Mirage (30 page)

Nathif had slithered off in search of the medics’ tent, and Hoku was still struggling with his tech. When Aluna had told him about the poisoning and that she’d now be facing Scorch, he’d let out a strangled cry and bent over his shield with a crazed look in his eye. Unfortunately he was out of time.

Scorch warmed up on the other side of the ring. She wore faded brown leathers studded with a harder plastic material. Unlike her usual outfit of flashy red and black, these clothes looked worn instead of pretty. Scorch stretched in them, easy as an eel, looking all the more dangerous for being dressed so simply.

The entire arena was filled with Equians, vendors selling food, spectators young and old, with the clomp of hooves and the sharp bark of laughter. Aluna could see some Equians talking in quiet groups away from the ruckus; she caught a flash of steel, a quiver of arrows poking over a shoulder. Tayan had been right: no one was happy with this fight. The other herds had been nervous before, but now even Red Sky seemed agitated. Aluna couldn’t believe that thousands of Equians had been handcuffed by their own rules. Apparently they couldn’t believe it, either.

A motion caught Aluna’s eye. Dash waved to her from the edge of the ring. Tal cantered over to him without even waiting for Aluna to ask.

“I do not wish to distract you,” Dash said, “but I have something to give you.”

“A weapon?” she said eagerly.

Dash deflated slightly. “No, not a weapon. Only a token.” He held out a slim feather. One of his falcon Odu’s, she guessed. Its stalk had been decorated with blue and green beads, the colors she most associated with her Kampii home.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

“My spirit will find yours more easily during the fight this way,” he said.

She smiled and studied the feather, suddenly too nervous to look him in the eyes. “Thank you,” she mumbled. “Where should I wear it?”

“Lean over,” he said. “I will fasten it.”

Aluna leaned close to him, ignoring Tal’s huffs as the horse adjusted her weight to compensate. Dash took the feather from Aluna’s hand and gently pinned it to her right sleeve, near her shoulder. Aluna could smell the sand and soap on Dash’s skin. His hair swished around his face like the mane of a well-groomed horse.

“Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”

He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“For being the most honorable person in the desert,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot from you.”

“I am merely an
aldagha
,” he said, but she could tell he was pleased.

She was about to take Tal back to the ring when she saw Hoku running toward them.

“Wait,” he called. “It’s done!”

“He did it,” Dash said quietly. “I knew he would.”

Hoku looked as if a whale had swallowed him for a few days then spat him back up. Everything about him seemed disheveled — his hair, his clothes, even his expression. One of his eyes squinted more than the other, and he ran with a lopsided gait, as if one of his legs had fallen asleep.

He wasted no time on greetings. “Left arm,” he demanded. Aluna dutifully held it out while he wrapped the force shield around it and tightened the straps. “Have you been practicing the motion I taught you?”

“Yes,” she said. She looked down at the artifact wrapped tightly around her left forearm. In its dormant state, it was simply a hard metal sheath she could use to deflect spear tips and bash against skin. But with a sharp twist and turn of her wrist, a motion she never made in the normal course of battle, a circular shield made of light would supposedly appear.

“Good,” Hoku said. “The shield only lasts for a flash, so don’t activate it until the blow is about to fall. The device is fully charged, but I’m not sure how many shields that will get you. At least a dozen, maybe twice that. I hope it’s enough.”

“It’s perfect,” she said. She wanted to hug him, but she didn’t have the mobility. She did the next best thing. “Tal, say thank you, please.”

Tal turned her big horsey head to Hoku and huffed air at his face. At least she didn’t use her tongue.

“Um, you’re welcome,” Hoku said.

“Come.” Dash grabbed Hoku’s arm. “We need to leave the field, and you need to eat. A strong wind might blow you away.”

“I’m kind of okay with that,” Hoku said with a sigh. But he let Dash pull him away all the same. When he reached the edge of the ring, he turned back and stared at Aluna.

She whispered, knowing that their Kampii tech would carry the words to his ears. “Best friends always.”

He nodded grimly and said, “Always.”

Aluna patted Tal on the withers. The horse whinnied and cantered them both back into the ring.

“The Path of Sun demands blood,” the Fire Tail khan yelled. He’d been chosen as fight master for the final event, no doubt as much for his loyalty to Onggur and the Red Sky as for his showmanship. “This fight will end not when one combatant yields but when one combatant can no longer pick himself — or herself — up off the field. What say you?”

“The sand hears; the sun remembers!” the stadium full of Equians called.

Aluna and Tal stood behind Khan Kutula as he addressed the crowd. Aluna could feel Scorch waiting to her right, only a few meters away. She didn’t look. She didn’t want to give that woman any chances to get inside her head before the fight. Even so, she could feel Scorch’s presence, sleek and dangerous. An eel hidden in the shadows, waiting to strike.

“Let the sun herself declare our winner!”

The crowd cheered. Tal shifted restlessly. Aluna wanted to comfort her but couldn’t. She was too anxious herself.
Be still as a starfish; be calm as Big Blue
. The phrase felt so strange now, when she was so far away from the ocean.

Khan Kutula turned to face Aluna and Scorch.

“Honor demands a clean fight,” he said. “To finish as the sun sets will bring luck to all the herds.” He looked at Aluna. “To end the fight, stay down. I will give you a few moments to stand, but if you do not, I will call the victor.”

Aluna nodded. No one in this entire arena thought she had a chance. She and Tal turned to face Scorch. Aluna forced herself to look at her enemy, expecting to find the same heartless shark eyes that Fathom had possessed. But Scorch’s brown eyes were different. More Human. More like Karl Strand’s.

“Show your respects,” Khan Kutula yelled.

Aluna and Scorch bowed to the crowds. Aluna turned and bowed to Scorch, but her opponent only crossed her arms and laughed.
So that’s how she’ll play this
, Aluna thought.

“Take your places,” Kutula told them. He reached over his back and unsheathed a massive sword of black metal.

Aluna and Tal stepped backward to their starting spots. Aluna kept her eyes on Scorch. Only a tiny part of her watched Kutula slash his sword down and shout, “It has begun!”

Her talons were in her palms, ready to go. She spun them at her sides until they whirred into silvery blurs. Tal reared up on her hind legs, shook her head, and let loose a war cry.

Scorch charged. She held no weapon in her hands, but that only made Aluna more wary.

“Careful,” she whispered to Tal. “Give me an angle.”

Tal jumped right. Aluna let loose a talon chain, hoping to wrap it around Scorch’s arm. She would have aimed for her neck, but back in Mirage, it had been impenetrable. Even so, Scorch had to have a weakness somewhere. Aluna would try every location until she found it.

Her talon whipped around Scorch’s arm. Aluna pulled and . . . nothing. Scorch didn’t even seem to notice. She continued to speed straight toward them. A glint of silver and Aluna finally saw the blade. It cut through the palm of Scorch’s hand and extended almost half a meter. It had been inside the flesh of her arm all along.

Aluna readied her shield. She let her other talon fly and watched it wrap around Scorch’s sword.

Something was wrong. Scorch’s angle. She’d need to change course to hit Aluna, unless . . .

“Tal, move!” she shouted.

But it was too late. Scorch wasn’t charging Aluna at all; she was aiming for her horse.

Time seemed to slow down. Aluna saw Scorch’s blade driving toward Tal’s chest, straight toward her heart. Aluna yanked on her talon so hard that her shoulder threatened to rip. It didn’t do much. Scorch’s blade slid slightly left and plunged into Tal’s flesh.

T
AL SCREAMED
. She reared up, and Scorch’s blade fell free in a spray of blood. The crowd fell silent, as shocked as Aluna. Equians never attacked each other’s horse body. Not near the heart. Not trying for a deathblow. Not ever.

“Away,” Aluna said, dropping her talons. There wasn’t time to unhook them from Scorch. Tal lurched into an uneven gallop, still crying from the pain. Aluna felt tears well in her eyes and blinked furiously. As Tal ran, Aluna reached down and popped the latches holding her ankles against Tal’s side.

“Go,” Aluna said to Tal. “You’re done. Get out of here!”

Tal whinnied and started to slow. Aluna unhooked her knees and slid off Tal’s back. She landed hard on the ground and barely managed to keep her balance. Scorch was already headed for them again, a cruel smile on her face.

“Run!” Aluna yelled again, and smacked Tal’s flank. This time, Tal obeyed. Aluna blinked again. Nathif could fix her. Nathif had to fix her. No matter what happened to Aluna, Tal had to live.

The Path of Sun demands blood
.

Scorch arrived in a blur of motion. Aluna blocked her blade with the metal band of Hoku’s force shield. Even so, the power of the blow knocked her backward. She stumbled and whipped her dagger out of its waist sheath. She swiped it at Scorch’s face before she fell.

Scorch jerked her head back, but not fast enough. The sharp tip of Aluna’s knife sliced across her cheek, leaving a thin line of blood. A shallow wound. But maybe enough to make her angry.

It did. Another blade slid out of Scorch’s other hand. She sliced away the talon weapon dangling from her arm and attacked. Her strikes fell so quickly that Aluna couldn’t even see them. She twisted her shield arm, and a huge shimmering circle instantly appeared between her and Scorch. Scorch’s blades crashed into the shield and bounced off in a shower of sparks.

That only made Scorch increase the fury of her attacks. Aluna pulled her tail into the protective area of the shield and kept twisting her arm. As soon as the shield disappeared, she activated it again.

“You can’t stay down there forever, coward,” Scorch hissed.

She was right. The shield wouldn’t last forever, and when it failed . . . that was it. And besides, hiding was no way to win.

The next time she activated the shield, she shoved it toward Scorch’s face. It hit her like a tidal wave. She staggered back.

Aluna wasted no time. She rolled onto her hands and swung her tail in an arc toward Scorch. It hit her in the knees and she fell hard against the ground. A second later, Scorch hopped back to her feet as if she’d never left them.

“Tricky girl,” Scorch said. “It’s too bad I’m going to kill you. You’d make an excellent slave in my father’s army.” Scorch leaped forward, raised her foot high, and brought the heel down at Aluna’s skull.

Aluna rolled left and kept rolling. Scorch followed her, landing blow after blow right where Aluna’s head had been. Again, Scorch had her on the defensive.

“Have you seen the picture of Karl Strand’s real son?” Aluna said. “I have. His name was Tomias.”

Scorch faltered. Not long, but it was enough. Aluna rolled into a standing position, her shield arm out, her knife hand ready to strike.

“He has never mentioned a Human son,” Scorch said. The malicious grin returned, but Aluna could tell it was forced. “I am his only true child now.”

“I’m sure you are,” Aluna grunted. “But mention Tomias, and you’ll see how much you really mean to him.”

Scorch yelled something incoherent and swung both her blades at Aluna’s head. She barely got the shield up and activated in time to block the blows. As soon as it disappeared, she made another swipe with her knife. Scorch dodged, and Aluna was forced to hop back and deploy the shield again.

One strike. She was getting only one attack for every ten of Scorch’s.

And then she heard drums. A familiar rhythm. The Serpenti cappo’ra warriors were cheering her on the best way they could — by pounding the earth with their tails, as they had done in the training circle in Coiled Deep. She used the rhythm. She ducked under Scorch’s next sword strike and kept herself low. She let the beat fill her mind and followed it, hopping onto her hands to strike with her tail, and back again.

She caught Scorch in the knee and saw it buckle slightly. A weak spot. She rolled and twisted, trying to get in another hit at the same place. But Scorch figured out what she was doing and turned, lightning fast, keeping her leg out of range.

Aluna kept dodging Scorch’s blades, but she could feel her body tiring. A sharp pain erupted in her chest, and she knew Scorch had landed a kick.

The blow spun her. Her back smacked into the ground hard. Breathing hurt. Moving hurt. Scorch was on her in a flash, slashing and kicking.

“I’ll keep your head,” Scorch said through gritted teeth. “I’ll keep it for your family.”