I got on Reina that day and took off. The little idol had given me her tour sheet, so I knew to head east from Felingan, toward Effrom. I would likely catch her just after her show the next day, assuming everything went to plan.

Or I’ll catch her on the side of the road with a broken down limo… again. I thought as I saw a vehicle in the dusk-lit horizon spewing smoke. I pulled off behind the vehicle and slowly stepped around to the front.

“Son of a… gotta get this fixed before that flashy S.O.B. shows up again. It’d be just my luck for that to happen. Him and his freezing the engine again. I just know it.” Ed muttered to himself as he mucked about under the hood.

I snapped my fingers and applied a wave of frosty air to the engine, but most of it was aimed at his face. I heard a yip and then a thud as his head hit the underside of the hood.

“You really ought to get that engine looked at.” I said coolly, resisting the urge to giggle.

Ed ripped himself out from under the hood and slammed it shut. A vein in his neck was throbbing, and I could see every ounce of self restraint keeping him from attacking me. I don’t know why, but something about this guy made me really want to piss him off. He just had one of those faces.

“Now, now, I’m only trying to help. That should get you to the outskirts of Effrom at the least. I’ll follow along behind you just in case something else happens. We’re going the same direction, so why not?” I said, feigning innocence.

I heard the window roll down behind me before I heard the girl’s voice.

“You really keep digging us out of these situations, don’t you? Where’s that girl you were escorting? I’d love to say hi again.” Trish said from the passenger’s seat.

I turned around and leaned on the car’s front, “Ashley’s in the air right now, on her way to freedom. Leaves me a little antsy, you know. I’ve got to find a new job to keep things from getting boring. Figured Effrom would be somewhere I could do some digging and find an open ticket.”

Trish giggled, “You know, I’ve heard there’s a performer coming to Effrom who is looking to expand their security detail. Seems like their manager is willing to pay good money to whoever can pass his test. He’ll be meeting the performer in Effrom tomorrow morning.”

I pretended to act shocked and awed. “No way, that sounds like a gig I could get behind for a bit. You wouldn’t happen to have an in with this… manager person, would you? I’d be very interested in speaking with him.”

Ed snorted derisively. “You’re a terrible actor, probably not even a decent fighter. We don’t need him, princess. He’s one of those money-hungry mercenaries who masquerade as heroes.”

I looked at Ed for a moment, blinked, and sent a pile of snow slamming into his side. It melted quickly, and he was left soaked to the bone while flat on his arse. He got up in a rage, his body becoming unstable, his shifted form starting to slide from his assumed form.

“Wolfy, I would recommend you not do that. I know it’ll double your destructive power, but you’ll be useless after at this point, and you still have to get ‘the princess’ to Effrom. We can duke it out in their underground arena all you’d like, but not a second before.” I said, putting an edge of force into my words.

This seemed to both piss off and stop him in his tracks. He couldn’t seem to figure out if he was more interested in attacking me or doing his job, so I turned and walked back to Reina and started her up again. This seemed to make his sense of duty kick in, and he calmed down. After snapping back to a coherent state, Ed sat himself down in the car and brought the engine to life again.

The rest of the trip passed uneventfully, almost boringly so.

We arrived at the hotel in Effrom that had been booked for the little idol, and after some adjusted reservations, we were set to relax before her next big show. Or we would be, had I not been very picky about sweeping rooms and checking for any and all security issues that might have popped up. Ed felt it was meaningless, Trish felt it was overprotective, the four spying devices I found in her room told them both that I was right. I moved them all to Ed’s room while he wasn’t looking; claiming I’d destroyed them, you know, for the laughs.

Trish had a few meetings with some show producers, and those had security beyond what Ed and I would ever need to equal, so we had a few hours to kill. You can bet that Ed wanted to take advantage of that and settle things with me in the arena like I had suggested, and I’m nothing if not generous. A fight with a shifter sounded like a fun way to kill a few minutes, and I could make a decent amount on the side if I was smart.

I guided Ed to the entrance to the Underground, the section of the city where you could get anything and do everything in one sweep. The Underground Arena was a caged ring where crowds could bet on fights, be they scheduled or improvised, and where a fighter could take on opponents until they collapsed from exhaustion or knock out. In other words, the best way to work out pent up aggression between colleagues. 

I had a reputation in Effrom… as the arena champion. But I also had an associate who could enter me into fights as another contender, and as he was a bookie I could place bets on myself for a cut of the profit. Never pass up a chance to make some bling.

I found Wilson, my bookie, and got him to schedule a match for me. He also informed me that there were three other fighters who were looking to take on the champ today. So I let him schedule those three in succession after my fight with Ed. His concern was evident, but he also knew I wasn’t going to just roll over and let some upstarts take over because I was tired. He had to hurry along the two fights before ours, some hunters playing footsy with an abysspyre and a metga in human guise… almost worth a watch, but not really.

After a dismal ten minutes, both fights were finished and cleaned up, so it was time for the main event.

Ed was already pacing in the sand that littered the arena when I was announced, so I took my time swaggering into the arena’s pit. I had a mask over my face, one I had let Ed pick from the collection on hand, but otherwise I was pretty bare. Naked chest, slack pants, silver and blue mask with no defining features save the eyes, and bare feet; that’s how I chose to present myself before the roaring crowd. Ed was dressed similarly, except his mask was gold and brown.

“All right ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special fight this evening!” The announcer started and then gestured to Ed. “In this corner, we have the newcomer, Hellhound! A shifter by birth, a protector by daylight, and aiming to give us a show today!”

He took a breath and shifted his posture to gesture to me, “And his opponent; hailing from the frozen wastes and packing ice in every punch, Jack Frost! We’ll see if that chill in the air is just winter striking early, wont we, folks?”

He shifted again, signalling us to come closer. And once we were in close, he explained the rules.

“All right gents, today’s fight is simple. You can use one variety of magic, be it shifting or actual spell casting. You’re fighting until either one of you is knocked out or one surrenders. Should one of you yield, any combat past that is considered a violation of the rules. Violations of the arena’s rules can lead to incarceration or death. Do not make me bring the wrath of the arena on you.” He said concisely and stepped back.

“I really hope you like tasting sand, ‘Jack Frost,’ because you’re going to be eating the floor so hard.” Ed jeered.

I sighed, “You’ve got a long way to before you can beat me, ‘Hellhound.’ I reign supreme in this castle.”

“Ready? FIGHT!”