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

noblewomen from the night before, as well as the man. Again, though, their numbers had swelled. There were half a dozen more nobles, each accompanied by slaves and guards. With a trumpet sound, the audience grew quiet.

Saber came running out from one of the tunnels and shouted out, “Before last night, they were all complete unknowns. Now each of them has been blooded in the arena, or at least has drawn blood from their foes. Exhibition matches or not, these fighters play for keeps.”

He waited for the cheering to calm down like a true showman. Then called out, “House Sorengaard has three fighters to present for your entertainment. First, there is Kierra the Lycan. She is a mistress of fury and fang, and if you don’t watch out, it will be your life she has stolen.

“Then there is noble Gilthan, Stormcaller. Not only is he a son of one of the noble elven houses defeated in recent skirmishes, but also coursing within his veins is the blood of storm dragons. The very air around you is his to command.

“And last but not least, is a one-of-a-kind wonder. A war elemental. His name may be odd, but you will find that he is stronger than a troll, and hits harder than a charging bull. I give you, Kyle Warborn.”

Once again, the crowd erupted and Saber spurred them on. Then as he began to speak again, they grew hushed trying to hear his words. “Alas, the road won’t be easy for one of them, for they will have to fight Lash. Once a weapon maiden to Krig, the god of war, she is a master of every method of death known to man.”

The blonde trotted out to stand next to Saber and whispered something in his ear. Kyle thought it looked like the head trainer blanched, but he regained his composure quickly and yelled out, “What better match could we have than to see two lovely ladies going at it? The first match tonight will feature Kierra the Lycan vs Lash, servant of none.”

After he finished speaking, he glanced quickly at Lash, who nodded her head ever so slightly. Kyle looked over at Kierra, but rather than appearing nervous or worried as she had most of the day, she held her head up high and actually appeared to be excited.

The lycan trotted out to the middle of the arena. Saber had the two fighters position themselves thirty feet apart. Then he called out, “This match is until submission or knock out. If Lash should happen to kill Kierra, her patron will make recompense to House Sorengaard for the loss of a slave. Should Kierra kill Lash, then House Sorengaard shall likewise owe her price to her patron.”

Kyle didn’t have time to wonder about the odd wording used by Saber because as soon as he dropped his hand, he was running for the side and the two women were going at it. Kierra immediately charged forward while a whip flicked out from Lash. Kierra rolled to avoid it and moved forward faster as she came up out of the roll.

Her fangs were bared and she looked like she was closing in for the kill. But she made the mistake of underestimating what Lash could do with her namesake weapon. The tip that had so narrowly missed the lycan on the snap out whipped back at her and struck her from behind.

The movement was inconceivable but somehow, Kyle had been expecting it. Watching Lash manipulate her weapon caused a feeling of pleasant reminiscence settle into his mind, even if he couldn’t remember any specific memories. Still, the stinging blow didn’t do more than knock Kierra’s final lunge off course slightly and Lash was forced to dance back.

She began to swirl the whip into a tight circle that whirled around faster than an industrial fan blade and created a five-foot shield. Kierra pulled up short in her next charge and snarled at the spinning whip. As Kyle watched he could feel, almost see, the War Essence in use. It only made sense; there was no natural way to move the whip that quickly.

Undaunted, Kierra kicked up a clump of sand from the arena floor and watched as it was turned into a blinding cloud by the spinning whip. Then she bounded around the whip wielder and came at her from behind. Her movements were a flash, and Kyle could only imagine how quickly she would have been able to round the bases.

As fast as she was, though, it wasn’t enough. Even occupied with the dust cloud in front of her, Lash still was able to respond, and in dramatic fashion. Kierra lunged, claws extended, and Lash pivoted on her front plant foot. But that wasn’t all. As she moved out of the way of the lunging lycan, she brought that back foot up and around in a hook kick that landed on the back of Kierra’s head.

The force of her own momentum enhanced by the kick drove her into the ground face first. Fortunately, by that time Lash had ended the swirling whip shield, but Kierra still found herself with her face in the sand and Lash bearing down on her. Not to be outdone by Lash, she pulled her feet up under her and pushed with both feet and hands so that she flew up into the air while still prone.

Lash’s axe kick missed as Kierra pushed herself up and out of the way to land a few feet away. Kyle had never seen the lycan fight with a weapon but apparently, she decided she needed more range, because she pulled what he had taken to be fighting sticks that were held in a harness across her back.

It turned out instead to be a three-section staff. She allowed one end to dangle in front while holding the opposite end up at a forty-five-degree angle and the middle section jutting out away from her body. Kyle smiled as he realized she was all business. In