Chapter One
Dagger clung to the top of the cage holding him, his back pressed upward against the cold metal. He had braced his feet in the narrow slats and held onto the thick bars with his left hand as he watched the secondary doors slowly open. In his right hand, he held a long chain filled with razor-sharp blades designed to slice through flesh and bone.
He ignored the blood running down his arm, watching disconnectedly as it dripped to the floor of the cage far below him. Holding his body perfectly still, he waited for the massive creature under him to turn. A sense of cold calculation kept his mind sharp, even as his body threatened to weaken from exhaustion.
“Fight, fight, fight, fight!” The crowd chanted, wanting him to drop down.
Dagger tuned out the crowd. He had seen what was
