Page 26 of Absolution
“I don’t want to fight Luca.” I didn’t know how I felt about him right now and didn’t want to spend too much time analyzing it.
“All vampires are in level five. Luca is not a vampire yet so he is only a level four fighter.” He flipped through a few things on the tablet. “Riley, is this right? We have Hanson, James, Pickerson, Ryerson, and Flay on for tonight?”
“Yep. All shifters. No vamps in tonight. At least not so far.”
Max nodded. “Put Sam in against Ryerson.” He patted my back and gave me a little nudge toward Riley who was the small man who had handed him the tablet. “Ryerson is high level, street smart. He’s strong and fast. Should be a good match for you. Follow Riley. He’ll get you gear. Most of our lycans fight naked with no padding, but almost none of our vampires do.”
Riley nodded his head at me and turned toward the locker room area. He smelled human but I was beginning to think there was no such thing here. “Can’t I fight another vampire?” I didn’t want to take the chance of hurting anyone, but really wanted to let go of the rage for a while. Lycans were only slightly more durable than humans, right?
“Not yet. Win this one and we’ll see about pitting you against another vampire. Most of the vampires who come here are older and have more skill. You’ll likely have to undergo some training if you wish to continue in the circuit.” He waved toward the locker room area where Riley had gone. “Go get ready. You’re up next. Tell Riley I’m your sponsor and will fund your start-up.”
“I can pay for whatever. I don’t need help.”
“You do if you want to fight here. Bringing in a new fighter costs ten grand. But you can win twice that in your first fight.”
Holy crap. No one just paid ten grand for someone they barely knew. “What do you expect me to do to pay it back?”
Max’s smile was sardonic, “Win.”
No shit! I headed toward the locker room and caught up with Riley who handed me a bag full of clothes and some basics like a brand-new jock. At least my junk would be protected if this Ryerson guy mopped the floor with me. I dressed in a bit of a daze pulling on a tank and shorts that were that odd sports material. Sturdy, but not protective. It was more like a basketball uniform than something I expected for boxing, but it fit so I wasn’t the only small guy here.
Riley waited until I was done to guide me to the cage I’d be fighting in. He handed me a mouth guard that must have been custom made for vampires because it had room for my fangs. “Busted fangs are a bitch to fix,” he told me. “If you continue to fight you’ll have to get one made just for you.”
“What are the rules?” I asked before putting the guard in my mouth.
“No rules. You can even feed on your opponent if you win. The spectators like dirty fights. Lycans use a lot of fangs and claws, usually not high on skill. Ryerson is big—almost twice your size—but you’re stronger and faster. Since you’re a challenger you’re expected to win or else this will be not only your first fight, but your last. Max doesn’t like to be disappointed, so don’t. When the bell rings, you fight. Knock him out for a win. Killing someone in the ring will get you killed by the mob of fans, which is never pretty, but it’s been known to happen a time or two.”
“How breakable is he?”
Riley frowned, appearing to think about it, then said, “Not very unless you rip out his throat. Good luck getting past the fangs and claws to get there.”
“Noted.” That probably went for tearing out his stomach too. I could avoid soft squishy areas with my fangs easily enough. Riley taped up my hands, but didn’t bother with boxing gloves. The cage we stood beside was empty, but a group was beginning to form around the edges as the other fight seemed to have ended. Maybe they were curious because I was new. I stepped up to the cage and Riley let me in, where I leaned against the wire mesh and waited. Silver? Huh. Did that sort of thing bother shifters? It didn’t do anything for me but almost make me sneeze.
The door across the way opened and a large man stepped inside. He was the ugly sort of man who looked like he’d spent his life getting his face punched. His nose was crooked in several places, hair buzzed down to almost nothing, and he was covered with more body hair than I think I’d ever seen on anyone. He stretched his shoulders, swung his arms and in less time than it took to blink an eye—shifted into a human/wolf combination. On two feet he towered over me with claws as big as my head.
Shit! What the fuck had I been thinking?
The bell chimed signaling the beginning of the fight. He took a swipe at me balancing on odd backward-bent legs. I darted around him, using my small size and speed to deliver several quick hints to his back and abdomen, only it was like hitting concrete. Crap this guy had really been eating his Wheaties, and probably Mikey too.
I danced around him, avoiding his claws like I’d seen Luca do, then bounced low, sprung up and hit him hard with an uppercut to the jaw. The guy didn’t even stagger. The crowds jeering grew louder. Fucking ass-wipes. They wanted me to lose. And I wanted more than ever to win if just to prove them all a bunch of spineless wannabes.
Ryerson slashed and caught me across the back before I could move away, opening me from shoulder to hip. The pain seared through me and blood poured down my back. All that tasty blood I’d gotten from Luca, wasted. Fuck but I was pitiful ‘cause I was pretty sure I could smell him. The volume of the crowd grew to a deafening white nose and I vaguely remembered Luca telling me to aim for the snout.
I had to keep moving to keep out of reach of those damn claws, but my sight was starting to go red. Not so much with rage, but with pain. Fuck did I hurt. How bad was the wound? Probably worse than a paper cut, but since I wasn’t tripping on anything internal, I figured he hadn’t cut all the way to my guts. And the slice was more off to the side than along my spine. I was losing blood fast and sliding in the mess. This fight had to end soon. Could blood loss kill me? Probably not. Render me unconscious likely, which meant losing the fight.
He sliced me twice more before I took a small opening to hammer his nasty face in. The swing tore something in my back and while I connected with his face and he actually staggered back a few feet, the weight of the pain slammed into me. The red haze completely obliterated my sight and I sank to my knees letting my other self go. He could win even without any bats in the belfry. If he didn’t, I’d be dead and that would end it all anyway, right? Not that it mattered as consciousness swirled me down into the red-tinted darkness.
Chapter 10
Iawoke to screaming. A deafening cheering that made me aware of my surroundings as well as the unpleasant stickiness of blood that covered me like bad sex. The lycan lay at my feet, out cold and bleeding heavily from the neck. A nasty aftertaste flavored the back of my tongue. Had I fed on him?
The cage door creaked open but the medics hesitated to enter. Max brushed by them and wrapped a thick towel around me, leading me out and down the stairs. The world shifted, and I wobbled on my feet, but he kept me upright.
My feet made bloody footprints all the way to the locker room. Max had another medic follow him and I barely remember the man prodding me in several places that hurt bad enough to make me snarl at him. It wasn’t a sound I was used to making, and it startled me enough that I shook my head and cleared the last of the fog out of it.
“He’ll need stitches, but he’ll have to hold still.”
Max nodded. “Lay down on the bench, Sam. The good Doc here is going to stitch you up.”