“Get moving,” I said in Demon. I had to kill someone and head to the checkpoint. Those were the two rules of Tiers. Kill or be killed. Get to the checkpoint or don’t. Those were the only ways to get out of the arena alive. I could choose to take as many contestants out as possible, but I wasn’t here for a blood bath, unlike the reds and purples. I’d only take what was needed to get to the next round.
The tricky part was how to kill an opponent without the crowd realizing who I was. If they did, then their king would hear their commotion. I couldn’t get through the entire month of Tiers undetected, but one or two rounds could make all the difference.
A yellow demon sprinted past my hiding spot, shrieking at the top of his lungs.Yikes.Part of me felt terrible as I slipped after him, dodging between rocks. I leaned into my demon nature and embraced as much bloodthirstiness as possible. I had to kill someone, and that kill stood between me and the future lives of those I loved.
If I could get to the guy before the purples and reds found me, then?—
My gut twinged.
I slowed at the sight of a stone circle ahead.
My gut twinged again, and I knew—in the same way I knew about many yet-to-happen events—that I shouldn’t enter that circle. The yellow demon had stopped dead in the center and continued to shriek his head off. His eyes moved furtively. There wasn’t nearly enough fear in them.
A trap.
The little fucker was setting me up. Probably in exchange for his life.
Purple flashed between jutting stones. A hint of red ahead.
My executioners.
I blew out a breath.
If I were them, I’d get rid of me too.
Game time.
I left my father’s blade in its sheath and slid my two daggers free. I’d brought these for the first fight because they weren’t infused with any power. Any infused weapon would leak my black smoke, and my father’s blade would also leak crimson smoke each time I used it.Everydemon in the realm knew the blade.
I’d circle around.
I turned back to retrace my steps, then stopped at the row of purples approaching from behind.
Dammit.
I stepped off the path into a tighter matrix of stone. The reds must have portaled ahead of me, and some of the purples too. Entering Tiers as late as possible and avoiding the Pinnacle in the first week had served me, but it meant that the other players had practiced in the arena all week. They knew the layout.
I broke into a run, giving the stone circle a wide berth.
My gut twinged.
I pressed my back against a rock as a red demon launched over my head and landed six feet away.
The dullness and single hue of his scales exposed him as a weaker red. Which didn’t mean much considering reds were near the top of the food chain.
“You will be first to die,” he hissed.
I replied, “What about those at the gate? I must be the thirtieth at least.”
Slight confusion entered his gaze. Scale color was not a sign of intelligence. In fact, I found yellows and oranges could be the most conniving due to their weaker magic.
The demon didn’t have many gaps in his scales, which was why he’d inserted himself into a beautifully stained and very tiny loincloth for today’s fight.Show off.But there was a gap at the front of his armpit. I wouldn’t reach his heart from there with these weapons.
I sliced my dagger against the red’s scales instead. As expected, the attack had no effect.Worth a try.My strategy for the first fight had centered around encountering a yellow or orange whose scales I could saw through with these feeble daggers.
“Fuck,” I said calmly.
Red smoke erupted from his body. I dodged away, though only drawn-out exposure to red smoke would kill me. It would fucking hurt in the meantime, and I’d had enough pain in my life, thank you very much.
