Free Legacy of the Claw by C. R. Grey Page A

Scavage was a Fairmount invention, but had become so popular throughout the kingdom that a professional Scavage league had been created during the reign of King Melore—of course, it was populated mostly by Fairmount graduates. For this reason, the Fairmount team was intensely scrutinized; even their practices drew a crowd of eager spectators.
    Bailey felt like he was about to go on stage in front of a packed auditorium without his trousers. His hands felt cold, and he couldn’t feel his legs below the knee. Hal, meanwhile, looked like at any second he might throw up the three egg tartlets he’d eaten during lunch.
    The first person to greet them as they entered the field was Coach Banter, a broad-shouldered man with a shaved head. He was Animas Bulldog, and he had two kin who followed him around.
    â€œWelcome, boys,” he said with a nod. He uncrossed his arms and pointed them toward the sign-in.
    A large red-haired girl with gold shoulder padding and warm-ups watched as they wrote their names on the sign-in sheet.
    â€œ
You’re
Taylor’s little brother?” she said to Hal.
    Hal squared his shoulders. “I am. So what?”
    The red-haired girl smirked. “You don’t look a thing like him, that’s all.”
    It wasn’t Hal’s most impressive comeback, Bailey had to admit, but all the same he was glad to see Hal stand up for himself. He felt even better when he saw Phi, the Animas Falcon, sitting alone on the wooden benches where potential players were being asked to wait. She was looking longingly at the trees on the other side of the pitch.
    The red-haired girl shoved two sets of kneepads and thin but durable fingerless gloves into their arms. “Put these on. Trust me, you’ll need them.”
    â€œGreat,” Hal muttered, as he and Bailey headed toward the bench to suit up. “There’s that boost of confidence I was hoping to get  … ”
    â€œDon’t worry,” Bailey said. He was focused on the empty seat next to Phi. Her curly brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and she wore a faded pair of girls’ athletic shoes that looked secondhand. Her leather patch had been buckled into place over her white athletic shirt, and she also wore similar leather gauntlets on both her forearms. Bailey thought she looked less like a schoolgirl Scavage player, and more like a warrior about to go into battle. He gathered his courage and sat down next to her. Hal followed, and stood by the bench fumbling with his kneepads.
    â€œDo you always attract the same falcon?” Bailey blurted out. Phi barely glanced at him. “I mean  …  I saw  …  I’m in Sucrette’s Latin class.”
    â€œI know,” Phi said evenly. She paused, then said, “Yes, mostly. We’re not life-bonded or anything. But she did travel with me from the Dust Plains. Her name is Carin. ”
    â€œThat’s really cool,” said Bailey.
    Phi shrugged, but one corner of her mouth crooked into a smile. “Thanks. My roommate doesn’t think it’s so cool. Carin’s always terrorizing her snakes.” She pointed to the stands behind them. There, among the rowdy group of students, sat Victoria, looking as sullen as if she’d been put there in time-out for bad behavior. A freckled boy sitting next to her asked her a question, and as Bailey watched, one of Tori’s snakes reared its head out of her collar and hissed. The boy jumped. Tori pretended not to notice.
    â€œTori’s your roommate?” Hal asked quickly, with feigned casualness.
    â€œAll right, newbies!” came a loud, harsh voice—the red-headed girl was demanding their attention from the field. Beside her stood Taylor, his mottled-brown cat winding its way around his ankles. They both held clipboards for taking notes on the hopeful new students. “Let’s get going. We’re splitting you up into two squadrons and