The Ippos King (Wraith Kings #3) - Grace Draven Page 0,156
sockets. A scarpatine, but one of a size straight out of a nightmare, something he'd expect to see in the world of the galla, where surely they would run screaming too if something like that scuttled across their accursed landscape. The colossal insect danced one way and then the other on its eight bent legs, its belly carving lines in the sand as it reacted to the movements of the crowd surrounding it.
Anhuset had wasted no time choosing her weapons. A straightforward pairing of round shield and long spear with a leaf-bladed spear head and weighted at its butt end by a ferrule for balance. She put on her helmet, pulling it low over her brow. Surely, she was half-blind under so much light.
The massive scarpatine paused in its dance as if waiting, its armor-plated body gleaming dully in the sun. Its tail curved forward even tighter, the tip twitching back and forth as it shifted position, its movements starting to match those of Anhuset, who slowly began to circle it. Suddenly the scarpatine pivoted and lunged, its many legs eating ground faster than any gallop as it attacked her. She leaped out of the way just in time to miss a blow from one of those pincers Her shield took the hit instead, the strike glancing off its rim with a loud thud. Anhuset jabbed with the spear from the side, aiming for a closely guarded soft spot—the top of the insect's head where numerous black eyes on short stalks covered the expanse. She missed in favor of dodging the downward plunge of the barbed tail.
“What do you think, margrave?” Rodan asked in a voice thick with gloating triumph. “The culmination of my sorcerers' hard work and many experiments. Human magic at its finest though we've cleaned the city of every stray dog and cat keeping the thing fed this long.”
And will you start with children next? Serovek kept the question behind his teeth saying instead “I beg Your Majesty to allow me into the forum to participate in this fight.” His leg muscles were practically twitching with the urge to break for the exit and race for the down stairwell. He watched as Anhuset made a second attempt at finding a chink in the scarpatine's armor for her spearhead. She and the creature circled each other, lunging and feinting at intervals.
He forgot Rodan altogether when the insect surged forward so fast, it almost landed atop Anhuset. It missed her by a hair thanks to her reflexes and the fact she was close enough to the weapons rack to shove it in front of the scarpatine. Its pincers caught and broke the rack apart, dropping polearms and swords into the sand like the inedible bits and pieces of consumed prey. Anhuset bent to fling a shower of sand over it, confusing its sense of movement long enough for her to put distance between them. The crowd roared its approval, chanting her name.
“How much does this woman mean to you?”
Rodan's question worked to pull Serovek's horrified attention off the fight and onto him. He didn't immediately answer. Such a question was a trap on numerous levels, an invitation to step into a pit full of spikes. Considering the circumstances, he had no choice but to answer and do it quickly. “I would take her place in an instant. Still shackled. Without armor or shield. Without a second thought. I never wanted a champion. You chose her. Not me.”
Fevered with the same bloodlust as the crowd he sought to entertain, Rodan motioned for one of the guards forward. “Unshackle his legs but not his wrists.” He pointed to the archers in the room. “Shoot him if he does anything more than stand there.”
Serovek's heart thundered in his ears, but he stood still as a pillar while they removed the shackles from his ankles, switching his attention back and forth between Anhuset fighting for her life in the forum and Rodan staring at him with the cold malice of a serpent.
“Never let it be said I don't cater to my margraves,” he said. “I won't take you at your word, Serovek. You'll have to prove it. Anhuset came to me asking to be made your champion. I agreed. She stays in there until the fight is over. If she loses, I'll let the scarpatine feast on her corpse. You however… I'll give you the chance to make good on your boast. You can join her in the arena, help your champion win