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Chapter Seven

T he week passed slowly without Dmitri and Marushka for company.

Even the dogs were gone. Benet put in long hours going through the metal maze and running the obstacle course.

On the sixth day the Grand Duke sent for him, having him brought to the library in the mansion by a squad of the estate’s security guards.

Seated behind a massive desk, the noble was smoking a feelgood, a glass of wine at hand.

He sat and surveyed Benet critically as the guards filed into the hall.

Two bodyguards stood behind the noble’s chair with blank expressions, in case Benet had any ideas about assaulting or kidnapping the man, he supposed.

“You look better than the day you arrived. Are you ready to win the Games for me?”

Benet coughed as the acrid smoke from the fat feelgood drifted his way.

“As you know, I’m a top ranked gladiator in the Five Systems. Whatever arena I appear in, whatever contest I compete in, I play to win.

To dominate. To uphold the honor and reputation of my House.

I’ll do no less in these Games of yours but not for you, let’s be clear. For myself and the House of Badari.”

The duke raised his eyebrows and took a drink. “I can accept that.” He reached into the desk drawer and withdrew the crimson and gold badge of his duchy, tossing it onto the desk. “You’ll wear this. It’s a requirement of the Games and I am the one responsible for your participation.”

Spine straight, fists clenched, Benet took a deep breath. “During the Games, yes, I’ll wear the crest.”

“And on the medal stand.” The duke pushed the badge toward him with one stubby finger. “Since you’re so confident of winning.”

“Oh I’ll win.” Benet leaned over and closed one hand around the insignia. “And then I want to go home. You kidnapped me, the least you can do is send me home once I’ve gotten your victory for you. You have no use for a gladiator outside these Games.”

“Outlier has its fight clubs, its own version of arenas, but of course you’re not trained for the way we fight.” The duke was dismissive. “Win me my gold medal and we can discuss your future as reasonable men. Anything less and you’ll never see the Five Systems again.”

Unmoved by the threat, Benet didn’t place much stock in the duke’s promise either.

The man had agreed far too easily and a standard maxim in the rest of the civilized galaxy was not to trust the word of an Outlier.

But he was satisfied to have obtained even lip service to the idea of sending him home.

No one needed to know he wouldn’t go without Marushka.

“Was that all?” he asked. “I have two more hours of training to do today.”

“Tomorrow you’ll be flown to the capital.

There’s an apartment assigned to you in the athletes’ village at the Games.

Dmitri has also invited you to stay with him in his suite at the imperial palace.

” The duke shrugged. “I don’t care as long as you show up for all your scheduled meetings and training sessions.

You’ll be watched, so don’t try to renege on our arrangement. ”

Benet was confident he could evade anyone set to spy on him if he so desired.

It was a pretty empty threat. He turned on his heel and walked out of the library, to find the squad of guards waiting for him.

They took him to the training field and left him there, where he worked out his pent-up emotions with a record time on the obstacle course and a long run on the perimeter of the estate.

He was more than ready to move on to the next phase of this insane situation. Let the damn Games begin.

Besides once he was in the capital he could find a way to see Marushka again.

The apartment at the athletes’ village was small and cramped.

He was glad not to be sharing it with anyone else.

After putting away his few belongings, he ventured out into the village and mingled with the crowds.

There were a number of events involved in the Games, not all of them deadly and twisted like the one he was signed up for.

Many had a purely athletic bent and quite a few involved horseback riding.

He sat in the bustling dining area and listened to the chatter for a while—his Outlier had improved a great deal under Dmitri’s tutelage—but didn’t attempt to mingle.

He was getting a feel for the place and also trying to lull any suspicions of whoever the duke had assigned to shadow him.

The other athletes were a mix of Outlier society, from slaves and thralls to noble born men and women. A small percentage had been hired to compete as representatives of noble sponsors although Benet bet no one else had been kidnapped from outside the Outlier Empire in an attempt to win a medal.

In his apartment he found a com message from Dmitri, promising to come first thing in the morning to give him a tour of the Games venue and supervise a training session.

“I’ll bring your favorite sweet,” was how the Badari signed off.

Benet hoped he meant Marushka might accompany him. He’d missed her fiercely for the past week and worried about how she was doing.

Bright and early the next morning the door to his tiny apartment chimed and he rushed to answer the summons.

The portal slid open and Marushka stepped inside, Dmitri at her heels.

Benet took her in his arms and gave her a long, lingering kiss while the Badari edged past them and headed into the tiny kitchenette.

“Are you all right?” Benet asked her anxiously when they came up for air. He was surprised at what she was wearing—sensible cargo pants, a plain tee shirt and a utility type jacket.

“I’m fine,” she said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Many social events, no time alone with Vasili. The Empress has kept me close to her most of the evenings. Tonight there’s a long concert, mostly Tsiliovsky no doubt.

He’s her favorite of the classical composers.

” Marushka gave an elaborate shudder. “I’ve heard those pieces so many times over the years I could probably play them. ”

“He was a nice man,” Dmitri said, leaning on the kitchen counter.

“He was so wrapped up in his music the machinations of the court went right over his head. The empress of the time was his sponsor but she said he was a terrible lover, constantly leaving the bed to write new pieces of music. She nearly had him executed for the habit in fact but he lavished praise on her his muse and all was forgiven.”

“I forgot you actually knew him,” Marushka said. “Which is a good thing since you’ll have to be there with me tonight.”

Benet marveled again at how long-lived Dmitri was. “How did you keep your sanity all these centuries, watching people be born, grow up and then die?” he asked, trying to imagine himself in a similar situation.

“The goddess placed me here so it was my duty to observe and to survive,” the Badari said, rubbing his chest again in his habitual odd, absent-minded manner. “Badari were designed to live a long time, with our self-healing.”

“All that time and you never fell in love?” Marushka asked from her place in Benet’s arms. He could see the glimmer of tears in her eyes, no doubt thinking of the centuries of loneliness her friend had endured.

“There was a lady once,” Dmitri said after an uncomfortable silence.

“She and I became good friends and perhaps could have been more but the empress then was jealous. She didn’t desire me for myself, thank the goddess, but no one else was to have me either.

The woman was exiled and later died in a suspicious manner.

I still feel guilty about it all these centuries later.

But after her I kept my distance from everyone and they began using me to bodyguard children, which I greatly enjoyed for the most part.

” He pointed at Marushka. “You gave me a hard time more than once, devochka.”

“Sorry, not sorry,” she said, displaying her dimples.

“You don’t heal as fast as you used to, do you?” Benet asked.

Dmitri glared at him. “How would you know?”

Realizing he’d hit squarely on a subject Dmitri didn’t care for, Benet said, “Kyden had the same problem in his last few years as an active gladiator. We went to great lengths to hide the fact.”

“And what was his solution?” Dmitri asked.

“He said as soon as he met his mate Elara he recovered his full ability.”

“Well then, as we just discussed his solution won’t work for me.”

There was another awkward silence.

“Can I get either of you anything to eat or drink?” Benet asked. “There’s a lot of healthy stuff in the stasis keeper. I had to go into the city to buy my own bacon and eggs.”

Making a face, which didn’t affect her beauty at all in his opinion, Marushka said, “I’ve already eaten and the menu wasn’t healthy but it was delicious. They do eat well here in the empress’s palace. I should be going—it’ll seem suspicious if I stay too long.”

“She’s actually here to see a horse,” Dmitri said with a grin. “So don’t flatter yourself she came to check up on you .”

“A horse?”

Poking him playfully in the ribs, which didn’t hurt at all, Marushka pretended to be insulted. “I am a veterinarian, remember.”

“How in the seven hells can you juggle those duties with all the events going on at court?” Benet asked.

“I’m not the primary vet of course, but I’m listed on the official roster. It’s a handy excuse to get inside the venue and see you..” She kissed him quickly. “My father has several troika teams racing this year.”

“Teams of three horses,” Dmitri interjected.

“And one of them, Solzhy, likes to bite his harness mates, which of course isn’t good for the team pulling together and winning any races.

We have him on a strict regimen of drugs to help his anxiety so I’m here to check his blood levels.

He likes me,” Marushka added with a smile. “I always bring sugar cubes.”

“Why keep him in the race at all?” Benet asked.