Page 286 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

He didn’t say anything or make objections, though I definitely shouted a bunch while struggling in the grip of the Kertinal soldier holding me.

Da’vi shook out his damaged fingers and turned to stalk to the wall with practice weapons, his eyes scanning over them.

Eventually, he took a single knife, small, with a smooth handle.

It didn’t seem adequate protection against two swords the length of the General’s arms.

“Ready, gentlemen?” Or’tal asked, stepping onto the sparring mat between Da’vi and Allignon. It was almost like witnessing an old-fashioned duel. The two of them gave each other a nod and tapped their weapons together. Then Or’tal leaped off the mat, and the two started to fight.

I was steaming inside, furious at how unfair it was that this asshole had been chasing Da’vi and thought he had a right to his skills.

He was a big bully, using his power to make people do whatever he liked.

I really hated bullies, it made me want to do violence myself.

It made me remember the schoolyard bullies who had bothered my brother, and how I’d slapped some sense into their leader.

In a flash, I realized that my brother and my father had been my bullies all my life.

I’d let their nasty words, derision, and mockery taint everything I did.

I’d run from them because I didn’t know how to fight them, but enough was enough.

They weren’t going to rule my thoughts any longer, just like I knew that Da’vi was not going to let Allignon get away with this.

*

Da’vi

I was fuming over the underhanded way Allignon was conducting this dispute.

Holding guns on my Sunshine? That was just such a dishonorable thing to do.

That he forced me to take off my prosthetics, I could understand, the coward knew he was no match for me, and this was the only way he could level the playing field.

Without my preferred weapon to use, my fighting style had to adapt. My hands were so damaged that it was a struggle to even hold the knife. I wanted something to deflect with; however, I had to make it work.

As soon as Or’tal gave the signal to start the match, Allignon was on the offensive, hacking at me with his curved swords.

I danced out of the way, ducking to avoid their razor-sharp edges, catching some blows with the knife when he got close, and others with the bladed tip of my tail.

I couldn’t forget about the knife on my opponent’s tail either; it whipped around, slashing underneath my guard.

“Get him, Da’vi, you got this!” Arianna yelled from the sideline, and then her voice was joined by the cheers and yells of my brothers and their mates too.

A grin split my face when Allignon faltered for a second, and I whipped up my tail, catching him with the blunt side hard on the wrist. One of his swords clattered to the ground, and I kicked it so he couldn’t pick it up again.

I took satisfaction in seeing my friends cheer for me, while Allignon’s soldiers remained deadly silent.

That wasn’t because they were following protocol; during Rites of Dispute, cheering was very much allowed and expected.

It was telling that they didn’t cheer for him; his own guards didn’t care if he won or not.

When he came at me again, it was with renewed vigor, hacking so hard at my knife with his single blade that my fingers went numb.

Pain shot up my arm, and the scent of blood filled the air.

My fragile skin had torn. Kertinal required a diet that contained certain proteins, or our tough skin weakened.

During my year-long incarceration in gladiator stables across the Zeta Quadrant, my owner had failed to feed me properly.

My skin was still suffering the effects of that lack, especially on my hands.

“You are weak!” Allignon laughed, and his words sank beneath my thin skin like barbs.

I was weak; I wasn’t the same Da’vi Ertague I’d been during my time serving on the Balista.

Another whack hit the small knife, and it flung from my numb fingers, my grip no match for that kind of force.

A small spark of fear wormed its way into my brain. Was I going to lose?

Then my eyes spotted Or’tal, who was standing right next to my mate.

Her face was pinched and pale as she listened to whatever he was whispering in her ear.

It distracted me, enraged me—so much so that Allignon managed to score his first true hit with his sword across my ribs, blood welling along the narrow cut.

“Gotcha. One more slice and you’re mine,” Allignon said gleefully.

But I saw the sheen of sweat on his brow, saw the way he was sparing one of his legs as we circled each other.

He was already tired, and his knee was bothering him.

He was old. It didn’t matter that my hands were useless, I could defeat him with my tail alone.

Then Arianna’s voice rose above the cheers and shouts of my brothers, clear as a bell, she yelled, “You’re a coward, Allignon! A bully! You have no honor!” She was no longer cheering; she was heckling my opponent. I loved this woman so much, and with her to fight for, I couldn’t possibly lose.

I curled my hands very deliberately behind my back, making it clear that I was fighting him without touching him.

The bioluminescence flared brighter across my former Captain’s skin, his face tightening in anger.

He didn’t like that—it made him look bad—and Arianna’s daring words were pissing him off, royally.

When his eyes shifted from me to glare at my female, I feinted with my upper body one way and then sank the tip of my tail into his wrist for a shallow cut.

“Now we’re even,” I growled. “One more cut decides it all. Where do you want it? Shall I avoid your face, so you won’t have to bear this shame publicly?

” My grin made him pinch his lips, but he didn’t respond.

It was getting easier to avoid his tail and sword slashes, he was tired, and he was angry.

He was going to slip up; it was only a matter of time.

“Good job, baby!” Arianna shouted over the crowd. “Get him in the face! He deserves it!” She was almost making me laugh now, which was an experience I’d never had before during a fight. Face it was, for the lady.

It only took a bit more dodging to get under his guard.

Then I kicked the ankle of his bad leg and he crumbled.

My tail caught him with the sharp point beneath his eye, carving out an inch-long gash.

He howled—more from anger than pain, I suspected—and the gladiators cheered.

I didn’t trust him not to stab me in the back in a fit of rage, so I stepped back slowly, my eyes on my felled opponent.

Then Arianna thudded into my back. I knew it was her from her scent, her excited scream.

I couldn’t catch her with my mangled hands, but she clung to me with her arms around my neck from behind, her legs wrapped around my middle.

“You did it, Da’vi! You were magnificent!

” she crowed, her entire face wreathed in smiles.