Page 53 of Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs #1)
Chapter Thirty-Three
A familiar pain radiated through Mercury’s shoulders. He couldn’t feel his hands. For once the chants of the crowds, dully pulsing somewhere overhead, were a welcome promise of relief. If he was expected to fight, whatever he was being punished for would be forgiven.
He forced his eyes open. Lo was by his side.
The dull gray drapes that divided up the staging area blurred momentarily, and the shadow of another place fell across his field of visions.
It twined around the pillars and slipped along the ceiling like a ghostly phantom, painting his world with memories of a dream.
A dream so sweet he couldn’t fathom how it could have come from his imagination.
He had no frame of reference for a human medic that would treat him with respect and a woman who would stand at his side with courage in the day, then hold him in her arms through the night.
“Samantha.”
“You say her name like it’s some fucking prayer.” Drake sneered then shoved him from behind to set his body swinging.
The pain spiked, but not enough to steal his consciousness and send him back into the blackness. Not enough to distract him from Drake’s words. Not enough to disperse the intense anguish that came with the return of reality.
Samantha was no dream. She was real and, because of him, she was in the hands of the worst of monsters. He’d brought her here. He was to blame.
Mercury snarled at the man who’d been his trainer and his tormentor. “Where is she?”
“Don’t worry,” said Drake. He circled them as if he were tethered to them as surely as they were tethered to the cold metal rings over their heads. “I’ll make sure she has a good view of your match.”
Lo’s snarl snapped Mercury’s attention to his brother and the whip-master taunting him from a safe distance.
He didn’t see Carn or Hera. He could only hope they’d managed to evade recapture. They’d be free. But at what cost?
“Will this match be as fated as the last?” He still remembered the horror of watching the Game Master’s thumb dip down.
“Oh, much worse,” said Drake. “The medic will be here with the drugs shortly.”
Lo shuddered. Normally, Drake would have jumped on the opportunity to torment him and draw out his fear, but he was focused inward and he continued speaking.
“Grande wanted me to whip you first. Try to get you to tell us where Carn is hiding. I convinced him that would be pointless. Pointless and bad for our image. The crowd should always see you looking strong.”
They’d heard that axiom often enough.
Mercury coughed up a bitter laugh. “Still trying to earn your way into your master’s good opinion? I’m surprised he let you live after how badly you failed.”
A flush crept up Drake’s neck. If his features tightened any further, his face would crack. He turned and stalked a few meters away.
Mercury locked gazes with Lo. “She told me you didn’t follow because of my strategies or my success. After stumbling at every turn this day, I’m thinking she must have been right.”
“She is right.” Lo yipped. “She wouldn’t want you to waste time blaming yourself.”
Mercury dipped his chin in acknowledgement. “We have no time for regrets.”
“No regrets,” echoed Lo. His voice dropped and turned wistful. “I regret nothing.”
“She also said there’s always hope, brother. We won’t give up now.” Mercury howled and Lo joined him. All around them, other voices rose up and merged into a song of grief—an expression of agony known to all Arena Dogs.
Drake spun around to face them. “Shut the fuck up!” He turned in a small circle and shouted the command out to all the Dogs being prepped for matches. “Shut up!”
Mercury let his howl fade to nothing and the others followed. “We are Arena Dogs!”
“We are Arena Dogs!” The shout came back to him, clear and strong with the power of every Dog close enough to join in.
Mercury sucked in air and shouted again. “We are strong!”
“We are strong!”
Mercury’s heart surged with the combined will of all Dogs. “We will be free!”
The chant thundered back to him. “We will be free!”
“We will never give up!
“Never!” Their voices drowned out the arena crowds as they broke into howls and hoots and discordant cheers.
Mercury met Drake’s blood-red complexion with a smile of satisfaction. He wouldn’t give up. Samantha would not die on Roma, nor would she live under the thumb of the owners.
Mercury forced all his energy and breath into making a low-sound alert. Many of the others joined him. He took another breath and dove back into the silent booming of their infrasound calls. It had to be enough to alert Saber. It had to be enough to give them some small opportunity to fight back.