who are out of control!’ Kwin snapped back. ‘You think you’re beyond the law!’
Had I been closer to Kwin, I’d have warned her not to antagonize Cyro. But I saw the anger in her expression. She wouldn’t have listened anyway.
Cyro stared at her, his face now flushed with anger. ‘I really hate lippy women,’ he said, his voice low but clear. ‘And lippy young girls like you are the worst of all.’ He gave an exaggerated sigh, then turned andbegan to walk away. I couldn’t believe it. Had he given up? But then he gave a gesture – a sudden downward thrust of his left thumb.
Immediately his men started running towards us, their clubs raised.
Everything happened very quickly. Perhaps they’d expected us to run, but we didn’t. We stood our ground. I watched Jon duck under a blow aimed at his head. The club missed; Jon’s fist didn’t. It connected with thejaw of his assailant, who went down. Others were racing to attack, and Kwin was in their path. I ran forward, attempting to get in front of her.
Then I was ducking and punching, and we were suddenly moving forward in a line, driving our opponents back. I glanced to my right and saw Kwin fighting alongside me. She now had one of the clubs in her righthand and was swinging it with deadly accuracy. I suddenly thought we might actually win.
Cyro had expected us to run for it; in any case we surely had no chance against his armed thugs. But we were either trainee Arena 13 combatants or stick-fighters. We were young and fast, more than able to cope withthe clumsy attacks of Cyro’s muscle-bound men. The girls were also fighting back; with her club, Kwin was a force to be reckoned with.
Then Deinon pushed through to my other side, also wielding a club. As our eyes met, he gave me a grin.
But my initial optimism was shattered when I saw Cyro summoning reinforcements. Outnumbered, we fought on for another minute, but then they were all around us. Suddenly our line broke. People were fleeing inall directions. I was reluctant to run, but I saw Kwin sprinting away and tried to follow her.
Then I felt a tremendous blow to the back of my head and knew no more.
I opened my eyes and looked up to see Cyro frowning down at me. I was hauled roughly to my feet. A dozen or more of his thugs surrounded me.
A quick glance about told me that I was no longer in the amphitheatre. We were in one of the tunnels – the dark ones. The only light here came from torches carried by Cyro’s men.
‘I don’t think Genthai should be allowed to fight in the arena,’ Cyro said. ‘You’re animals, just like the lacs. You belong with the ferals down there.’
He gestured, and a cold shiver ran down my spine as I guessed what he intended to do. He was pointing towards a metal grille in the wall of the tunnel. Beyond it were steps leading down into the darkness.
This wasn’t the grille I’d passed with the others, but it served the same purpose: to prevent feral lacs from getting into the Commonality. I noticed that the metal here wasn’t rusty, and it was larger and sturdier, withhinges and a lock. It was really a door. It could be opened . . .
It was open now.
They dragged me to the doorway and pushed me through. I almost fell down the steps. Before I could regain my balance the grille clanged shut behind me.
Cyro grinned at me through the bars. ‘You won’t be missed and your absence will be easily explained. They certainly won’t dare point the finger at me. Every year people go missing in these tunnels, never to be seenagain. But your disappearance will deter others from intruding into my domain again. A few broken heads and a missing trainee – that should do it. It could have been any one of you, but I’m glad it’s a Genthai scumbag.You won’t starve to death, sonny, because you won’t have time. The feral lacs are very hungry. They’ll soon smell your warm flesh; the stink of your fear!’
Cyro turned his back on me and walked away, his men following behind. I wasn’t sorry to see the back of him, but they took the torches with them. Soon I was plunged into absolute darkness.
FULL OF MENACE
Sycoda is the category of djinni to which Hob belongs.
Spying and torture are its main functions.
The Manual of Nym
I stayed crouching by the grille as I sank into despair. Kwin had told me to keep to the illuminated tunnels of the Commonality; they were used regularly, and if you got lost, someone would find you.
Nobody with any sense ever ventured into the dark. No doubt Cyro had chosen a particularly remote tunnel. My chances of being found were about zero.
My head was throbbing, and when I put my hand to the back, I found a lump as big as an egg. It made me feel nauseous. After a while my eyes adjusted to the dark; I could just make out the shape of the grille and,looking the other way, the first two steps leading down. So there had to be some light in the tunnel . . . or maybe it was reflected up the steps.
Would the feral lacs find me? I wondered. Could they really smell my flesh? It seemed likely. What would I do when they arrived? It would be good to have a club or a blade to defend myself with, but I’d nothing butmy bare hands.
Despite that, I was determined to fight. Lacs were stronger and generally faster than humans, but I was fast too. I’d make sure I got a few blows in before they overwhelmed me. I turned away from the metal grille andsat down on the top step with my back against it.
I would be ready for them when they came to get me. After a while I thought I heard sounds from below – a cough and then a snuffling. I listened carefully, my whole body tense, but there was no further indicationthat lacs might be climbing the steps. Then I realized that their approach would be hard to detect. They might not be wearing boots, and their bare feet would make little noise.
When I did finally hear a noise, it wasn’t from the steps. It came from the tunnel behind me.
I heard the sound of boots approaching, the steps slow and heavy, suggesting someone large.
Who could be walking down the tunnel – one of Cyro’s men on patrol? Or maybe it was an escaped lac. But I was filled with terror when I suddenly realized there was another possibility.
It might be Hob.
The djinni preyed upon the city after dark, but it was said that he also roamed the lower levels of the Wheel and the Commonality. People went missing down here. Some blamed the feral lacs, but others pointed thefinger at Hob.
I froze, hardly daring to breathe as the steps drew closer.
A bulky figure appeared through the gloom. For a moment I hoped it was a guard who would just continue past. But there was no question of that. The figure came right up to the grille as if that had been his intentionall along.
At last I saw the huge head and abnormally long arms. It could have been a feral lac, but now the creature’s forehead was almost touching the bars, and I remembered the large hooked nose from our last encounter.
I was face to face with Hob.
I knew that I wasn’t safe behind these bars, even though they were thicker and tougher than the other grilles. He could easily rip them away to get at me. My knees began to tremble and I took a deep breath to steadymyself.
‘Do you remember our first meeting, boy?’ Hob boomed.
I tried to say yes, but my mouth was dry and I couldn’t speak.
‘Well, I remember how you threatened me. I remember how you dared to draw a blade in my presence. But I didn’t realize who you were then. I do now. You are the son of Mathias, whom I fought in the arena.’
‘Yes, the Math who defeated you fifteen times!’ I snapped back, anger and hatred suddenly filling me with hot, reckless courage.
‘In the end I defeated
Had I been closer to Kwin, I’d have warned her not to antagonize Cyro. But I saw the anger in her expression. She wouldn’t have listened anyway.
Cyro stared at her, his face now flushed with anger. ‘I really hate lippy women,’ he said, his voice low but clear. ‘And lippy young girls like you are the worst of all.’ He gave an exaggerated sigh, then turned andbegan to walk away. I couldn’t believe it. Had he given up? But then he gave a gesture – a sudden downward thrust of his left thumb.
Immediately his men started running towards us, their clubs raised.
Everything happened very quickly. Perhaps they’d expected us to run, but we didn’t. We stood our ground. I watched Jon duck under a blow aimed at his head. The club missed; Jon’s fist didn’t. It connected with thejaw of his assailant, who went down. Others were racing to attack, and Kwin was in their path. I ran forward, attempting to get in front of her.
Then I was ducking and punching, and we were suddenly moving forward in a line, driving our opponents back. I glanced to my right and saw Kwin fighting alongside me. She now had one of the clubs in her righthand and was swinging it with deadly accuracy. I suddenly thought we might actually win.
Cyro had expected us to run for it; in any case we surely had no chance against his armed thugs. But we were either trainee Arena 13 combatants or stick-fighters. We were young and fast, more than able to cope withthe clumsy attacks of Cyro’s muscle-bound men. The girls were also fighting back; with her club, Kwin was a force to be reckoned with.
Then Deinon pushed through to my other side, also wielding a club. As our eyes met, he gave me a grin.
But my initial optimism was shattered when I saw Cyro summoning reinforcements. Outnumbered, we fought on for another minute, but then they were all around us. Suddenly our line broke. People were fleeing inall directions. I was reluctant to run, but I saw Kwin sprinting away and tried to follow her.
Then I felt a tremendous blow to the back of my head and knew no more.
I opened my eyes and looked up to see Cyro frowning down at me. I was hauled roughly to my feet. A dozen or more of his thugs surrounded me.
A quick glance about told me that I was no longer in the amphitheatre. We were in one of the tunnels – the dark ones. The only light here came from torches carried by Cyro’s men.
‘I don’t think Genthai should be allowed to fight in the arena,’ Cyro said. ‘You’re animals, just like the lacs. You belong with the ferals down there.’
He gestured, and a cold shiver ran down my spine as I guessed what he intended to do. He was pointing towards a metal grille in the wall of the tunnel. Beyond it were steps leading down into the darkness.
This wasn’t the grille I’d passed with the others, but it served the same purpose: to prevent feral lacs from getting into the Commonality. I noticed that the metal here wasn’t rusty, and it was larger and sturdier, withhinges and a lock. It was really a door. It could be opened . . .
It was open now.
They dragged me to the doorway and pushed me through. I almost fell down the steps. Before I could regain my balance the grille clanged shut behind me.
Cyro grinned at me through the bars. ‘You won’t be missed and your absence will be easily explained. They certainly won’t dare point the finger at me. Every year people go missing in these tunnels, never to be seenagain. But your disappearance will deter others from intruding into my domain again. A few broken heads and a missing trainee – that should do it. It could have been any one of you, but I’m glad it’s a Genthai scumbag.You won’t starve to death, sonny, because you won’t have time. The feral lacs are very hungry. They’ll soon smell your warm flesh; the stink of your fear!’
Cyro turned his back on me and walked away, his men following behind. I wasn’t sorry to see the back of him, but they took the torches with them. Soon I was plunged into absolute darkness.
FULL OF MENACE
Sycoda is the category of djinni to which Hob belongs.
Spying and torture are its main functions.
The Manual of Nym
I stayed crouching by the grille as I sank into despair. Kwin had told me to keep to the illuminated tunnels of the Commonality; they were used regularly, and if you got lost, someone would find you.
Nobody with any sense ever ventured into the dark. No doubt Cyro had chosen a particularly remote tunnel. My chances of being found were about zero.
My head was throbbing, and when I put my hand to the back, I found a lump as big as an egg. It made me feel nauseous. After a while my eyes adjusted to the dark; I could just make out the shape of the grille and,looking the other way, the first two steps leading down. So there had to be some light in the tunnel . . . or maybe it was reflected up the steps.
Would the feral lacs find me? I wondered. Could they really smell my flesh? It seemed likely. What would I do when they arrived? It would be good to have a club or a blade to defend myself with, but I’d nothing butmy bare hands.
Despite that, I was determined to fight. Lacs were stronger and generally faster than humans, but I was fast too. I’d make sure I got a few blows in before they overwhelmed me. I turned away from the metal grille andsat down on the top step with my back against it.
I would be ready for them when they came to get me. After a while I thought I heard sounds from below – a cough and then a snuffling. I listened carefully, my whole body tense, but there was no further indicationthat lacs might be climbing the steps. Then I realized that their approach would be hard to detect. They might not be wearing boots, and their bare feet would make little noise.
When I did finally hear a noise, it wasn’t from the steps. It came from the tunnel behind me.
I heard the sound of boots approaching, the steps slow and heavy, suggesting someone large.
Who could be walking down the tunnel – one of Cyro’s men on patrol? Or maybe it was an escaped lac. But I was filled with terror when I suddenly realized there was another possibility.
It might be Hob.
The djinni preyed upon the city after dark, but it was said that he also roamed the lower levels of the Wheel and the Commonality. People went missing down here. Some blamed the feral lacs, but others pointed thefinger at Hob.
I froze, hardly daring to breathe as the steps drew closer.
A bulky figure appeared through the gloom. For a moment I hoped it was a guard who would just continue past. But there was no question of that. The figure came right up to the grille as if that had been his intentionall along.
At last I saw the huge head and abnormally long arms. It could have been a feral lac, but now the creature’s forehead was almost touching the bars, and I remembered the large hooked nose from our last encounter.
I was face to face with Hob.
I knew that I wasn’t safe behind these bars, even though they were thicker and tougher than the other grilles. He could easily rip them away to get at me. My knees began to tremble and I took a deep breath to steadymyself.
‘Do you remember our first meeting, boy?’ Hob boomed.
I tried to say yes, but my mouth was dry and I couldn’t speak.
‘Well, I remember how you threatened me. I remember how you dared to draw a blade in my presence. But I didn’t realize who you were then. I do now. You are the son of Mathias, whom I fought in the arena.’
‘Yes, the Math who defeated you fifteen times!’ I snapped back, anger and hatred suddenly filling me with hot, reckless courage.
‘In the end I defeated
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