We were locked in close combat — Saddler and I.
No magic — just fists and feet.
A deadly duel, sentenced by Sid, yet nothing more than a passing amusement for him.
SMACK!
We struck each other in the face and leapt back.
I was panting hard. So was Saddler. How long had we been fighting?
Sid, seated on his throne, watched us from above, yawning in boredom.
"I can guess what you're thinking," he said in that harsh, gravelly voice. "You're stalling. Hoping your little friends will come and save you if you just waste enough time? Hah. That's not happening.
You'll fight here until I'm bored enough to kill you both.
Or are you really that stupid — swearing to kill each other one moment, then flinching like cowards the next?"
Truth is, I never thought I'd see the day I'd kill a man with my own hands.
"This fight will be buried in time. No one will ever know what happened within these walls.So if you want to live—fight to the death!"
…
