“That's insane,” he said.

I shrugged. “You have a better idea?” I asked. “I'm all ears.”

We were sitting on his bunk in our cell and I'd just laid out my plan for our escape. Elix seemed a little bit beaten down. Like he'd already given up and was resigned to his fate. That spark of life in his eyes that I'd always been attracted to and compelled by had dimmed. Seeing that broke my heart.

But, it also made me more determined than ever to see this through, to get us out of there. I needed to get Elix out of there. Give him time to heal. Help him get back to himself. Having to live the way he had – even though it was for such a short time – was taking a toll on him. I could see it. Having to kill or die was a pressure, a burden, that was stripping away little pieces of the man I loved.

And I was going to fight like hell to get those pieces back and make him whole again.

“This will work, Elix,” I said. “Plynt helped me plan this out. I know the surroundings and I know how to get where we need to be. But, I need you to get your head into the game.”

He nodded, but still didn't look entirely convinced. “I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you, Kianna.”

“Believe me, I'd rather die trying to get us out of here than live without you,” I said. “I couldn't live with myself knowing you were here, were being forced to live this life, knowing I was doing nothing about it.”

He looked at me and for the first time, I caught a glimpse of the man I knew. The man I loved. That sparkle returned to his eyes for a brief moment. He smiled and nodded.

“Make me one promise,” he said.

“Anything.”

“That we won't hurt Jurg,” he said and shrugged. “He's been good to me.”

“He's one of them, Elix,” I said, my voice cold.

“Not really,” he said. “Jurg, I think, is a good man. He's just caught in a terrible position. He was scooped up like I was. Not given a choice other than to fight or die. And after that – he, well – he didn't have a life to go back to.”

I sat back and considered his words. His story wasn't all that different than Colonel Darqa's in some respects. And I considered Darqa a good man. Was I rushing to judgment about this Jurg?

“Fine,” I said. “We won't harm Jurg if we can help it.”

He arched an eyebrow at me. “If we can help it?”

I shrugged. “If he puts us in a position where it's us or him, Elix, he's going to lose,” I said. “Every time.”

He looked at me for a moment longer and then nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Okay, let's run through the plan one more time,” I said.

It was the night of my first fight. I'd trained with Elix for a day before Master Dryx apparently declared that I was ready for the real thing. My stomach was filled with butterflies and knots that tightened painfully. It was our one shot at freedom and I was terrified that something was going to go wrong.

“They'll come for us soon,” he said. “They'll take us to the holding area in the arena.”

“Then, we need to be ready,” I said. “Are you?”

He nodded. “About as ready as I'm going to be.”

“This is going to work. Dryx and, I would assume, some of his private army will be at the arena already. The mansion will be empty,” I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. “Trust me, Elix. We're getting out of here tonight.”

It would have been a lot easier if I'd had a better lay of the land. If I knew how many guards Dryx kept in his mansion. If I had any sort of tactical information at all. All Plynt was able to give me though, was the route to the spaceport and a promise that there would be a ship there waiting for us.

All we had to do was break out of Dryx's mansion and get to the spaceport. With an unknown number of armed men between us and it. Easy, right?

“How many guards normally come to take you to the arena?” I asked.

“Two, usually,” he said.

I nodded and felt a little bit heartened. Two guards, we could probably handle. I just had to hope they didn't double the guard since there were two of us. But, if they did, we'd have to handle it. We would handle it.

We spent the next hour going over the plan again and again. Each time, I saw Elix growing stronger. Bolder. That light in his eyes came roaring back and was augmented by a grim, steely determination. He was beginning to believe that we would get out of this. That we would be free of that place and that life. It was good to see. I needed him all in on this with me. When the clanking of the lock announced that it was time, we exchanged a look and got to our feet.

It was time.

“Let's go,” the guard said. “Time for the show.”

There was a glee in his voice that was hard to miss. He was one of those who enjoyed seeing the blood and death that ruled the arena. He was one of those who got off on watching others fight and die. Coward. He was probably also one of the first to run from a fight.

I stepped into the hall in front of Elix and felt my heart sink into my stomach. Not only were there four guards with large, high-powered weapons, Jurg was leaning against the wall across from our door. He looked up at me and gave me a tight smile.

My heart beat a staccato rhythm in my chest as I wondered if he'd somehow tumbled onto our plan. If he was there to keep us from acting on it. I felt Elix behind me, the tension radiating off of him in waves. This just got a lot messier and potentially, a lot more dangerous.

“Glad to see you two getting along,” he said.

I shrugged. “Might as well have a decent relationship with the person who may be the last you see in life.”

Jurg nodded. “That is true.”

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“Not that I need a reason, but it's something of a tradition for me to walk my new fighters to the arena,” he said. “Provide last minute tips and words of wisdom.”

“Words of wisdom, huh?” I scoffed.

“Something like that,” he replied and then motioned to the corridor ahead of us. “Shall we?”

I let out a long breath and nodded as we started off. The corridor was wide enough to accommodate two of us walking abreast. Jurg marched in front of us and the four guards marched behind us – which was, tactically speaking, a real idiot move. But then, they probably didn't anticipate their charges giving them the kind of trouble we were about to.

From having been marched back and forth between the training room and the cell, I'd memorized the layout of the corridors. More or less. I'd paid close attention when Jurg had marched us down from the yard above on that first day and was pretty confident I could navigate our way back to it.

Once there, we'd find our way out of Dryx's mansion and get to the spaceport where our ship would be waiting. After that, we could go where ever we wanted. Simple.

Our little procession moved forward and we were approaching the place we'd need to make our move. I cut a quick glance at Elix and gave him a subtle nod. The guards were busy chatting with each other, and when we both threw ourselves backward, crashing into them, they were taken completely by surprise.

The two immediately behind us landed on their backs, the air rushing from their lungs as Elix and I stomped on their chests in unison. The second pair were just bringing their weapons to bear. I lunged at the one closest to me, driving my fist into his throat. His eyes bulged out of their sockets and he grabbed hold of his throat, making a choked, wheezing sound.

Elix was engaged with the man next to me, throwing a series of blows. The sharp crack of fist meeting face echoed through the hallway and was quickly followed by the muffled cries of the guard who was holding his hands to a mouth oozing with blood.

Time was of the essence as I knew the two guards behind us would be getting to their feet. I closed the distance with the man in front of me. He was trying to recover, his mouth opening and closing like a fish caught on dry land. He fumbled with his weapon, trying to bring it up to take a shot at me. I pushed it down as he squeezed the trigger.

The shots ricocheted off the floor of the corridor, but the sound of the shots sounded like a cannon had gone off right next to my ear. I winced as my ears rang with the sound of the shot, but shook my head and pressed my attack. I drove my fist into the man's face and his head rocked back from the force of the blow. Blood sprayed high into the air as he stumbled backward.

As he fell, the strap on his weapon broke, and I quickly turned it around in my hands, bringing the muzzle to bear. I fired a quick burst, watching the man's body twitch and jerk as the bullets tore through his chest. A moment later, he lay still, his eyes wide, blood pooling around his body.

Turning around, I dropped to a knee and fired another burst at the guard who was back on his feet, aiming his weapon at Elix. My bullets tore through the man's head, blood and tissue spraying the wall beside him. But, he'd gotten off a shot. I heard Elix roar in pain as the bullet ripped into his shoulder and saw a crimson blossom erupt on his shirt.

He was still tied up with the first guard, the two men clutching each other, struggling to gain an advantage. I knew the wound was going to hurt Elix, but he gritted his teeth and growled, trying to gain some traction on the man. I looked at the other guard, anticipating his movements. But, he lay where he'd fallen when we'd launched our attack. It was then I saw the hole in the top of his helmet and realized the wild ricochet of the man I'd been engaged with had gone clean through, killing him instantly.

At least we got one small stroke of luck on our side.

I cocked my head and looked at Jurg, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching the fight with an amused grin on his face. He looked at me and nodded, giving me a thumbs up like this was all just a joke or something.

Had he summoned more guards and was just waiting for them. If that was the case, we needed to end this and get moving. Quickly. All that left was the man Elix was struggling with. Walking over to the pair, I put the barrel of the gun against his head.

“Stop moving,” I said.

Elix backed away quickly and the man stopped moving, looking at me with wide eyes and a terrified look on his face. I squeezed the trigger, the wall behind him suddenly awash in a spray of crimson and dark, clumpy tissue. The man's body fell to the ground with a meaty thump.

Spinning quickly, I brought the weapon up again, taking aim at Jurg, who remained where I'd seen him standing.

“Kianna,” Elix grunted, holding his shoulder.

“How long until the reinforcements get here?” I asked.

Jurg shook his head. “There are no reinforcements.”

“And we should just take your word for it?”

He nodded. “Yes, you should,” he said. “I'm not your enemy here.”

“He's not, Kianna,” Elix said. “If he says he didn't call anybody, I believe him.”

“You're putting your trust and our lives into a slaver?”

“Slaver,” Jurg scoffed. “Hardly.”

“I do trust him,” Elix said.

He put his hand on the barrel of my gun and pushed down on it, telling me to lower it. After a moment's hesitation, I did. I kept my promise of not hurting Jurg. I just hoped I wouldn't come to regret it.

“So, this is the woman you were fighting for,” Jurg said to Elix. “Your reason for staying alive.”

Elix nodded. “She is.”

“I had a feeling,” he said, a grin touching his lips. “I was pretty sure on that first day up in the yard. I figured it was only a matter of time before you two made your break.”

“And you didn't say anything?” I asked, my tone incredulous.

He shrugged. “Why would I?”

I looked at him and then at Elix, confused. “Because you work for Dryx.”

“Just because I work for him doesn't mean I like him,” Jurg said. “Or agree with what he's doing.”

Elix put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I told you he's not like them,” he said softly. “I told you he was good to me.”

I nodded slowly, understanding finally beginning to take root. Jurg tossed me a small metal box. There was a button on it and nothing more.

“What's this?” I asked.

He pointed to the collar on Elix's neck. “You're going to need it to get that thing off,” he said. “Do you have a route to the spaceport?”

I nodded. “Yeah,” I said. “It's a hike, but we can make it.”

“Take one of Dryx's transports,” he said. “You'll get there quicker. And you're going to need all the time you can get. Once Dryx hears about what happened, he's going to pull out all the stops to find you.”

I nodded and felt genuinely touched by Jurg's help. I'd obviously misjudged the man. Badly.

“Come with us,” I said. “We can take you anywhere. We've got a ship.”

He shook his head. “There's nothing for me out there.”

“It has to be better than staying here,” Elix said. “Especially if Dryx finds out – ”

Jurg smiled. “Which is why I need you to help me out,” he said. “You need to put me out. I need to be part of the attack.”

I nodded. “No changing your mind, huh?”

His smile was wan as he shook his head. “Appreciate the offer,” he said, “but sometimes, better the devil you know than the devil you don't.”

I nodded and looked at Elix, who had an expression of sorrow on his face. I could see that he'd come to like Jurg and worried about what would happen to him when we left. Jurg gave us directions to the garage and told us which was Dryx's favorite personal transport – and asked us to wreck it before we abandoned it. Elix stepped forward and shook the man's hand, giving him a heartfelt thank you. Not feeling like it was enough, I stepped forward and embraced him tightly.

“Thank you,” I said.

“A love worth dying for is a rare and beautiful thing,” he said. “Now, go get to living.”

Elix knocked Jurg out, carefully laying his limp, unconscious form on the ground. We turned and ran through the corridors, soon finding our way to the ramp that would lead us to the surface.

To our freedom.