It was gruesome to see this guy being whipped around like a toy, but I didn’t want to miss anything, so I sort of squinted. I know, what a wuss, but my words can’t describe how horrible it was. After a few seconds the zhou spit the warrior out, sending him crashing down to the dusty ground. His armor was torn and there was blood everywhere, but he was alive. Loor and her team grabbed the rope and worked together to pull the zhou away from the fallen warrior. The zhou fought back, but Loor and the others managed to drag it far enough away from the injured warrior so that his teammates could run in to rescue him. I thought that was a pretty good show of sportsmanship. They had saved their opponent’s life.
As it turned out, the injured guy’s teammates weren’t as caring. Nobody went to his rescue. They let him lie there, dying. I didn’t know which was worse, seeing this guy nearly bitten in half, or knowing that his friends didn’t care about saving his life. That told me a lot about the Ghee warriors who favored war against the Rokador. They were cold-blooded…just the kind of guys Saint Dane loves to hang with. Note to self: Keep an eye on the rebel Ghee warriors.
Things got worse. The zhou suddenly sprang into the air so quickly that the crowd gasped. I did too. This beast got some serious vertical. It moved so quickly that it took Loor’s team by surprise. It yanked the rope away from Loor and one other warrior. The third warrior wasn’t so lucky. He got his arm wrapped up in the rope. The zhou whipped its head back, pulling the helpless warrior off his feet. The zhou’s next move was to pounce on the fallen Ghee. The poor guy tried to roll away, but he was so tangled in his own rope he couldn’t move fast enough. Unlike Loor’s team, the rival warriors weren’t about to try and save him either. No big surprise.
But Loor tried. Without hesitation she leaped at the zhou, shield first. With one arm she slammed her shield into one head, while slashing at the other with her sword. Both heads reared back in surprise and pain, which gave Loor the time she needed. With one continuous move she spun back, slashing her sword again, severing the rope that tied her fallen friend to the zhou. Their other teammate was able to pull the guy to his feet and get him away before the zhou could come after them again.
Round one went to the zhou beast. Round two went to Loor. But the beast didn’t look any worse for the wear, and both Ghee teams were hurting. I wondered what would happen if there was no way they could slay this thing. How would this end? Was this going to be a fight to the death for both sides?
The next move was the beast’s. Loor had hurt him. She had drawn blood. He was ticked. He wanted revenge. He went after Loor.
Before she realized that she was being attacked, the beast lashed out at her arm, slashing her shoulder. Loor dove away, and dropped her sword. This was bad. All she had left to protect herself was the lame little shield. The beast kept after her. Loor needed help.
“The rope,” she ordered her teammates as she rolled away from the two-headed cat. Her team went after the rope as she jumped up and bolted in the other direction. The zhou wasn’t fooled. He was right after her. Loor sprinted toward the fallen warrior from the other team. What was she doing? The big zhou leaped into the air. Loor dove to the ground, tucked, rolled, and grabbed the sword from the injured warrior’s hand. Yes! She was armed again! The zhou landed, ready to attack. Loor quickly slashed at its front paws. The beast screamed in pain and fell hard, headfirst. Or, headsfirst. Face-plant into the dirt. Or faces-plant.
Loor rolled away, having dodged death once again. But the zhou wasn’t finished. Not by far. Loor jumped to her feet, and was headed back to her teammates when one of the rival warriors tackled her. I couldn’t believe it! She never saw him coming. The crowd booed, but it didn’t stop the warrior. He yanked the sword away from her. I guess he felt it belonged to his team, but c’mon! Before Loor had a chance to react, the rival warrior was scampering back to join his own teammate. I was beginning to hate these guys. Loor was once again without a weapon.
The zhou was getting back to his feet. Loor’s teammates were on the other side of the square, holding the rope, ready to help. She wasn’t even close to them. She was on her own. The zhou got its wits back, scanned the square with both heads, and spotted Loor. She was out in the open, totally defenseless. The zhou squatted down like a cat ready to pounce. I thought there was nowhere for Loor to go. But I was wrong. Before the beast leaped, Loor sprinted for the center of the square and the statue in the dry fountain.
“Run!” I shouted, like she needed to be reminded.
She made it to the statue of the Ghee warrior battling the zhou and climbed. The crowd was going nuts. Loor had become the favorite. I had no idea what she was going to do up there, except maybe buy a little time. I sure hoped the zhou couldn’t climb. If it could, Loor would be trapped, and finished. Her teammates didn’t know what to do, and the rival team certainly wasn’t going to bail her out. She was climbing up onto a dead end. Dead being the operative word.
She had gotten partway up the statue when I saw someone sprinting across the square. At first I thought it was one of the other warriors, but a quick look showed me that someone else had entered the contest. It was Saangi, Loor’s squire. What was she doing? She definitely had a plan, because her head was down and her legs were pumping. She didn’t have a weapon, and even if she did, I didn’t think she stood a chance against the zhou. One thing was sure. This young girl had guts.
On the other side of the statue, the zhou was crouched and stalking. Either it didn’t feel like there was any need to rush, or its paws were too slashed up to run. Whatever. It was closing in on Loor. Whatever Saangi had planned, she had to do it fast. She ran to the spot where Loor had dropped her sword, and scooped it up. Without hesitating, she turned and sprinted for the statue.
“Loor!” she shouted, and threw the sword.
Loor looked in time to see her sword sailing toward her. For a brief second my heart stopped, thinking Loor was about to be impaled by her own sword. I should have known better.
Loor plucked the sword out of the air like a pro because, well, she was a pro. I guess Saangi wasn’t so bad either. But this impressive move alone wasn’t going to win the battle.
The zhou had decided to throw away caution. It began to charge. The final attack was on. Loor was about to reach the highest point of the statue, which was on top of the stone heads. There was some kind of symbolism here that I didn’t bother to analyze. It was pretty clear to me that this statue wasn’t tall enough. If the zhou could still jump half as high as I’d seen before, he would nail Loor, sword or not.
But Loor’s teammates didn’t let her down. Before the big cat made its final leap, they tossed the rope at it, lassoing its leg. The beast’s eyes were intent on Loor and didn’t see it coming. The two warriors yanked hard, keeping the zhou from leaping. The surprised beast looked down at the rope…
And Loor made her move.
She leaped off the statue and onto the back of the zhou. But unlike the rival warrior who had tried this before, Loor’s weapon was ready. I think the sword hit its mark before Loor’s feet hit its back. The power of her fall drove the sword deep into the back of the zhou, all the way to the handle. It was horrible and strange to see both heads react with surprise and agony. Its body arched up so quickly, it threw Loor off. She landed hard, rolled, then popped up, ready to finish the job.
She was too late. No sooner had she been thrown, than the two rival warriors leaped onto the back of the wounded zhou. Using their swords, they slashed at its dying heads. This time I had to look away. No way I wanted to see this. Luckily the crowd was in an uproar, so I didn’t have to hear it either. Half the crowd was cheering because the battle was won, the other half was booing because the true winner, Loor, was not going to come away with the prize. This was all about who got the heads. Loor and her team may have stopped the zhou, but they did not get the heads. A technicality, but those were the rules. I didn’t think it was fair, but I was more relieved that Loor had survived.