Bonnie joked they had to have as much sex as they could before marriage because wedding cake killed libidos. With how Niko was, he didn’t think that was possible. Bonnie called their situation monogamous flirtation, as in she was flirting with monogamy. That was enough for Niko. In the end, they were busy. She drove buses, wrote music, and played clubs. He trained and worked, worked and trained, buying the vapes and tinctures Wochick recommended.
She asked about Taylor Sebastian. Niko changed the subject.
Niko arrived at the Bay City Stadium early, a little before noon, for the three o’clock fight. He’d had to work that morning, or else he’d have been there earlier to attend the panels and workshops put on by the BCBA. He wanted to keep an open mind. He wanted to continue to learn. The Pranad said that a closed mind is a rigid mind, easily broken.
The parking lot was much fuller than expected. He wasn’t sure how the BCBA managed to book the stadium, and he’d though since it wasn’t a League match, it wouldn’t be that full. He was wrong.
People were tailgating. He’d have to let Bonnie and Teddy know.
“Dude, that’s Niko Black!” It was the guy with the beer gut, Stan Howling’s fan. He’d let his hair grow long, and he stood there with round women and guys sitting in lounge chairs, drinking beer. “Niko, hey, come on over!”
Niko wore his street clothes; his Artist robes filled his backpack. It had been a long time since he’d been recognized in public. Even longer since he’d been approached by fans, and those generally had been the parents of his friends. And his parents. They didn’t really count as fans.
Niko put out a hand. Beer Gut took it. “Brent Kerch. This guy, Jason, this guy is the one who stood up with zero sharira. He went back to his corner. Totally pissed off the Arena Master. And then, at the last BCBA, get this, he wins and then kneels in his corner and bows to the Artist he defeated. Class act.” Brent was a bit drunk, but more than that, he was excited about Niko.
Jason raised a can. “You go, Niko.”
“So are you repped now by Hennessey?” Brent asked.
Before Niko could answer, a wide woman pushed forward. “No, he’s fighting for Danni Dragon. You know, Brent, she’s been wiping the tiles with Artists up and down the central coast. She’s Unrepresented.”
Brent nodded. “Danni Dragon is awesome. She uses all these Harmonic Studies. And she’s not some young thing. She has some meat on her bones.”
“And she wins!” The wide woman pushed a hand into Niko’s. “I’m Cynthia, Brent’s sister. We’ve been watching you online, well, I have. Ballsy, leaving the Premiers. We have a bunch of friends in the BCBA. Well, I do.”
“I do too!” Brent insisted. “I was the one who told you about Niko Black.”
“You forgot he’s fighting for the Sages. Come on.”
Brent shrugged. “Well, he’s still rising up in the ranks. And I already have my favorites. But you’re right. You’re right.” He thumped a hand into Niko’s arm. “We’ll be cheering for you. I’m always looking for the little guy to support.”
Niko nodded. This was familiar. You get a fan, they’re excited, but then there’s that little you’re not as big as their other favorites. The appropriate response was gratitude. “Thanks, Brent. I have to run. We’ll see what today brings. Me, Evelyn Beast, and the Peacemaker are excited for the match.”
Cynthia laughed, smile wide. “I’m a little disappointed that Danni isn’t fighting, but she really likes Evelyn and Paxton. She’s been talking them up online. I’m curious to see Evelyn Beast in action. With a name like Beast? I bet she’s full of surprises.”
“You have no idea.”
A guy with a big, bristly beard walked over. “If they’re so good, how come no agent will touch them?” He was young, grinning, thin, and his arms flexed. He was an athlete of some kind.
Niko didn’t want to engage. This was going to become a normal question for him, he could feel it.
Cynthia came to his defense. “Whatever, Alex. Maybe they had some bad breaks. Maybe they don’t want to play the game. Maybe they want more control over their own careers. Maybe they don’t want to give someone fifteen percent when they’re not making that much. Maybe you shouldn’t talk trash unless you have an agent.”
Niko pointed to the woman. “What she said. It’s Alex, right?”
He nodded, and his beard nodded with him.
“Watch what we can do. You can make up your own mind.”
Alex crossed his arms over his chest while flexing. “I will. Niko Black, right?”
“That’s right.” Niko shook hands with Cynthia again. “Thanks for standing up for us Unrepresented.”
She gripped his hand with both of hers. “You’re welcome. I’ve been following Danni Dragon’s career since she got back in the game. She did have an agent, only, her homelife wasn’t so good. She tried to keep it hushed, you know, because she has class. Still, trying to become a career Artist at fifty can’t be easy. A lot of agents aren’t going to touch her.” Cynthia realized she’d been holding his hand a bit too long. “Sorry.”
“That’s ageism,” Brent said.
“It’s smart,” Alex insisted. “How much of a career can she have left? Yeah, some Artists fight into their seventies, but not many. You can’t cycle your way into immortality.”
“That doesn’t make it right.” Cynthia grinned at Niko, her eyes sparkling. He found he didn’t mind, not at all.
“Take Niko here.” Alex wasn’t the kind of guy who shut up easily. “You sign him on, and if he doesn’t get hurt, or screw up his life, he could be fighting for you, making money, for thirty more years easily.”
Niko glanced at his watch. He wanted to get into the stadium. The BCBA was putting on a luncheon, and he didn’t want to miss out on the free food.
“Just watch us,” he said. “Things are changing. I just wish I would’ve found Danni and the Sages earlier.”
Other people drifted over. Niko shook some more hands and heard more names, and he tried to remember them all, but there was no way. He thought about asking them to like his So-Me page. No, that seemed like a dick move, desperate, and uncomfortable.
He did see some people wearing Danni Dragon T-shirts, with her logo and her face across their chests. He felt bad for a second. She should be fighting.
It was too late. On the website, the match had already been set up—Niko Black, Evelyn Beast, and the Peacemaker against Cooper Ramsey, Nance Iron, and Darkstar Banks, otherwise known as Timothy, Marjory, and Henry.
Niko didn’t feel nervous. He felt anticipation. In the end, he couldn’t lose. A victory would let him know he’d been right to leave the Premiers. A defeat would be just another lesson, another pebble, on his way to the peak.
Walking into the stadium, Niko felt a sharp stab of nostalgia. He and Taylor had come to see an LBA tournament, right before all the trouble went down his senior year in high school. To think, he was there to fight.
Should he open up to Bonnie about Taylor? It didn’t seem like the right time yet.
Inside, a security guard found Niko’s name on his list, searched his backpack, and then let him inside. People were milling about, concessions were open, and a thrill went through him. These were fans. They would see him fight. This was really happening.
He walked across the cement of the vast corridor. A booth sold merch from Andrew J. Coffey, Angel Ayunar, and Drake Shade. Would there be Niko Black T-shirts at some point? Undoubtedly. Danette had gotten into the merchandizing game, and she could show him how.
Then again, he wasn’t sure he wanted to keep the Niko Black name. Bonnie kept throwing out suggestions. Nothing stuck.
He found elevators that would take him up to the suites. Henry was standing there, already in his robes, which were dark scarlet with an orange sunburst on the back.
He saw Niko and lifted his chin.
Niko nodded back. He clung to his calm.
The two stood in front of the elevator, and it was as awkward as hel
l. Niko thought about letting go of his thoughts, maybe doing a few rounds of the Duodecim, but instead, he wanted to talk. What could he say?
Henry cleared his throat. “Niko, I couldn’t join that other group. I thought you might be good for them, though. What Barton and Andrew did was messed up, making you fight to stay. And then Barton chose Marjory. I thought I had a chance. My numbers are good. Oh well.”
Niko checked, and Henry was staring straight ahead at the doors. That seemed like a good idea. “Henry, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. We don’t just train together. We’re friends. There’s not that crazy competition among us.”
“I had that in Angel City.” Henry sighed. “We were tight. That changed, though. Once I got an agent and some notoriety, they couldn’t handle their jealousy. They started to talk about me behind my back. It was a lot of high school drama. It got so bad, I had to quit.”
“What happened to your agent?” Niko asked.
“She was trying to get me into Vannix House, I was about a week away from a big contract, and then, she dies on me. The whole deal fell through. I had Melanie Mohr.”
Of course Niko knew who that was. “It’s messed up.”
Cynthia had mentioned bad breaks. The business could be so infuriating. “Why didn’t one of her other agents take you on?”
“They already had their stable of Artists. No room for me. I moved up here, after Barton suggested I work with the Premiers.” Another sigh. “Not sure how much more of Timothy’s BS I can take.”
“Yeah, I had my fill. Obviously.”
The elevator doors opened. They shuffled inside. Niko pushed their floor, turned, and put out a hand.
Henry shook it. “Don’t eat too much at this thing. The worst thing you can do is puke during a match. The Arena Masters hate it, and the fans won’t forget it.”
“Thanks for the advice. I think we could’ve been friends.”
Henry dropped his hand and stepped to the side. “Maybe. But now, we’re going against each other in the Arena. There are no friends there. And we’re coming for you, Niko. We don’t have history with the other two in your Triumvirate. You, though, we have history.”
And none of it was good.
The BCBA put on a nice buffet in a big hall. Niko sat with the Sages.
The Premiers, along with the superstar headliners, crowded around a big table with their agents, which included Barton.
Niko didn’t eat much. Pax, though, stuffed himself. When Niko warned, he just grinned. “I’m a nervous eater. And I got a cast-iron stomach. I’ll be fine.”
After the lunch, they went to their lockers, put on their Artists robes, and walked out onto the field. The lower tiers of the stadium were packed.
In all those faces, he couldn’t find anyone he knew. That didn’t matter. He knew Teddy and Bonnie were there, as were Brent, Cynthia, and their little group. When Danni Dragon raised her fist, a whole section cheered.
Evelyn was pale, visibly nervous.
Pax waved and waved. “Welcome to the big time, guys.”
“No,” Danni said. “This isn’t the big time. This is a nice little Saturday afternoon match. I might as well be knitting.”
Niko knew she was right. This was only a pebble.
The First Accident
THE STADIUM ROSE UP around them, the sky blue, the air warm. The morning fog had burned off and the evening fog was hours away. Golden posts had been brought in, with a red ribbon stretched between them. This wasn’t the aluminum and cable of MudCon.
Danette stood with Niko, Pax, and Evelyn in their corner. Across were the Premiers, three of them. Diana and Seo-yun weren’t there, which kind of surprised Niko. Then again, they weren’t friends.
This time, both Barton and Andrew stood in the ring. They introduced Cooper Ramsey, Nance Iron, and Darkstar Banks, pausing on their bios. Letting the BCBA applause storm through the stadium, or at least the lower levels. There still weren’t the crowds of a League of Battle Artists match, and yet, it was twice as big as the last Quarterly Con.
Barton and Andrew introduced Evelyn Beast, but it was simple, her abbreviated title and that she was a Luna Battle Sign, Venus Belt. Pax didn’t have as much of a bio either, only that he was a Masonry, and they didn’t even mention his belt.
And then Niko Black, coming last. Andrew yelled out, “He’s the Artist you love to hate and hate to love, and while he’s only a Mars Belt in Quintessence, he is full of surprises. Local favorite, and an Underdog, clap, but not too loudly, for Niko Black.”
People from the BCBA actually booed. He’d turned his back on them. And yes, Danni Dragon had brought her fans, and he had his own. While he loved the applause, the sneers and jeering fired him up. He wasn’t going to lose. He was going to stand up with the Sages, proudly. He came forward and raised a fist in the air.
He found Bonnie in the crowd, standing next to Teddy, and he nodded at them both. Teddy was screaming loud enough to turn his face purple. Bonnie cupped her hands around her mouth and hooted.
That only made the boos louder. Andrew smiled at them. Barton lost all expression on his face. He was seeing the reaction.
Niko knew what that meant. You could build a career on hate as much as you could on love. What he was looking for was a strong emotional reaction. He got it. It seemed you either adored Niko Black or you loathed him.
The agent and the Artist then ducked under the ribbon.
The rituals continued.
The Zenith Spin fell on the scales symbol on the tiles. Radiance. That wouldn’t help any of them, or so it would seem. However, Niko felt something in his core. That Radiance part of him, the part that let him see the delicate balance between prana and sharira. He’d kept it a secret. And of course, Pax hadn’t let anyone know about his Sanguine Second Study.
They were going up against tough opponents. They needed every little edge.
The rules of a Triumvirate match were simple. Three rounds of five minutes each. Anyone whose sharira dropped below ten percent would be removed. The winning team would be the one with the most Artists still standing at the end of the match.
The Arena Master created the playing field. A strip of asphalt appeared across a desert. The red ribbons came alive in glowing crimson, marking the edge of the sand. The stadium was big enough that any errant powers wouldn’t be able to reach the front seats. The field was cleared of spectators. Danette stood back.
The Arena Master and his six assistants stood outside of the tiles. Each of the assistants was connected to the prana of an Artist.
The six Artists met at the center of the Arena. Timothy and Marjory were silent, as was Henry. They were sweating and focused.
Evelyn wasn’t going to say anything, she was quiet by nature, and Niko had talked enough with his former critique partners to last a lifetime. Pax, though, wasn’t going to leave without a snide comment. “We’re going to show you three that you should’ve been nicer to Niko. I hope that an ass-whooping will teach you guys some humility.”
There were dozens of quotes about humility in The Pranad. None came to Niko’s mind. And then, they were back in their corner.
“They really should’ve been nicer to me.” Niko smiled. “Thanks, Pax.”
“Let’s just win this, okay?” the big man said. “You stay back. Save your prana. Evelyn and I will do the heavy lifting.”
The Arena Master shouted, “Let the Artistry commence!”
The first round went fast. Niko tried to stay back, but it was clear the Premiers were gunning for him. Henry hurled fire. Evelyn steamed it away. And yet, Niko took damage, his sharira dropping to seventy-five percent.
Timothy tried to separate Niko from the others, only to find himself up against a wall fashioned by Pax from the asphalt.
Evelyn was there, suddenly, striking Timothy a solid punch, fueled by her First Study, Tidal Force. It knocked him down and halved his sharira.
Marjory created her staff, which glowed copper as she struck at N
iko. He was forced across the sand, and he had no choice but to use his Second Study to dodge out of the way. He flashed to the other side of the Arena, where he dodged more of Henry’s flame attacks.
The first round ended, and Niko and the other Sages gathered at their corner. They were all down on prana, having used fifty percent in the first round.
The Premiers, however, were all above eighty percent.
Evelyn frowned. “Their technique is really good. They are using their Studies at will, and only paying a small price for it. We have to get better.”
Pax wiped sweat off his face with a big paw. “Yeah, they’re tough. But we have tricks up our sleeves. Let me take the brunt of their attacks this round. They gave me asphalt to play with. I love asphalt.”
“Do you feel the Radiance in your core, Niko?” Evelyn asked.
He wasn’t sure. He had at the beginning. Then the fighting had started, and he’d focused on his Quintessence abilities.
From the Arena Master. “Artists ready?”
Yep, they all were.
“Round two. Let the Artistry continue!”
Round two went by quickly.
Pax did well, throwing up walls while Evelyn ran interference. She danced in front of a Premier, drew their fire, and then every attack went right through her as she phased using her Second Study. While the Premiers had more prana at their disposal because of their almost flawless technique, Evelyn had mastered her abilities, moving gracefully. Calling her a beast was laughable.
Niko found himself up against Timothy, able to dodge his attacks without using prana, and he even struck him a couple of times, spending prana to reinforce his punches. They were wearing down Timothy’s sharira. Timothy wiped blood from his nose and doggedly went for Niko.
In a burst of speed, the Premiers Sanguine caught Niko with a vicious kick to his side. Evelyn drove a fist into Timothy’s back, and Timothy’s sharira went down to nineteen percent. He was the most wounded of the Premiers by far.
The round ended, and again, the Sages conferred. Pax’s prana was at eighteen percent. Evelyn’s was at thirty. Niko was at forty-five percent.
Sages of the Underpass Page 27
