Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 41 - Rollercoasters

The Gauntlet was a world of highs and lows.

Codi didn't have long to dwell on the disaster of the paired contest, as it was time for Battlecast's flag team to fight it out for a place in the final. The team that stood in their way: the number two seeds from Orion, led by none other than Chalyze Bamber herself. There was no doubt in Codi's mind that her wily opponent would be desperate for revenge after her exit from the knockout rounds.

But the odds had been tipped back into Battlecast's favour by the return of their most potent weapon on the flag field. Leela had at last been cleared for full contact in the competition, and they'd wasted no time in skirmishing fast and hard in the run up to this pivotal moment. While Mica Samper had done just enough to get them through, no one in the entire tournament could hold a candle to Leela's blistering speed.

With her back the Battlecast game plan once again became a simple challenge to the other teams: protect Leela, get her the flag, and dare anyone to stop them doing it.

Codi shook the bitter feeling of disappointment from her mind, trying to remind herself that she was only human. She'd lost matches in the practice tournaments. No-one was unbeatable. All she needed to do now was put that loss out of her mind and focus on the task at hand. Unlike the paired matches, she felt that with Leela in the line-up, Battlecast were more than capable of going the distance.

She wasn't the only one that shared that faith. The supporters were making themselves heard in spectacular fashion as they strode through the Western entrance tunnel. She walked in line with Gareth at the back of the group, their interactions still frosty after the loss in the pairs. Part of her wanted to blame him, but she couldn't fail to acknowledge that they'd been beaten by a singularly strange tactic that would probably never be seen again. So far nothing had come of it, and if they could get through this match, hopefully they could just forgive and forget.

Ripple and Cardle formed another pair in front of them, but the honour of leading the team out had been reserved for their youngest, most crucial member. Leela strode at the head of the column, giddy excitement rolling off her in waves like hard radiation. She was their talisman and their most potent weapon, and it seemed only fair to give her the limelight on her return from injury.

The huge doors cracked open, light and noise spilling through them as though a dam had broken. Leela didn't falter, striding confidently out onto the galactic stage.

"And their opponents, from just across the water, please welcome your team from Battlecast Academy!"

The announcer had to work hard to be heard above the eruption of cheers. He reeled off the names of the team, but the spotlight remained on Leela. If she was nervous, the young fighter wasn't letting it show, waving happily to the crowds and beaming a smile in all directions. Codi gave her a reassuring clap on the back as she walked past, taking up her position to the right of the line up. It was refreshing to have the crowds keying on someone else for a change.

The arena for this match was very different to previous rounds, however. It looked like a sea of metal sand dunes, their surfaces a burnished cobalt colour laced with pulsing lines of bright red. Dark pathways snaked between them, but unlike the other open designs, the arrangement of dunes was such that Codi couldn't actually see their opponents. All they knew was that the enemy flag would be placed opposite them. Their own flag sat on a low circular plateau, ringed with half a dozen ramp-like grav-launchers that could be used for a quick insertion into the centre of the arena.

So their tactics would need a slight modification. The blindness of your opponents opening move added an extra dimension to the game plan whether they wanted it or not.