Angeni's eyes widened in barely contained fright as the band of thieves slowly surrounded Kain and herself. Even as the young man stood protectively in front of her, she knew that if help didn't arrive soon, this would not turn out good for her or him. The large sweaty man...obviously the leader in the rebellion against Kain, slipped out a short fighting club from behind his back and slapped it menacingly against his palm. "This is going to be fun." he grinned, his teeth yellowed and cracked.
Kain's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared him down. "Tolum, what's the meaning of this?" he growled out. "After everything we've gone through up till now..."
"After all of what?" the large man demanded. "For too long we've been living like rats on the street, stealing only little and never even making a killing! Because you let the ones we rob escape alive, we can't even stay in the same place for long! We could have had much more money, more loot if we had just killed them off like I said!"
"Dammit, I've told you many times that's not the way I work! I do NOT kill! It's enough we take what we need and go! There's no need to kill innocent people! Stand down as I ordered!" Kain's hands balled into fists as the reality of the situation sank into his mind. He should have known better than to allow such a bloodthirsty, immoral man as this into his gang. Now he's gotten the rest of the group against him, and there was nothing he could do about it. If he ever survived this night, he knew nothing would be the same again. He would be alone....alone and unwanted, like he had been for so long in his young life.
"Enough talk!" the ugly Tolum cried out. "We're not taking orders from you anymore!" With a loud roar, the hulking young man rushed forward, swinging his club high in the air. Kain grabbed Angeni around the waist and dropped rolling to the ground just as Tolum crashed his club into the makeshift bed beside them and snapping it in two. Angeni screamed as barely a second went before the attacking man rushed at them again, madness and desperation in his eyes. She closed her eyes and covered her head, waiting for the crushing blow that would end her life. But instead, she heard the sound of a fist hitting flesh. When she opened her eyes, she saw Kain....looking almost small against the size of the brutal Tolum, standing defensively in front of her. He had blocked the club with his right arm, then a moment later, smashed his left fist into the bigger man's stomach.
The brutal man went down on his knees with a gasp, his breath momentarily knocked out of him. For good measure, the swift Kain spun and delivered a spin kick to the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. He then quickly turned and grabbed the gaping Angeni's hand. "Come on!" he yelled.
Not even bothering to see if Tolum was following or not, the two raced past the stunned faces of the other members of the ragtag band of thieves and out into the open night air. In the horizon, there was just the faintest hint of light signifying morning will soon arrive. Angeni and Kain barely made it out of the mouth of the cave before they were stopped by almost a dozen figures that suddenly dropped down in front of them seemingly out of nowhere. Sharp-pointed arrows were aimed at their hearts from strong bows, and Kain's heart sank as he recognized the races of his former comrades. "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled out.
"Sorry, but Tolum's right. It's time for a change, and for us to have more." one of them said, walking up to him with just a touch of sadness in his eyes. By his youthful appearance, he barely looked older than Kai. "It's over Kain."
It was then that Kain knew; Tolum had planned this all along. He had the rest of the gang waiting outside to intercept him in case he tried to escape. But he couldn't let it end like this. He had to at least try to reach one of them. "You can't...!" Kain never got to finish his sentence as he was suddenly grabbed roughly by the neck from behind. Angeni looked behind her and watched in horror as the large Tolum held Kain in a neck-hold by the crook of his arm, meaning to choke the life out of him.
"NO! Stop this! KAIN!" she screamed out. She was about run and try her best to pry him out of the deadly grasp, but she too was suddenly grabbed and her arms painfully held behind her back by one of the thieves.
"Oh don't worry sweetheart. As soon as I'm done with your new little boyfriend here, I'll deal with you, and you both will spend eternity together." The big hulking man smiled with glee as he squeezed harder, barely noticing as Kain struggled for his life.
Fresh tears spilled down the tan-skinned girl's cheek as she tried to break free, but the grasp was like iron. "Kain.." she whispered out in despair. She had barely gotten to know the young man, and already he saved her life twice. She might have even gotten to like him...despite him stealing a kiss from her. Now even this was to be taken from her. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair!
Suddenly, for just a moment, the young man's eyes opened, and there was just a hint of a red glow that reflected in the fast approaching daylight. Was it just her imagination? What was going on? A growl escaped from his lips, and somehow, it didn't sound....human. "Kain?" she said curiously. But before anyone else noticed what she saw, a blast of energy shot out and struck Tolum in the back.
The man screamed and dropped the struggling Kain to the ground. He immediately reached for his throat and began to gulp in air as he struggled to his knees. Another blast of energy shot out and struck the tall man holding Angeni. He went down with a loud thud to the ground, knocked unconscious. But Angeni barely noticed as she rushed over to Kain and helped him stand. "Are you alright?" she asked softly.
The young man gave a slight smile as he turned to her. "Yeah, I'll be okay. But it's too bad it took something like this for me to finally be in your arms."
Annoyance flashed across her face as she roughly let him go. "Jerk! I won't make the mistake of worrying about you again!" she said as she watched him fall. She then turned to see who her rescuers were, and her heart soared with joy when she saw Jeneta, Prya, Heather, Ling, Djoser, Tao, and Kondolar riding up on their horses.
Djoser was ahead of them, his arms still raised from the energy blasts he threw that saved her and Kain's lives.
"Jeneta!" she yelled out as she ran to the girls. The group stopped their horses just before they reached her, and the girls jumped off and rushed over to the crying Angeni to envelope her in hugs.
"My God, I was so worried about you!" Jeneta said as she finished her long hug. Tears misted in her eyes as thought of what might have happened. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She looked over the Native American girl to make sure she had no injuries.
"I'm okay, now that you guys are here," Angeni wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked at all of them gratefully. "Thank you, thank you all for coming to find me. If...if you hadn't had come, those monsters, they would have...they would have...."
"Yeah, speaking of which, it looks like these brutes aren't too happy we broke up their little party. It's the same bunch of robbers from last night." Ling said, indicating the band of thieves that was slowly surrounding them.
"Oh no...." Prya gulped, backing up next to Kondolar and Tao.
"Don't worry, we can take them!" Djoser said, drawing out his sword. "Just remember, don't hesitate to defending yourself, even if you have to kill. They won't hesitate to kill you." the dark-skinned man warned.
"But...but they're human. We can't just....kill them." Heather said. But no one had any time to answer her as an arrow flew by and barely missed her by an inch. It struck the ground with deadly aim.
"Heh, I knew we'd see you again!" growled out one of the bandits. He raised his bow and arrow and prepared to fire again.
"Umm...can't we..err..talk about this?" stammered the blonde. The thief just growled and fired again. Heather barely ducked and rolled out of the way in time. "I suppose not." she said under her breath. Although still feeling a bit apprehensive about having to actually kill a person, she quickly got to her feet and concentrated as she raised a hand. Almost immediately, her sword appeared glowing in her hand with a bright flash of light, ready to defend her at all costs.
With quick movements, Heather rushed forward to the surprised-looking man and quickly ended his life as she ran her sword through him. As he fell to the ground, she shook her head slightly...almost regretting what she had to do, then turned to face her next opponent.
Not far from her, Jeneta had already called forth her sword and was defending herself against two of the bandits. With moves that seemed almost too fast to follow, she parried and thrust against the two as they tried their best to overtake her with their own rusty swords. For a moment, it seemed as though they had the upper hand as one of them kicked out a foot and swept her legs from under her. They laughed as they got ready to plunge their sword into her, but just at the last moment, she smiled mischievously and flipped up back on her feet. The two never even had time to scream as she spun and slashed down on one, then the other in quick movements, ending their lives without pain.
Prya and Ling stood back to back and their glowing swords drawn as the immense Tolum and another of the rough-looking men advanced on them. "You won't get out of this alive!" the large brute growled.
"Speak for yourself, smelly!" taunted Ling. The man roared loudly at the insult and rushed forward at the same time the other man rushed to get at Prya. The two girls turned their heads to look at each other, smiled, and ducked down just when the two men were about to get them. They rolled out of the way and watched as Tolum and the other robber smashed heavily into each other, nearly knocked unconscious. The girls turned and were about to walk away, but right then, Tolum got up shakily on his feet, followed by the other nameless man. They roared again, this time taking out their clubs, and rushed at them. Prya was the first to turn and simply thrust her sword forward, making the blade end nearly come out through her attacker's back. Ling followed immediately by jumping high, spin kicking Tolum in the side of his face, and finishing with a clean swipe across his chest. The large man let out one gasp, and then fell silent to the ground.
The final few men that were surrounding Djoser, Angeni, Tao, and Kondolar at that moment turned to see the immense Tolum fall. When it was evident that he was dead, they looked in disbelief at the approaching young girls, each of them still holding their swords in their hand and looking at them with determination. They then turned to watch Kain as he slowly approached them, his eyes narrowed. In each of them, the same thought entered their mind.... how could they have been defeated by such young girls? Then, it was as if a fog had lifted from their minds suddenly. What were they doing? They should never have listened to the greedy Tolum! Now all was lost. Finally, one of them...the one who had spoken to Kain earlier before the group of Angeni's friends came...turned to the others and shouted, "Fall back!"
No one had to tell them twice. Almost fearfully, the last of the thieving group dashed away, leaving their fallen comrades behind. Tao was just about to run after them when Kondolar reached out and stopped him. "No, leave them..."
"What? Why, they could be getting more of them to help!" Tao looked at the cocoa brown-skinned man in the purple robes with annoyance.
"There's been enough bloodshed here," Kondolar sighed. "Besides, my master always taught me...it's important to recognize a loss, but it's more important to recognize a win. We shouldn't overdue it. If we do, we become lower than them. Maybe...maybe even some good will come out of us sparing them." Kondolar turned to look at him and smiled a little.
Tao thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Maybe you're right. You may be a klutz sometimes, but you have your moments." he chuckled.
Kondolar rolled his eyes and was about to retort that he was on his way to being a world-renowned sorcerer, not a klutz, when he saw Prya looking at him with pride and a small smile. He blushed slightly and turned away, knowing now that he had done the right thing in letting the others go.
"Is everyone alright now?" Djoser asked as he sheathed his sword.
"Yeah, everyone's present and accounted for!" said Ling. She and the other girls closed their eyes, and immediately the swords disappeared back into their bodies.
But she as well as the other girls couldn't help feeling a little sad and guilty as the same thought ran through her their minds. They had just ended the lives of humans beings...just as human as they themselves were. Would they have to kill more humans? Were those men really intent on killing them, or were they forced to? What about families and friends they might have had? Heather certainly didn't want to kill anymore people if she could help it, and she knew neither did the other girls.
When Djoser saw the look on their faces, he immediately knew what they were thinking and walked up to them. "I know it must have been hard for you, but you have to understand now that we can't take any chances. Those men...they wouldn't have hesitated to kill you, and you HAVE to defend yourself, especially at a time like this when our journey is so important." He looked each girl in the eye and hope they understood what he was saying. After having been a fighter for so long, killing and defending himself was second nature to him, but not so with these girls. He hoped it would get easier for them, or else the guilt would only eat away at their souls and minds.
But when they girls looked back at him, he got a nod of approval from them, and he knew they understood. For now, it was them having to kill, or be killed instead. They had a world they promised to save, and they couldn't let anything or anymore in their way. He smiled and nodded back, thankful the whole episode was behind them now. But he also know it would still be with the girls for the rest of their lives.
Prya was the first to break the uneasy silence."Ummm...Angeni? Who's this?" she asked curiously as the taller girl and Kain walked up to them.
"Oh! This..this is Kain. He saved me, and he was...he was..." She blushed as she suddenly was at a loss for words.
"Well, well, seems like I left an impression on you after all." Kain smirked as he winked at her. At the girl's embarrassed look, Jeneta, Prya, and Heather chuckled.
"Wait a minute....I recognize that voice! It was you!" Ling looked at him hard. "You're the one who lead that band of robbers and took Angeni's feather, and made her run off after you. We looked for her for hours!"
Now it was Kain's turn to blush. "Well...I..err.."
But the young man didn't get to finish defending himself as Ling stomped heavily towards him, her hands balled into fists. "Why you...you loathsome...little...scruffy...MONGREL!" She stopped right in front of him, and before anyone could stop her, she punched him right on the nose, causing him to fall clumsily on the ground.
"WHOA! Hey, Ling, it's alright, he SAVED me from those men!" Angeni cried out. But even she couldn't help chuckle just a little along with the others as she helped Kain back on his feet.
"Ouch!" he groaned. "Are all your friends this....friendly?" He gently rubbed his already sore nose.
"Sorry, we're a little...protective of each other." Angeni said apologetically.
"It's okay. I guess now I can say I'm one of the very few men who got punched twice by such pretty girls." He smiled mischievously and winked at Ling. The Chinese girl growled in annoyance and turned away, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Twice? So you're saying you got hit already? Was it by Angeni, and what for?" grinned Jeneta. She was often the butt of the many jokes of Angeni, and now she revealed in teasing her back.
"Umm...never mind!" The girl blushed harshly and wished the ground would just open up and swallow her rather than have to explain what happened between her and Kain. But she was saved when Djoser finally spoke up.
"We should get going. Daylight's almost breaking and we still have a lot of ground to cover." He turned to look at Kain. "It's up to you. You can either travel with us, or go on your way."
The young man blinked in surprise, then lowered his head. "I have nowhere to go anymore. I have no more family or friends." He then looked back up at Djoser gratefully. "It...it would be my honor to travel with you. Whatever journey you're on, I hope there's a way I could help. It's just that...well, there's something about me..." He paused as a touch of sadness entered his eyes.
"What is it?" Angeni looked him in the eyes expectantly...and with just a hint of hope.
Kain took a deep breath and sighed. "Never mind. I'll...I'll be glad to travel with you." He nodded and smiled to the others.
"Good. We can use all the help we can get. Come, it's time to move." With that, Djoser pointed to the horses and led the way. Behind them, the sun was just beginning to climb over the horizon, bringing forth a brand new day and new hope to the travelers. As each climbed upon their own horse, Kain hurriedly climbed onto the horse with Angeni with a dimpled grin, sitting behind her. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, then quickly bade the horse to follow the others. But unknown to them, a force was keeping watch...keeping watch and waiting for his time to destroy all they have accomplish and hoped to do for this world.
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The holographic image of the group as they rode away with the sunrise behind them slowly faded away with a wave of a bony hand. Kumraa could feel his rage growing and boiling within him. Nothing he had sent worked to hinder their journey in finding the last Sacred Medallion! The small earthquake he caused was supposed to have ended the life of the girl with the yellow feather. He was watching in glee as she almost fell to her doom. But no...she had to be saved...by one of those ANIMALS nonetheless!
Even in his weakened state, he had taken over the minds of the band of robbers and hypnotized them to do the job of killing her and the boy off, but still....it was to no avail. The girl's pitiful friends came to save them just in time. He turned and watched the Brothers Of Darkness...a group of about a dozen men in the black, hooded robes who worshipped him...standing around his throne.
"They must NOT make it to the last Sacred Medallions. If they do, it will be your lives." Kumraa said, his voice dark and raspy.
The Brothers Of Darkness looked at each other for a moment, taken aback by the harsh statement. They then bowed low, hoping the momentary stall didn't anger the dark lord. "It will be as you command," they all said together. Outside, lightning flashed across the forever dark sky, illuminating the face of Kumraa for just a second. Anyone else who was there would have screamed in horror, but the Brothers Of Darkness...long used to it, only bowed lower, the need to please their lord filling their every thought. Yes, they would do as their lord bid them....it was what they lived for.
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To Be Continued......
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