Orenis Tinsmith

Death by Combat: An Eden's Blade Story

By: James Mascia

Narrated by: Kane Prestenback

Orenis has been convicted of a crime he hasn't committed. His sentence is death in the gladiatorial games. But Orenis intends to go down fighting. If he can't prove his innocence, then he will take as many of his enemies down with him as possible. But his plans go awry when he realizes that some of his enemies are closer than he thinks, and he realizes the truth.

"The sentence is death by combat."

The words rang in his head as he stared at his bare feet and shackled ankles. The last day of his life, and he would spend it fighting for the amusement of others.

How many times had he come to the arena and cheered as a prisoner had been decapitated or impaled? Too many to count. The whole thing seemed so barbaric from this side of the coin.

"And what if I survive?" he asked.

It was a question that the judges had probably heard a thousand times, from a thousand different criminals. They already had an answer ready for him: "No one survives."

©2017 James Mascia (P)2017 Dren Productions LLC