Chapter Forty-Six – The Crush Rush

  In the weak light of the new day, Gray walked with his squad into the coliseum which was completely transformed. Tapestries hung from the walls showing the seven Watchfire families though only six of them had any power. Even though the sky was still stained red with dawn, the stands were filled with people all cheering for the recruits.

  Gray saw Rynn and the rest of his squad grinning. For them, this was a dream come true, Culling Day at First Field, their ticket to a better future. For Gray, it was a crowd of people wanting to see blood. He’d seen it a thousand times in his time at the Cradleport Arena and he knew the coliseum was no different—it was a brutal place and people paid to see the brutality. He had to remind himself that this was different. There were healers on hand, and out-and-out murder was outlawed on pain on death.

  Still, hurting your opponent was expected, because, again, each squad would have a healer. He doubted that there was a resurrectionist around.

  Gray stood in the crowd of recruits. There were nearly four hundred people of all the races, though at the moment, most of them looked humanish. That would change in a heartbeat once the exams started.

  A dais was at the end of the field. The track around the green field had been raked, and there were water barrels with metal ladles. Colorful ribbons hung from the six hoops, three on each side of the field. The squads and the die-hard fans knew immediately what the three exams would be, but they didn’t know the order. That was part of the fun of Culling Day—trying to guess the nature of the exams and who might make it out alive.

  Around the coliseum, with the best views, were eight sets of boxed seats. In them sat representatives from the seven families—dragons from Pride City, elves from Envy City, and so on and so forth. There was something strange about the fae representatives from Lust City. Their leader, the fairy queen, sat behind a black screen, but her sharp-faced retinue surrounded her. In the middle of the coliseum was the grandest box, which was for the faculty and staff of First Field.

  The Magistrate Malcon Crewel flew from his seat there and landed on the top of the dais. When he raised his hands, the packed coliseum, shaded by the canopy, fell silent.

  His voice boomed as his throat glowing gold with mana. “Good people of Wrath City, I welcome you to the 257th Culling Day, the first day of the Testing, where those who would protect us from the demons of the Weeping Well have come to show us their skills, their fortitude, and their endurance. All is the Testing! All is the Test! We bloody our recruits to find the best!”

  People chanted along as they clapped their hands and stamped their feet. A few dragons, sitting in the Pride City box, spewed flames.

  “Of course they bloody us,” Gray whispered. “It’s why they’re here.”

  “That and the food’s good,” Midj muttered. “After today, I’m getting a bucket of butter bangs out in the market. You ever have butter bangs, Gray?”

  “Can’t say I have.”

  The goblin girl chuckled. “Oh, bangcorn is so good. Drink it with a cherry coya, and you’ll be in heaven.”

  Rynn frowned at them. “He might have something to say that’s important. We should probably listen.”

  Ames nodded. “She’s right. We should pay attention.”

  Tomi grimaced. “Two-hundred-fifty-seven of these things? You’d think they’d be better organized.”

  Once the applause died down, Crewel continued. “We have recruits from all of Midmere here, from the Crown, from the Null Breaks, from the Backbone Islands, from, from the Freckle Islands, and from the Mal’Mireth Peninsula. All have come to show their skill. It’s been our tradition on Culling Day that if a squad doesn’t score, they are dismissed. Upon the discretion of the First Field Council, we might let individual recruits stay if they impress us, but that is unlikely. Are you ready to hear what the exams will be today?”

  More thunderous applause.

  Captain Settie, disguised in her hat and mask, moved through the crowds and joined them. Gray didn’t know where she had been, and he knew he couldn’t ask. Even though she was warming to him, the captain still didn’t like questions.

  Crewel went over the exams, ticking them off. It was to be the four-mile run called the Crush Rush, which would start at 8 a.m. Then, at noon, there would Sixblood. The last event of the day, at 6 p.m.,. there would be Final Hold, just like Settie thought.

  Crewel went over the rules of the run. The runners would go around the three-mile track once and return to the coliseum. The first person to break the red ribbon of the finish line would win. No weapons were allowed. The first twenty finishers would get points, which meant that out of the fifty possible squads, only twenty teams might go on to the next exam. There might be less if multiple recruits from a single squad placed in the top twenty. There was no to be no murder of any kind, though good-natured bashing was encouraged. Lastly, the winged races were barred from flying. Other than that, anything went.

  Crewel then went on to thank the various families and honored guests, but Gray knew the important stuff was over.

  He pulled Tomi aside and they spoke in hushed voices.

  “Are you truly certain that you find our plan acceptable?” he asked.

  Tomi looked bored. “It’s fine. It literally saves me from running. And I won’t need Ames.”

  “You should still run,” Gray said. “We might need you.”

  “Which is why Ames shouldn’t stay with me.” The cat girl then gave him a long look. “What’s this about? The plan is good. You look stressed.”

  Gray gently gripped the cat girl’s arm. “Ames is staying. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Tomi smiled, laughing a little. “You should probably pay for my boat ride home, then, Mr. Fade. First Field was built to bloody people. It’s in their motto.”

  “Good point. You’re going to get hurt. I don’t want to see you get dead.”

  The cat girl shrugged. “Can’t die. Then you’d be down to four.”

  The captain lowered her mask to give them an annoyed look.

  Gray met her gaze. “We’re just getting on the same page. No one is dying today.”

  “You’re damn right, Grayson Fade,” their captain shot back. “With only four recruits, we’d have to drop out.”

  Crewel said something and the entire coliseum erupted again, cheering and screaming.

  Then, music broke across the coliseum, and people were singing, but Gray couldn’t understand the words. It was just more pomp, and it didn’t mean a thing. He wanted the day over and done with.

  After the song, the various sponsors pulled their squads together.

  Settie nodded at Gray. “It’s going to be a long day. I’m very glad you’ve been diligent in connecting to our squad, but your reserves are not bottomless. You need to be wise with how much mana you use.

  “I agree. So far, there haven’t been any surprises. Our plan is good…as long as we follow that plan.”

  “Talk to each other,” the captain said. “Our strategy is good, but everything is against us.”

  They fell silent.

  Gray then laughed. “It will make a good story, and the better our story, the more eyes we’ll have on us.”

  “So more people can watch us lose,” Tomi said with a laugh.

  “So more of those rich families can watch us win,” Gray corrected.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Squads to the track!” Crewel called out.

  “Don’t fuck this up,” Settie said firmly. “We only need one of you in the top twenty. Make sure that happens.”

  She then turned and marched away.

  Gray led his squad to the track. There was already jostling up front, to get to the front of the crowd. Settie had warned them that would happen, and that was where most of the violence would happen early.

  Gray found Pinch and her fae, and he moved his squad closer to her. Pinch gave him a cold look, and he just smiled at her. She didn’t know what was about to happen. Gray did.

  He moved closer to Ames. “Stay with Tomi. She’s going to need you. But once she’s okay, you come running, okay? I’ve seen you run, you’re fast, but you have to keep your wits about you.”

  The dark elf nodded. “Fear is a sauce that I dip my thoughts into, over and over. It is a horrid sauce, Gray. I don’t like it.”

  “Don’t eat it then. Running is food for your feet. Make sure they get their fill.”

  Crewel drifted above them, his core a shining star. His voice boomed. “I’m watching and taking note. We are always watching because all is the Testing and all is the Test. Working together makes you infinitely more powerful than working alone.”

  A few of the bruisers stopped shoving each other.

  Crewel raised a flag with the First Field symbols on it, along with the symbol of the Fight Instinct on it. “When I drop the flag, the race begins. Twenty spots for twenty teams, less for those who are not swift, for the kill squads that keep the world safe must be fleet of feet and have wits as sharp as a manabound blade. Repeat after me…take hold of your magic and trust in the strength of your squad. Begin!”

  He dropped the flag.

  The first thing that Tomi did was expand into her giant cat girl form. She leapt over the fae and landed on Pinch. The fairies tried to pull her off, but Tomi had her claws in Pamalee Thornpinch, pinning her to the ground. The punches and kicks started, and Tomi took the blows. Ames dashed over, pulling a fae away, but then she got hit.

  Some squads took off running while others started throwing punches. Three of Freek’s orcs turned, forming a wall, which kept a squad of goblins back, until one bowled over one of the green monster men.

  Freek’s squad tried to run but Blythe’s team, a collection of humans pounced on a them, causing a roadblock.

  Gray ducked a punch from an orc, and then lowered his shoulder and rammed into him. “Midj! Go!”

  The goblin girl took off, sprinting with mana-infused muscles, dodging the combat.

  Rynn kicked the orcs feet out from under him, and then she and Gray started running. He could only pray that Tomi and Ames would be okay.

  The initial battles were breaking up, as people left to run. Some were left behind, bleeding, or with broken bones, and Gray could feel the mana in the air as the healers started their work. Elbows were still being thrown though, and one dwarf, legs whirring with mana, got his nose broke in front of Gray.

  Gray shoved a large man away, careful not to adjust his speed. Someone else tried to trip him, but he danced over the foot.

  Rynn’s agility kept her safe, and both she and Gray emerged from the coliseum, running hard. They couldn’t sprint, but they didn’t need to play it safe. Only once around the path wasn’t that hard, but Gray knew the violence wasn’t over. Rynn had a scratch on her face, and blood dripped down.

  She threw him a sweaty smile. “Just another day of running, and it’s not even hot yet. Having a pleasant time, Mr. No?”

  “No,” he said.

  “I knew you were going to say that.”

  A group of dwarves were ahead of them, and after throwing looks over their shoulders, one dropped back, coming at them.

  “Keep running, fucker” Gray warned him. “Without your healer, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to your arteries. It would be shame if you bled out.”

  “It’s tough talk,” the dwarf said, going for Gray’s legs.

  Rynn tripped him first, and the dwarf tumbled into the dust.

  There were four dwarves in front of them, burning mana. Ahead of them were collection of other lone runners, and then Blythe and Sindara, who had somehow gotten out of the coliseum.

  Midj was far ahead, at the very front, burning mana, and making sure no one approached her. But she was slowing down. She was good for short distances, not miles of sprinting.

  Gray and Rynn caught up with the dwarves.

  “Let us pass!” Gray called out. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

  One dwarf grunted. “Not both of you. Just one.”

  “You should go,” Rynn said to Gray.

  “Agreed. But I don’t doubt you’ll catch up to me, Miss Yes.”

  “Yes.” The elf girl grinned. “If only to admire your very attractive backside.”

  Gray increased his pace, pushing himself, not trusting the dwarves to keep their word. To his surprise, they did let him pass, but the minute he was past them, he found Rynn’s core and channeled mana into it. She broke through them in a flash, catching up to Gray, and while they protested, they didn’t increase their speed. There were only about fifteen people up ahead, and Gray knew the dwarves were only trying to get one of their members across the finish line to get the point needed to continue.

  Gray didn’t care. His squad had three contenders, so their odds were good. Ideally, they would win the Crush Rush, but that was probably asking too much.

  Midj fell back, breathing hard, her face thin. He gave her a little mana to have her keep going. Rynn ran ahead while Gray stayed between them. This was their strategy. Rynn could take out any threats while Gray acted as the battery for them both. Midj had one more burst in her, and they would use it if they needed to.

  He called to her over her shoulder. “Enjoying the run, Midjara Munch?”

  “Not at all,” she gasped, “but I’ll be fine once I get some butterbang.”

  They ran across the bridge, and Gray was pretty certain that someone would use it to create a bottleneck, but for now, the fifteen or so runners were all vying for the front positions. For these runners, the time for violence was over.

  Blythe and Sindara were in the front, racing by the training field, where there was a crowd of onlookers. They stood behind ropes strung across the field, and Mama Cinders was there, to make sure they stayed back.

  While Gray trusted Mama Cinders, he didn’t trust any of the people there. He made sure that he stayed away, as did Rynn. Midj was following him, though there was no way she was going to be catching up to him anytime soon. He didn’t seen an issue, since they had three runners in the top twenty. They raced over the bridge, heading back toward the coliseum. He heard a gasp and grunt, and he turned to see Midj go tumbling.

  Four fae ran by her, grim faced. They were part of Pinch’s squad, and they glared at Gray as they passed him. Now, he had a problem.

  “Rynn! Watch out!”

  The four fae would’ve taken her out if he hadn’t warned her. She also stepped aside, letting them pass. Mana was coming off them in waves. They were strong, definitely neophytes but maybe even acolytes. One had the ink mark on his face with another mark reddening his other cheek. He’d heard somewhere that facial ink was supposedly a good sign, which meant he was more powerful than others.

  Gray called back to Midj as more runners passed them. “Midj, you have to get up. We might need you.”

  The goblin girl got to her feet, staggered, and started running again. Blood sprinkled the path from her skinned knees. Gray still had healing needles, thrust into his tunic, in case they had any major injuries. He gave her more mana, just to get her going, and soon they had caught up with Rynn. They were out of the top twenty, which meant if they didn’t win, their time at First Field would be over.

  Rynn nodded at him. She knew what to do.

  The sprinted into the coliseum, all of them pushing themselves to the limit.

  The fae were in the lead but not for long. Rynn charged forward, grabbed one by the hair, and yanked him down. Another turned on her, and she punched him in the mouth, which really started the brawl. Rynn wasn’t worried about getting hit. She flung herself at the legs at another fae runner, forcing him to the ground.

  The coliseum roared at the unexpected turn of events. Gray hated every single voice. He’d never wanted to give anyone that kind of pleasure ever again, but here he was, spilling blood to win. What he wanted didn’t matter. What mattered was winning, so his squad mates could find the lives they wanted.

  Gray and Midj tore forward, and Gray poured mana into her, pushing her forward. She sprinted by one racer after another. A few tried to get in her way, but she was so small now, she easily avoided them with a surprising amount of agility.

  Blythe turned, eyes narrowing. Sindara was ahead of her, along with two others, the last of the fae and a slender cat girl, who had transformed into animal form, one built for speed and not for fighting.

  Blythe saw Midj, she smiled, and then her body stretched, shedding her clothes, as she went from woman to dragon. She blocked Midj’s way.

  Gray felt a white-hot hatred fill him. Of course Blythe was a secret dragon. It made her betrayal a thousand times worse.

  Gray shot forward and lowered his shoulder, ramming himself into Blythe’s still transforming face. She let out a roar of pain and frustration.

  With the way clear, Midj bolted forward, giving it her all. She raced by the fae, the cat girl, and Sindara in a blur. With a yell of pure joy, Midj broke through the red ribbon, coming in first.

  Blythe snatched up Gray in her jaws and flung him across the field. While she roared in rage, he simply blood from a gashes in his arm and shoulders.

  Gray raised his head just in time to see Freek and Froggy cross the finish line as well as one of the dwarves.

  The Crush Rush was over, and they’d won. Now, it was time to check on his team to make sure they were okay before the next event started. Gray had used a good portion of his mana, which was a problem because while others were absorbing the magic, he couldn’t. He’d just have to be more careful in the next two events.

  Rynn limped up to him. She’d gotten through the fae with only a split lip and some bruises. She gazed at Blythe, who couldn’t shift back into her human form, not if she didn’t want to walk around the coliseum naked.

  “Did you know she was a dragon?” he asked.

  Rynn only shook her head.

  Gray was pretty sure this would be a surprise to Settie as well.

  “Look!” Rynn was pointing at orcish Fieldkeepers carrying an unconscious

  Ames over to a tent. With her was Tomi, back to being human, and looking frightened, blood on her face.

  The look in the cat girl’s eyes filled Gray with rage. But he knew better than that. He wasn’t angry. He was afraid. If they lost Ames, they couldn’t compete in the last two events. They’d be culled.