Page 8 of Benet

“I’m honored.”

“Marushka is a silver medalist herself,” Dmitri said after swallowing another huge bite of eggs. “She competed in the equestrian events at the last games.”

Benet gave her a look of respect and she blushed. “I had a good horse who followed commands like a dream,” she said.

“Not competing this year?” Benet asked.

“No, I have too much to do getting ready for my wedding and all the social events surrounding the occasion. I would have loved to enter the ring again but father said no and the empress reinforced his refusal.”

The mention of the fact she was engaged was a setback to the way Benet’s thoughts were running about the beautiful duchess, although she didn’t seem to care much for her intended. Probably just as well though. He wasn’t here to find a woman, he was here to figure a way out and go home. Already he could tell Marushka would be a serious distraction if he wasn’t careful.

“You’re the most exciting thing to happen on this old estate in years,” she said, leaning on her elbows and staring at him intently. “Although I’m sorry about the circumstances. But if we could win the games, that’d be huge.”

He wasn’t sure how he felt about her attitude, considering he was a prisoner and his entire life had been upended. He could care less what a victory in these games would mean for her family. “Would it be enough to get my freedom?” he asked bitterly before he could stop himself.

Marushka blinked and seemed a little taken aback. “Maybe, if the Empress was impressed enough and if you could speak to her.”

“Sorry but none of this is a game to me,” he said, trying not to let his frustration bleed through too much. This lovely woman wasn’t the cause of his problems. She was only trying to be friendly. “I had my entire life and everything that mattered to me ripped away once and I refuse to suffer the pain a second time.”

“What happened?”

“It’s how I became a gladiator,” he replied. “I was young and idealistic and fought for what I believed in when my alliance of planets went to war against one a few light years away. We lost or were sold out and as the losers, we were taken prisoner and sold as slaves. I ended up in the Five Systems and managed to survive in the arena.”

“If you fight beside this Kyden you told me of, you must be a good fighter indeed,” Dmitri said.

“I have a good life there and I want to get back to it.” Benet spoke the truth from his aching heart.

“Was there someone special for you?” Marushka asked with more than idle interest, or so he inferred from her tone.

He shook his head. Best to try to discourage her now. “I’m a player, your highness. Probably many ladies in the Five Systems mourning my absence.” He was trying for a lighter tone since it wasn’t her fault he’d been kidnapped but to his own ears he sounded a bit pathetic.

“Oh.” Now she played with her remaining food and the dogs sat up to lay their heads in her lap as if trying to cheer her up.

“We’re all too serious,” Dmitri said, setting his plate and mug in the dishwasher. “Time to show you the first challenge. Come.” He strode out of the kitchen and Benet hastily finished his juice and followed. The Grand Duchess trailed behind.

Dmitri led them out of the cottage and across a wide swath of carefully tended green lawn, through a thin strip of trees and into a huge clearing. Benet stopped and eyed the structure in front of him, letting out a whistle. “What in the seven hells is that mess? Looks like the duke dropped a freighter full of junkyard scrap here.” He could see the primary structure was an open geodesic dome but then the space within was full of complicated smaller structures interlaced in uneven patterns.

“You’ll see. First we’ll walk around it.” The Badari ushered Benet toward the structure, which resembled a demented version of a child’s jungle gym, but with spikes. The framework shuddered in the morning breeze and parts inside shifted visibly.

After he’d made a 360 degree circle around the thing, which was two stories high, Dmitri stopped. “You have to make your way through one like this at the games, without getting sliced up by the sharp edges. Time is important. The man who posts the fastest time on this and the obstacle course gets the most favorable position on the field of combat.”

“Climb through it?”

“I’ll show you.” Walking up to the nightmare installation, Dmitri grabbed two struts carefully and hauled himself up and inside the complicated maze of metal. Benet watched in disbelief as the huge man worked his way through the coils and stacks of razor-sharp extrusions, moving generally upward and toward the center. He and Marushka circled the maze again, accompanied by the dogs, to keep Dmitri in view until he leaped to the ground from about fifteen feet up on the opposite side. A few scratches on his arms were already closing.

“Okay I’m in awe,” Benet said. “But how in the name of the underworld demons did you do that? It all looks basically the same to me and it’s all deadly.”

“Once you’ve entered, you have to find the path, which does exist by the way. There’s one allowing you to proceed with the least amount of damage,” Dmitri replied, “This is an exact replica of the one which will be at the imperial games and I have the clues to the safe routes memorized. You must do this as well.”

“You’ve done this before?” Benet asked. “In competition?”

Dmitri rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the floor. Marushka said proudly, “He won the Games five times and the Empress ruled he couldn’t compete any longer. Dmitri is unbeatable.”

“I believe it.” Benet had no doubt. How could humans possibly hope to defeat a Badari in a contest like this?

“Ae you ready to try it?” the Badari asked.

Hells no. “Sure, show me the ropes.”

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