A Girl From Nowhere (The Firewall Trilogy #1) - James Maxwell Page 0,93
at the front, looked like they wished they were anywhere else.
He knew in any case that he had to ignore them. Returning his attention to the pit, he walked in a slow circle around the hellstinger, swinging his arms and preparing himself. The immense scorpion lashed its tail but appeared to be confused by its surroundings. Meanwhile, Taimin blotted out the sights and sounds above. He resisted the temptation to look for Galen. Of course the commander of the city guard would be watching, but Taimin couldn’t think about him now. He had to survive.
The hellstinger’s attention was now entirely focused on Taimin. Aware that one human was closer than any other, the creature made a hissing sound.
Taimin decided he was ready and came to a halt. He faced the hellstinger and turned his body to the side to present a smaller target. He lifted the tip of his sword and watched the hellstinger warily.
He almost jumped when he heard a strident horn blast and the crowd went silent. A prison guard opened a gate in the wooden fence to allow a herald to enter the fighting pit. Even though both Taimin and the hellstinger were on the far side of the floor, the herald walked only a short distance from the fence before he came to a halt, his nervous eyes on the huge black scorpion. He was a plump man in expensive clothing, with a wobbling chin and a crown of curly hair.
The herald opened his arms. “Citizens of Zorn!” he bellowed. “Welcome once more to the arena! I bring you these words from our exalted Protector, which I will convey to you now.”
As the herald paused to clear his throat, Taimin wondered what it was that the Protector intended to communicate to the crowd.
“Today, my people, I, the Protector of Zorn, gazed out from the Great Tower. As I searched the lands around our fair city, I watched raptors fight over the carcass of a firehound. I saw skalen gnaw at the bones of a child. I heard bax as they laughed over the ruins of a human homestead. I witnessed the efforts of our valiant soldiers as they killed those same bax where they stood. Zorn is safe! Your Protector sees all.”
The words had the pattern of something the crowd had heard before. No one appeared to be surprised at the horrific scenes that the herald described, and he moved on as soon as he had finished.
“Now, without further ado,” the herald cried, “I bring you one whose heinous crimes have brought him to do battle here today. This man, a wastelander without a shred of civilized custom, came to Zorn to steal our wealth and plot against our Protector. In cold blood he murdered the soldier Kurt, a proud member of the city guard and the blood of our commander, Galen. He then fled into the waste like the coward he is. With relentless courage our commander hunted this man down and captured him alive so that we may witness his death today. He is to fight a hellstinger scorpion, and if, by chance, he is victorious, he is to then fight the mighty Sarg, most vicious of the trulls. Justice will be done.”
When the herald mentioned Sarg, Taimin drew in a sharp breath. He saw the snub-nosed trull standing in an enclosure behind the protection of the wooden fence. Sarg looked at Taimin and grinned, showing off his long teeth.
Then Taimin inadvertently raised his gaze. He scanned the sea of faces until he saw him.
Galen sat at a high tier where he had a clear view of the fighting pit. He was leaning forward, and although his face was as cold as ever, his gleaming eyes betrayed his anticipation.
“Let the battle begin!”
No sooner were the words out of the herald’s mouth than he fled back through the gate. The horn blasted again, louder this time, and the hellstinger reared back at the noise, claws clicking together as its eyes on stalks twitched one way and then another. Taimin continued to wait. If he was a nimbler man, he might try to take the hellstinger by surprise, but with his bad foot he knew it would be better to save his strength and let the creature come for him.
“Fight!” someone from the crowd jeered. “Coward!”
With his sword gripped in both hands, Taimin continued to wait.
More people called out and hissed. Above and behind them, Galen smiled with thin lips.