Page 29 of Shadow's Chosen

"Fine. Since I honestly think you're bluffing and know the Red Blades aren't known for their brawling skills, I'll give you this." The drogin leaned forward in his chair. "A bet is a bet, and I don't need others thinking me a sore loser, so you have my word. If you somehow manage to win, you will have your prize, and I'll let you walk out of here without a problem. Deal?"

"Deal," said the Red Blade. Elise wanted to hurl, she was so angry, but she didn't think he could possibly beat them.

"We will even make it easier on you and have no time limit." The drogin reclined back in his chair. "I'll let you keep on your gear too, since it won't be a fair match anyway." He grinned. "Good luck."

At that, the other fighters turned away from one another and instead set their sights on the lone man. Elise sat up straighter so she could watch, uncertain who to root for. The rest of the crowd leaned in close to the rail in anticipation. They stood at the ready as the buzzer went off and the fighters moved.

Elise had seen her share of brawls. Bar brawls, base brawls. She'd even been a part of a few herself. She was used to the sight of men and women fighting; of them wailing on each other, pushing and shoving. She was used to seeinghumanmen and women. But the ones in the pit were not human. And theydid notfight like them. What she saw was so savage, so violent, it actually stunned her. She couldn't remember the last time something shocked her to this extent. And much of it came from the lone Red Blade. He was utterly ruthless. In a mere instant, one fighter jumped on him and was on the ground before Elise could blink, their jaw broken in. He was so fast, he moved through the fray of fighters, cracking ribs and jaws, breaking arms and shattering knees. Several fighters went down in only mere minutes. The others backed off to assess the masked man. Two tried to gang up on him, but, once again, he outpaced them. Blood gushed from the mouth and nose of one drogin as he fell, a lygin swiped from the back, only to have his hand blocked and twisted backwards then kicked so hard in the stomach he soiled himself.

Elise stared in bewilderment at the scene, not noticing at first that she had her hand covering her mouth. She dropped it but couldn't peel her eyes away. As terrifying as the Red Blade fought, she also couldn't help being a little inspired. He blocked so effortlessly and moved so gracefully nothing seemed to hit him. He knew where to hit and how hard to do the most damage. His strikes were as quick as a snake...

The more she watched him, the more his movement seemed oddly familiar. She swore she'd seen that sort of fighting style before, only less extreme. As the bodies racked up and only a few fighters remained, she knew something was up.

The Red Blade took out one of the lizards by kicking its head into the wall, leaving only two remaining: a large drogin male, perhaps the biggest she'd yet seen, and another smaller drogin with quick reflexes. They came at the Red Blade as a pair which turned quickly into one remaining as the smaller drogin went down on its back with its nose smashed in.

The large wolfish drogin turned to the Red Blade and snarled, baring his teeth. He struck out his long arm, cracking the stone wall of the pit beside him. He charged the masked man, jaws open, ready to bite, and the Red Blade merely ducked, uppercutting the drogin in the jaw, snapping his mouth shut. The large drogin shook off the blow and lunged, swinging his fist down which the Red Blade blocked then grabbed his wrist in one smooth movement, pulling him down and clocking the drogin in the head with his elbow. As the drogin fell forward and came crashing to the ground, the man swung around onto his back and hit him a few times more on the skull until he lay limp on the ground.

The crowd did not make a sound as the Red Blade rose amidst the sprawled out bodies. They eyed their leader, who hadn't moved, nervously.

Ruzi stepped forward and was quickly stopped by the pack leader's hand. "Don't even think about it," he hissed.

"I win," said the Red Blade. "Now I will take her and go."

"You...are truly skilled, Red Blade." The pack leader stood. "I...don't suppose I could offer you a chance to stay with us? I could use a fighter like you. And you could still have the girl all to yourself—"

"No." The Red Blade gestured to Elise. "We leave. Me and the girl."

The drogin grimaced. "Get her bag and weapon," he ordered his men. "I'm a man of my word. You may leave this place unharmed," he said to the Red Blade.

Elise didn't believe that for a second, but the men brought her things and forced her to her feet.

The drogin put up his hand for them to wait. "I would ask you to remove your mask first. A courtesy to those still living who'd like to know such a glorious opponent."

"No," said the Red Blade.

"I must insist," the pack leader growled. "Otherwise, I can't properly hand her over."

The Red Blade's hands clenched into tight fists then loosened. He lifted his hands, removing the mask and throwing back his hood.

Elise felt her body turn to ice and her breath catch in her throat. A few in the crowd hissed, some cursed and looked away.

"You...are not what I expected," the pack leader said after a pause. "But then, one who fights like you would have to look the part."

Nezka rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "It has its advantages. But I didn't want to scare your fighters away so quickly. Fair match and all." He gestured again to Elise without looking at her. "Now, we will be going."

Someone pushed at Elise's back, but she found she couldn't move. The alien before her was indeed Nezka the hunter in the flesh. Only, half his face was missing. The skin was gone, seared away, showing bits of muscles and bone, exposing his cheek bone, sharp teeth, and jaw. Flesh was burned on the outer edges, darkened to a near black. His left eye was partially blackened as well, leaving the coloring around the pupil to look red. If he looked like death before, now he absolutely was.

Someone shoved her forward, and she stumbled to the edge of the pit. Nezka looked up at her, taking her in as much as she did him. Her bag was kicked to her feet and her gun tossed on top of it. Elise hesitated, tearing her eyes away from Nezka to pick up her things. As she pulled her bag over her shoulder and holstered her gun, Nezka climbed out from the pit to stand beside her, ignoring those men who glared at him with vengeful intent. Elise, so stunned by the sight of him and what she had just witnessed, let him take her arm and pull her away.

The crowd parted as they worked their way out of the building, and Elise turned her head to look back at the pack leader, who watched them go, his men close, whispering in his ear.

As they made their way out to the garage, they found several cars of their choosing, but the one Nezka decided on was some kind of motorcycle with thick wheels, encased in a blue-black steel. No one stopped him as he hopped on the bike and started it. Red lights lit up its sides and across its wheels, and the engine purred to life. Elise looked around and saw people watching...waiting.

"They aren't going to just let us leave like this," Elise whispered as Nezka messed with the touchscreen on the cycle's dash and tested the controls. He revved the engine and adjusted himself on the seat so that Elise could sit comfortably behind him.

"They will. But only until we leave their keep," Nezka said in a low voice. "Then they are going to chase us. Get on."

Elise did as ordered and got on, pressing herself close to Nezka's back, hand clutching his waist. She might have been appalled at having to be so close to him before, but in this moment, she didn't trouble herself over it. She just wanted to get as far away as possible from this place.

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