An approving crying of awed respect rose up from the spectators at the audacity of her move.

Garth finally waved his hands, erecting a barrier of protection to block the attack, thus conceding the offensive to her. Within seconds she drew upon yet more mana and wolves appeared to either side of her and a small host of goblins materialized in the middle of the arena. All rushed toward him.

An icy shadow filled the middle of the arena and there was a great rushing of air and a loud trumpeting.

A great mammoth stood in the middle of the fray, its feet trampling down the goblins. The wolves paused in their headlong rush toward Garth, recoiling and cringing against the side walls of the arena as the mammoth thundered, its heavy trunk flaying about to snatch up the last of the goblins.

There was another swirling cloud and out of it hundreds of rats emerged. Their hot red eyes gleaming with hunger, they swarmed toward the mammoth, leaping upon its legs, sinking their yellow razor teeth into it. More and yet more clawed their way up its sides, clinging to its heavy coat and burrowing in.

The great beast shrieked in pain, and Garth, mercifully, raised his hand and the creature disappeared. The rats that were clinging to it tumbled to the ground, dazed. And then they started to look around for something else. As if driven by a single hand they charged toward Garth and then as suddenly stopped. They turned and started back toward the woman and then paused, slowly turning back toward Garth.

The two wrestled, laying spell upon spell to control the rats, who weaved back and forth, while the wolves cowered and stayed out of the fight. First one way, and then the other, the rats were driven back and forth. Some of them started to collapse, twisting and kicking from the stress of the powers swirling around them.

The struggle continued for long minutes so that the arena pulsed and glowed from the power, neither fighter pulling in other spells, both attempting to control the rats as a singular demonstration of their ultimate power over the other. A hazy glow started to build up around the two, flickering with flashes of light, becoming so bright that those who sat nearest to them had to turn their heads away.

Suddenly there was an audible pop, not quite an explosion but rather a caving in. The rats turned and swarmed straight at Garth.

He lowered his head and stepped back into the neutral square. Still the rats came toward him and he stood with arms at his side. Even as the first of the rats started to leap toward his throat, the woman raised her hand and they disappeared. A loud cheer went up from the assembly.

Garth stepped back into the arena and bowed low at the waist. The circle master stepped back into the fighting area.

“Win to Varena of Fentesk.”

Again there was loud cheering and Garth straightened as she approached him.

“Good fight,” she said quietly.

“Good fight.”

Garth started toward the exit, ignoring the crowd of Fentesk fighters that pushed around him, laughing, going up to Varena. Hammen stood to one side.

“So how much did we lose?”

Hammen smiled.

“Nothing?”

“If you beat her, I really don’t think you would have gotten out of here alive and that would have included me. She was obviously a favorite and if she had not intervened, you would have had to fight them all over that man you killed the other night.”

Garth looked over at Hammen and said nothing as they left the arena.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he turned back to look.

“Good fight, One-eye.”

“You’re an excellent challenge.”

“We need to soak; come with me,” she invited, pointing toward a narrow flight of stairs. He followed her down, the air becoming damp and hot. They stepped into a small, dimly lit room filled with steam. The room was lined with alcoves; inside of each of them was a hot bubbling pool. Varena looked over at Hammen and stared at him pointedly.

“Hammen, either it’s in the pool or take a walk,” Garth announced.

“I’ll walk,” Hammen said, a bit of a leer lighting his features and he disappeared back up the stairs.

“He really does stink, you know.”

“It’s his way.”

“And you don’t smell so good yourself.”

“I had a little adventure last night and haven’t had a chance to completely wash off.”

Varena casually untied the cincher around her waist and pulled her tunic off over her shoulders. Garth found it difficult to ignore what he was seeing. He had assumed her to be almost boyish in figure, but realized now that the tunic had been deceiving. Next she stepped out of her trousers and loincloth as if he wasn’t even present and, folding her clothes up, she placed them on a stone bench, though she made a point of taking her satchel with her as she walked into one of the alcoves. Stepping down into the circular pool, she stretched out and floated, sighing with contentment, resting her satchel on the edge of the pool.

Garth hesitated for a moment, then undressed and, like her, took his satchel with him. He then walked through the swirling steam and into her alcove.

“Am I invited?”

She sat up and nodded.

“Just pull the curtain shut.”

Doing as ordered, he stepped down into the pool and stretched out beside her. Hot bubbles swirled up around him, smelling slightly of sulfur, and he let them massage the tension out of his muscles.

“That fight was a sham,” she finally said.

He looked over at her for the first time. She was sitting up on a bench in the water so that her body was fully exposed from the waist up.

He sat across from her.

“What makes you think that?”

“Every counter you placed upon the rats was just barely stronger than mine. You did no diversions. I could sense your mana out there in that first moment when I struck you with a psionic blast. You were as strong as me, that was evident.”

Garth said nothing.

“We should still be fighting up there and I suspect I should be losing.”

“You won.”

“That’s not good enough. Why did you throw it?”

“I didn’t.”

She smiled, the first time he had seen her do so, and he found himself smiling in return. Her light blue eyes seemed filled with amusement and curiosity.

“You won,” he said softly, “and everyone now knows it.”

“Did you think I was testing you for Varnel?”

“Of course you were! That’s your job, to test new fighters. You also were supposed to kill me but only in a manner that was not obvious, say after a long fight and we were both exhausted and it could be claimed that it was an accident. I daresay having rats tear my throat out while I was in the neutral box would be too obvious.”

She stared at him coldly.

“Your honor is intact, the others will accept me, the issue is laid to rest for the moment. You’ll have your chance at me later.”

“I think you could beat me,” she said quietly.

Garth smiled again.

“We’re inside a circle here, we have our satchels. Shall we try again or postpone such things for now?”

She looked at him, saying nothing.

Finally she stirred, slipping across the pool to where he was sitting, putting her arms around his shoulders and pulling herself in tight against him.