The Sports Captain's Tale полностью

I smiled, broadly, as we left the chamber and headed up to the dorms. The technique might fail, but if it worked … I didn’t think we’d be breaking any rules. There were limits on what we were allowed to take into the arena – I recalled friendly matches that had been ruined by creative attempts to get around the rules – but none of them banned entangled objects, particularly if both sides of the entanglement were inside the arena. It could certainly be debated, unlike permanently harming or killing members of the other team. If it worked …

My smile grew wider. We could give the enemy one hell of a shock.

We might lose, I thought. But at least they’ll remember us.

A shadow detached itself from the wall as we approached. Blair. I stepped forward, motioning for Mildred to stay behind me. The bastard looked gleeful … I was surprised he wasn’t in the town, partying with his teammates and other cronies, if he wasn’t taking care of Drusilla. It was unwise for magicians to drink heavily – or at all – but sports teams tended to drink heavily after matches and to hell with the consequences. They also tipped heavily, which made up for vomiting, groping, and forced transfigurations. Or so everyone said.

“Well,” Blair said. “How’s your ass feeling after that kicking?”

“Oh, very witty,” I said, dryly. “You overpaid whoever slipped you that line.”

Blair snickered, then leered at Mildred. “Coming up to celebrate with your teammate?”

I clenched my fists. One solid punch and he’d be nursing a broken nose for a few hours before the healer fixed it. Or … one kick in the right place and there’d be no hope of having kids …

“What do you want?” It crossed my mind to wonder if he’d planned to ambush Mildred. It was possible. “We have work to do.”

“Work,” Blair repeated. “Studying biology, are we?”

He snickered, again. I met his eyes, silently daring him to push me one more time. “What do you want?”

“Juliet is gone,” Blair said. “And I am tipped to be her replacement. Here’s a tip – resign now, give up your team and stop wasting everyone’s time. You’re just clowning around while some of us are going to the big leagues.”

“Juliet is gone,” I agreed. “But there’s no guarantee you’ll take her place.”

“There is, if I win the tournament,” Blair said. “I don’t have to go to the big leagues to take her place.”

He strode past us, then stopped. “Sure, keep wasting your time if you wish,” he said. “But you’ll just get your asses kicked again.”

I watched him swagger down the corridor. His butt made a very tempting target. I deserved a medal for not hexing him in the back.

Mildred caught my arm. “What was he doing here?”

“He just wanted to taunt us,” I said, keeping my earlier thought to myself. “And I guess that means he’s scared.”

And I hoped, as we slipped into the spellchamber, that I was right.

“You don’t stand a chance,” Darrell called. “Give up now and save time.”

I kept my face impassive. Darrell and I had been lovers, once upon a time, before a particularly nasty breakup. We’d been good together – she had curly brown hair, a toned body and a mischievous sense of humour – but … we’d also been too competitive, even with each other, for our own good. She was now a team captain and I knew she wouldn’t show us any mercy, not when everything hinged on her team scoring enough points to take them to the finals. The only upside was that she was unlikely to collaborate with Blair. He’d been an asshole to her a long time before she’d come into her own.

“We’ll surprise you,” I said, trying to project an air of confidence. We’d spent the last two weeks practicing intensively, working out all the kinks in our plan before we took it onto the field, but I knew something could easily go wrong. Our plan might not survive contact with the other team. They had plans of their own. “Watch your back.”

Blair swaggered over. “I’ll pay money to watch your back,” he said to Darrell. “It looks good in your tunic.”

I had to admire his nerve. Darrell was physically strong as well as magically powerful. Blair might be stronger in body, but all his strength would avail him nothing if Darrell kicked him in the balls or hexed him into a toad before he could react. Of course, she’d have to turn him back from being a toad before she turned him into one … I hid my amusement at that thought as Blair turned to smirk at us. He looked confident. I supposed he had reason to be.

“You don’t stand a chance,” he said, echoing Darrell’s earlier words. “Give up now and we’ll spare you.”