CHAPTER 3
Skyla nervously fingered the hilt of the dagger that Callahan had handed to her before she was pushed out into the brightly lit arena. It was a stark contrast to the dank, badly lit rom she’d spent the last two days in. She passed the dagger into her left hand to give the burn on her right and preferred hand some rest. She glanced around the arena at the other competitors. There were three older men who were all holding their weapons with ease, a smug expression on their faces. Skyla could easily see why as the only other competitor apart from her, was Kayshana. The 9 year old returned Skyla’s stare with hatred burning in her eyes. When Tom had been trying to calm Skyla down he’d told her that Kayshana had been in the Fights for 5 months already. The arena was filled with places to hide and hidden weapons that would give them an extra advantage if they could find them. Skyla glanced back to the man standing just outside the arena as he finished explaining the rules. Five go in, one comes out.
A cannon went off and Skyla immediately ran for the cover of the obstacles as the other four ran at each other, brandishing their daggers. Skyla watched from the relative safety of her hideout as Kayshana ducked away from the dagger of the largest man in the arena. She quickly stabbed forward with her own, hissing at the man as he flinched backwards. He narrowed his eyes and surged forward and aimed his dagger at the young girl’s heart. She smiled and ducked to the side, throwing the man off balance as he thrust the dagger forward into what was now empty air. She dodged around him and slammed the dagger into his back, leaving only the hilt still sticking out. The man collapsed forward and Kayshana looked around for the next person to attack.
Skyla drew in a deep breath as the winner of the other two men stepped up behind Kayshana and raised the sword he had found above his head. Kayshana glanced up just as he brought the sword down across her neck and her head landed on the ground with a thus, followed closely by her body. Skyla put her hand to her mouth, trying to hold down the bile that was quickly building in her throat.
She ducked behind the hay bale she had been hiding behind as the remaining man started to scan the arena. “Come out, come out wherever you are!” the man sneered.
Skyla glanced around, hoping that there was a weapon or something that she could use. Her eyes landed on the long sword sitting hidden in the hay. She took a deep breath out and grabbed the hilt, pulling the sword free just in time to block the sword swinging towards her head. She pushed the one handed sword away and scrambled to her feet. The cheering crowd was pushed out of her concentration by the mind numbing fear and adrenaline as she backed away from the man who was slowly approaching her. His smirked as he feinted forward and Skyla flinched back, nearly tripping over , unbalanced because of the long and heavy sword in her hands.
He attacked her a few times and she clumsily threw up the sword to protect herself. The man obviously knew how to handle a sword and Skyla began to panic. He was slowly herding her back into the middle of the arena and it was obvious he was planning to give the audience a show. He lunged forward again and his sword cut into Skyla’s arm. She winced and her sword dropped down to the ground. The man smiled and slowly raised his sword up, smiling down at the girl. Skyla dodged to the side as the sword whistled through the air. She stabbed the sword that she had been holding into to the ground and she sprinted towards another barrier. She heard the sword whistle through the air behind her and she ducked and ran faster. She glanced back and realised that she managed to pin the man by putting the sword through his pants.
Skyla reached the closest hay bale and reached into it, trying to find another weapon to use. Her hands closed around a crossbow and she quickly pulled it free. She immediately turned and shot at the man. The crossbow recoiled in her hands and she immediately looked around for more bolts. The man cried out in agony and she saw that there was another one, hidden in the next hay bale over. She took a deep breath and sprinted towards the bolt. A throwing dagger whistled past her head and she nearly screamed. She heard he man running towards her, his heavy feet slapping against the ground. Skyla dived behind the barrier and grabbed the bolt, attempting to shove it into the crossbow. She could hear him coming closer and she started to panic. The click emanated from the weapon and she quickly turned and fired, just as the man was raised the sword above his head with his good hand, the other bolt having hit him in his right shoulder.
