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His head turned suddenly back to the arena, and I knew he’d been given some signal that I couldn’t detect. He straightened, stepping close to the balcony rail and pulling me with him with an arm around my waist.

He turned his mic back on and without further ado said, “Contenders, you may commence.”

I’d forgotten Cam was there until he spoke from my right, “One of them should have gone feline for maneuvering. What arrogance.” He sounded disgusted but also very worried. I looked over and was surprised to find Sloan clutching his hand and rubbing his back. Curiouser and curiouser.

The two lieutenants in the arena were about twenty feet apart. Both had shifted into bears, so there would be no weapons aside from what grew out of their flesh with magic. At his word, one of them roared loud enough to shake the stands and rushed at the other. The other, clearly a beat behind, started moving a few seconds too late, and it cost him. The other was on him with momentum before he’d effectively picked up enough speed to counter.

“Which one is which?” I asked Dom quietly as they tore into each other.

“Collin is the one that’s winning,” Dom said with no expression.

The fight was gory, claws ripping into flesh, blood and fur flying, their movements almost too fast to follow once they got within grappling range.

“Are you sure Patrick is the stronger fighter?”

“At this moment, no, though I would have had a different answer an hour ago.”

The noises they were making were horrible, like two wild animals being tortured and screaming in rage.

“It’s more straightforward than I would have guessed,” I noted. The fighters didn’t seem to be using any actual technique other than to try to rip the other one open.

“It’s unusual, what they’re doing,” Sloan said. “It should be more of a dance, as much skill as strength. It’s like they both went berserker right away.”

One of the bears looked bigger than the other, I noted just as it started to glow green. “What is that?” I asked.

Dom was cursing and turning his mic back on. “Watch it, Collin. You break the rules, you’ll answer to me!”

“What is he doing?”

“Crossing a line. It’s a spell that’s been banned from the arena. It would make it very hard for Patrick to pierce his flesh.”

Collin must’ve been in control enough to hear Dom because he stopped glowing but kept ripping into the other bear. He had him on his back now, his muzzle in the other druid’s neck. It went on for a while, one mauling the other and making horrible noises even when the other looked to be limp on the ground.

He didn’t stop even then, digging his claws deep into the other druid with abandon but when he started to slash at the slack druid’s neck with his claws the crowd went wild, yelling and pounding their chests.

“Enough,” Dom roared. “It is finished! You have your victory, Collin, now walk away. Healers, to Patrick!” At his words a furious flurry of activity ensued on the sand below us. Collin was dragged off Patrick by several druids. He didn’t go easy. The healers had already descended on Patrick and were working frantically as a growing crowd was still forcing Collin away one stubborn foot at a time.

“What’s he doing?” Cam kept repeating. “What’s wrong with him?”

Siobhan was on the sand now in human form in a slinky golden dress. Great, we matched. She was pushing at Collin’s bear chest and shouting into his face.

“He’s gone full berserker,” Dom said quietly, “It’s common enough, we’ve just never seen Collin succumb to it before.”

“It’ll wear off eventually,” Sloan said, rubbing Cam’s chest now. He had an arm around her, and it looked natural, like he’d held her many times before. “And he’ll regret trying to kill his friend,” Sloan continued, “Look, he’s calming even now. I think Siobhan is getting through to him.”

“I’m going down there,” Cam said, but Sloan stopped him with a touch.

“You shouldn’t,” Dom said. It wasn’t an order, but a suggestion. “Five of my lieutenants are on the sand right now. It should be enough, and if it’s not, it will make you all look weak, and you know what that will mean.”

“What will that mean?” I asked.

“New challengers will come forward to test them,” Dom told me.

I thought as much. We all watched the arena for a time and I tried to pick out who was who. I’d been too removed from druid politics for too long to know all the major players that weren’t on my radar. “Who are your other two lieutenants?” I asked him. I had a notion but there were a lot of people in the fray below.

“Kaska is sixth,” he told me. I was a little surprised. I hadn’t known the dark-haired, ochre-skinned native woman was so deep in his inner circle, but she certainly had the power for such a high position. She was one of their most ferocious fighters. “And Oisin is seventh.” That I could have guessed. He was another childhood friend of Dom’s, a small man for a druid but still strong enough to hold the most defensive role as the most challenged lieutenant. Any contenders would have to start with him.

We watched the flurry of activity for a time before I asked, “What now?”