Page 50 of Blightfall

“I don’t understand what Ivy could be doing with them,” I said. “What good are a bunch of scion fighters in an End Times war?”

“Specialized melee fighters can be useful in many situations,” Suki said. “It’s difficult to hold territory without ground fighters, and human strike teams would often assassinate the leaders of planets they conquered.”

Arturo and Alanik exchanged a glance.

“There were a few human bodyguards working for the Superiority before they fell,” Alanik said. “I assumed they had breeding programs.”

“Do you think Ivy was tasked with farming bodyguards on Blightfall?” Arturo asked. “It wasn’t in the information we stole, so it would have been classified even within the Superiority.”

That was a sobering thought. And it raised the question: “If Ivy is supplying the Superiority with human bodyguards,” I said, “then where is she sending them now that the Superiority has fallen?”

“We need more information,” Arturo said. “We don’t know if that’s what’s happening at all. It would help if we could see where that gate leads, and talk to some of the gladiators.”

Dayan and Kalia remained on the arena floor, shaking hands with fans who gathered at the edge to greet them. Even the losers seemed popular—I guessed, given their point system, that they probably had to lose a lot of matches before they won enough to ascend to Elysium.

We couldn’t talk to them now—they spent barely a second or two with each audience member before moving on to shake the next hand, and security guards stood behind them, ready to hustle the gladiators along if anyone tried to take too much of their time. If we wanted to have a conversation, we’d have to catch them when they weren’t surrounded by adoring fans.

As the crowd thinned, crews of people—mostly our age or younger—climbed the steps and filed down the rows of seats, sweeping the floors with wide-bristled brooms, discarding leftover bits of food, and gathering forgotten belongings.

“I wonder if they’re hiring,” I said.

“The custodians?” Arturo asked.

I shrugged. “Sure. It’s the kind of job where they probably always need people, right? No one likes to clean up other people’s messes, and this place is huge! We wanted a way to make money. And if we work here and look like we fit in, we’ll be less suspicious when we ask questions. We might even be able to catch the gladiators after all their fans have gone home.”

“It might also give us access to that doorway,” Alanik said. “Let us see where it goes.”

“That’s a good idea,” Arturo said. “Sadie, why don’t you approach one of the custodians and ask if their employer is hiring.”

I blinked at him. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” Arturo said. “You can handle it. Just ask the question and don’t blow our cover.”

“Good thing you reminded her,” Nedd said. “I’m sure otherwise she intended to give us away first thing.”

Arturo shot a glance at Nedd, who returned an innocent smile. Stars, did Arturo expect me to do all the talking on this mission? I was torn between desperately wanting to ask a thousand questions and also not wanting to screw up our operation.

I stood, carefully handing the backpack containing Nope to Nedd, and then climbed down a few benches to where the nearest person was cleaning—a girl about my age wearing a blue jumpsuit, not too different from the ones we wore on Detritus, though it was less fitted and the fabric had a looser weave.

“Hey,” I said. “How’d you get a job cleaning here?”

She shrugged. “The coliseum office pays ten bits for a section. Check in to see if they need people. They provide the supplies, though if they catch you slacking, they’ll kick you right out.”

I thanked her and asked for directions to the coliseum office, where a surly man with tight curly hair shoved a clipboard at us and frowned while we signed up for cleaning duty. The section nearest the gate was already taken, and the job came with strict instructions not to venture beyond the assigned seating areas.

We followed Arturo back to the arena, where we took the available sections closest to the gate. A guard waited in front of the archway, scowling at us, clearly ready to tell us off if we tried to look beyond the gate. The last crowd of fans dispersed as the gladiators were escorted away. The arena floor was now empty except for the corpses of fallen scions.

We set our packs down on a bench and got to work. Gilaf and Alanik used wide brooms to sweep the dirty floor while I used a hand broom and a metal dustpan to clean up their piles. Nedd and Arturo wiped down benches with rags. As I passed the row they were cleaning, Arturo waved me over.

“We’re blending in,” he said, “so this would be a good opportunity to ask more questions.” He nodded toward the girl I’d talked to before, who was cleaning the floor between the bottom row of benches in our section and the short wall that surrounded the arena.

My heart thudded. “You want me to do it?”

“Yes,” Arturo said. “You spoke to her before, so she’ll recognize you, and you’re good at chatting with people. Make it seem natural, and find out what you can about Elysium.”

“I don’t know if I’m good at it,” I said. “Volume isn’t the same thing as quality.”

“Who would you rather I send?” Arturo asked.