shoutedoverthecrowd.ThenheturnedtoKaz.“Ifyouneedtoleave,theguardwillcallforanescort.
Noonegoeswanderingoffwithoutaguide,understood?”
“Ofcourse,ofcourse,wouldn’tdreamofit,”Kazsaidfrombehindhisridiculousmask.
“Enjoy,”theDimeLionsaidwithanuglygrin.Theprisonguardwavedthemthrough.
Ninasteppedunderthearchandfeltasifshe’dfallenintosomestrangenightmare.Theywereona jutting stone ledge, looking down into a shallow, crudely made amphitheatre. The tower had been guttedtocreateanarena.Onlytheblackwallsoftheoldprisonremained,therooflongsincefallen inordestroyedsothatthenightskywasvisiblehighabove,densewithcloudsandfreeofstars.Itwas like standing in the hollowed-out trunk of a massive tree, something long dead and howling with echoes.
Aroundher,maskedandveiledmenandwomencrowdedontotheterracedledges,stampingtheir
feetastheactionproceededbelow.Thewallssurroundingthefightingpitblazedwithtorchlightand thesandofthearenafloorwasredanddampwhereithadsoakedupblood.
In front of the dark mouth of a cave, a scrawny, bearded man in shackles stood next to a big wooden wheel marked with what looked like drawings of little animals. He’d clearly once been strong, but now his skin hung in loose folds and his muscles sagged. A younger man stood beside himinamangycapemadefromalion’sskin,hisfaceframedbythebigcat’smouth.Agarishgold crown had been secured between the lion’s ears, and its eyes had been replaced with bright silver dimes.
“Spinthewheel!”theyoungmancommanded.
Theprisonerliftedhisshackledhandsandgavethewheelahardspin.Aredneedletickedalong theedgesasitspun,makingacheerfulclatteringnoise,thenslowlythewheelcametoastop.Nina couldn’t quite make out the symbol, but the crowd bellowed, and the man’s shoulders drooped as a guardcameforwardtounlockhischains.
Theprisonercastthemasideintothesand,andasecondlaterNinaheardit–aroarthatcarried even over the excited baying of the crowd. The man in the lion cape and the prison guard stepped hurriedly onto a rope ladder and were lifted out of the pit to the safety of a ledge as the prisoner seized a flimsy-looking knife from a bloody bunch of weapons lying in the sand. He backed as far awayfromthemouthofthetunnelashecouldget.
Nina had never seen a creature like the one that crawled into view from the tunnel. It was some kind of reptile, its thick body covered in grey-green scales, its head wide and flat, its yellow eyes slitted. It moved slowly, sinuously, its low-slung body sliding lazily over the ground. There was a white crust around the broad crescent of its mouth, and when it opened its jaws to roar again, somethingwet,white,andfoamingdrippedfromitspointedteeth.
“Whatisthatthing?”Ninaasked.
“ Rincamoten ,”saidInej.“Adesertlizard.Thepoisonfromitsmouthislethal.”
“Itseemsprettyslowonitsfeet.”
“Yes.Itseemsthatway.”
Theprisonerlungedforwardwithhisknife.ThebiglizardmovedsoquicklyNinacouldbarely
trackit.Onemomenttheprisonerwasbearingdownonit;thenext,thelizardwasontheothersideof the arena. Bare seconds later, it had slammed into the prisoner, pinning him to the ground as he screamed,itspoisondrippingoverhisface,leavingsmokytrailswhereverittouchedhisskin.
The creature dropped its weight on the prisoner with a sickening crunch and set about slowly maulinghisshoulderashelaythereshrieking.
Thecrowdwasbooing.
Ninaavertedhereyes,unabletowatch.“Whatisthis?”
“WelcometotheHellshow,”saidKaz.“PekkaRollinsgottheideaafewyearsbackandpitchedit totherightCouncilmember.”
“TheMerchantCouncilknows?”
“Ofcoursetheyknow,Nina.There’smoneytobemadehere.”
Ninadugherfingernailsintoherpalms.ThatcondescendingtonemadeKazsoslappable.
SheknewPekkaRollins’namewell.HewasthereigningkingoftheBarrel,theownerofnotone buttwogamblingpalaces–oneluxurious,theothercateringtosailorswithlesstolinetheirpockets
–andseveralofthehigher-endbrothels.WhenNinahadarrivedinKetterdamayearago,she’dbeen
Noonegoeswanderingoffwithoutaguide,understood?”
“Ofcourse,ofcourse,wouldn’tdreamofit,”Kazsaidfrombehindhisridiculousmask.
“Enjoy,”theDimeLionsaidwithanuglygrin.Theprisonguardwavedthemthrough.
Ninasteppedunderthearchandfeltasifshe’dfallenintosomestrangenightmare.Theywereona jutting stone ledge, looking down into a shallow, crudely made amphitheatre. The tower had been guttedtocreateanarena.Onlytheblackwallsoftheoldprisonremained,therooflongsincefallen inordestroyedsothatthenightskywasvisiblehighabove,densewithcloudsandfreeofstars.Itwas like standing in the hollowed-out trunk of a massive tree, something long dead and howling with echoes.
Aroundher,maskedandveiledmenandwomencrowdedontotheterracedledges,stampingtheir
feetastheactionproceededbelow.Thewallssurroundingthefightingpitblazedwithtorchlightand thesandofthearenafloorwasredanddampwhereithadsoakedupblood.
In front of the dark mouth of a cave, a scrawny, bearded man in shackles stood next to a big wooden wheel marked with what looked like drawings of little animals. He’d clearly once been strong, but now his skin hung in loose folds and his muscles sagged. A younger man stood beside himinamangycapemadefromalion’sskin,hisfaceframedbythebigcat’smouth.Agarishgold crown had been secured between the lion’s ears, and its eyes had been replaced with bright silver dimes.
“Spinthewheel!”theyoungmancommanded.
Theprisonerliftedhisshackledhandsandgavethewheelahardspin.Aredneedletickedalong theedgesasitspun,makingacheerfulclatteringnoise,thenslowlythewheelcametoastop.Nina couldn’t quite make out the symbol, but the crowd bellowed, and the man’s shoulders drooped as a guardcameforwardtounlockhischains.
Theprisonercastthemasideintothesand,andasecondlaterNinaheardit–aroarthatcarried even over the excited baying of the crowd. The man in the lion cape and the prison guard stepped hurriedly onto a rope ladder and were lifted out of the pit to the safety of a ledge as the prisoner seized a flimsy-looking knife from a bloody bunch of weapons lying in the sand. He backed as far awayfromthemouthofthetunnelashecouldget.
Nina had never seen a creature like the one that crawled into view from the tunnel. It was some kind of reptile, its thick body covered in grey-green scales, its head wide and flat, its yellow eyes slitted. It moved slowly, sinuously, its low-slung body sliding lazily over the ground. There was a white crust around the broad crescent of its mouth, and when it opened its jaws to roar again, somethingwet,white,andfoamingdrippedfromitspointedteeth.
“Whatisthatthing?”Ninaasked.
“ Rincamoten ,”saidInej.“Adesertlizard.Thepoisonfromitsmouthislethal.”
“Itseemsprettyslowonitsfeet.”
“Yes.Itseemsthatway.”
Theprisonerlungedforwardwithhisknife.ThebiglizardmovedsoquicklyNinacouldbarely
trackit.Onemomenttheprisonerwasbearingdownonit;thenext,thelizardwasontheothersideof the arena. Bare seconds later, it had slammed into the prisoner, pinning him to the ground as he screamed,itspoisondrippingoverhisface,leavingsmokytrailswhereverittouchedhisskin.
The creature dropped its weight on the prisoner with a sickening crunch and set about slowly maulinghisshoulderashelaythereshrieking.
Thecrowdwasbooing.
Ninaavertedhereyes,unabletowatch.“Whatisthis?”
“WelcometotheHellshow,”saidKaz.“PekkaRollinsgottheideaafewyearsbackandpitchedit totherightCouncilmember.”
“TheMerchantCouncilknows?”
“Ofcoursetheyknow,Nina.There’smoneytobemadehere.”
Ninadugherfingernailsintoherpalms.ThatcondescendingtonemadeKazsoslappable.
SheknewPekkaRollins’namewell.HewasthereigningkingoftheBarrel,theownerofnotone buttwogamblingpalaces–oneluxurious,theothercateringtosailorswithlesstolinetheirpockets
–andseveralofthehigher-endbrothels.WhenNinahadarrivedinKetterdamayearago,she’dbeen
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