Page 3 of Benet

Decision made, Dmitri broke into a run, using his Badari speed and headed for the practice field where the uneven ‘test’ was to be conducted. He was never reluctant to take part in a fight, beat up a few of these repellent Outliers, and thwart their plans so today would be a golden opportunity for him.

And if I vouch for the prisoner as being a Badari, who can question me?

No one would dare, not even the duke. The idea was vastly amusing to Dmitri. All these centuries since he was brough to Outlier he’d gloried in small rebellions and hidden gestures and this would be the best joke of all, helping a human masquerading as a Badari.

* * *

Benet’s escort took him outside the castle into the late afternoon sunlight and into a grassy expanse enclosed by sonic fencing. A group of men waited at the far end of the rectangle. From here Benet could see they were clutching wooden swords and shields. He took note of a few who seemed comfortable with the weapons because those would be his serious challengers. Twenty to one was bad odds even for a gladiator of his caliber but if he could mow down enough of the untrained men right away without giving the more expert fighters an opening to take him, then he stood a chance.

The guards took him to the center of the makeshift arena, where there was a viewing stand of sorts, occupied by several men and one young woman. Benet’s eyes went to her instinctively because she had a sweet face currently set in an expression of distress. On his behalf, he hoped. Now wasn’t the time to be eyeing a local beauty but something about her drew his attention like a magnet. She was richly dressed and obviously high ranking, her elaborate hairdo accented with jeweled combs and big rings on her slender fingers.

The nobleman in the center of the group, seated on the thronelike chair with an elaborate crest carved into the gilt back, cleared his throat. “You will fight,” this man said in heavily accented Basic. “You will show me what you can do and I warn you, it had better be good after all the trouble and expense I’ve gone to.” His eyes narrowed and he snapped at the officer. “Where is his vest?”

“I’m not wearing that thing,” Benet said. “When I fight I only wear the symbol of my own House and since I have no insignia here, I’ll fight bare.”

He could tell the noble was upset but Benet was going to deal with this mess he was in his way, not bending a knee, not giving in on any point. He might never see the Five Systems again and would probably be executed here in the Outlier Empire but he’d die with his pride intact. Turning away from the viewing party, Benet scrutinized the massed group of opponents. He could tell which five were the seasoned warriors by the way they held their weapons and their stance. The other fifteen exhibited varying degrees of being scared and grimly determined.

A servant brought him a wooden shield and sword, which he accepted with a grimace, swinging the useless blade to get the feel of the weapon. At least no one could kill him either today but a mob could do him serious damage and unlike Kyden and the other real Badari, he didn’t have magical powers of healing. He decided to stick to his original strategy of ridding himself of the riffraff first while avoiding the actual experts. If he engaged with the good fighters first, even untrained yokels could swarm him while he was distracted and bring him down.

Trumpets blew, at which Benet rolled his eyes. The pomp was ridiculous here in this grassy field with the situation set up the way it was. It was about as far from honorable combat as it could get and nothing like the arenas he fought in back home. He’d believe himself to be acting in a farce except for having been kidnapped and now facing a throng of opponents.

The mob was advancing, weapons raised. Suddenly there was a roar and the Badari came sprinting onto the field, moving at the speed only a true Badari could manage. He carried one of the practice swords but no shield and came directly to Benet, slapping him on the shoulder, causing him to stagger several feet to the left. “We fight together.”

“What the blazes do you think you’re doing?” The noble had his hand raised, which stopped Benet’s opponents in their tracks. He was addressing the Badari, plainly displeased.

“We Badari fight as a team,” the warrior said, pointing to Benet and then to himself. “I stand with my brother, always.”

Benet stuck out his hand. “I’m Benet and I’m grateful to have you on my six. But why?”

“Call me Dmitri,” the big man rumbled. “And I want to hear more of these Badari you claim to know. If I wish to learn more, I have to keep you alive, yes?”

They shook hands and pivoted to face the other men, who were glancing at the noble, plainly uncertain what he wanted them to do now.

“All right, proceed,” the man said grumpily. “It’s not what I had planned but we all know Dmitri does what he wants unless his owner is here to pull his reins. What are you waiting for?”

Benet knew what he was going to do and his plan hadn’t changed a bit even with Dmitri’s arrival. He raised his sword and shouted defiance, running to meet the oncoming throng. Dmitri was at his back and the epic fight commenced. Apparently there were rules, which Benet wished had been explained to him too but if either he or the Badari touched one of their opponents with their sword, men in bright yellow tunics pulled their victim from the fray. Of course Benet’s ‘touch’ was a smashing blow or an uppercut with the edge of his shield so most of the men he engaged with weren’t leaving on their own two legs. Towards the end he and Dmitri were back-to-back, brawling with the core of men who’d known what they were doing and the fight was fierce. Benet was in the grip of battle fever, which sometimes overtook him in the arena at home and having Dmitri with him was like fighting as a team with Kyden so no one was going to defeat him today.

Finally the fight ended, with the last few men lying on the ground, battered but not dead, as they would have been had they met Benet in the arena in this kind of a situation. Dmitri threw his sword far away, raised his head to the sky and howled a victory cry. Benet dropped his faux weapon and shield and grinned, chest heaving. He and his teammate slapped each other on the back and turned to face the viewing stand.

Benet’s gaze went to the girl first. She was deathly pale and seemed shocked by what had gone on. He was glad he hadn’t killed anyone in her presence. Noticing him eyeing her, she managed to smile and gave him a little nod. Dmitri waved to her with a cocky wink.

The noble was on his feet, chest puffed as if he’d won the battle personally. “Oh yes, you’ll do, Badari. When you take the field at the Games wearing my crest—which you will do, no more of this rebellion, hear me? All my rivals will know they’ve been bested and the prize will be mine.” He turned to the girl, who Benet assumed was his daughter, going by the resemblance in bone structure and shape of the eyes, except she was beautiful. Holding out his hand, he said, “We’re done here.”

“Yes, father,” she said meekly, rising and brushing wrinkles from her elaborate dress. As she walked away with her parent, followed by the hangers-on, she cast a shy glance over her shoulder at Benet.

“Grand Duchess Marushka,” Dmitri said, not even breathing hard. “I’m her official bodyguard. She’s like a daughter to me.”

Benet heard the implicit warning. “Lovely girl. Now what?”

Dmitri stepped to his side, resting one brawny arm on his shoulders and said, “Now we retire to my house here on the estate and drink. Tomorrow we start training so you perhaps have a chance to live.” The Badari shook one finger in Benet’s face. “Not to escape. There is no escape from the Outlier Empire. This place is like a black hole—once you’ve been sucked inside, there’s no way out.”

Deciding to reserve his opinion on the issue until he gathered more intel, Benet walked with Dmitri off the field. The Badari waved away the squad of guards who had obviously come to collect Benet and return him to his dungeon or somewhere else equally depressing. The officer in charge frowned at Dmitri and made rapid fire threats in Outlier but the big warrior laughed and kept walking, taking Benet with him.

“Badari stick together so you will live with me. I have an extra room.”

Chapter Two

Marushka could tell her father was quite pleased with himself as she walked toward the main house in his company. He was talking to his friends rather than to her but she followed her usual strategy of being seen and acting as the dutiful daughter. No one expected her to have an opinion about fighters or the Games.

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