When Council Leader Tosh gave the order to kill Niki, it didn't go as he had planned. The four guards he had with them didn't move. They stared at the Leader defiantly, not moving to follow his order.

From the time it took Tosh to give the order, both sisters were in a fighting stance, weapons held out, extended to their full length, ready to defend themselves. Neither of the girls looked worried.

Their weapons; bladed short staffs that collapsed into a size of only a foot and a half long and opened up to three feet long, were unexpected for the onlookers. The loud snap that sounded when their weapons extended, locking in place, caught everyone's attention. The snap of the weapons made an ominous sound that echoed through the city square.

"Tell your people the truth, Tosh," Niki sneered, with eyes narrowed at the Council Leader.

Council Leader Tosh, not listening to the demand, yelled again. "Kill her, or I will have you all whipped and demoted."

It was a warning. Tosh was playing with their sense of station. The higher their rank, the better things were for them. He hoped they would be fearful of a demotion and the whip; a long whip with a ball end covered in small blades to cut the skin.

The men swallowed in fear, looking between the human girls and their leader. They appeared to be deciding what to do.

Aleigha scanned the crowd, then focused on Council Leader Tosh. "Are you elected? Maybe your people need to elect a new leader," she spat.

Merrick, who was beside her, spoke evenly, looking at Tosh. "We do not elect our leaders. They win their position in battle. One leader challenges another, and the winner leads. The only way to gain the position is in combat," he stated.

Aleigha, still keeping focused on Tosh and his group, asked, "No other way?" She knew there wasn't, but she needed to confirm it.

"None," Merrick responded.

Aleigha edged forward a few steps. "I cha..."

Niki cut her off, giving her a dirty look. "I challenge you for the leadership position of the people!"

Niki knew what Aleigha was going to do, so she took the choice from her sister. After making the declaration of the challenge for the leadership of the people in place of her sister, doing the same, Tosh laughed outright.

"You're human; you can't challenge me!" he laughed. "And you're a female!"

Niki came closer, preparing to block any oncoming attack. She didn't trust Tosh. Everything about him said he was slimy; that he would fight dirty.

"So, you're scared to accept the challenge?" Niki sneered back at him. Her focus didn't waver. She remained on her guard for him to attack or one of his men.

Rask was about to panic. He knew Tosh was incorrect. Anyone can challenge him, and he couldn't refuse it. He knew Niki could fight well, but she didn't know that Council Leader Tosh fought dirty. Rask moved to go to her, but Shadick and Xant rushed forward and held him back.

Tosh, noticing Rask's actions, laughed. "This human is your mate?" he asked. "When I kill her, I will kill you next for allowing her to challenge me!"

Niki laughed this time. It was a dry, humorless laugh. "Sounds like you just accepted my challenge. Is anyone willing to say otherwise?" she asked, still not looking away from Tosh. "You just said you would kill me, then kill my mate. I bet you fight dirty. You probably poison your blade like a coward, don't you?"

Rask was in shock; Niki had already guessed it. She had seen through Tosh and could tell how he was immediately. She was smart; it made him proud. His gut twisted as he thought of her taking on Tosh. Tosh was a seasoned fighter who used dirty methods to win. The sisters may be good at fighting, but they were young and had less experience killing. As pointed out in the tunnels, fighting in competition is not fighting to kill. They were different.

Tosh yelled out to the crowd. "Do any of you deny her the right to challenge me for leadership of our people?" What Niki didn't know was that the crowd must accept the challenge as well. If they didn't want the challenge to take place, or they found a fault in the challenge, someone would have to speak against the challenge.

Tosh looked around the crowd. No one said anything against it. Tosh turned to speak with his right-hand man, Jak, to retrieve a weapon. He winked at him before he turned around. It was an unspoken request.

Niki, seeing the interaction between the two, had a feeling it was a poisoned blade that his man went to retrieve. Niki whispered behind her to Rask. "Keep an eye on Jak; he might attack someone or me while I fight Tosh." Her whisper was so low he could barely hear her. He did hear her, however. He quickly passed the information around the crowd discreetly. A warning that this wasn't going to be an ordinary challenge fight.

Jak came back with a short sword. One side had a serrated blade. It had a strange green tarnish on it.

Rask's eyes widened when he saw it. Fear washes through him for his mate's safety. "That green stain is poison; be careful," Rask warned her.

Niki eyed the council leader. "Only a coward dips his blade into poison. Are you afraid of me, Tosh?" she taunted.

Tosh sneered at her, holding his blade up, gripped tightly with both hands. "You're a human child who thinks she can win a fight with me," he laughed.

"Yet you dipped your blade in poison," she retorted back, waiting for him to strike first. His weapon was much heavier and would take more effort to control. The weight would force it to overcompensate with each back and forward swing. She needed that time to strike.

Everyone watched intently. Two men were holding Rask back, two more were behind Aleigha and Merrick in case Aleigha tried to interfere, and Merrick tried to stop her. No one could interfere once the first blow was made. There was still time. Niki waited for Tosh to make the first blow; Tosh waited, thinking it would throw her off guard. Others around them kept an eye on Tosh's men and his right-hand man, Jak. There was always a possibility that they would interfere and attack while she was too busy fighting for her life with Tosh.

Tired of waiting, Tosh swung his sword in a wide arch. Niki gracefully swept her bladed staff in a smooth figure eight back and forth so fast you couldn't see where the blade was. With one sweep of her staff, it blocked the sword, flinging it backward. Tosh's hold was firm.

Niki spun her body, moving as if in a dance; the blades of her staff maintained their speed. Each of the ends made contact with Tosh's flesh. His blood seeped from thin gashes over his chest and shoulder. He was not wearing armor, not thinking he would need it.

He swept his blade again; it was stopped short by Niki's bladed short staff. Her figure-eight motion, back and forth, going so quickly that it was hard to see when she changed directions. Tosh's blade was thrown back yet again; his grip still held.

Gritting his teeth, Tosh swung frantically. His eyes showed he underestimated the human girl's skill. His swing was blocked easily; with each block of his blade, more gashes in his chest and arms. His blood dripped onto the cement below.

Tosh, out of desperation, jabbed his blade forward before he swung in a wide arch. Niki blocked it easily, spinning her body gracefully as her blade moved quickly. When the motion stopped, everyone gasped in shock around them. It had taken only seconds for Niki to block Tosh's blows and cut through his wrist; his hand holding the sword fell to the ground with a soft thud, the sword pinging as he bounced, then vibrated on the cement.

Tosh, gritting his teeth, picked his sword up with the only hand he had left.

A fight to challenge for the leadership position of the people was to the death, and she appeared to be winning.

Niki stood, eyeing Tosh as he picked up his sword.

Tosh swiped his sword, but Niki blocked it; it flew back as she spun her bladed staff quickly. When she stopped, Tosh's body paused in time, then collapsed to the cement slowly, his head rolling to the side.

Niki scanned the crowd, the look of horror and shock on everyone's faces. Jak, the right-hand of Tosh, paled. Niki slowly pulled a dagger out of her boot and flung it so quickly that Jak had no time to react. It hit him in the neck; a perfect placement severing his jugular. His blood spilled out quickly as his life left him.

After stiffly walking to Jak, Niki stood in front of him, waiting for him to die. Once he did, she pulled the dagger from his neck as his body collapsed to the ground, then cleaned the blade on his clothes.

Scanning the crowd, she found Vorik and then walked up to him; no one moved; she was now their leader. If she chose to kill Vorik, they couldn't stop her. No one knew what her intention was when she headed toward the Fleet Commander.

Stopping in front of Vorik, Niki made the gesture of respect. "If you had to choose who you wanted to lead your people, who would it be?" she asked quietly.

Fleet Commander Vorik looked at her, stunned, not sure if her question was a test of loyalty or what. He was too used to Tosh's mannerisms and loyalty tests.

Niki, seeing his reluctance to answer, rolled her eyes. "Find a leader worthy of the people. I don't want to lead. I wouldn't know the first thing about leading. You protected both your own people and mine from Tosh. I think you are the best to lead us all, but I won't force it on you. So, either take the position yourself or find someone worthy of the people," she told him before turning and walking away from the watching crowd, not giving Vorik time to answer.

After only going several feet from Vorik, she suddenly turned around and smiled. "I told you I wasn't going to hide in the tunnel. Now no one else has to anymore either," she said, smiling. "Unless that's what they want." Smiling, she turned and walked away, disappearing around a building.

The crowd watched in silence as she disappeared. Aleigha looked at Rask, breaking the silence.

"Aren't you going to go after her?"

Rask swallowed and headed after her.

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