Tubby stood and looked at the door, then at me, then back at the door. Without any further prodding, he ran for his freedom.
Reevie yelped and pressed against my back as the giant boy flew past.
The crowds had stopped their chanting and were now openly calling for my head.
I left Reevie and Sapphire cowering by the door and ran across the arena to collect the other half of the pole hook, which I had dropped during my last encounter with the wall. I wanted to have both in case we needed to fight our way out, which we probably would.
When I made it back to the door, Reevie was holding some of the gauze from his bag. He quickly wrapped my chest before helping me with my socks, shoes, and shirt. The extra support helped with my broken ribs.
We headed back through the corridor leading up behind Hurricane’s risers. I poked my head out of the opening to see what was happening. The warehouse was in chaos. One look at Flesh Eater and Hurricane exploded into a crazed panic. In their rush to escape, they threw themselves into the other tribe’s sections.
An all-out battle ensued.
Kids were punching and kicking, head-butting and biting, pulling hair and gouging eyes—a weaponless war. Some of the kids were leaping from the stands down into the Pit, trying to get away from the giant monster. Others were thrown in as their hatred for each other overcame their fear of Flesh Eater.
Avalanche and Rockslide, the two tribes closest to the exit, made a mad dash before the tide hit them, but collided with each other, causing a whole new battle to erupt.
I could see Red fighting to get her tribe over to the left corridor while fending off fighters from Avalanche and Rockslide. This was my chance. I probably wouldn’t get another one like it.
“Get the armbands!”
“Which ones?” Reevie asked, opening the flap of his carry bag.
“Armbands? What armbands?”
“The red ones,” I said, ignoring Sapphire. Reevie dug through his satchel and came out with three strips of red material.
After our recent battle with Avalanche, I made sure Reevie kept a full selection of armbands with us at all times. You never knew when they might come in handy.
“Perfect,” I said. “Now put those on and stash the blue ones.”
Sapphire looked confused. “If we get caught impersonating another tribe, it could mean the end of us.”
“It’s going to be the end of us if we don’t get out of this warehouse. We need to—” I was interrupted by shouts from the other side of the corridor. Two boys exiting the arena made a rush for us, fists up.
Before I could get around Reevie, Sapphire had kicked the first in the chest, doubling him over, and smashed her elbow into the other’s face. The impact threw him against the wall where he bounced off and fell limp to the ground. She punched the first boy in the face and he dropped on top of the other one. Neither moved.
I smiled. “Impressive. And you didn’t even have to use your daggers.”
She waved airily. “Please. I could have taken those two with both my hands tied behind my back while hopping on one leg.”
“You should ditch that vest too.”
“Right.” Sapphire put her black vest inside Reevie’s satchel along with mine and tied on the red armband. “I can’t believe we’re about to do this.” Within moments, we went from being members of Hurricane to members of Wildfire.
“I think it’s time we go,” Reevie said. “There’s a break near the left wall.”
“Do you think you can manage on your own?”
Reevie nodded.
“Good. Then stay between us, but don’t stand too close.” He nodded and I took a deep breath and came out swinging.
Something inside of me changed. I could feel it. My magic was starting to return. I ducked to the side as a fist whistled over me. I blocked the boy’s elbow with one of my sticks and kicked him in the leg. He barely had time to hit the ground before I had clubbed him in the back of the head. Pushing Reevie out of the way, I diverted the next punch with a slap to the side of a girl’s arm, just enough to take it off course, followed with a swift strike to the face. She went down as well.
Behind Reevie, Sapphire was fighting two of Rockslide’s Guard, each carrying a shortsword. She was quite proficient with her two daggers as she managed to keep them at bay, but I didn’t know for how long. I jerked Reevie to the right just as a large boy dove past, expecting to tackle an easy target. The boy landed in the dirt and I kicked him hard enough to keep him there.
“Behind you!” I didn’t need Reevie to tell me. I had already seen them coming thanks to my magic. I waited for the two Avalanche beaters to get a little closer, letting them believe they had caught me off guard.
Three . . . Two . . . One. I leaped to my left, taking Reevie with me as the two boys swung at nothing but air, using odd-shaped pieces of wood as clubs.
Like many of the other kids, they had managed to find something to fight with even though weapons were strictly forbidden within the Pit. It didn’t take swords and knives to kill each other. If the kids couldn’t find a blade, they grabbed a hunk of wood. If that didn’t work, they beat each other unconscious with their bare fists.
I blocked their next two attempts and then ducked under a third, jabbing the sharp end of my stick into the first boy’s stomach. It wasn’t far enough to do serious damage, but enough to break the skin and make him think I had. Blood soaked through his shirt and he dropped his club and ran. The second got a good look at my eyes and realizing who I was, decided to follow his friend’s example and retreat.
Reevie grabbed my shoulder. “Help her!”
I spun in time to see Sapphire take a kick to the hip and go down. She barely had time to hit before I launched one of my clubs and caught the boy in the face. His sword fell from his hand and blood gushed from his nose, which was now bent at an awkward angle to the side. Sapphire grabbed his sword on her way back to her feet, and he took off running.
I threw myself against the second guard, forcing his attention away from Sapphire. He was at least two or three head taller than I was. He smiled, obviously thinking he had landed an easy prey. Apparently, not everyone recognized me by my eyes. All he saw was the red armband.
“After I’m through with you,” the guard said, “I’m going to club your little crippled friend over there and then teach your girl what it means to really scream. I hear Wildfire girls have a lot of spirit.”
I almost laughed. “Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.”
“I’ll show you who’s got spirit,” Sapphire said, launching herself on the guard. She attacked with the ferocity of a panther. He barely had time to block as she struck left, then countered and struck right, ducking and spinning as she danced around her opponent. His arms were flailing as he struggled to hold her at bay. She forced his guard high and then stabbed him with her dagger and he collapsed.
I pulled her back before she could finish him off. “Come on. He’s not going anywhere, but we need to.” I turned to get my bearings. I could see flashes of red up ahead. “Come on. We can’t afford to get stuck out in the open.” I grabbed the big guard’s sword.
We continued to fight our way toward the wall, me in front and Sapphire bringing up the rear. Several times, we were forced to stop and fend off another group of kids looking to fight. None of them walked away. Some ran in fear, others limped, but most went down and didn’t get back up.
So far, I had managed to keep from killing anyone. I was saving that special treat for Red or possibly Spats, if I ever saw him. The little redheaded traitor had once again managed to weasel his way into another retreat, leaving his tribe to fend for themselves. I wondered how much longer it would take before the tribe wised up and tossed him over the wall as a reject.
My magic started to wane. Through the battle ahead, I caught brief glimpse of Red fighting her way into the corridor leading out of the arena. She was quite deadly with her daggers. Her moves were graceful but direct. She didn’t waste energy with f
lashy elongated strikes, just enough to get the job done. She clearly had training.
It didn’t take us long to reach the wall. Getting from it to the passage out took a little more time. When we got there, the Wildfire Guard was holding the entrance to give their tribe time enough to get through.
We kept our heads down and blended in with the rest of the escaping kids with the red armbands. With the sort of chaos erupting all around us, I could have been standing next to Red and she wouldn’t have noticed.
I kept a tight grip on Reevie’s hand as we pushed our way through the torch-lit corridor. With that many bodies pressing against each other, my broken ribs were poked and prodded to the point of nausea. The only thing keeping me upright was the tight dressing Reevie had applied under my shirt and my own determination that Red wasn’t going to step foot outside these grounds with my father’s ring still in her possession.
I could see the open foyer just ahead over the river of bodies in front of us. We burst through the narrow passageway and flooded the vestibule like water spilling from a dam. The doors leading out were on our right and we followed the flow straight to them. I wasn’t sure what awaited us outside, but I knew whatever it was, I would be ready for it.
Flaming faeries, was I ever wrong!
The cooking pits were like large fireflies dotting the grounds from the stone warehouse to the main gate. What had been a deadly brawl inside the Pit had turned into a full-scale battle outside; especially considering each of those campfires held the weapons the kids hadn’t been allowed to carry on the inside.
“Dysentery!” Reevie shouted over the clash of steel and wood, and the cries of the wounded and dying.
“Stay close!” I yelled behind me. Reevie pressed against my back.
It was one thing to have survived a battle between two tribes, but to step out into an all-out war between all five was sheer insanity. Most of the tribes were fighting to reach the front gate. They had no more desire to be there than we did. There were some, however, that found the chance to lock blades with a rival tribe a thrilling endeavor. The majority wore either white or green armbands.
I tried to keep us near the center of Wildfire as we pushed our way ahead. Red was clearly trying to skirt the main battle and make a run on the gate. I had to give her credit for staying with her tribe and not playing the coward like another chief whose name I won’t waste time mentioning. She was proving to be a more competent leader than I had originally thought, especially considering her efforts to avoid direct confrontation and get her people out safely.
The stone gateway out of the depository was clogged with fighting, colored armbands everywhere. Most were in packs, but they were small and scattered all over the place.
I shivered. Something felt off, like before. The closer we got to the front where Red was shouting orders and cutting down those in her way, the more my magic withered within me. I was going to have to rely on my natural skills.
“On me!” Red shouted as a large group of white armbands from Avalanche attacked. I could see Cutter’s wide brimmed hat floating through the fighters as he attempted to cut her and her guard off from the rest of Wildfire. I had to admit, Cutter was a decent strategist, and his execution worthy of an Upaka.
It wasn’t that I cared one whit about Red, but the thought of that smug two-faced mongrel sticking her in the back and smiling as he did it didn’t sit right with me. The last thing these tribes needed was for Avalanche to grow any more powerful than it already was.
As we neared the wall, I pulled Reevie and Sapphire away from the others and stuck them behind a couple of unused haulers. “Stay hidden. I’ll be back.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Sapphire demanded, taking a step toward me.
“To stop Cutter.”
She raised her sword. “Good. I’m coming.”
“You need to stay here and protect Reevie. I can’t stop him if I’m constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure the two of you are safe.”
“Since when have you ever had to look out for me?” she snorted. “You’re the one that needs protecting, always jumping in head first without looking.”
“Reevie needs you more than I do. Keep him safe.”
Reevie pulled a dark bottle out of his bag, along with a couple long strips of cloth. “Don’t you worry about us,” he said as he held his breath and started dousing the cloth with the liquid from the bottle. “We’ll be fine. Do what you need to. We’ll be here when you get back.” The smell from the bottle burned my nose and left me feeling lightheaded. “Ether,” he said, holding up the soaked material. “Anyone who gets close enough will wish they hadn’t.”
I smiled, remembering dodging one of his bottles during our last confrontation with Avalanche as I ran toward the fighting. My magic was completely gone. Not having my gift to warn me of danger forced me to pay close attention to my other senses. I pushed through the Wildfire beaters to reach the fighting at the front.
In close combat like this, a shortsword, like the one I had liberated from the guard inside, was a versatile weapon—one I was able to use to my advantage. Most of these kids had never been in a real life-or-death fight before. Watching two people kill each other in a pit was nothing like facing it yourself. Inexperienced fighters are unpredictable, which can make them dangerous. There’s no sense to their methods. They simply react.
I reached the front lines, sword in one hand, stick in the other. I helped push back Cutter’s forces, giving Wildfire a chance to build momentum. I noted a few green armbands scattered across the wall of white in front of us. At this point, whichever side of the line you found yourself on was the side you were fighting with. It was absolute chaos.
I blocked with my stick and cut with my sword. A strike to the wrist knocked a dagger from one kid’s hand. The boy next to him went down with a swift kick to the knee. Both Avalanche and Wildfire beaters dropped around me, but the fight didn’t slow. For every white or green armband that went down, there was another to take their place.
I spun to my right, dodging a thrust to my gut. I was about to club the boy in the head when one of my fellow reds decided to beat me to it. But instead of bashing my opponent, he swung wide and clubbed me. I didn’t even have time to duck. White dots clouded my vision and everything went black for a moment as I fell. The back of my head throbbed. I felt around for an open wound, but only found a nice walnut-size knot.
The funny thing about being thrown to the ground in the middle of a battle is the perspective from knee-level is quite different. It can even lead to some surprising discoveries if you can manage to keep all those knees and feet from bludgeoning you in the face. For example, I realized that most of Avalanche’s fighters were barefoot.
From the waist down, everyone looked the same, nothing identified friend from foe except the direction of the toes. I decided toes that had chosen to point in my direction were fair game. With a smile, I raised the butt-end of my stick and bashed the closest set of toes. The owner yelled, and hopping up and down. Suddenly, he dropped to the ground in front of me, unconscious. Someone up there had clearly taken advantage of my work.
I moved to the next pair.
All around me, I bashed bare feet. For those unlucky enough to be wearing shoes, I stabbed them with the tip of my blade. Kids were going down left and right. I couldn’t help but think how proud Spats would be right now as I cut their feet. I cleared a large enough hole to not have to worry about getting clubbed by my own people. Of course, they weren’t really my people, so I didn’t feel the least bit guilty when I stabbed the person responsible for clubbing me in the first place. As soon as he started hopping around, I jumped up and whopped him on the back of the head.
Back on my feet, I blocked a high swing from another club with my sword and rammed my stick into the hefty girl’s unprotected midsection. I kicked her into the white-banded wall of fighters behind her, knocking several more down in the process. To my left, I could see Red and some of her guards strugglin
g to hold back a growing cluster of Avalanche beaters from getting to her.
None of her tribe had noticed her predicament. All they saw were white armbands in front of them and that was all that mattered. The only hope she had was me. I broke off my fighting at the front and pushed my way through the Wildfire ranks to reach her.
Behind Red’s guards stood the short pudgy one she had taken with her to the Guild meeting. He had a sword in his hand, but didn’t look like he had any idea what to do with it. This was definitely the first real fight the kid had ever been in. I still couldn’t help but wonder if he was a sibling. It would make sense she would want him close, for his protection.
In the distance, purple armbands flooded the stone arches leading out of the depository. Noph was playing it smart by pulling his tribe out as fast as he could in order to avoid getting ambushed by either Cutter or Kore. Intermingled with the purple were the blue bands of Hurricane. Spats had no doubt left them to their own fate and was probably back at the Temple by now ordering a warm dinner and a hot bath.
Up ahead, I caught my first full glimpse of Red. She was now down to a couple of guards and the little black-haired boy. He was slowly moving backwards and away from Red and the fight. If he was supposed to be her guard, he was the worst I’d ever seen, and if he was her flesh and blood, the thought of him trying to sneak away and leave her there was reprehensible. He never even saw me coming.
“Mind if I borrow that,” I said as I grabbed the sword out of his hand just before punching him in the side of the face. His eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp. Before he hit the ground, I felt something within me come alive. My magic exploded through my body like a caged animal being set free. I looked at the little kid. Now I knew why Red kept him around. He was the one suppressing my gifts. I didn’t have time to ponder how he was doing it. Red was now down to a single guard—Toothless.
I glanced down at the two swords in my hands. They felt right, like a natural extension of my body. I was finally whole again.
Hurricane (Street Rats of Aramoor: Book 2) Page 20
