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  “She goes where I go,” Thomas said.

  Getting through to see Manon proved relatively easy, and I wanted to punch her as soon as I saw her. All tarted up in a scarlet dress with lips to match and long blonde hair draped over one shoulder, she reeked of money and narcissism. Although she cast me a look of dismissal, I smiled warmly through my frustration and wondered if this is what Thomas felt like when we visited Dureth.

  “So, I hear you’re a fighter,” she said, trailing her fingers down Thomas’ chest and eyeing him appreciatively.

  “Do you accept human fighters?” I asked. “Ones without magical ability?”

  If looks could kill, I would’ve been dead right then, but then again, so would Manon. She moved in close to Thomas, her body almost pressed tightly against his, then heaved a deep breath that thrust her chest into his. Now, I’m not the jealous type, like I said, Thomas and I are very secure in our relationship, but this witch was seriously rubbing me the wrong way.

  “Do non-magical humans fight here?” I asked again, unable to keep the annoyance from my voice.

  Thomas stepped away from Manon. “I think we know that they do.”

  Manon’s smile faded. She obviously wasn’t used to men not fawning over her. “Leave your name at the bar. If I decide I want to use you, I’ll give you a call.” She turned and headed to rejoin the two men drinking on the other side of the room.

  “Did you call Lee Page?” Thomas asked, and Manon froze.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I think it’s time the two of you left,” Manon said, any trace of hospitality gone.

  “So, you recognise the name,” I said. “What? Did Lee owe you money? A bet gone bad? Or did you force him to fight, knowing he wouldn’t stand a chance? Either way, you’re responsible for his murder.”

  Manon laughed, a cold hollow sound. “Lee Page was a fool. He knew the risks. No one forced him to do anything. He was fooled by the small stature of the goblin, thought he could fight and win. It was his choice to make and I certainly wasn’t going to say no. Do you have any idea how much money can be made when you pit a human against a supernatural?”

  My body tensed with anger and I moved forward, ready to land that long overdue punch to Manon’s face, but Thomas laid a stilling hand on my shoulder. “She’s nothing more than a patsy,” he said. “A figure to front the club. She isn’t the one in charge, no matter what people think. Who’s really running this show?” Thomas asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Manon said, but her slight hesitation and the quiver in her voice belied her words.

  “You believed I was a fighter. A human fighter.” Thomas exuded calm and focus. “You wouldn’t send me away, not with all the money you could make. Not if it was your decision.”

  “How very perceptive of you,” someone said, entering the room behind us. “It seems, I may have underestimated your intelligence.”

  Thomas clenched his fists. “Dureth.”

  Damn it, I should have known!

  Adam followed behind the Tywyth Teg and the two of them calmly entered the room.

  I shook my head at the sight of the pwca. “From what we heard, Lee considered you his friend.”

  Adam shifted uneasily on his feet.

  “What is he?” I said to Dureth. “A scout, searching for humans who can fight and are desperate to make a bit of money?”

  “Perhaps.” Dureth walked across the room, removed his gloves and collected a glass of whisky from a decanter on the table. “Now, Thomas, about you fighting for me.”

  “Why the hell would I fight for you?” Thomas asked, but my head swam and my stomach felt heavy. I knew the answer before Dureth said the words.

  “Because Summer owes me. Isn’t that right, dearest, and either you fight or she fights.”

  “Then I’ll fight,” I said, standing in front of Thomas. “I’m not afraid of a goblin.” I mentally checked my powers. Every one of my rune tattoos was replete with energy. I may be cut off from trees, but I always carried their power with me, and I had more than enough to fight a goblin.

  “As entertaining as I am sure that would be, I will make a lot more money if Thomas fights.” Dureth took a sip of his drink and let out a deep sigh. “Besides, you are bound by our agreement to do me a favour of my choosing. I think it would only be fair to ask you not to use your magic in a fight.”

  “Damn it, Dureth,” Thomas said. “She’d be killed.”

  “Yes, of course. That’s the point, my dear friend. Although, it wouldn’t be much sport for the spectators, and I would much prefer that you relieve Summer of such a burden. Who knows, maybe you’ll even come out on top and win. You are a fine fighter, after all.”

  I shook my head. This wasn’t happening. I ignited the power in my tattoos, all twenty of them blazed to life. “We’re leaving, and I’ll bring this whole damn building down if you try to stop us.”

  “Leave,” Dureth said with a wave of his hand. “But consider, I upheld my oath. Based upon the information I provided, you located those responsible for the death of Lee Page. You, however, will have broken yours, and the full force of the Tywyth Teg will crash down on your head.”

  “That’s a price I’m willing to pay.”

  “But I’m not.” Thomas held my hand and looked into my eyes. “I’m not.”

  “No, Thomas. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

  “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, either.” Thomas wiped a tear from my eye and kissed my forehead. “Transfer the oath,” he demanded of Dureth. “I won’t fight until I know she’s free. But it’s one fight. No more. After that, we owe you nothing.”

  “Thomas, no.”

  “Yes.”

  Dureth smiled. “I, Dureth Mallyn, proud and noble member of the Tywyth Teg, Lord of the Mynydd y Garth, do release Summer Daniels of any obligation to me for my aid in locating those responsible for the death of Lee Page, under the provision that Thomas Heart enter the ring and fight an opponent of my choosing in one battle and one battle only. Do you accept these binding terms of our arrangement?”

  “No,” I said again and shook my head, but it wasn’t up to me.

  “Yes,” said Thomas.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A thick aura of greed and desperation blanketed me in a fog that numbed my mind and turned my stomach as I walked hand in hand with Thomas to the ring. The fight between the two goblins had ended swiftly with a wicked right hook. Manon announced that the champion, Huikitx, would now fight Thomas. The crowd bayed for blood and their volume increased to such an extent that I wanted to cover my ears and scream.

  This wasn’t funny. Thomas wasn’t a piece of meat for their entertainment. I rubbed the back of my neck and noticed the static charge in my fingers for the first time. I looked at the indigo fire burning beneath my skin and realised I was ready to kill everyone, to bring this building down if I had to.

  Thomas must have sensed my thoughts because he squeezed my other hand a little tighter. “Everything's going to be alright,” he said, his concern for me more than himself.

  I gave him a weak smile. “It had better be.” Everyone would pay if he wasn’t.

  When we reached the caged arena, Thomas threw off his T-shirt and gave me one final squeeze. “Love you,” he said.

  “Not as much as I love you.”

  The front row had been cleared for me, Dureth, Manon, and a couple of her goons, but I’d be damned if I was sitting with those arseholes. So, when Thomas entered through the caged door, I stayed at the edge of the ring.

  I stared at Thomas’ opponent. He was tall for a goblin, around the same height as Thomas. But his body was more compact and wiry with tightly packed muscle. His lip curled halfway between a grin and a snarl, and displayed razor-like teeth as pointy as a bull shark’s, with the bite pressure to match. He hopped from one foot to the other, shaking his fists in the air.

  The billboard displayed the image of Thomas and Huikitx. The odds weren
’t good: 100-1.

  Thomas stood still. He momentarily closed his eyes and I knew he was finding his focus. I reached for the power in my Ailm tattoo and directed the clarity, achievement, and energy offered by the esteemed fir tree at Thomas through our bond.

  Dureth appeared beside me. “I trust you will allow Thomas to fight his own fight,” he said. “We wouldn’t want your magic to have an unfair influence on the outcome.”

  “Thomas will fight his own fight, as you say. But I am not bound to you and will use my magic as I see fit.”

  “Then I shall be forced to call off the fight and Mr Heart will not have fulfilled his oath.”

  I clenched the metal cage and damn near growled. “Fine,” I said. “No more magic.”

  Dureth smiled.

  “For now,” I added and pointed to his now vacant seat. “But if you move from the seat during the fight, I will bring the building down on your head.”

  Dureth nodded in mock deference.

  “And if anything happens to Thomas, like it did to Lee Page.” My voice cracked on the words, so I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I’ll make you wish I’d brought the building down on your head.”

  A brief flicker of worry flashed through Dureth’s eyes when they moved from my face to the tattoos on my arms, but a smirk appeared on his face. “You are in no position to make such threats,” he said. “You are surrounded by witches, warlocks, members of the Tywyth Teg and other supernaturals, who will all do my bidding. How can you hope to survive against us all?”

  “I don’t need to survive,” I said, allowing a sneer to appear on my own lips. “I just need to take you out in the quickest and deadliest way possible.”

  Dureth’s smile faltered.

  “Oh, and one more thing,” I said. “Ten thousand on Thomas to win.”

  With that, I turned from Dureth and focused my attention back on Thomas. He either had to take out the goblin or stay strong and focused through twelve, three-minute rounds. The alternative didn’t bare thinking about.

  Thomas was ready to fight.

  So was I. I glanced briefly at Dureth and Manon, then nodded my head.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The goblin was faster and stronger than Thomas. He landed three good punches in the first round. The crowd were all egging him on.

  “Kill the human!” They screamed.

  “Rip his arm off!”

  “Make him bleed!”

  I paced manically up and down the side of the cage. Every fibre of my being wanted to punish the crowd, but I had to resist. Magic can corrupt. I stayed grounded through my connection with the trees, but there were no trees in the warehouse to cleanse my soul and keep me free from an overinflated sense of my own power. Thomas battled his demon, and, as I watched, I battled my own.

  A buzzer rang and the fight ceased. Three minutes had passed, but it felt like a lifetime. Punters surrounded us, laying bets in the small intermission on how long ‘the human’ would last.

  I ran to Thomas, dabbed at the cut above his eye inflicted by Dureth’s goons when they attacked us outside the bar. I froze as realisation hit. Damn it! This was Dureth’s plan all along. The fight outside the bar. He’d been testing Thomas to see if his reputation as a fierce fighter was deserved, and I’d been stupid enough to swear an oath and back Thomas into a corner. We’d been manipulated from the start. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if they had dumped the body of Lee Page in my forest knowing I’d feel obligated to become involved. Maybe Lee Page had realised that in some way and was trying to warn me when he said I was responsible for his death. I could only pray that I wouldn’t be responsible for Thomas’.

  Thomas held my frozen hand and lowered it from his head. “You okay?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Don’t worry about me. Just… just don’t hold back.”

  Thomas nodded.

  The buzzer rang again and Thomas stepped back inside the cage. The goblin did the same, but instead of charging Thomas like he had in the first round, he turned his back to him and leapt on the cage, scurrying up it like a spider and dangling from the ceiling. He hung from his feet and took swipes at Thomas’ head.

  Thomas ducked and dived. The goblin missed, but I could see it was only a matter of time before the creature dropped down with force and knocked Thomas to the ground.

  Thomas widened his stance and lifted his arms in readiness. The goblin swung again. Thomas jumped and grabbed the creature around the neck, yanked him to the floor, and brought his fist back. But before he could land a blow the goblin rolled out of reach.

  The crowd cheered when Huikitx hopped to his feet and gnashed his teeth. He charged Thomas, swinging punches. Each time Thomas managed to block, but I feared it wouldn’t last. Thomas’ style was to defend by attacking, get in, do as much damage as possible, and get the hell out of Dodge. Huikitx was too fast. He never gave Thomas an opening. If he could just land one blow of his own.

  Huikitx’s fist was mid blow when the buzzer sounded again.

  Thomas joined me and I surveyed the damaged. The cut on his brow was now bleeding freely. On top of that, his eye was swollen, severely limiting his vision. His arms were battered and bruised from blocking. They couldn’t take much more of a beating.

  “I’m okay,” Thomas said. “How are you holding up?”

  “Damn it, Thomas, stop worrying about me.” I clasped my hands around his neck. “I am not okay. Nothing about this is okay. But you have to stop worrying about me and fight. You need to end this. He’s stronger and faster, but that’s all he is. There’s no skill there. You have all the skills you need, now bloody use them.”

  Thomas smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Thomas and Huikitx circled each other for a second, but Thomas wasn’t going to wait on Huikitx to make the first move anymore. He landed a punch to the stomach and then a kick to the groin. Huikitx staggered backwards. Thomas grabbed his shoulders. I winced as he head-butted him. God, I wish he would stop doing that. I swear, he thinks his forehead is made out of brick. But no matter my thoughts, it seemed to work. Huikitx clearly wasn’t used to this type of onslaught, and Thomas wasn’t letting up. He hit him again and again: one, six, three, two: jab, right-uppercut, left-hook, right-hand. Huikitx’s head flew upwards only to be met with Thomas’ fists, one after the other.

  I was right, there was no skill in the goblin. The crowd cheered. As easily as that, they’d switched allegiance from the goblin to Thomas. They had a new fighter to worship. The buzzer sounded, and in the brief break, I could hear the flurry of bets on Thomas to win.

  The stench of sweat and blood had overridden all my other senses. Thomas had done well in the last round, but he was tired, and the nausea in my stomach wouldn’t let me have too much hope. I couldn’t imagine what Thomas was going through.

  Huikitx had Thomas on the ground in the next round. My heart sank when he landed a blow to Thomas’ ribs, and even above the deafening cheers of the crowd, I heard them crack.

  “I’m going to end this,” I said to Thomas as soon as the round was over. “Damn Dureth and his oath. We’ll find a way around it.”

  Thomas shook his head. “No. I know where I went wrong. Huikitx fights to a pattern. He feints left, then right, then attacks right. Then alternates it the next time. If I’m correct, he’ll feint right to start with this time. Speed won’t help him if I know where he’s going to be.”

  “Okay, but one more round. Then it’s over.”

  “It’ll be over alright.”

  True to form, Huikitx feinted right, but he didn’t have the chance to feint left, Thomas was ready for him. He grabbed his arm, twisted it and brought it down on his knee, snapping it in the process, then followed up with an elbow to the nose. Huikitx stumbled back, but my heart sank, when, within seconds, he was back on his feet.

  Thomas moved fast, jabbed him with a left. Blood squirted from his nose. He came at Thomas, teeth bared, and more ferocious than a saltwater crocodile. Thomas threw a punch, but the gob
lin evaded it, and Thomas stumbled. Beads of sweat clung to his body.

  I didn’t want to watch anymore. There were almost two minutes left on the clock and Thomas was tiring. Even if he made it through this round, he wouldn’t the next. I cursed myself for not giving him more wards. I’d protected Thomas from magical attack, but never physical. He’d always been able to fend for himself. But then, I never thought he’d have to fight a supernatural creature as strong as a goblin with his bare hands.

  The crowd sensed Thomas’ weakness. They knew the end was near and bayed for blood. The sound was muffled in my ears, as though I was hearing it underwater. But every crack as a blow impacted, every laboured breath, every grunt of pain, echoed in my head.

  Thomas fell to the floor. So did I.

  My heart raced. My limbs were shaking and my eyesight blurred. It felt like a troll was sitting on my chest and I couldn’t catch my breath. Panic clouded my mind. I’d never experienced fear like this. God, I couldn’t live without Thomas.

  The scent of blood and sweat filled my nostrils. I was going to lose control, and I didn’t care. I’d go to the dark-side if it kept Thomas alive. I ignited the power living in my veins. My heart thundered and my skin burnt like blue-fire. Thomas spared me a glance and shook his head. Even now, when blood pooled in an eye swollen shut, when his arms and body looked like a bruised plum, his thoughts were more for me than himself.

  I wasn’t going to lose him. Lightning danced at the edge of my fingertips, but before I could release my power, in the far corner of my consciousness, I registered a change in the noise of the crowd: a surge of commotion. My stomach became rock hard, I blinked away the tears in my eyes and focused my vision.

  Thomas had rebounded. In a burst of energy, he seized Huikitx’s broken arm, twisted it, and then grabbed him around the neck, locking him down so he could attack him. He was relentless. Fist after first pummelled into Huikitx.

  Thomas was a fighter, stronger than any man I’d ever met. He could do this and I shouldn’t let my fear of losing him cause me to lose faith in him.