’t impressed. He’d expected a little more than that. That alone wasn’t quite enough for stupidly irrational jealousy

  “Couple of them weren’t single.”

  Ah, that might explain it. He smiled and said as much. “So, you were worried she might steal Scott from you?”

  Jess rose up to her full height, putting his eyes level with her breasts and narrowed her gaze at him. “No. I was worried Scott would fall for her I’m-such-an-innocent-little-cock-tease act. I mean, we’d had problems before that…”

  “Yeah you did a great job of trying to hide it,” Pete said breezily. “I only got the impression it was trouble in paradise once or twice a week. Just let me get this straight. You were worried she’d steal him from you so you broke up with him. I love the way you think.”

  “Well what was the point?” Jess said with real anger in her voice. “He wasn’t making things easy, we’d been fighting a lot, it wasn’t going anywhere. He loved spirit calling more than he did me. I’m not going to be second fiddle to a damn sport!”

  “Yeah, you’re better than that,” Pete replied. “And don’t get me wrong, I think one day he might regret what happened between the two of you. But…” He reached out, put a hand on her arm and fished around for the right way to phrase it. “But, Jess, that day isn’t today. It probably isn’t going to be any time soon. You can do better than Scott. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy like a brother but he annoys me sometimes.”

  She raised an eyebrow quizzically and smiled at him. It was the sort of smile he wasn’t used to seeing her give him. It was almost friendly. When she’d walked in, she’d looked haggard and tired, like the world was wearing her down. Now, he could see the reassurance in her eyes. She sat down, rested a hand on his.

  “It’s nice of you to say,” she said. “Of course, you might just not want me back near your friend. I was never very nice to you, was I?”

  “No, you were a complete bitch. And here I am being nice to you. What does that say about me?”

  “You lack judgement skills,” she murmured, ignoring the bitch comment. She glanced into his eyes, the intensity still there but different. Her pupils were dilating, her cheeks flushed with colour. “Or I’ve been reading you wrong for a long time.”

  “I think you might very well have been,” he said. “Hey, we all make mis…”

  Whatever he might have been about to say was lost as her lips met his, taking him by surprise at first but slowly he returned the gesture. She tasted like strawberries, he felt that twist of arousal in his stomach. Somewhere at the back of his mind, a warning blared out how wrong this was and he wanted to listen to it. He really did. He could taste her as he crushed his mouth down on hers, her fingers fumbling for the clasp on his belt as he pushed her down onto the bed, one hand pulling up the hem of her dress to her waist. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath it.

  By the time he’d gotten his boxer shorts down his legs, he was roc
k hard and ready, their lips still in tandem as he teased her playfully, felt her stiffen with anticipation. Even amidst ecstasy, he caught that look of exasperation at his actions and he sped up entering her slowly at first and then gradually more vigorously. She was warm and wet, every motion bringing out a strangled cry of pleasure as they became little more than a frenzy of pure animal emotion on the bed.

  Amidst it all, the absurdity of the situation never crossed his mind, instead the moment caught up with him and all he could think of was her, in a fashion he’d never imagined her before.

  “Unbelievable.”

  Derenko sounded annoyed and Lysa Montgomery couldn’t blame him. They’d met together, the six of them in one of the cafes for an informal meeting. Her, Derenko, Fank Aldiss, Anne Sullivan, Jacques Leclerc and Al Noorland. No doubt it looked a strange meeting but hey, it was turning into that sort of tournament. Anywhere else, it might have looked even stranger. Here, they might just get away with it.

  “I’m afraid that it isn’t so,” Leclerc said. “Wolf Squadron was wiped out.” His knuckles went white as he gripped the table. His allegiances to the squadron were well known. He had flown with them for a while before he’d transferred to field duty. A lot of field agents were qualified to fly cross-kingdom aeroships, it didn’t make him too special. Warships were a different matter though. Only the best of the best found themselves behind the controls of those. Lysa had heard rumours that he bore the squadron’s insignia tattooed on his back. Whether it was true or not, she couldn’t say. “Could you back me on this, Alvin?”

  “It’s true,” Noorland said. “I saw the reports. The transcripts of the radio transmissions from Wolfmeyer and his squad. They were wiped out. And Rocastle vanishes into the sunset.”

  “This is getting worrying,” Aldiss said. “I mean; do we think this is random?”

  “I don’t believe in coincidence,” Derenko replied. “I don’t think anyone else here does. Reports say it was the Vazaran Suns. I’m already making a case to the director that we investigate this further. This sort of behaviour cannot be allowed to stand.”