Smoke and Mirrors

Sapphire Ragna Nightborne

I sighed as I looked at my reflection in the small dirty mirror that was provided to me, my once full cheeks were now hollowed, and my jawline was more prominent than ever, my eyes that were once so bright now looked so dull and the shadows below them were the darkest they had ever been.

The small room I was given to prepare myself for the fight was almost withheld from me even though it was a basic right given to both fighters, however, Chloe Black adamantly pushed for it to be given to me, much to my surprise.

I let out a contented hum as I ran my fingers across the leathery material that now adorned my torso, a simple jacket of leather with black cotton beneath as well as sturdy pants and boots were good enough for me. This was standard sparring gear and it felt like a second skin on me, comfortable, after all, this was almost all I wore throughout my entire life.

The siren went off, jolting me from my peaceful musing, it was now or never.

I winced as I was greeted by the arena’s bright lights, the boos from the spectators filled my ears but I ignored them and walked up to my position, as I stood there I felt droplets of liquid splatter against my face. Did someone actually throw their drink at me? Its sharp smell burnt the insides of nose, alcohol, they really thought that now was the best time to get drunk.

After the help of some deep breathing I decided to take a closer look at the arena. It was pretty standard, a five metre deep circular pit with a barbed wire dome to keep anything from getting in or out, almost all packs had one to remind of the days where we suffered under the humans and were used like common dogs to fight against our own brethren in places like this, most arenas were kept as reminders but this one did not seem like a friendly heritage site, its walls were stained with dark brown splotches telling me that this arena was pulled out of its retirement a long time ago.

The second siren wailed, signalling my opponent’s entrance. I could not believe that I was actually going to fight in a Bloodbath, a practice so crude and brutal that it was stopped a hundred years ago but in cases like this one, it was my pleasure to engage in such a disgusting practice.

My opponent entered, and my jaw hit the ground, firstly, she sashayed in with her hips swinging, secondly, she was dressed as if she was going to spend the day at a party. Yes, she wore a leather jacket like mine, but I was sure that her exposed midriff and legs weren’t going to give her much protection and to add to the impracticality of it all, she was wearing heeled leather boots, of all things. She stopped in front of me with a smile on her face as her entrance gained her a loud round of applause and cheers, the cheers seemed to never end till Damien shouted for his pack to be silent.

“Black Blood, today we are here to witness the Bloodbath between Sapphire Ragma Nightborne.”

Cue the jeers.

“And Karmen Gray.”

Ah, so that was her name.

“Remember, this is a strictly hand to hand fight, no weapons allowed. May the strongest win.”

With that he gestured for the gong to be rung and the fight to begin.

Barely two seconds after the gong rang, Karmen charged at me like a raging bull, with a yell to match, it was so utterly predictable that I just scoffed and stepped the side causing her to run into the wall behind, the resultant crack heard caused the corners of my lips to curl upwards. This was met with some snickers that were quickly shushed by Damien.

Did she not undergo basic training all? We were told from the first lesson to never just charge into a fight, observe your opponent first, learn how they move so as to deduce how they are going to move. Not learning from her mistakes, Karmen came charging at me again with a fist raised, I calmly raised my leg to my torso area before kicking out with as much force as I could muster sending her barrelling a few feet back.

A whistle from above broke my focus, I stupidly looked up to see Damien blowing a kiss in my direction and so to reward him, I decided to show him my favourite finger, however, those seconds lost allowed Karmen to make a comeback, she in those few seconds managed to run up to me and claw my face.

“Aww, did I mark that pretty face of yours?”

Her baby voice caused a growl to leave my lips as the metallic tang from the blood reached my tongue. Gasps filled the air as I used the back of my hand to wipe away the wound, revealing smooth skin with the exception of a faint pink mark. Sometimes you really had to love Lycan blood.

I turned to Karmen and smiled, if she wants to play with claws let’s, grabbing her wrist I brought down my clawed hand about to repay the favour when the gong rang, signalling the end of the first round… how convenient.

I stepped back to think about a strategy to win when the gong, signalling the start of the second round, sounded out of the blue. There was barely any time for me to register what was happening when Karmen bowled into my side, knocking me over. I tensed my body as I expected to feel the dull pain of hitting the ground, however, what I was not expecting was the sudden sharp pain in my side that was clearly not due to the fall.

My knees hit the ground as I doubled over in pain, tears started to well up on their own accord, it felt as though someone put a lit torch on my wound. Through my slightly blurred vision I saw Karmen waving a short thin dagger in front of my face, it gleamed brightly against the light and was tinted with purple streaks… oh joy… silver and wolfsbane. The addition of wolfsbane did not phase me but what did, the thing that made me feel as if my heart was in my throat, was the missing point off the weapon that had looked like it had been snapped off.

My knees buckled as I tried to stand, the fire in my side only intensifying with each movement I made. I tried again only to be met with a kick to the ribs that caused to fall on my side again like a puppet that had its strings cut off.

“Not. So. Tough. Now. Right?”

With each word that coward delivered another kick to my ribs, I wanted retaliates so badly but each time I moved the fire burned.

“Everyone look! Some of you might have still believed the bedtime stories of a ‘Beast’ that protected Blackwater so now I give you this so-called ‘Beast’!”

Her comment was met with cheers and jeers, I was being humiliated. This was worse than the pain I was feeling, I’d rather suffer this pain ten times over than be portrayed as weak by someone like her.

“The protector that delivered her nephew right into our hands… the protector that left her sister to escape…”

She went on and on and with every word she spoke, my blood boiled and now, it passed the temperature of the fire in my side, I could not let this slandering continue, I did not come back from the dead to hear all this and anyway… it’s time someone finally shut her up.

Taking a deep breath, I plunge my fingers into my side, the fire surged to an all-time high as I searched for the small piece of metal that was causing me so much pain, blood filled my mouth as I bit my lip to prevent me from screaming. Blood poured out my side as I used my claws to cut my healing flesh away to dig for the dagger point.

I had to thank Karmen for taking the attention off me as I searched for the dagger point, I almost cried in relief when I found it. Bracing myself I used a clawed finger to cut it out, prying the wound open as I extracted that accursed piece. Blood still poured out my side in alarming volumes but the fire that was once there cooled down and I as looked up at Karmen, who was still busy with her theatrics, I realised that the fire in my heart still burned just as hot.

Karmen gasps as she turned around to see me standing, still a bit unbalanced but still standing. She raised her dagger and tried to bring it down once more but was stopped as I grabbed her wrist, breaking it with a flick of my own. There was a clatter as the dagger hit the ground, she let out a snarl as she shifted, I supposed that this was a move to try and intimidate me, but the sight of wolf caused an involuntary laugh to escape my lips.

The wolf in front of me was so petite, small and scraggly that I was sure that the young pups in my own pack were larger than her. She lunged at me with teeth bared, a growl left her lips but quickly stopped when I grabbed her scruff, leaving her suspended in mid-air, and with all the strength I could muster I lifted her up, using my other hand to support her rump, and with one swift movement brought on my knee. The crack filled the arena, as did gasps, as she went limp in my arms, I rid myself of the burden as I threw her onto the ground like a ragdoll, I watched as she slowly shifted back.

It took only a few seconds for her to get up, this was due to the fact that the wounds we received as wolves do not follow as when we change back to our human forms. With a high-pitched war-cry she lunged at me, again, her fist making contact with my torso and nothing, I did not feel the impact of the punch at all, it might as well be a butterfly landing on my skin.

“What did you do to me?”

She looked at her hands and the rest of her body in horror.

“I crippled your wolf.”

I smirked as her eyes widened in shock, she knew the consequences.

“That’s right Karmen. What is a werewolf without her wolf? A sad, powerless normal human.”

With every step I took towards her she took a step back, we continued this dance till her back hit the wall. She had nowhere to run, helpless, I smiled as I saw the fear in her eyes as I raised a clawed hand, now she would know what my pack members and family felt in the last moments of their lives, her screams filled the air as I brought it down. The smile on my face widened as blood splattered on my face, staining my skin with its crimson droplets. I guess it was true what they say; Revenge truly was sweet.