The Mage in Black (12 page)

I ignored that. I’d do what I had to do to win, no matter what the consequences. “Are weapons allowed?”

She shook her head. “No, that’d be too easy. This is hand-to-hand all the way.”

I nodded, digesting that. Hand-to-hand I could definitely handle.

“I don’t think I have to remind you to be careful.”

I shot her a look. “It’s not like I want to be injured, Rhea.”

“I know. It’s just your sister would be devastated if something happens. As would I. If this wasn’t such a complicated situation, Maisie never would have allowed you to fight.”

My eyes narrowed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to survive so your plans for me won’t get screwed up.”

“Sabina, I’m not talking about the prophecy.” Rhea sent me a sad look. “Is it really so hard to believe someone would be worried about you just because we care?”

Yeah, it was actually, but I didn’t want to argue with her. Instead, I took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

R
hea led me to a dim room. A fight pit sat in the center with a couple of bare bulbs offering the only illumination. I’d expected an eager crowd of weres shouting for my blood. Instead, two lone males stood under the light. I found the lack of witnesses and the silence more intimidating than I would have an unruly crowd.

The one on the right nodded slightly as we approached. “Sabina Kane.”

The scent of wet dog and apple juice drifted to my nose. His hair was wet with the stuff and his hand was sticky with it. I certainly wasn’t going to clue him in that the forbidden fruit had no effect on me.

I nodded back. “And you are?”

“Michael Romulus.” He offered a hand to shake. I looked at it a second, wondering if it was a trick. But his eyes held steady, almost a dare. I gripped his rough palm with just enough pressure to let him know I meant business. He met my gaze levelly and squeezed back just enough to let me know he didn’t give a shit if I was female—he meant business, too.

Funny, his calm confidence and rangy frame didn’t scream Alpha male. He was wearing khakis, for chrissakes. If anything, his companion looked more the part with his bulging biceps and hairy knuckles. But I knew better than to underestimate Michael. Sometimes the smaller packages held the nastiest surprises. Besides, I might not know much about werewolves, but I knew one didn’t rise to Alpha of a pack without some serious fighting skills.

I pulled my hand from his and wiped it on my jeans. “And him?” I jerked my head in the direction of his companion.

“This is Rex. My second in command. He’ll act as my witness.”

I nodded at the hulk. “This is Rhea Lazarus.”

The three exchanged polite nods.

“We’ve met,” Michael said.

I glanced at Rhea. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that she knew the were, but I found it odd she hadn’t mentioned it earlier. On the other hand, I guess it explained why she knew enough about them to help me prepare for the fight.

Michael nodded at Rex, who pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. “Whereas Sabina Kane—hereafter known as the accused—is charged with poaching on territory reserved for the exclusive use of the Lone Wolf pack and all its affiliates, led by one Michael Romulus—hereby known as the plaintiff—and whereas the accused also resisted vacating the territory when asked by representatives of the plaintiff, and whereas—”

I interrupted. “Jeez, what are you? A lawyer?”

Michael frowned. “Yes.”

I rolled my eyes. “Look, I got it. We don’t need a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo. I poached—unknowingly, I might add—and I hurt two of your guys, in self-defense, by the way. So now I have to fight you.”

Michael nodded. “Our seconds will not interfere, and no weapons may be used. The fight is to the surrender. Do you agree to those terms?”

“I think we both know surrender isn’t an option.”

He inclined his head to acknowledge the truth of my statement. “Shall we?”

I turned and walked back to the edge of the pit. Rhea put her hands on my shoulders. “He’s going to fight dirty.”

Over Rhea’s shoulder, I watched Michael speaking quietly to his companion. “And you think I won’t?”

Rhea looked me in the eyes. “Don’t get cocky out there. That apple cologne he’s wearing might not hurt you, but he’s strong enough to rip off your head if you’re not careful.”

I jerked a nod. “Got it.” A shadow moved behind a two-way mirror set high in the wall. It could have been a trick of light, but I doubted it. Someone was watching us. The Shade?

“Let us begin.” Romulus’s commanding voice sounded unnaturally loud in the dark room.

Rhea squeezed my shoulder and backed away. Across the ring, Romulus’s second did the same. My opponent walked calmly into the center of the pit. He raised one hand and beckoned me with a curl of his fingers.

The corner of my mouth curled up. Anticipation thrummed through me. The delicious tension was kind of like the few moments leading to orgasm. My body yearned to fight. For the last few days I’d felt off-kilter, a stranger in a strange, magical land. But this filthy fight pit, with its bloodstain varnish on the floor and the lingering scent of sweat and violence, felt like a home away from home.

I blocked everything out but Romulus. Zeroed in on his eyes. My breath deepened. Long, deep inhales followed by slow, emptying exhales. I reached down deep for the tight ball of rage I kept hidden for special occasions. It bloomed like a black rose inside me, releasing the bitterness I’d accumulated over the last month. I called up an image of my grandmother and transposed it on Michael’s face. Oh, yeah, I had plenty of wrath that needed venting on someone. Might as well be the werepuppy.

Something must have changed on my face, because Romulus’s eyes widened and he took a hesitant step back.

My vision blurred around the edges as I flew toward my prey. If he’d been mortal, he wouldn’t have seen me coming. But Romulus was a predator, too. He spun away before I could sink my bared fangs into his flesh. He grabbed my arm and jerked me around, wrenching my shoulder. He swung a fist around and clocked me on the side of my face. Pain bloomed on my cheek, the sting of skin splitting open.

I kicked back and caught him in the ribs. I spat a mouthful of red on the concrete. He crouched low, growling and baring his teeth. He leapt off his haunches and barreled into my midsection. I slammed into the wall. Air escaped my mouth in a whoosh. I looked up to see him barreling toward me. I spun out and caught him in the stomach with a sidekick. He came up with a wicked backhand. I ran at him and wrapped my hands around him, propelling him back. He dug in, fighting the momentum. I clawed at his back, tearing his shirt and scoring my silver-caked nails across his flesh.

He yelped and tore himself away. Tendrils of smoke lifted from the wounds. He looked up at me with feral eyes. We circled each other. Playtime was over. Time to end this.

Rhea and Rex didn’t make a sound. No words of encouragement or warning. Tension hung over the pit like a bubble filled to bursting.

I flashed my fangs at Michael. “You ready to surrender yet?”

He laughed humorlessly. “I’m just toying with my food.”

“Eat this.” My fist crunched against his mouth, his teeth scraping my knuckles. For a guy who hated silver, his bones sure felt like metal. I followed the punch with a downward kick to his knee. True fact, it only takes twenty pounds of pressure to break a knee. I’m not sure if Romulus knew this before, but he sure as hell knew it now. He fell to the ground, gripping the broken joint.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Rex make like he was about to step in. “Don’t even think about it.” The menace in Rhea’s voice was unmistakable.

I stood over Michael. “How about now?”

He looked up at me. His eyes glowed with hatred. Before I saw it coming, he grabbed my leg and pulled it out from under me. I fell flat on my back, the concrete jarring my spine and knocking the air from my lungs. Romulus’s weight slammed into me, and he went to work on my face. Rivulets of blood blurred my vision, but the pain was clear as crystal and just as sharp. I bucked my hips and struggled to break free, but the hits kept coming. He finally stopped tenderizing my face and moved to my ribs. I felt one give way and puncture a lung. I wheezed for air through blood bubbles clogging my throat. Shit was getting serious, and I needed to do something before the pain overwhelmed me. Grabbing one of his flailing arms, I snapped with my fangs, not caring where they landed as long as they got him
somewhere
.

Finally, I got a hold of his forearm. I bit down as hard as I could, feeling flesh give way. Romulus jerked above me with a howl. He ripped the arm from my mouth, leaving a tag of skin behind. I spat it out, along with a mouthful of blood. With a trembling hand, I swiped the red from my eyes. No time for licking my wounds. The bite might have hurt him, but I was in worse shape.

I struggled to my knees, wobbling slightly. Romulus kneeled nearby, his arm close to his body. Blood smeared the front of his khakis and shirt. Some of it was mine, obviously. But I’d managed to bite a good-sized chunk out of his arm. We both panted like wounded animals, watching each other. His arm smoked and sizzled, and I think I saw a flash of bone as he released the useless arm to hang limply at his side.

A cough rattled in my chest, causing a spark of pain in my side. But I wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. Surrender was never an option. Unlike Romulus, no one would kill me if I gave up. But I’d have to live for eternity knowing I’d surrendered.

I dragged myself off the ground and shambled toward him. He sighed and took a defensive position, raising his one good arm to form a fist. We fell into each other like two boxers at the end of a brutal round. Holding each other up with our stubbornness, jabbing at ribs and kidneys and anything else we could reach. He collapsed to his knees, taking me with him.

But still we punched. My head fell to his shoulder while my hands slapped at him. Opening my mouth seemed to take every ounce of strength remaining. My fangs broke the skin and sunk into his jugular. His body went stiff and then sagged. I tried to swallow blood to regain some strength, but the wound started bubbling and smoking. The few drops I got tasted like acid. With a final burst of strength, Romulus shoved me back. We both fell in a heap on the floor.

The air rattled painfully from my lungs. My face felt like someone had taken a mallet to it. And the thought of trying to move made my muscles cramp in protest. Michael’s own raspy breath sounded from nearby. He obviously wasn’t faring much better.

I swallowed. “You s’render?” I slurred.

“N’er.”

Footsteps approached from both sides. Shadows fell over us.

The world tilted as hands locked behind my back, pulling me upright. I groaned in protest, but Rhea held on. I glanced sideways through swollen eyes to see Romulus receiving the same treatment from Rex.

“Boss, you okay?” Rex asked. Obviously, Romulus’s second wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box.

“I think it’s pretty clear they can’t continue,” Rhea said.

“But no one surrendered,” Rex said.

“It’s a draw, then.”

“No way, mancy. They’re gonna have to just rest for a second and get back at it.”

“You’re joking,” said Rhea. “Look at them. They’re done.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to tell the pack?” Rex said.

A new voice entered the discussion. “You’ll tell them The Shade stopped the fight. If they have a problem with that, you send them to me.”

I turned my head toward the new arrival. I couldn’t make out more than an outline. But I knew that voice. And before I passed out, I managed to mutter a name I hadn’t said in thirty years. “Slade?”

R
hea’s face hovered over me when my eyes blinked open. My ribs throbbed like someone had taken a crowbar to them. It hurt so bad I could do little more than take shallow, wheezing breaths. In addition, my face felt like one large bruise. I moved my jaw to ask where I was but flinched as lightning speared through my skull.

Rhea helped me sit up. “Drink.”

I expected a potion of some sort. Something to quicken the healing and perk me up. Instead, the ferric scent of blood teased my nostrils and its rich taste coated my tongue. I swallowed greedily. Now I didn’t mind the chemical aftertaste or coldness of the bagged blood.

“More,” I whispered. My body was jacked up after the fight, and it would take a lot more than one cup of blood to heal the damage.

Rhea calmly set down the cup and looked me in the eyes. “That’s all you’re getting.”

I narrowed my swollen eyes. “Why?”

“Look, Sabina, we both know I could give you more blood or even a potion to make the pain you’re in nothing but an unpleasant memory.” She shifted on the seat, which made my broken ribs scream in pain. I hissed as cold sweat broke out on my chest. “But if I did that, you wouldn’t learn your lesson.”

“What?” I panted.

“You’ve earned these wounds. The choices you’ve made have led you to this moment. If I remove those consequences, you’ll never learn to moderate your behavior in the future.”

I wasn’t sure if it was from the excessive pain or the torture of listening to Rhea’s lecture, but bile rose in my throat. “You’re a real bitch, you know that?”