Amazonia

  Amazonia whirled around. Across the arena, the gold painted gate was opening and Daemo warriors, resembling yellowish man-toads, began spitting out onto the sands. They wore crude armor made from their black secretions and carried pitted, notched swords and spears made of the same. Ragnar had already seen them, his battle-axe swinging towards the leading Daemo as Az took off running full out towards them. Titan joined her a moment later as Paulus turned and ran.

  It was like being trapped in a nightmare. Sand churned under her sandals, holding her back as Fenris... Ragnar, killed the first warrior. But the rest either mobbed him or flung spears at Paulus, several flying past as one struck his back and went deep. Paulus fell as Fenris split another one’s skull, but swords like jagged teeth tore at him on all sides... just as a Daemo stopped beside Paulus and raised its sword.

  A grey gateway opened beside the Daemo and Fox threw sand in the Daemo's face as she ran past. The toad-like creature bellowed and clawed at its eyes as Fox turned and ran towards them, terror on her face as the Daemo gave chase. Titan roared and the crowd roared back, clearly wanting the gladiators to live as they cheered him on. The Ogri put on a burst of speed.

  Seeing him, the Daemo tried to stop, spraying sand as it stumbled and almost fell. Then the toad-like warrior turned around and staggered towards the gate behind the others, who were running away as well. Titan passed Paulus and knocked the Daemo off its feet with the flat of his blade, going after the rest as Amazonia reached the one flailing about on the sand and swung hard at its side. The sword bit deep. The Daemo screamed as she wrenched out the blade and whipped it around, her Wardogs giving Az a wide berth as the toad-like warrior desperately threw up its sword to block her swing. The Rune blade notched the Daemo warrior’s sword as it bounced off and she used the weapon's momentum to slash down where the Daemo's neck met its shoulder.

  The black blade sheared through bone and the toad-like Daemo dissolved. Gasping as she caught her breath and looked around, Dancer had a Daemo pinned with his spear as Troll swung at its head, while Nomad... the twins, were chopping up another. Fenris... Ragnar, damn it; Ragnar's down, but Titan's closing in on the rest. The Daemo warriors must see him for they're scrambling away.

  "Domina," Fox called from behind her, "Paulus is dying."

  Why is she calling me that? Amazonia raced towards Paulus, who clawed at his back as if he wanted to rip out the spear. "Paulus, stop," she gasped, dropping to her knees beside him. "You're only making it worse."

  He stopped moving, the sand sucking down the blood coming from the wound as he raised his head. "Have they killed the Daemo?"

  Amazonia glanced over her shoulder at the Eagle gate and back again. "Almost all. Titan's going after them like a Norse berserker. Paulus, we can find Fox's dress and use it to bind your wound, get you out of here and find a healer—”

  "Leave be," he grunted, wheezing as he labored for breath. "Eurax... will have his revenge... no matter... what you do."

  "Antonius' spirit will have its revenge on Eurax when the sword shatters," Fox said from Paulus' other side. "I do not know the details, but it has something to do with a Shadow Fae necromancer who stayed with Lady Jhadra about a year ago."

  Amazonia had no idea what a Shadow Fae might be, but understanding swept Paulus’ face. "This scheme of hers... was long... in the making. Az," his hand reaching out and gripping hers, "promise me you will... return here... when the sword... shatters."

  "I can't promise that. Breath of Cerberus, I don't know if the Crimson Horde will accept us or whether the son will listen to me.”

  He squeezed her hand and let go. "You will... find a way. Fox... will you end this... for me?"

  She looked at Amazonia, who nodded. Female Daemo had pearly white teeth that were actually hard pieces of cartilage hiding their true, needle-like hollow fangs, which they used to drink blood. They also secreted a substance in their saliva when they fed that numbed the area so it wouldn't hurt. Az turned him over enough so Fox could sink her fangs into his wrist. The crowd quieted as they watched her feed, and after only a few moments she let his arm fall limp. "He only needed a gentle push," she said, wiping her mouth on his tunic as dozens of needle-like fangs retracted. "Paulus is dead."

  Amazonia nodded, climbing to her feet as Fox... Why am I fighting this? Might as well start calling them by their new names. Fox stood up and walked around the body as the last of the Daemo fighters went down trying to escape from Titan. Az glanced over her shoulder at the Hades gate. It remained closed and she turned her gaze on Paulus, dead at her feet. There was a time, before Lady Jhadra changed me to what I am, when I would've given my eye teeth to have Dominus exactly where he is. But now? Paulus was a hard man, yet also a fair one, always pushing us to go past what we saw as our limits, forging us into the steel he saw within the raw iron.

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  No person should ever be able to treat another person as property. Did Paulus understand that? No, he didn't, but then no one else in this empire, or in the entire civilized world for that matter, understands this either. Doesn't make it right, but that's the way things stand until the slaves find a way to break their enchanted control collars and rise up. I do know Paulus was a better man than most, one of the few I respected. I wouldn't be what I am if he hadn't been what he was.

  And now he lay dead at her feet. Amazonia strode across the sand toward the Eagle Gate with the sword resting on her shoulder and Fox at her heels, the Daemo stopping to retrieve her dress as Amazonia walked on. Glancing up, the emperor was still standing against the wall and, seeing her gaze, raised his eyebrows. With her free hand, Az made a fast, 'thumbs down' gesture. He nodded and spoke to the bald priest beside him as Fox slipped on her dress and hurried to join Amazonia.

  The crowd quieted as the priest stepped in front of the speaking device, the coppery tang of blood shed from Paulus and his fallen guards sharp in Amazonia’s nose as the priest raised his arms. "The scales of Jupiter are now balanced. Lord Paulus is dead, and the remainder of his gladiators are banished to the Khitian lands, while Titan is free to travel with them on his way east or wherever his travels take him. Let the Eagle Gate be opened for them."

  Before any of them could take a step, Fox gasped and grabbed Amazonia’s hand. "Domina, look."

  Sand sprayed out as small, red lines in the shape of a wolf raced toward Amazonia. "Breath of Cerberus, is that a tattoo?"

  "Ragnar must be dead," Fox replied.” Is that true? It has to be; his body's not moving, and I feel incomplete, like someone's missing. The sword tugged at Az to respond and, trusting her instincts, she took it off her shoulder and lowered the blade until it touched the sands in front of her.

  The tattoo slowed down as it got close. A savage wolf drawn almost a foot tall was approaching, the red lines three-dimensional as if it truly existed. Az could see the arena sands between the lines. The sword’s runes on the blade began to glow fiery red, and as the Fenris tattoo reached out to touch the blade with its paw, the runes went back to dark red as the drawn lines took up a bright red glow like iron bars in a fire. The tattoo’s eyes glowed like twin burning coals as it turned around and sprayed sand again, racing for the now open Eagle Gate.

  "We will have a new Fenris eventually," Fox said. A shudder racked Amazonia’s body, and Fox placed a tentative hand on her arm. "In time, you will get used to strangeness."

  "Hades forbid... but you're probably right." Az shook her head in bitter amusement. "This is definitely not how I expected today to go." Fox giggled, a shrill sound with an edge of hysteria, and as she let go of Amazonia’s arm, Az grasped her shoulder. "You'll get used to the strangeness of humans as well, I promise. C'mon." Az gently propelled her forward and let go as Fox fell in beside her, the two of them close to the Eagle Gate where the others were waiting.

  The projected voice of the emperor above them said, "Amazonia." Fox and Az stopped where they were and looked up as he said, "This is my decree. From here on, no person of the empire may hinder your passage or attempt unprovoked violence upon you or those banished with you as you travel into the lands of Khitia. Furthermore, you shall have my blessing: let all who meet you render aid upon your journey and be rewarded."

  Beyond the emperor stood a thin man with a pock marked face. That’s Citizen Eurax or I'm a Daemo. The emperor glanced back at him for a moment before speaking into the device again. "In the matter of the traitor Lord Paulus, this is my decree. The monies that the Master of Coin has seized shall be given to him as a reward for his diligence, and Lord Paulus' wife betrothed to him as he requested.

  "However, in the matter of Lord Paulus' Ludus and his only son, Little Paulus, this is my decree. A Ludus is not just any ordinary business but a sacred trust between the empire and her people, where even a slave can be elevated to such a high place that the gods themselves take notice. This Ludus has been run by the same family for nine generations and Little Paulus will make the tenth, so the Ludus will be held in trust until he comes of age.

  "Likewise with Little Paulus himself. The son is not the father, even though he likely knew of his father's plans to create a Reaver Knight, for under the law a son must always obey the father for as long as the son lives beneath his roof and eats his bread. Therefore, as to the matter of Citizen Eurax's request to make Little Paulus a domestic slave, stripped of all rights, this is my decree: Little Paulus will be made a ward of the royal court, with the Reaver Knight Amazonia made Little Paulus' guardian until his coming of age at sixteen years. Whereupon the Ludus held in trust will be granted back to him. Amazonia, will you accept this charge?"

  Eurax wanted Little Paulus changed into a girl and made his bed slave, but the emperor's pulled his fangs. I'm going to make a powerful enemy if I accept this... and nothing else would make me happier. Raising her Rune sword over her head in salute, Amazonia called out, "What the emperor puts into words, his knight puts into action."

  Eurax's scowl warmed the darkness of Az’s heart as the emperor gave her a satisfied smile. "Then this is my decree as well. Since Little Paulus is now officially our ward, Lady Jhadra will set up a way of sending messages relating to the boy's welfare in exchange for a stipend of gold."

  "Coded messages concerning our quest," Fox said quietly, "disguised as progress reports."

  Az raised her eyebrows as the emperor raised his right hand. "Reaver Knight Amazonia, Khitia awaits." The crowd, fickle as ever, began chanting, 'Reavers, Reavers, Reavers’, as Amazonia strode towards the way out with the others falling in around her.

  Striding out of the Eagle Gate, they moved from the honest light of the sun into deep shadow.