War God for Hire- Gladiator by David Burke (books under 200 pages .TXT) 📕

that’s it. Maybe you will be more fun than Krig,” Hilde said, still laughing. Then she sobered up and said, “Just remember, they are a very proud people, but they are used to humans looking down on them. It may help that she thinks you are an elemental. Just start with a compliment. I assume that is how you pick women up on earth.”

“Not trying to pick her up. Just wanna see if I can start off on the right foot in case this turns into a team competition,” Kyle said.

“Same thing.”

“Well okay, whatever. Oh, and we are gonna have to talk about this elemental thing later on.”

When Hilde didn’t respond, Kyle strode over to the lycan girl just in time to see her growl at one of the humans who apparently had been hitting on her. He led with, “That was impressive how you could catch the arrows earlier.”

She looked at him for a moment. Her oddly canine eyes seemed to be appraising him and then she leaned her head forward slightly and sniffed the air. “You don’t smell like a human.”

Unsure how to respond to that, Kyle just asked, “Is that a good thing?”

Having to go through Hilde for translations was getting faster, but it still made him sound like he was a little slow. He hated it. Learning this language definitely needed to be at the top of his to do list.

Her ears wiggled a bit. They had been lying flat against her head and as they moved her entire demeanor appeared to relax. “Yes, I suppose it is.” Then she stared at him awkwardly again for a moment before saying, “You don’t speak common very well, do you?”

He wasn’t sure what to say so he went with the truth, hoping for comedic effect. Apparently, Hilde didn’t disagree with his choice because she gave him the words to say. Or at least he hoped he was saying what he meant. Probably no way to know for sure.

“I actually only know a handful of words.”

“Then how?” Kierra asked, waving her hand as though to finish the question. He noticed her tail was wagging, so that was probably a good sign she was at least curious.

He smiled and once he had the words said back, “I have a brilliant spirit in my head translating for me.”

She cocked her head as she stared down her nose at him. Kyle couldn’t help but be reminded of the cocker spaniel they had when he was growing up. It likely wasn’t a very flattering comparison, though, so he kept the thought to himself. After all, for all her fur, this was still a beautiful young woman who was also a fierce competitor from what little he had witnessed of her.

“Ah, being an elemental must be fascinating,” Kierra said.

Rather than lie or mislead her, Kyle simply borrowed a line from Popeye and said, “I am what I am.”

She was about to reply when the guards entered the room and started barking out names. Two guards were dispatched to take each of them back to their cells. He paid attention to where the others went. Kierra was two cells down, if he had it right, and between them was Gilthan’s cell.

Kyle had wanted to speak to the elf also, but there simply hadn’t been time. Given a chance, he would have struck up a conversation with Skrug. Even if the half-troll was a bit slow, he was definitely strong and durable.

Kyle was thinking in terms of building a party. Skrug would make a perfect tank. Kierra would be their rogue, and Gilthan their mage. All they were really missing was a healer.

Of course, when they opened the bars to his cell, Kyle remembered that this was anything but a game. He was not excited to climb back down into the pit, but once he cleared the bars, he realized that there were other people down in his cell. After stepping off the ladder, he looked around and saw two guards standing against the far wall next to his little table.

Sitting on the edge of his bed was a gorgeous woman. She looked like she couldn’t be older than eighteen and had pristine, smooth skin with the shade of an opal. She was petite, and he would have been shocked if she was much above five feet, although he conceded that his increased size made everyone around him seem small.

What set her apart even more, in his eyes at least, was her deep rose-colored hair and slightly pointed eyes. Her hair was so vibrant it didn’t seem to be natural, but after having seen Gilthan, he thought maybe it was just a trait common to elves. Most pleasant, though, was the way that she smelled of fresh cut flowers.

As he looked at her, anxiety was written all over her face. Maybe that wasn’t inappropriate. She wore a silvery manacle, similar to the ones on his wrists and ankles, on her left leg. So, it seemed likely that she, too, was a slave.

She started speaking to him and her voice was melodic. Hilde translated for him and he learned her name was Nyda. She was here to be his language instructor.

One of the guards interjected at that point, “And we’re here to make sure you don’t try to touch her. This one is saved for the winner of the first practice bouts.”

The other said, “Whoever that lucky SOB is.”

The first guard laughed crudely as he said, “To the victor go the spoils. Almost makes me wish I could compete.”

The second guard said, “Like your wife wouldn’t cut off your balls if she even heard you say that.”

“A man can dream, can’t he?” came back the reply.

Due to the translation lag, Kyle found it difficult to be angry. He struggled to keep up with the conversation.

Nyda blanched and became even paler at the way they spoke about her. “Please allow me to begin my lesson. Maybe it would be best for you two to wait up top.”

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