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

idea about how to move his body. Kyle was very pleased to discover that he was getting the hang of basic instructions in the language. One lesson shouldn’t have helped that much, but then Hilde reminded him that Krig already knew the language and that everything Krig knew was buried somewhere in him. That didn’t make him feel any better, but at least language would be less and less of a barrier over the next few days.

By the time they broke for lunch, Kyle was able to execute a flip going up or coming down. It was a far cry from what Kierra or this new trainer could perform, but it still made him proud. So much so that Hilde teased him about it a bit.

Lunch was eaten, sitting quietly in a circle. The trainers all ate somewhere else and only a group of guards were left with the fighters. Skrug was a bit gross as he ate huge chunks of uncooked meat. In contrast, Gilthan ate delicately and sat as far from the others as he could. The three plain humans sat in a group, and were engaged in talking to one another.

That left him with just Kierra to talk to. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her eating, but while she was eating meat, it was definitely cooked. They didn’t seem to skimp on the food here. He was eating rice and kabobs of some meat that tasted like a top-end steak. He couldn’t complain at all.

Kyle paid attention to how the different people ate. Skrug, Kierra, and even Gilthan were using only their hands, while the other three used a spoon for the rice and their hands for the kabobs. This was just another little way in which things were different from what he was accustomed to, but he’d learned how to eat with chopsticks during some exhibition games they had in Japan, so he went with it.

About halfway through the meal, Kierra started staring at him. Kyle couldn’t help but notice it and wasn’t sure if it was one of those deciding who the alpha was things or if it was just a beautiful woman interested in him. Either way, he decided not to look away.

Eventually she said, “You are odd.”

Not what he was expecting, but at least he understood what she said without waiting for Hilde to translate, even if he needed her help to respond. Understanding a language always came faster than being able to speak it coherently. “Is that a good thing?”

She paused and then replied, “Perhaps. I don’t know yet.”

“Well, let me know when you decide,” Kyle said.

“You look like a normal human, even if you are large. If I had not been in the testing room, I would have no idea you are an elemental. You could pass for normal and sit with the others,” Kierra said as she tilted her head in the direction of the three humans.

Kyle was confused for a second and it must have shown on his face before one of the three men spoke, “You really are odd. She means that pure bloods tend to stick together. Thena is ruled by humans, and even if we aren’t citizens, we are still looked upon as a part of the nation. The barbarian tribes are filled with impures.”

He shook his head. It was the same everywhere. Societies always formed ideas about who was lesser just because of their heritage. It was one of the things that he loved so much about baseball. It didn’t matter if you grew up in a grass hut or a New York penthouse. All that mattered was how you played the game.

As the distaste rose within him, Kyle couldn’t help but feel it echoed by Krig. He remembered what Hilde had said about what the old war god, or old version of himself, had believed about judging beings based upon their merit. “Are we not all slaves?”

“Maybe we are slaves, but at least we aren’t dogs,” another of the humans responded. “They shouldn’t even be allowed to fight here. None of you should.”

And there it was. Jealousy.

It killed them that they didn’t have the natural gifts that the non-humans had. The need for translation was still significant enough that Kyle barely had the meaning of the man’s words before Kierra was on her feet and saying something to the men. He didn’t need to wait for a translation this time. Between the words he understood and the body language, he knew this was about to come to blows.

The question was if he should do anything to intervene or if the guards would shut it down. His mind raced through the options. It was his natural instinct to defend a woman, especially against narrow-minded asshats, but he also didn’t know that she’d need his help, or would even appreciate it.

As he watched, the guards all got ready for trouble. Weapons were pulled to the ready and one of them went running into the guts of the coliseum, undoubtedly to alert someone higher up the food chain. Ultimately, Kyle leapt up. He decided it didn’t matter if Kierra asked for his help or not, he would be true to himself.

Once he took a position next to her, one of the men called him a fur lover. He laughed. If that was the best insult they had, then he could just go with it. Kyle assessed the situation in an instant. Skrug wasn’t gonna get involved. All he seemed to want was more food. Gilthan was still sitting. The three humans were up on their feet, arrayed across from Kyle and Kierra.

“This is what they want.”

The words came from Gilthan and everyone paused long enough to look at him, which allowed the elf to continue. “Why do you think the trainers set us together? Why not keep the groups separate? They know that humans don’t like the impures. It would be the same if there were full-blooded elves here. They would look down on