Page 10 of Shadow's Chosen

"Of course. I wish there could be another way..."

Elise was about to ask him "another way for what?" when Jerico hollered for them at the stair.

"We got a situation at the pits," he called to them.

Elise forced herself not to roll her eyes.I swear on my life if one of them started a fight already with these people, I'm going to clock them in the head myself. She smiled again at Ronin. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Are you going to the sparring pits? May we join you?" he asked.

Elise couldn't see any reason why not. "Let's all see what kind of trouble we started."

Together they left the gym and headed on to the bridge. At the end of it was a small double stair leading down into a large open area set up with enclosed pits in rows of four. One could walk a path past each and look down into them. At one in particular near the back, a large group was huddled tightly together. Through the many drogin that were barking and growling, Elise saw Adrien yelling while holding Reese back from jumping down into the pit. Elise shot down the stairs along with Jerico and Amy. They pushed their way to the front once they reached the pit, and Elise looked down to see Bruce on the ground with one of the alien bounty hunters on top of him, a nasty shark-like male with rows of sharp teeth and black eyes like a doll. The shark was whaling on Bruce, who covered his face with his arms. Elise was struck speechless as she watched, the drogin and her team wild with excitement and fury all around her. When she looked over to the other side of the pit, she found the hunter's deathly leader staring back at her across the way, his eyes bright with wicked amusement. The rest of his team beside him jittered and laughed. She froze again as she stared at him, and his mouth widened into a grin that showed her a set of curved fangs, a long pair then a shorter pair beside them. A real shit-eating grin if she ever saw one.

She responded with a tight-jawed frown, hands clenched into fists. Though her heart started hammering at the sight of him, she didn't dare look away. Oh, how she wanted to smack that grin right off his gruesome face.

A pair of drogin in uniform jumped down into the pit and finally separated the two. The shark leapt out with ease while Bruce had to clamber out with the help of the drogin.

"You fight as dirty as you look," Reese snarled, with Adrien still holding him back. "I'll kick your ass right here, right now, shark boy."

The shark hissed something back, and the others of his group laughed once more.

"Enough!" called one uniformed drogin as they exited the pit. "We aren't here to fight like this. These rings are meant for light practice only!"

The group of hunters didn't seem to listen or care. They jeered away until Reese pulled out of Adrien's grip and dropped into the pit. The group's leader nodded to one of his own, and an amphibious looking alien joined Reese in the pit. The uniformed drogin were pushed back as the crowd huddled in closer to watch. Elise stepped to the edge to jump in and separate them but was caught at the arm by Jerico, who shook his head.

The pair circled each other several times, the amphibian crouching low. Reese struck first but wasn't quick enough, his opponent dodging easily around him. He tried to strike again, punching left then right, but missed every time, the hunter clearly toying with him. When Reese went for a loose roundhouse kick, the alien dodged that too then hit Reese right across his neck and shoulder, taking him to his knees. Reese fumbled back up only to be hit once more across the stomach and face until he was backed into the wall. He kicked his leg out to stop the hunter from coming, but the alien didn't falter. He jumped up and slammed his feet into Reese's chest, taking him out once more. Reese buckled and fell, but the alien kept on hitting.

"Stop," Elise shouted. "He's out! Stop!" She wrenched her arm out of Jerico's grip and dropped into the pit. As the alien was about to kick Reese in the stomach, Elise got between them and blocked the blow. She hissed at the sharpness of his powerful kick but didn't fumble back. The alien stopped and backed off but only for a second, only to assess her. Elise put up her arms and took a fighting position. Behind her, Reese stirred, and Adrien and Jerico climbed down to aid him. Elise didn't relax her stance, but the alien didn't come at her. Instead, he looked to his leader, who made a quick gesture, and the amphibian stepped back.

Elise kept her position for a moment longer then dropped her arms. "You think it's fun to beat a man when he's down? You're sick," she called up to the head hunter.

The crowd of drogin quieted as the leader crouched down, his elbows on his knees. He tilted his head at her, his eyes traveling down her body, and Elise felt herself flush. He said something she didn't understand and remembered he couldn't yet fully speak drogin.

"What did he say?" she asked the drogin around her. They looked at each other, and Ronin stepped to the edge.

"I can understand Xolien," he said. "He says that he thinks it is necessary for those to learn how to fight every way possible. That the enemy will fight dirty, so shall they."

The head hunter said more, and his team snickered behind him.

Ronin looked to Elise apologetically. "He also says 'yes, it is fun.'"

The leader grinned again at her, and Elise was very close to rushing over and pulling him down so that she could show him just how fun it really was. Then she realized how stupid that would be. She hated to admit it, but he could likely overpower her, and her team had been laughed at enough already.

"Well, I bet it won't be so fun when you get your ass beat." She scowled. The alien huffed as if the mere thought that he could be defeated was entertaining at most. He talked at her again, and Ronin repeated.

"What? By you? I could lose both my legs and one arm, and I'd still have the upper hand." He laughed.

"Is that a challenge?" Elise asked.

"Elise, don't," Adrien said.

"No. It's a warning. You don't want to fight me." His gaze fell across her once more. "I wouldn't want to put a mark on that pretty little face anyway. Though” —at this, Ronin hesitated and grimaced— "the thought of you beneath me is a tempting prospect."

Elise felt sick. She was beyond words at first, trying to process what he said. That she had just been so very insulted and so shockingly hit on by this savage looking monstrosity shook her. She fumbled with her words then started for him when one of the uniformed drogin pushed his way back to the front.

"If you truly wish to fight each other without severely injuring someone, take it to the mission arena." The drogin pointed to the door at the far back of the sparring pits where a metal door remained closed and a drogin continued to guard it. "There, we shall see which team has a real advantage. What do you say?"

Elise and her team eyed the other but said nothing.

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