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else would they be?
Five awaited her; she felt disappointment that none was
\c\b\i" 153 "
\i\b
\cHawkman. Liesel, Sparline, Ernol, and two strangers. The large one, built
like a bear-that would be Splieg, who pole-axed bushstompers with his bare
fist. The smaller, thin-faced with a crooked nose, must be Lebeter the
knifester.
Before any could greet her, she raised a hand. "Good morning, and let me say
something quickly.
For what is to come, the mental state-the concentration-is most important. So
with no thought of discourtesy, may I ask that none speak to me until we are
in the arena, and then only of the combat itself?"
One by one they nodded. Low-voiced, Liesel said to the others, "She's right.
I've heard of this-
never saw it before, though. All right, I'll say no more."
She led the way outside and to an aircar larger than the ones Rissa had seen
here before.
"You're familiar with this model, Lebeter?" The man nodded. Liesel put a hand
to Rissa's shoulder, squeezed once, then turned and walked away.
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Lebeter took the pilot's chair; Splieg sat beside him, leaving the broad rear
seat for Rissa to sit between Ernol and Sparline.
The sun was bright, the clouds few as Lebeter took them through the gap and
turned toward One
Point One. Rissa felt the weight of the silence she had imposed; in her
peripheral vision she saw
Sparline and Ernol watching her. Unable to be comfortable, she wriggled.
Finally she took
Sparline's hand on one side and Ernol's on the other. After a few moments she
noticed that all three were breathing deeply and in unison. For the rest of
the ride she relaxed with closed eyes.
THE aircar landed; they approached the arena, a fenced enclosure with guarded
gate. Sparline looked in first, turned and said, "Hawkman's inside. I'm afraid
we brought you to no purpose, Lebeter-sorry. Roam as you will, but stay fairly
near the aircar-we may be leaving in more hurry than we expect." The man waved
a hand in half-salute and walked to sit beside the car, his back against a
landing wheel. "Formation," said Sparline. Rissa found herself sur-
\c" 154 "
\crounded as they walked forward and through the gate-Spar-line and Ernol in
front and Splieg behind.
Inside, as she strove to make a pattern, to identify those present, there was
no help to relaxation. She first saw-and heard-dal Nardo; at the far side he
shouted at a black-robed figure flanked by two in gray. Sparline muttered,
"Harassing the referee already, is he?"
Alongside dal Nardo, Rissa saw two men and a woman, none familiar to her. And
half-hidden, behind a hulking shape entirely cloaked in robe and hood, stood
Blaise Te'ndal. She blinked and saw Hawkrnan Moray approaching, followed by a
tallish, slim man wearing a mask-hood. Hawkman and
Spar-line clasped hands, and he said, "We'd better do it. You tell her." Rissa
could not hear her reply.
She looked further. The other two-the woman in white was, of course, the
doctor, and beside her
Rissa saw a gir! with short tousled fair hair. The girl turned and she
recognized her briefly-met friend, Felcie Parager. Felcie's eyes went wide.
"Oh, Tan! I was afraid it might be you-but I hoped it wasn't!"
"Breach of terms!" Dal Nardo roared it. "Officials supposed to \ibe\i neutral!
I claim foul!"
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Felcie cringed. "Sir-I didn't mean anything-I only-"
Some things, thought Rissa, are more important than keeping to a plan. She
pitched her voice to carry. "Claim and be damned to you! The girl expressed
nothing outside the rules." In the sudden quiet she said, using a more normal
tone, "And shut your great mouth. Your bellowing is not seemly before the
event proceeds." She turned away, disturbed to find herself near to shaking
with rage.
She could not afford this much stimulation so early-she took deep, slow
breaths and began to calm again.
Sparline took her arm and leaned to speak softly. "Not to distract you, but
afterward-after you
\iwin,\i Rissa!-don't be alarmed, or hesitate, at what you're asked to do.
It's politically important, and no demand on you. All right?"
Confused, Rissa said, "I suppose so-I trust you." An arm hugged her shoulders
and she looked up to see Hawkman's smile.
\c\b" 155 "
\b
\c"All right, are you?" he said. "I've heard good things of you." He moved
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away and consulted with the biack-robed referee. Then that person spoke.
"It is time. Tari Obrigo challenges Stagon dal Nardo, to the death. Weapons,
none. Clothing, none. Seconds and other agreed parties are present. Now, if
they wish, the opponents may speak.
Challenged party speaks first."
Wearing a maroon robe, dal Nardo stalked to the edge of the marked circle.
Beside him, covered by a shapeless cloak and hood, came the person none had
seen. "Here's what I can do," said dal
Nardo. "You'll see! But first I'll tell you, Tari Obrigo-you walking piece of
fertilizer!" He laughed, and to Rissa the sound came like the stench of death.
Then he talked. One by one he named the parts of her and what he would do to
them-break this, crush that, bite away one thing, gouge out another-on and on,
his harsh voice rising as he detailed a vivisection by hands and teeth. Then
he paused and laughed again. "Maybe you don't believe. I'll show you. Here's
what I do only in \ipractice!"\i And he pulled the cloak off the creature
beside him.
The sounds from those around her drowned Rissa's gasp. Dal Nardo's exhibit was
a woman, tall and muscular-but she looked as though she might be better dead.
Blood dribbled from a puffed, purpled socket that might or might not still
hold an eye. Bare, bloody patches marked the scalp. Bruises and gaping cuts
covered limbs and torso; one breast hung-a flattened, blackened mass-half-torn
from the chest. An arm swung crookedly; the gaping mouth showed only a few
broken teeth behind swollen, bloody lips. Below a raw cut closed by crude
stitches, blood also stained the belly. And-
and-shaking her head, Rissa closed her eyes and turned away. Dizzied, she
fought to hold her vomit.
A supporting hand gripped her arm; Sparline's whisper hissed in her ear. "It's
a \ifake,\i most of it! Plastic and makeup! I recognize her-a professional
kill-fighter from the Twin Worlds-she had only one breast when she came here;
that messy-looking thing is pure phony. And the belly-the stitches are real,
but the wound isn't. Same with the eye, I'll bet. The
\c156
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