Chapter 2 #2
He had great difficulty reconciling the woman he watched on the holos and trideos with the one who worked by his side in the zoo a few mornings each week. Eventually he concluded Samyra only showed that side of herself to him, which made the time even more precious.
She certainly showed no sign of it when he was taken along on excursions to handle the animals.
Samyra would walk the red carpet or chat with the show host or whatever the event might be, with at least three of her giant pets on gem studded leashes at her side.
As soon as she was finished with the task at hand, she gave the leashes to Jamirr and he was left wrangling the animals into the groundcar and getting them home safely.
Fortunately he and Jaxur had a terrific relationship and the two big alien canines regarded him as dominant and gave him no trouble.
He’d showed them his fangs and claws a few times in private at the zoo when the occasion called for it, done some growling and the duo accepted his place at the top of their hierarchy.
Samyra was generous with her praise for his skills, although the tone was clipped and businesslike in public or backstage. He treasured the moments on the morning zoo rounds more.
One day a new litter of kittens was old enough to be handled and Samyra had plunked herself down on a cushion to play with them, using a long scarlet-and-gold feather one of the exotic birds had dropped and which Jamirr had saved for her.
She was laughing and the kittens were adorable and he wished with all his heart he had a holo to help preserve the memory.
His heart was becoming a problem and he acknowledged it but did his best to hide his growing attachment.
It made no sense at all to be infatuated with the woman who owned him, or so he told himself, but it was more than infatuation or even physical desire.
His heart ached when she left the zoo after each visit.
He was also required to accompany her and her entourage to the arena and those were the days he dreaded and loathed.
She would do her entrance into the arena with at least five of her animals walking beside her while the crowd screamed her name.
The pets were edgy and difficult for him to get onto leashes and control once she dropped them off in the arena waiting room.
He would then spend the next few hours tending to the beasts and watching the fights, nerves on edge.
Jamirr hated the fact she was out there risking her life to entertain the crowd, which he suspected would turn on her as fast as they currently adored her.
He had to fight to keep his fangs and claws retracted especially when a match went on too long and Samyra had to really work to win.
“Relax, man,” Darryl would tell him with a laugh. “The mistress always wins these things. Your job and your place are safe.”
Biting his tongue, Jamirr wanted to tell the man his own life was the least of his concerns. He had a visceral fear of Samyra being seriously injured or even killed and his world without her would be bleak indeed, whatever his physical circumstances.
The day for the much touted match with the House of Tirion finally arrived.
Jamirr hadn’t heard any more gossip or conversation from the two gladiators of Samyra’s House but he suspected at least one of the men had indeed shared details of her new vulnerability with her rival.
He seemed even more arrogant than usual in the days leading up to the fight and talked openly about buying his freedom soon.
Ironically, the boaster was the first man cut down in the battle on the sands, with a grievous wound to his leg that might leave him unable to ever fight again.
He was carried off by the arena attendants and taken to the medical station.
The match was approved for fights to the death so he was lucky Samyra had drawn off the gladiator who’d injured him.
Jamirr paced the backstage area, tips of his fangs protruding, talons scraping at his fingertips to be deployed.
He could hardly bear to watch the screen and occasionally looked out at the sands.
He could see Samyra was tiring and his impression was that Tirion was toying with her.
His team had reduced hers to only three now, including herself and the outcome was very much in doubt.
As one of the remaining men fell, Jamirr had had enough.
He ripped off his shirt and grabbed a sword from the rack on his way to the gate leading to the sand.
Darryl got in his way. “What the seven hells are you doing, man? You’re not a fighter. Go tend to the animals.”
“She’s going to be killed,” Jamirr said, pointing at the arena with his sword. “I need to be out there. I wear the badge—I qualify to enter the combat for our House.”
“You don’t know how to fight,” Darryl said scoffingly.
With a loud roar, Jamirr deployed his talons and stood to his full height, fangs on display. “I can fight. She needs help or don’t you care?”
For answer the overseer stared at him, mouth open in astonishment and then stood aside. “Open the gate, let our substitute fighter out.”
The arena security personnel at the gate took one look at Jamirr and couldn’t hit the controls fast enough.
He was out on the sands before the gate had slid all the way aside and racing toward where Samyra was ringed by Tirion and his men.
Jamirr could move much faster than any human and he arrived in time to parry a blow coming at Samyra from her problematic right side.
His blade rang like a bell with the force of the blow and Tirion’s man was flung away to lie crumpled in the sand.
Jamirr waded into the fight, drawing off all the opponents except Tirion, who kept his focus on his duel with Samyra.
The crowd was on its feet, screaming approval of this new gladiator, who battled with actual claws and teeth as well as the sword. He made quick work of the others, trying not to kill them but landing disabling strokes.
The volume of crowd noise increased and he spun to see Tirion launching a final flurry of blows, forcing Samyra to retreat.
He sprinted to join the fray, moving in on her right side so the enemy couldn’t get at her there.
He refrained from taking the offensive with Tirion, leaving that to Samyra, but he blocked any attempt by her opponent to take the weaker side.
With renewed energy Samyra drove her enemy back until he hit the wall of the arena and then she held her blade to his throat while Jamirr stayed a few feet behind, in reserve.
“Shall I offer you mercy?” Samyra said through her teeth. “Or should I rid the world of you today?”
Jamirr knew which outcome he preferred although he hated to see Samyra kill the man.
The crowd, however, was making its wishes known and clearly wanted Tirion spared.
Probably so the rivals could battle it out another day for their bloodthirsty entertainment.
Moving so fast she was a blur even to Jamirr, Samyra struck out with her left hand, battering Tirion on his temple with the heavy hilt of her sword and he slumped down the wall to lie blinking in a stupor.
Arena attendants ran in immediately, before she could take any other action, helping Tirion to his feet while the crowd yelled its approval, and dragged him off. The defeated gladiator managed to wave one fist in the air as he stumbled away, leaning hard on the two men in staff uniforms.
Samyra made no move from the spot where she’d stood when she finished the fight. Sensing she was in pain Jamirr tossed aside his sword and stepped forward. Catching her at the waist, he hoisted her onto his shoulder.
“Work it,” he said in a barely audible voice. “We’ll take a victory lap and then I’ll get you to the doctor.”
She didn’t answer him but as he stepped closer to the center of the arena, he felt her straighten and preen and begin waving to the crowd.
It was a long circuit around the sands but at some point Darryl released the animals and Jaxur and the two canines joined them, barking and swarming around Jamirr’s legs as if they too wanted to celebrate the victory.
Samyra blew kisses to the crowd as she arrived at the sponsors’ box atop his shoulders and the arena manager stepped forward to award her the crown.
“Put me down,” she hissed. “I can stand.”
He set her on the sand as ordered and stood back while she accepted the crown and gave the crowd another minute or two to scream their adulation before she wheeled and marched across the space to the gate.
Jamirr strode behind her, on the alert for any sign of weakness.
He wouldn’t allow her to collapse in public.