Emily’s Revenge (The Mamluks Saga Book 3) (8 page)

A soldier walked in and stood beside me. “The rebels, perhaps?”

I exhaled. “I’m not quite sure.”

“My Ruler,”
someone called to me from outside.

I got up and left the hut. It was Nojus. He was standing by another hut, holding a dagger. I walked to him and he handed it to me.

“It would appear that the natives of this planet do not have the technology to combat us,” he suggested.

I scanned the dagger from all sides, then gave it back to Nojus. “Appearances can be deceiving, My Champion. Stay sharp and keep your eyes open for anything.”

“Certainly, Great Emily.”

We went ahead and found a scattered forest. Inside, there were many more huts. I marched into the forest with Nojus and our ground unit close behind. About a mile or so into the woodland, we came upon a massive, tall, spacious hut.

I glared into the hut with my eyes shifting from end to end. “Soldiers, go in there and see what you can—”

A creature came out of the giant shed. It was noticeably a male, standing tall like a Mamluk, with a furred, muscular body, mean eyes and fangs peeking from his mouth.

Without fear, I stepped closer. “Who are you?”

The beast looked down at me for a moment, then glanced at the soldiers. “I am King Azar.” He looked back at me. “Who are you?”

I eagerly pointed at him, then pointed at the ground in front of me. “Come to me and kneel. Then I will tell you who I am.”

The beast growled loudly. “As King of these lands, I will kneel to no one.”

My eyes tensed, and I felt my heart rumble. “Get over here now—and kneel! Otherwise I will slaughter you and all the ugly creatures on this horrid planet.”

The beast disobeyed my command and stood tall.

I laughed at his arrogance. “My Champion—beat this so-called
King
to the ground, and drag his body to me.”

Nojus quickly marched forward.

Finally, the creature surrendered. He put a paw up and backed away. “Please stop.”

Nojus slowed his march and looked back at me. I gave him a nod, telling him to stop.

The beast growled softly as he lowered his paw. “I will kneel to her if you will refrain from violence.”

I grinned and pointed at the ground again. “We will do as we please. Now, come to me and kneel.”

Cautiously, the tall brute walked past Nojus, then walked to me. He looked down at the mud with a dismal look in his eyes. He let out a soft, heated snarl as he kneeled in the mud and bowed his head.

I put my chin up and held my arms behind my back. “Allow me to introduce myself.” I leisurely circled the beast. “My name is Emily, and I am the
Master
of the universe.” The soldiers cheered and howled as I went on. “I have come to this planet in search of a rebel group who kidnapped a very special member of my society.” I glanced at Azar with furious eyes. “Therefore, you will now serve me as I scour this planet. You will comply with my every command or watch your people suffer and die.” I stopped in front of the beast and looked him over. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

I smiled. “Tell me, what species are you, Azar?”

“I am a Turk, and this is Turkland.”

I looked around for a moment, then looked back at him. “As of this moment, Turkland is under my rule, and in my presence, you are no King—you are my servant—therefore—you will call me Master.”

Azar struggled to reply, and after releasing a sad growl, he gave me a pleasing response. “I understand...Master.”

Once he had submitted, we set up camp near Azar’s hut. I had a soldier fly my ship over and park in a spacious area. On board, we had packed plenty of food and water. I went inside and sat at the control board with Nojus. We watched the scanner as Azar guided the soldiers through the forest in search of the rebels.

Across from me, Nojus was eating a slab of meat, holding it in his hand like a giant turkey leg. I had one leg overlapping the other, eating a bowl of
gwaop
with a spoon. The radar screen was showing an abundance of life forces, making it difficult to pinpoint where the rebels might be.

I finished my food and set the bowl down on the floor. I picked up a bottle of wine and cracked it open. “This is going to be tricky, My Champion. It seems Turkland is loaded with strong life forces—or whatever these readings are.”

He nodded, still chewing. “I agree, My Ruler.” He turned and stared at me. “Do you
really
think they’re here?”

I leaned back and thought about it for a second. I concluded with a shrug. “I’m not sure.”

Moments later, London radioed to me from the sky.
“Great Emily, I recommend we concentrate our efforts on the ground. The wealth of life forces on this planet have made our scanners useless.”

It was a good idea. I sent London a reply, telling him and over half of my fleet to land and search Turkland by foot. I left the rest of the ships in the air to cover the ground units, in case of a surprise ambush attack by Azar’s troops.

Finally, after sitting around with Nojus for a bit longer, I decided to get up and join the hunt. “Come on, we’re going out there.”

––––––––

O
n the screens of our
sijas
, we could see the signals of the enemy ships. “They’re here.” I pulled Isabella closer and kissed her forehead. She was petrified, trembling in my arms with Samantha tucked between us. “They won’t find us.”

Bill was sitting close by. “I hope you’re right, Buddy.”

Day after day, we languished in the dark cave. It was utter torment, wondering if Mother would find us, knowing our chances of survival would decrease dramatically if she did.

On this day, I woke up with Isabella nudging me. “Juozas, wake up. Let’s eat.”

I rolled onto my shoulder and pushed myself off the cold, wet, rocky ground. Since us male Mamluks didn’t have the proper materials to shave our heads and faces anymore, we had hair growing all over. It felt strange after being bald all my life, and I couldn’t even imagine what I looked like in the mirror.

With Samantha in her arms, Isabella led me to a pile of dead creatures. The soldiers had shot them with their
sijas
and gathered them for the group. We took a seat by the others and grabbed a few.

After eating, we went to the wall to get a drink. I made a cup with my hands and pushed my fingers against the slow-dripping water. Finally, when my hands filled up, I moved them to Samantha’s mouth.

Isabella leaned our daughter’s head back as I placed my hands at her lips. I carefully spilled the water into her mouth and watched as she slurped it down. Once Isabella and I had drunk some water, we went back to the ground and snuggled up.

Bill saw us and made a funny face for Samantha. Isabella giggled at the kind gesture, and I smiled. It was nice to see him as his silly self, even in a time of war.

“That’s one cute kid you got there, Juozas and Isabella.”

I gave him a nod. “Thank you, Bill.”

A moment later, Saule walked by and went to the pile of dead creatures to eat. She caught Bill’s eye, and he couldn’t stop looking. “Hey, Juozas.”

“Yes?”

“I got a thing for Saule over there. You think a big, strong Mamluk girl like that would go for a human guy like me?”

I flashed a teasing smile. “Perhaps.”

Isabella laughed. “If you’re interested in her, then why don’t you go over there and introduce yourself.”

“Oh, we’ve been introduced. She kept me warm in the rain, remember?”

I recalled how funny it was to see him wrapped in Saule’s massive arms. “Yes, that was a sight to see.” I took a moment to check Saule. “Isabella is right, My Friend. You should go over there and talk to her.”

Bill slapped his knee and stood up. “Then hot damn, that’s what I’m gunna do.” He did a sly walk as he approached her. “Hey there, Saule. Mind if I join you, Honey?”

She turned around and looked down at him with a grin. “Sure, Bill. I don’t mind at all.”

Together, they went to the wall and found a seat. Isabella and I watched them for a moment and listened to Bill trying his best to woo Saule. It was surely an odd pairing, but still rather endearing.

Later on, after everyone had eaten and gone back to their spots on the floor, we began to fall asleep. I whispered ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ to Isabella as we faded away.

She hummed the words with me, then kissed my cheek. “I love it when you sing to me.”

I exhaled softly and returned a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll sing a lot louder when Mother leaves, My Love.”

––––––––

I
t had been a few days and we still hadn’t found any signs of the rebels. If Juozas
was
here, he sure had picked the right planet.

With Azar guiding us, we marched into a village and began to search the huts. I, along with Nojus and a few soldiers, walked into a hut and pushed aside the Turks who occupied the shed.

On their faces, I saw great fear and anger. Nevertheless, they were lesser beings, and their feelings were irrelevant.

I dug through their belongings, kicking over wicker baskets, shoving aside a pile of tools they used. Once again, after finding no evidence of the rebels, I slammed my fist into the mud and let out an aggravated scream.

I stormed out of the hut and froze. I thrust my hands onto my hips and watched the others from afar as they tore through the neighboring huts. 

Nojus walked up to me from behind. He stood by my side and exhaled. “Perhaps they are not here, My Ruler.”

At this point, I wanted to agree with him, but there was still something inside me that said otherwise. “No. I can feel them, My Champion. They are indeed here.” At last, I realized it was time to get brutal.

I turned around and pointed at the hut. “Bring those natives to me.”

Nojus went back inside and dragged them out.

Azar spotted us and rushed forward. “Master, why are you doing this?”

“Silence! I’ve had enough of this. It’s time to find out if the rebels are really here.” I gave Nojus the signal to kill the natives, but before he could fire, Azar quickly dropped to his knees and bowed to me.

“Please stop, Master,” he growled.

I put a hand up to stop Nojus from shooting. I stared at Azar with heated eyes. “Do you have something to tell me?”

The area fell silent as I looked on.

Finally, Azar lifted his head. “Please don’t kill them.”

“No. I am going to kill them. However, you
can
save the next Turk if you tell me the truth.
Where—are—the rebels?”

Azar glanced at me and sorely growled. “I will take you to the rebels.”

Nojus became enraged. He hurried to Azar and backslapped his face. He began to beat Azar, and a group of soldiers quickly joined in. “How dare you lie to our Ruler,” I heard one of them shout.

I smiled at the soldier’s passion, then quickly stopped the onslaught. “That’s enough, Soldiers. Back away.”

Without pause, they stopped the assault and stepped away from Azar, revealing his battered body to me. I took my time as I walked to him, enjoying the moment.

Finally, standing over him, I dropped to a knee. “Kill those Turks.”

Nojus blasted the natives he had pulled out of the hut we’d searched, slicing their bodies up with his laser.

I forcefully grabbed the fur on Azar’s face and pulled his head up. He growled, showing his fangs. “That was for lying to me—and I assure you: if you lie to me again, I will have Nojus beat you to death—but only after you watch every Turk on this planet suffer and die.”

He calmed, and for the first time, I saw a touch of fear in his eyes. Seeing it gave me a thrilling sensation, and I laughed mischievously with a cheeky grin. I gripped his fur harder, trying to rip it off his face. “Now, take me to the rebels.”

––––––––

I
was playing with Samantha, carefully lifting her up and down. She smiled and reached out to me, like she was telling me she wanted to go higher. I did the best I could, and it seemed as if she was pleased. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her close to my face. The thought of losing her again terrified me. I just wanted it all to be over.

From behind, I felt Isabella’s soft hands slide onto my skin and go up to my chest. She rested her head on my back and swayed with Samantha and me. Feeling the warmth of her body soothed me. “You have the sweetest and softest touch.”

Isabella giggled. “Well of course. I’m a caregiver.”

Near us, young Theron and Hemma were play fighting with a group of other young Turks. Queen Vera was sitting close by, watching them with a smile.

I watched the little ones too as I rocked Samantha in my arms. Theron tried to tackle his sister, but she was able to push him away. He stumbled backward and fell down a few feet from me. He laughed as he hurried back to his feet, then turned around and looked up at me.

Theron saw me with Samantha and smiled. “Can she play?” he asked with great excitement, pointing with his clawed finger.

I gave him a smile in return, but I had to respectfully decline his request. “I’m afraid not, Theron. Samantha is far too young. Perhaps someday she will be able to play with the children of Turkland.”
I sure hope so.

A loud
boom
echoed from outside the cave. I staggered toward the cave wall with Isabella, hugging Samantha even tighter.
They’ve found us.

Everyone jumped up and prepared to fight. I quickly handed Samantha to Isabella and moved her further down the cave. “Stay here.” They were both crying. I gave them each a kiss and wiped their eyes.

I quickly turned around and ran to the front of the group. “All right, soldiers, activate your shields and aim your
sijas
.”

Another boom came down on us, cracking a few holes in the cover the Turks had made for us. I saw the light from above, and my heart rate increased rapidly.

Finally, the lasers from the enemy broke through, and a group of Mother’s soldiers came marching into the cave.

“Attack!”