Wrage (Galaxy Gladiators #11) - Alana Khan Page 0,53
from the animal. This weapon, though, will force him to get close to those snarling jaws and that deadly tail.
Wrage
I’ve never walked into an arena believing I would lose. It’s a bad omen. I’ve always felt I had a chance. This match? I don’t see how I can win. Although I thought I’d be fighting with no weapon, the meager blade my mate provided me is laughable. It extends less than two fiertos beyond the reach of my own arm. How am I supposed to down this beast with a barely-sharp blade such as this?
The animal has never been to gladiator school, has not been taught technique or rules or etiquette. This animal has been bred to kill. It’s a killing machine from it’s razor-sharp teeth to the long tail whipping across the length of one side of our enclosure.
Having no time for lengthy discussion, I don’t have a clue as to the why of Elyse’s instructions. I know only two things: I don’t know how to kill this beast, and she seemed certain about what to do. I’ll follow her instructions.
Wherever the animal attacks, I try to stay near its flanks. Waiting for the perfect moment to catch it with its tail as far from me as possible.
The enormous reptile is canny. It tries to strike with its teeth, then counters with a murderous sweep of its tail. It instinctively presses me into a corner, with my only defense being to climb to the top and scramble away as I avoid the snap of its teeth. The beast has barely had to move, and I’m dripping with sweat from my efforts.
The crowd is booing, calling me a coward because I’m not attacking. He has easy access to me when I’m at the top of the cage, so I’ve found the best strategy is to stay close to its hip. I shut everything that isn’t useful out of my consciousness.
I move into the flow. It’s something I learned in the scriptures from the Indira sect, along with the wreathing technique. All thoughts disappear. I’m just drifting in the flow of the universe. In this state, I move completely on impulse. It’s like a dance with no music.
I effortlessly jump back to avoid the tail. I counter and feint to keep away from its dangerous dagger-edged teeth. I bide my time, my vision arrowed in on the Achilles tendon. Finally, the stars seem to align. His head pulls back as he readies himself for another snap, his tail is at the other end of the cage, about to make the return trip to kill me. I rush in and hack with all my might at the tendon.
His skin is thick and hard to cut through with this sickle that’s almost a toy, but the tendon is right below the surface, and I know I’ve struck an effective blow when the beast screeches and stumbles.
He’s still standing upright. I need to cut the other leg. Skirting the bars of the cage, I make my way to his other side, wait until his flailing tail is curled around his injured leg, and slice even deeper on the other side.
Like a miracle, the beast falls forward, unable to keep standing. Its loud bleating pierces my ears as it thrashes across the stone floor. He keeps snapping at me and is able to move enough to still be a menace as he pulls himself around with his tiny arms, his weight on his right shoulder.
“It’s just an animal,” I bellow into the camera over the noise of the crowd. “Pronounce me the winner and let him live!”
“I knew you were a coward,” Ryone’s voice booms. “Only one of you walks out of the cage tonight.”
I look down to see the sickle handle in my hand, the blade still embedded in the animal’s leg. How am I going to finish him off?
“Wrage!”
What miracle has my Elyse arranged to help me kill my foe now?
I look over and see every eye in the cavern isn’t on the life and death struggle in the cage, but on my mate. She’s at the bars, her body naked from the waist down except for the little panties she wears.
“Here,” she says as she tosses me her pants.
I shut out the picture of my vulnerable beloved standing almost naked in a room full of predators, and continue my work.
I wrap her pants around my palm over and over until it’s as protected as it can be, then snag the blade from