Page 77 of Phoenix Burn

Matt paced between me and Sebastian, but he must have sensed my disgust. “Yoou need suction cups oon thoose glooves,” he said. “Oor maybe, a bit oof team spirit.” He shot a look at Sebastian.

Surprisingly, the Bellati responded. “She did just fine.”

His clipped tone was almost pissed sounding. What the hell was his issue?

“Didn’t say she didn’t,” the Dire contested.

I looked from one to the other. Suddenly, the air between them stank of challenge.

“Let’s get moving,” I ordered.

The next obstacle wasn’t far away. A series of structures—water-filled ditches with wooden grids between them.

Neil leaned on a nearby tree. Beside the Sabre, a bunch of long poles stood upright in a container.

“Progress report?” Sebastian barked.

The Sabre stiffened at his tone. “Dude, what’s up your ass?” When the Bellati simply stared, he sighed and tapped the comm unit on his ear. “I’m tuned in. Firelizard’s Dires all went beast. Their one Cryptid wasn’t strong enough to pull them up the cliff, so they didn’t complete that obstacle. Tyrez had to rescue two of them. We let them continue for pure humiliation’s sake.”

I ignored the Bellati, and the conversation, while I examined the sign. It showed us using the poles to vault some of the grid work, balance across the tops of beams, and jump the ditches.

“We doo this in oone go?” Matt said in astonishment.

I stared at it. “If we stop anywhere in it, I bet it’s next to impossible to keep going.”

“Whoo designed these things?” Matt stared suspiciously at the Bellati.

“You could always have Mari carry you,” Sebastian suggested without looking at him. He pulled a pole from the stand and tested it to find the balance point.

The Dire glared at him. “Think I can handle this. Without your bleedin’ pole.”

I shot Matt a look—the man might be an ass, but he was our instructor—but Sebastian merely said, “I’ll go first, and show you how it’s done.”

Matt growled.

Time to put an end to this before it gets out of hand. “Well, stop measuring dicks, and let’s do it,” I urged.

Sebastian snorted—a distinctly horselike sound—and took off, leaping from a standstill to plant one end of the pole in the ground and vault the first of the grid work, then he did a triple somersault over the ditch to land on the beam. He used the pole to help him balance as he ran across it and planted it again to vault the ditch.

“Bloody shoow ooff,” Matt growled.

We stared as the Bellati executed the entire thing not only with rhythm and symmetry, but style.

“The blooke’s doone this befoore,” Matt complained.

“Designed it,” I said. But in fact, I was rather breathless, watching Sebastian. So graceful, and yet powerful. The only way to achieve that was with lots and lots of practice.

Not to mention natural talent.

Matt rumbled low in his throat and eyed me. “Not sure you could hold on to me through this one.”

“No, I think I’m on my own, Wolfie.”

He bared his teeth at me, and then he launched himself.

For sheer determination, the Dire took the prize. His body wasn’t especially suited to balance on the narrow beams, but he managed it with surprising dexterity. The leaping was no issue, and he only missed the timing on one ditch, landing too close to the edge and having to fling himself over, narrowly missing a dunking.

I swallowed as he reached the other side. This was not going to go well for me.

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