38. Ohara

Istill hadn't managed to get the iron mask off my head. It might have been welded on for all the give it gave. But it did provide one advantage…

A common move among my opponents in the pit was to attempt to decapitate me and the mask prevented their every strike. They couldn't hack or slash at my face either — another popular tactic.

My vision was obscured and I missed the majority of the incoming blows, which meant I relied heavily on my shield and attacked without care or warning when I finally saw an opening. I hacked and slashed with no finesse, and this seemed to knock some of the more experienced fighters off their game. I had become unpredictable.

When I should have defended, I attacked, when I should have parried, I dodged and attacked them from the side. It made my opponents wary of me.

I got through two rounds before I began to feel tired. Having your life and the life of your fated mate could do that to you. I had no energy left and yet I kept on going.

The other fighters in the anteroom, waiting for their turn with me, muttered among themselves about how I was a demon possessed, about how it was impossible for me to keep going. I saw the fear in their eyes and used it.

I wailed in the ring when I saw an opportunity for them to overwhelm me. My voice echoed inside my mask and reverberated like striking a gong. It spooked them and made them back away.

I realized I could influence how others thought without having to use my ability.

I angled my head toward them so they could hack at the lock on the side. Each blow rang loud in my ears but no matter how hard they struck the mask simply would not break.

Then the next round was announced. It would be between two newcomers — new in recent times, at least. They mentioned my name, which garnered a loud cheer. Everyone loved an underdog. And then the second name… and I had to turn my head to one side to make sure I had heard it right.

It couldn't be… could it?

The door opened and the loud roar of the audience beckoned me. I crossed the expanse toward the fighter approaching from the other side.

He was big, with tall horns and a massive muscular frame. He had a badly dented shield and mace bigger than my head. And on the tip of his bluff nose… a pair of shattered glasses.

"Cayggod? I thought they said it was you."

He shrugged. "It's a big event. One everyone will remember."

"I don't remember you caring about being remembered."

"I don't. But everyone else does."

The siren wailed and Cayggod shifted his weight. I did the same.

"Are we really going to do this?" I said. "I don't want to fight you."

"It's necessary, I'm afraid."

And with that, he swung his enormous mace around and I barely had time to duck to avoid it. It made a deep whomp noise as it passed over my head and was so heavy that its weight turned Cayggod around. He shifted his weight and brought the mace up over his head and I rolled to one side as it slammed into the dirt where I had just been standing.

If I thought he'd let me off with an easy victory, I was quickly realizing that simply wasn't going to happen. I don't know at what point I must have pissed him off, but piss him off I had as he threw all his strength into each blow he hurled at me. His eyes were fiery pits of anger and he screamed like a wailing banshee. I had never known him to be so aggressive.

I dodged one way and then the other. What I lacked in pure brute strength I made up for with speed. It might be a boring tactic to watch… except that with each attempted escape, I stood a chance of mistiming my movements and getting caught by one of his vicious blows.

And all it would have taken to end me was just one.

Then, I saw my chance.

He swung the mace around with his immense strength yet again, low this time. I jumped it, rolled so I was beside him, and spun around, my legs catching him right behind the knee. Just one leg wouldn't do the job. It had to be two.

He lost his balance and began to fall. His mace was still completing its move and slammed into the dust beside my head.

That was close!

I jumped into Cayggod's back as he struggled to get to his feet. I wrapped my arms around his muscular arm and locked it in a powerful grip.

"Choke me out," Cayggod murmured to me.

"Huh?"

"I said, choke me out!"

I shifted my arms around his neck and squeezed harder. He flapped his arms out to either side, struggling to catch me and deal a final blow.

So, it was all just a show after all…

"You didn't need to put so much effort into it," I snapped.

"It had to look real."

"Why… Why are you doing this?" I said, catching his arms and folding them out of the way.

"Because… I am under orders."

"Orders?" I said, suddenly fearful that it was part of a plan Druin had conjured up, although why Cayggod would suddenly follow him was anyone's guess.

"The key to the lock…" Cayggod said, really struggling now as I choked the air out of him. "In my pocket… Front breast pocket…"

That meant I had to slide my hand under his armor. I couldn't do it now — there were too many eyes on me.

"Sorry about this," I said, pressing harder on his throat.

"No… No problem," he snorted around his final few gasps of oxygen.

"By the way, thank you for opening my cell door."

Cayggod looked at me and cocked his head to one side. "Open your… cell door?"

"That wasn't you?"

"I'm… blacking out," he grunted. "I bet on you to… to win. Don't let… me down."

And he went limp, his limps flopping out to either side.

The fight was done and the crowd erupted into applause. The side doors to the pit opened and the staff came running in.

Now was my chance — before they reached us. For now, I could maintain that I was trapped, pinned beneath Cayggod and I couldn't get up. I needed to hurry to search his front pockets for the key to my iron mask.

I reached down the front of his armor, my hand flat, searching for a lump. It wasn't on the left side, so I moved over to the right and felt… nothing.

Nothing!

Had it fallen out during our fight? I hastily peered around for it, something metallic that might glint in the overhead lights… but I couldn't make anything out. Already the staff began raking over the dust, smoothing it out for the final battle between Druin and me.

The staff approached and bent under Cayggod to heave him up off me. They counted under their breath… and that's when I recalled the kind of shirts the secretary liked to wear.

They were multi-breast pocketed. The key could be in any one of them. And without it, and the chance to use my ability, I stood no chance of defeating Druin.

I shoved my arm back down the front of his armor and reached for a lower pocket. Nope, not on the left side…

The staff heaved again to lift Cayggod's massive frame and I tugged on it, holding it down. Now they had to lift both of us!

Come on, come on…

I leaned over to the right-hand side and…

There it was. Something hard and flat. I slipped my fingers into the pocket, hooked my fingers around it, and fiddled with it until it was firmly in the palm of my hand.

The staff yanked me back, pulling my arm free from Cayggod's weight. Now they were free to carry him away.

I lay back on the pit floor but the staff was quick to pull me up onto my feet. The crowd cheered and I waved at them as I headed for the nearest exit.

I had passed my final round. Nothing was stopping me from facing Druin now. And as I entered the cool darkness of the tunnel that led to a waiting area, I opened my hand and saw the little metal beacon of hope in my palm.

The key to the iron mask on my head. And, quite possibly, the key to our escape.

* * *

Just as I predicted,Druin sailed through his last round with barely a single scratch to his armor. As he came out for our final bout, he'd clearly topped up on Quet-Dreai. His body almost burst from his armor, he was so artificially pumped.

He strutted into the ring and raised his arms to the audience once more. They cheered, but not for him. Still, it stroked his ego to think it was.

We met in the middle of the ring and stood less than two yards apart. He looked me over, spat, and snorted snot that dripped from his nostrils.

"Whoever let you out is going to pay," he said. "But I suppose it's good that it ends this way. I want everyone to see what happens to those who defy me."

"You mean defy the Supervisor. So long as he's around, you'll only ever be second best."

He bored into me with his tiny black piggy eyes. "It might seem that way on the surface. But everyone knows who really has the power in here."

He was a total fool. The Supervisor always had the power and any that you thought you had, you had because he allowed it. I couldn't believe his reign of power would last long. And once again, I was shocked that Thillak had managed to let this asshole get the better of him.

"Do you want to warm up?" I said. "Your previous ‘opponents' didn't stretch you very much. Your muscles might have gotten cold."

Druin snorted. "Your cheap mind tricks don't work on me. I'll make short work of you and everyone will forever associate your name with humiliation."

The first siren wailed and we both stiffened. On the second, the battle would commence.

He wore a fancy helmet with tall horns. He was overcompensating for something…

"If you want to prove you're so tough, take off your helmet and armor and prove it to everyone," I said.

He glared at me. "I want to look my best when I defeat you."

He tightened his trotter around the hilt of his sword and the moment the siren blared for the second time, he immediately withdrew it and struck.

I recalled the first time he had tried to prove himself before everyone else — that day after I had challenged and beaten him outside his cell. And I could see he had learned nothing. He was making the same hasty mistake.

Striking fast to destroy me quick.

I ran at him, getting too close for him to be able to use his sword effectively, stepped on his coiled thigh, leapt up, seized the horns of his helmet, and yanked it free as his own momentum launched him forward and down. The helmet came off easily and I landed softly behind Druin.

He grinned as he turned to face me. "You've got a real problem with helmets, huh?"

"No," I said. "Only yours."

"It makes little difference. You'll never get yours off."

"If only I had the key…" I said, and extended my palm toward him. The metal shone like solid hope.

Druin's face fell. "No…"

I reached up and removed my mask, the heat leaving my face and a cool breeze swept over my features. I breathed in a lungful of fresh air (fresh for Ikmal, at least) and let it out slowly.

Druin turned to run at me but he could not move his legs. He stared at me helplessly.

"Don't do this," he said. "I'll give you whatever you want."

He was genuinely terrified now. And he should be.

"There's nothing you can give me that I don't already have," I said and I reached into his mind and gave birth to his greatest fears.

They were real only in his mind, but his mind was all that mattered. As the audience pointed and laughed, I reached out to them and planted the same seed in their minds.

It was easy to manipulate them now — especially with the riot still raw in their memories. Nothing was scarier than losing control, and during the riot, all of them had done so. I released chaos into their minds and it spread like a contagious disease from one inmate to the next.

Manipulating minds was hard. People feared different things at differing levels. And it took time to find them and make them real. But when they all bore the same seed of terror… it was an entirely different story.

They attacked each other, violent and aggressive, rioting for the second time in as many weeks.

I calmly moved toward the exit leading to the Prize Pool. The females screamed, beside themselves. Their fear was not of my making but from their recent experience with rioting.

I sent out a shock wave to soothe them as best I could. "Go into the back room," I said. "They will not find or harm you there."

They did as I told them. All but one Prize.

She was strapped to her bed, her arms held tight above her, her ankles bearing her weight. She cried as I pressed my lips to hers. I savored her unlike I ever had before. Delicious as always, with a strong dose of salty tears.

"Let's get out of here," I said.

"Take me anywhere but here."

I removed her restraints and caught her when she fell. I carried her in my arms, shunting the vicious prisoners out of my way as we passed through them. The guards fought bravely but they were massively outnumbered. I did not help them.

I glanced up at the Supervisor's office, where I spied the shutters on the windows moving as we passed underneath.

We went unimpeded as I took Lily to the shuttlecraft still awaiting dust off. We climbed through the hatch door and I deposited my fated mate in the co-pilot chair. She was exhausted but managed to smile as I strapped her in.

I climbed into the captain's seat and plotted a course off-planet. Where we headed right then didn't matter. Only that we weren't here.

We sailed into the atmosphere and left our pasts behind.

* * *

A light blinkedon the console. "Looks like there's a problem with the hatch door," I said, unclipping my harness and turning the auto-pilot on. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

I kissed Lily on the forehead and left the cockpit. I took the three steps down that led to the back of the shuttlecraft bay area. Chains clinked as we hit turbulence and I stumbled to one side and braced myself on the wall.

A single stream of metal ran around the inside of the shuttle in a narrow band. It was shiny and reflected the inside of the shuttle back at you so when people were working, they could see what was happening in the rest of the space. In it, I caught movement that was not caused by the turbulence.

My instinct was to snap around and attack, but I controlled my response. I pretended to tighten the harness around the medical kits while my other hand reached for the wrench held firmly in place by a hook.

The figure in the mirror — and I was certain it was a figure now by the way it moved — crossed to my offhand side, perhaps sensing that I was now armed. They were draped in a hooded cowl and when I reached out for him, I found my ability blocked.

He drew closer and I let out a roar and spun the wrench around at what I guessed was head height.

The figure ducked and lurched back. I was so certain I was going to hit him with a vicious blow that I hadn't even attempted to slow or stop the swing, and the wrench clanged off the shuttle's wall, putting a thick dent in the metal sheeting.

I shifted my weight and prepared to bring the wrench around again when the figure held up a hand and said, "Wait."

And the crazy thing? I actually did!

"I didn't mean to startle you but I couldn't think of another way to get you down here."

If he'd crept up on me, there would have been harm and it definitely wouldn't have been by accident on my part.

The cowled figure's movements were slow as he reached up and took down his hood. The face I saw beneath it made me doubletake. It was not the one I was expecting. In fact, I didn't know who to expect beneath that hood.

My muscles relaxed and I lowered the wrench. "I thought you were dead?"

"Believe me, they tried."

Thillak looked different when he smiled — not that he never smiled before, only that this time it was real and genuine.

"But how?" I said. "Why? I thought Druin killed you?"

"He thought he killed me. I knew he wanted my place. Just as I knew he wanted revenge on you. It's so much easier to manipulate people when you know what they want."

"I heard someone shout and worried you might be in troub—" Lily said as she came down the steps.

Thillak's eyes shifted to Lily and he smiled even broader and reached out and took her by the hand. He kissed it, which made Lily's cheeks flush. "This is how they greet each other in some places on Earth, is it not?"

"It's a little old-fashioned…" Lily said. "But yes. You're right."

"I had a good teacher. You're lovelier than I ever imagined. I can understand why this one fell head over heels for you."

Thillak might have moved on from the topic of how he had apparently allowed himself to lose his position as the head of the most powerful criminal organization in the solar system, but I hadn't.

"Why would you let Druin take your place?" I asked.

"How easy do you think it would be for you to give up that position when you wanted to disappear?" he countered.

Not very. But that didn't fully answer my question. "Why Druin? Didn't you know what he would do?"

"Of course I did. That was why I allowed him to take over. My cells can work independently and there was no way they would follow someone like him. His reign would not — and will not — last long. He will be replaced in short order."

"By who?"

Thillak arched an eyebrow at me. "I think you know who."

It didn't take me long to guess. It wasn't like there was a long list of potential candidates. "Cayggod?"

"He knows my organization better than anyone. Better even than me most of the time. He will make an excellent head and he will reign for a long time… if he wants to."

I sensed it wasn't as simple as handing the position over to him, that he had to prove himself somehow… but I let it go.

Then another realization came to me. "You opened my cell!"

"I merely unlocked it. You were the one who walked through it."

"As you knew I would."

He nodded. "As I knew you would."

"And you took out the guard too."

He curled his face into a sneer. "That's his own fault. He was being arrogant and pushy. I hate people without the good manners the Creator gifted them, don't you?"

He directed his question at Lily, who nodded. But her attention was taken with something else. She raised a finger toward the back of the bay area. I followed it and noticed a second cowled figure, this one smaller — about Lily's height — who peeked out only her head at us.

"It's all right," Thillak said. "These are my friends. You can trust them. You can come out."

The figure was hesitant about leaving the safety of her corner but slowly, she did.

Thillak took her by the hand. By the softness of her skin and the melodic nature of her voice, I thought she had to be human.

"Lily, I believe you've met before," Thillak said.

Without even seeing the other human's face, Lily nodded. "Very well. I guess mysteries come in twos. How did you two come to meet?"

Thillak kissed his mate's hand and beamed at us once more. "I was inspired by how Ohara fell for you. I took a long good look at my life and realized I had all the things money could buy… and none of the things money couldn't buy. As for the details… well, I guess I'll tell you all about that on the way to the new home you're going to take us to."

I looked at Lily, thinking she might know what he was talking about as she seemed to have a much better grip on what was going on between Thillak and this mate of his than I did. She shrugged her shoulders in response.

"We've escaped Ikmal," Thillak said. "Drop us off on any planet we pass on the way to wherever it is you're going. I have friends everywhere. We'll be all right. Do you think you could do that for an old friend?"

For letting me have Lily when I beat Druin? For giving me a job on the outside when I needed it? For leaving my cell door unlocked so I could beat Druin a third time? It wasn't much of an ask.

"Of course," I said. "Come sit in the cockpit. Then you can tell us all about your story."

He did, with interjections from his mate on the finer points. They were a cute couple and not the match I would have made if I was responsible for choosing his mate for him. But I supposed that was what made me a Nor and not Fate herself.

Their story was filled with love and passion and excitement and adventure, almost as thrilling as our own.

Almost.

And as we sailed into the infinity darkness of the cosmos with Ikmal's red desert surface drifting further and further behind us, I realized just how lucky we were. I reached over and took Lily by the hand and squeezed.

She looked over at me and I smiled back at her. It had been a long wait but one I would do all over again a thousand times if it meant I could be with her here and now, and looked forward to the exciting promise of the future we had together.

My fated mate.

My Lily.