Maxym
MAXYM
I spin around the training arena, coming back at Klynn, who parries my first blow but is slammed to the floor with my second.
“Stay down,” I growl at him as I press my knee on his chest, disarming him with a flick of my weapon. “Or you’ll regret it.”
He gives me a brief, lopsided grin, his teeth covered in blood, which he wipes away with his empty hand.
“You chose the wrong sword for me.”
“You chose the wrong Gryn to bait. I am not Blayn,” I growl back.
Across the arena, there is a deep roar of appreciation.
“Well done, .” The captain approaches as I let Klynn get to his feet and shake the sand out of his feathers. “I’ve not seen you in such good form for a while.”
“New weapons.” I look down my sword blade. “Best we’ve had.”
Klynn huffs a harsh laugh.
“Which reminds me, you need to be back in the armory later. The female from the weaponsmaster is returning to fit out the challengers today.”
Klynn is silent. Which is good, because had he made a sound, I’d have beheaded the vrexer. I give the captain a brief bow.
“As you wish.”
“You volunteered.” He snorts. “Not a great use of your time, but if it means I don’t have to go chasing you through the undercroft…both of you…then so be it.”
“Both of us?”
“You think I’m letting either of you alone with the challengers? You’ll both protect the female today. And neither of you will lift a sword, or any other weapon, in anger, or you’ll end up back in the hole and lose your bonuses for the games, understand?”
Klynn looks across the arena, squinting as if he’s seen something interesting.
“If they touch her…” I growl.
“It’s your job to protect her, but you will not engage otherwise, or you’ll never get a pass again,” the captain says firmly.
It’s clear his mind is made up. I’m stuck with Klynn whether I like it or not.
“I’ll let you have some time with the little female,” Klynn murmurs as the captain leaves us, his bulky form lumbering away across the training arena. “Protection duty doesn’t have to start with me.”
“What will you do instead?” I ask, relief flooding through me because as irritating as Klynn is, I’d rather not kill him today.
“I have plans,” he says mysteriously. “Cover for me until I get there.”
Klynn is rarely coherent, so I flare my wings and give them a shake.
“Okay.”
“You owe me one.” Klynn scoops up his sword from the arena floor and waggles it at me as he backs away. “And I will best you, later, in the dome.”
Like the vrexer ever has. No one has beaten me, and with my new weaponry, no one will.
I make sure I’ve bathed before I head to the armory. My feathers are still damp, but my desire to be there when she arrives is solid.
She will be greeted by a Gryn who will nest for her, when I have gathered all the things I need. And sparring with Klynn has taken precious time away from my search.
“What are you doing here, Gryn?” A Zarvu guard, his face covered by a helmet which is entirely unnecessary, asks.
“None of your business,” I growl at him. “Stand aside.”
“I can have you sent back to the hole, gladiator . You belong to the dome, it doesn’t belong to you.” He sneers.
I feel the anger rising, the need to do violence which is always sitting in the front of my brain like a squatting animal who is not me and yet is part of my soul.
I slam him into a nearby wall. Claws outstretched, I’m on top of him before he can make any move toward the pulsar weapons at his belt.
“I belong to no one.” I clutch at his throat, choking him, watching his color change under my hand. “I am here because the Galactic Council made an error. I won’t be here forever.”
He makes a few gurgling noises, hands flailing at mine, but he’s no match for me, not without weapons and not on his own.
“?” Cleo’s voice penetrates the anger.
Vrex.