The Hunter on Arena by Rose Estes Page B

the heat from the crimson suns beat down on his head and shoulders. The unfamiliar weight of the metal helm covering his head distracted him,
     as did the strip of metal that extended across the bridge of his brows and down the length of his nose, but he did his best
     to ignore it, grateful for what little protection it offered. Never taking his eyes from his opponent, he circled warily,
     feeling the red stone and sand crunch beneath his sturdy, leather sandals, shaking the salty, stinging sweat from his eyes.
     The metal-sheathed butt of the spear struck out suddenly and whistled past his head, missing him by a narrow margin. Marin
     chuckled mirthlessly, the suns glinting off his pointy, black teeth in a rainbow of light.
    Braldt was accustomed to being the best in everything, especially in combat. Seldom if ever had any of his comrades been his
     equal in strength or skill. Others had surpassed him when he was younger, but as he grew to adulthood, none could match his
     abilities. He had always been the best.
    Here, everything was different. In the days that had passed since their capture he had seen many who were as good as he, and
     not a few who were better. And thosewere merely the human types. Of those who were of unfamiliar races, there was no counting the variety of peculiar and very
     deadly skills they employed. There was a large, amorphous thing whose shape changed from moment to moment, flowing effortlessly
     from place to place as easily as the wind blows, who had no real skills as such, but possessed the ability to expel a cloud
     of noxious gas that killed anything unfortunate enough to pass within its range. Other creatures had multiple limbs capable
     of wielding a multitude of weapons.
    The routine was always the same. They were led out of their dark, odiferous cell early each morning, long before the dual
     orbs crested the edge of the dark horizon, and led shivering to a cavernous hall where they filed past ranks of steaming kettles.
     These enormous cauldrons were overseen by a bent, reptilian crone most certainly blood-related to the water carrier of the
     dungeons. Here they received a thick, gluey dollop of cereal and a mug of hot brew, unidentifiable in content but welcome
     for the jolt of stimulus it imparted. The steaming cereal did more than fill the emptiness in their bellies, for it sustained
     them throughout the long and arduous morning that followed.
    After the brief meal, they were given their weapons under the watchful eyes of the guards and led into the arena where they
     sparred and honed their skills against one another until the suns hung directly overhead and even their keepers showed the
     effects of the heat.
    Marching back into the welcome shadows of the arches at the edge of the arena whose darkness imparted little or no relief
     from the rising temperatures, theycollapsed on the hot sand and rested until the suns made their slow descent from the burnished sky. The reptilian water carrier,
     still muttering to itself, trundled up and down the line of sprawled, exhausted bodies, doling out lukewarm tots of moisture
     that did little to replace the fluid they had expended.
    A second lizard followed in its wake, silent and uncommunicative, passing out fist-sized lumps that contained grains, nuts,
     shreds of meat, and strange, red pebbles of tart sweetness, perhaps a fruit, all bound together by a suety, clotted, white
     fat that left a disagreeable coating on the tongue and roof of one’s mouth. But Braldt ate it and urged his companions to
     do the same, for he recognized that disgusting as it was, the lumps had been formulated to provide them with everything their
     bodies needed to remain in good condition.
    It was becoming increasingly obvious to all of them that despite their circumstances, their captors had no particular wish
     to harm them or see them dead. At least not immediately. They were treated as though they were valuable herd animals, their
     physical needs