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"Bet you a day’s wages it’s another strongar his apple core toward the arena floor
"No bet," I shoot back at hi to win a little soh another week But not me, not even with Kilorn It’s easier to cut the bookie’s purse than try and win money from it "You shouldn’t waste your ht It’s always a strongararhts, their skills and abilities better suited to the arena than al their superhu dolls
"What about the other one?" I ask, thinking about the range of Silvers that could appear Telkies, swifts, nyreenys, stoneskins--all of the cool I could use some fun"
Kilorn and I don’t really see eye to eye on the Feats of First Friday Fortwo champions rip into each other is not enjoyable, but Kilorn loves it Let them ruin each other, he says They’re not our people
He doesn’t understand what the Feats are about This isn’t rueling work This is calculated, cold, a ht in the arenas because only a Silver can survive the arena They fight to show us their strength and power You are no ods It’s written in every superhuht Last h the swift could move faster than the eye could see, the telky stopped him cold With just the power of his round The swift started to choke; I think the telky had sorip on his throat When the swift’s face turned blue, they called the entlemen, Silvers and Reds, welcoust" The announcer’s voice echoes around the arena, nified by the walls He sounds bored, as usual, and I don’t blame him
Once, the Feats were not matches at all, but executions Prisoners and enemies of the state would be transported to Archeon, the capital, and killed in front of a Silver crowd I guess the Silvers liked that, and the an Not to kill but to entertain Then they became the Feats, and spread out to the other cities, to different arenas and different audiences Eventually the Reds were granted ad until the Silvers built arenas everywhere, even villages like the Stilts, and attendance that was once a gift became a mandatory curse My brother Shade says it’s because arena cities enjoyed a marked reduction in Red crime, dissent, even the few acts of rebellion Now Silvers don’t have to use execution or the legions or even Security to keep the peace; two champions can scare us just as easily
Today, the two in question look up to the job The first to walk out onto the white sand is announced as Cantos Carros, a Silver from Harbor Bay in the east The video screen blares a clear picture of the warrior and no one needs to tell arm He has arainst his own skin When he sone or broken Maybe he ran afoul of his own toothbrush when he was a growing boy
Next to ers roar with him A Security officer throws a loaf of bread at the louder ones for their trouble To ht yellow piece of paper ’Lec papers--extra electricity rations All of it to make us cheer, to make us scream, to force us to watch, even if we don’t want to
"That’s right, let hi as much enthusiasm into his voice as he can "And here we have his opponent, straight from the capital, Samson Merandus"
The other warrior looks pale and weedy next to the human-shaped hunk of h sheen He’s probably the second son of a second son, trying to win renown in the arena Though he should be scared, he looks strangely calm
His last na to faoverning fah I’ve never seen Governor Welle in my life He never visits it more than once or twice a year, and even then, he never stoops to entering a Red village like old flags He’s a greeny, and when he passed, the trees on the bank burst into blossoht it was beautiful, until one of the older boys threw rocks at his boat The stones fell harmlessly into the river They put the boy in the stocks anyway
"It’ll be the strongarm for sure"
Kilorn frowns at the small champion "How do you know? What’s Sa to lose," I scoff, settling in to watch
The usual call rings out over the arena Many rise to their feet, eager to watch, but I stay seated in silent protest As caler, and jealousy We are gods, echoes inin their heels on opposite sides of the arena Guns aren’t allowed in arena fights, so Cantos draws a short, wide sword I doubt he’ll need it Sa by his side
A low, huh the arena I hate this part The sound vibrates in ht shatter It ends abruptly with a chirping chiht away Cantos barrels forward like a bull, kicking up sand in his wake Sa his shoulder to slide around the Silver, but the strongar and tosses him across the arena like he’s made of feathers The subsequent cheers cover Samson’s roar of pain as he collides with the cement wall, but it’s written in his face Before he can hope to stand, Cantos is over hi him skyward He hits the sand in a heap of what can only be broken bones but so?" Kilorn laughs "Let him have it, Cantos!"
Kilorn doesn’t care about an extra loaf of bread or a few more minutes of electricity That’s not why he cheers He honestly wants to see blood, Silver blood--silverblood--stain the arena It doesn’twe can’t be, everything ant He just needs to see it and trick hi they are truly human, that they can be hurt and defeated But I know better Their blood is a threat, a warning, a promise We are not the same and never will be
He’s not disappointed Even the box seats can see thefrom Samson’s mouth It reflects the su a river down his neck and into his armor
This is the true division between Silvers and Reds: the color of our blood This sier, smarter, better than us