Emerita Boxing Day, page 33
Donadin came striding out of the crowd with two deputies behind him. “Someone send for Digger. You lot, move on! The perpetrator of the incident is dead.”
Doc had turned to help Harrid, but he found his breastplate intact— there was just a scratch to show where the round had ricocheted off. He slapped Harrid’s shoulder, meeting the dwarf’s eyes in relief.
“Sheriff!” Paul called out. “You’re just going to let the killer off?!”
Donadin’s eye twitched and he turned to the reporter. “I won’t let Strongarm say that. Be warned: the dead man fired first. He paid for it with his life. End of story.”
“Noted,” Welter said as he made his notes.
Paul snarled before stomping off. The toughs picked up their friend, carrying him off and cursing Donadin as they went.
Donadin turned to Doc, a sour look on his face. “You should’ve known something like this would happen.”
“I should’ve known that people would try to kill me?” Doc asked a little stiffly.
“Yes, but I meant the deliberate provocation,” Donadin snorted. “Only reason I’m out here today.”
“The only reason?” Doc asked with a raised eyebrow.
Donadin’s lips twitched. “That, and I want to see you get hit in the mouth.”
“Thanks for the honesty,” Doc chuckled. “Food should be up soon. Hope you enjoy. Harrid, you good?”
“Yes, Shaman,” Harrid said.
“Let’s go find Ayla. She has Rosa with her,” Doc said.
As the pair headed away, Doc heard rumors start up. His lip twitched when he heard them— many thought Donadin wasn’t taking the violence as seriously as he should. Doc knew the man would have competition in the next election: Ayla and Sophia were talking Hays McGee, the deputy, into running for sheriff.
~*~*~
Rosa helped soothe Doc’s nerves with some of her nectar. He thanked her, promising to reward her later. There weren’t any more issues in front of Doc, but he heard of other smaller groups causing trouble and being ejected, with thankfully no more shootings.
It was near four in the afternoon when Doc stepped into the ring, a cold breeze swirling in the air. He still had on his suit, but would be going to change for the fight right after this. Smiling at the crowd, he waved and waited a few moments for the noise to die down.
Raising his voice, he projected to the crowd, “Ladies, gentlemen, and children, thank you for coming out to our Giving Thanks Day fair. Next year, this will move to the official fairgrounds. I apologize to Mayor Dodd for not holding it there this year. This solstice, the fairgrounds will have the duel between Strongarm and myself. I hope to see you all there for that event.”
A few boos could be heard over the applause.
“We held this Giving Thanks Day here for a couple of reasons, the first being that I will be having an exhibition match in less than an hour.”
“I hope you lose!” a single voice rang out.
“And I very well might when you see who I’m sparring for three rounds,” Doc said. “I’m not perfect; no man is.”
The crowd started getting loud as others heckled the speaker, who shouted more. After a minute, Doc whistled loudly to cut across the noise.
“The second reason is to officially announce the name of this community. Welcome to Aurora. We hope it lives up to its namesake in both regards: giving a bright new dawn on relationships across all people, but also being a bright, beautiful light that illuminates the night.”
“Bullshit!” the same man yelled out.
“Cows do, too, but we’ll ignore the ignorant today,” Doc said with a grin. “I hope you’ve all enjoyed the day and are ready to see a fight.”
Dodd stepped into the ring, raising his hands to try to get the crowd to settle. Doc was surprised so he stayed put. Dodd gave him a big grin as he turned to the crowd. “A moment, please? I also have an announcement for you.”
“Fucking animal lover!”
Donadin appeared beside the heckler, grabbing the man and hauling him off.
“Thank you, Sheriff,” Dodd said. “I have one small announcement to give before we move on to the fight. Starting tomorrow, the river will be getting worked on. The territory government and city government have agreed to make sure that we don’t have to deal with flooding in the future. We thank the Ironbeard clan for their generous discount for the work being done, along with the private funding set aside to pay for the majority of the work. Letters will be sent out to those who are going to be losing property from eminent domain. We expect some pushback on it, but will win our case before the judges. While those cases work through the courts, the river work will start all the way out here— Aurora will benefit from the project first. May the dawn bring better relationships between all who live here.”
The crowd cheered loudly. Doc and Dodd shook hands, and the flash of light bulbs nearly blinded Doc, who wasn’t expecting them. Dodd had just shown Doc how shrewd the man could be— this announcement was timed perfectly to cause Strongarm trouble as the duel was approaching, maybe distracting him.
Chapter Forty-six
The crowd cheered excitedly as Doc made his way to the ring. His hands were bound in the gloves, and he had a robe draped over his shoulders to keep him as warm as possible. He wore the traditional pants and soft boots of the sport, but in the cold weather, they wouldn’t keep him warm long if he stopped moving.
Stepping into the ring, Doc waved to all sides. As he bounced side to side to stay moving, he threw small flurries as Hammerson was introduced. The crowd went wild; none of them had expected to see a man who’d fought champions.
Doc was mildly amused. Hammerson had kept his dwarven heritage a secret from the public, so while the bigots in attendance cheered him on, they had no idea what they were doing. The rest of the crowd was just as excited, though, as Hank Hammerson looked like a fighter. Broad-shouldered, long-limbed, and packed with muscle, he exuded confidence.
The two of them ended up in the middle of the ring, neither smiling as they faced each other. Dodd stood between them, making sure they understood the rules. When they both agreed, they retreated to their corners. Harrid slipped Doc’s robe from his shoulders, hanging it on the green post.
“Remember to not to move as much,” Harrid hissed at Doc. “You need to jab and move, but less than you’d like.”
“He’s going to kick my ass, but it’ll be worth it later,” Doc grunted, his speech slightly off from the sap strips stuck to his teeth.
“Maybe he’ll go a little easier since you gave him sap, too,” Harrid snorted.
Dodd called out, his arm raised as he glanced between the two men. Betting in the crowd heavily favored Hammerson, but Doc didn’t blame them— he’d have bet on the other fighter, too, at least in this match. If he did with Hammerson what he was planning to do with Strongarm later, he thought he might have a chance.
“Fight!”
The two men advanced. Hammerson plodded forward with firm steps; he wasn’t going to make quick movements. All of his fights had been won or lost through sheer power. Doc figured Strongarm would fight the same way, so he’d used Hammerson as a learning model.
Doc fought like he did with Alaric, moving only half as well as he wanted while jabbing. Hammerson covered up better as he slowly walked Doc down. If Hammerson had been a counterpuncher, he’d have laid Doc out, as he had a reach advantage over Doc. Luckily, Hammerson wasn’t, so Doc just jabbed and moved.
Most of the first round went that way until Hammerson finally cornered Doc. The last twenty seconds were full of ham-sized fists battering Doc, who covered up. If they used the crowd to score the round, Hammerson would’ve ended up ahead; he looked brutal for those last few seconds.
When the bell rang, Hammerson walked calmly back to his corner, his head up as he breathed slowly and easily. Doc winced as he made his way to Harrid. Nothing was bruised or broken, but Hammerson’s fists had felt like shovels hitting his ribs.
“Almost got away with a full round,” Harrid said, giving Doc water to rinse.
“If Strongarm punches like that, I’ll be feeling it all of next year.”
“You won’t be as easy to corner,” Harrid said. “It’s time to show a weakness.”
Doc didn’t want to, knowing this would hurt even more. Trying to trade shots with Hammerson or bulling him over were bound to fail. This was all to make Strongarm think he knew what Doc could do, so Doc accepted what was about to happen.
The next round started the same way the first had, with Doc jabbing and moving. When Hammerson finally corralled him, Doc tried to bull through the bigger man. Doc ended up being thrown back into the corner post, and Hammerson went to work on him. After a little covering up, Doc tried to counter and trade.
Blinking as he pushed himself up from his one knee, Doc looked at Dodd counting over him. Standing upright, Doc shook his head. His jaw felt strained, possibly even broken. The hook Hammerson had landed had sent Doc to his knees and stunned him.
“Eight… you okay, Doc?” Dodd asked, staring into Doc’s eyes.
Doc grunted, tapping his gloves together.
Dodd stepped back. “Fight!”
The timekeeper slapped the table he sat at, marking the last ten seconds of the round. Doc took that information to rush Hammerson, who wasn’t expecting it. A clean left jab-right hook combo popped Hammerson’s head back and sideways, but Doc didn’t follow up— he backed off.
Hammerson blinked slowly. The punches hadn’t been anywhere near hard enough to drop him, but the shock made him pause long enough for the round to end. Giving Doc a nod, he went to his corner.
The crowd was raucous as they cheered, the people who wanted Doc to lose the loudest. Even his supporters were shouting, as Doc hadn’t stayed down when he’d been sent to his knees.
“Anything broken?” Harrid asked as he offered Doc water.
“My jaw,” Doc hissed in pain.
“Do we call the last round off?” Harrid asked as Doc gingerly took enough water to rinse.
Spitting bloody water into the bucket beside the ring, Doc shook his head. He knew something that no one else did. With his hands covered by the gloves, he could use his healing magic without being seen. His thumb was mostly uncovered, as were the tips of his fingers, and that was enough of a touch to channel the energy. If he’d been allowed to wear his ring, it would’ve been simpler still, but all rings came off when wrapping up.
Staring across at Hammerson, he could see respect in the half-dwarf’s eyes. Doc channeled his healing, not erasing all the damage, but making sure his jaw wasn’t broken. He didn’t do more than that, as he didn’t want it obvious that he’d healed himself— he needed that ace for Strongarm.
The bell for the third round came soon after Doc stopped healing himself. He went out to meet Hammerson, jabbing, moving, and staying as far from the man as he could, acting as if he was afraid of being hurt again. Hammerson walked him down, jabbing out to help corral Doc.
The crowd was cheering, still hoping to see something before it ended. Doc waited for the ten-second warning, then went in. He took a hard left to his shoulder as he closed, but then abandoned defense to flurry for all he was worth. Hammerson, seeing the move for what it was, accepted the punches to wind up a vicious left hook.
The bell rang just as the left thundered home; at the same time, Doc snapped an uppercut into Hammerson’s chin. Both men staggered back, but only Doc went down. Staring stupidly up, his head swimming, Doc tried to figure out why he was flat on his back in the dirt.
Dodd appeared over him, looking down before calling for someone. Doc tried to sit up, but slumped back to the ground. A moment later, Onyx was poised over him, her hands glowing green as she healed him.
The fog cleared and Doc grunted as he slowly sat up. Hammerson was standing to the side, watching him. With Harrid’s help, Doc got to his feet as Onyx went to check Hammerson.
Dodd came over to Doc to start unwrapping his gloves. “You okay, Doc?”
“I am now. He hits like a smith working iron,” Doc replied.
Dodd gave Doc a questioning look. “Did she not heal you completely?”
With the one glove off, Doc reached up, pulling the percha strip off his teeth. “I’m good.”
“What was that?” Dodd asked as he got the second glove off.
“Teeth protection. He’d have broken a few, otherwise. He has the same thing.”
Dodd went to Hammerson to get his gloves off, obviously asking him a question. After the fighter nodded, Dodd looked relieved, then got the big man’s gloves off.
Raised voices behind Doc got him to look back. Donadin was at the edge of the ring, glaring at Onyx. Quickly going that way, he caught part of the conversation over the crowd noise.
“—ouse of worship! That means you’re breaking the law!” Donadin snapped.
Sophia was there before Doc was. “Sheriff, you’re not adhering to the entire law if you do that.”
Donadin gave Sophia a hard look. “You’d tell me the law?”
“I’m a Sagesse by birth, Sheriff,” Sophia said flatly. “A faith healer can heal outside of their house of worship if there’s enough to represent their god’s views in the area. Did you not hear all the betting taking place? All the games of chance that went on today?”
Donadin hesitated before he stepped back. “I’ll look into it. If it’s true, then I’ll drop it.”
“Someone point you this way?” Doc asked as he reached them. “Happened to mention healing taking place?”
Donadin glanced at the crowd, then shrugged. “Laws are laws. You wanted me to do more, didn’t you?”
“Have you done anything similar to Strongarm?” Doc asked flatly.
“He doesn’t try to flaunt laws,” Donadin snorted. “If he does, I’ll step in.”
“Doc,” Dodd yelled from the middle of the ring, “winner time!”
Donadin walked off, so Doc went toward Dodd. He glanced back to see Sophia and Onyx talking, then noticed Paul, the biased reporter, slinking away after Donadin. Sucking at his teeth, Doc shook his head.
Hammerson and Doc stood to either side of Dodd as the crowd slowly quieted. Dodd waited, then spoke loudly, “The match went to the end, but we have a clear winner: Hank Hammerson!”
Hank let Dodd raise his arm, grinning at the crowd. When Dodd let go, Hammerson turned to face Doc and shake hands with him. The flash of cameras told Doc that the press was still there.
“News will say you went down twice,” Hammerson said.
“It’s true, I did. If we weren’t sparring, you’d win the next round with ease, with me ending up unconscious.”
“Surprised me a few times,” Hammerson said as they stopped with the photo op. “Why show off like that?”
“Have to show that I’ll fight, even when vastly outclassed,” Doc said, then shivered as the chill started to get to him.
“Doc,” Sophia called to him.
“I’ll see you back at the manor,” Doc told Hammerson before going over to Sophia.
He was glad to accept the robe she held out to him, quickly belting it on. “Yes, dear?”
“If Donadin pushes, I’ll be representing Onyx.”
“Of course,” Doc said. “She deserves the best.”
“See?” Sophia told her gently. “Of course, we’ll do all we can.”
Onyx exhaled slowly. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to panic.”
“It happens,” Doc said gently. “Can we go back to your place? I’d like to get my clothes on.”
Onyx giggled. “I think that’s the only time I’ve ever had a man ask me to take him to get dressed.”
Doc laughed, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “Want to come to dinner tonight?”
She glanced at Sophia, who smiled, then nodded. “Please.”
As they headed for Onyx’s home, cold eyes in the crowd stayed glued to their backs.
Chapter Forty-seven
Doc watched Ayla and Rosa get dressed. Ayla had been the one to come wake him, leaving him smiling broadly. Both his wives were giggling happily as they helped each other.
“Been a busy couple of weeks,” Doc mentioned, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Three more Diggers, and a couple of their children.”
“Their family is indebted to you, Voice,” Rosa said. “All of them are spreading your name. Your telling them that you would be traveling west has them sending word to their family that way to look for you.”
“You’re taking the day off today to help Sigmund’s brother. He came all the way from Deadshaft.”
