To the left of us on the concrete sat an E-50, an enhanced heavy machine gun, mounted on a swivel base and manned by two Red Guards. Guns weren't my thing, but I knew this one: it was the Military Supernatural Defense Unit's weapon of choice when facing a loose vampire.
The E-50 fired .50-caliber ammo at more than three thousand feet per second. At two thousand feet, a round from this gun was deadly. At a hundred yards, it would rip through solid steel like tissue paper. At a maximum rate of fire, an E-50 spat out half a thousand bullets a minute. Of course, at a maximum rate of fire, it also melted the barrel after a few thousand rounds, but if you didn't take down a vampire within the first few seconds, you were dead anyway.
An identical gun waited across from us at the far right. Whatever was caught between them would be dead instantly. Unfortunately, even the best gun was only as strong as the guys manning it. If I wanted to cause trouble, I'd take the gunners out.
Just in case the tech failed, two additional teams of Guardsmen bided their time in the opposite corners: one with an arrow thrower and the other with an assortment of weapons.
"I see you don't want a repeat of the Andorf accident."
If Saiman was surprised at my knowledge of Games-related trivia, he didn't show it.
"We don't. But I assure you, we still get plenty of shapeshifter participation."
"How? Didn't the Beast Lord veto it?"
"We import shapeshifters from outside the Pack's boundaries. They fight and we pull them out before the requisite three days are up."
All visiting shapeshifters had three days to approach the Pack for permission to stay within its territory, or it would approach them and they wouldn't like it. "Sounds expensive."
Saiman smiled. "It's well worth it. The price of tickets alone covers most fighter-related expenses. The real money comes from betting. On a good fight the House takes in anywhere from half to three quarters of a million. The highest intake on a championship fight was over two million."
With hazard pay, I made just above thirty grand a year.
I stared at the sand of the Pit. In my head, the building vanished. The fence, the concrete, the guns, Saiman, all dissolved into the blazing sun, blindingly bright and merciless. I heard the noise of the crowd in the wooden stands, the quick staccato of Spanish, the high-pitched laughter of women, and the hoarse cries of the bookies calling out numbers. I felt my father's presence behind me, calm and steady. The reassuring weight of the sword tugged on my hand.
I smelled my skin, scorched by the sun, and blood fumes rising from the sand.
"Shall we sit down?" Saiman's voice intruded upon my reverie. Just as well.
We took our seats. Huge rust curtains slid aside on the far left and right of the chamber, revealing two entrances: the one on the right painted garish gold and its twin on the left in a cheery shade of solid black.
Saiman leaned to me. "The fighters enter through the Gold Gate. Corpses leave through the Midnight one. If you 'walk out gold,' you've won the match."
A long, deep bellow of a huge gong tolled through the Arena, calling the spectators to silence.
A slim woman in a silver dress stepped out of the Gold Gate.
"Welcome! Welcome to the house of combat where death and life dance on the edge of the blade." Her voice was deep for a female and it carried through the Arena. "Let the Games begin!"
"Sophia," Saiman said. "The producer."
The woman disappeared back into the Gold Gate.
A huge scoreboard suspended on chains slid down from the ceiling and stopped just above the Midnight Gate. Two names written on white paper in beautiful calligraphy sat in twin wooden frames: RODRIGUEZ VS. CALLISTO. The odds beneath it said -175+200. Rodriguez was a slight favorite to win. If you bet on him as the winner, you would have to put in $175 to get back an extra $100. If you bet on Callisto and she won, for every $100, you'd get your money and $200 back.
"Both human. Mildly interesting." Saiman dismissed the scoreboard with a wave of his hand.
"The Reapers, Kate? I'm eager to hear your assessment."
"Both Mart and Cesare are fighters?"
Saiman nodded.
"Have you ever seen them bleed?"
"Cesare. During a bout with a werejaguar, he suffered several deep gashes across the chest and back. Mart so far has been untouched."