Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 12 - Miss Me?

The first practice tournament on Earth felt like a carnival. Thousands of spectators descended on the metal-sheathed Shetland Isles for the event, some coming in shuttles or mariners, others crossing the slender silver needle of the ram-bridge that linked the islands to the mainland. A neutral venue, it would play host to the first pre-season clash between the four Earth-based Gauntlet academies – Battlecast, Atlantic, Everest and Zulu Forge – and their solitary lunar neighbour: Cobalt Storm.

To Codi this preliminary event seemed to have just as much media mayhem surrounding it as the actual tournament itself. Watching through the window of the Battlecast shuttle as it descended, she could see the swarms of people waving flags of their chosen academy, and the blue and cyan livery of Battlecast was clearly in evidence.

The pre-tournament festivities were well underway as well. She could see huge braziers, each one a dozen feet high, gushing heat out into the frigid northern air from the glowing umbrellas of orange at their apex. Despite the grey sky and weak sunlight the temperatures down below were likely to be fairly comfortable, and she spotted sparks and flashes of light shows glittering across the island's face.

And in the middle of it all sat the enormous bulk of the arena itself. It paled in comparison to the actual Gauntlet venue, but it still dwarfed the surrounding structures. Two bulbous interlocked domes squatted upon the metallic landscape, their exteriors illuminated with huge colourful advertisements and massive academy emblems that moved back and forth like spotlights.

"You guys don't screw around with your practice, do you?" Codi muttered, leaning back from the window and settling into her seat as the shuttle began its final descent to the arena landing pad.

"Earth's the home of the Gauntlet," Chris replied, shrugging. "It's not like where you grew up. Here, one tournament a year isn't enough for everyone. They want to follow it all year round, every week, every day."

"Sounds unhealthy."

"Maybe, but it's the only reason we can do what we do." He nodded to the pandemonium on the ground below them. "It's our job to keep them entertained."

The remark set a small kernel of unease smouldering in Codi's gut. She didn't compete in the Gauntlet to be some kind of performing monkey – the spectators were there for her, not the other way around. That being said, she was still adjusting to the almost religious fervour that seemed to surround the competition on Earth. Maybe it was different, living on the planet that could claim to be the home of the Gauntlet.

She didn't get to dwell on it any longer. The bright lights fell away from the windows as the shuttle entered the hanger bay, surrounding them with gleaming metal walls. There was a moment of quiet filled only by the hum of the engines until the vehicle hit the ground with a small jolt.

"Show time," Gareth commented from the opposite row of seats, unbuckling his harness and standing up.

The engine died and as she stood to collect her kit bag Codi could hear a kind of dull roaring coming from outside the shuttle. She looked at Gareth questioningly.

He smirked. "You'll see."

Codi followed him as the shuttle's cargo of twenty Battlecast recruits trooped down the boarding ramp and out into the hanger itself. In their allocated bay the other shuttles from the academy had already touched down, disgorging their own cadres of eager, violent teenagers. Codi realised somewhat apprehensively that she formed part of the phalanx of fighters leading the way; the best the academy had to offer by all accounts. They walked five abreast: herself, Chris, Ripple, Gareth and another boy, Cardle North, who'd taken part in their tackle-ball game.