The signal was made and I had to wait and watch as Braden hopefully became one of the three left standing. If we could become two of the three, then we would be in the perfect position to give the Red castle a fighting chance at power. To me, it was not as important as the competition. To prove to these people that a woman could stand alongside a man would be worth a lot more than the Red castle getting its hooks into the Black castle. It kind of made me a little bit happy that we would usurp Lord Vadam and bring him down a peg.
“Braden, you are looking well today. I’ve heard of everything that you put yourself through this past year to get ready for this moment. To be honest, I really didn’t think that I would have to dispose of you. I guess it’s all a matter of the odds. I could’ve easily gone against your girlfriend or even Nicholas. If I had my choice, you would be the one that I would want to go against.”
“Let me guess, because you don’t think that I’m not much competition. Just, because you and I tangled last year and things didn’t go exactly well for me, doesn’t mean that there’s going to be a repeat performance.” This was all part of the game. Getting inside an opponent’s head was psychological warfare. They probably didn’t have a name for it here, but essentially they were trying to make the other one make a mistake.
“I’m not saying that you’re not competition, Braden. I’m just saying that you’re not competition for me.” They circled one another, gauging each other’s responses and seeing who was going to strike first. I didn’t like the way Xavier was smiling. It really did put people at an uneasy disadvantage. I just hoped that Braden wasn’t getting caught up in his mind games. If he did, he would feel overwhelmed and would do something that he would most likely regret later.
“I think that you should stop talking. There is something to say for being overconfident, Xavier.” I saw a blur of motion and Xavier was practically in the air with both feet over his head. He stepped forward and caught Braden underneath the chin. It was only a glancing blow, but I think he was just proving a point.
“I’ve been training all of my life. It’s not just for becoming one of the guardsmen. Last year, I came this close to finding that coveted spot. I will not be denied again. This is my destiny and whether you like it or not, you’re just an obstacle in my way.” Xavier had these huge hands and his reach was about 3 inches more than what Braden had.
Braden brushed his hand across the spot where Xavier had hit him with his foot. Xavier had done it with such grace and style that it was almost like it was second nature. That was a very difficult move to perform and yet he had done it like it was child’s play.
“That was just my way of announcing my intention. The next few shots are going to be quick and very painful. I know parts on the body that will make you scream, either out loud or inside your head. I’ll see it in your eyes and I’ll know that victory is at hand.” He did not have a normal stance. He basically stood there with his hands clasped in front of him with his head bowed and his eyes forward to look at Braden with a fixed stare.
Braden came in with five shots, including an elbow that briefly ruffled Xavier’s hair. Xavier had no wasted motion. He drove his fist into Braden’s stomach, but didn’t stop there. He continued to press forward, while putting his hand on the back of Braden to get more leverage. He followed that up with a right cross and then two knife edges to his throat. That attack made Braden stumble back and almost fall onto his ass. This guy was deadly and the worst part of it all was that he knew it.
“That was pretty…good. Let’s see what you can do it against…this.” Braden came after him with strike after strike and knee after knee. Xavier was smiling during the whole thing. He deflected each and every one of them. He struck Braden underneath the elbow and I could see the discoloration of his skin and the way that he was constantly rubbing that spot. It was causing him a lot of discomfort.
“It’s funny, Braden. You’ve given me your best shots and I haven’t even begun to show you what I can do.” I think it was about time that Braden tried that move, but maybe he was waiting patiently for that right moment. He couldn’t rush these things and if he did, he would throw his cards out there, before he was ready to.
Xavier moved like he was made of smoke, almost in slow motion, but it was only with a speed that seemed that way. He hit Braden on the jaw and face, while bringing his knees up to strike against his ribs.
He backed away, but Braden was feeling it. I could see the blood trickling from his mouth and one of his eyes had now closed over. It had this black and blue color that made him look like he had gone a few rounds with Mohammed Ali.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t look too good. It might be time to concede defeat. I would hate to have to kill you, but I will if I have to. I just finished telling you that this is my destiny and not…” He did not get a chance to say anything else. Braden had attacked and made a move that I wasn’t expecting. He leaped with both feet and even though Xavier moved, he did not go far enough.
He got struck on the shoulder and you could see from the way that his arm was hanging that his shoulder was dislocated. He grimaced slightly, but he narrowed his eyes and decided to improvise with the one arm that he did have.
“I told you that you should have shut up.” Braden looked a little too conceited. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to lose the edge that he had just gotten. “You really should know your opponent better than that. Those first couple of years was the perfect training tool to become better than I was. I don’t just use regular moves, I become unpredictable, so that not even you will know what’s coming.” He slapped Xavier across the face. It was not meant to do any harm, but it did throw Xavier off his game or so it seemed.
“Well, it appears that you have been honing your skills. It’s just too bad it’s not gonna make a damn bit of difference.” You would’ve thought with the damage that had been inflicted by Braden that Xavier would’ve been feeling like doing something reckless and careless. I would’ve thought that he would have attacked with anger in his heart, but he didn’t do that.
He once again showed his agility and even with the dislocated shoulder, he stood on one hand and used his feet, as his weapon of choice. It surprised Braden enough that he wasn’t expecting the move to come. He was slammed in the face twice and made to back away before he could do any more damage. His nose was bleeding and that one eye that had been given a shiner was now bleeding underneath the lid.
Braden kicked out in a sweeping motion down on the ground to go against Xavier’s vulnerable wrist. I heard the cracking of the bone and for the first time there was an anguished cry. Xavier crumpled with his head making contact with the ground. It compacted his spine and he would be lucky if he could walk after something like that.
Xavier struggled to his feet, but Braden was on him and then he was Airborne. He could only see through one eye, but it was more than enough for what he wanted to do. He was able to mimic the same move that I had done on him. He had his ankles locked behind Xavier's ears, as he attempted to use his weight and momentum to throw him over top of him. Unfortunately, Xavier grabbed onto his ankles, held him in the air and then planted him into the ground with such force that it actually blew the wind out of Braden.
Since he was on the ground and not moving the clock began ticking. It was a very tense moment, but after the 2 minute mark, he finally stood back on his feet. Xavier had not recovered sufficient enough to amount any sort of attack. He was still nursing his wrist. He was essentially only able to use his feet, because both of his arms were practically out of commission. He showed that that wasn’t going to deter him, as he began to kick straight out over and over again.
He did it for shock value and hopefully to catch Braden off guard. Braden for his part saw it coming and at first, I thought that he was going to be too stunned to do anything about it.
“Not so fast, Xavier.” Braden put both hands up underneath the one leg that was in the air. He pushed up into the air, t
aking Xavier off his feet. He landed with a terrible thud that everybody could hear. There wasn’t one person that wasn’t standing and taking in this spectacle.
Braden jumped on him and leveled blow after blow against his face and then concentrated his efforts on his stomach. Xavier did his best to try to defend himself, but it became almost painful to watch. Braden had this one track mind to put Xavier out of the competition. He could’ve stopped pummeling him at any time, but he continued, until he was reasonably sure that he wasn’t going to get back up.
If I thought that Braden looked bad after what Xavier had done to him, then it really didn’t compare. Xavier looked like a piece of meat that had been tenderized. His face was pretty bloody and a couple of his teeth had come loose from his mouth and was now sticking in the knuckle of Braden.
“That’s for last year.” Xavier tried to get up, but he was using his bad wrist. When he realized that wasn’t going to work, he tried his dislocated shoulder, but that was a no go. The clock was ticking and it was already up to the 3 minute mark, before he tried to use his feet to get back up. Unfortunately, he was too big and he needed his upper body to succeed at that task. “Never underestimate your opponent. That’s the one thing that you taught me and probably didn’t even mean to, Xavier.”
5 minutes went by and Xavier was carried out of there, but still alive. He most likely would feel humiliated and his ego would’ve been crushed, but the least he was still breathing.
“I think with that we will take a 20 minute recess. That should give you plenty of time to get ready for your next opponent.” He was directing his comments towards me and I felt like he was mocking me in some way. “You’re going to need everything that you can to go on to the next round.” He was purposely not mentioning Nicholas’s name. I didn’t know quite what to make of that, although his sinister stare made me think that I was biting off more than I could chew.
Braden walked over to me looking like he had just gone through the wringer, but he was smiling. “Shana, if I can do it, then you can. Trust in your instincts and in your training. I’ve seen you do some amazing things. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that you’ll be able to take Nicholas out. Nicholas is quick and he doesn’t lose focus. That doesn’t mean that he can’t be beat. There’s a reason why he stands here and not as part of the guardsmen. I was the one that took him out last year. He might think that it’s going to be easier with you, as his opponent. He doesn’t know what he’s up against.” Speaking of Nicholas, he was making his way over here.
“I just want to tell you that that was some amazing foot work. You surprised a lot of people, not to mention Lord Vadam himself. You may have not noticed it, but he was on his feet the entire time that you and Xavier were going toe to toe. This year is definitely different from other years. We not only know each other better, but we also have the threat of the attacks that have currently happened in Markham.”
“I appreciate what you’re saying, Nicholas. I just don’t think that it’s appropriate, considering that you’re going up against Shana in a few minutes. If you have something to say to her, then now is the time to do it. Once you’re out there, then all bets are off.” I could tell that Nicholas wanted to say something, but I had a funny feeling that it had nothing to do with the tournament.
“Shana, I want to thank you for showing me that new technique.” He was not talking about any kind of fight technique. He was talking about what I had done to him that Braden was always smiling about. “I plan to utilize that technique right after I become one of the guardsmen. I do like you, but do not mistake that for weakness. I will not let that call into play when I’m out there against you. Be ready, because like Braden, I’ve also been researching other techniques for the Garrock.” This was good to know and for him to tell me that only made me feel like he thought that he could beat me.
“Out there, it’s anybody’s game. It would be an honor to either beat you or be beaten by you, Nicholas. If it is all the same to you, I believe that I’m going to strive to beat you. I have a lot of supporters and to say that their dreams and aspirations are on my shoulders is a vast understatement. They need to see me fight and win. This is one thing that I will promise you, Nicholas. You will not walk away from this unscathed. You will remember fighting me for years to come. I will make sure that people are talking about this one fight. I want to become a legend.”
‘That’s easier said than done, Shana. May the best ‘man’ win.” He had emphasized the word man, just to get underneath my skin. The only thing it did was cement the fact that I had to do this for all woman kind.
I trained for the next 15 minutes with Braden using his hands for the target. Finally the time had arrived and Lord Vadam came back out onto the parapet looking out over his people. He looked too happy and I could see that smirk from a mile away. That was not a good smile.
“Under the letter of the rules it states that a competitor can return to competition if they weren’t eliminated by normal means. That being said, I believe that there is going to be another two competitors. Nicholas you’ll face Ansel. He is the alternate of the white castle.” I knew that he was waiting for the best for last. I had no idea what he was going to say, but I doubted very seriously that I was going to like it. “It’s only fair and fitting that this person comes out to introduce themselves.” I heard a door creaking and then I turned to see a figure emerge through the swirling dust that the wind had picked up.
Everybody was on their feet and the person with which I was going to have to do battle with was none other than… Gemini.”
Book 6
Chapter one
I thought that I was imagining it and that somehow I was seeing a hallucination. She was standing there and she was looking at me and I had to look back at Braden to see that his expression was exactly like mine. We were both stunned, completely taken aback by seeing Gemini walking like nothing had happened to her.
“What’s the matter, Shana? Are you are a bit surprised to see that Gemini is ready to take the fight to you? I have to admit that my medicine man did a great job of healing her wounds.” I saw that he was gloating and then looked to Gemini to see that she was not showing any ill affects of what my armor had done to her. That seemed almost impossible and I had literally beaten her to an inch of her life. There was no way that he could possibly get her back into fighting form in time for the tournament. Yet, the proof was in the way that she was now standing there with her hands to her side and waiting for me to make the first move.
I’m just a little surprised to see that she’s able to compete. She really did take a beating. I’m not you that she’s ready for something like this. I would hate to take advantage of somebody that wasn’t at 100%.” I knew that Braden was probably thinking the same thing. Gemini had seen who did this to her and I was curious of the fact that the guardsmen had not come into restrain me for prosecution.
“I can assure you that she’s fully capable. Her body is healed, but her mind is not completely unscathed. Apparently, the medicine has given her a clean bill of health, but it also left her with a case of amnesia. She remembers nothing of the last few days. In fact, she’s different, more focused and not at all interested in excuses. I think you can see that she’s not exactly the same woman that you remember, Shana.” I didn’t have the opportunity to look into her eyes, but when I did, I felt like this cold icicle being driven into my chest.
There was no emotion and she looked like she was some kind of drone doing the bidding of Lord Vadam. She stared me down, unblinking and I had this momentary thought that it would be nice to have my armor present. I wasn’t sure why I was thinking that, except that it felt good to punish her. My armor had taken the revenge in my heart and turned it on the woman that had become the bane of my existence.
“I’ve talked to her extensively and even though her answers were short and sweet, I became quite convinced that she was ready to step back into the tournament. Believe me, I was just, as shocked
as all of you, but pleasantly so. She is my crown jewel, my secret weapon and now she is more of a warrior than I could ever hope for.” There was nothing there, but this pure rage that seemed to direct itself at me.
“I don’t think that she’s completely ready. It would be better that she had more time to compose herself. Maybe this memory loss is only temporary and that certain things will jog her memory back to the surface of her consciousness.” I’d always been fascinated by the human mind. It was capable of a lot more than most people even could imagine. With positive thoughts and envisioning things to happen, you could practically roadmap your life the way that you wanted it to go. I was all about meditation, controlling my thoughts and sending out to the universe a message of self confidence. I found that only a few minutes a day had made it easier to control my thoughts.
“Are we going to do this or not?” Her voice was cold and I got this funny feeling that whatever love that she had for Lord Vadam was gone. He was now seeing her as the perfect vessel to destroy my chance of winning this for the Red castle. “I don’t have all day.” I had to take a step back, realizing that she was not going to get caught up in any petty arguments that we had previously had. She wasn’t even looking at Braden and this time my death would not be stopped because of her latent feelings for Braden. Nothing was going to stop her and the only thing that could was going to be me.
“I like her attitude. She doesn’t think of anything besides the task at hand. I think that I’ve always been looking for somebody like her, but have never found her. I think that we are all going to be very surprised by the results of this contest.” I was beginning to think that maybe all was lost, but then my mindset switched and began to see that the only thing that was stopping me from vanquishing my foe was me. If I believed that she was going to beat me, then I would be on the ground looking up at her unemotional face.
Alien Romance Box Set: Uoria Mates Complete Series (Books 1 - 10): A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance Page 65
