Emily’s Revenge (The Mamluks Saga Book 3) (11 page)

“Slaughter him.”

Together, they bent down and stabbed Azar’s back. With his face still in the mud, I heard him release a muffled roar. Again and again, the soldiers lunged the sharp ends into Azar’s thick coat. Blood gushed from his wounds and made a small stream in the mud, and the rain made it go further.

Azar’s body went limp, and I heard him wheeze out his last breath. It was an unfortunate death. I wanted him to suffer for not being honest with me from the start. Still, at that moment, I knew he had to be killed. It was a resounding symbol of our superiority.

All around, the Turks growled sadly. The soldiers pulled back the spears and daggers and threw them to the ground. I walked up to Azar and stepped on his chest, showing my sheer dominance.

Through the heavy rain, I scanned the miserable Turks with seething eyes. “If I can do this to your leader—imagine what I could do to you.” I stepped down on his dead body harder. “Go back to your huts, Turks, and never speak of this war again, or the slaughter of your fallen leader. My soldiers will be watching—and listening. If anyone disobeys my commands, you, and all that you love will be destroyed.”

The Turks turned around at once and headed back to their homes. I stayed in my position and watched them leave.

At that moment, a message came over the radio on my
sija
.
“My Ruler, we’ve found the Champion.”

I was greatly relieved, and sent a hurried reply. “Excellent, Soldiers. Bring him to me.”

Shortly after, the soldiers arrived with Nojus. He had a few cuts and bruises all over his body, but other than that he appeared to be fine. He staggered to me and kneeled. “I am pleased to see you safe, Great Emily.”

I reached out and gently touched his face. “Rise, My Champion.”

He stood up and looked down at me with a charmed smile. Samantha made a cute noise, grabbing his attention. He shifted his eyes and stared at her, still smiling. “She’s beautiful, My Ruler. The true Champion of all Mamluks.”

I rocked her in my arms and kissed her wet face. “Yes she is.”

As we looked on, the thunder in the sky picked up a little. I refocused and moved ahead. “To the space pods, Soldiers.” With Nojus, I headed into a ship and had the operating soldiers fly us to the space pods.

Afterward, once the ships and all the passengers were secure inside the space pods, the soldiers who were assigned to stay on Turkland sent us into orbit—back to Earth.

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B
y the grace of God, Saule and I had made it out of the battlefield and escaped into a village. We staggered ahead through the storm for miles and miles before finally finding a large ditch to hide in. It seemed as if we were the only ones left—the only ones who had made it out alive.

Saule sent a private message to Juozas, hoping to get a response, and I made a small prayer that she would, but he didn’t responded. She tried again—and again. Still nothing. It was a demoralizing moment for both of us. We sat there in that ditch for a long while, staring off into the foggy distance.

The war was over. “What are we gunna do now, Saule?”

She remained quiet for a second or two, then bent forward and looked down, letting out a sad exhale. “We will do what we can do. What we must do.” She looked at me with brave eyes. “Keep fighting.” She reached out and firmly gripped my hand. “We can never give up. As long as we are breathing in and out—we can
never
give up.”

I looked down and covered my forehead. “But how?” I was deeply disturbed by the future, not knowing what to expect. “How do we keep fighting after this?”

Saule stood up and helped me to my feet. I looked up at her with sorrowful eyes.

To my amazement, she was smiling. “Trust me—we can—and we will.”

I took a deep breath. “Then dammit—let’s keep going and find a new home.”

Together, we climbed out of the ditch and went ahead. We traveled for hours on end until we reached a small village. A group of Turks saw us and helped us into a hut. I released a long sigh as I took a seat on the muddy ground.

I reached out to one of the Turks and touched his arm. “Thank you so much.”

He let out a miserable growl. “We are happy to help, but many Turks have been killed. And our King and Queen, they—’’ He cried, and I was surprised to see it, not knowing the Turks could cry. It made me appreciate them even more. “They’ve killed King Azar and Queen Vera.”

Saule shed a few tears as the hut fell silent. Watchfully, she looked outside. “And little Theron and Hemma?” 

“We don’t know.”

Hearing this made me angry. “That bitch Emily.” I clenched my fist. “She’s going to get hers one day.” I stared at the lowly Turk. “I can promise you that.”

He growled and glanced to the outside. “The Mamluks have left thousands of soldiers on Turkland to hunt and kill any remaining rebels.” He turned his head and stared at us. “If they discover that we’ve helped you, they will kill us.”

Saule nodded. “We understand. But I can assure you, we will remain hidden, far away from any villages.”

I strongly agreed with her. We had put too many Turks in harm’s way, and they had paid a terrible price for our arrival. “Saule’s right. This is our fight—so we’ll handle Emily’s soldiers on our own.”

She got up and stepped outside. “We should get moving.”

I hurried to my feet and joined her. We said goodbye to the Turks before heading out. After a long trip, we found a deserted area and decided to stop for the night. I gathered some rocks and brushwood and showed Saule how to make a fire.

Under a thick tree, we took turns sleeping to keep an eye out for any Mamluk ships or soldiers. When it was my turn, I got up and let Saule take my place on the ground. She lay down on her side and exhaled softly.

I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was a beautiful Mamluk, and strong, too. For so long, I had hated them, and wanted to kill them if I could. I had no idea there were Mamluks like Juozas and Isabella—and now Saule. Their courage to act against the injustices of their society gave me the inspiration to change. I was a better man for it—a better human being.

“Hey...Saule.”

She turned on her side and looked at me. “Yes, Bill?”

In adoration, I gave her a warm smile. “Sweet dreams, Darlin’.”

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W
hen we returned to Earth, we were met with a grand celebration. On the open terrain we landed on, I saw miles and miles of citizens and soldiers, cheering and dancing as we left our space pods and walked forward.

I was holding Samantha, with Nojus and London at my sides. Seeing the joy in the eyes of my people made me smile. We had won. The war was over, and now we could enjoy peace.

The never-ending crowd of onlookers went all the way to my building. I decided to walk back and take it all in. When I got there, I carefully walked through the crowd, taking my time to share such a glorious victory with them.

I reached the steps of my building and walked to the top. Nojus and London followed me up, and we turned and faced the crowd.

They started chanting a new phrase for Samantha, disregarding,
“Juozas’ spawn, here at dawn.”
I listened and smiled.

“Return of the Champion, the Mamluks rule, return of the Champion, the Mamluks rule!”

With great pride and joy, I lifted Samantha high over my head and howled. They erupted into a thunderous roar and danced wildly
.

Yes. We have won.

Moments later, I quietly left and took Samantha inside. Nojus and London returned to their duties. I went to Samantha’s room and set her down in her cradle. I watched her for a long while. She looked so adorable, so happy and full of life.

At night, when all the celebrating had calmed, I went to the conference room to record a new set of laws.

On my
sija
, I activated the governing program and linked it to the automated system.
“Identify yourself.”

“This is Emily. Ruler of all Mamluks.”

“Authentication complete.”

“At last, the war is over, and we have rescued our Champion from the hands of a traitor. However, we must still protect Samantha from the possible uncertainty she may hold from these dark times. Therefore, the law is as follows: History will remember Juozas as a rogue soldier who betrayed us and killed the Champion, her father, Adomas. As a result, my daughter, his spawn, was named the Champion in his place, thus making me the Ruler.” I sighed. “If anyone disobeys my command and tries to explain the truth to Samantha, they will be killed without a hearing.” I waited and pondered before going on. “Lastly, the leaders of the defeated rebels, Juozas—Isabella—Susan, and Zydrunas, shall never be spoken of again.”

To follow, I activated the security system. “Erase all reports, files, and any other information that may be linked to Juozas—Isabella—Susan, and Zydrunas, the four primary individuals responsible for the rebellion against my rule.”

In a few moments, the automated system responded.
“Confirm deletion of all reports, files, and information linked to Juozas, Isabella, Susan, and Zydrunas.”

A pleased smile touched my face. “Proceed with the deletion.”

The lights on my
sija
flashed, and I saw a large collection of files disappear.

I sent a message to Nojus. “My Champion?”

He replied promptly.
“Yes, My Ruler?”

“Kill prisoners Susan and Zydrunas at once, and prepare our community for the ceremony.” 

“Right away, Great Emily.”

I exhaled deeply, closed my eyes for a moment, then opened my eyes and sent my final report on the war.

“History should not remember me as a coward—or a liar—or even a murderer. History should remember me as a hero, because I have saved the world.  I have saved the world from humanity: a weak and destructive breed. I have risen as the Ruler of a species that respects the environment, and its people. And through it all, I’ve learned the truth: freedom is impossible. We are all slaves to something. We are all Mamluks.”

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I
was rather young at the time, looking at myself in the mirror. It was my first day at the Soldiers Academy, and I didn’t want to go. My first memories as I child, were of everyone calling me
the Champion
. I didn’t understand at first. It seemed so silly and over the top. Still, as I got older, they kept calling me the Champion, and everyone kneeled and bowed when they saw me.

To be honest, I liked that part. It made me feel special, and loved, like I meant so much to so many. My mother, Emily, the Ruler of all Mamluks came to me that morning. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that matched her eyes.

In my standard soldier’s outfit: black sports bra, black pants and matching boots, I turned to her with a thrilled smile. “Mother!”

She came closer with her hands neatly folded over her midsection, with her head slightly leaned to the side, staring at me with the warmest look. “Hello, Dear. Are you ready?” I loved Mother very much. She was always so supportive.

I frowned and looked down. “No. I’m not ready. I don’t want to go.” At the time, I hated the idea of being a soldier. I was so young. Too young. I just wanted to play in the forest with my friends, like I had been doing all my life.

Mother stopped in front of me and kneeled. She gently placed her hand on my chin and lifted my head. “Remember, Samantha, you are very powerful, your bloodline—”

“Is the bloodline that conquered Earth, I know.” Her lectures were agonizing. In those days, all I ever heard about was Ignas, and my dead father, Adomas. They had been Champions before me, and as I had been told, had carried the responsibility of being Champion with the utmost pride. “Don’t worry, Mother. I will do great, you just wait and see.” Looking back, I can’t believe I was that brash at such a young age.

She gave me that look that I despised, the look that told me she was disappointed in me. “This is not a game, Samantha. It is your destiny to protect me as Champion.”

At that moment, my eyes watered. Hearing her say these things, about destiny and protecting her, fighting off all comers, was incredibly frightening as a child. Again, I loved Mother, and I didn’t want anything to happen to her.

But how could my society put such a daunting burden on the shoulders of a young child?

It was all so strange to me. Still, I feared for Mother, and on that day, something changed in me. “I will protect you, My Ruler. I promise.” I can still remember how soft and innocent my voice sounded. I meant every word, and Mother could see it, too.

She hugged me close. “I love you, Samantha.”

I held on tight and rubbed her back. “I love you, Mother.”

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The End