But the rats didn’t attack. Though they surged forward every second or so, they retreated just as often, like an undulating sea of fur.

“What are they doing?” Jayna asked.

“They’re waiting for something,” I murmured to her. I hadn’t the foggiest idea what that something might be. They answered that riddle a moment later when a low chant began to echo through the passage and into the temple.

“Gustav,” they chanted. “Gustav. Gustav. Gustav.” The sound of heavy footsteps began to add to the din of high-pitched voices just before he showed himself: a rat, at least three times as tall as the rest, was pushing his way through the crowd.

Those near the end had to enter the temple to let him through, but they quickly huddled themselves against the wall near the door. It seemed it was Gustav who did their fighting for them.

The giant rat had to duck to enter the temple. He looked even more impressive in there. He must have been twelve feet tall and was layered in thick, corded muscle visible even beneath his fur. He wore a braided leather cord like Muay Thai fighters, and he had black and red war paint on his face. That, combined with his leather armor covered in riveted plates of metal, made for an impressive sight.

He was ready for battle.

When he stepped forward, he was immediately flanked by four other rats, all wearing similar armor and carrying single-edged battle axes. They had the same kind of war paint, but were only as big as the regular ratmen.

“If we’re going to get out of this alive,” Jayna whispered, “we’ll need to defeat Gustav and his lieutenants. You, however, need to make sure that you deliver the killing blow to Gustav personally.”

“And if we do, they’ll let us go?” I asked as Gustav stretched to unsling the biggest two-bladed battleax I’d ever seen from his back.

“Something like that,” Jayna said.

Her non-committal answer didn’t sit well with me, but I resolved to ask her about it after the fight.

Gustav motioned to a square of flat ground surrounded by statues. I nodded and made my way there. I guessed it was ceremonial, part of their weird rat tradition. It didn’t matter to me where Gustav got his ass kicked, so I was happy to oblige.

Gustav swung his ax easily with one hand as he stared me down.

“You ready?” I asked Jayna. I wasn’t ready for what I saw when I looked, though. She was hairier than before. A lot hairier.

Jayna was crouching down like she was ready to pounce on the first rat who made a face at her. Two-inch ebony claws extended from the ends of her fingers, and the whites of her eyes had disappeared.

“I’m ready,” the creature said in Jayna’s voice.

Once the fight started, I’d have to work hard to make sure I got to kill something before she tore them all up.

Challenge accepted.

I raised my sword and charged. The two rats on either side of Gustav fanned out, but he held his ground. When I was close enough, I slashed my blade down, but Gustav blocked it with ease.

Gustav’s trailing foot shifted a bit, and his tail lashed to one side—clear indications he was trying to counter my move. I had my sword up way ahead of time. When the two weapons clashed, sparks showered over me, temporarily blinding me.

I slid my blade along his, found his weapon’s handle, and cut along its leather wrapping. The brute saw what I was doing, and my vision returned just in time to see him return his hands to his spinning weapon. Nice move.

He took a step back, assumed a more defensive posture, and squinted behind me. I was a little insulted he thought I’d fall for that old trick. The now very hairy Jayna did a backflip over my head and landed on one of Gustav’s war-painted companions.

She slashed at the rat’s muzzle with her claws as he fell to his knees, launched herself into the air, and drop-kicked another, before returning to the first. The rat had recovered and slashed at her midsection. His attack looked like it had made contact, but she didn’t cry out. Instead, she kicked the creature between his legs, lifting his long, hairy feet a few inches from the ground for a second. He collapsed into a moaning heap.

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I’d seen enough. She could take care of herself. I’d take care of Gustav.

I feigned a stab, and the huge rat attempted to block it. When I switched sides for an actual stab, taking advantage of the opening I’d created, the creature spun on one foot, using his tail to knock my sword aside. He then followed with a slash of his own. It was slow, though, clearly also a feint; I parried lightly, and when Gustav reversed his swing, I was ready to block that too. He ended up close to me, so I kicked at his leading leg. He grunted and slashed upward, but I rolled out of the way.

Gustav eyed me warily, his ax at the ready, but he didn’t press forward. I’d earned his respect. He wasn’t sure he could beat me anymore. He was good—probably almost a match for me. I hated killing such a fine warrior, but now that I had his respect, it was time to earn his obedience.

I lunged twice, keeping him busy while I slipped my hand into my pocket. I could tell the vine-coin apart from the others just by touch now. It wasn’t the time to start experimenting with the others. I’d save that for later.

A second later, Gustav grew tired of my showmanship and attacked. I dropped the coin between us, planted my feet, and watched him to predict his next attack. He either didn’t see the coin when he passed over it, or he didn’t care. Either way, it was a mistake.

The vines shot from the stone, wrapped around one of his muscular legs, and pulled him down. As he struggled against the bonds, he took one swing at me with his ax, but I avoided it by hopping back. He started hacking at the vines, but every time he chopped through one another appeared.

Suddenly, Jayna’s pained snarl drew my attention. One of the smaller rats was dead, but the matted fur on her leg told me she’d been cut. I had to take care of Gustav before he got free, but Jayna needed my help right away.

I reached into my pocket, grabbed a random coin, and tossed it toward the three rats closing in on her. The coin exploded the moment it hit the ground, sending shards of stone flying in all directions. It bounced again, and the result was another, smaller explosion. I covered my face as bits of stone bounced off my clothes. Each time it hit the floor, stones burst from the spot and brought the sound of screaming rats screaming.

When I peered out, a rat was lying in a heap, bleeding out; one was injured; and Jayna was busy injuring the last.

I turned my attention back to Gustav, who had just hacked away the last vine that had entrapped him. He rolled to the side and faced me, pulling his ears back and baring his teeth. This might have frightened others, but I knew what it was: he was signaling fear.

I raised my sword and studied him as I slowly approached him. He was the only one of the rats wearing a headdress. If it was a rank insignia, I would have expected to see some variations of it among the others. If it was a symbol of him being their champion, it was overkill for such a creature so big and already wearing warpaint. It had to be a symbol of authority. He was their chieftain, or their king.

I bellowed wordlessly as I charged Gustav. He swung at my midsection, but I ducked, slid across the stone floor, and swept his legs out from under him.

He landed on his face, and a gasp rose from the rats spectating the fight from around the temple. When Gustav raised his ax to block my next strike, I struck his weapon three times in rapid succession, each time forcing it closer to the floor, until I could put my foot on it.

Once it was pinned, I raised my sword high and brought it down—stopping only an inch from Gustav’s skull.

The room went silent. Even Jayna had stopped her ass-kicking to see what I was going to do.

I waited a few seconds until Gustav opened his eyes and stared at the blade hovering over his head. I kept my sword in place, but turned to the rest of the rats, who were open-mouthed and staring.

“I don’t want to kill your finest warrior,” I said. “He has fought bravely. I do need safe passage from here, though. Allow me to go, and I will spare his life.”

The rats continued to stare, and Gustav remained frozen.

“Where do you want to go?” I asked Jayna.

“To Agorima,” she said. When the warrior she had pinned under her foot stirred, she added a bit more pressure, drawing out a squeak. “We need to go to Agorima.”

I turned my attention back to the gathered rats. I’d defeated their champion. If their traditions insisted I kill Gustav, I’d do it, but I didn’t want to if I could help it. It had been a great fight, and though some of the rats had tried to kill me, I knew there was some good in them. There was some good in everyone.

I turned my attention back to Gustav, who was looking at me with his dark, round eyes. “Do you yield?” I asked.

“I yield,” Gustav said. “You are the victor. I am beaten.”

I used my foot to drag his ax behind me and held out a hand to help him up. Gustav accepted, stood, then took three steps back. I watched in astonishment as he kneeled and lowered his head.

Sounds of shuffling drew my attention to the hundreds of rats who’d seen the fight. One by one, they knelt down as well. Within seconds, none were standing, not even the ones in the hallway who were too far back to have seen much of the battle.

“What just happened?” I asked Jayna.

She took her foot off the one she’d been pressing to the floor, and watched as he faced me and kneeled as well. Immediately, her fur started to recede back into her skin. Her arms shortened, her nails retracted, and she shrank a little. While this was happening, she tore some clothes off one of her defeated opponents, and started putting them on. When she looked at me again, her eyes had returned to normal as well. The tunic she was wearing was so short the bottom edge of her breasts showed underneath. The garment was so wet with blood that it perfectly followed their round form, and subtly revealed the shape of her nipples.

“You have defeated their king,” Jayna said. “You rule them now. They are your subjects, and will do as you say.”