Magi's Path (Aether's Revival Book 3) Daniel Schinhofen (books to read in a lifetime .txt) 📖

Carlisle’s lips pursed. “Warlin? Yes, I’ve heard of you.”

“And my daughter, Yukiko, is part of the group that you just bet against.”

“Ah, that explains your foolish bet,” Carlisle laughed.

“The fight is about to begin,” the woman next to Carlisle said primly.

That brought everyone’s attention back to the arena. The novices were bowing, and a murmur of excitement filled the air as the spectators waited to see the first fight of the tournament.

Gregory realized that he’d missed the normal announcement of the tournament, having been caught up in the drama with Carlisle. He exhaled and focused on Daciana. Come on, Daciana... show them all that you’re better than them.

The magus backed away after the novices bowed to each other, his hand going up. The few seconds it took the adjudicator to back up felt like an age to Gregory. When he finally stopped moving, his hand came down sharply and Daciana charged the other novice.

The bigger novice started to backpedal immediately, clearly afraid of Daciana, shocking the crowd that had been expecting the bigger novice to be the one charging. Daciana caught him quickly, and the man lashed out with a punch, but Daciana dodged. She grabbed the offered arm, latching onto it.

She pivoted into him, sweeping her leg behind him and catching his knee. When his balance broke, she jerked back the other way, tossing him over her hip. She never let go of him— instead, she twisted his arm and locked her legs around it. Daciana fell to the ground, pulling at the locked joint.

The man slapped the ground repeatedly and the adjudicator stepped forward, clearly speaking. Daciana let go of his arm and rolled to her feet, wearing a large grin on her face as she looked at the silent crowd.

Gufta was the first one to make significant noise, jumping to his feet and shouting, “That’s my girl!”

“Winner, Novice Lyall!” the adjudicator announced.

Cheers went up for Daciana while others laughed at Gufta’s proud father moment. Carlisle was glaring down at Daciana in disgust, and Hao turned to face the portly man.

“Yes, yes, I’ll pay you,” Carlisle said before Hao could speak.

“Actually,” Hao smiled, “I was going to give you a chance to win that back.”

Carlisle hesitated. “Go on...”

“She has two more fights, both in this arena, I believe. I’d be willing to go triple or nothing on each of the next fights.”

“Without knowing who her opponents will be?” Carlisle asked incredulously.

“Yes. If she loses either, you owe me nothing, but if she wins, it is triple the profit for each.”

Carlisle thought about it, then glanced back toward the arena where Daciana was grinning their way, and his nostrils flared. He had no idea that Daciana was grinning at her friends— all he saw was a cocky eurtik-blooded novice acting like she was the best.

“Done!” Carlisle hissed.

“Armsmaster?” Hao asked.

“I heard the bet,” Gin said simply.

“Excellent,” Hao smiled as he turned back to the front. “Today is turning out to be a wonderful day.”

“Do you know him?” Gregory asked softly.

“Him personally? No. His business? Yes. He can easily afford the loss. I’d try to get him to bet against Nessa, as well, but I’m not sure he’ll bite.”

“He might after her first fight,” Yukiko said.

Daciana came into the stands and gave them a grin before turning to her friends and exchanging congratulations. As she went to sit, Nessa stood up, giving her mother a smile before heading down.

“Figures they’d know each other,” Carlisle snorted. “Animals know they have to band together to survive.”

“You know, Carlisle,” Hao said with false cheer, “it dawns on me that my bet against you might net me nothing at all today.”

“It will net you nothing,” Carlisle laughed. “I don’t believe for an instant that the pup will win twice more.”

“That’s why a man of the world knows when to back the right horse,” Hao said, hiding how much he hated playing into the other man’s prejudice.

Carlisle laughed, “I see. You believe her equine friend can do the same?”

“If they don’t fight each other, I’d be willing to bet she can,” Hao said, hedging against the one thing that would kill both bets easily.

“A sweep?” Carlisle asked as he watched two novices enter the arena.

“Yes.”

“Odds?”

“Same as before?” Hao offered.

“Done and done,” Carlisle laughed. “Did you see that, dear?” he asked, turning to the woman beside him. She was easily twenty years his junior. “Easy money. This is why I love the tournaments.”

“Yes, I remember,” the woman said. “I just like to watch them beat each other. The last one wasn’t nearly bloody enough.” The sadistic smile on her face spoke volumes about her.

“You heard that one, as well?” Hao asked Gin.

“Indeed. You now have three active bets against each other.”

When the next fight started, Yukiko asked her father what he intended to do with the money when he won.

“Half will go to them. They’ll have earned it,” Hao told her. “Or did you have something else in mind?”

“If you took the winnings, which, at this point, will be substantial, and went to Hemet’s, you could get them items that would be better than what they have... but it’d be better if you gave the things to their parents to give to them. It separates the gifts a little more.”

“More layers of deniability are good. I’m glad you remember,” Hao smiled fondly. “We can do that tonight. I’ll have their carriage go straight back, and we can make a detour to Hemet’s. It’ll mean skipping the auction house tonight, but that’s a small price considering the good stuff doesn’t really show up until the last few nights.”

“Thank you, Father,” Yukiko said.

~*~*~

Nessa’s fight was after the second match, and she walked onto the arena floor without