Nightfire Warriors (Remastered)

24.

"All right," Julio says. "You got yourselves a deal. As you know, if Sag becomes my new warrior—and Ryan wins—he forfeits the tournament."

"Understood," Jace says. "Come on, Sag. Let's get you ready."

Emotions of shock and doom overwhelm me, and I'm furious at Jace's stupidity. I chase after him, demanding to know what kind of a thoughtless genius he is. "Jace!" I throw the door open and leave the office. Nobody's around except for him and me. He's at the end of the hallway, rushing towards the entrance of the locker rooms, which has a sliding, automatic door entrance. "Jace, how could you do that?" I shriek.

The doors slide open for Jace, and I catch up with him. "I'm sorry, but we really didn't have much of a choice," he says. "You can forget about Ryan helping you with the Brigadier badge. And if A'Dimsyte won't give you one, then we must earn it a different way. There is no way you can finish this race without one."

"We should have tortured Julio or something," I consider. "Beat him until he gave me the badge."

Jace arches his eyebrows. "You sound like Chris. He likes that strategy."

I think about it. "I'm going back in there."

Jace pulls me by the arm. "No! You! Aren't! Have some confidence for once in your life!"

"Well, I can't die in there either!" I yell. "I'm so screwed." It's not like Jace can convince Ryan to forfeit the fight and let me win. Who would tarnish their reputation for someone like me? Good friends often don't let each other win in sports, which means they're fierce competitors.

The fighting ground finishes getting cleaned. Workers are hosing blood off the gravel, preparing for the next battle. My battle. A riot of flashing lights: all colors of the rainbow are hitting the arena like a dancefloor.

I walk into the arena with Jace, and my heart stops. The entire arena cages in. No way out if anything goes wrong. A drunken crowd takes up every single seat in the audience. It's like a riot. Dear God, where am I? I thought I was scared the first time I tried out for the tournament, but this arena has an entirely different air.

And for the very first time, I see Ryan in the flesh. The crowd, drunk and crazy, erupt into applause for him. Especially the ladies. They're screaming his name and begging for his attention. He must prove himself repeatedly if he receives this much interest. I never realized how obsessed every woman in the entire universe is with Ryan Chandler. They keep screaming, "WE LOVE YOU!" Like it's intimate or something. It's starting to become harassment and stalking. They want to kiss him, touch him, and even one girl tries to grab his butt before being escorted out by security. Crazy.

Like many only children, I'm fascinated by the resemblance of siblings, especially between him and Lily. There's the same pale skin, smooth and delicate. He has the same blond hair. His face is fresh—no facial hair. No acne. It's apparent he's tough. Clear to the eye. A crystal rifle is in his holster and plasma grenades stuffed in a pouch. I'm already trying to think of strategies how to dodge those kinds of weapons.

We make eye contact, and Ryan stands upright in surprise. He's on his way over, and my heart starts to pound. Kendall always says it's unwise to talk to your enemies before the battle. That it gives them opportunities to figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are. But he wants to speak to us. He stands in my way. "You've got some serious guts, man," he says to me. He already knows we're fighting each other.

"I've been told," I say.

"Remind me your name again?" Ryan asks.

"Riiight," Jace realizes. "You two never met yet. Ryan, this is Sagittarius—we call him Sag. Sag, this is the official Ryan Chandler."