Dragon's Honor - Kij Johnson [40]
“I’ll take that wager, brother,” Chuan-chi said. “Five hundred cycee—and fifteen concubines—on the valiant Tu Fu.”
Other male voices chimed in, betting for or against the Starfleet officer, but Riker was too busy to figure out which way the odds were running. He glanced about hastily for his missing phaser, but could spot no sign of the weapon. All of a sudden he remembered the two handmaiden’s hands crawling over his body a few moments ago. Could one of them have lifted the phaser during the confusion? Suspicion wrinkled his brow. Maybe this was more than a drunken brawl. Tu Fu’s sudden attack, immediately following the theft of his phaser, smacked of premeditation and conspiracy. Kicking his feet free of the surrounding pillows and cushions, Riker reevaluated his foe. Tu Fu was obviously more sober than he looked and a good deal faster.
The warrior came at Riker again, this time slashing out with an open palm. Riker yanked the upper half of his body backward, away from the blow, but the sharpened tips of Tu Fu’s elongated fingernails grazed the front of Riker’s dress uniform, tearing five long gashes in the sturdy red fabric. Riker’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t realized the Pai’s long nails were more than decorative. I’ll have to keep one eye on those nails, he thought, or risking losing both of my eyes. He threw another punch at Tu Fu, but his fist once again collided with one of Tu Fu’s meaty arms.
All around Riker and the giant warrior, wedding guests and serving women had drawn back, forming a circle of excited Pai around the two combatants. Scattered cups, dishes, and cushions remained strewn about the harem floor. Boisterous bachelors, clutching overflowing goblets of wine, cheered and booed the battlers, jostling each other to gain a better view, while the female servants scurried away toward safety or else hid behind the bodies of the men, peering at the fight over the bachelors’ shoulders. Even the humorless Chuan-chi appeared to be caught up in the growing excitement, shouting words of encouragement to Tu Fu just as the enraged soldier took a second swipe at Riker. Lowering his head just in time, Riker felt Tu Fu’s razor-sharp fingernails brush over his scalp. A lock of Riker’s dark brown hair fell almost unnoticed to the floor. I don’t think this is what the captain had in mind, he thought ruefully.
The fighters circled each other warily, with Riker taking care to remain at a safe distance from Tu Fu. The Pai was easily three times Riker’s weight; if they started grappling up close it would be too easy for the other man to use his mass against Riker. He wasn’t about to let that happen. “Coward!” Tu Fu taunted him. “Are you afraid to fight me?”
“Hah! Show him what you can do, Will!” Kan-hi yelled from the sidelines. Easy for him to say, Riker thought. At the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the Dragon’s scapegrace younger son standing in the forefront of the mob watching the fight. He had one arm each around the shoulders of two nearly naked serving girls who looked like they were holding the inebriated prince upright. Riker only got a quick look at the two women, but he could have sworn they were the same seductive pair who had tag-teamed him less than ten minutes ago. Had one of them taken his phaser? And if so, was Kan-hi in on the plot?
Tu Fu gave Riker no leisure to consider the possibilities. A ferocious growl rumbled out of the warrior’s wide chest and he raced at Riker with both clawed hands outstretched before him. Riker suddenly felt like a matador facing down an onrushing bull. Worf would love this, he mused at the exact moment that he tensed to dive out of the way. Left or right? he wondered, coolly considering his options. “Get him, Tu Fu!” a voice commanded from somewhere right behind him. “Destroy the foreigner for the honor of the Empire!”