Checkmate by Katherine Kingston Page B

of the blade took out a few but not as many as
they’d hoped. It did drive back the ones not disabled or killed. For a while,
anyway.
    It wasn’t the hardest of the challenges they faced, since
the creatures weren’t particularly smart. They just kept charging with no
change in tactics and no coordinated strategy. The animals’ only advantage was
their numbers. Though Raje and Devonne swept with the pikes and poked and
stabbed occasionally at some that got too close, it seemed like the more they
disposed of, the more gathered at the back of the pack to take the place of the
fallen.
    Devonne hacked and slashed until her shoulders and arms
ached. For a while she really did think it hopeless. A few managed to reach her
long enough to sink sharp little teeth into the bare skin of her shins above
the ankle boots, leaving a nasty sting. Mindlessly, she kept skimming the
treckles with the pike, taking out one batch after another and impaling
stragglers that got too close.
    By the time she could barely move her arms from exhaustion,
she looked up and realized there weren’t more than a couple of dozen left. It
gave her a small burst of energy and she swung at them with renewed vigor until
no more charged forward. Dismembered carcasses littered the field. Many of them
still rocked and struggled, banging against each other in a weird cacophony of
clicks.
    Around them, the Sangari cheered their victory. By then the
last surge of adrenaline had worn off. Devonne couldn’t summon any emotion
beyond a nauseated horror and disgust.
    The Sangari did bring a medical person to clean up their
wounds before they took her back to her quarters. She spent a couple of hours
soaking in the tub that evening before she felt clean enough to finally fall
asleep.
    The next day’s “match” was the most shocking and trying one
yet.
    The lawyers were both plainly unhappy and embarrassed as
they told her about it. They blushed and stammered while explaining what was
expected. When she finally understood, the anger that had been building up
through the four days of trials so far exploded.

Chapter Seven
     
    “You can’t be serious,” Devonne shouted. “ They can’t
be serious. Another couple? We’re supposed to have sex with another couple?”
    Whetlock blushed an even deeper red. “I know it’s…awkward,”
he admitted. “But that is the requirement for this match. Specifically, each of
the four of you must be brought to an orgasm through the combined efforts of
the other three persons. However—and I think you’ll appreciate this—penetration
is not required.”
    “This is ridiculous!” She paced around the dressing room
area. “Bad enough that Raje and I had to entertain them that way. At least we
lo—had a prior relationship. To do this with strangers? Including another
woman? I can’t do it. I won’t!”
    “Devonne, we don’t have much time. Are you sure you won’t do
it? If so, I have to tell people. And we’ll both have to go back and see what
alternatives we can negotiate with the Tribunal.” Whetlock looked at the other
attorney. “Maybe they’d let the prince continue on his own?”
    “I doubt it, but I’ll see what I can do.” Both men rose and
went toward the door.
    “Wait.” Devonne forced herself to calm down. “I’ll do it.
Hell, we’re nearly halfway through this. Why blow it now? I was just letting
off steam.”
    Both men turned around, relief spreading across their
features.
    “I wonder what they’ll be asking for next, though?” she
speculated, then forced herself to put it aside. “Do they have anything exotic
for me to wear today?”
    “It’s actually not terribly exotic.” Whetlock handed her a
pile of fabric, all bleached brilliantly white. She shook out a plain, short
tunic top and knee-length, loose skirt. “This isn’t so bad,” she admitted.
    As she walked onto the field, ahead of the ever-present
Sangari guard, she at first had eyes only for Raje, approaching from the
opposite