There's an arena south of the city. I'd seen it from a distance and never found the way in. Tonight the back route opened.

I expected a roar. A fighting pit draws crowds, and I came in half-braced for the noise the loud ones live for.

Silence. An enormous floor, ringed all the way round with seats for a mob. One bored miner leaning on the far wall. And me, standing in the middle of all that empty stone.

A whole room built for blood and shouting, sitting dark, waiting on a fight that isn't coming tonight.

I stood at the center and listened to nothing. I liked it better this way.