My Alien Warrior (4 page)

But as long as he kept winning, it was something he did not have to worry about. He’d have to lose a lot more battles than he had so far to drop down low enough that it would be a problem.

“Fight today?” Viv asked through a mouthful of what looked like wheat loaf.

“Yep,” Khaos replied. “Two, actually. One in about an hour and another this afternoon.”

“Have you seen the competition yet?”

He shook his head. One of the things about winning so much was that people knew who he was. They didn’t have to seek him out and size him up because they already knew what to expect with him.

Khaos didn’t like to know who he was fighting beforehand, though. He liked to get there and be surprised. For whatever reason, having to make up a strategy on the fly was his style, and it usually worked out well for him and provided a good show for the audience. Things that were planned out too well in advance ran the risk of seeming scripted, which wasn’t a good thing.

He chatted with Vivala a bit more while he had a light breakfast and then headed out. Usually he didn’t eat before bouts, but fighting on a completely empty stomach was just as bad as fighting on a full one.

His first match of the day was almost ridiculously easy. The man he had to fight was several inches shorter than he was, and he was wielding a staff that was clearly too much for him. How in the world he’d gotten this far was beyond Khaos, but he drew the fight out a bit, letting the audience revel in it, before he chopped the staff in half and had the man on his knees.

The crowd roared its approval of him when the announcer gave glory to him, and he waved and smiled for a bit before ducking into one of the boxes for a breath of non dusty air and a drink of water.

He’d glimpsed Briselle at the podium, watching him, and he hoped that she’d be amenable to a repeat performance after his second bout.

It was not wise to get over confident before the match had even started, but the idea of her giving him a victory rub down was kind of too good to pass up.

The thought of it got him through the rest of the morning where he divided his time between watching the other matches and polishing his axe. A lot of fighters liked to switch weapons every now and then to keep their opponents on their toes, but not Khaos. His axe was as good as his family now, and he used it in every bout.

The second match was harder to win.

When he stepped out onto the field, he recognized his opponent. He was a crowd favorite, and the matchup between the two of them was bound to be entertaining.

Khaos was kept on his toes for the whole match, his opponent swinging a massive sword with ease and style, playing it up for the show of it, while keeping Khaos from closing in. In the end, it came down to Khaos out muscling him.

They were locked together, weapons clashing again and again as they looked for openings. Khaos was in his lighter, leather armor, and the added mobility helped him to use his strength to his advantage, though by the time he’d knocked the sword away, he was sweating and panting hard.

It was easily one of the hardest matches he’d ever fought, and his muscles burned in that good way that meant they’d been used a lot.

When Briselle gave him glory, he raised his arms up, feeling triumphant.

Usually that was the end of it, but a horn blew from behind him, and he turned around, surprised to see the Kaspersi leader heading towards him.

Calin usually stayed in the capital, conducting his affairs from there, unless a person in a position of power died from the sickness. But now the leader was heading towards him, bearing a garland and fire flowers and grinning.

He accepted an amplifier from Briselle and inclined his head to Khaos, hand sweeping a circle over his chest in the traditional greeting.

“Congratulations, Khaos,” Calin said. “With your victories today, you take your place as a legend of the arena. One hundred consecutive wins.”

Khaos blinked, surprised. He supposed that he knew he’d hit that number, but hearing someone else say it made it feel suddenly more real. Was he really the only one to have reached that level of wins?

As if sensing his question, Calin nodded his head. “It has been a great many years since someone has held such a streak. You’re the first in a very long time, and so it’s my pleasure to dub you Champion of the Kaspersi.”

The applause was thunderous, and Khaos had to let out a breath. It was overwhelming and the last thing he expected, but the feeling of triumph just seemed to grow in his chest.

When Calin motioned for him to bend down, he did, and smiled at the slight warmth from the fire flowers being placed around his neck. They were a symbol of victory, planted in every spot where the Vekosh raiders had been beaten back from both Artres and Lio. They were forbidden to be picked without permission, so to have a garland of them around his neck like this was one of the highest honors a warrior of Kaspersi blood could boast.

“Thank you,” he said as he straightened up. “This is a great honor.”

“The honor is ours,” Calin said. “Glory to you, Khaos. Today you will celebrate your victories, but tomorrow I will send a shuttle for you, and I hope you will join me in a luncheon in the capital.”

He’d never been to the capital before. It was for those members of the Kaspersi clan who were rich and involved in the politics of Blessini. They met with the leaders of the other quadrants and kept trade and relations working smoothly between everyone. Someone like him would never have been allowed to go even enter the sweeping compound that made up the capital, but now he had an invitation. He was going to be picked up in a
shuttle
.

“Of course,” he said, shaking off his surprise and remembering his manners. “It would be my pleasure.”

“Wonderful.” Calin gestured to the crowd behind Khaos. “Then please, go and enjoy your festivities. You’ve more than earned them.”

Khaos watched until Calin had disappeared back into the cool darkness of the boxes and then turned. Briselle was standing there, eyeing the garland of bright red and orange flowers around his neck with heat in her eyes. He decided that he very much liked that look.

“You should get cleaned up before you go,” she practically purred, holding a hand out to him. “Allow me to assist you, Champion?”

It was going to be hard to wrap his head around that. Being called ‘Champion’. Khaos had no idea what it even really meant to be a champion of the Kasperi, but he supposed that would be something they’d talk about when he went to the capital.

For the moment, there were more interesting things to think about. Like the way he could see the curves of Briselle’s breasts through the thin material of her tunic and the smile she was giving him that promised he’d have a very good time if he went with her. From the way the crowd was still cheering, he was sure there’d be a good deal of drinking that afternoon, and he was ready to throw himself into it.

The day passed quickly in a haze of Briselle’s long limbs and the drinks and food that people insisted on buying for him. As far as he could tell, no one else knew what the Kaspersi’s champion was supposed to do either, but that didn’t stop them from celebrating him like he was one of their own.

Which he was, when it came down to it.

The Leader and the others in charge of keeping the peace and making laws were far off entities. They were rarely seen and had a sort of elitism about them, considering their positions. Most of the people celebrating that day were people Khaos had known his whole life. His housemates were there for some of it, as well as people he’d grown up with in the orphanage.

Even Mirrigan had stopped by to wish him well and congratulate him on his accomplishment. Having a champion that was one of them clearly meant something to the people.

Khaos tried to remember this the next morning when he woke up with a pounding headache and the knowledge that he had about twenty minutes to shower and make himself presentable before the shuttle from the capital was coming to pick him up.

He swore under his breath as he cleaned himself and his mouth, running fingers through his hair as he selected the nicest clothes he had. Hopefully they weren’t expecting too much of him.

“Look at you all fancy,” Maeve cackled as he rushed down the stairs, looking for something quick to eat to tide him over before the lunch. “One day as champion and you’re already turning yourself around.”

Khaos rolled his eyes. “Not likely. I just don’t want to make a fool of myself when I get to the capital.”

“Good luck,” the old crone said, laughing more.

He shook his head and grabbed some fruit from the bowl, shoving it into his mouth over the sink so he wouldn’t drip on his clothes. The tunic and pants were hardly fancy, but they didn’t have any stains or rips in them, and were the newest things he owned, so they would have to do.

Maeve was gone by the time he’d wiped his mouth of fruit juice and drank some water, and he could hear the whirring sound of the hover shuttle as it made its way up the road that led to the house.

His heart pounded in his chest, and it occurred to him that this could change his life in some way. Probably some small way, but still. It was something he had accomplished for himself through his hard work and dedication to a skill. It was something to be proud of, no matter what happened.

What happened was this: the shuttle pulled up and a driver got out, sweeping a low bow to Khaos and then letting him in. It was long, but comfortable ride to the capital, and his nerves were jangling the whole time, wanting to get this over with already so he could see what they wanted from him.

The windows were tinted, and he couldn’t see much until they’d entered the compound. The capital was all one massive building that spanned the area between the four quadrants of Blessini. It housed all the government buildings and all the people who worked in them, keeping them safe from the elements.

It was the biggest center of tech and information on the planet, and rumor had it that files were kept there on every single being that called Blessini home.

Khaos didn’t doubt it.

It was easily the biggest structure he’d ever seen before, and he was glad that once he’d gotten off the shuttle, a guide had appeared out of nowhere to lead him to wherever he was supposed to be. Otherwise he would have been lost in a second.

As they walked along, they passed all manner of creatures. It seemed that Blessini’s diverse population was very well represented here, and Khaos saw creatures he’d never seen before.

They looked back at him as they walked, not even being subtle about their staring. It probably wasn’t often that they got strangers in.

Soon enough, though, they made it to a large room. A long table dominated the center of it, food laid out on it appetizingly. Khaos’ rumbling stomach reminded him that all he had eaten before was a little fruit.

Calin was seated at the head of the table with a few others on either side. They all looked to be Kaspersi, and Khaos relaxed just a bit.

He was invited to take a seat, and he did, making himself comfortable and piling food on his plate.

For the first bit, it was fine. He ate and the others asked him questions. They asked about his family, his upbringing, how he had gotten into arena fighting and how long he’d been doing it. Khaos answered each question diligently, even though he had the feeling that these people already knew the answers.

After about twenty minutes of questioning, they all fell silent and exchanged glances. Almost as one, the others looked to Calin, who cleared his throat.

Picking up on the fact that it was more than likely a significant gesture, Khaos paused with a spoon halfway to his mouth and looked at him.

“There is a matter of great importance that we should speak of,” Calin said.

“Okay,” Khaos said slowly. “What is it?”

“The Kaspersi are dying. Slowly, but surely.”

It was a frank statement, but hardly a surprise. Everyone knew about the Sickness and how it claimed hundreds of Kaspersi every year.

“The Sickness is a vile thing, and it is decreasing our numbers. More of us are born every day, but with the current rate of people dying, it won’t be long before we are completely wiped out. Every day new Kaspersi get sick, and more of us have died this year than in the last two years combined. Unless we find some way to eradicate this plague, we will all be gone soon enough.”

Khaos put his spoon down. The pudding could definitely wait. The picture Calin was painting was bleak, but realistic. He had noticed that there were more sick people than usual, and if it kept getting worse…

“What can we do?” he asked.

“There isn’t much. We’ve scoured our planet for anything that can help beat this. There are things that slow it down and things that can help with the individual symptoms, but there’s no cure thus far. Nothing here seems to work. And that’s why we must search other planets. They have different resources than we do. Surely, they’ll have something that can help. If not… Well. I don’t think I have to tell you what happens then.”

His appetite had left him for the moment, so Khaos pushed his plate away, frowning. “I understand the seriousness of this, but I don’t see what this has to do with me.” He was no medic or scientist, and he was pretty sure he couldn’t physically
fight
the Sickness.

“The Kaspersi need a champion, Khaos,” said a soft voice, and he looked up to see Mirrigan striding into the room.

“What are you doing here?”

“I invited her. As one of the women who keep our children safe, and someone who has known you for the longest, she has a place here,” Calin said. “Please, have a seat, Mirrigan.”

She did and turned to look at Khaos. “You have always been strong, and you’re much smarter than you’ve ever given yourself credit for. The people trust you and look up to you. They need you to save them.”

“But why me?” Khaos demanded. It took a great force of will to keep himself in his seat, and he clenched his hands into fists. “I don’t
know
anything. I don’t even know what to look for. How can the people pin their hopes on someone like me? Why not the scientists and the medics and the people who explore the other planes? I’m just a warrior.”