Mind scanned the sky. Hundreds of giant spheres floated nearby, some connected to other dueling arenas. Silver and reflective on the exterior, they resembled giant bubbles floating through clouds. Mind spotted dakorians dueling krey and humans. A human man screamed as he fell off the ledge and plummeted to his death.
The sun hung low on the horizon, and in the distance lay the volcanic battleground. Sparks of light flared on the earth, the evidence of energy weapons. In the opposite direction lay an ocean, a series of islands forming the Sea Battleground. An entire world, dedicated to death and war. The sight filled Mind with revulsion.
“Basher, rank fourteen dakorian,” a voice said, “and Fragment, rank fifty human.”
Mind smiled faintly at the term. It was fitting, if now incorrect. The dakorian roared, a sound that would have been terrifying to any other human, but Mind saw into the criminal’s consciousness. He’d once been a soldier, but he’d frequently succumbed to baser instincts, until he killed several of his own soldiers and been placed in the Crucible as punishment. He’d killed hundreds in a variety of contests, and gloried in the blood and killing.
The timer at the top of the tower clicked and began to change, and Mind drew his sword. Basher laughed as he leapt to a higher ramp and began to accelerate. He dragged his hammer behind him, the weapon bouncing about, empowering the runes on the shaft, the scraping meant to frighten Mind.
“I’m going to crush you to paste,” he called.
Mind strode toward the dakorian, unhurried. He set his sword low and at his side. The dakorian hurtled down the ramp, his bone armored body causing vibrations to cascade through the floor of the arena. He’d picked one of the wider pathways, and Mind made no attempt to evade.
Thirty feet became twenty, and Basher raised his spiked hammer. Mind gathered his magic and shaped it around the tip of his sword. Basher roared and swung, his blow meant to crush Mind’s ribs and heart. Mind sidestepped, allowing Basher’s hammer to whistle over his head. Mind set his toes on the edge of the pathway, and leapt.
With a burst of gravity magic he jumped four feet and swung his sword. Backed by four times the natural gravity, the sword smashed into the dakorian’s jaw, slicing through bone and throat.
The impact sent the dakorian tumbling over the side, his hammer falling from his grip. Basher stared in shock as Mind stepped to the edge. With dispassionate eyes Mind watched the dakorian plummet to the volcanic surface below.
He flicked his sword and sheathed it, and then noticed one of the observation spheres hovering around him. Another zipped to his position, and then a third. More and more came, until four became dozens, and then a hundred, all floating around the arena.
He was a spectacle, he’d realized. Humans in the Empire were not trained for combat, not prepared to fight, and against a dakorian they stood little chance of survival. What Mind had done would quickly gain a reputation, and Mind wondered if he should have taken his time.
“. . . Fragment is the victor!” a voice proclaimed, rushed, as if the speaker had scrambled to speak after the sudden end of the duel. “Due to the speed of his victory, Fragment advances a full thirty-six ranks, and will now take Basher’s place in the standings!”
Mind turned and strode back to his cell. As he stepped out of the wind, he faced the swarm of orbs floating around the arena, all pushing each other for a closer view. Some examined the blood on the arena floor, others circled the dakorian hammer where it lay. Still others zipped down to watch the still falling Basher.
The outside of the cell shut and the interior rotated again, bringing Mind back in line with the walkway to the oddsmaker desk. Both Ursun and Rasina were shouting at spheres, or rather, someone was shouting at them. Ursun was laughing, while Rasina looked stunned.
The grate lifted and Mind stepped free, joining Ero and Tardoq, who looked impressed. “Well done,” the Bloodwall said. “From what I saw, his ability was impressive, yet you made him look like an untrained youth.”
Mind shrugged. “It wasn’t really fair. It’s not like he knew about magic.”
Tardoq began to laugh, the sound rueful, a reminder that when he’d arrived on Lumineia, he’d also thought little of the humans. Then Tardoq’s dakorian soldiers had been killed, one by one falling to the fragments and others with magic.
“Thirteen seconds,” Rasina breathed. “You killed a fourteenth rank in thirteen seconds.”
“We’ll be staying at Warview,” Ero said as they passed the desk. “You can send my winnings there.”
“Of course,” Ursun said. He shook his head and eyed Mind with what could only be described as greed. “Thirteen seconds,” he breathed.
Rasina stepped in front of Ero, cutting him off. “You are in luck,” she said. “After such a strong showing, the houses of Thorn’Vall and Torn’Ent would like to purchase your slave. As a member of house Thorn’Vall, I suggest my own house, and am required to say the offer is even higher than—”
“He’s not for sale,” Ero said.
“We’ll add ten million to your winnings,” she said.
“No,” Ero said, stepping around her.
She rushed back to the front. “Twenty? Thirty million? Name your price.”
“He’s not one I can sell,” Ero replied.
The sphere floating above Rasina’s shoulder laughed. “Everyone is for sale,” a greasy voice said. “We’ll double your winnings.”
“You’d pay two hundred million glint for me?” Mind shook his head in disbelief.
“Not for a billion would I sell,” Ero said.
“Are you mad?” the sphere demanded. “No slave is worth that much.”
“A life is without price,” Ero said.
“Then what about your Bloodwall?” the sphere asked. “I’ll take both for five hundred million—”
Tardoq drew his sword and slashed above Rasina’s head, the weapon slicing the sphere in half. Sparks burst from the machinery, and liquid splattered Rasina’s hair. She cried out in fear and anger as the broken sphere crashed to the walkway, half spinning over the edge. Those in the cages began to shout, bellowing in excitement.
“Try to buy me again,” Tardoq said evenly, “And I’ll show everyone how much you are worth.”
Rasina sputtered and tried to wipe the liquid off her face and dress. “Do you have any idea how much this costs?” she demanded, sweeping a hand at her fabric.
Tardoq stepped around the shrieking krey woman as one of the other spheres began to shout, pulsing as the speaker demanded information. Mind couldn’t resist a smile. They’d thought him a soon-to-be-corpse, and he’d devastated their odds. As they returned to the Gate at the edge of the oddsmaker sphere, he realized what he’d done would have ramifications throughout the Krey Empire.
“Did I kill him too quickly?” he asked, casting a glance back at the shouting sphere and the two krey.
Ero smiled and shook his head. “You did exactly as I hoped.”
Mind heard the trace of triumph in his tone. It was the sound of one who’d planned for a certain moment, prepared for it, manipulated it into being. Ero had not just wanted to draw Bonebreaker out of hiding, he’d wanted Mind to win, and do so in a manner that would command attention. He stabbed a finger at the krey.
