Page 20 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

“You see that?” Maria touched my shoulder and pointed to the muscular man holding his face. He fell to the ground an instant later, screaming profanities at the top of his lungs.

“Sure, it worked, he’s out. But look at his opponent,” she added, nodding at the still-standing man covered in green paint. His arms were raised in victory, but the grimace on his face told a different story. “He must have broken his hand with that hit.”

I nodded in response to her observation, for, in fact, I did see. The blonde was physically in the same class as his foe, but had underestimated the necessity of proper form regardless of being evenly matched.

He might have won, but at what cost?

It was fair to say that things were much different here in the underworld street fighting rings than I’d expected. For example, professional boxers knew how to hold their fists when punching correctly, but these fighters were a different breed.

“You could do it better,” I told her.

“I know!” Maria raised her hands in the air in exasperation. I’d never seen her so passionate about anything except maybe our slumber party and Pretty Pretty Princess and…

Well, actually, this seemed to be a normal state for her.

“It just pains me to watch.” She shook her head.

“So, what do we need to do?” I was half-asking, half-talking to myself.

The extent of my knowledge about the more illegal fighting rings came from a bear-shifter comic I’d once read.

The underestimated hero provoked fights simply by existing.

And, despite his misplaced confidence in his self-taught boxing, he’d continually been pummeled during the first half.

However, an illogical burst of strength and an inspirational self-monologue would usually give the hero the strength to win the day.

It was quite uplifting.

“We need to find out who’s in charge.” Maria crossed her arms. “There’s normally some sort of payment to enter these things, and—”

“Go punch that guy.” I pushed her shoulder and nodded toward a giant man half-hiding at the other end of the busy room. He didn’t notice that he’d become the subject of our attention and chose that moment to spit his chew onto the floor.

His aim was off, and the tobacco landed on the shoe of the person standing next to him.

The spit-on person took offense, rounding on the offender. But it seemed our target could, at least, throw a proper punch, and he’d knocked his opponent into the wall within a second.

The saliva-covered man fell to the ground, unconscious.

“He’s exactly what we’re looking for,” I told the lioness. He wasn’t a weakling either, which would cause Maria’s popularity to skyrocket fabulously.

She could have the violence and recognition she longed for, while I could stay safely hidden in the background, making our dreams a reality.

My pulse was soaring already, and my stomach fluttered with nerves.

This was so exciting.

“I don’t know.” Maria pursed her lips, giving the man a once-over.

She didn’t seem to be impressed by his prowess.

“It seems too easy. I’m looking for more of a challenge.

What about him?” She flippantly motioned toward a banner hanging over the ring as if that wasn’t enough.

On it was a fuzzy picture of a man in a red suit.

He had multicolored hair streaked with variations of purple and orange, and a striking black mask covered his facial features.

Under the photo, in a zig-zag font that was more childish than impressive, was the alias Skull Crusher.

I was hesitant to tell her, especially since our friendship had just levelled up, but…

“He’s okay, I guess.” And he probably could fight too, since he appeared to be the reigning champion and all that. But those who had the most respect weren’t the ones who posed in flashy costumes for poorly illustrated banners.

We needed someone like our tobacco-spitting friend.

As we watched him, he’d already turned down at least three offers to enter the ring.

Yet he was strong enough to knock a man out with one hit.

If Maria wanted to start somewhere meaningful, she had to get him to spar with her.

It would show that she was particular about who she fought while showcasing her strength.

“Ignore him for now,” I told her, pulling her attention away from the banner. The room was loud, but she had no trouble keeping up with the conversation. “Challenge the spitter.”

“The spitter?” Maria raised her eyebrow and gave me a dubious look. “Is that his name?”

I shrugged. Who knew? I had no idea what to call him yet. “We’ll see.”

“But what…” Maria began, then raised her hand to cover her smile. She cleared her throat, her tone serious as she reclaimed her sentence. “What exactly am I supposed to do?”

Wasn’t it obvious? Then again, this was why I was the manager.

“Get him to fight you,” I explained. “But try not to hurt him too badly. Just make it look good. Then win. After that, we’ll need to disappear.”

“But why?” Maria pointed to a folding table set up to our left. “I’m pretty sure that’s the ring manager right there. We can sign up—”

“Trust me.” I rubbed my hands together. Yes, it was clear that I should be the mastermind of this operation. After all, if we did things her way, we’d have to pay money, and they’d probably match her with someone weak until she proved herself. We could bypass all of that.

My way would have them begging her to be here, and we could charge them for the honor of having her bless the stage with her presence.

We’d both get what we wanted.

Speaking of…

“We need to think of your stage name,” I told her.

“My what?” She lifted a brow.

“Your stage name.” I indicated the ring. “Like, what they call you when you’re fighting.”

“Oh…” She chewed on her lip, considering.

Two new fighters were involved in another unimpressive round.

This was why I appreciated the theatrics of professional wrestling.

Where was the chair throwing? The fire and smoke?

Even at the very least, the shirt ripping?

Sure, everyone knew all those things were fake, but that didn’t make it any less entertaining.

“Maybe The Lusty Lioness—”

“No!” Never. I sliced my hand through the air. “The Lone Lioness.”

She frowned at me. “Why do I have to be alone?”

“It makes you more enticing!” Duh.

“You’re really getting into this.” She was watching me, expression critical. “Are you secretly an adrenaline junkie? You haven’t been scared at all.”

I put my finger to my lip and cocked my head. I didn’t understand her question.

Why should I be scared? It wasn’t like I was the center of attention. Any lingering glances mainly had been tossed in Maria’s direction. People were more invested in the fight than anything else.

It was only scary when people noticed me.

“I’m not complaining!” Maria shrugged, unbuttoning her blazer. She handed it to me, then loosened the buttons at her wrist and rolled her sleeves to her elbows. “This suits me just fine.”

“You’ll do it?” My stomach twisted. It was all becoming more real. I had half-expected her to turn down this plan, to say the whole thing was stupid. Then we’d return to Titus’s office and sit around drinking lattes while we reminisced about our almost-adventure.

The Spitter suddenly seemed meaner-looking than before. “Do you think you can take him?”

“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “Bears are slow and brutish. It’ll be a cinch.”

Bears?

Hold up…

“Maria…” I reached for her as the room slowly closed in around me. There was a mix of supernatural beings around us, but I hadn’t placed any bears. I needed to learn faster. “Are we—what is that?”

Maria had put on a purple ski mask, which, paired with heels, a black mini-skirt, and her lilac blouse, was the one thing that made her stand out among the other business-minded people placing bets.

“No, I get it. You’ll want us to be anonymous, right?” Maria asked, tucking her long blond hair into the hood. “I haven’t seen anyone I know, so this has worked so far. But if we do this, they’ll try to figure out who we are. Put this on.” She shoved a similar mask in my direction.

I held up the burgundy garment with two fingers. “Why do you have two ski masks in your purse?”

Maria’s shoulders tensed, and she looked away. “Never mind that.” Her words came out in a rush as she snatched the mask out of my hands and pulled it down over my face. “Let’s just get this show on the road.”

“But…” I’d sent her to fight a bear? This was not what I’d envisioned.

I could not handle this level of intensity.

However, if Maria even heard the beginnings of my protest, she ignored it and pulled the hood down over her face. She’d already shoved her purse into my arms. I watched helplessly as she strolled across the room with an air of confidence I’d never imagined replicating.

It took her less than an instant to reach her target, and she wasted no time making her introductions.

I had absolutely no idea what she was saying, but it wasn’t difficult to read the body language.

‘Hey there, big guy.’ She’d tapped his shoulder and ran her fingers down his ridiculously huge bicep.

I frowned at the scene. This was not the plan. Not that I had very much confidence in the plan anymore, but still.

The bear was initially suspicious, already raising his arm to strike, when his grouchy expression softened. Of course, being the rough sort, he’d not have a way with words.

True enough, his reply was a simple, ‘How’s it going, toots?’

Maria covered her mouth with her hand, and her shoulders shook girlishly. And my fears began to fade into annoyance.

What was she doing?

We’d decided on ‘lone’ lioness, so why was she going with ‘lusty’?

Regardless, the flirting seemed to be going rather well until suddenly, the two of them shook hands, obviously reaching some agreement.

I narrowed my eyes at the sight.