The two fighters approached the blue-clad figure in the middle of the Arena, pausing respectfully a couple of feet away. Voret turned toward Loris and addressed him, “Loris, you have chosen to challenge Korum today. Is that true?”
“Yes,” the Krinar said, his eyes glittering with the same dark anticipation Mia could see on Korum’s face.
Voret nodded, apparently satisfied. Turning to Korum, he asked, “Do you accept Loris’s challenge?”
“I do,” Korum replied.
“Then let the fight begin.”
Chapter 15
Korum watched as Voret lifted his arms – a signal to begin. At the same time, the float that was underneath Voret’s feet activated, lifting the Councilor into the air high above the Arena. It was the only way the Mediator – a role filled by Voret today – could stay safe during the fight.
His eyes glued to his opponent, Korum slowly began circling Loris, looking for the best opportunity to strike. He could feel his heart beating harder, the blood circulating faster through his veins. His mind was clear and razor-sharp, focused entirely on his enemy. It was always that way for him in the Arena; the adrenaline boosted Korum’s concentration, enhanced his reflexes. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that Mia was watching him right now. He could feel her gaze on his skin, and it gave him even more of a rush than the upcoming fight itself.
Loris responded by moving in a slow circle as well, his dark eyes burning with hatred. Korum gave him a taunting smile, wanting to enrage him further. It was one of the most basic principles of defrebs: the fighter who keeps a cool head wins. When Loris had attacked him in the Council meeting chamber, it had been laughably easy for Korum to subdue him – partially because the Protector had been completely out of control.
A smile: such a simple thing, but it worked. Loris’s jaw tightened, the muscle near his ear twitching. And then he struck, his right arm lashing out, his fingers hooked into a deadly weapon.
Korum avoided Loris’s strike with ease, his body twisting at the last moment. At the same time, his foot kicked out, hitting Loris’s knee with so much force that Korum could hear the other man’s joint snapping in half.
Loris screamed in pain, stumbling back, and Korum leapt on top of him, using the momentum from his jump to bring the Protector to the ground. Up-close combat was dangerous, but less so now that his opponent was partially – albeit temporarily – crippled. His fist smashed into Loris face, once, then again and again, each movement lightning-fast. At the same time, Korum’s knee slammed into Loris’s side, bruising his internal organs.
This was not going to be a long fight.
In fact, subduing the Protector was so easy that Korum should be able to avoid killing him altogether.
* * *
Two rows away from Mia, Saret waited for the perfect moment to strike, all of his attention focused on the combatants. It was risky to be so close to the stage, but it maximized his odds of success – and put him within grabbing distance of Mia, if the opportunity presented itself.
Of course, when he’d chosen this location, he didn’t know Korum’s charl would be so heavily guarded. Not only was she sitting next to Arus, but there were also at least two guardians watching her. Saret had spotted them earlier. They tried to blend with the crowd, but their sharp gazes betrayed their true purpose: they were there to protect Mia.
Saret wondered if Korum suspected anything, or if he was just being paranoid about his charl’s safety. Either way, it looked like Mia was out of Saret’s reach for now – at least while Korum was alive. Once his enemy was out of the way, however, it would be a different matter. Unless another influential Krinar took Mia as his charl, she would be brought to Krina, where Saret would be able to claim her under his other identity.
Saret’s interest in different identities had started several centuries ago, long before he had begun developing his plans for humans. He had been put in charge of rehabilitating a criminal who was a master of disguises, pretending to be three people at once, complete with different physical appearances, legal documents, and established lives. Saret had been so fascinated that he’d spent countless hours learning all about the man’s craft. The criminal had been more than happy to tell him everything he knew in exchange for a milder version of rehabilitation than the one he’d been sentenced to.
Saret’s second identity had started off as a joke, as a way to see if he could get away with something like that in their technologically advanced society. And, to his surprise, he’d discovered that he could; all it took was the right tools, knowledge of several government databases, and a couple of centuries to create a convincing new persona.
Saret – the mind expert – was now considered a criminal. Juron, however, was a law-abiding citizen of Krina who was currently doing some individual space exploration in the Krinar solar system. It would be Juron who claimed Mia as his charl next.
All Saret needed was to kill Korum right now, and at least that part of his plan would be successful. Then he could try to bring peace to Earth again.
His current disguise was yet another identity he had started to develop here on Earth. It was not as airtight as that of Juron, but it was good enough to get him past all the security and into Lenkarda for the fight. No one suspected right now that the man sitting so close to the stage was the most wanted Krinar in the universe.
Saret glanced at Mia again, then looked away. It wouldn’t do to stare at her openly, even though many others were doing the same thing. She was oblivious to everything, all of her attention focused on the fight. Saret cursed under his breath. It seemed like his little experiment had backfired in a major way, and she was growing attached to that bastard again.
That was really unfortunate. Now she would be more than a little upset when he died.
Slowly raising his hand, Saret aimed at the stage and waited for the perfect moment. When Korum jumped at Loris, Saret knew the time had come.
Taking a deep breath, he activated the weapon.
* * *
Korum raised his fist to deliver another blow, and in that moment his arm froze.
A wave of pain traveled down his body, starting at the back of his neck. His limbs felt uncontrollably heavy, his muscles shaking with the effort of holding himself up.