Dominant stepped through the door into a large, brightly lit, room. He squinted and blinked, trying to adjust to the brightness. When white finally separated into colors and shapes, he was inside a large ring, surrounded by a cheering crowd. Across from him stood the woman in tight pink clothes from the bar. Her hair billowed in the wind and a sandstorm rose up around her, obscuring her form.
Dominant gulped, then stepped forward. The crowd cheered as the announcer spoke, his voice booming in the arena. “Tonight’s first challenger is the newest addition to the ranks of the Klutcher’s Meats combat league! Dominant Kastin, from…well, the fucking manor apparently. Let’s see if he can survive the first round!”
The crowd roared and cheered as the announcer continued. “And his opponent, the one and only, Sandy! This woman is a sand mage through and through. She’s a fairly new name and she’s struggled to rise in the ranks, but can she beat the newbie?”
Dominant took a deep breath and stepped forward. The crowd grew quiet, and he could feel the tension in the air. He was nervous, but he was ready.
“Let the match begin!” Shouted the announcer, and the crowd roared.
Dominant wasn’t sure to expect from Sandy, but he wasn’t going to let his guard down. He watched her, trying to anticipate her moves as she approached. She moved slowly at first, then faster as she drew near. Dominant braced himself and waited.
She lunged at him, and Dominant reacted quickly. He dodged to the side and swung a punch. His fist connected with a solid wall of sand and her arm whipped around, a wave of sand striking him in the chest and knocking him back. He stumbled, trying to catch his balance, but she was already on him again.
Dominant couldn’t dodge and he couldn’t block without magic. What the hell was Sandra thinking, sending him here? If his magic was unreliable, then he had no chance. He was done for.
Sandy’s sand struck him again, harder this time, and Dominant fell to the ground. He was in pain and his vision blurred.Moments later a swarm of Sand swept over him.
He could hear the crowd cheering, but the sound seemed distant. His body was aching. He couldn’t see anything through the sand, but he could feel the pressure of it on his arms and legs as it pressed down on him.
He tried to push back, but it was no use. He was buried under the sand and he was losing air fast. He struggled, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see.
Dominant held his breath, but his lungs were beginning to burn. He was on the verge of panic, but he couldn’t let his fears control him. He needed to stay calm and think.
All at once, the sand cleared. Dominant coughed, then sucked in a lung full of fresh air, and coughed some more.
The fight was one sided, but the crowd was still cheering. He could see Sandy standing in front of him, her hands on her hips. She was scowling with a fierce look in her eyes.
“You can’t use magic, can you?” She asked.
The question caught him off guard. He didn’t want to admit his weakness, but he knew it would be pointless to deny it. He nodded, and she let out a bemused laugh. “Why did you even come here?”
Dominant didn’t have a good answer. It didn’t matter. He was here now, the fight had begun and he wasn’t ready to give up yet. He stood to his feet, his legs shaking. He got into a defensive stance then switched to offense as he realized his best chance of success would be to prevent her from attacking.
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“You really plan to—”
He didn’t let her finish the sentence. He rushed forward, throwing a punch at her face. She blocked the punch easily and countered with a kick to his stomach. He fell back, clutching his stomach in pain. He tried to catch his breath, but he was in too much pain.
Sandy followed up with an uppercut then another kick, and finally a large sand fist that flung Dominant into the side of the arena. The crowd roared and cheered as Dominant lay there, gasping for air. He could feel his ribs aching, and his lungs burning, but he didn’t care.
He wasn’t going to give up. He stood again only to collapse to his knees. The sand was coming at him again, but he pushed through the pain. He rolled out of the way and tried to regain his footing. He managed to make it to his feet, but the sand was swirling around him, scraping away layer after layer of his skin.
Dominant felt there was no choice. Sandra and the doctor had said he may be able to use simple magic, and a barrier was simple. With a little effort he managed to focus enough to wrap himself in mana.
Now unaffected by the sand, he pressed forward toward Sandy. Using the form Sandra had shown him, dominant struck Sandy in the face, his fist moving like a bolt of lightning through the air. The blow landed solidly, and knocked the sand mage back. While she grabbed her face and recovered, the sand around her shot out at him, pushing him back with a tremendous force.
He flew back and hit the wall, his body slamming into it hard. His barrier was broken and he lost consciousness. The last thing he saw before passing out was the blinding light of the arena. It seemed to fade as darkness took over.
***
Dominant woke up in a small room. He was lying on a hard surface and there was a dull ache in his head. Sandy was beside him. He almost didn’t recognize her with the bridge of her nose swollen and bent to the left. “You have talent, kid.” She said, her tone light and her expression kind.
Dominant groaned and sat up. He looked at her, and tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse.
“You lost, but I was impressed by your determination and ability. If I wasn’t using magic you might’ve won.” She smiled, and held out her hand. He took it, and she helped him to his feet. “Come on, let’s go.”
The two of them walked through a door, back into the bar. “If you can’t use magic, how did you plan on claiming the fire?” Asked the drunk from before.
Dominant shook his head. “I wasn’t told what I was supposed to do, I just had to bring it back with me.”
The drunk laughed. “I see…well, I guess that means no legs for you.”
“Actually,” Sandy interrupted. “I believe your condition was, ‘If ye surbibe.”
The drunk's eyes shot wide. “I didn’t say that!”
“Are you sure? You may have been drunk then, but you’re a man of your word, aren’t you?”
He thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Yea, a’ight, I’ll buy ‘em fer ya.”
Sandy smiled, then turned to Dominant with a wink. “Should make up for that beating I laid on ya.”
Dominant nodded, unsure what to say.
Sandy turned back to the man, “Well then, Valdrich, I imagine you’ll be sober for a while after paying Ziva’s fee.”
The man’s face went white. “Ziv… Ziva? You want me to pay for Ziva? For the boy?”
“Well you did say the finest legs.” Sandy’s grin spread from ear to ear.
“Yea, I did, but…you know she’s expensive.” Valdrich was obviously uncomfortable, but he didn’t argue further. “I suppose I did agree, but you’ll have to wait a bit…” He held out a folded bit of leather and opened some flaps to reveal a few colored pieces of paper. “…wallet’s a bit light at the moment.”
The bartender reached into Valdrich’s wallet, taking out a crimson colored bill. “For the stew, and the glass you broke when the kid lost,” he said, folding it and slipping it into his pocket. The man looked inside, then nodded and handed the bartender another bill, this one green. “For my usual when I get back.”
Aldrich folded the wallet and put it back into his pocket. “I’m off, see you all later.”
Dominant and Sandy both watched the man leave. When the door closed, they both turned to the bartender. Dominant said, “So, what now?”
The man grinned, “You get the hell on back to whoever sent ya in here an’ tell ‘em Klutcher wants a word.”
“Before you do that,” Sandy added, “I’ll get you those legs.”
Dominant shook his head. “It’s fine, really. I couldn’t ask for so much.”
Sandy sighed. “I won’t make this
offer again. Are you sure? Ziva will change your life.”
Dominant didn’t understand. How would a pair of legs change his life? He also wanted to get back to the manor. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been gone and he was worried about getting in trouble. He couldn’t just accept the woman’s offer, so he shook his head, and made his way to the door. “Thank you for your kindness, but I really need to go.” he said, not daring to look back as he left.