"You will fight," said the voice. "You are two and they are two and…”
"But one of us is a woman," protested Gary. "Female humans do not engage in duels.”
The voice did not answer, but Gary sensed frustration in a mind — perhaps a presence rather than a mind — that was near to them.
He pressed his advantage. "You say that our arms are equal, that they have small arms only and so have we. But you can't be sure that the arms are equal. Their arms, even if they are no bigger than ours, may be more powerful. Size is not a measure for power. Or their arms may be equal, but the Hellhounds may be better versed in their use.”
"They are small weapons," said the voice. "They are…”
"You want this to be a fair fight, don't you?”
"Why, yes," said the voice. "Yes, of course, I do. That is the purpose of it, that everything be even, so that in all fairness the two species may test their true and proper fitness for survival.”
"But, you see," said Gary, "you can't be sure it's even. You never can be sure.”
"Yes, I can," the voice told him and there was an insane ring of triumph in it. "I can make sure that it will be even. You will fight without weapons.
None of you will have weapons. Just bare hands and teeth or whatever else you may have.”