Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [16]
Feeling guilty at being the cause of her pain, he says, “I’m sorry.”
She smiles at him and says, “Hey, don’t worry about it. We got out didn’t we? This is pretty minor compared to the fate I would’ve had if we hadn’t.” She pats him on the arm with her right hand and gives him a reassuring smile, then continues, “So don’t feel bad. I don’t, okay?”
He smiles back at her and says, “Alright, I won’t” Glancing around to see that everyone has already mounted and is ready to go, he turns his horse to the south and breaks into a canter. The others follow along behind.
He takes the lead with Jiron next to him, the girls in the middle, and Tinok eating their dust at the rear. After they’ve traveled a ways, he asks Jiron, “Just where did you and Tinok learn to fight so well?”
“The Pits,” he replies.
“Pits?” James asks.
“Yeah,” he says, as he continues riding. “They’re not altogether legal, but many of the wealthy pay to have people fight one another with weapons for their amusement. It pays pretty well, but you usually don’t survive long.”
“I always did the knives, so did Tinok. We both rose up through the ranks quickly, you see we both kind of have a knack for this sort of thing. We never were set against each other and were able to become friends. Friendship with another in the Pits is rare, because often you have to face them; many don’t even bother. But we got along well, even though we knew a day would come when we would be set against one another.”
“Finally, the day came when we were set to face off in the pit. You never know who you will be facing until your name is called. When our names were called, we both marched out into the pit and by this time, our friendship had grown very strong. We both could see that the other’s heart was not in this. When the order was given, Tinok opened himself up to me, didn’t even try to defend himself, he was willing to sacrifice himself rather than strike me. The crowd was not happy, they had come to see blood spilled. They began calling for me to kill him, but I couldn’t.”
“I came and stood next to him and cried to the gathered people, ‘We will not fight each other.’ You can imagine what happened next, they sent in the bruisers, the ones who deal with problems in the pits. Two came in, wielding clubs. We stood our ground and in no time at all, they were dead at our feet. We stood defiant before the crowd, side by side.”
“Next, they brought in two armored guards with swords, and to the shock of everyone there, they soon laid dead at our feet too. After that the crowd began to realize what they were seeing, and started applauding us. Two upstarts, who wouldn’t play their game, ended up playing their game.” He breaks out into a laugh. “So from then on, they paired us up. They would send two, three, sometimes four against us at a time, but none could match us.”
“Incredible,” James says.
“Yeah,” agrees Jiron, “it was.”
“What made you start in the first place?” James asks.
“My sister and I used to live on the streets,” he explains. “And one day, a man came to me and told me about the clubs and that he thought I might have some talent at it. He offered me a silver if I came and at least tried some sparring with him. I did and found I actually did have some talent for it. I’m pretty good with any weapon as it turns out, but with the knives, I’m very deadly.”
“The man trained me for six months and then I had my first fight. They put me against another knifer and I took him relatively fast and received coins for winning. After several fights, I was able to get a small place where my sister and I could live, a place she would be safe until she could hopefully find a good man. She never wanted me fighting, but you gotta do what it takes to survive.”
“I understand that,” he says.
From behind them, Cassie interrupts and asks, “Do you think they’re going to follow us?”
James turns into his saddle and says, “Most assuredly, it’s only a matter of time. I’m just hoping they won’t think that we’re escaping