“Come on!” Cal roared, slamming her tankard back down on the table. “None of you are man enough?”

The little crowd of off-duty guards were distinctly less enthusiastic than they had been only a quarter of an hour previously. The four bulky, male guards nursing their wrists probably had something to do with that.

Cal grinned and leant forward, resting her elbow on the low table. She held her hand out, palm tilted upwards invitingly, and smirked at the nearest guard until he growled and stepped forward. A deep cheer went up among the surrounding group, and several of the nearest members slapped their friend on the back. He sat down in the stool opposite Cal and gripped her hand so tightly she wondered if he might be trying to crush her fingers.

“You’re going down, Cal,” he sneered.

Cal extended her claws to touch the back of his hand, causing him to recoil slightly and loosen his grip. “I think not,” she winked back.

“Three!” One of the other men shouted. Cal’s opponent tightened his grip again. “Two… one!”

This guy had learnt from the mistakes of his colleagues. Cal was quicker than she was strong, and had managed to nail their arms to the table before they had a chance to even push. This guard had his muscles tightened already on the ‘two’, and met Cal’s forceful shove with one of his own. Their hands locked together, arms quivering, while the crowd around them roared. Cal leant forward further and gritted her teeth. A bead of sweat appeared on her opponent’s brow.

She needed a new tactic. Audibly, she grunted and allowed her arm to tilt backwards a little. Her opponent grinned, and in that moment she acted. Before he could attempt to force her arm all the way down, she threw all her strength into a renewed effort and spun his hand all the way back, crushing it against the wood. The guard yelped, and the crowd let out their feelings loudly – some cheering, some booing.

“Too bad, mate!” Cal rested her hands behind her back and leant back on her chair, smiling cockily. “I guess none of you little fairies can take a ker on.”

There was a chorus of protests, but no other volunteers. Internally, Cal breathed a sigh of relief. Her arm muscles were screaming; she wasn’t sure how much longer she could have gone on for. Fortunately, her trick seemed to have worked. Flynn had put her in charge of a small expedition the day previous, but the squadron of losers who had been assigned to her refused to listen to a girl with the same respect as they would a guy. She’d spent the entire mission frustrated, having to listen to this lot trying to ‘advise’ her. There was just one thing left to do to cement their respect now.

She lifted up her tankard. “Next keg’s on me!”

This time, the noise was wholly approving. A couple of the guys slapped her on the back. Cal grinned widely.


CALDERA