Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 35 - The Long Road Ahead

 The fighters' lobby hummed with energy and anticipation as the competitors gathered. Those who had progressed from the group stages arrived with their team-mates for the official announcement, delivered well in advance of what the press would receive. A steady rumble of conversation buzzed in the air as every group discussed every other; strengths, weaknesses and everything in between.

But Codi didn't fail to notice Keefer Darkwood, conspicuous by his absence, had failed to attend. This went beyond some kind of contempt for the other competitors. After their confrontation in the halls of the Arena she got the distinct impression that Keefer's coach was trying to keep his contact with the other fighters to an absolute minimum. Everything about their meeting had twisted all her perceptions of him out of place; trying to square the awkward, timid giant that she'd encountered with the juggernaut of the Arena.

There was nothing for it now though. He might not have shown his face in the lobby, but everyone else who mattered had turned up. All the heavy hitters who'd advanced stalked through the room, surrounded by coaches and team-mates. Dustin Morto, Norv Davies, Darien Fallow, Rokkie Thakker; all of them could be seen along with the highest ranked Battlecast fighters.

Codi was joined, unsurprisingly, by Ripple, Chris and Gareth. Beyond the top four, however, a handful of other Battlecast contenders had also bludgeoned their way into the knockout stages. Cardle North, the boy from their flag team, was there – so too were Prissa Alder and Cassandra Riven. All in all, the statistical chance of a Battlecast podium sweep was getting better by the day as they made up almost a quarter of the remaining contenders.

But that all depended on how the brackets panned out.

The Battlecast team's spirit was buoyed, however, by Leela's presence. The days had ticked by and now the rookie fighter could move around almost as normal. Although the regenerative brace still encircled the break in her leg, the ungainly hobble was long gone. She moved with the smooth speed that characterised her formidable form in the flag matches. Along with many of the other fighters who had missed out on a spot in the knockout bracket, Leela exemplified what really made Battlecast an academy to be reckoned with: its unity.

Having secured one of the comfortable loungers in the lobby area, Codi flung her feet up onto the table, right in the middle of a pond of blue and cyan. Leela sat on one side – Gareth the other. Ripple leaned across the back of the chair, glassy eyes flickering impassively around the room. Nearby the fighters from Olympus Mons had taken up residence, clad in their blood red tracksuits and centred on Darien Fallow's sturdy frame. On the opposite side sat a group of fighters in the stark white of Nebula.

A coil of unease swirled in Codi's stomach when realised that none of the fighters from Zulu Forge were present. None of them had made it out of the group stages, despite Kye's best efforts, and that realisation felt bitter. Whatever their disagreements, Kye had been a good fighter, making it all the way to the quarter finals of last year's contest, and she didn't doubt that he made a good coach. She couldn't help feeling that he deserved better than that.

There would be time to dwell on that later. Pushing those thoughts away, her eyes scanned over the competition, looking for targets. And threats. Now that they'd cleared the group stages there was no such thing as an easy fight. Every person who progressed needed to have won at least two individual matches and made it through a Mayhem, which meant none of them could be ignored.

She repeated that phrase inside her head as she looked around, making herself believe it. As the Gauntlet had unfolded she realised she'd been partially swept up in the giddy hype train that drove Battlecast's fighters on relentlessly. Now that they'd reached the hardest part of the contest she knew she needed to drag herself back down to Earth.