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

doing anything to make me think you are mentally with it for fighting. So, I need to know, do you feel any different?” the flesh mage asked.

“Actually, if anything, I feel stronger. More in touch with the elemental side of myself. Not sure if that makes any sense,” Kyle answered with the truth although he said elemental rather than divine. He figured it couldn’t hurt and might explain any odd behavior he had. He had a vague recollection of yelling at Selma and Saber and calling them mortals.

“Hmm,” she said as she pursed her lips. “I guess that could explain the way you were acting before. We just don’t know enough about elementals.” The last part she said wistfully, as though talking to herself.

“How did you do what you did in the arena? I wasn’t there, but some who witnessed it said you cast a spell and, to hear some of the other mages going on, it must have been a rather powerful one.”

“I don’t cast spells,” Kyle said honestly.

“Then what happened in the arena?”

“I guess that was a portion of my elemental side coming out.”

She was frowning now as she said, “That excuse is only going to last for so long. Eventually we are going to need to know something more about you. I wish you would think of me as an ally and not the enemy, but I understand. You were captured against your will and brought here. You must see me as part and parcel with your enemy.

“What you aren’t understanding, though, is that there are others who would happily pay Lord Soren for you. If he can’t make more money selling you as a fighter, then the mage’s academy will almost certainly pay handsomely for you. But I don’t think you would like it as much if they bought you as if you were bought to be a fighter. Just remember there is always something worse and being poked and cut open for study by a bunch of mages with more curiosity than decency would probably rank rather high on that list.”

It was Kyle’s turn to frown then. He hadn’t considered an option like that. Hilde hadn’t said anything about it. Getting the manacles off just became his number one priority.

“Okay, so what do I need to do to avoid that?” Kyle asked softly. He might be a proud man, but he knew when to ask for help.

“Oh, don’t worry too much. Lord Soren would much rather sell a winning fighter than a lab rat. The biggest thing you need to do is go out there and win. I will tell you one thing, though. Winning in the arena isn’t just about beating your opponent. It is about looking good while you do it.

“So, if you can assure me that you can control whatever it was that you did out there, then I will sign off that you are fit to fight. Can you do that?” Selma asked.

“Easily. I only let that power go because I was trying to save Nyda’s life. If it had just been me, I would have simply run for one of the tunnels long before the birds ever got to me.”

“Well, Saber thinks you have tremendous potential, and while I still don’t know why you were unconscious that long, I guess it could be because your human body is adapting to your elemental bloodline. That must be quite a shock to the system. So, let’s just get you cleaned up and then headed for the showcase. I have some food here you can eat first, if you are hungry.”

Kyle looked down at himself. It was actually quite remarkable that he had run through the mist of all those exploding birds and there was only a bit of dirt and sand around his boots and greaves. He thought for a second and realized that the power which had cut through his enemies must have kept the viscera off of him.

“Surprisingly, I’m not really hungry. But what is this showcase? You’ve mentioned it twice now,” Kyle said.

Selma rolled her eyes and laughed as though to herself. “It is just an indicator of how low we can sink. They will put you and the other fighters that Lord Soren has up for sale on a platform. Each noble house that is here to watch the exhibition matches will have a chance to inspect each of you.

“Most of that will be done from a distance but each of the houses can send one representative up onto the platform to perform a more hands-on inspection. I find it to be a rather dehumanizing process. They will want to inspect your teeth, look in your eyes, feel your muscles, and perhaps even see your equipment.”

“You mean I have to let some guy come up and grope me, even my junk?” Kyle found that he was suddenly outraged. He had been subject to many physical examinations by team doctors while playing baseball, but they never did things like check his teeth let alone inspect his cock.

“Yes, I know this is all new to you, but you have to remember that to people like Lord Soren, you are just property, an item to be evaluated. As for why your ‘junk,’ as you put it. If you are a winning fighter, you might very well be used as breeding stock. The houses are always trying to create better soldiers.

“Oh, and it won’t necessarily be a man inspecting you. Thena is an enlightened society in some ways. Obviously not everything, because we still have slavery, but more than a third of the noble houses are led by women. The gods are male and female, so why shouldn’t our own rulers be? I would expect female-led houses to take a particular interest in you and Gilthan. He is a pretty boy, but you are built like the kind of man a woman expects to just take her, and there are plenty of women like that. Ruler by day and whore by night.”

Kyle came