Chapter Thirteen
We process down to the colosseum, the same way we did on the first day. I'm astonished by the number of people in the streets cheering for us as we pass. Normally the processions tail off after the first day and the initial burst of excitement at seeing new gladiators.
Instead, people seem to be filling the streets with at least as much enthusiasm as yesterday. Alaric is playing up to it all as usual, seeming to enjoy being the center of attention. He has not said much to me today, as if he hopes that ignoring our argument last night will make it all go away. A young woman actually flings herself from the crowd at him, succeeding in throwing her arms around him before the guards can pull her away. He bows in her direction, and now it's my turn to feel a pang of jealousy.
Those of the others who were wounded yesterday have been healed. Rowan shows few signs of where the shadow cats clawed him beyond a fine silvery tracery on his side. As usual, he ignores the crowd, as if none of this matters.
But the more time I spend around the arena, the more I realize that this does matter. The gladiatorial games are there for the entertainment of the masses, there to persuade them that the emperor cares about them, and to distract them from their lives. As gladiators, we must win our bouts because that is a matter of life and death, but it is also about entertainment and popularity. The fighters who are seen as popular attract better patrons and get better fights.
Malira seems to be glaring at me most of the way to the colosseum. It's strange how someone I have never done anything to can seem to hate me so much, simply because of Vex allying with her. Or maybe not just because of that, because I see Ravenna walking close to her, whispering in her ear briefly. Ravenna looks my way and smiles with a kind of fake innocence that doesn't really suit her.
I briefly wonder what would have happened if I’d gone along with the idea of being her ally. If I’d somehow never learned of her role in Naia’s death, or if I’d been able to move past it. What would be happening now if I decided that Ravenna only had her remove the dampener from me for my own good? Would I be walking alongside her? Would she be whispering in my ear, trying to sow suggestions there? Would she be inviting me to make connections with the highest nobles in Aetheria? No doubt I would be caught up in one of her schemes, designed to improve her position and wealth within the empire.
Perhaps I am, anyway. One of the things that makes Ravenna so dangerous is that she is able to draw people into her plans, even if they have no intention of being part of them. I reply to her innocent look with a hard one. Ravenna makes a gesture of mock fear, moving to hide behind Malira. I know she's doing it for the benefit of the crowd. Probably this whole interaction is something she set up so they will love her more and hate me a little.
Popularity shouldn't count for anything, but in the colosseum it counts for almost everything. It determines who people are prepared to bet on and who is going to get what bouts. It is a contest around the contest, and it's not one I'm sure I have the weapons to succeed in.
When we reach the Colosseum, we are led through to the waiting areas, then out to the iron gates leading to the arena floor. There I see what has been prepared this time. Even though we were all told what this challenge would be, it is still frightening to behold. A bridge stretches out from where we are standing to a circular platform a little above the floor of the arena. The platform is surrounded by a ring of flames, no doubt conjured by Lord Darius' powers. This is where we have to fight then.
The crowd roars as we stand there waiting, just the sight of us enough to drive them wild with anticipation. I'm not sure I will ever get used to people cheering at the prospect of my blood being spilled. It's enough to start a pulsing wave of fear rising up through me as I stare at the flames. The platform has no railings or edges, simply a sheer drop down into them. Anyone falling into the flames will be severely burned, if not killed.
The emperor is waiting in his box, standing there until the cheering dies down. His eyes seem to be on me again, and a faint smile plays across his lips. The others raise their weapons in salute to him, and I do the same, lifting my spear.
"Gladiators," he says, his voice carrying around the colosseum. "You are the ones who survived the maze, but that was only the first of your challenges. As promised, today you face the flames. You and another gladiator will be sent onto the platform to stay there for a turn of the glass. The two of you will not be alone up there, because creatures of fire will attack you for as long as the challenge continues. The challenge ends either when the time runs out or one of you falls. You can fall to the creatures, or to each other. You can work together against them, or you can fight one another. What will be your path to survival?"
I look around at the other gladiators, wondering who I will be partnering with. If I am put in there with Rowan, Alaric or perhaps Vesper, then it seems likely the challenge will be a cooperative one, both of us up against whatever creatures they send. If I get Vex… then I’m sure it will be a fight to the death.
But Vex goes up first, along with Alaric, and to my surprise the two of them stand back-to-back, facing outwards, ready for any threats. The bout begins, and creatures seem to flow from the flames around the platform. I can feel them the way I feel other beasts, but these seem to be formed almost purely from fire. Alaric and Vex slash at them, cutting them down one after another. When a sword cuts through them, they seemed to burst apart in a flare of fire that makes the crowd gasp.
As Alaric and Vex fight against the elementals, the platform starts to spin slowly, making the footing underneath them less certain. It takes a moment for me to realize it, but the platform is also shrinking, contracting with every rotation so that Vex and Alaric have less space in which to fight against the elementals. Thankfully, since they are back-to-back, it doesn't seem to make any difference. They fight against the elementals, cutting them down in a seemingly ceaseless display of fire bursts as the creatures break apart. I can see the sand running out of a great timer, the last few grains falling from one bulb into the other. A gong sounds as they do so, and the flames die down, the fire elementals dissipating.
Vex and Alaric walk back across the bridge to cheers from the crowd. Alaric rubs at a few small burns. Vex’s cloak is charred. Otherwise, they seem unharmed. The two of them are not natural comrades in arms, but they seem to have worked out that in this challenge it is better to work together.
“The first two gladiators have survived,” the emperor says. “Let us see if the next two can do as well.”
He gestures to Lord Darius and the flames spring up again, the platform slowly rotating out to its full width.
“Lyra, Malira, step forward!” the emperor commands.
I walk across the bridge, clutching my weapons tightly.
"If we work together we can do this," I whisper across at her as we cross the bridge. "I know we fought in the maze, but there's no reason to do it here."
Malira doesn’t answer, but simply moves smoothly onto the platform. I move on to it as well, trying to find my footing, to understand how I will need to shift my balance. In here the heat of the flames is intense, enough to make me sweat even before the challenge has begun. Malira is standing across from me, her wound from yesterday sealed by the healers, her massive sword held ready. There is enough hatred in her eyes that I know what she will do next.
I see the great sand timer turning over, ready to start this bout. The gong sounds again, the reverberations of it carrying around the arena. Even before they have faded, Malira throws herself forward into an attack aimed straight at me.