The scream crawled under my skin and clawed at my mind. I inhaled sharply, my breath catching in my throat as Saturnia unconsciously reached out to grip my arm. Her nails dug in and crescents of blood appeared around them. Stunned silence filled the arena.
Praxedes and Corvus tensed, raising their fists and swords. The whistling scream had torn through the air from both everywhere and nowhere.
Then two warriors emerged from the shadowed entrance and a collective gasp rose from the crowd.
"Oh, gods," I breathed.
One wore the pelt of a jaguar. The open maw rested over a wooden helmet, large fangs on each side of his face. His armor was mostly a mosaic of fibrous armor linked together over his chest and shoulders and he gripped an obsidian-bladed club and a small shield. Sharp bone pierced the bridge of his nose. And carved into the contours of his body were scars and black tattoos.
The Solis warrior stopped an arm's length from Corvus. After sizing up the gladiator, he lifted his face to the sun. A fierce grin appeared and he let out a whooping cry.
Stiff feathers rose from the helmet and layered over the armor of his brother. Dark with the occasional flash of vivid green, like a snake in the shadows. He looked every bit a creature of war as he stood tall across from Praxedes. I could only see what looked like an obsidian axe in his hands.
The brothers surveyed their opponents and the amphitheater with dark eyes set against copper-like skin, sharp nose, and angular faces.
"Are those...human jaw bones?" Saturnia whispered, pointing to the eagle warrior's shoulders.
Remnants of broken faces grinned back at me. "I think so," I replied in disbelief.
The jaguar warrior glanced at Praxedes and laughed. "A woman?" he rasped. "Oh, it's a glorious day. ItzCoyotl, this will be an easy victory for you."
ItzCoyotl, on the other hand, didn't change his expression as he studied the way she held herself. His eyes narrowed.
The first one continued, addressing Corvus as he pointed to himself. "Eztli. I'll have you know my name when you fall and meet your gods."
"This isn't meant to be a death fight," Praxedes spat. Her brother stayed silent, spinning his swords in anticipation.
"Of course," Eztli responded with a grin. "But we're used to more...sturdy opponents than you. Our weapons may not know their own strength."
He turned away casually, pointing his weapon to sweep across the crowd. "All of you! You will see the might of the Mexica. We have our own god of war and sun, Huitzilopochtli. I can feel him shining down on me now, not your paltry gods. He will drink your champions' blood before resting with the night."
The crowd shouted in anger, the swell of noise rolling across the arena. But the warrior seemed to feed on it. His grin turned into bared teeth as he lifted his arms.
"Enough," ItzCoyotl commanded, his voice deeper than his brother's. "It is time to fight."
Their demeanor changed instantly as they readied their stances.
"Oh, stercus," I swore, covering my eyes for a second and pacing. “Shit!”
These two had a decade on the gladiators. They had led warriors into countless battles, killing and capturing their enemies. I paused. Felix's words from last night came back. He was right. I had to do more than offer prayers. I had to believe in Praxedes and Corvus with every part of my being.
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"Come on, you two," I muttered, moving to stand against the balcony edge. "I know you can do it."
As if they heard me, the twins turned around and thumped their fists on their chest. Then they raised them high, spinning slowly to take in the crowd as it roared their names.
A tense silence settled over the sands when the four fighters faced off again. Corvus and Eztli moved first, already swinging. The Solis warrior was deft in his movements, almost taunting Corvus with openings before slipping out of the way with a quick jerk at the last moment. Dents bit into the wooden shield and shards of obsidian embedded into leather bracers as they exchanged blows.
Meanwhile, Praxedes and ItzCoyotl circled slowly, trying to read each other. She moved in first, testing his reaction with a few exploratory jabs. He shifted away, sliding one hand along the haft of the axe to parry some of her blows.
"That axe is going to give her a lot of trouble, isn't it?" Saturnia wrung her hands in worry.
I bit my lip. "I think her best bet will be to stay close enough where he can't wield it or to grapple him into the sand."
Then harsh singing rang out. It was Eztli.
"The battlefield is the place where one toasts the divine liquor in war..." he began.
Catching the club with the gladius, Corvus slashed up his other blade. But the shield bashed against his elbow and he grunted. They disengaged for a moment and the jaguar warrior continued his battle song.
"Where are stained red the divine eagles…"
Eztli started targeting Corvus's hands and arms beyond the bracers, forcing him to pull them in closer without counterattacking. But after several blows, the gladiator flipped his blades around so they ran along his arms. He began meeting the jaguar warrior’s strikes and used the new opening to swing both fist and hilt at Eztli's face.
"Where the jaguars howl..."
Corvus flowed like water, every movement building into the next, never needing adjustments to redirect his strikes.
ItzCoyotl had gotten the axe blade between himself and Praxedes, pushing her into a more defensive position. It cleaved through the air so fast I could hear the whistle. Then a small reed appeared between his lips and it was like time slowed between heartbeats.
The eagle warrior's chest lifted ever so slightly, inhaling. She shifted, tilting away from him. Then his core tightened and cheeks expanded as she dipped her head. Something pinged off her shoulder guard and a second object flew through the air where her leg had been only a moment before.
His eyes widened and for the first time since entering the arena, his expression changed. It blazed with excitement. Praxedes was upon him in the blink of an eye. He evaded her punches, but a couple were too fast even for him. Rivulets of blood dripped along his skin and wild laughter escaped ItzCoyotl.
Corvus glanced over for only a moment but it was enough for Eztli as he finished his song.
"...The battlefield is the place where gladiators are shattered to bones."
The club skittered across the chest plate before ripping flesh. Several obsidian teeth dug in at his ribcage and the Solus warrior twisted it, whooping in satisfaction. Several long furrows cut deep into Corvus's flesh and a small piece was gouged out—a promise of how much worse it could get. He hissed in agony, tucking his arm in to protect his side.
Saturnia watched through her fingers. My hands flew to my mouth to muffle a cry, my heart pounding.
His sister never wavered her focus from her target—she couldn't afford to. Until at last, one of her punches got past ItzCoyotl's defense. The spikes punched through, gouging his chest. But it also meant they were embedded in the armor. Her arm was stuck.
The eagle warrior grinned triumphantly, raising his axe.
Praxedes swore, kicking off against him to wrench her hand out. She fell backwards, scrambling as the axe slammed into the dirt next to her arm. Eventually, she was able to get into a crouch. But instead of straightening, the gladiatrix lunged forward and caught the haft. They struggled for control.
Blood drenched Corvus's side and his opponent sniffed the air, pleased.
"Time to change tactics," I pleaded as my fingers unclenched and clenched, over and over again. “Come on, Corvus.”
And change tactics he did. His short swords began to work together like jaws to catch the club and tear down its edges. Obsidian teeth shattered, reduced to nubs. Eztli realized, gnashing his teeth in anger, and pulled away.
Praxedes continued battling for control of the axe when the warrior shifted his stance, lifting his knee to kick. She took the opening to tackle him to the sand. They wrestled but she managed to pin ItzCoyotl. He twisted his head away from her fist, only his cheek slicing open as he strained to free his arm. Grabbing the dagger from her waist, he stabbed it into her thigh. She snarled, screaming through clenched teeth.
"Finish it, Praxedes!" I shouted desperately. “Kill him to kill the pain!”
There was a motto that Felix liked to tell his gladiators. That pain is temporary, but death is forever. Sometimes you have to ignore it or even willingly suffer pain to survive. Sometimes embracing it was the only way to live.
And if they didn't, I could be watching their bodies get dragged from the sand, leaving only a trail of glistening red.
How do you think the fight's going to go for the Magnus twins?
