Enemy Mine

Chapter 38

The rec room had become my nemesis. It seemed every time I entered the padded space, I ended up experiencing pain. This time however, I looked at it from a whole new perspective. A lesson in bitch slapping with talons. The other perspective dangled over my head in the center of the ceiling. A metal contraption to hang from, just like Deidra said, and it wasn't until I gave it my full attention that I remembered being told it was used to train young gollums to fly.

"Basic hook and pulley system," Vincent said as he followed my gaze upward. "I haven't used it for your flight training because I don't want you relying on a crutch."

"Is that the only thing it's used for? Flight training?" I turned my inquiry eyes on him, and he had no choice but to look at me, with a glimmer shining through the gray.

"No. It's not."

"What else do you use it for?"

Vincent's lips lifted into a knowing smirk. "When did Deidra call you?"

"A couple of hours ago."

"So, she told you about the..." He hesitated, giving me time to fill in the blank.

"The rope tricks."

He nodded and exhaled through his nose. "I thought she might play that card. She's likely to pull out every stop." Looking embarrassed, Vincent dragged his fingers through his hair. "I should have seen this coming. Did she say anything else?"

I didn't like the nervous scowl Vincent adopted when he talked about Deidra, like she could actually pose a serious threat to me. To us.

"She made her formal challenge, along with a very compelling argument."

"Oh? What was her argument?" Vincent took my hand, stroking the back of it.

"She said we weren't mated according to the magister council, and I need to fight her to prove my worth to them."

A throaty moan erupted from his chest as his fingers tightened around mine, but he loosened them before his grip inflicted pain. "Deidra is right. Although many gollums still practice traditional mating rituals to seal their bond, magisters are disallowed because they represent the council. I had planned to tell you during our visit to Italy, but after the final sentence was handed out, I didn't want to add to our burden. I'm sorry I misled you. As far as I'm concerned, we are mated."

I slipped into the swirling waters of Vincent's eyes as he offered his apology, and I was ready to swim for a while when he continued. "It appears Deidra has chosen a tactical game, so we'll need to approach it from an angle she won't expect. In the meantime, we have to get you battle ready."

"You think I should fight her?"

Vincent's expression smoothed out. "I don't want you doing battle until you're fully trained, which will take longer than six weeks, I'm afraid. But Deidra's argument will stand up in the magister's court. You are a gollum, and you will need to behave like one before we can be officially mated."

"Hell. That wasn't the answer I was hoping for." I felt a little lightheaded as I slumped cross-legged onto the padded floor, and Vincent dropped down next to me, resting his hand on my knee.

"It doesn't matter to me if you win or lose the battle, Reese. And it won't matter to the magisters, either. They will consider your inexperience and judge you on courage alone."

"Well, that's a relief," I said a bit too sarcastically. "Do we have to do it on top of a sixty story building, though? The last time I witnessed a battle on a rooftop, I was snatched by demons."

"No. There's a basement arena used by both gollums and demons. It's more discrete than rooftop fighting."

"You and the demons spar in an arena? I'd like to say I'm not surprised, but I am."