Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 39 - The Enemy of My Enemy

Trepidation and excitement vied for prominence in Codi's mind as she settled into her seat alongside Ripple in the fighter's lobby to watch probably most highly anticipated opening fight of the knockout rounds.

In just a few moments time, Rokki Thakkar would take on Keefer Darkwood, and the whole galaxy wanted to see just how Firequake's warrior would fare against the mechanical brute force of the enigmatic first seed. Codi wasn't the only one eager to see the outcome, as fighters from every academy flooded into the lobby to witness the clash – team-mates who'd been eliminated by still remained to watch as well as the remaining contestants in the different disciplines.

The Firequake group weren't far away, gathered around the magenta-haired Targon Fenz, Thakkar's pairs partner. Without him present, however, the girl's demeanour lacked the same easy confidence Codi had seen earlier. Even Firequake's wild competitors had their limits – there was no doubt, she was worried.

Codi folded her arms and sighed. When it came down to it, whatever happened in this fight wasn't really her problem. All she could do was watch and silently hope that Rokki Thakkar might pull off the upset of the tournament. If there was anyone who might do it, he would have been her choice.

A hush descended on the lobby as the banks of huge screens flared into life to show huge panning shots of the crowds of the day. This clash had been billed as the one to watch by the competition's relentless PR team, and the result was not a single empty seat.

They would be fighting it out in a shallow black-metal bowl of an arena, made up of a dozen rings that rotated in different directions, constantly moving the fighters into and out of each other's path. Some had weapons embedded into their structures for the fighters to dig out if they chose.

The roar of the crowds echoed, coming both from the screens and the Arena itself, muffled by several sets of walls and doors. Along with it came a concerted cheer from the assembled fighters as Rokki Thakkar entered the arena. He exuded a feral energy like hard radiation, even on a screen, racing out into the open space pumping his fists in the air and screaming at the top of his lungs, working the Firequake fans into a frenzy.

He'd need all the help he could get, she thought unhappily.

Keefer Darkwood's entrance garnered a big cheer from the Gauntlet fans, but in the fighters' lobby he received hisses and boos. No-one seemed to like him. His sudden appearance and dominant form, coupled with his utter isolation made him someone impossible to relate to. Instead he'd turned into a kind of bogeyman, the one person the best fighters wanted to knock out of the competition.

Well, Rokki Thakkar was about to get his chance.

Codi clasped her hands together and pressed them to her lips as the klaxon roared to begin the fight. As she expected, Thakkar didn't hang around. He blazed a train down towards his target, negotiating the shifting surface of the floor with the ease of a veteran. En route he freed a quarter staff from its housing, and made a beeline toward Keefer Darkwood.

The other fighter moved at an easy lope, not bothering to even pick up a weapon as they approached each other.

But no fight involving Rokki Thakkar was going to develop normally. Codi watched in amazement as the Firequake competitor gripped the staff in both hands by one end, and after whirling his whole body 360 degrees, flung the staff at Darkwood. It spun like a propeller, scything across the air between them, and only at the last second did the Black Horizon fighter swerve his body and throw up a double handed block to deflect the impact. The edge of the staff clattered off his vambraces with enough force to make him sway.