Chapter Seventeen #2
Niall put up his hand before the situation went out of control. He’d seen his daughter in a fight with her brothers and the lads had always come out on the losing end, so he pushed Isadora back into her seat.
“No decision has been made yet,” he emphasized to all three. “Sit down and shut yer yaps. I’ll hear no more from ye.”
Isadora sat down, but she was glaring daggers at her brothers, who were glaring at her in return. But men were coming out on the arena floor so their attentions were diverted, especially when the big, leathery-skinned man who was a familiar fixture at The Cal came out to announce the next bout.
Bouts were always announced. Until this point, it had been novices against men with names like Hammer Fist or The Sussex Falcon.
Those were the more advanced warriors and they all were given a name to identify them to the crowd as men of rank and skill.
It was an honor to have a moniker. Therefore, the crowd listened with great anticipation as the next bout was announced by the man with the heavy Germanic accent.
When he was finished, Ewan and Ossian turned to their father in delight.
“The Beast is next!” Ossian said. “Did ye hear? Now we shall see him fight again.”
“And ye’ll make the offer, Da?” Ewan asked excitedly. “Ye must before someone else offers for him.”
Niall held up a hand to silence his eager sons, watching as the enormous warrior named The Beast came out into the arena.
“But who is The Lion of Caledonia?” he wondered aloud. “They announced him as The Beast’s opponent. We’ve not yet seen him fight, have we?”
Isadora shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “I dunna know who he is.”
Niall was curious. His sons, however, didn’t care about the warrior called The Lion of Caledonia. They were far more interested in The Beast, who lifted his hands to the crowd in the lists to encourage their cheers. As the crowd roared, his opponent made his way out onto the field.
Isadora gasped.
“Da!” she said, pointing. “It’s… it’s him.”
They could both see Cam making his way onto the field, carrying a club with him and nothing else. Nothing else, not even a shield. Aghast, Isadora stood up to gain a better look at the lunatic of a man now taking the field against The Beast.
“What is he doing?” she said. “The man is carrying nothing more than a stick!”
Niall tugged on her, pulling her back into her seat. “Either he is daft or the smartest man in Scotland,” he said dubiously. “Ye wanted me tae watch him fight, Isadora. I dunna know how much of a fight this will be.”
Isadora didn’t know, either. She was positively horrified. She couldn’t imagine what Cam was thinking, coming to a fight with nothing more than a stick against a man of such enormity. Her heart started to pound as she watched Cam square off against the giant.
God, dunna let him be torn apart right before my eyes!
She wouldn’t be able to stand it. Spending the evening in his arms, feeling more love and contentment than she’d ever known, had done something to her. Isadora had always believed herself hardened to things like battle or destruction, but not when it came to the man she loved.
Already, she was terrified.
The marshal signaled the commencement of the bout and the crowd shot to their feet, cheering and screaming, as Cam and The Beast circled one another.
It was like watching two dogs sizing one another up just before they jumped in and began to rip each other to shreds.
The crowd had their champion and they fully expected him to chew up The Lion of Caledonia and spit him out, blood and bones all over the soft Scottish earth.
The Beast made the first move.
Abruptly, he charged Cam, who waited until the last moment before spinning out of the way and bringing his club to bear on The Beast’s skull as he did so. The cracking sound was audible, echoing off the top of the arena as the crowd roared and The Beast nearly fell to his knees.
The big man teetered but caught himself on the waist-high wall that separated the lists from the arena floor.
Furious, he turned to Cam, who was several feet away.
Clearly, he’d been surprised by Cam’s action as well as embarrassed by it.
As the crowd watched, Cam swung his club and beckoned The Beast to come toward him again.
The Beast complied.
Charging Cam, The Beast thought he was being clever by breaking to his left because the last time he’d charged, Cam had moved to his right.
His intention was to cut Cam off, but much to The Beast’s surprise, Cam moved to his left, away from him, and came up behind the man only to crack him over the head so hard that The Beast tipped forward, struggling to stay upright, but ended up pitching to his knees.
Cam was on him in a flash.
Leaping onto The Beast’s back, Cam threw the club across the man’s neck with the intention of choking him. It happened so fast that The Beast had no time to defend himself. The next he realized, there was a club across his neck and his opponent was strangling him.
The crowd went silent with shock as Cam grabbed hold of both ends of his club and pulled back as hard as he could.
He was gripping The Beast with his legs, wrapping them around the man’s waist and locking his ankles so he had leverage as he tried to choke him.
The Beast was in a very bad way, quickly pitching forward into the dirt, face-first, as Cam continue to choke him with his club.
It was clear that the fight was over, and over very quickly.
Isadora, who had been watching the entire battle with her hands on her mouth, began to realize that Cam wasn’t about to be plastered all over the arena.
He was slowly strangling The Beast to death, so much so that the man’s face was turning purple.
Before he could complete the deed, however, the marshals came running out onto the field to stop the fight.
In fact, even the big man with the Germanic accent came out to help the marshals separate the combatants because it was obvious that Cam had no intention of easing up.
He was fighting for his life and he wasn’t about to relinquish control thanks to the tricks Wendell pulled on him.
But the man with the Germanic accent finally forced him to drop the club.
The bout was finished.
The crowd, seeing that their mighty champion had been flattened by a mere tiro, wasn’t quite sure how to react. They were actually confused, watching as The Beast was dragged off the field in defeat. But his opponent remained.
It was Isadora who finally began to cheer for a new champion.
Hearing her screams, others began to pick up the cry.
With a massive grin splitting her face, Isadora stood up on the bench that she had been seated upon and began to wave her arms, screaming and cheering for Cam, who was still standing there as if dazed by the entire event.
A temporary madness had evidently overtaken him, the madness of self-preservation, and as the man with the German accent gently shook him, pointing to the crowd, Cam seemed to come alive.
In fact, he was alive.
He’d survived The Beast and lived to tell the tale.
The man with the German accent lifted one of Cam’s arms, a signal of victory, and the crowd went mad for him, throwing money at him from all over the arena. Silver and gold coins began to rain down as Cam seemed to perk up, feeling the thrill of victory for the first time in his life.
It was evident that he could hardly believe it.
Somewhere in the midst of all the madness, his gaze locked with Isadora as she jumped up and down, waving her arms and screaming, and for a split second, Isadora saw something warm flash in his eyes when he looked at her.
But he quickly turned away from her, seemingly fed by the cheers from the crowd, and he suddenly began to bellow, releasing his fear and his excitement, listening to the cheers grow louder in response.
At some point, Isadora stopped cheering simply because the noise around her was deafening. She had eyes only for Cam as he responded to the crowd, drinking in adoration and worship usually reserved for the mighty and the strong.
Isadora had to smile at the smithy from Netherton who had become a champion today, a moment he would surely remember for the rest of his life. Turning to look at her father, she could see that he was cheering Cam on, too, and an offer for the man would soon be forthcoming.
The Lion of Caledonia had finally roared.
An hour later, Cam Netherton was presented with a symbolic gladius with a red ribbon tied on it, which meant an offer for his services and fealty had been made—and accepted.