Page 64 of Rifted Hearts
He tipped his hat toward Jessie and José and the eclectic assortment of human and rift people around them.
The actual name for the monstertown sounded even sillier out loud.
“We are also honored by the presence of Xiang Jao,Matriarch of the Saguaro Rift drakone clan.” Garreth’s voice held an edge despite the diplomatic words.
Remi noted that the word “guest” had been left out of the introduction.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to everyone who helped defend our ranch last night.” Garreth tipped his hat to Lyall and Kat, which wasn’t that surprising, and did the same to Remi, which was frankly astonishing. “Thanks to them, we have only a few people with minor injuries, and we all know it could have been much worse.”
Garreth gave his horse a pat on the neck.
“We often talk about a visit to Moon Star Ranch being a trip to a past world, where the traditional skills of ranchers and wranglers were required for survival,” he said. “Today we find ourselves in an alien world, with different rules and customs. The matriarch has assured me that our inclusion inside their piece of the Riftworld is temporary, but for now, we have to abide by drakone laws and tradition.”
There was a low, anxious murmur, mostly from the strictly human side. The monstertownies already knew what was coming.
“Two members of our ranch family have been caught up in an ancient and, to me, incomprehensible tradition of combat. That is why we have been asked to bear witness to something similar to an Old West showdown.”
Remi wasn’t sure why Garreth had included him in the ranch family, but any comfort that might have brought was offset by the disturbing realization that the ranch guests and staff weren’t here out of morbid curiosity. They had been ordered here as witnesses on Kaveh’s behalf, while the entire drakone clan was here on Rhys’s side. That didn’t bode well for Kaveh’s position in the family, even if this dueldidn’t end up with him dead or injured enough that he would have to capitulate and hand Remi over to Rhys anyway.
The drakones had the ranch by the balls. The agreement to allow Riftworld water to flow into ranch lands allowed the ranch to continue as it had for decades, and Garreth couldn’t piss off the drakones and endanger that arrangement. Not to mention that Garreth, his family, employees, and guests were all trapped inside a fragment of an alien universe ruled by Xiang Jao and the clan elders.
Garreth went on to explain Remi’s awful situation concisely, adding that Remi was ratkind. That last bit was probably to reassure the humans they weren’t likely to end up locked away in a livestock chute, waiting to be either married off to a monster or killed by one. The crowd’s chatter after Garreth finished his speech abruptly cut off, and Remi jerked his head up.
Rhys had entered the arena, Tarasque by his side, and was walking along the ranch side of the audience. The two were accompanied by Kaida.
One guardian and one second. At least that was what Remi thought a duelist’s best friend was called. Tarasque was talking in low tones to his fellow husband. Judging by his rigid stance and Rhys’s continued head shakes, Remi guessed the older drakone was trying to talk Rhys into something sensible, like not killing Kaveh and torturing Remi again, to death this time.
Rhys lifted his head and locked eyes with Remi, hatred in his gaze. Remi could have tried to drop his gaze and avoid provoking the drakone further.
Instead, he flipped him off.
Rhys took a step toward Remi but was brought up shortby the immovable bulk of Kaida. He settled for folding his arms and glowering, his back to the humans and rift people on the ranch side of the bleachers.
Kaveh came walking out along the opposite side of the arena next, and after a collective inhalation of breath, the crowd burst into applause. Not a polite clap or two, either, but a roar of support that reverberated through the air.
Kat rose to his feet and jogged over to Kaveh’s side to be his second. Lyall appeared to be restraining himself from leaving his own seat by glaring at Rhys’s back. His eyes were red enough to shoot lasers, and Remi was rather impressed Chrissie not only remained seated next to the infuriated hellhound but even gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. Kaida came over to the center of the arena, her movements faster than Raion’s but not by much. After a whispered conversation with Kaveh, Kat walked up to the female guardian, facing off against Tarasque. There was more talking, which Remi couldn’t hear but assumed involved both seconds reporting back that the duel was still on.
Remi swallowed, his insides feeling like he had ingested acid. He hadn’t expected Kaveh not to go through with it, but this extinguished his last hope of a compromise that would prevent Kaveh from injury or worse at Rhys’s clawed hands.
Kaida lumbered toward the chute, which Remi guessed was so she could join Raion as Remi’s captor. After several interminable minutes, she reached her destination and came to a stop outside the bars, sinking into absolute stillness next to her fellow guardian as they surveyed the combatants.
Metallic notes rang out through the air, sounding like clashing wind chimes in a gale.
Kaveh turned his back on Rhys, which Remi didn’t likeat all, and bowed deeply to the matriarch and his clan. Rhys, for his part, kept his own back to the bleachers holding Kaveh’s supporters and made no move to bow toward them.
Remi had no idea what the hell this all meant, but a growl from Raion that sounded like a rock tumbler starting up suggested Rhys had committed a dragon-duel faux pas.
The sound of the chimes cut off, and Rhys attacked.
He wasted little time transforming into his aerial form. Kaveh lobbed a fireball of summ where his ex had been standing, but it was too slow and too off-target.
Remi had seen Kaveh fight off the phantoms at the petting zoo with his poisonous fire, and he could tell this wasn’t a serious attempt to kill.
Rhys, unfortunately, had no such moral qualms.
His gray-scaled body twisted up into the air in a gyrating spiral, and three whirling dirt devils spun toward Kaveh. He dodged two, but the third caught him and slammed him backward against the wooden fence surrounding the arena.
Rhys dove down toward him, sending a hail of rocks and dust toward Kaveh and blocking another burst of summ that arced in his direction.
