I’d just watched my grandfather fight in his youth.

  I knew I hadn’t lived very long, but my whole life everything that I’d done had felt like a placeholder for something else. Like I was still waiting to find that thing that I was going to do with my life. Watching my grandfather fight, every fiber of my being called out that this was what I was supposed to do.

  I swallowed. Do I have to work for her?

  “She’s just one big fish in a very large ocean.” I wasn’t sure if the excitement I heard in his voice was part of my own or his. “You can go freelance, but if you work for her, then you’ll have access to better gear, better matchups, a team…” He paused. “I mostly did solo gigs, but the real money is in the team matches.”

  Why didn’t you join a team?

  “The gate is a VERY big secret.” He lamented. “I never found someone I trusted enough to reveal where I was really from.” His voice took on a serious tone. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to keep it a secret from everyone.”

  So don’t work for her? I eyed the red woman. I didn’t like her, which I knew wasn’t a reason to not work for her, but there was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way.

  “You’ve never liked any of your bosses.” My grandfather chided. “You could see if she’s willing to sponsor you. That way you’d still be independent, but you’d still be able to receive some aid.”

  Don’t you have stuff I can use back at the house? I realized that I’d started pacing.

  Orina looked amused as she watched me think. I halted my pacing and rubbed my temples.

  “I’ve got some stuff, but even if you come out as my grandson, you’re still going to have to start from the bottom and work your way up. With Orina, you’ll be able to get actual ranked matches from the start!” His words grew closer together.

  “What about a sponsorship?” I swallowed as I looked at her. I glanced back at the screen. The image of my grandfather was frozen on the wall.

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself.” The red woman laughed. “First, you bring me Alistair’s token. Then, once I verify that you are, in fact, his kin, we can talk about what I’m willing to do for you, though the resemblance is definitely there.”

  I looked at the younger version of the man I’d only known with gray hair and wrinkles. There were a few slight differences in our features, but he had the same strong jaw, the same blue eyes and brown hair. And that smile was one that I’d seen thousands of times. It was almost like looking in a mirror.

  “How do you want to do that?” I turned back to her.

  “Here.” Orina stood up and took a step towards me. I realized that there was a blade the length of her slender fingers in her hand moments before she grabbed my right wrist and flicked the tip of it across my index finger.

  “Hey!” I pulled my hand back, then stuck my bleeding finger in my mouth. “What was that for!”

  “DNA.” She strutted over to the bar to the right of the door and pulled a bag out of one of the drawers. She dropped the knife with my blood inside, then turned back to me. “I’ll have the results before I see you again, but let’s see…” She typed on her wristpad and began scrolling through the menu. “Ah! There’s a match on Penca in a week.” She looked me over. “Why don’t you see about getting in a little better shape and we can meet up there? It’s an open match, so it shouldn’t be too hard for a fledgling like you.”

  “You’re going to have me run solo?” I raised an eyebrow. Also, where is Penca?

  “It used to be a Fae world, but when they vanished, it got split between a bunch of other races.” My grandfather’s voice filled my mind. “Cat Sith, Leprechauns, Goblins, Grimm, Sirens, and of course, Elves.”

  “It’ll be a team match.” She chuckled. “I’ve got a trio that needs a fourth and it’ll be an excellent chance for you to audition to join their team.”

  “Okay…” I glanced at the screen one last time, then turned back to the Elf woman. “Do I need to sign something or…”

  “Sign something? How primitive.” She leaned against the bar. “I’ll handle the registration; all you have to do is bring Alistair’s token to finalize it. If it turns out you’re lying about who you are or if you can’t produce the token, then your DNA will be on file and you’ll be barred from participating in the games until you can make restitution.”

  Harsh. I nodded. “What about the prize money?”

  “It’s your token, but my team and I’m handling the registration.” She tapped her cheek. “10%.”

  That doesn’t seem fair. I realized I was squeezing my arms tighter.

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  “You get to work with a seasoned team and someone else is covering all of the registration legwork and fees.” My grandfather countered. “Considering how much more you make on a team versus solo, if she offered you 5%, it’d be worth it in the long run.”

  “That’s only for the first match?” I eyed her. “I’d get more than that once I prove myself.”

  “Industry standard is 15%.” She shrugged. “We have to cover any healing you need after as well as research into finding the best matchups for you and the games where you’ll have the greatest chance of coming in first.”

  “So 10% for the first game and 15% after?” Should I have asked for 20%?

  “You could’ve, but I doubt she budges on that.” My grandfather sighed. “She’s probably planning on hyping up your lineage to draw in more viewers, but that’s only going to be a novelty for a little while. I guarantee that she’s already run the numbers on how much she can squeeze out of this situation.”

  “But…” I cut in before she could answer. “It sounds like my situation isn’t standard.” I flashed her a smile. “Which means my deal shouldn’t be standard.”

  “I knew you’d be fun.” She grinned. “What type of bonuses do you have in mind?”

  I shut out the voice in my head. I knew what type of bonuses he was going to suggest and I had a feeling she was expecting something similar. “20% and I have veto power on any match before you set it up.”

  The smile on her face fell to a frown. “Such little imagination.”

  I shrugged. “There’s not much else I’d need.”

  “Promotion deals, women, the best suites, a ship?” She batted her eyes. “There is so much I can offer you.”

  “I’d rather not be paraded around to promote products and I’ve already got a ship.” I shrugged. “And I’m not interested in random women.”

  “So a specific one?” She licked her lips.

  I sighed. “20%, yes or no?”

  “I’ll have to work on sparking that imagination of yours.” She pushed off the bar and took a step forward, offering me her hand. “You get 10% of the winnings of the game in Penca and then based on how you do, we’ll negotiate how much above or below the standard you are worth.”

  I took her hand and shook it. There was a small buzz as our hands touched. I pulled my hand back and rubbed the palm.

  “Contract magic.” There was an edge in my grandfather’s voice that I couldn’t place. “She’s a white, so she shouldn’t have any magic.”

  White? I looked at her eyes. I remembered he’d said something about golden eyes meaning that the Elf had magic, but I wasn’t sure what else he meant.

  “There are elemental powers, magic, and then those without anything. Elves with white eyes mean they don’t have any magic of their own, so if she’s using magic, then she’s got a rune somewhere on her that she can tap into.”

  Okay. I still wasn’t sure what that meant, but it sounded important. Can I get a rune to use magic?

  “It’ll disqualify you from the games.” My grandfather grumbled. “Only pure, physical effort is allowed in there. Granted, you can have enchantments on your gear, but those can only enhance your body, not give you magic to tap into.”

  Orina chuckled and strutted back over to the couch. “Would you like to watch the game going on now?” The screen changed from my grandfather to a Dwarf running down a stone hall with the same grass-covered floor that my grandfather had fought in. The bearded man chopped at vines that barred his path with the axe in his hand as he pushed his way down the tunnel.

  “I think I’ve seen enough.” I took a step towards the door. “I’m going to go home and work on getting ready.”

  “So diligent!” She turned around, sitting on her knees and she leaned on the back of the couch. “Do you need me to show you out?”

  “I remember the way.” I nodded at her. “I’ll see you in a week.”

  “Of course.” She blew me a kiss.

  I opened the door and got out of the room. I could hear my grandfather raging in my mind, but I wasn’t paying attention to his demands that I go back in the room. I needed to get back home and find that token, then prepare for the match. By the time I reached the main doors to the VIP section, I realized that I didn’t know who my team was, which would probably have been good information to have, but I didn’t want to go back into that room alone with Orina. She was the kind of person that saw others as pawns to be used and discarded and I had little interest in doing anything personal with someone like that.

  I stopped by one of the machines on the way out and waved my wristpad over it, withdrawing twenty credits from my grandfather’s digital account. Enwen wasn't there when I walked outside, much to my disappointment. One of the bull Centaurs drove me back to the Hub in silence. I still tipped him three credits, much to the disappointment of the voice in my head.

  The Elf guard was still there and after a quick scan, he went back to leaning against the wall, leaving me to enter my destination on my own. The address to the ship was already saved in the wristpad, so it was as simple as pressing a button to enter where I wanted to go. Once the portal opened inside the gate, I stepped through onto the ship.

  “How hard is it going to be?” I looked at the image of the man who appeared in front of me.

  The hologram grinned. “Not as hard as you’re thinking it’s going to be. I’ll get you to go through some forms and you’ll be ready to slay monsters in no time!”

  “How dangerous do you think Orina is?” I swallowed as I walked to the door. I knew I needed to train, but I really wanted to explore the ship. “I know a personality like that is good for a CEO, but it also means that I’m nothing but a number to her.”

  “She could have been another number for you…” The hologram grumbled as he followed me into the hall.

  “There’s a saying about not sticking it in crazy.” I gestured at the five doors in the wall in front of me. “Where do those go?”

  “She was driven, not crazy.” The hologram pointed at the one to the far right. “Bathroom.” He pointed at the other four individually. “Bedrooms.”

  “What about—”

  My grandfather pointed at the door at the end of the hall to the left. “Cockpit.” He pointed at the door on the wall to my left. “Kitchen.” He moved around me and pointed at the door on my right. “Cargo Bay.” He turned and pointed at the door at the end of the hall on the right. “Engineering.”

  He shooed me before I could ask my next question. “You’ll have time to explore later. Right now we need to get you back home and I’ll work out an exercise plan to get you in decent enough shape by next week.”

  I thought about arguing because it wasn’t like the hologram could physically stop me, but it did have control of the ship and I had no idea what to do if the memory of my grandfather decided to turn off the gravity or something.

  “Okay.” I made myself a promise to come back to the ship as soon as possible. “Let’s go back home.”

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