Rapture (8 page)

She snickered, even as she tried to
catch her breath under his heavy weight. “Oh, I remember the rules alright. But
as you can see, I’m not actually decapitating you, am I? Nor have I aimed for
your heart.”

He grunted and shifted, allowing her
the freedom to kick her leg up and retrieve a tang from her boot before
wrapping her leg around his. One quick spin and she was straddling him, with
her knife pointed just to the left of his heart shield. “I can, however, stab
you here. And here. And here,” she said, each time pointing to different
locations on his body.

All around, battles ensued, and she
flicked her gaze upward as another creature was thrown just over their heads.
She barely ducked in time to miss getting struck, and the Thallig used her
distraction to roll them again. Raine brought her feet up just enough to kick
him off her, and she rolled to her feet. They collided an instant later, his
massive form taking her down with astounding force. Her eyes rolled for a few
seconds, and all she could hear was the sound of the crowd roaring with delight
as demon after demon was taken out of battle, either because they could no
longer fight or through submission.

She would not go out like one of
them. Not like a loser.

The Thallig struck, and she rolled
out of the way as his club smashed into the dirt. She rose to her feet and
kicked, sending him stumbling backward, though he didn’t fall to the ground. He
didn’t have to though. Hjörr and tang in hand, she rushed toward him and arced
her sword downward, slicing his forearm in two. He screamed in pain as his hand
fell and rolled in the softened dirt. She spun, readying for another blow,
planning to remove its mate, when he held his one hand up in surrender.

She paused just before striking again,
and instead lifted the tip of her blade to his chest. “Do you concede?”

He said something unintelligible and
loped off the battlefield as the chorus of cheers doubled. Raine searched for
her sister, not surprised to see that Lisette still fought in this battle.
There were only two problems: she didn’t have a flag, and she was currently
outnumbered and bleeding profusely. Two demons were on her, the two appearing
as though they were of the same race. She rushed toward her sister, but was
thrown to the ground instead, pinned by a large body. She elbowed whoever the
bastard was in the side, but he emitted no groan. “Ugh,” she groaned,
struggling to break free of his lifeless weight. It took a few tries, but she
finally rolled him off of her, revealing a bright green flag at his waist.

She scrambled for the flag,
snatching it up and stuffing it in her belt. A growl bellowed from behind her
and she spun, sword in hand, as another demon’s blade came rushing at her. She
blocked it, her eyes widening at the shatter of sparks from the swords
connecting. Her eyes met her opponents, and her breath left her on a rush.

There was no malice in his gaze, no
hatred toward her, only surprise as he continued to stare at her. Warm brown
eyes, one partially covered by a stray lock of hair that had wisped into his
face. His jaw was lined with a light dusting of dark stubble, which framed
lightly pink lips. She stepped back at the same time as he did, both dropping
their swords to their sides.

What was wrong with her? He was an
enemy!

His eyes widened suddenly, and he
reached out toward her. “Look out!”

She rolled to the right just as a
demon careened past her, sending the male to the ground. More growls and grunts
sounded as they rolled, fighting one another for dominance. She wasn’t sure how
the brown-eyed male even fought. He wore a long coat that nearly reached his
boots, the likes of which Father wore when he was outside in the rain. She
watched for a few seconds before shaking away the thoughts in her clearly
confused mind, when another fighter reached the flailing limbs, angling to take
one—or both—demons out. Sword drawn, she swung it through the air, narrowly
missing his arm. He hissed, crouching just before he launched himself at her.
She ducked just in time, though her sword still stuck true. In the next
instant, she’d been dragged into the fight between the two male demons, though
she held no knowledge of how. Punching and kicking, she couldn’t tell whose
limbs hit her, or whose she hit. It didn’t matter, she decided. She was getting
the Hel out of this. Grabbing the flag and ensuring she kept a tight hold on
it, she stabbed out with her sword, slicing one of the demon’s arms, nearly
severing it from his body. He howled and rolled away as Raine pushed to her
feet. When she turned again, her eyes met the unerring stare of the
brown-haired, brown-eyed male. With a curt smile, and a salute with her
flag-holding hand, she took off to help Lisette defend herself.

She had to fight her way to reach
her. A slice here, a jab there, and she was by her sister’s side in no time.
Her sudden appearance shocked the two demons who had targeted Lisette, but
their insistence on keeping their flag didn’t falter. They glanced at each
other, and the one holding the flag shot off to the side like a bat out of Hel.
She pursued him, leaving Lisette to handle his friend. The demon dodged around
this demon and that doing everything he could to get away from her, and she
realized with a start that he had a pair of eyes staring at her from the back
of his head. Yet still she persisted, unwilling to let the demon go, and to let
go of this chance of winning this round.

She quickly realized she wasn’t the
only one in pursuit of the demon, and she increased her speed in an attempt to
beat the others out. The demon made one wrong move and she slammed into him,
sending them tumbling to the ground in a flurry of limbs. One, two, three times
he slammed her head to the ground. Her vision swam, but she would not give up.
She reached down and gripped the blade nestled in the leather garter at her
thigh. The shiny metal sang as she whipped it from its sheath and placed it at
the junction of his legs. He froze instantly, his eyes bulging widely before
they slowly met hers.

“That’s what I thought,” she panted.
“Now hand it over or try growing all those back.” She emphasized her point by
nicking him with her blade. “And need I remind you, there are no rules about
severing those.”

He handed the yellow flag to her,
albeit reluctantly.

“Thank you.” She pulled the proffered
item from his fingers and stuck it next to the other one at the waist of her
skirt. “I take it that you also surrender?”

The demon stared at her, blinking
for a few seconds before he sighed and nodded.

“Then you are free to leave the
field with no hindrance from me.” She released her hold on him, taking care not
to accidentally slice him in the process. The demon stood slowly to his feet,
cupping himself as he scurried off, looking more than mildly upset that he’d
been bested.

She felt someone beside her and
turned, ready to fight yet again. But when she did so, she met the brown-eyed
male’s gaze as he waved her green flag in front of her face. She gaped, darting
her gaze to the flags at her waist, shocked to see that she did, in fact, only
have one. “Give it back,” she growled, crouching, readying herself to attack.
He was bleeding horridly, large gashes in his arm and shoulder.

“Giving this up would be a big
mistake,” he said, cocking his head to the side.

“No, it wouldn’t.” She gripped her
sword, wondering what her own bloody hold-up was. Why was she stalling? “I need
it to advance my sister.”

“That is what I assumed as well, and
have every intention of letting you keep both flags, but now she no longer has
a use for it.” He gestured to the side with his chin, and Raine’s eyes
immediately found Lisette as she realized the entire amphitheater had grown
silent. Had all the other opponents been beaten? She searched the rest of the
field, seeing that two others stood with flags in hand. Lisette was being
pulled off the battlefield by her sisters, Lenora and Caleen—a trail of blood
left in their wake. She was already walking toward them, crossing the field.

“The battle is over, my lady,” the
male said, bringing her out of her own thoughts.

Raine peered up into the cheering
crowd as they chanted her name, and one by one, the other victors joined her in
the middle of the arena. The crowd’s cheers became unintelligible once more as
all of their names were chanted in a chaotic chorus.

The tournament’s compere, a young,
stalwart fellow with flowing blond hair and an air of confidence that couldn’t
be ignored, reached the middle of the battleground where the four champions had
gathered. He stood to the side, gesturing to them with his hands.

“May I present this round’s
champions,” his voice boomed through the arena, ringing out so loud that it
drowned out the shouts until there was nothing but silence. “Kayle, of the
Areans; Chult, of the Fraltucks; Ferox, of the Vampires; and Raine, of the
Valkyries.” After each of their names, the crowd went wild, but none more than
when Raine was announced. The three standing by her side were all males, and
even the other two rounds that had taken place before this one resulted in only
male champions.

They were led off the battlefield as
tournament staff rushed in to remove severed appendages from the dirt. Raine
got the briefest glance of Lisette, ensuring that her sister still lived,
before being escorted in a frenzied wave of excitement to the winner’s tent.

****

The winner’s tent was lavishly
decorated in reds and golds, lined with soft, cushioned seats and flooring.
There was a table full of foods of all sorts, ripe for the picking, and
servants hustling and bustling around her. Raine sat on one of the seats,
carefully cleaning her sword. Gods damn the man who’d made her falter. What was
wrong with her? No, what was wrong with
him
? He’d done something to
her, maybe a trick of his people.

A male cleared his throat and she
peered up, looking at him and the long coat that he still wore, while anger
flared within her. “And who the Hel do you think you are?”

His kind eyes widened for a
split-second before relaxing, and then he bowed to her. “You were quite
impressive out there. Had everyone on their feet.”

“Yes, I know. And I saw them.” A
small smirk spread across one side of his face. The sight was … not entirely
unpleasant. Damn him. “Do you need something?”

“No ... well, I mean yes.”

She slammed her sword down and
glared. “You do not make any sense.”

“I apologize.”

She took three breaths, maybe four,
as silence stretched between them. He, along with most other creatures she’d
happened upon in this realm, clearly didn’t speak this language regularly.
Though they had studied it, it didn’t flow from the lips as it did hers. “Get to
the point.”

He nodded. “Are you attending the
winner’s banquet this eve?”

“Of course. I am one of the
winners.”

Somehow her statement seemed to make
him look quite uncomfortable, and she had to stifle her own grin. The male was
strong and proud, from what she could tell, but she also sensed nervousness. A
flick of her gaze down to his hands proved her theory correct. They were fisted
at his sides. She wondered what could make him behave so.

“I wondered if you would accompany
me afterward. I was planning to go to the market.”

Her eyebrows rose in response. She
was curious to see what types of things different factions would sell or show
within their booths, but … “Me? Attend with a thief?”

“A thief?” he gawked.

“Oh,” she said, standing. “Did I
somehow get that wrong? Did you not steal a flag from me?”

He shrugged, losing some of his
nervousness. “Was that not the point of the round?”

She opened her mouth to argue, and
then closed it. He was right, damn him. And he knew it, based on that teasing
glint in his eyes. Infuriating.... “I am not permitted to entertain male
company. I am sorry, but no.”

His smile faltered, and she realized
she didn’t like the deflated expression he’d given. Not that she would make her
own reaction known. Though she could admit to herself that his warm brown eyes
should never appear so sad. She suddenly wondered what they would look like
when he was in the throes of laughter. What in the Hel was wrong with her?

He lowered his head in another bow.
“I am sorry to take up your time.” Turning away, he lifted the flap of the
tent, and ducked through.

“Hey,” she said, stepping around the
table and halting him before he left. “You never told me your name.” She had
heard his name when he’d been announced a winner, but wasn’t entirely sure
she’d heard it correctly, the name sounding strange to her.

He looked over his shoulder and
faced her once more. “Apologies, my lady. My name is Ferox.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am
Raine.”

He stood to his full height, his
half-smile making another appearance and his bright brown eyes gleaming with a
hint of ... green? “I know.”