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

to inspect them, that is what I have my new team captain for. She will have a much better eye for this sort of thing.”

After that she pulled away from Kyle, leaving one finger to linger a moment longer than the rest against his chest. “Now, I believe you were going to have a few fights for us.”

“Yes, we have it all arranged, but you were supposed to bring some mystery fighter for the eighth,” Soren replied.

Meeka looked at the man and managed to somehow convey flirtation and disgust at the same time, “Oh, I did. But my mystery fighter insists on staying a mystery, so they will fight the first match while your other fighters stay underground. Agreed?”

“You have such a flair for the dramatic, dear Meeka, but if that is how you want it, then so be it,” Soren said, before turning to Saber and instructing him to make the arrangements.

Kyle allowed himself to be led down below the arena floor through the tunnels. They stopped in that first testing room and were all served water by waiting slaves.

Saber said, “You all handled that well. I know it can be degrading, but it is a small price to pay for this life rather than one spent in the dark of the mountain mines or scrubbing floors and picking up horse dung. Hold your heads high. You have all displayed talent.

“When it is your turn to fight, you will be called out. Obviously, all but one of you will be fighting with each other. Remember any observations you may have made about the strengths and weaknesses of your fellow fighters. Now it is every man or woman for themselves, and to the victor go the spoils.”

They all settled in and about twenty minutes later, a guard came running in with a note for Saber. He opened, quickly reading it with an impassive look on his face. “Well, Burke, it looks like you are up first. Don’t dishonor me. I don’t yet know who this mystery fighter is, but I have been told that they have no experience in the arena, so even if they have a mystical bloodline, you should still be able to hold your own for a while just on the basis of your training.”

Burke looked around at the others before beating a hand against his chest. He was in a full leather breastplate and had a mace hung across his back and a shield strapped to his offhand. “Don’t worry, you bitches, I’ll be back soon.”

Kyle wished he could have watched the fight but presumed that was part of the mystery. Up above he could hear the excitement of the crowd. It was like being in the clubhouse right before a game. The adrenaline was starting to pump through his system.

Then there was a moment of silence followed by raucous cheering. Five minutes later, Burke was carried past them on a stretcher. He was clearly unconscious. His neck was bright red and almost looked like it had been branded with a circle or perhaps like they had attempted to hang him. His chest was rising, but only slowly.

Saber followed in behind him, shaking his head. “Well, at least I know why they kept the mystery now. Poor Burke never had a chance. The fight was over in less than ten seconds. Oh well. Now, I’m counting on the rest of you to make a better showing. Kierra and Dak, you are up next. The crowd is a bit worked up so try not to make it too fast.”

The human gladiator with his spear and buckler said, “I’ll play with her a bit to get the audience into it.”

“I was talking to her,” Saber said, and then pointed for the two fighters to leave.

The next hour dragged on for Kyle as apparently there was time between the fights where bets were made and both food and drink were sold to the audience.

Kierra returned from her fight unscathed while Dak was both unconscious and cut up, presumably by the lycan’s claws. She was definitely worked up, and Saber praised her for putting on a good show.

After that Gilthan and Ahem, the last of the plain humans, were sent up for the third match of the night. Kyle and Skrug both looked at each other with appraising eyes as they were obviously each other’s opponents. In many ways, this pleased Kyle. Skrug didn’t talk much, so there had been next to no socializing between the two of them and the big half-troll might be durable, but Kyle knew he could hit him like he had never been hit before.

A bit later, the elf came down almost looking bored while his opponent was again carried down on a stretcher. Electrical burns appeared all over his body and his hair was still standing on end from the charge he must have taken.

Saber was once again full of praise for the elf before looking over at Kyle and Skrug.

“Well, this is where the night ends. A battle of titans, so to speak. Both of you remember to try to put on a show. This is not just a fight, but entertainment, but also remember that only one of you can win. For the other, this will be the end of the exhibition.”

Kyle smiled. He was ready. He had been born for moments like this. He grabbed his maul and swung it easily over his shoulder and headed down the tunnel, his blood pumping as the excitement built in him.

Chapter 20

–

Wrestling

By the time Kyle reached the arena floor, his breathing had slowed. His heart was no longer pounding. His head was clear, and he found himself in that place of stillness. Over the years, he had talked to many athletes, not just baseball players but from all the sports. Very few understood what he was talking about, but he found that the top competitors in any sport from Olympic weightlifting to cycling, from baseball to hockey, all got it.

Most athletes