Emily’s Revenge (The Mamluks Saga Book 3) (9 page)

As one, we fired away and ran at the soldiers. All the lasers flashing at once made the cave incredibly bright.

“To the outside, and spread out—it will be harder for them to contain us that way!”

We hurried out of the cave and the enemy stayed close behind, shooting at us as we ran. In the forest, we spread out as I had suggested and got into small groups. Together, each group worked as a unit to fight off the incoming barrage.

In the sky, I saw tens of thousands of ships swarming us. The ground soldiers backed off a little and let the ships do the work.

From above, they blasted us with constant beams and rapid-fire. We tried to counter the attack with steady beams and rapid shots of our own, but the overwhelming ambush from Mother’s ships made it impossible.

One by one, at a frenetic pace, our force fields were being knocked out, and my fellow rebel soldiers were dropping to the muddy ground.

An earsplitting whistling sound echoed throughout the forest. The enemy soldiers looked around with great confusion. I felt the ground shake, and moments later, hundreds of drambies stampeded onto the battleground and attacked Mother’s soldiers.

The drambies stomped the ground, making everyone, including me, stumble and fall over. Amazingly, as I watched from the ground, it appeared as if the drambies had somehow distinguished the rebels from Mother’s soldiers, and they were only attacking the enemy.

The giant beasts crushed the enemy soldiers with their hooved feet. It didn’t take long for the force of the drambies’ strikes to knock out their shields.

The Turk from before was right. The drambies were very clever.

Thousands of Turks jumped off the backs of the drambies and helped us fight. They used spears and daggers while we blasted the enemy soldiers with our
sijas
. The ships in the sky quickly targeted the drambies and began to shoot them down, but more and more kept coming, giving us time to kill as many ground troops as we could.

I ran up to a group of enemy soldiers and destroyed them with a constant beam. To follow, I sent rapid-fire to a group of running soldiers and killed them all.

Still, even with the drambies and Turks helping us, we were no match for Mother’s fleet. Within a few moments, most of the drambies had been shot down by the ships, and the Turks were falling fast, too. I was deeply saddened. This wasn’t their war, yet they were risking their lives to help us.

I had failed them. I had failed Queen Vera and King Azar—and little Theron and Hemma. I had failed Turkland.

––––––––

F
rom my ship, I watched the battle with Nojus. My fleet was destroying the rebels with ease, but I was still a bit worried. Samantha was out there somewhere, and I didn’t want her to get hurt. I turned to Nojus with a fretful stare. “I have to go and find her.”

He kneeled and looked up at me. “Please, My Ruler. Stay here and let me go.”

“No. This is too important. She’s my daughter—my responsibility, and I won’t be able to live with myself if something happens to her.” I went to the cockpit and got strapped in.

Nojus followed along. I took off in a hurry and flew to the battleground. Out the window, I could see bright lights flashing from every angle. With all the shooting, the trees in the forest were falling at a rapid pace, making it easier to see the rebels and their hideout.

I flew to the cave and landed by the entrance. “Stay here and watch the ship.”

Nojus seemed disturbed by my instructions, but he still obeyed as always. “As you wish, Great Emily.”

I opened the ramp and sneaked outside. There was no one within twenty yards of the cave. Even so, to be cautious, I turned on my force field.

As I moved ahead, a giant creature came running at me out of nowhere. The beast roared loudly and trampled me. The impact knocked out my shied. The creature went on for a few yards before coming to an abrupt halt. It turned around and locked eyes with me as I struggled to get up.

“My Champion!”

The beast snarled at me with its fangs showing and came at me again. I stumbled to my feet and tried to run—but there was no room to escape. Luckily, just before the creature toppled me again, Nojus rushed out of the ship and fired a steady beam at the beast’s head. It was a perfect hit. The laser cut right through the creature’s face and sent it crashing to the muddy terrain.

I exhaled in relief and looked up at Nojus with a thankful stare.

He looked back at me with great concern. “My Ruler—please let me come with you. These lands are dangerous.”

“No. Stay here and watch my back. Make sure no one comes into the cave.”

He nodded. “Yes, Your Greatness.”

I went ahead and carefully stepped into the cave. I turned on my flashlight and scanned every inch of the eerie surroundings. The walls were lumpy and wet, and there were small creatures crawling and slithering all over.

I walked for a long while before finally spotting someone. I put the light on them and realized it was Isabella.

She was holding Samantha with one arm, and trying to block the light from my
sija
with the other. “Hello?”

I sparked my laser, creating an orb around my fist. The brightness of the laser gave us plenty of light to see each other.

Isabella gasped and quickly turned on her force field. “Get away from us, Emily.”

I raised my arm and aimed at her. “Release my daughter, Isabella.”

Her eyes become infuriated. “Your daughter!”

I stepped closer, and Isabella backed away. I kept coming. She spun around and ran deeper into the cave. I followed her at a normal pace. In the distance, I saw her come to an abrupt stop. I caught up to her and saw her standing by the edge of an enormous, grisly pit.

From inside the horrid abyss, I heard all kinds of strange noises. I become anxious and fired a quick blast at Isabella. She looked around in a fret, trying to find an escape route, but I had her trapped.

“Now, release Samantha and return her to me, and I promise I’ll let you go.”

Isabella sadly shook her head. “Why are you doing this, Emily?” she cried out in agony. “How could you be so evil?”

I laughed. “Evil?” I walked up to her. “It is you who is evil, Isabella. You have betrayed your own kind—and kidnapped an innocent child.”

Isabella gave me an angry stare. “You’ve gone insane, Emily. You’re the one who betrayed your own kind and took our child.” Through the bright cocoon surrounding her, I could see tears coming down her face. “You’re a
devious
—
disgusting
—
malicious being
, and you deserve to be imprisoned for the rest of your days.”

“Shut your face!” I dropped down a bit and kicked her legs out from under her. She fell down and Samantha popped out of her arms, falling out of the force field. I snatched her off the ground in an instant and backed away.

That was easy.

Isabella staggered to her feet. “No!” She ran after me and fired a laser that missed badly.

Still, to be safe, I created a laser orb and held it up to block her shots. “Don’t do it, Sweetheart. You don’t stand a chance against me.”

Her face tensed and she breathed out heavily. “I’ll do my best.”

I shrugged. “Fine.” I went to the wall and gently placed Samantha on the ground. I ripped off my shirt, revealing the sports bra I was wearing underneath. I folded the shirt and put it next to Samantha. I carefully lifted her and set her down on the shirt.

I went back to Isabella and flexed my shoulders. “This is where you die.”

––––––––

T
here were only a handful of us left. All of our shields had gone down, and I was blocking the overpowering fire with a massive laser orb. “Retreat, Soldiers! Run and find cover!”

We tried to run, but more and more ground units had come to the battle. We were completely surrounded.

Close by, I saw Robert, Elos, Bill and Saule, fighting on their last legs. All around, our rebel friends were falling to the ground. Still, I kept fighting, for them, the Turks, the cause, and my beloved family
.

Isabella. Samantha.

Sadly, like a blade going through my heart, I saw Robert go down. A laser had cut through his stomach, and another had blasted off his shooting arm. “No, My Friend!”

A moment after, a ship in the sky vaporized Elos. I screeched in pain as his ashes faded away. The Ecknors were now extinct.

The last of us were decreasing by the moment. Inch by inch, I moved closer to Bill and Saule and got back to back with them. There were maybe ten soldiers fighting with us, and even fewer Turks.

From above, I heard booming thunder—followed by lightning that flashed across the sky. The rain picked up in a hurry, and sharp winds suddenly swooped down on the warzone.

Soon after, the wind and the rain swirled at an alarming speed. The fighting stopped, and everyone tumbled with the blustery weather. In the sky, through my squinted eyes, I saw the ships spinning out of control.

The wind lifted me off the ground and I soared into a tree. The crushing impact made me grunt, and I desperately held onto a thick branch with all my might as the storm gained strength.

The branch broke and I went flying in the air. I
whooshed
down back to the forest with a swarm of staggered soldiers that had gone up with me, some enemies and some friends. Not surprisingly, the Turks were handling the storm a lot better than us. They used their claws to hold on to anything they could grab.

I hoped my allies would realize the opportunity at hand and use the storm as a means to escape. But
I
had to go back and make sure Isabella and Samantha were safe.

I struggled to rise from the pile of discombobulated soldiers and grabbed onto a tree. I timed my movements and went from one tree to the next. The incredibly brisk rain made it impossible to see clearly. I used my instincts as I moved on. When I got back to the cave, I slipped in the mud and fell hard.

The wind carried me a few feet and I banged into a tree stump. Mud splashed into my eyes. I turned my head to the sky and let the rain wash it away. I looked down and firmly shook my head, getting some of the water out of my eyes. I crawled to my knees and reached for the cave entrance.

Someone grabbed me from behind and wrapped their arm around my neck. The thunder roared and the lightning sparked. I wrestled with the brute, trying to break his hold. I heard him laughing as we twirled with the wind. He swiftly flipped me around and pinned me to the ground, choking me with both hands.

I blinked rapidly as I studied him. He had dark skin and hazel eyes, looking down at me with a creepy, pearl-white grin. Oddly, he appeared to be studying me, too, like he recognized me. “Ah yes, I know who you are,” he laughed. “Juozas, the
former
Champion.”

“And you are?” I grumbled, trying to push him away.

He bent down and got in my face, increasing the pressure of his hold. “Nojus—Champion of all Mamluks.”

I felt a burst of fury engross my body. “You must be mistaken.” I let out an animated howl and snapped his hold. “Because you never beat me.” I fiercely head butted Nojus, backing him up a little. I sat up and delivered a sharp elbow to his face. The thunderstorm did the rest for me.

Nojus stumbled into the wind and whirled away into the swarming rain. I hurried to my feet and continued my crawl to the cave.

––––––––

I
was literally toying with Isabella, pushing her around with ease, but she kept trying, shooting at me and missing badly. She wasn’t a soldier—and it showed terribly.

I side-stepped her, sending her stumbling to the floor. I shook my head as I watched her rise in her dress, struggling to regain her footing. “Come now, Isabella. At least use your size, Sweetheart.”

Like a dork, she ripped off the bottom of her dress, rolled up her sleeves and made an angry face. “I will defeat you, Emily.”

I stood tall and laughed as I waved her on. “Come on, show me your best.”

She ran at me awkwardly. I jumped up high and kicked her stomach, sparking my foot across her shield. She fell down again.

I stood over her and rolled my eyes. “All right, time to finish this.” In a rage, I threw lasers orbs at her until her force field finally went down.
Now I’m really going to have some fun.

I kicked Isabella like a dog as she tried to get up. I stomped her head and kneed her back, keeping her down. “Come on, get up.” I bent down and back-slapped her head. “Come on, Isabella, get up.” I took a handful of her hair and slammed her face into the rocky ground.

She cried out in pain and curled up. Showing no mercy, I continued to stomp and kick her all over. Her body was heavily bruised now, and she was bleeding from the mouth. I stopped and stepped back.

From outside the cave, I heard what sounded like thunder and lighting.

A storm?

Since my fight with Isabella had begun, I had been focused in on her. Now I wondered what was going on outside.

I quickly radioed to Nojus. “My Champion? Is everything all right?” Nothing but static came back. I called to him again—but still nothing.

Finally, Isabella got back to her feet and wobbled to the wall. She used what little strength she had left to hold herself up. I marched over to her and kneed her back. She screamed in pain and slid back down to the ground.

Time to die.

Step by step, I moved backward and watched her tremble. It was a satisfying moment. I lifted my arm and aimed at her. “What a shame, Isabella. You could have been the next Ruler of all Mamluks.”

Taking deep breaths, and shaking like a leaf on a tree, she crawled back to her feet and leaned against the wall, facing me. “You can kill me, Emily. But one day—someone will make you pay for what you have done.”

I grinned and shrugged. “Not likely.” But before I could shoot, I heard Juozas scream at me.

“Mother! Don’t!”

I snapped my head to the right and saw him jogging down the cave. I hurried and looked back to Isabella. “Too late, Son.” I blasted her with a solid laser beam, and she crumbled to the ground.