Pretenders

Chapter Two

Kat glanced at the siblings, who were staring at each other with matching wide eyes. "Surely you don't mean for those two to fight. They're children," she said, grasping one of the daggers in case he meant to leap at her.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Not her," he said, glancing at Jillian. "She is only here to make him cooperate." He narrowed his eyes at Sage.

The boy stood up indignantly. "I'm not going to cooperate unless you tell us what we're doing here," he snapped, fists beginning to form in his hands.

"That is none of your concern as of now."

"Yes, it is!" Sage stepped over to the bottom of the stairs, glaring up at him as they began to argue.

Kat saw Jillian wrap her arms around herself, looking frightened, so she slid next to the young girl. "Are you well?" she asked softly, knowing the answer, yet unable to find anything else to say.

Jillian stared at the ground, tears beginning to pool in her dark eyes.

"No, don't—" Kat hesitated. "Look, I know you're frightened. But don't let anyone see that you are afraid, and eventually you won't be." How many times did I try to tell Erion that?

Jillian looked up at her, blinking hard. She nodded and wiped her tears away, taking a in deep breath. "All right." She tipped her chin up and met Kat's gaze bravely.

Kat smiled a touch. She's braver than Erion, but still reminds me of him. I wish he had been able to overcome his fears like she is attempting. She felt a familiar twinge of affection for the girl, one she hadn't felt since arriving in the dungeons.

"You, girl." Both Kat and Jillian looked up when the man called. He shoved Sage away from the steps and glared at Kat. "Take your stance." Kat stood and adopted a defensive position with her dagger, facing the man warily. "Not me." His lip curled a little. "Him."

Kat's head snapped over to look at Sage, who was already staring back at her. Neither made a move to attack. I will not fight a child.

"Well?" seethed the man. "Select a weapon and begin."

Sage glowered at him, then grabbed a dagger. He advanced quickly towards Kat, stabbing his blade at her gut. She backed away from him, but he jumped to follow, still trying to catch her with the sharp weapon until she jabbed her own dagger at him and forced him back.

"This is madness," Kat said. "I'm not going to battle with a twelve-year-old." She glanced at the man, who didn't even flinch when Sage cut her hand in the moment of her distraction. "Ow—hey!" She retaliated with a slash on his shoulder.

He hissed in pain, taking a few steps back. Jillian whimpered, but he didn't take his eyes off Kat. "Afraid you're gonna lose?" he taunted, despite his slight injury.

"No," she said, her cut beginning to burn as it bled. "But I'd like to know why I'm fighting a child before defeating him."

Sage frowned. "I'm not a child." He charged at her, but she hopped out of his way, kicking at his legs to make him stumble.

What does this accomplish? Sick entertainment for him? I don't want to harm Sage, but I'm afraid he'll hurt me. What happens if one of us wins? What happens to the one who doesn't? Will there be a consequence? I don't want him or his sister to be punished over something as petty as this.

When Sage righted himself, he spun around and glowered at Kat. She waited for him to attack again, then pretended to trip over her own feet—falling flat on her back with a hard grunt. He was on her immediately, holding his blade to her neck. She resisted the instinct to knock the dagger aside and instead spread her fingers harmlessly, dropping her weapon. That seemed to reassure Sage, because he looked towards the man, who didn't appear to be pleased by the outcome.