Page 12 of Tender Captivity (Human Pets of Talin)

Holian wasn’t impressed with his adversary in the least. Tarquin might be an imposing Talin, but Holian was hard to intimidate. Besides, many fighters found out quickly when they trained with Holian that size didn’t necessarily equate to superiority.

Holian didn’t let fear or worry take hold. A diligent warrior worked on keeping a calm mind. As his father had been fond of saying: A boat will make faster progress in tranquil waters than roiling waves.

The urge to seek out Jinna with his eyes was strong, but he fought it. Looking at her would not help his composure. He had to trust that Renalan would watch out for her. But that made him think of something else.

As one of the Facilitators talked to the crowd, he glanced over at the man he considered a brother.

“I’ve never seen Tarquin fight,” he admitted.

“It doesn’t matter,” Dalt said. “All we need to know is that he’s not militarily trained. You will be better than him.”

Holian sounded a rumble of agreement. “Perhaps. But I need you to swear to do something for me.”

Dalt made a quiet rumble of assent and answered without hesitation. “Anything.”

“If I lose, you need to take Jinna and hide her away. I know you and Lakin are clever enough to do that. But don’t leave her on her own.

She might do something foolish like try to follow me to the House of the Ancestors.

Put her someplace where she can be part of a community and help others.

That will give her focus and purpose without me. ”

Dalt was perfectly still and silent for a moment, regarding him with an unwavering gaze.

Holian felt Dalt’s quiet strength. This soldier, who’d endured more than anyone should, had a serenity few achieved.

This was the one male Holian repeatedly sought out when he felt he could speak to no one else about the troubles weighing on him.

He thought they were more than friends. He thought they were closer to brothers.

But what was causing Dalt to hesitate?

Finally Dalt spoke, but the words weren’t what Holian was expecting.

“I will accept your request with the understanding that I won’t need to fulfill it.

If you expect failure, it will happen. You told us that in the beginning of every class you taught.

When the war with the Braxin started, you said it before every mission.

I don’t want to be the one to call my mentor a hypocrite, but the word does hold some truth at this moment. ”

Holian couldn’t help the rattle of surprise that came out of him, followed quickly by a rumble of amusement. “Consider me suitably chastised, my dear friend,” he answered. “I withdraw my request. When I’m finished here, we’ll all go back to my compound and enjoy a meal together.”

“Those terms are acceptable,” Dalt responded as he held out his hand for Holian’s regalia. “It’s time.”

Holian’s hands were steady as he unclipped his belt and handed it to Dalt with his Ident Cube and pouch hanging from it.

“Fight well and bring honor to us all,” Dalt intoned the formal words.

“Honor in life or death,” Holian responded with the rote phrase.

They nodded to each other one more time before Holian turned to face his opponent. One of the Facilitators had finished giving the formal address and stepped back to stand with the rest of the gray-robed Talins and the healer.

It was time.

Wordlessly, the two of them stared at each other. This was the first part of the Challenge: a battle of wills. Which one of them would break and attack first?

It was no surprise to Holian that his younger challenger didn’t last long. His war rattle was impressive, but Holian had heard louder.

He stood perfectly still as Tarquin charged.

At the last possible moment, he gracefully pivoted to the side.

The large male couldn’t check his speed before crashing into the stone wall.

Although Tarquin was unlikely to fall for that again, this first interaction gave Holian a good idea of the male’s speed and reflexes.

Now he had a basic plan—let Tarquin wear himself down before trying to best him.

More cautious now, Tarquin circled Holian, throwing out blows to test Holian’s defenses.

It was a smart strategy but one Holian was far better at.

Instead of blocking, he evaded Tarquin’s attacks and returned very few volleys.

He was quickly learning Tarquin’s rhythm and habits while giving none of his own away.

“Yield to me, old man,” Tarquin growled as he swiped his claws through the air.

Holian made sure the blow was close enough to give Tarquin the illusion of almost making contact.

“I don’t want to hurt you. You’re a legend, and my sibling is alive because of your tactics during the battle of Dimitor.

She was serving on your ship, and you kept her alive.

But I owe a debt to the Lolian family and couldn’t refuse this fight.

Let me take you down. I’ll be quick and make it look good, but I won’t hurt you. ”

That’s when Holian realized Tarquin was far more clever than he’d been led to believe. The male barely finished speaking and turned too quickly for Holian to avoid him. Only because Tarquin slowed his speed fractionally was Holian’s chest merely grazed by his quills instead of impaled.

This male wasn’t as frantic, foolish, or slow as Holian had thought.

After the quills barely missed, Tarquin moved up fast, trying to box Holian. He made a show of crashing a shoulder into the stone wall where Holian had been.

Tarquin spoke quickly. “They promised me the little human female when I win. I’ll take good care of her. She’ll be shielded and treated well. I swear this to you. Let me lay you down, Commandant. Let me save us both some pain.”

For a brief moment, Holian was enraged. If this male hadn’t taunted him, he would have been able to remain composed. But Tarquin’s blithe promise to care for his precious Jinna tapped a deep well of rage he hadn’t known was there.

“You have no ancestors waiting for you!” he ground out, handing Tarquin one of the worst insults possible.

Moving on instinct, he ducked and jabbed.

The blow was successful, and he was able to wedge several of his quills between Tarquin’s and twist. The angle meant he broke half of Tarquin’s quills on his left arm, but all Holian’s remained intact.

Tarquin jumped away, roaring and rattling with rage. Forcing himself to stay calm, Holian noted this was a real battle now. Tarquin had made his offer, but Holian hadn’t accepted. This was no longer about testing each other’s skills or trying to find a compromise. This was a fight to win.

It could turn out to be a fight to the death.

Rolling his shoulders back, he waited for Tarquin to attack so he could plan out his next move.

As he rolled his head, his neck plates separated, and he felt a sharp impact.

His head snapped up, slamming those neckplates closed.

His body jolted as something buried in the skin under the plate dug in.

Then he felt a shock.

It had to be an electro-dart. Someone with a lot of skill had launched the small projectile from a silent weapon and hit him in a vulnerable spot.

A quick glance told him no one had seen, not even Dalt.

He reached up to see if he could dig the dart out, but as expected, Tarquin took advantage and charged. Holian moved to evade, but the dart delivered a shock to his system, causing him to stumble. Tarquin hit him straight on, sending him hurling into the stone wall.

He fell to the ground but quickly scrambled to his feet. Heart racing, he looked around the audience. He had to two opponents to fight now, and for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure he could win.

*****

“Something’s wrong,” Jinna said as Holian got back to his feet after being thrown into the stone wall.

“What? No, he’s fine. Look, he’s up and moving,” Lakin assured her.

“That’s not what I mean,” Jinna insisted. “He’s not moving the same. Something’s wrong. Look at how stiff he’s holding his neck.”

“Could he be injured?” Lakin asked, biting her lip. “That hit was pretty hard.”

“He went stiff before the other guy got him. I saw it. He jerked and then reached for the back of his neck and then wasn’t moving right.

” Jinna glanced over to where Nelaran and his family were standing.

They all looked as arrogant as before, but now she got the sense of satisfaction coming from them. As if a plan had fallen into place.

“They’re making this happen!” she hissed, pulling her hand out of Lakin’s so she could point to the family. “I don’t know what they did, but somehow they got to Holian.”

Lakin glanced from the family to Dalt and then turned her gaze to Jinna. “You’re right. My Dalt is upset. I can tell. He’s seeing something up there that isn’t right.”

Jinna looked at Dalt and thought he looked exactly the same as he had before the fighting had even started. But she wasn’t about to doubt Lakin. “What do we do?”

Lakin started scanning the crowd. “Look for someone on their Ident. No one should be looking away from the fight. It would be rude. But someone’s out there using an information square or their Ident to hurt Holian.

They must have gotten an electrode or nanos injected in him and are jolting him at key moments so it looks like he’s losing naturally.

The last thing that family would want is to be accused of cheating.

Their reputation is barely holding on as is.

But they also can’t afford to lose this Challenge. ”

Impressed with Lakin’s quick thinking, Jinna followed Lakin’s example and started looking around at the crowd.

“There!” Lakin declared and tugged Jinna’s arm. She was pointing at a Talin standing at the far end of the platform. He had his Ident out and was glancing back and forth between the Ident and the fight.

Without another word, both women started weaving their way through the crowd.