I was awake since early in the morning, I tried to contact Malkia again, but I couldn’t find her in the astral planes, and I didn’t want to risk going to her and being spotted by someone, some of our enemies, and a few of her companions were able to see astral projections, and even if I could mask my appearance so they couldn’t recognize me, it was still a risk to let them know someone was there.
As Fatima and I had foreseen, there was a possibility that the group was going to be separated, and if that happened, we had agreed that Kimball would go after them while I stayed with the main group. As soon as Malkia and a couple of soldiers left their separated way, a thick fog fell over the main group, it was unnatural and I knew that soon the effects would start to show. For a moment I considered dissipating the fog, but I decided to leave it, and instead created air bubbles around my people to protect them. I wanted them to show their cards, to incriminate themselves, so those who survived would witness their reason and be able to point their fingers at them. I knew that Dendro would believe me and my daughters above anyone else, but I also knew things would be easier for them if there was someone else to back their words.
After a while we could hear the noise coming from the camp that signaled something bad, like screams and groans… but it lasted just for a few seconds and then a deep silence fell over the group. Time was advancing slowly, and I was getting restless, I wanted it to go faster, but there was nothing I could do. Just as I was losing my patience the fog started to lift, and soon after the enemy arrived. My people were using illusions to stay hidden, and the enemy walked right past us without noticing us. Once they were gone, I sent a telepathic message to my people to let them know they needed to wait, but that I needed them to attack at the first sign of danger.
Using my powers I started to move to where the two groups were now talking, and as I moved closer I started to hear voices.
“My men are behind the other group, they will have the other woman in their power, soon,” one of the Slavers was saying.
“The men that left with her are on my side, so you won’t have any trouble capturing her, still, I hope you remember to warn your men that, unlike this one, her sister is poisonous,” the Colonel said, and I could see that he was holding Greca by the neck. When the Slaver moved closer, he pushed Greca into the Slaver’s arms. By the way she was moving, I could tell that the fog had affected Greca, but despite being unable to move, I could tell she was talking, even if I couldn’t hear her words.
When I realized that the Slaver was “inspecting the merchandise”, I couldn’t stay away anymore and moved forward, making no effort to mask my movements, letting my steps be heard. As soon as I did that, the rest of the Slavers pointed their weapons at me, but I used my powers to get a hold of them and took them out of their hands.
“Malkia? What are you doing here?” Colonel Gargan asked, but I kept walking instead of answering.
“Not my sister…” Greca said, her voice weak, but clear enough. The Slaver was holding her with an arm around her waist, but her upper body was bent over his arm, as if she didn’t have the strength to stay upright.
“Pitonisa?” the Slaver asked, and I realized he was one of the brothers I had met during my visit to his clan years before.
“You!” the Colonel exclaimed as he finally recognized me.
“Greetings, Colonel, it’s been a while. If I remember correctly the last time we met I was getting you out of a cage, where you were waiting for your death. Is this how you pay for my help and the new chance at live I gave you?”
“This has nothing to do with you,” he defended himself.
“Those are my daughters you are trying to sell to this disgusting animal,” I said.
“Hey! That’s no way of talking about an old friend, is it? So this young woman is your daughter, you did a great job, she is beautiful, not as beautiful as you of course.”
“If you know what’s good for you, you will let her go, right now,” I threatened him.
“I don’t think so,” he said, as he moved Greca, using his free arm to grab her by the neck and holding her up until she was upright, covering him like a shield. “This girl is mine, I already paid for her, but I could give you a good price for her.”
“What will Dendro say when he finds out you are selling his soldiers to the Slavers? Do you really believe he will make your daughter Antrax’s partner after this?”
The rest of the Slavers already had gotten over the surprise of having their weapons stolen, and they were positioning themselves around me. I could tell that it would have been impossible for me to run away from them, but what they didn’t realize is that I wasn’t planning on running, and that I wasn’t alone.
“If you let my daughter go, I may let you leave, at the very least I will make your death a painless one,” the Slaver holding Greca started to laugh, the arm around her waist moved until he was holding her by the crotch, he pulled her closer to him, taunting me and making my blood boil with anger.
“I’m sorry Pitonisa, but I had no intention of letting this sweetness go, but you are welcome to join us if you want, I wouldn’t say no to a threesome with mother and daughter.”
“You have until the count of three to let her go, or you will be sorry,” I warned him. “One…” before I could continue Gargan shoot a dart at me, it bounced on my psychic wall, but I knew he had been planning on drugging me with the same thing he had given Greca.
I decided I couldn’t keep trying to play nice, I needed to take Greca back, and I needed to take care of them. I created a barrier around her using my powers, and I pushed the Slaver away from her at the same time. I managed to get her away, but once she was free she was unable to move away, and as I was moving her closer to me, I felt vertigo and I lost my focus, dropping her. I couldn’t concentrate enough to use my powers and I couldn’t even tell what was up or down, I had been using my double mind to get Greca free and I had been vulnerable to an attack, and my enemies had taken advantage of that. I couldn’t keep my balance and fell to my knees, but I managed to get a psychic wall around me as I did. Trying to find my attacker wasn’t easy, but since most of the Assassins, and Greca, were collapsed on the floor, and only my enemies were upright, I sent my men a warning, and then let a psychic wave that hit everyone around me at chest height, it was enough to break my attacker’s focus and rid me of the vertigo.
I studied the scene in front of me, I realized that the Slaver had been on his way to retrieve Greca before my attack, but Yoweri was by her side, ready to protect her. I didn’t realize he had moved, but I was grateful for that.
“Colonel Gargan! I called, looking for him, and finding him standing next to one of the vehicles. I realized he had a new weapon in his hands, even before he turned to face me, and I didn’t waste time taking it from him using my powers.
Before I could continue my attack, or at least get on my feet, the floor under me started to move, and in seconds I started to sink into it. Instead of trying to fight it off, I used the chance to connect to it. My hands closed around something, roots I realized and I connected to them, discovering an extensive net of roots under out feet. I focused on them, and using all my strength I made them explode upright, wrapping them around the Slavers and the couple of Assassins that were working with Gargan.
My body kept sinking, and I realized that my tactic had done nothing to break my attacker’s focus. I changed my focus to the ground and used my powers to free myself and move back up. As soon as I got out and stood up, I noticed in the corner of my eye an enemy that had gotten out of the roots, and was running to me, but before he could reach me Ivan appeared between us and managed to hit him so hard that he knocked him out.
“Thanks,” I told Ivan.
“Just doing my job,” he said, before disappearing again.
Focusing on the roots again, I started dragging my enemies to where I was, at the same time I tightened my hold on them, trying to asphyxiate them, making them pass out. At least most of them, I still had plans for Gargan.
“You think you already won?” Gargan asked. “There is another group of Slavers that is going to come here as soon as they deal with your other daughter. You won’t be able to win,” he threatened.
“You are done Gargan, your plan already failed, and soon your clan will see the kind of person you are, how you betrayed your own people. Not only Dendro knows about this, even Emperor Trajan knows about your deal with the Slavers, and his people will be here to deal with you and your new friends.”
“Be reasonable Pitonisa,” the Slaver said, “this doesn’t have to end like this, I’m sure we can make a deal.”
“You put your disgusting hands on my daughter, there’s no way you will walk away from this with your life. You are both going to die, you already sealed your destiny.”
“I will give the other one back, if you let me go,” he tried to negotiate.
“Malkia will be fine. Do you really believe I wasn’t prepared for this? The rest of you men should be already dead, or at least incapacitated. I’m only waiting for Dendro to arrive so he can clean up this mess. And he won’t be the only one to arrive soon, the Emperor must have sent his own group already, and they will make sure to find the rest of your clan and finish the job they started years ago, there won’t be any Slavers alive by the time they’re done.”
“Why are you doing this? You are supposed to be an Amazon, or are you just a traitor as well?”
“I know who my allies are, you never were one of them. Huang,” I called one of my men, “take a look at my daughter and the rest of the Assassins, make sure they are stable, I will deal with the traitors.”
While I was still talking some of the roots burst in flames, burning and weakening them enough for a couple of my prisoners to get free. My men were already getting ready to stop them, but I could tell it wouldn’t be easy. I had tried to keep things clean, but I could tell they wouldn’t give up so easily. I had been away from the Empire far too long if I had forgotten that things were different there. I focused my powers on the world around us. I found the minds of my enemies and sent mental attacks to them, knocking them out one by one, until the only ones left were Gargan and the Slaver, I had something else prepared for them.
Once I was sure the others were no longer a threat, I created a stake that burst from the floor, going through both Gargan and the Slaver, and then new arms started to branch out of the original stake, creating a tree of pain. Their screams were like music to my ears. I knew what they had planned for my daughters, and I wanted them to pay for it with a slow and painful death. Once I was done and was sure none of them was going to be able to get away or survive, I went to where Greca was.
“Mother?” she asked, her voice sounding stronger, even if her body was still not working.
“I’m here, Greca,” I said, as I used my hand to move her hair out of her face, and making sure she was really alright at the same time, using my powers to connect with her.
“Gargan… why?”
“Ivy promised him that his daughter was going to be Antrax’s partner, and when Dendro chose your sister instead, he got angry. He knew that he couldn’t get rid of Malkia without you causing trouble, so he decided to get rid of both of you,” I could feel her anger lighting up like a fire, but then she got worried.
“Malkia!”
“Don’t worry about her, she will be fine. Like I told them, I didn’t come alone.”
“Everyone seems to be fine,” Huang reported, he was standing a couple of steps away from us. “Some of them are already starting to recover and will be able to move in a few minutes, the others will take longer.”
“Thanks Huang.”
“A group of Assassins is approaching fast,” Ivan said, “one of them is riding a motorcycle and will arrive in less than five minutes.”
“Then I guess is time to leave,” I helped Greca to get upright, leaving her seated against one of the vehicles. “I need to go, I would love to stay, but I can’t.”
“Thanks for helping me.”
“You are a great warrior, Greca, and I’m proud of you. I know you would have been able to escape them, but it wouldn’t have been an easy task, and I’m glad I could help you. Tell Dendro that Gargan wasn’t working alone, and I’m not talking about the soldiers that went with Malkia, or the couple here that helped him.
Greca was looking at me as if she wasn’t sure if I was really there or if I was a mirage. After making sure that everyone would be fine, we moved away from the group and hid behind an illusion once again. Not much later we heard an engine moving closer, and then I watched as Antrax arrived, in less than five minutes, as Ivan had said.
“Malkia!” he screamed in desperation as he arrived and watched the scene in front of him. I didn’t know how much Dendro had told him, and I wasn’t sure if he knew what had happened and who to blame. I saw him approach Greca and talk to her, but I couldn’t heard them. After a couple minutes he jumped back into his bike and went in the direction of Malkia.
“Do you want me to follow him?” Yoweri asked, after realizing I was staring at the direction Antrax had left.
“No, it’s alright. As soon as the rest of the Assassins arrive, we will go, we can’t risk being found.”
A few minutes later we heard the rest of the Assassins approaching, and we started to back out. I knew Greca was going to be fine, and Malkia as well, they were both in good hands.
Kaiserin Novel 