Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

With the interlude over, our fight was next. The announcer stoked the crowd, the lights swirled like before, and the band did its best to set the dramatic tone. I clambered through the ropes and ambled into the ring, flooded with hot, blinding light.

Nerves dried my throat.

No more hiding.

This was it.

The moment that would make or break me.

I shook out my hands and rolled my shoulders after seeing Musashi do the same. He did look as though he knew how to warm up. On the surface, it wasn't a fair fight. Musashi was taller by some margin, and heavier too. But I was fast. Not Victor fast, but fast enough to overpower three demons in Demontown. Or a stroppy vampire duke.

I wasn't going to kill Paul Musashi, just... scare him some.

A quick glance outside the ring showed the blurred silhouettes of the people watching behind bright lights. Spotting Zee or Victor was impossible, but they were out there. Daisy and Cain were out there too. I couldn't worry about them. Inside the ring... this was my domain, and Musashi was my prey.

My heart's pounding drowned out the announcer's dramatic intro for Adam the Alpha. My whole world funneled into this precise moment in space and time—me in the ring, sleeves rolled up, heart galloping, blood rushing. This was my world now. Until it was over.

Musashi's gaze locked with mine. He didn't know me, but he knew Zee, he knew Lost Ones. Hate churned in those human eyes.

He was lucky.

People who'd crossed me in the past weren't around anymore to tell him why.

A bell rang.

I blinked, focus sharpening.

It was just me and Musashi now. He began to side-step, so I did the same, watching for any clues on how or when he'd strike.

"This is foolish, Mr. Vex. You're going to get hurt."

"Probably." I flexed my hands, shaking out tight nerves.

"Why? For a bunch of miscreants who don't even belong here?"

"Lost Ones aren't here by choice, Commissioner."

"They should all be in camps," he snarled. "Not free to mingle in society, taking good, honest, human jobs, and stealing our wives."

I smiled, still circling. The more he showed his true colors, the easier this would be.

I doubted anyone outside the ring heard much of what he said, which was probably why he felt empowered to say it. This was our little chat.

He tugged at his collar, then popped open a few shirt buttons. Sweat made his face shine. Too much wine, perhaps? My smile grew. I raised my hand and crooked a finger, tempting him forward. Why was he hesitating? I was half his size. Practically bait.

Musashi cracked his neck, then swaggered forward, broadcasting the right hook he flung my way. I pretended not to see it, and let the punch land. Heat spritzed across my jaw then thumped down my chin. I staggered back, saw the incoming left, and braced. The impact slammed into my gut, doubling me over.

Coughing, I clung onto Musashi's arm.

"I don't know what issue you got with Cain, but you need to give up now, kid. He always gets what he wants."

Not this time. I tensed, and punched up. My knuckles struck Musashi's chin like a hammer hits a nail. The commissioner's head whipped back, and with a grunt he stumbled away. I could easily have followed it through with a second punch that would have flung him across the ring. But the rich folks wanted a show.

Musashi snarled, and shrugged his shoulders back into alignment. "Alright, I gave you a chance."

He came at me again, but this time I danced away on light feet.

Musashi growled and waded in, fists flying. I dodged them all, grabbed the ropes, and clung on to get a look at my opponent. He blinked fast, and wiped sweat from his eyes. As he lowered his hand, he stared at his own trembling fingers.

I pushed back, into the ropes, and used their spring to fly at him. He swung wildly but was always going to miss. I dropped at the last second, tackled him around the waist and slammed the man down. The ring floor bounced under him, jarring my grip on the bigger man.

Teeth gritted, I pinned his neck under my forearm and peered into his wide, watery eyes .

"What..." He tried to pry me off, and learned I wasn't as small as I appeared.

Adam Vex is not what he seems.

I thought I heard the crowd roar, but that could also have been the part of me hungry for violence.

His eyes glistened, pupils like tiny dark dimes.

"Something's wrong," he wheezed.

"There's a whole lot wrong, Commissioner."

He shoved, and I let him push me off. Staggering to his feet, he gulped and swayed, looking sickly under the bright, searing lights. "What have you done to me?" he accused.

"Nothing." It wasn't as though I'd taken a few magic bath beads and dropped them into his drink earlier. That would be cheating.

Musashi eyed my smile and knew he'd been duped, he just didn't know how. With a roar, he ran at me. I lunged aside, and as he sailed by, I spun, kicking out his leg. He sprawled into the ropes, letting them string him up like a limp puppet.

There were definite cheers this time.

Daisy and Cain wouldn't be liking this.

Good.

Musashi turned, clinging to the ropes. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

I'd rarely felt so calm, so... in control. "I don't think so."

He sprang again, and again I danced away. The angrier he got, the sloppier his moves became. Again he lunged, and this time I hit him in the throat. His legs flew out. He slammed into the ring floor, dazed and gasping.

I pressed a shoe onto his chest and leaned in. "Call it. Surrender. Free the Lost Ones."

"Never! They should all be in prison. Every last one."

"Oh dear." Easing off, I backed up, giving him space, and began to circle the ring. Now I did hear shouts to end him, some to save him, some to hit him in the balls—that voice sounded a lot like Zee's.

I circled my prey. With each step, the chained, restrained part of me stretched its bonds, and with each step, a little more of my truth bled through. Ever since shaking the earth in Demontown, I'd felt... lighter. My glamor was loose. The curse barely hooked in.

Musashi screamed, which was a surprise, as I wasn't anywhere near him.

He held up his hand, where claws had sprouted from his fingers.

I tilted my head. So that's what happened when a human consumed a magic bath bead. "Are you sure you're human, Commissioner?"

"These aren't mine!" he screeched. "What did you do?!"

"Free the Lost Ones, and we can fix this."

He rolled onto his side, then knelt, and pointed at me. "You did this!"

Which was ludicrous. Little human me? I shrugged at the crowd, then crossed the ring and loomed over him.

"Your eyes," Musashi blubbered. "What sorcery are you?"

Kneeling, I pinned him under my glare. "You really don't want to know. Surrender. Do the right thing. End this here."

He panted, bruised and battered, his ego in tatters. Searching outside the ring was pointless. They all called for his blood. "Fix whatever you did to me," he said. "And I'll free them."

"Sure," I smiled. He didn't need to know the effects of the beads would wear off. I offered him my hand. "Deal?"

Something yanked on my insides, like a giant hook had sunk in and pulled my heart through the floor. I gasped, and dropped to my knees, then fell forward onto a hand.

"Deal." Musashi said, but I barely heard the words.

What... Reeling, I shook the falling sensation off and gripped his hand, hauling us both back to our feet. "Deal," I croaked.

He turned toward the crowd. "It's over!" he yelled. "Adam wins!"

Another tug yanked me to a knee. The truth trapped inside me uncoiled, shifting, stretching without stopping. Something was wrong. Something had hold of the real me, hidden inside my glamor, and it wasn't letting go. It pulled harder, dragging me down. I lifted my head and stared into the lights, hoping Victor or Zee could see the panic on my face.

The bell rang, the fight was over, but it didn't matter. I still fought whatever the invisible force was that had a hold of me.

It wasn't in the ring.

It came from below.

The announcer grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet, then flung my arm in the air and declared me the victor. Rapturous applause surged like a wave, while whatever had its claws in me kept on digging out my insides.

I heaved. My vision swayed.

I was losing.

The announcer said something... but the words were drowned out by a horrible whooshing . I stumbled, losing my footing, and went down onto all fours.

My nails dug into the boxing ring's floor, then extended, turning into claws, and tore great slashes in the canvas.

Uh-oh.

The curse that had been clamped tight around me for years, suddenly and violently shattered. My glamor, weak as it was, evaporated. Already on my hands and knees, my whole body swelled—growing, filling out, taking up more space in the world.

An enormous but comforting weight pushed against my back .

Wings.

Teeth filled my jaws. Jaws that stretched into a snout.

Scales fell like dominos over my rapidly fading human skin.

I was shifting.

A growl thundered up my throat. I flung my head back, stretched my wings, and freed the roar.

The lights went out.