Page 4 of Ironhold, Trial Two

“I made it!”

I'm delighted and surprised to find that Cesca makes it through the selection process. She hugs me in the great dining hall, dressed now in the brief skirt sandals and halter top that form the training gear for a new gladiator. She has the circle representing the Colosseum burned into her left shoulder, the same as all the rest of us.

“Thank you,” she says. “Without your encouragement, I would have given up. I wouldn't be here without you, Lyra. I wouldn't have a chance at freedom.”

I hope I have done the right thing by encouraging her. It means that she is now in a dangerous place and will need to fight for her life.

“What's your talent?” I ask. I hope she is not a null. She does not have the size or strength to survive without powers.

“I can conjure small sparks of lightning,” she says. “And I already know about you. Everyone talks about you. You can control beasts.”

She says it as if that is something exciting rather than something to be afraid of. Something the people of the city hate.

“I can talk to them,” I correct her. I know that's not the extent of my powers, but I also know I must be at least a little discreet. Beast whisperers are not loved in Aetheria.

The surprising thing is that people are talking about me. I know people were cheering for me in the Colosseum but those here in Ironhold know me. Surely I am not famous among them?

Cesca is not the only new arrival. Just eight of the twenty or so conscripts have made it through to begin their training. They are new faces around the dining hall, some looking around nervously, some trying to project confidence and strength. One young man, larger than most of the others and heavily bearded, stalks over to me.

“I’ve heard of you too, and I don't think you're anything special,” he says. He towers over me, broad-shouldered and muscular. He's too close to me.

“And your name is?” I ask.

“They call me Arctus,” he says. “But I think a little thing like you should be more polite than that. How about you move aside and let me have that seat?”

I realize what he's doing. He’s trying to pick a fight. He’s trying to show how tough he is so that he won’t be bullied by everyone else. My guess is that he’s scared, and he’s taking that out on me. It’s almost enough to make me move aside.

“Or better yet, how about you come sit on my lap, make me welcome?” he says.

Another figure walks up. She is dark-haired and possibly the loveliest woman in the room, wearing a red dress that falls from her shoulder to reveal her gladiator's mark. Her dark eyes look over Arctus with contempt.

“Or how about you go away and stop bothering us?” Ravenna says. Lady Ravenna, since she is one of the nobles within Ironhold. "You aren't even good-looking enough to be worth commanding for long."

Arctus snarls and moves towards her, obviously deciding that he can fight her as easily as me. Somewhere in the middle of the movement, a look of absolute terror crosses his face. He turns, running from the dining hall, not even looking back. Ravenna's power is over the minds of those around her. Occasionally she reminds us just what a frightening power that is.

“Thank you,” I say.

She shrugs casually. “What are friends for? Besides, he was scared anyway. He was lashing out because he thought it would make him less afraid.”

She says it in a matter of fact tones of someone who was able to look into Arctus’ mind directly. It’s another reminder of just how powerful she is.

“I'm surprised you're down here in the dining hall,” Zara says, from where she's sitting nearby. “I thought you got your meals brought up to you by adoring servants.”

“Sometimes,” Ravenna says. “And they are very adoring. But sometimes it's also nice to come down and see who the new people are. Plus, I get to talk to all of you.”

I still find it strange that Ravenna wants to be friends with me. That she takes any interest in the conscripted gladiators. She is noble, and she is powerful. She is obviously friends with Vex, Alaric, and the other free gladiators. She has no reason to spend time around me. And yet she does.

“Talking of dining in the fineries of my noble quarters,” Ravenna says. “Lyra, in a few days I will be holding a little… soiree for a few friends. I would love it if you could join us.”

“Me?” I say. I look around at the others there. “ Just me?”

“For this one,” Ravenna says. “I like to introduce people individually to different groups of friends.”

“I’m… not sure,” I say.

Ravenna puts a hand on my arm. “It’s nothing sinister, Lyra. I promise. And I think you might enjoy it. Please?”

The strangest thing is that she doesn’t push at me with her powers. It would be so easy for her to manipulate me and force me to say yes, but instead she holds back. From her, that's a considerable mark of respect and friendship. Normally she uses her powers on people as easily as breathing, and with as little thought. That effort is enough to make me nod.

“All right,” I say. I try to deflect her attention a little. “Have you met the newcomers yet?”

Ravenna shakes her head. “But that's part of why I'm here. To see if anybody is interesting.”

She joins us, talking casually, as if half the eyes in the room aren't on her. I know she's aware of it. I know she likes it because she feels it gives her influence. Cesca is currently staring into her eyes like a moth drawn to a flame.

“Hmm, perhaps,” Ravenna says.

I worry about whatever web Ravenna is drawing the newcomer into, but I also know that she's a potentially powerful ally, who could also help the new gladiators. Her help might be the difference between survival and failure here for them.

Even as I'm hesitating one of the trainers comes in. “Lyra, you have a visitor. Quickly now.”

I have no time to spend now trying to disentangle the new gladiators from Ravenna's influence. And maybe it's better that they fall in with her than with one of the other nobles, or find themselves bullied by the stronger gladiators. I must go with the trainer, heading for a room higher up in the fortress. The kind of room that a noble would enjoy, although this one is largely bare. The trainer leaves me at the door. I'm surprised he's escorted me this far. It says a lot about the power and influence of the person within.

I know who it will be before I enter. Lady Elara Moonshadow is waiting for me patiently, seated on an elegantly carved wooden chair that is only one step away from being a throne. She is in her forties, with dark hair bound up atop her head with a golden comb. Her features are sharp and striking, her eyes perceptive and intelligent as she waits for the door to close behind me. I must stand before her like a servant before a ruler.

“Lyra, there you are. Are you ready for your first lesson?”

She says it without preamble, catching me slightly off guard. But why else would she be here? She has agreed to teach me more about the powers I possess, about what it means to be a beast whisperer. She has told me it's a dangerous path but that I need help if I am to control those powers.

The thought of that makes a note of fear run through me. I know she is expecting so much from me, and I’m not sure if I can be all she wants me to be. She is going to show me how to use powers I am only just learning that I have, powers I’m told people will hate me for.

“Why is it you’re so interested in teaching me?” I ask. She must have her own reasons, her own agenda. I want to know more about what those things are.

“In part, because I think it’s important to teach others such as myself,” Lady Elara says. “In part, because I think you can be useful.”

“Useful how?” I ask.

“For now, let’s say that people should be able to see one of our kind without fear. In the arena, you can be a hero to them, Lyra.”

A hero? I don’t feel very heroic when I’m in there. And it doesn’t feel like that answer is enough.

“And that’s your whole plan?” I ask.

“It’s as much as I’m prepared to tell you for now,” Lady Elara counters. “I’m not obligated to tell you my every thought.”

It’s a reminder that, for all that she’s helping me, our positions are very different.

I nod. “I still have a question, though.”

She cocks her head to one side. “I'm always open to questions, Lyra. Although which ones I can answer is a different matter.”

I hesitate before I ask it. I know that what I am about to ask her for is potentially a lot.

“Why are we doing this here?” I ask.

“What do you mean? Is this room not acceptable in some way?”

Again, it takes me a moment to build up my courage. What if she says no? What if I’m asking too much? What if I anger her just by asking for this part? But I must ask.

“I've heard about nobles being able to take gladiators out as their patrons,” I say. I try to gauge her reaction to the words. “About inviting them into Aetheria.”

“And you're hoping I will do that?” Lady Elara says. Her eyes search my features. “It would only fuel some of the rumors.”

There are many rumors about us. It is impossible to hide the fact that she comes to see me, or that she has requested my presence after some of my bouts. Plenty of people believe that she has taken me as a lover. Others have decided that she wants to be seen with the most outrageous gladiator of the games, the one who refused the emperor's command to kill.

“Do the rumors matter?” I ask. “I thought they kept us safe. And… Ironhold is hardly a private place.”

She seems to consider that. After a few moments, she nods. “You're right. My intention was to bring you into the city anyway when you were ready. Obviously, when I first met you, you had yet to complete your first season, so it wasn't an option. But now… if you are serious about what I have to teach, then perhaps you can be more use to me out in the city.”

My heart sings at the possibility. If she will take me from this place even for a little while, it will give me a chance to see more of Aetheria. Perhaps I might even find a way to eventually escape. A way that will not see me dragged back and killed.

“But you must understand, Lyra, that there are limits to such patronage. The patron guarantees the safe return of the gladiator. Should they escape, the patron is expected to be the one who hunts them down. If that does not happen, the patron is likely to share their fate. Our lives will be in one another's hands. Do you think we can trust one another enough for that, Lyra?”

I feel suddenly ashamed of my thoughts of escape, because I know if I put them into practice I will be endangering her, putting her in a dangerous position at the very least. And I’m sure she will have known exactly what I was envisaging.

I nod.

“Good,” she says. “Now, to our practice. We do not have much time.”

I try to prepare myself, ready for whatever she has to teach.

“How many animals can you feel nearby?” she asks.

I don't entirely understand the question. “Feel them?”

“Yes. When you are close to an animal, you can feel its thoughts and emotions, correct? You connected to them. You feel some ephemeral part of them, and you make contact with it.”

That doesn't sound like a question. Or if it is, it's one she already knows the answer to. She knows far more about what it means to be a beast whisperer than I do. I try to imagine what it is like when I connect with a creature. She's right, it's as though I can feel their presence in the moments before I make contact.

I nod my agreement.

“So how many can you feel?” she asks.

“I'm not sure that I-”

“So concentrate,” Lady Elara says, making a demand of it. “Stop talking and focus. Close your eyes. Do it.”

The sharpness of the command is a reminder of the difference between our positions. She is a noble, there to teach. I am a slave gladiator, and now her student.

I do what she asks, closing my eyes and concentrating, trying to feel the space around me. I reach out with the part of me that is buried deep inside, trying to feel the presence of every animal I can. For several seconds I am just standing there, aware of nothing but my breathing. This does not feel like the grand magic she has in mind.

Then I feel something close by the scurrying presence of a mouse. I can feel its needs and its wants, and somehow in feeling that I start to push past it. I feel more mice. I feel beetles climbing the walls. I feel a spider waiting in its web. Still, my mind expands.

I feel the great beasts in the cages somewhere far below. I feel the presence of the shadow cat, still healing from its last time in the arena. I feel the Ironhide, down in its pen, feel great lizards and deadly chimeras. I connect to each in turn, my mind an ever expanding web of presences, almost too many to take in. I feel my awareness rippling out and out, taking in more with each ripple, with new beings there, new senses, new ways of experiencing the world.

“How many animals can you feel,” Lady Elara asks.

I open my eyes. “All of them.”