This story is set in Terri Windling's Borderlands shared-world.

Knock The Three
Thomas Harlan, 1992

The singers voice was pure gold, piercing the thick, throbbing air of the Snail. Karli was dancing hard, his body shocking to the heavy riff laid down by the guitar-man on stage. His long blonde hair whipped back and forth to the hammering beat, and he spun and whirled faster and faster. Thray smashed into him from the side and they sprang apart, crashing into the surging crowd. Adrenaline hissed in Karli's blood and he spun around and around again. With each twirl he and Thray struck apart, sparks flashing from their gear, studs and spikes ringing.

The guitar-man's axe shrieked down into a low, whistling, flourish and faded away, leaving the voice of the singer was hanging in silence, clear and pure. The crowd cheered and stamped their feet, swaying back and forth to the rippling pitter-pat beat that the drummer laid down on the edge of his set. Karli and Thray pushed off the floor through the laughing crowd, drenched with sweat, ears ringing. Smalls and Lax were already at the table, grinning ear to ear. Karli fived Smalls and got the put-back from Lax behind his back. They crowded into the alcove around the table. Karli felt light, his whole body was echoing the last chords off of the guitar-man.

"Kickin' song," yelled Lax in Karli's ear.

Karli nodded and waved down a waitress dressed in velvet and lace. She off loaded some beers and slipped away into the crowd. The band had come back up and a sitar was beginning its droning buzz to backup the singer. Karli pushed himself up on his seat and caught sight of her across the dancing crowd, over the bobbing heads and upraised hands. She was pale and gossamer, swaying from side to side as her honey-voice worked the floor mike at the edge of the stage. Her hair fell around her in waves, burnished silver and gold. Her hands cut the air as she ran up the scale into the end of the first chorus. Lax and Thray, perched on the back of the alcove bench-seat whooped and whistled.

Karli laid back against the dark smooth oak paneling. Sweet sound filled the air around him, the beer went down cold and fresh. His compadres were here. Life was good, he thought, and made a hand sign of blessing to the powers. Smalls reached over and ruffled Karli's hair. He nodded to the floor, shouting something. Karli heard only the wavering voice of the singer, but he turned to look. Two eastside girls in slick forest green leather and spidernet were waving at them from the edge of the dance floor. Karli laughed, feeling joy bubble up from inside him like a rushing wave. He and Smalls broke for the floor, catching the girls and spinning them around as they faded into the dancing press of people.

The cold air bit at Karli as he stumbled down the cracked concrete steps of the Snail. Lax and Smalls grabbed at him and pulled him upright. Everything was very clear, like crystal. The moon rode high in the sky, yellow and huge over the soaring towers and crenellations of the city. Looking up from the spilling dusky light at the door of the Snail, Karli could see the lights of the buildings, yellow, red and bronze against the night sky. He grabbed Thray and Lax and Smalls and hugged them to him. They laughed and mussed each other's hair, punching back and forth. Clinging together, the four bent together and formed a circle. Faces close together they hung for a moment, breathing the cold air.

"We are drunk," said Lax with his trademark giggle.

"We are very drunk," agreed Smalls, basso voice slurred.

"No, we are very very drunk," muttered Thray, his shaven head hung low.

"We are flying high, my friends," said Karli, "we need to burn off this booze and get clear. We have to work tomorrow, and The Slide will not be pleased if we can't move or think."

"Amen!" chorused his fellows.

"How shall we do this thing?" asked Lax, brown eyes wide with concern.

"We could.. drink a great deal of coffee?" ventured Thray.

"No, then we'd be awake and drunk," answered Smalls.

"I have it," said Karli, raising his head up from the circle to glance up and down the street.

"What?" came their querulous voices.

"We play some ball."

All three looked up at this, faces surprised.

"At night?"

"In the dark?"

"And the cold?"

Karli smiled and crossed his arms on his chest.

"No problem," he said, "I know a place with lights, where it's not so cold, and no one plays at night."

Karli was off and running, long legs flashing in the intermittent lights of the street.

"Come on," his voice came back to the other three out of the darkness, "ball won't wait!"

Lax and Smalls and Thray exchanged surprised looks and whooping, sprinted off after him.

Karli swung up over the chain link gate and dropped lightly into the narrow brick alley beyond. Lax and Thray boosted Smalls up and he too dropped down with a grunt. The ball went over off a lazy one-handed shot, and Karli pulled it down. He jogged up the narrow alley, wide shoulders brushing the bricks on either side. He came to an open grating across the path and cleared it easily. Behind him Karli heard Smalls cursing and laughed.

"Shh." he whispered back in the darkness to the others. "Gotta checkit." He pushed up on the heavy trap door slowly. As it opened a thin wash of clear white light lit up their faces, crowded into the top of a narrow stairway. Karli raised his head up carefully and looked out.

The court was pine, with a burnished yellow surface showing the wood. Half of the huge loft roof had been torn away long ago, leaving only a low, ragged, wall around two thirds of the broad floor. Hung from the remaining rafters were a long row of floods. Three of the six were lit, filling the court with a clear, distinct light. Beyond the cocoon of white, the towers of the city rose, amber and violet in the darkness. Hundreds of windows glittered down. To the south, through the broken wall, the city fell away in terraced steps to the river and the sea beyond.

Karli heard the hiss of intaken breath as the other three followed him out of the stairwell. At each end of the court reinforced pylons stood, transparent backboards and breakaway rims clear. Karli bounced the ball twice, its sound ringing solid in the quiet.

"Who, who..." Lax couldn't finish.

"Who owns it?" said Karli, turning a little, a wide grin on his face, "I don't know, and I don't care. Lets play ball."

Lax shook himself all over like a big dog, ribbons dancing in his hair, and shed his jacket and cutaway shirt. Karli shrugged off his leathers and passed the ball from hand to hand. Smalls, his broad face lit up from within, stripped off his shirt and stretched, muscles bulging and coiling like snakes. Thray rolled from one foot to the other.

"Two on two, me and Thray, Lax and Smalls, 'kay?"

"Solid," said Smalls and checked the ball back to him.

The city was a blur of light and darkness as Karli soared into the basket, switching hands as Smalls sprang up, big brown hands arcing at the ball. The rock rang off the back of the board and rolled in. Karli shouted with glee and hurtled back down the court. His heart was racing, his arms slick with sweat. There was nothing but the ball, flashing off the floor as Lax drove in against Thray at the other end. Smalls was pacing him, angling into the basket from the right-hand side. Thray made position at the blocks and Lax went vertical for the jumper. The ball went soft off of his hand and Karli and Smalls collided in mid air just in front of the basket. Karli twisted as they came down and flicked the ball back with the ends of his fingers. Thray had blocked out Lax and pulled down the rejection. Karli and Smalls hit the floor in a tangle and rolled up.

Thray had made the break and went behind the back and left to get clear of Lax reaching in near the three line. Karli ran in on the rightside, hands in the air for the lob, and Thray overhanded it to him. Just as Karli's fingers closed on the rock, Smalls was there, tongue hanging out and a wild smile on his face, his left hand slapping the ball away. It hurtled cross-court and bounced up near the time-line to smack meatily into the hands of the tall girl.

Karli and Smalls hit the floor together and sprang out, ready to run. Lax, at the foul line, waved them back. There were four girls, all slick glossy black spandex and deep blood red leather, at the far end of the court.

"Howdy boys," said the tall one with the thick coil of raven hair cast back over her shoulder, "anyone ever tell you to ask permission before you play at someone else's house?"

Karli slid out between Lax and Thray, edging them back. He shook his hair out in a fan behind him and put on his best tough-guy look.

"You build this place?" he sneered, "you own this building?"

The raven girl stepped forward, passing the ball easily from hand to hand. She cocked her head to one side.

"You want to play here, you earn it, pretty boy."

"Against you?" burst out Lax and Thray, "you couldn't beat us on a cold day!"

The girls behind raven-hair laughed and it was like the wind in the trees in the park. Karli's eye suddenly fixed on the left ear of the raven-girl. Tapering to a flashed back point, it was just a little longer and more translucent than most ears. He took an involuntary step back. The four girls fanned out into a line.

"Four on four, twenty-one on twos and threes, let's see who gets to call this court their own," said raven-hair, arms akimbo, ball palmed in her left hand.

"No trouble there, ladies." crowed Lax, leering at the four.
"Sometime we'll let you watch," he finished laughing, spinning to give Smalls five. Karli turned around, slowly, and gathered his team around him.

"Guys, shut up. Those are not human girls," he hissed.

"Que?" said Lax, pursing his lips in surprise.

"Can you say u-p-t-o-w-n?" Asked Karli with a sardonic smile. The other three looked up out of the huddle in surprise at the girls, who were stripping down to the skintight body suits that went under their leathers. Karli dragged the heads of his team back down with a disgusted growl. Raven-hair, tying her loose braids back and up with a short cord, laughed, filling the cavernous court with the sound of the sea against high cliffs.

"Damn." said Lax.

"Damn." said Thray.

"Double damn." said Smalls and rubbed his broken nose with his right hand.

"You got it." said Karli, "now, we gotta win this, we're low on the street if word gets out."

"It will," grumbled Thray mournfully, "it always does."

Lax slapped Thray upside the head and dragged him around by the ear.

"Ain't gonna lose, mustard-brain, we're bigger, stronger and faster!"

"Are we?" asked Smalls, glancing over his shoulder at the girls who were stretching out, long slim limbs sheathed in 'tex glittering black under the lights. "I ain't so sure."

"We do this," growled Karli, "we're warmed up, ready to hang, they're cold off the street. No prisoners."

"No prisoners!" the others echoed and gripped hands down and rolled off. They spread the floor, Karli on point at center court. Raven-hair strolled up, idly dribbling the ball and flipped it up to him. Karli palmed the ball and passed it behind his back, checking out the competition.

Raven-hair was at point, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet, bent forward a little. Her long dark hair was tied back in a deep blue band at the back of her head. Her face, clear of hair, was thin and narrow, her eyes somber and enormous, pupiless and dark. The muscles along the top of her shoulders and biceps stood out in clear relief. She was lithe and small-breasted, clean of limb and Karli guessed she was faster than the wind.

At small forward, to Karli's left, against Lax, the girl was heavier, with short blonde hair cut back in a wave. Shorter and solid, Karli eyed the tensing muscles of her thighs with concern. The girl smiled back at him, crystal blue eyes crinkling up. Her teeth were fine and white. The leotard filled out well in front he thought, wrenching his eyes away.

At power forward, to Karli's right, against Smalls, was another tall raven-haired girl enough alike to the guard to be her sister. Karli measured her frame, wrapped in flat planes of muscle and guessed she could sky as well as any. Her face was long, her eyes hooded. She glanced his way and Karli almost flinched away from the rage half-lidded in her eyes.

Behind the point, slight and pale, with narrow hips and a wasp waist, their center lounged at ease, long hands coiling her fine white hair into a bun. Karli shook his head, eyes had gone fuzzy for a moment, but yes, she was at least as tall as Thray and built like a flip-knife. He looked back to the point and raven-hair gave him a long, slow, smile.

"No funny stuff," he croaked.

"What?" asked raven-hair, stepping forward to knuckle him.

"Just play ball, huh?" he said as he leaned past to knuckle the center and the power.

"I'm Smalls," came a deep voice from Karli's right.

"Andy." The power forwards voice was fire in a deep forge, licking and slithering against the bubbling metal.

"Karli," said Karli, his voice clear and strong now.

"Lys," said the point and there was the sea there, rolling long and slow back to the sky.

"Lax, but I ain't!" Karli could hear the uneasy smile.

"Annie." The shorter blonde was deep green trees and dappled sunlight. Karli shook his head again, feeling his pulse climb up and the hot rising tide of gametime in his belly.

"Thray," grunted Thray from behind as he knuckled Lys.

"Pana," said the center and her voice was the winter nights lying still and quiet and clear on the fields. Pana did not knuckle anyone, ignoring Lax and Smalls, who had stepped up. They shrugged and sauntered back into the line.

"Shoot for it?" drawled Karli to Lys.

"Be my guest" she said and stepped aside for him.

The ball was sweaty now and a little slick in his hands as he stood at the foul. Breath easy, said his fathers voice, square up, breathe out and shoot. The ball went off of his left hand with a little spin and socked into the back of the net, easy as you please. Smalls let out a little hiss of breath.

Lys stepped up and uncoiled for a shot so quickly that Karli missed it, blinking. The ball hung up on the bottom lip of the net and dropped through into the hands of Andy. She flipped it the length of the lane with her right hand. Karli picked it out the air without thinking.

"Damn." he heard someone say, then realized it was him.

The ball rattled left off the rim and Karli was down court at full speed, clawing for the cross-pass from Annie, hurtled overhand like a rocket. Lys was airborne at the wing line to snatch it down and fire a horizontal shot into the basket from the top of her leap. Smalls picked the ball up underneath and skated it off the floor to Karli, already swung around and trying to get some steps up the court against Lys and the press. Andy loomed up, arms darting, and Karli went around his back and up, dishing off to Smalls in the lane for the tomahawk jam. Pana sprang sideways and up from the screen against Lax at the wing and under-spun the ball out of Smalls hand to skitter across the court.

Thray stepped in and scooped it up, firing it over Lys at the three line to Karli. Karli put it on the floor and tried to spin out on Annie who had filled the lane. Lys plucked the rock out of his left hand and was down court like a greyhound, Thray two steps behind. Karli sprinted, his heart hammering in his ears like a freight train, his legs on fire. He saw Lys go up, right of the basket and Thray arc in between her and the hoop, hand slicing for the slap-away. Lys rotated the ball behind her and flipped it, sight unseen, to Pana who was trailing for a double handed slam into the basket.

Karli stopped thinking and just pushed his hands and feet to go as fast as they could. Back down court he picked off the rock from a cross-lane dish from Lax and double-pumped under the basket, Pana slamming into him like a wall, to get the roll off the glass. His heart leapt and he was running backwards, arms out to cover the passing lane as the girls drove the floor. Lys spun in on him at the top of the key and hit a bounce-pass to Pana. Thray lunged up to cover the turnaround jumper and Pana kicked the ball back out to Annie at the three line. Her shot was off before Lax could get up on her and it slapped home, flipping the net up behind it.

Thray passed inbounds sideways to Karli and he jumped, firing it upcourt to Smalls over Lys, who just missed tipping it with her fingers. Smalls drove the weak side against Andy and flipped it inside to Lax at the right wing. Lax fired in a fifteen foot jumper and hit the floor as Pana collided with him in air.

The ball sprang back off of the back rim and Karli was in the air, knifing up between Andy and Lys, flicking the ball back into the half-court. All three went down and broke apart, scrambling up. Down court, Annie had scooped the ball and slashed in on Thray, his arms spread wide to fill the lane. She skyed up and hung leaning forward over him, knocking down a two before both of them crashed to the floor.

Karli ran in, picking up the ball on its third bounce and loped back down court past Annie and Thray who were still untangling themselves. Lys stepped out against him and he faked right to the sideline before cutting left into the top of the key. He made vertical and passed off at right angles as Lys sprang up in front of him. Smalls caught the rock two feet back of the three and fired off a fall-away jumper straight into the basket before Pana could get airborne.

Lys caught the inbound and flashed down the side-lane in a blur. Karli hurtled after her, catching her just outside the three line on the rightside. He went airborne, but she had already skidded to a stop and shot as he fell past. At the basket Thray, Smalls and Andy were already at the glass as the ball rattled in and then out of the hoop. Andy snagged away the rock and put it on the floor, stepping out. Karli tangled her arms as she tried to spin out against Thray. The ball popped loose and Lax had it on the first bounce. Howling with delight, he raced upcourt, Lys a step behind. Pana stepped out to block and Lax sprang sideways past her, his arm uncurling like a whip-snake to kiss the ball off the glass into the bucket.

Pana inbounded with a long pass while Lax and Smalls were slapping five as they sprinted down court. Annie caught the lob, dribbled twice, once forward, once back and dished to Andy in the lane as Karli was jumping out to cover the outside shot. Andy double-pumped and slammed home the ball, rocking the pylon back and wrenching a shrill springing sound from the rim.

Karli gasped for breath, running back up court. He was losing speed fast. He signaled Lax and Thray to go to a half-court offense and paced Lys past the half-line. The girls spread the floor, man to man, and Lys was darting in front of him, hands flashing at the ball. He dribbled back and handed off on the side to Lax, who had cut out to him. He dodged in past Lys and rotated out to the perimeter. Lax kicked the ball into Thray, who was in the post and then tried to get out for the wing shot. Thray flipped a chest-pass out to Karli. Lys was in on him again and he went behind the back to try and drive the lane. She slid back and vertical to cover his shot. He went up and fired back out to Smalls, mostly open at the left wing.

Andy was there, arcing up into the pass to pick it off. Her face was tense and streaked with sweat as they all ran down court. Karli felt everything sliding into slow-motion. Andy went up, the line of her back curving into the hook shot. It went down sweet over Thray's outstretched hands to spin through the net.
It's going to be a long night, echoed Karli's fathers voice in his head.

Lys caught his hand in a high five and gave him back behind. Smalls and Lax were shaking hands with Annie and Pana. Thray, nursing the jagged cut over his left eye, knuckled Andy. Karli could barely walk, his legs were shaking, his head was filled with a roaring sound. He knuckled Annie and turned around to face Lys. She was smiling that long slow smile like the sun rising.

"Fair game, lady, you play you stay. We'll hit the road."

"Yea, sisters," echoed Lax and Thray, "good game."

"Jammin'," said Smalls, giving Andy the brothers shake.
Lys cocked her head to one side, eyes sparkling. Sweat ran down the side of the face in thin trails, curling around her high cheekbones.

"You don't want to go for best of three?" she said, thin lips curled in a smile.

Karli, Smalls, Lax and Thray looked at each other and then rolled their eyes, laughing.

"No way, sister," said Karli with a smile, "not today. We're ready to drop over and no mistake."

"You're, ah, not bigger and faster and stronger?" asked Annie with an innocent tone. Lax jerked his head around in surprise. She smiled at him and he gulped.

"Good road then, brother." said Lys, shaking Karli's hand.

"Good road, sister."