The Rings Fighter Read online

  THE RINGS FIGHTER

  An Alien Apocalypse Story

  by

  JC Andrijeski

  Copyright © 2016 by JC Andrijeski

  Published by White Sun Press

  Cover Art 2015 by White Sun Press

  Ebook Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please visit an official vendor for the work and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  Synopsis of THE RINGS FIGHTER

  Chloe never expected to live long as the house slave of Agnon, one of the alien Nirreth who colonized Earth. Being the house pet of a sociopathic alien came with a time stamp and she knew it, but things were tough all over since humans became a slave caste on their own planet. She could only hope life would be better for her little sister, Kiji, who she struggled to protect.

  When Chloe catches the eye of the infamous Ringmaster Trazen, she figures her time is finally up. But Trazen may not be exactly what he appears…and not only because he’s the hottest alien she’s ever laid eyes on.

  THE ALIEN APOCALYPSE SERIES is a dystopian new adult romance about a tough girl named Jet Tetsuo who grew up on Earth following an alien invasion. Forced into living among her conquerors, she has to navigate a treacherous world full of enemies who pose as friends, even as she becomes their most famous fighter in the Rings, a modern day version of the coliseum.

  THE PENS

  THE FIRST TIME she saw him, she hoped fervently he wouldn’t notice her.

  She crouched in a corner of the pens, as much behind the others as she could manage, even knowing it wouldn’t help.

  Her owner, Agnon, was bragging.

  He was always bragging, but she remembered thinking that time, he was really going all-out. He wanted to impress this male Nirreth, whoever he was.

  She knew that probably wouldn’t bode well for her.

  The hiding bought her no time at all.

  “There she is!’ Agnon said loudly, his voice slurred with Nirreth wine. “That’s the one I told you about.” She could almost feel him pointing at her and cringed lower. Agnon broke out in a drunken laugh. “She is hiding…always hiding. These mammals are so stupid…does she think I cannot see her there? Hello! Hello, little sexy mammal!”

  She bit her lip, thinking loudly in response, Do you really think I don’t understand your language, you mouth-breathing egomaniacal lizard-skin asshole?

  He didn’t hear her think it, of course.

  He hadn’t stung her since the night before, and anyway, the venom connection only worked when they were touching, skin to skin.

  The idiot was waving at her, his long tail lashing behind his back in humor-laden flicks. He rested a jointed, three-fingered hand on the shoulder of his taller, more muscular friend. He triggered the door to the pens and it opened, disappearing silently into the glass-like wall.

  “Chloe!” Agnon said, louder. “Chloe! Come here, girl... I want you to meet someone!”

  Another of his little “jokes.”

  He loved to pretend like she was at a cocktail party with him, not naked in a pen filled with other naked humans he owned. When she didn’t come out of her crouch, the cocktail party pretense dropped. So did the indulgence in his voice. She heard nothing but the psychopath when he spoke next, using English, the human tongue.

  “Chloe... come,” he said, cold. “To me. Now.”

  She hesitated even then.

  Exhaling in resignation, she rose stiffly to her feet. Folding her arms in front of her––which did nothing to take away from the fact that she was stark naked––she walked over to him with her head held high.

  Well, as high as she could manage.

  The other humans got out of her way, a few aiming sympathetic looks in her direction. She made sure not to look at Kiji, who she knew likely watched from the other side of the pens.

  They’d learned to separate––and quickly––as soon as the lights came on.

  So far Chloe had managed to hide the fact that her little sister was here, in the pens with her, from Agnon himself––although she didn’t know how she’d managed to hide it. She didn’t let herself think about her sister at all while under the influence of the venom, so that was part of it. She’d gotten better at controlling her thoughts while under the influence, too, just from practice.

  Even so, she wondered how Agnon didn’t know.

  However it happened, she was beyond grateful for it.

  Kiji was too young to interest Agnon in the ways that mattered––thank goodness. Whatever their other faults, lizard skins avoided sexual contact with children of any race, not just their own. He still would have used Kiji to torment Chloe in other ways however, if he knew how much her sister mattered to her. Chloe was certain of it.

  He’d developed a sort of obsession with Chloe since he bought her.

  Because of that obsession, Chloe didn’t expect to live a very long life.

  Her only hope now was that Kiji might do better. Kiji was young enough that she still might find a way out. She might find some way to make herself useful to the Nirreth that didn’t involve sex––before something truly bad happened to her.

  Not all Nirreth slaves were miserable. Many had families, friends, a community to which they belonged. If she got a decent owner, Kiji might even have a good life.

  They even had a female Rings fighter now.

  The idea of a human female in the Rings had taken hold of Nirreth society of late––Chloe had heard about little else for the past two months during Agnon’s lizard-skin parties. The topic had risen to a fever pitch this week, with the first live match approaching on Saturday.

  They would want a female fighter to be tough and pretty, Chloe knew.

  She hoped maybe Kiji could catch the eye of some Nirreth rich enough to want to groom her for that role. If Kiji learned enough fighting skills before she came of age, Chloe could maybe find a way to get the word out through Agnon’s friends.

  Chloe knew that life as a Rings fighter would be difficult for Kiji. Yet, such a life would have significant benefits attached to it, as well––benefits that might vastly outweigh those risks.

  Chloe was also a realist. Already, Kiji was far too pretty. It wouldn’t be easy for her to avoid becoming a house slave, not once she got old enough. The Rings might be one of the few options left where Kiji’s looks could be a real asset.

  Rings fighters were too valuable to abuse.

  From what Chloe knew, they were too valuable to rape, as well.

  Kiji would not have this life, she promised herself.

  Chloe would endure this so Kiji didn’t have to.

  She reached the gate between the pen walls and the walkway where the two Nirreth stood. Barely hesitating, she stepped carefully over the metal grid that lay over the threshold and came to a stop on the other side, waiting.

  At that point she still hadn’t spared much attention for Agnon’s big-shot friend.

  “I know you prefer those wiry skags, Trazen,” Agnon was saying to the other Nirreth, still leaning on him and grinning like a jackass as he spoke in that loud voice. “…This one is Green Zone, born and bred. I don’t think she’s even been outside the dome. But look at her, will you? She’s like sex on a stick.” He let out a Nirreth chuckle, grinning at her as he lashed his tail suggestively. “Half my staff’s had her…I think they’d take her every night if I let them,” he added, laughing again.

  Only then did Chloe find her
self looking at Agnon’s friend.

  Part of what caused her to turn was his silence.

  Unlike the other Nirreth Agnon dragged down here, Agnon’s new friend didn’t cackle along with his stupidity or add any of his own. He didn’t say anything, not even to fill the silence after Agnon spoke. When Chloe studied his face and characteristically dark Nirreth eyes, he didn’t look drunk, or bored. He stared back at her appraisingly, his gaze sharp, clear––and nearly unreadable despite that clarity.

  His black eyes were flecked with some lighter color, she noticed––what might have been amber or gold. It was difficult to tell precisely under the sickly-green tint of the flickering pen lights.

  All Nirreth had dark, nearly black eyes. A few had dark brown or blue eyes. She’d once seen one with eyes such a dark green that the tint could only be seen in direct sunlight. A few also had eyes patterned like this one. Those were even more rare.

  This Nirreth’s eyes and his stillness got her attention enough that she found herself looking at the rest of him.

  For a Nirreth, he was almost... pretty.

  Hard muscles shone on his arms below the sleeves of his Nirreth-tailored shirt, which fit him tightly across the chest to taper in a near triangle to his narrow hips and waist. He looked like an athlete, maybe a boxer or even a field soldier. As was the style with Nirreth males, he wore form-fitting pants under the long shirt, the latter falling to the middle of his upper thighs. A heavier black cloth wrapped around his head, the knotted ends of which hung down his back like a ponytail. He wasn’t very adorned for a Nirreth…no jewelry at all that she could see.

  He wasn’t with a companion then, at least not a regular one.

  In addition to rings and bracelets and other jewelry worn purely as decoration, Nirreth with companions wore stone pendants around their necks. The more serious of those companions lived in their Nirreth’s homes, often sharing their beds.

  Chloe had trouble imagining that––with any Nirreth––but she knew from many humans that it happened, and that it could be very mutual. She had friends with Nirreth boyfriends back in Kabasi, the district near Old Santa Fe where she grew up. Some of those Nirreth lavished their human companions with presents and affection.

  Agnon would never deign to wear such a thing, of course.

  When Chloe glanced up, she found the silent Nirreth’s eyes on her still. He narrowed his gaze slightly as he looked at her, flicking his tail lazily to one side right before he looked away. The gesture and his facial expression bordered on dismissive, but somehow, she got the sense that he’d done it more for Agnon than for her.

  Maybe she wouldn’t mind sleeping with this one.

  The thought brought a strange pull in the lower part of her belly, what might have been nervous butterflies. She wondered if he would be considerate about it, the way some of them could be. Sex with Nirreth wasn’t unpleasant, per se––physically, that is.

  As with humans, it was all in the delivery... and in the individual Nirreth, of course.

  “So, Trazen?” Agnon gloated. “Will you lower yourself to take my little bauble? Despite her lack of ex-skag toughness?”

  The quiet Nirreth continued to study Chloe a few seconds longer.

  “Yes,” he said abruptly. His voice came out blunt, deep. Flicking his tail again, he looked at Agnon. “I will take her. I have an…opening. I don’t suppose she can fight?”

  Agnon stared at him, his dark eyes widening enough to show a faint rim of white. Then he burst out with a laugh.

  “This one?” he said. “Fight? You must be joking!”

  Trazen let out a purring sigh, folding his muscular arms. His voice turned gruff.

  “Well, that is all right,” he said. “I will still take her. She clearly has other... uses.”

  Agnon blinked, the smile sliding from his dark, drink-smoothed face. Understanding ignited, seemingly for the first time in the exchange. He stared at the muscular Nirreth, then at Chloe, then back again.

  His next words came out with an edge.

  “I think you misunderstood my offer, Ringmaster. She is not for sale. I offered you a borrow only... and in my presence only.”

  Chloe barely heard the last part. She’d stiffened at Agnon’s first words, staring anew at the muscular Nirreth with the gold-flecked eyes.

  Ringmaster? Ringmaster Trazen?

  This was that Trazen?

  Nerves flooded her all over again, turning her brief interest in him to something closer to panic. Gods above. Could this really be the Ringmaster? He was too young, surely. And he was handsome, this Nirreth. He didn’t look anything like the image she remembered from vids.

  Yet she knew she hadn’t heard Agnon wrong.

  She’d also seen close up images of Trazen before, in publicity photos for the Rings. Looking at him now she could see the resemblance. In those images, they made him out to be a savage, a near-animal encased from head to toe in a form-fitting, midnight black sense-suit. He’d also been bloodied up and bruised and even more muscular back then.

  But she remembered those gold-flecked eyes.

  Now that she looked for it, she remembered the long line of his jaw and high cheekbones, too. She’d just never seen him wearing civilian clothes. She’d never seen him without that murderous look in his eyes, the bared teeth, the bruised skin.

  If this was that Trazen, he had an even worse reputation than Agnon.

  Her initial shock turned even more intensely to fear. She forced her eyes to remain on the two Nirreth, fearing she might be tempted to look for Kiji if she didn’t.

  Trazen wasn’t looking at her now, though. He stared at Agnon instead, his gold-flecked eyes holding an overt threat.

  “I wasn’t asking, friend. I will buy her from you... you will tell me the price.”

  “There is no price!” Agnon hissed, his tail lashing angrily. “She is not for sale!”

  “Did you not bring me down here to see her?”

  “For an evening’s amusement, nothing more!” Agnon growled. “You may have her for that... but do not be greedy, friend. She does not leave this house!”

  Trazen’s eyes turned to blackened steel.

  That time, something in his expression caused the other Nirreth to take a step back. His tail grew less violent in the same set of seconds, even as he partly lowered his head. Everything about his posture transformed into one of visible submission.

  Chloe watched and felt her stomach drop.

  Seeing Agnon that way brought a different kind of shock, one that had her torn between an even greater fear of Trazen and a part of her wanting to like the Ringmaster again. She’d never seen Agnon submit to anyone before. She’d seen him kiss ass to higher-ups, sure... but always from a place of boastful arrogance.

  Realizing which direction this stand-off just swung, Chloe bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, remembering Kiji. Still, she remained silent, watching the contest unfold between Agnon and this strange Nirreth who looked like a boxer and who had likely killed hundreds in the Nirreth Rings.

  “I think you brought me down here to gift this human to me,” Trazen said next. His dark eyes didn’t waver as he gazed down at Agnon’s. “I think you did it to show your support for the Rings... for all the beloved institutions of the Royals, put in place to engender loyalty to the race. Am I mistaken in this, friend Agnon?”

  Agnon hesitated. He looked at Chloe, then back at Trazen.

  Chloe knew what his answer would be. She knew it before he spoke.

  “No,” Agnon said, a colder defeat in his voice. He let out a low hiss, but his held more frustration and displeasure than aggression. He stepped back, lowering his head still more. Even his signal of displeasure had submission woven into it. “No, you are not mistaken, Ringmaster Trazen. Please have her, with my compliments.”

  “Thank you,” Trazen said. “I accept. In return for your kind gift, I myself will gift a generous sum to the Royals on your behalf. This will raise your esteem in their eyes... which could use s
ome raising, frankly.”

  Agnon said nothing, but Chloe saw fury bloom in his dark eyes. He kept his head lowered though, and now he wouldn’t look at her at all.

  Watching him, she found herself thinking that, for Trazen’s sake, he had better be as untouchable as his words implied. When she glanced over at him, Trazen was looking at her, his expression even more unreadable than before.

  “Come,” he said, holding out an arm. “I must take my leave. My work requires it.”

  Chloe only stood there for a moment, paralyzed.

  Agnon broke the silence that time.

  “Go, mammal,” he hissed. “You are his... for now.”

  That time, the submission was entirely absent from his words.

  Trazen gave him a look, but Agnon only lowered his head. Chloe saw the posturing behind it that time, even before Agnon spoke, his words coming out sickly sweet.

  “...I meant only that Ringmaster Trazen’s tastes are said to be as changeable as they are discerning,” he said, that colder anger disguised in overdone politeness. “I would not be too possessive with his affections as a result, my no-longer companion...”

  Trazen grunted, but didn’t answer apart from a harder flick of his tail.

  Chloe didn’t try to pick apart his words, although she fully understood their meaning. Agnon thought Trazen would kill her. Even knowing he might be right–-that if the rumors were true, he probably was right––she couldn’t do anything. Nor could she entirely shake the feeling of relief that came over her, simply to be leaving Agnon’s pens.

  She closed the gap to Trazen, taking his arm obediently.

  She found herself gripping the soft Nirreth skin and hard rope of muscle there, conscious of how large his bicep was, especially compared to Agnon’s. Of course, him being strong would be significantly less of a turn on if he ended up being like Agnon in other respects.

  Only then did she let her thoughts return to her sister.