Changing of the Glads (29 page)

A sickening slurp indicated the knife had met its mark.  The tiger went limp, but the momentum shot the lifeless body across Platy. 

Frightened screams deafened Zalphia.

She rolled back into a crouched position, elbowed her trainer in the ribs, and positioned the knife in front of her.

“Be quiet.”

The second tiger circled, eyeing its companion and Zalphia.

Any more movement would cause it to attack. 

When the tiger circled to the far side of Platy and the corpse of the first cat dispatched, Zalphia stood.

The movement drew the tiger’s attention.  A moment later, it sprang.

Zalphia jumped to the left and raked the razor end of her claws across the side of the tiger’s face.

It roared and rolled onto the ground, buying Zalphia a few moments.  She hefted the first tiger from Platy and pulled her trainer to her feet.

“Stay behind me.”  Zalphia crouched again, and Platy crouched behind her.

“He wants me dead.”

“I know.”  Zalphia glared at the tiger.  “Now, shut up.”

The tiger shook its head and began circling again.  Zalphia shuffled, remaining between it and her trainer.

“I’m dead.  I’m dead,” Platy mumbled.

The tiger crouched, eyed the women, and then sprang. 

Zalphia reached back for Platy, but the trainer wasn’t there.  Distracted for a moment, she glanced back and saw Platy running for her Glad cell.  The full brunt of the tiger’s body rolled Zalphia backward.  She grabbed it by the throat with her claws, shoving the tips into the sagging skin.

Claws dug into both her shoulders, and the searing pain drove reason away.

Regaining her concentration, Zalphia rolled to the side and released the knife, which had been pinned beneath her. 

The tiger roared in pain as Zalphia plunged it clear to the hilt in the tiger’s side.

It retracted its claws.  Zalphia jerked the knife back, and it came out with a whoosh of air.

Zalphia smirked and regained her feet.

The tiger now spied Platy, standing at the gate of her Glad cell and screaming to be let in.

“Oh no you don’t.”

Zalphia leapt at the beast, rolling it over as she grappled for an advantage.  The tiger slipped from her grasp, and she continued to roll across the arena dirt.

The big cat lunged as she stopped.  Instinct shot her blade toward the sky and right into the tiger’s throat.

Blood splattered across Zalphia.  This part of the match was over.

She rolled the tiger to the side and stood once more.

Platy’s Armor swung her around, shoved a lightning stick into her hand, and pushed her back into the arena.

Zalphia nodded to Platy as the Armor retreated back to his position. 

Platy looked at the stick.  Her eyes widened, and she looked back at Zalphia.

“Come on, Platy.” Zalphia whispered.  “You have to try.”

Platy tossed her weapon to the ground. 

Zalphia took four steps then stopped well within range of the weapon.  “Do it, Platy.  Take up your weapon.  You didn’t come all this way to stand there.”

The trainer shook her head.  “I can’t beat you.”

Zalphia couldn’t help but laugh.  “You have a weapon.  So, go ahead, shoot.”

“I can’t.”

“You don’t even want to try?”

“I’m here to be killed.”  Platy pointed to the tigers.  “I don’t know why you saved me.  You should have let them do it.”

Zalphia turned toward Vitus.  “You want her dead?” she shouted.

Vitus didn’t answer. 

The crowd began their shout.  “No Mercy Zalph.”

“Do it,” Platy screeched.  “I know you want to.  Hell, you tried the other day.  Now’s your chance.  Go ahead, Zalphia.  Pay me back for the torture you endured at my hands.  Pay me back for taking you from your mother and making you fight.  You owe me this.  Just
do it
.”

Zalphia studied the anger and betrayal on her trainer’s face.  Platy had been used.  Just like her.  Just like Max.  And even Vitus.   Everyone had come with their own agenda and combined to produce the circumstances in which Mantus would be defeated.

Vitus stood, and the crowd fell silent.

“You are both guilty of treason against the Empire.”  Vitus paused and turned so the crowd could see him.  “Do they deserve to die for opposing me, the one true God?”

The crowd remained still for a moment.

One voice rose.  “Die.”

Others joined in until the chorus echoed through the arena.  “Die. Die. Die.”

Vitus dropped his hand.

Several more tigers and lions were released into the arena.

Platy rushed to Zalphia’s side.  “No matter what, we’re not leaving here alive.”

Zalphia shoved the blade into Platy’s hand.  “Slash anything that comes near,” she said as she dove for the lightning stick. 

***

Max stood just below Vitus’s throne.  The tigers and lions circled each other.  Max pushed his mind out to Zalphia, but she blocked him. 

Why was she trying to save that good-for-nothing Platy? 

Max felt the benevolent woman that he knew on Selestia in this Glad before him.  He couldn’t have been prouder if he had decided this course of action himself.  All the bad feelings for Platy had vanished.  She was a pawn, just like the rest of the people packing the arena.

Zalphia had made him promise to leave.  And Karaticus had begged him to go with them.  But Max ignored them all.  He would never leave.  Never again would he desert Zalphia.  He wouldn’t leave her to her own devices.  He would never leave her side.  Not even for a moment.

Damn their plan.  Damn what everyone else wanted him to do.  He would…

Max would be there to lend support.  Be there to keep Vitus from killing the one person Max had stood before Selestia and the great God above and promised to protect.  He would stay until this was over. Until this match was over.  Until Zalphia no longer needed him.  And when Mantus came for his wife, Max would destroy the traitor.  The way he should have all those years ago on Selestia.

Platy and Zalphia now stood back to back as the huge cats circled. 

Max had never reached into an animal’s mind before, but it was easy enough to confuse two or three of the cats at the same time.

In the middle of the arena, Platy managed to incapacitate one tiger while Zalphia killed another one, plus two lions.  Now, only two of the big cats remained.

Max felt Vitus’s mind sweep out, grabbing Platy’s.  While Zalphia was posturing with the remaining tigers, the trainer attacked from behind.

As the knife sank into Zalphia’s shoulder, her mind block disappeared and Max’s slid in.  Her pain shot through him.  Unprepared for the sudden onslaught, Max fell to one knee.

Zalphia remained on her feet.  She reached back, grabbed Platy’s arm and swung her trainer to the ground.  The quick movement caught one tiger’s attention, and seeing a vulnerable target, it leapt. 

Zalphia pulled the blade from her shoulder as the second tiger pounced.  Its claws caught her in the chest and rolled her backward.  She used the momentum to roll the animal over onto its back.  With the knife now clutched in her hand, she plunged it into the tiger’s chest.  Its last roar reverberated off the arena walls.

Zalphia slammed the wall in her mind back up.  Max lost his hold, but the pain in his shoulder remained.

How could he still feel pain when Zalphia’s mind was closed off?

Vitus reached out again.  Max jumped into the virtual pathway and struggled to keep Vitus’s mind from Platy’s, but his eldest was too strong.

Zalphia stood, arms shaking and blood pouring from the wound on her shoulder. 

Platy’s lifeless eyes stared at Max as the tiger continued to chew on her body.

Screaming, Zalphia leapt to the aid of the person who had just tried to kill her.  The tiger took a hit just behind the head and rolled to the side.

Zalphia slowly backed away as the animal whirled and faced its new attacker.

Max fought the pain lingering in his shoulder and tried to slow the tiger’s thoughts at the same time.  He needed to help Zalphia.  He suddenly realized she was inching closer to a trap. 

No! Let me in.

He fought for a way around her defenses.  A second mind added another wall to be penetrated. 

Vitus!  Max glanced behind and glared at his son, who sat on his throne a sick smile plastered across his face.

Zalphia, look out!

She couldn’t hear him.  He couldn’t get through to her.  Three more steps.  She would hit the trap. 

The spikes.  Oh, Selestia, the wicked spikes!

One step. 

Frantic, Max wrestled against Vitus. 

Two steps.

He clawed his way through Vitus, but Zalphia’s wall stood strong. 

Can’t get in.  Can’t reach her mind. 

He screamed, “Zalphia!”

She glanced his direction.

One.

“Nooooo!”
Max flew to his feet, all pain forgotten.

CHAPTER 33

That scream! 
Max?
  He was supposed to be gone.

Zalphia’s heel settled in the dirt.  A metal spike shot from the ground, entering her leg just above the ankle and coming out through her thigh.  Pain severed her concentration, and she felt the blood drain from her face. 

She scanned the arena but didn’t see her beloved.  One guard stood frozen just below Vitus’s throne box.  Could it be? 

No.
 

Max had promised to go.  Maybe someone else actually wanted her to succeed.

The roar of the tiger brought Zalphia back to the moment.  The orange and black of its coat barely registered before the full-force of the animal’s body hit her.  The spike ripped and tore muscle and skin but didn’t release its hold.  Zalphia’s body rebounded, sending the tiger hurling back to the ground.  The big cat bounced, regained its feet, and shook its head.

Realizing she still held the knife, Zalphia flipped it over so the blade sat between her fingers.  Pain dulled her senses and moisture pooled, dimming her vision.  She ran the back of her wrist across her eyes, then focused, and flung the knife at the stunned cat. 

Shwoop
.  The blade sank clear to the hilt between the tiger’s eyes.  It staggered forward two steps. 

Zalphia held her breath.  Surely it wouldn’t attack again? She glanced around for another weapon but found nothing.

“Damn.”  Her attention flitted back to the tiger.

The big cat collapsed in a heap.

Relief flooded over her.  But only for a moment.  This wouldn’t be the end. 

Her gaze shifted to Vitus.  A satisfied smirk covered his face.  He wanted her dead. 

And now she was trapped, stuck to the ground by unyielding metal.  Pain and betrayal boiled inside, bubbling toward the surface. 

The joy on Vitus’s face added fuel to the fire.  No saving this son.  Depraved. Cruel.  Heartless.  He deserved to be wiped from existence. 

This is my son?  Our eldest son?

Prudence demanded she give him one last chance.

“Vitus, stop this madness,” she yelled.  “Or I will be forced to destroy you.”

“The only one dying today will be you, No Mercy Zalph.  Good-bye.”  Vitus laughed and rose from his throne.

So be it.  You’ve brought this upon yourself.

Anger erupted, shaking Zalphia’s entire body.  She glared at him.

He smirked and turned away.

Not so fast.
 

Zalphia closed her eyes and let the hatred take over.  Years of Glad training added to the boiling emotions, and the trembling grew and radiated into the ground.  Fury became waves of sand, rippling out from the woman held fast against its gritty surface.  The silt grew like the ocean during a hurricane.  Shifting.  Growling.  Pounding the walls of the arena with such force the stones crumbled beneath their punishment.

The entire arena rolled and pitched.  A sinking ship in the storm of Zalphia’s indignation.  Clubbers screamed and poured from their seats, but they were thrown to and fro like foam topping the waves then lost in the rolling sand.  

Panic ruled.  People clawed and crawled over one another, pushing toward the exits.  But the waves crashed, and the crumbling stones slid away beneath the seething bodies.

Zalphia remained standing tall, watching as her wrath wreaked havoc around her.

Guards pulled at Vitus.

Zalphia narrowed her eyes.  All her concentration centered on the walls holding the floor beneath the Emperor.  The stones crumpled, opening a hole beneath the panicked men.  They sank into the abyss.

Zalphia shook her head.  Not good enough.  Vitus must not live through this.

The surrounding walls folded inward and filled the crater.  More stones tumbled from above, spilling onto the arena floor. 

Zalphia’s attention now turned to the rolling sand.

Guards and Armors had scattered.  Some may have made it out, but most still moved and groaned, injured but not dead.  The guard who had yelled still stood, unmoving.  The destruction around him hadn’t pulled his attention away from her. 

Everyone Zalphia cared about had left.  Karaticus.  His family.  Max.  And of course, Mantus.  But no one here deserved her compassion.  No.  It was time to end this once and for all.  Zalphia raised her hands and combined with her unborn child.

The intensified pitching threw those who remained standing to the ground.  Shade cloth broke free, and the heavy wooden masts fell, crushing those unlucky enough to be below.   Now the entire arena rolled and tilted.  Giant portions of the wall tumbled onto the billowing sand, bringing Clubbers, rocks, and debris, burying the guards and armors below.  Screams reverberated through the air. 

Zalphia waved her hand in circles, and the winds picked up the dust, blinding those still trying to escape.  Zalphia pictured complete devastation, not only of this arena, but every arena she had fought in.  And she had fought in them all at least once.  There would be nothing left.  No Glads.  No Clubbers.  And certainly, no Arena Officials.  This act would successfully put an end to the tortured existence of all those forced to fight. 

A smile slowly curved Zalphia’s lips.  After today, this world would start over.  She would see to it that no Selestial being ever held power here again.  She would give birth to this child.  And when Mantus returned, she would destroy him.

Her mind turned back to the devastation, and she lowered her hands.  The stones making up the arena lay at least six-feet deep around her.  Not a single soul moved or cried out.  Silence settled over her like morning sun on a summer day.

Evil had been vanquished.  And a new era would begin.

Zalphia looked at the devastation.  All she had to do was picture it, and it had happened.  So easily done.  She had not believed Max those first days.  Had it always been that way?  She pictured every fight she had ever fought, and realized every one had played out exactly as she had seen it in her mind.  All this time all she would have had to do was decide an outcome, and it would come to pass. 

She pictured the spike returning to its original position. 

Why was she still surprised when it obeyed?

She collapsed onto the ground.  Blood pooled beneath her.  The mind of her child reached out, and Zalphia could already feel the wound healing.

Her child, the healer.  It would heal not only the wounds of its mother, but the wounds of many worlds.

Zalphia’s injuries had taken their toll. Her leg throbbed, her shoulder burned, and the slashes across her face and chest stung.  But peace like she had never known flowed through her.

The place with the droopy tree and babbling brook sprang to mind.  If only she could share this with Max.

I feel it, my love.

“Max?”  Zalphia glanced around frantically.  It couldn’t be.  He was supposed to be gone.  Gone with Karaticus.

I told you I would never leave you alone.  I will never abandon you.

The guard who had screamed out. 
That was Max
!  Zalphia turned toward the rubble where he had stood.

“No!  Max!”

Zalphia dragged her useless leg to the pile where he had stood.  “No. No. No!”

Stones flew from beneath her hands.  She stood to pry the heavier boulders from the heap.

Gone was the throbbing of her leg.  Gone was the burning in her shoulder.  Gone were the stinging and the peace.  She had all but destroyed the one person who had taught her about love.  The one person she couldn’t live without.  Max!  Her husband.  Her love.

What had she done?  She should have known he wouldn’t go.  She should have known the only person to care about her when the spike shot through her leg would be Max.

How did she not know?  How could she have buried him? 

But she had.  For a second, she suspected, but her killer instinct had swallowed up the idea he had remained behind.  Now what would it cost her?

Would he die?

No.  He couldn’t.  She couldn’t lose him.  Together they had created the miracle now growing within her.

Fear and guilt lent strength and speed to her hands.  Stone after stone flew from the pile.  Not sure exactly where he was, Zalphia reached out with her mind.

Max, keep talking.  Let me sense where you are.

I love you.  I always will.

For a brief moment, she felt his mind.  Then it slipped away. 

“Noooo!” 

With tears streaming down her face, Zalphia clawed through the rubble until she found an arm.  A dark-skinned coal-black arm. 

“Max, oh, Max.”

More stones flew from the pile until he was totally exposed.  The blue of his eyes remained hidden behind closed lids.  Zalphia sat beside him and rested his head in her lap.

“Max.”  She gently stroked his face.

He didn’t respond.

Zalphia laid a hand on his chest and felt the faint thumping of his heart.  She remembered the time she had leaned against him and felt her heart keep time.  Now, hers raced while his slowed.

“Don’t leave me.  You promised you would never leave me.”  Her voice caught in her throat.  “Damn you, Max.  You promised.”

Her breath came in shuddering sobs.  “You promised,” she squeaked.

The dent below her bellybutton throbbed.

Zalphia gazed at it.  Max had healed her.  All those years ago, Max had used his mind to heal her. 

She could do this.  She could destroy an entire arena.  She could save the one person who meant everything to her.  All she had to do was decide and it would be so.  How many times had Max told her that?

She raked her teeth over her bottom lip.  Was it true?  Could she be a healer?  Or was she just good at killing?

Just decide, and it will happen.

Her shoulders shook, and she fought to gain control of her stampeding thoughts.  A tiny kick just below her ribs let her know she would have help.

Swallowing hard, Zalphia felt the slowing beat beneath her fingertips.  She closed her eyes. 

Hang on, Max.  I can do this.

Tears streamed down her face.  She couldn’t picture him alive.  His mangled body was all she could see.  Eyes open, blood and devastation.  Eyes closed, the same beaten body.

“Please, don’t die.  I can’t do this without you.” 

She ran her fingers along his lips, his jaw, and then pressed a kiss to his forehead.

The thumps beneath her fingers fluttered, paused, and then fluttered again.

Zalphia closed her eyes, placed her hand flat against his chest, and pictured that organ pulsing in her palm.

She knew how that felt.  How many times had she held a pulsing heart in her hands until it quit beating?

He took one shuddering breath.  The heart stopped.

“NO!”

One more, slow beat rocked the heart and sent a shock zipping up Zalphia’s arm.  Electricity pulsed inside, stopping time and causing the air to swirl around her. 

“Max!”  Zalphia opened her eyes.

The arena and Max’s broken body were gone.