Chapter Forty

 

The atmosphere in the arena was at a fevered pitch when the competitors entered. Pandora was in the middle and Valor in the lead, but she wasn't paying attention to the crowd. The fighting floor had been changed. It looked like a mix of the platform and obstacle course. Pillars rose above the sands, sometimes as high as thirty feet, and some of them had wooden stages on top, no larger than fifteen feet in diameter.

"Hope they made 'em strong enough to hold me," said Noctus with a laugh.

She glanced back to see her grandfather and mother on the special platform in back, along with Titus Cabone and Deacon. The bloodstone guards, including Navos, stood guard at the corners, not that anyone would think to attack them.

Three more fights, she told herself.

The eight competitors stopped at their area next to the arena. The long benches had been removed, replaced with individual stations with their names. As they settled at their spots, Valor turned to the group.

"Good luck. Fight well and I promise I won't hurt you too bad if we get matched up."

"Go fuck yourself," said Sophia.

The next part Pandora barely heard because she was studying the arena, memorizing the locations so she didn't have to think when she moved around during her fight. She didn't realize her name had been called until the crowd erupted in applause and Angel Chen was staring her down.

"I was hoping I'd get matched with you," said Angel as she strode onto the arena floor leaving Pandora to follow. She hoped her inattention had been interpreted as ambivalence. A set of wooden steps led to the central platform where the judge was waiting.

Her opponent was as beautiful as she was dangerous. A flash of golden light filled Angel's eyes, but quickly disappeared. A warning. It wasn't the first time the illumination had been spotted during a fight. Pandora suspected she wouldn't hold back, unleashing her abilities now that they were in the final eight.

"Begin!"

Pandora yanked Angel forward with a Pull, attempting to knock her out in the first seconds of the fight. Her opponent's block was followed by a knee to the gut. Pandora deflected it then grabbed Angel's silky ponytail. Angel spun around but rather than attack, her eyes exploded with golden light.

The world disappeared as Pandora's vision turned to a sea of white. She blasted a heavy Push, knocking Angel away, knowing that was only a temporary solution to her sudden blindness. Switching to the sapphire radar she'd relied on in the shadows of the Undercity, she "saw" Angel approach from a different angle on silent feet.

The crowd gasped when Pandora blocked a kick to the head from the side, spun through a punch, and then retreated to the opposite side in hopes of her vision returning. Using her radar and the memory of the arena, she plotted an escape route when Angel came running. Leaping to the platform ten feet above and to the right, she stopped at the edge, daring Angel to make the attempt.

Pandora's only warning was the increased brightness in her blinded vision. A wave of golden energy tumbled Pandora backwards and nearly off the edge of the platform, giving Angel space to advance. A twisted Push-Pull knocked Angel sideways before she could advance, giving Pandora a second chance at a head-hunting blow. An angled elbow block, followed by a kick to the stomach, left Pandora flying backwards over the edge. She Pulled herself back to the original platform, landing heavily in her haste not to fall to the sands, vision coming back as blurry shapes.

Angel came flying over, golden light surrounding her like a wave of force. Pandora found her feet and blasted forward with a heavy Push. The two energies impacted, exploding outward. Pandora was knocked onto her back, but found her feet quickly, while Angel struggled to stand. Before her opponent could muster a defense, Pandora tackled her, keeping her eyes closed in case of the golden light. She pummeled Angel from atop her, striking through the attempted blocks. Golden light flashed out, pressure pushing her upward, but Pandora had anchored herself with the sapphire. At the tenth strike to the head, Angel went limp. Pandora held her fist above the unconscious woman's head until she was certain that it wasn't a ruse.

Back on her feet, eyes stinging from the earlier blinding light, she raised her hand in victory as the crowd applauded with restraint, acknowledging the result.

Angel woke a short time later and followed Pandora back to the competitor area, a scowl on her lips. The others congratulated Pandora as she slumped onto her seat, drained from the fight.

While Pandora recovered, drinking water and regaining her vision, the next match was called. Valor Drux versus Bo Kan.

Pandora was expecting a longer match, but the tall ex-military Valor quickly dismantled his opponent with speed and agility that had the rest of the competitor group glancing amongst themselves wondering if anyone could beat him.

"Fucking cheater," said Sophia when Valor returned. "You didn't move like that before."

He flexed his arm and kissed his bulging muscle, winking at her when he was finished. When the next match was called, Sophia stood up and made a throat cutting gesture at Valor, despite her opponent being Dorcheski, who looked annoyed that he wasn't being taken seriously. Despite the disrespect, Pandora didn't give him much of a chance, unless he was hiding supernatural abilities. Her instincts proved correct when Sophia knocked out her opponent thirty seconds into the fight with a brutal kick to the head.

The last match of the day involved Noctus Prime versus Jackson, who was clearly outmatched. He made a valiant attempt to take the fight to one of the smaller platforms in hopes of knocking Noctus off and letting gravity do the hard work, but the enormous Brodarian caught him in a headlock and slowly choked him out, letting Jackson sink to the platform unconscious.

After her grandfather gave a short speech, hinting at further changes to the arena for the semifinals matches in the afternoon, the competitors were given a lane out of the arena. As they rose to their feet, Valor chuckled.

"No more easy fights left."

A runner came down from the platform, stumbling into their area with two notecards. He looked apprehensive about approaching until Noctus gently removed them from his hand.

"What is it?" asked Valor, trying to peer over the Brodarian's shoulder.

"Next round matchups."

The way Noctus stared left a stone in her gut.

"Don't keep us waiting," said Sophia.

"You'll get your wish," said Noctus. "You're battling Valor in the first fight."

Pandora was hoping for either of the others. To her, Noctus was the one to beat. Before she left the competitor area, she inclined her head.

"I'll see you on the battlefield."