The Uprising (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 2) (10 page)

“Yes. And I want
you
to spy on him.”

His eyes intensified. “I would be honored to take on such an assignment.” 

I smiled. “I know you won’t disappoint me.”

London’s face reddened with excitement as he bowed his head. “Certainly not, Great Emily.”

B
efore departing to the northern ice lands, I went to Isabella’s building to say goodbye. I was excited to finally visit her home, having never met her mother and father. When I arrived at the entryway, I sent her a message and she came to me in a hurry. We hugged and kissed by the entry for a moment, then she led me inside.

First, her father came forward, wearing a gray, hooded cloak. “Welcome, Juozas. I am Zydrunas.” He tried to kneel and bow but I quickly stopped him.

“No. Please don’t.”

He smiled and chuckled a bit. “You know, in all my time, I have grown to despise kneeling and bowing.”

I smiled back. “I never liked it either.”

Zydrunas placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me to the dining hall. “This is my mate, Susan.”

I studied her as I approached. She was a beautiful, older woman with a few gray hairs, wearing a yellow dress and white shoes. “Hello, Juozas. It’s great to finally meet you.”

“Hello, Susan. I am delighted to finally meet you as well.” I walked forward and shared a warm hug with her, then I planted a kiss on her cheek. It had only been a short while and I already adored their peaceful demeanor.
This is fantastic.

The food was ready, and we all worked together to set the table. I couldn’t help but wonder.
Where’s their servant?
“Have you relinquished your servant?”

Susan and Zydrunas chuckled as one. Then Susan clarified. “We’ve never used our servant. She lives here of course, but we treat her like family.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Family?”

Zydrunas nodded. “Yes. It’s a term from Earth that Susan taught me when we first met. It means
loved ones
, or
relatives
.”

I smiled again, feeling the instant joy in my heart.
This is how it should be.
“I like that term. Very much so.”

We took a seat at the table and started eating. Isabella was bashful and blushing as we carried on. Susan and Zydrunas showered me with questions. I answered them kindly, but hated talking about myself, and I was eager to learn more about them.

“Forgive me for asking, but you seem so different from other Mamluks, Zydrunas. Why is that?”

He nodded. “I am. There are many Mamluks like me who do not agree with the laws of our society, or the bloodthirsty conquest that Dalia began so long ago.” He looked at Susan and took her hand. “Still, it brought me to you, and for that, I am grateful.”

I gave her a sorrowful stare. “And you, Susan? How have you dealt with the conquest of Earth?”

She took a deep breath and her eyes watered a bit. “It was very difficult in the beginning. I lost everything. Then, when they began that horrible selection process with all the women, I snapped. It was just too much to take, so I tried to kill myself, but it didn’t work. And, luckily for me, I was picked by Zydrunas.” She turned and gave him a loving stare. “He was so kind and understanding. He even tried to help me escape, but in the end, I realized there was nowhere to go. So I stayed, and still, Zydrunas has never forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do. After a while, we became friends. And soon after, we fell in love.”

I sat there in awe and stared at them with a big grin. “It’s so strange. I feel...connected to you both. Like I’ve known you my whole life.”

Isabella finally joined in, showing that breathtaking, loving smile of hers. “It’s because you’ve felt alone for so long, Juozas. But not anymore.”

Zydrunas reached out to me and firmly placed his hand on my shoulder. “Susan and I are prepared to join the rebellion, My Champion. We can help you end slavery and bring peace to the world.”

I nodded proudly as I looked them over. I was overwhelmed, and determined to rise with them, to bring slavery to an end. 
Family. That’s what we are.
“Together, we will rise.”

After saying my final farewell for the night, I boarded my ship and accelerated to the snowy ice lands as planned. When I arrived, I flew low and scanned the area. Shortly after, a reading of a life force came onto the screen. I was right by it, too.

I leaned forward and checked outside. It was a big, four-legged creature with white fur, calmly walking through the snow. I stopped the ship and watched it for a moment. Clearly, the creature was native to Earth, and I wondered what it was called.
Such a fascinating animal.

I took off and continued to scan the area. Then at last, I got a reading of many life forces. I flew closer and the readings became more rapid. I looked outside and realized I was flying toward a mountain cave.

If there were any runaway slaves nearby, I suspected if they saw a Mamluk ship they might start running. So as not to alarm them, I landed and grabbed a hooded, black cloak I had brought along for the trip. I put it on and apprehensively headed outside. The frigid cold was a shock to my system, and stepping through the snow took some getting used to.

I paused about twenty feet from my ship and lifted my arm. I pressed a button on my
sija
that pulled up a holographic screen. On the screen, I could see the signals of the six mock-ships I had sent to the north. They were on auto pilot, going over the same zone I had set them on. I pressed a button that directed them to my signal. In a flash, they blazed across the sky and stopped over my head. I pressed a button that made them land and carried on to the cave.

When I got to the entrance, I turned on my scanner and held it out. The readings were very strong.
This has to be where the runaways are hiding.
I cautiously stepped forward. A moment later, a loud
bang
echoed from behind and something hit my arm. I exclaimed loudly and dropped to one knee. In the distance, I could hear someone shouting.

“Ha! Ya son of a bitch! I got ya!”

I looked back and saw a man running at me with some kind of weapon in his hands. He slowed down when he got close and aimed it at my head. “Don’t move, Mamluk—and put those hands up.”

I carefully raised my hands. “You don’t understand. I’m here to help.”

The man laughed. “Yeah, sure. Destroy our cities, enslave the men and rape the women!” He kicked some snow at me and spat at my face. “That’s
real
helpful—ain’t it?”

Luckily, a voice from inside the cave stopped him before he could fire a shot. “Wait! Don’t shoot him.”

I spun my head back and saw another man hurrying toward us. He was wearing a thick, hooded covering, black pants and brown boots. “You Mamluks have such deep voices. I heard you all the way down there when I came running.” He kneeled and looked me over. “You said you came here to help?”

I nodded. “Yes. My name’s Juozas.”

He nodded back and extended his hand. “I’m Robert.”

I glanced at his hand and narrowed my eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand this gesture.”

Robert smiled. “It’s called a handshake. This is the part where you reach out and shake my hand.”

I returned a smile and shook his hand. We rose as one, but the other man was still aiming at me. “What about him?”

Robert chuckled. “Put that down, Bill.”

He exhaled and lowered the weapon. “How do you know we can trust him?”

Robert gave him a sarcastic look. “Believe me, if he wanted to kill us he would have done it by now.” Then he tapped me on the arm. “Come on. Let’s head inside and patch up that wound.”

Robert and Bill led me into the cave. There was a large fire burning bright in the distance, and as we got closer, I realized there were dozens of humans sitting around it.

Robert put his hands up and stopped a few feet from the crowd. “Everyone...don’t be afraid. He’s here to help.”

But as I stood there, I heard someone scream out in horror.

“My God, it’s a Mamluk!”

Robert raised his voice. “Calm down. Trust me, it’s all right.” He turned and waved me on. We walked over to an Ecknor that was sitting by the fire, and I was deeply surprised to see him with the humans. “Juozas. This is Elos.”

The Ecknor rose and gave me a nod. “Welcome, Juozas.”

I smiled and returned a nod. “You’re from Eztu, yes?” Like the Valcons from NorVal, I had learned about the Ecknors during my time at the Soldiers Academy.

He nodded. “That is correct.”

Before I could go on, Bill interjected. “All right, hold on. I still don’t like this. What if he’s just being nice to set us up? You ever seen that movie—’’

“Not—another —word,” Robert warned, pointing at him.

Elos stepped aside. “Please, have a seat, Juozas.”

I sat down and grunted, feeling the pain in my arm.

Elos held his hands out. “I will need to use your
sija
to fix that.”

I removed my
sija
without hesitation and handed it to him. Everyone crawled over and made a circle around us. Elos activated the extraction program and turned on a tiny laser. He held it over my wound, and I felt whatever Bill had shot me with gradually come out. I bit down hard until it was out completely, then I released a deep breath.

Bill grinned as he watched. “Wow.”

Elos activated the healing program and held the thin laser over my wound. Within a few moments, the wound closed up and I heard a collective gasp.

Elos handed the
sija
to me.

I put it back on and gave him a gracious nod. “Thank you.”

“Are you an alien?” a young voice called out.

I looked around and found the little girl who had asked the question. “Yes. But I’m part human, too.”

Bill chuckled. “Oh, OK. So you’re one of those
half-breeds
.”

At last, he had broken my tolerance. I stood up and glared at him. “I sense you have an issue with me.”

He laughed with a wide smile, showing a mouth full of missing teeth. “You’re damn right I got an issue with you. You’re from the Mamluk
society
, or whatever the hell they call it. And I don’t trust anyone on that side of the tracks.”

Robert stepped in. “You’ll have to forgive Bill. He can be a little headstrong. But all things considered, he’s a good man. I know because he’s saved my life.”

I took the advice to heart and calmed down. I gradually looked away and scanned the other humans. Sadly, they all looked dreadfully ill, and it made me wonder how long they had been hiding in the North. I looked back to Bill and walked over to him. He took a surprised, fearful glance at me as I stood beside him. “Tell me, how long have you all been living like this?”

He let out a boorish laugh. “Since the damn invasion.” His face became enraged as he went on. “I was living in Alaska at the time—in a small village called Delta Junction. My wife and I were getting ready for bed when they attacked.” Bill’s face quivered a little. It seemed as if the memory of the invasion had been haunting him. “Those damn lasers ripped through our house and killed her. I wanted to die right there, too. But I had to go on. That’s what she would have wanted.”

I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. Finally, Bill looked up at me with a peaceful stare. “Please, go on.”

He exhaled. “I ran outside and went into the woods. They kept shooting but missed me, just barely. Then for some reason, probably by the grace of God, they stopped and flew away.” Bill glanced at the others. “Later on that night, I found them.” He lifted his weapon and stared at it. “We stayed in the woods for hours. Then we decided to go back to the village and gather all the supplies we could. After that, we had to get the hell out of Delta Junction and find a place to hide, so we left and traveled on and on until we found this cave.” He chuckled and looked up. “For all I know, we could be in Nunavut, Canada.”

Shockingly, as I looked down at him, I saw a piece of stabilized
ozlon
dangling from his neck, tied to a thick string. I quickly pointed at it. “Where did you get that?”

Bill looked down and held it up. “Oh, this?” He looked up at me with a sly grin. “Robert gave it to me. In fact, most of us carry it.”

“Do you know where—’’

Robert quickly clarified. “Yes. He knows all about
ozlon
. We all do.”

I looked at him, deeply confused. “How?”

It appeared as if a look of nostalgia had sparked in Robert’s eyes. “It’s a long story. But the short version is, Elos told me and some friends of mine about it.” After mentioning his
friends
, Robert’s face saddened. He exhaled before going on. “Then, when Bill rescued Elos and me and brought us to the cave, we explained
ozlon
to him and the others.”

“Well, if you know about
ozlon
, then I suppose you know about the
sija
as well.”

Robert nodded.

“Then I will supply you all with the device in due time.”

Bill keenly pointed at my
sija
. “That’s the
sija
, right? You’re gonna get us one of our own?”

I looked at him and chuckled. “Yes, My Friend.”

He laughed again. “Well hot damn. I take back all that rude shit I said about you.”

There was a slight pause, then a woman stood up and gave me a bold stare. “Is that why you came here? To help us fight back?”

I stepped closer to her. “Yes. I’ve started a covert rebellion against my mother. She’s the Ruler of all Mamluks.”

Robert narrowed his eyes. “Dalia is your mother?”

I shook my head. “No. Emily is my mother.”

He gradually lowered his head and looked away with a dreadful stare. “My God.”

I studied him carefully. “You know her?”

“Yes. Well...I knew her, a long time ago.” He looked back at me with great sorrow in his eyes. “So, she’s taken over the world.”

I nodded. “Yes. And we must join forces to stop her.”

Robert glanced at the others. “What do you say everybody? Are you ready to fight back?” They cheered loudly with one voice and raised their fists in the air. Robert nodded. “Count us in.”