Galdoni (25 page)

I glanced around the Arena. “Don’t know,” I
responded. I studied what I could see of the walls. The Arena had
been overhauled. Pillars of stone rose in varying places around the
floor, giving ample room for the other Galdoni to hide. The ground
had been filled with hard sand that slowed our movements. It would
be easier to fight in the air, which I assumed was the
intention.

“
Looks like they’re trying
something different,” VZ790 said from my left. “We’ve never been in
groups before, and weaponless.”

I nodded to indicate the three of us.
“They’re trying to eliminate us as a threat. How about you?”

He stared at me, the astonishment of my
bland statement bright in his eyes. “Are you ready to die
then?”

I shook my head. “I’m ready to give them a
fight they’ll remember.”

He studied the pillars around us for a
moment, then nodded. “I stir up a little mutiny, I get thrown in
here with the ringleader.” He took a step back and offered me his
hand. “I’m Varo. Nice to have the pleasure of creating trouble with
you.”

I laughed and shook his hand. “Kale, but I
guess you already knew that.”

He nodded and repositioned himself a few
paces from my back. Goliath and David followed our lead. Each paced
a few yards to our left so we could defend each other.

“
Here they come,” Goliath
said.

My stomach soured. At least they could try
to make it look like a fair fight to the viewers. Four Galdoni, led
by one of Blade’s closest followers, appeared on the pillars above
us. They held serrated swords that glittered in the Arena light.
Each of the Galdoni wore dark blue armor and reptilian masks
covered in lethal spikes along every edge, uniting them as a
team.

“
Weapons!” David
shouted.

I glanced over and saw four short swords
rise from the sand. “I’ll get them,” Varo said. He ran toward them
and ducked just in time to avoid a diving attack from the Galdoni
closest to him. Varo grabbed up the swords, blocked with one, and
tossed the others in our direction.

I caught one out of the air and turned in
time to parry an attack from the lead Galdoni. The other two
followed close behind him, obviously under orders to finish me off
before I could cause any trouble.

“
Missed me?” I growled with
a taunting grin at the first Galdoni.

His eyes widened and he lunged at me again,
aiming for my heart. I parried his sword aside, rolled backward,
and kicked the legs out from one of the other Galdoni. When he fell
to his back, I jumped up and knocked him on the head with the hilt
of my sword. He collapsed unconscious on the ground.

“
Don’t worry, he’ll
survive,” I said as much to anger their leader as to update the
viewers. I wondered if the Academy had time to cut that out before
it was broadcasted, and fought back a triumphant smile. This was
going to be fun, or at least as fun as a battle for one’s life
could be.

David ducked a Galdoni’s sword, then Goliath
picked the attacker up from behind and threw him into one of the
pillars. The pillar broke with the force of his throw and crumbled
to the ground. The Galdoni fell to the sand and groaned, curling up
around what I guessed to be very broken ribs despite the armor.

“
Not dead,” Goliath
grunted. He flashed me a mischievous look and turned away to find
another attacker.

I parried the leader’s next swing and
stepped toward him. He countered my blow and thrust again. I
slashed the blade aside and stepped closer. His eyes widened and he
stumbled backward, his blade swinging wildly. I parried again and
twisted my sword so the hilt caught the serrated edge of his blade
and threw it.

“
You should probably keep a
tighter hold on that next time,” I recommended. He looked around
wildly for another weapon in time to see Varo efficiently dispatch
the last Galdoni using a sleeper hold.

“
Feeling outnumbered?” I
asked in a false sweet tone.

He growled and was about to dive at me when
a sound above us caught my attention. I glanced up. Eight more
Galdoni warriors, this time armed to the teeth with swords, knives,
and maces, glowered down at us from the pillars.

“
Look out,” I shouted to my
companions. The Galdoni glided down, weapons out and ready to
use.

Nine to four, that sounded more like the
Academy seeking revenge. I searched for an advantage while the
Galdoni I had been fighting rolled back and grabbed a pair of
knives from one of the new attackers.

“
To the air,” I shouted. I
pushed my wings down hard and rose above the stone pillars. The
other three followed close behind, swords in hand. We flew to the
top of the Arena dome. Air currents rose in a way that allowed us
to glide and watch what was going on below.

“
Now what?” Varo asked.
Blood streamed down his mask from a gash along his hairline. He
wiped the blood away in annoyed gesture.

“
We keep it up. Eventually,
they’ll run out of Galdoni who’ll fight us, then they’ll have to
send in the guards. I’m hoping the public will see through
that.”

Goliath nodded next to me. His mask was
crooked and a bruise already swelled his left eye mostly shut.

A glance at David showed his red hair
ruffled and dirt streaking his cat mask, but he was otherwise
unharmed. He watched me expectantly. Below, the Galdoni were rising
into the air in a tight battle formation.

“
Well,” I said with more
enthusiasm than I felt, “Let’s show them what we can
do.”

I folded my wings and dove.

Even though we were in the midst of a
battle, I couldn’t ignore the thrill of the air rushing past my
face and ruffling through my feathers; my wings, held tight to my
sides in the dive, felt stronger than ever. Adrenaline pumped
through my veins as the battle fury filled me. I fought back a
laugh and spun to the left to avoid a knife that flew through the
air. I used my wings to propel back to the right and angle above
the nine Galdoni. A glimmer of grim blood lust filled me when I
recognized Blade in his tell-tale gold dragon armor, a sword in
each hand.

I spun to the left just in time to avoid his
swords, then held out my arms before I reached the two Galdoni
below him. The power of my dive knocked the wind from them as I
forced them to the ground. They didn’t have time to get their wings
out to slow our decent. I opened my own a second before we hit, and
lifted off to watch them thud to the dirt. A quick fly over showed
them to be moving, slowly, but still alive.

“
Two more down, but not
dead,” I shouted to the sky. Distracted, I barely heard the rush of
wind that warned of an attack from above. I wheeled to the right,
but not before one of Blade’s swords grazed my back just below my
armor. A cry escaped my lips and I felt the blood begin to trickle
down.

“
We won’t be so kind to
you,” Blade taunted as he passed.

He turned a few yards away and came back,
but I was ready this time and parried the blow with my sword. I
rolled to the left, losing some altitude and giving him a perceived
advantage. He took the bait and dove at me, using his height to aim
for my wings.

I closed them the second before his blade
would have severed my left one. He turned, off balance. I opened my
wings and closed them to gain momentum, then slammed into his chest
with my shoulder. He let go of his swords with the force of the
blow; they fell toward the ground. Blade held onto me, too close
for me to use my own sword. I tried to push him off so I could open
my wings, but his arms trapped them to my body.

We plummeted to the Arena floor. It was
obvious he planned to do what I had done to the other Galdoni. In
desperation, I dropped my sword and reached up, grabbing both of
his wings at the joints before he could open them and escape. His
eyes widened and I felt a brief surge of satisfaction at the
surprise on his face.

I heaved around to the right just before we
hit the ground. The force turned us enough so that we both hit the
sand on our sides. The blow knocked us apart. I struggled to catch
my breath. Pulling in a ragged gasp, I glanced around for a weapon,
sure he would be doing the same.

There were two more Galdoni close by on the
ground. I didn’t think they were dead, but couldn’t stop to be
sure. Overhead, Goliath and Varo battled four attackers in
ruthless, headlong rushes. I struggled to my feet and looked around
for David.

The young red-head stood a few pillars away,
his back to me as he grappled with an armed Galdoni. David blocked
the Galdoni’s downward slice and punched him in the ribs. He then
grabbed his attacker’s knife hand and tried to pry the weapon
away.

At the sound of a footstep on sand behind
me, I rolled to the left and came up in a fighting stance.

“
Look sharp,” Blade growled
with a wicked taunt. He threw a knife at my chest and I dodged to
the left. My foot slipped on the sand and I stumbled. A thud
followed by sharp pain laced outward from my thigh. I glanced down
at the knife hilt that protruded.

“
Too slow,” Blade mocked.
He tossed up another knife and caught it by the tip. “Let’s see if
we can’t hit the other one, too.”

I dove under the knife. It passed
millimeters from my ear before I bowled Blade over. He kicked out
and sent me over his body and into a pillar. I stood up and shook
my head to clear the haze from my eyes, but Blade was already in
front of me. He picked me up bodily and tried to back me into the
pillar again, but I head butted him in the nose while
simultaneously driving my knee into his groin. He dropped to his
knees, a hand on each injured area.

I spun behind him and caught him in a choke
hold. I looked up in time to see David throw his attacker to the
ground. He gave me a wild grin. The young Galdoni then turned to
his opponent as he rose unsteadily from the ground. David did a
fancy back kick that was more for show than effect. But his
opponent ducked the kick. Before I could move, the Galdoni pulled a
knife from his belt and drove it into David’s back.

David’s eyes met mine, his own wide with
shock. “Kale?” he asked, his voice strangled. He fell to his
knees.

“
No!” The cry tore from my
throat before I could even comprehend what had happened.

I shoved Blade to the side and ran to David.
The young Galdoni sputtered and fell forward. I caught him before
he could hit the ground. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth
to the bottom of his mask. The Galdoni that had struck him picked
up a sword from the ground. I spun so that I crouched over David
protectively.

“
Touch him and I kill you
all,” I growled; a feral rage lifted my lips in a snarl. I heard
several Galdoni land on the pillars above, but nobody moved toward
us.

David coughed and red-tinged foam bubbled at
his lips. I pulled him up so that he rested on my knees, his head
cradled in my arms. Warm blood flowed down his back to pool on the
indifferent sand.

“
I didn’t want to kill
him,” he wheezed out.

“
Shhh, don’t talk. Save
your strength,” I told him gently. Inside, I tore myself apart. He
wouldn’t have gotten hurt if it wasn’t for my stupid plan. He could
have killed the Galdoni earlier instead of worrying about keeping
him alive. I gritted my teeth and cursed myself, my plan, and
everything that had led up to this moment.

Steps came to my side. Goliath crouched next
to me. He sniffed and I looked over to see tears drip from under
his mask. He reached out and touched David’s shoulder. “You fought
hard,” he said softly.

David gave him a weak salute with a hand to
his chest. “Brothers to the end,” he forced out. He held up a
fist.

Goliath tapped the knuckles with his own.
“Brothers to the end,” he said before his words choked off. He rose
and turned away; a sob tore from his throat.

“
You’ve got to hang in
there, David. Don’t give up on me now,” I told him.

He gave me a weak thumbs-up, then his arm
fell heavily to the ground. His head rolled back on my arm. I
gritted my teeth and lifted my arm so that he looked at me. “No,
not like this, David. You’re gonna get out of here. Stay with me.”
I looked around wildly for help. The enemy Galdoni stood a
respectful distance from us. Blade leaned against a pillar, his
eyes unreadable. Varo knelt on the ground a few feet away, blood
streaking the armor across his chest.

“
Kale?”

I looked back down at David and leaned close
to hear the soft words from his innocent lips.

“
Do you know what I’ll miss
most?”

I shook my head, not trusting myself to
speak.

“
Flying.” The word left his
lips like a sigh. His eyes drifted from mine and stared into
space.

“
No, David,” I commanded.
When he didn’t respond, I shook him. “David, come on. You’re going
to be okay.” I had to force the words out as my throat tightened.
“You have to be okay.” I shook him again.

A hand touched my shoulder and I knocked it
away.

“
Kale, he’s gone,”
Goliath’s pain-filled voice said above me. It took a few minutes
for the words to sink in, for the finality of their meaning to cut
through my chaotic thoughts.

I lowered David to the sand. A blind, red
rage filled my vision. I rose to my feet and tore out the knife
Blade had sunk into my thigh. With a cry of agony, I used it to cut
the bindings on my mask. Gasps escaped the Galdoni around me when I
threw the mask to the ground.