Miles looked up and let out a soft whine.
I know. I miss X, too.
“Magnolia,” el Pulpo said almost politely. Then he gestured toward the massive warrior looming behind him. “Meet Rhino,” he said.
The man held out his hand to Magnolia. “Lieutenant Rhino,” he said in a gruff voice.
She twisted to give the hulking bodyguard and, apparently, officer, a once-over. He was by far the most muscular person she had ever seen. He had short-cropped dark hair and wore shiny silver octopus cuffs above his biceps, and hoops hung from his pierced ears and between his nostrils. His long goatee ended in a silver bead.
“Not very polite, are you?” Rhino said.
“Not to cannibals—even the ones that speak English.”
He dropped his hand back to the pommel of the sword at his hip, and stiffened as el Pulpo took a seat.
The king held up his hands to silence his subjects. When the side conversations had died down, he raised his goblet. Imulah translated for Magnolia as el Pulpo spoke.
“Tonight, we make a very special offering to the Octopus Lord of the depths. Tonight, we will send the body of one of the fiercest warriors in the history of our people.”
At first, Magnolia feared they were talking about dumping X into the ocean, but then she saw two soldiers dragging Hammerhead’s corpse into the room.
They hauled the body to an open area left of the tables, right in front of a hatch, which Imulah opened to a balcony overlooking the ocean.
Moonlight streamed into the room, casting a white glow over Hammerhead’s pale skin. Strips of flesh had been taken from his thigh and arms, leaving glistening wounds.
Magnolia dropped the piece of bacon in her hand and gagged. She had seen the hog pens, but was she even eating pork?
Imulah returned to Magnolia’s side and translated as el Pulpo spoke.
“Before we feast and prepare our offering, I want you all to meet the man known for killing Hammerhead. His sky people call him ‘the Immortal,’ and now I understand why.”
Two more soldiers walked X into the room, holding swords to his back. His hands were cuffed and his feet shackled. He wore long pants and a ragged shirt that showed off the cuts and bruises from the fight.
X shuffled inside, stopping near the corpse of the gladiator he had killed with Rodger’s help. All voices in the room fell silent as all eyes focused on the legendary Hell Diver.
“Fuck y’all lookin’ at?” he growled. Seeing Magnolia and Miles, he softened and smiled, revealing the gap from the tooth he lost in the arena. The smile, while warm, was also sad, and Magnolia nearly broke down at the sight of her friend in chains.
El Pulpo turned to Rhino and gave him instructions in Spanish.
“Sí, su Majestad.” The lieutenant walked over to the corpse and pulled a long knife from his belt. Bending down, he cut a strip of meat away from the body. Then he stood and faced X.
“El Pulpo said you have once again proved your worth as a Cazador warrior, but the final test before your first mission is to become one of us.” He held out the flesh.
X reared back. “Oh, hell no,” he said.
“To become one of us, you must eat the flesh of a fallen Cazador.” Rhino continued holding the flesh out and looked over to el Pulpo.
The king said something to the two soldiers who had brought X into the room. They grabbed him under the arms, and one of them kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him down.
“No!” X shouted. “I won’t!”
Miles growled, but el Pulpo snapped his fingers, and the dog cowered and looked away.
“Don’t you touch him, you sack of shit!” X shouted.
Rhino grabbed his jaw and got a round peg of wood between his teeth. X snorted and fought, but it was just a matter of time before the huge warrior would stuff the meat down his gullet.
“Leave him alone!” Magnolia shouted, jumping up from her chair.
El Pulpo also stood, towering over her.
“Sit,” he said.
She watched in horror as Rhino finally forced X’s jaw open, but he continued to struggle, squirming and fighting in the grip of the two soldiers. One of them punched him in the kidney. He arched his back and grimaced.
“Stop!” Magnolia shouted.
El Pulpo grabbed her by the wrist, just as she had grabbed Sofia earlier in the day, only his grip was much stronger. He could break her arm if he wanted.
“Vas a aprender,” he said. “You… learn.”
He shoved her back into the chair and then set off across the room. The men in suits and the women stayed put, but the armored soldiers got up from their seats and followed el Pulpo to the area in front of the open hatch. One by one, they bent down with their knives and each took a piece of flesh.
Imulah whispered to Magnolia, “I told you to do as you’re told. Next time, he won’t be so forgiving.”
She shivered in rage and horror.
“They believe the flesh of a fallen warrior gives them strength,” Imulah said, “and that if they eat it, they absorb some of his skills and courage. I need not partake in this tradition, because I’m not a warrior, but if you are asked, I would advise you follow the order. It’s a huge sign of disrespect to do what X is doing.”
When the men had finished eating the dead hero’s flesh, el Pulpo grabbed the cadaver and, with Rhino’s help, hoisted it out onto the balcony. Another servant wrapped a long rope around his ankles and tied the other end to the railing. Once it was secure, they heaved the body over the edge, and it splashed into the water below.
When they came back inside, X was still squirming in the grip of the other warriors.
“You will eat eventually, Immortal,” Rhino said. “Or perhaps, someday soon we will feast on your flesh. First, though, we have a mission for you.”
“No,” Magnolia cried as he was taken out of the room. Miles got up and barked, and this time a soldier kicked him.
Magnolia bolted from her chair and kicked the soldier, knocking him to the ground. Then she grabbed a knife off the table.
“You touch him again, and I’ll cut your tiny nuts off and feed them to your Octopus Lords from the depths,” she snapped.
Miles growled as a shadow flickered on the bulkheads. When she turned, she saw el Pulpo looming behind her. He backhanded her in the face, knocking her onto the table.
“Don’t touch them!” X yelled from the open doorway. “I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll kill you all!”
The soldiers punched and kicked him into submission, but he continued to yell as they dragged him away.
“I’m going to kill you, el Pulpo! Bet on it!”
X expected to be led back to his quarters and given another beating, but instead, Rhino and the other two Cazador soldiers took him down an outer stairway toward the docks.
“You aren’t very smart, are you?” Rhino asked.
X used his shoulder to wipe the blood from his cracked lip. His entire body hurt from the kicks and punches. Several of the soldiers had gotten in some licks back in the banquet hall, but he would return them in kind soon.
The bastards were all going to die.
He just had to hope his friends would survive long enough to give him a chance to free them. Knowing Magnolia and her attitude, it was only a matter of time before el Pulpo lost his temper with her again, and next time, he might do more than smack her.
Halfway down the forty-floor tower, they stopped, and Rhino went inside an exterior hatch, leaving X with the guards.
If his wrists and ankles weren’t shackled, he would have killed them both and jumped into the water below. But this wasn’t his chance, and Rhino returned a moment later with another man.
Rodger stepped into the moonlight and staggered over, shirtless and shoeless. “Damn, X, your lip is all—”