Gawonii, taking advantage of the moment, returned the blast and knocked me off of him. He stood up. “Ama, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Regaining my composure, I pulled at his life’s blood inside of his body in retaliation. He winced in pain, falling on one knee, his eyes becoming bloodshot. “Compared to when?” I spat between clenched teeth.
The rorrets stood up on their hind legs and the call began.
“This is your revenge … killing us all!”
I could sense the extraction of his fluids seeping through his pores, and I laughed. “If that’s what it takes.”
Every beast that surrounded us began to quiver, ready to attack, but when the quills discharged, they bounced off a shield. I glanced over to see Kamama with both arms outstretched, erecting the shield as she tried to balance the visions from reality for all of their survival.
Distracted, I was struck in the arm, hot metal tearing through muscle and tendons.
I stumbled away from Gawonii, outside of the protection of the force field.
“Ama!” Gawonii cried out in terror, fighting to make his way towards me. “Mohe! What are you doing!”
My eyes fell on Mohe who held a bow still posed in my direction. The pain jolted me back into my body, pushing ‘her’ out, and I struggled to come to grips with the pain to only be struck again with another arrow. The force of the second blow landed me in the midst of a group of rorrets. Throwing down his bow, Mohe ran over to his daughter, lifting her up into his arms and dissolving the shield. The creatures lurched out at me, crashing into each other as they fought for superiority as to who would have me first.
With my body paralyzed with fear, I curled up into a ball.
The giant creatures fought around me, their battle sounds deafening to my ears. It would have only been a matter of seconds before one actually swooped down to tear me apart.
Ama, look at me, Gawonii’s voice whispered in my mind. I lifted my head, seeing him through tangled legs and the clashing bodies of the rorrets.
When I tell you to, I need you to run as fast as you can away from this town.
I mentally nodded in accord.
He continued, Close your eyes. I will only give you a few seconds to get out of the way when I tell you to go.
As soon as I agreed, Gawonii ruptured in a bright light that burned out from his body, soon turning night into day. I pressed my eyes closed, seeing his brightness through my eyelids. The rorrets’ cries filled the area, their bodies sensitive to the light. They backed away, opening up a wide girth.
Now! I heard him finally say.
The radiant glow dimmed, giving me the signal to open my eyes and run. Once I jumped up, pain exploded in my shoulder where I completely had forgotten that Mohe had shot me twice with a bow and arrow. Ignoring the searing pain shooting up and down my arm and mid-section, I stumbled to my feet and started to run but skidded to an abrupt stop when a black hole opened directly in front of me. What came through the opening had me take steps backward right back into the line of attack.
“Ama! Get out of there!” Gawonii yelled, running towards me.
But I couldn’t. My feet remained fixed to the ground as I stared in awe at the giant Yracs that stretched its large claws out at me. Its long snout sneered, baring its sharp teeth with its ground length white hair whipping behind it. Eight more black holes opened, and eight more creatures appeared. The Yracs towering over me roared, rearing back to pounce before consecutive bolts of light knocked it back into the hole.
Go now! Gawonii’s voice filled my head, but it was already too late. The rorrets had recovered from their temporary disorientation and several of them let go of an onslaught of quills that were meant for me but instead punctured the Yracs that came storming out of the black hole.
Sprinting for the edge of town, I had made it a few feet away before my body was wrapped up in an icy blanket, and as quickly as the Yracs appeared, Iswali stood before me. He took me around my waist and pulled me into his body just as a rorret swooped down over our heads only to be taken down by a Yracs.
“I heard your cry, Your Highness,” he whispered in my ear, his ice-cold lips brushing my cheek. Spinning around to face him, my hand struck him across his tanned cheek. His eyes cut sharply in my direction to stare me down while I watched his hand rub his bruised face. “Why do you continue to deny who and what you are?” said he demanded, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Ama would never run!”
Suddenly, I was thrown backwards, flinging me across the town’s grounds and dropping me right back in the center of the fight. My breath came in short, haggard puffs, and I landed on my injured side.
Catching a Yracs attention, it shifted above me, his mouth opening wide to release a cry. It was tackled by a rorret, prompting me to move quickly. Gawonii blasted his way through the melee, trying to get to me, but he was getting swallowed up in the increasing number.
Fight, Ama! Gawonii yelled in my mind. I don’t have control of you right now. There are too many, and you’re going to have to fight!
Iswali shifted before me, and I was held face down on the ground, unable to move. “You are weak. Nothing like the goddess I once knew.” Once again, he tossed me back into the melee.
I landed on my shoulder, crying out in pain. Iswali stood over me as the battle ensued around us. “You have all this power thriving inside of you, yet you willingly allowed Gawonii to bind them, making you weak; a coward, unprepared for battle.”
I was then thrusted between two fighting beasts. On my knees, I crawled away, narrowly avoiding being trampled on.
“Ah!” I screamed, practically blacking out when a hot stabbing pain came from my injured shoulder. I looked to see Iswali ripping the arrow out of my flesh.
“Get up!” he yelled, seething.
Gawonii entered my mind again, begging me to fight back, but I collapsed, straining to hold on to consciousness.
Iswali knelt beside me, taking my face between his fingers and forcing me to look at him.
“Mohe is your enemy, and you allowed him to live after his betrayal of you. He wanted you destroyed then because of your power, and he aims to destroy you now.”
He ripped the second arrow out of my side, and I shuddered, choking on another scream.
Iswali was struck down by an unsought of light energy coming from Gawonii.
Ama, I need you to get off your ass and fight, now! Iswali is your enemy. His very nature is to poison and manipulate. He loved the power you had possessed, never you!
I rested on my side in the dirt in pain, unwilling to move. Again, I thought about my life before all of this, overwhelmed. Dying in my little home was simpler, easier. There, I had no knowledge of the betrayals and conspiracies dating years back from people wanting me dead. Tears mingled with the dust covering my face, making a muddy trail gather in a tiny pool beside my head. The Yracs stood over me and snarled, turning away from the rorret and redirecting his sight onto me.
“Self-pity?” Iswali balked incredulously, hearing my thoughts. He cocked his head to the side, confused at the weakness I displayed. “Since you won’t fight on your own, I will make you fight,” he growled. The Yracs yelped, responding to Iswali’s command. It bounded over to me, its long tresses lashing out from around its form to wrap around my neck. It tossed me across the field. My teeth rattled when I bounced and rolled on the hard dirt. I tasted rich clay in my mouth, filling up my nostrils, and I gagged, spitting out grass mixed with dirt. I pulled myself up on wobbly arms and hung my head.
“Fight!” Iswali cried. I shook my head, not having the will for this.
“No. I can’t.” My voice shook; I was on the verge of a breakdown.
I know you’re scared and in pain, but I need you, Ama. We will win in the end, but many lives will be lost if you don’t help.
I looked up to see Mohe taking on a flock, outnumbered, and Kamama’s frail body holding as many of the creatures off with her shield as she could. Gawonii fought hard, setting fire to c
ountless creatures. If he was tired, not one ounce of fatigue showed in all of his magnificent strength. Mohe’s men fought alongside him, but none of them had the strength that we possessed, and many were dying.
Kamama fell down. She was quickly deteriorating, her shield crumbling.
I went to stand before I was yanked off the ground to be lifted up to stare into the eyes of the Yracs. Two distinct voices now merged together in my head.
“Ama, fight!”
Ama, fight!
Both Angenis cried out, simultaneously pissing me off at their need to connect me to that monster.
“I am not her!” I fumed.
The Yracs dropped me, his mass thrashing uncontrollably on the ground. I mentally held the beast down against the hard ground, watching it gasping helplessly, its forked tongue hanging limp from its snout that blew out puffs of dust.
I stood over the Yracs, reaching into its mind and finding it a void, empty space fully loaded with thoughts and feelings put there by Iswali. I pushed myself deeper into its cerebral, digging away and reprogramming. I wiped out all traces of Iswali, replacing the thoughts of its present master until the only commander it would respond to was …
Me.
“What are you doing, Ama?” I heard Iswali’s tone change once the link between him and his monster broke.
“Get up,” I commanded. The Yracs’s eyes darted to mine, jumping up to stand on its hind legs. I couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across my face as the Yracs elongated, looming over me and waiting for its orders.
Stepping to my right and then to the left, I watched as it matched my every movement, every hand gestured, and every eerie facial expression.
I felt ‘her’ inside trying to push herself to the forefront to take over my body. Not willing to be shoved to the side and become her puppet again, I struggled to maintain full control.
My eyes cut over, locating the declining warriors. Sensing my desired intentions, my new convert planted its feet and leaped into the midst of battle landing over top Kamama just as her shield diminished.
Following the lead of the alpha, Iswali’s army revolted, joining into battle to protect Mohe’s men.
Iswali watched, amused, making no moves to correct the damage I had caused to his giant minions.
Not exactly what I was thinking, Your Highness, but bravo, whispered in my head. Not recognizing that it wasn’t Gawonii’s voice, my focus remained on protecting what was left of the village from the rorrets.
I cringed when that piercing cry vibrated from the flock, alerting me that time was up.
They began to formulate their circle around the fighters, propelling me to take action.
I ran into the rapidly closing ring, warning who I could get out. The Yracs delayed the closing of the circle for as long as possible while the others escaped, buying me enough time to help Gawonii with the rorret he was grappling with.
Seeing me beside him, no words were spoken. I merely received a nod of his head, conveying his approval. He set the creature ablaze, and I saw him scan the chaos, searching for Mohe. I spotted him first, pointing him out to Gawonii, who took off running in his direction.
“Hurry, Gawonii! Get him out of here!” I yelled, making sure that all breathing bodies were outside of the death circle that was forming.
Gawonii reached Mohe and pulled him away while a Yracs took his place, holding another rorret off.
The two chiefs ran to the closing exit as I observed the rorrets, one by one, hiking up on their back legs in ready positions to take them out. I felt relieved when Gawonii ran through first with Mohe right behind him.
Making one final inspection, I went to follow them before Mohe turned to face me.
“You murdered my wife,” he said as flashes of him being induced to ripping out the heart of his wife came to me. Without warning, Mohe struck me in the stomach, sending me flying back into the center of the giant cluster.
I scrambled to my feet in time to see the opening close.
“No!” Gawonii screamed, but the call of the rorrets had already begun.
The clamor made my eardrums rattle, forcing my hands up to cover my ears. There was a thud at my feet where one of my loyal Yracs had fallen. I spun around to take a good look, and I realized that all of my protection was gone. I was the only one standing, and barely. The noise was so great, I wasn’t able to hear Gawonii’s voice in my head any longer. But through my blurring vision, I could see bright flashes of light, which I assumed was him trying to break through the dense flock.
Falling to my knees, my nervous system battled in survival mode against the shut-down. As I weakened, I saw ‘her’ again. She was becoming stronger and fighting for her own survival as well.
The curls framing my face began to stir as the wind picked up. Tilting my head back to view the sky, I saw the moon along with the stars blot out until we all were thrown into darkness.
Sound, all except for the death cry, was sucked out of the air, and soon after, even the rorrets’ deadly music ended with an abrupt halt.
In the quiet of the open field, thunder cracked after a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. The first drop of water landed on my cheek while the world stood still around me. Closing my eyes, another drop fell on my face until my body surged with remarkable power.
The Earth shook when the crack of thunder split the sky with a bolt of lightning again. The heavens opened and down poured on the little village.
The moment I lowered my head to take in the tactical formation before me, I felt ‘her’ no longer fighting against me but with me.
Standing to my feet, the torrential shower ceased falling to the Earth but instead redirected its course to flow around me. The fast-moving drops pulled into my center to form an elliptic orbit, gathering to form a wall that rose over my head. Through the wall, I saw the army of rorrets come down on all legs and as a unit come towards me.
The one that sounded the call sprung in for attack before a massive wall shot up in an imitation of a geyser to slam into the airborne creature, sending it crashing to the ground. It squealed, struggling to recover its footing and unable to break away from the aquatic shackles detaining it.
More razor-sharp talons and snapping beaks attacked only to be diverted by a liquid barricade and then taken down with a mere thought.
I walked towards to the solitary creature, unafraid. When I stood over the fowl-like insect, the water restraint released it to form another barrier, separating us from its miniature army. The monster jumped up and roared angrily, white foam spraying out and wings spreading to show its massive span. It flapped its wings to rise into the air, swooping down, my reflection appearing in its red eyes.
Merely a few inches away, the power of it wings kicked up the dust around me, but I concentrated on tearing through its hard exoskeleton, burrowing through the fleshy matter that covered its brain.
The rorret fell to the ground, confused. It pranced side to side, eyeing me cautiously. A few times, it rushed to attack only to stop short, screaming its protest. During the last assault it attempted, I hurled it to the ground where it stayed in a bowed position. The creature was forced to accept defeat.
The barrier that divided us from the rest splashed to the ground, opening me up to be rushed.
The small army charged. Still holding the one, I forced it to rise.
Call them off! I commanded. A guttural cough came from its mouth and instantly, every creature became subdued. Now bow.
The rorret pranced anxiously. I squeezed the hold I had on it until it whined. The quills along its body quivered, moving in fluid waves over its back, and then it lowered to the ground, bowing.
The minute it took its position, the others followed in perfect accord. I let out a huge sigh of relief, glancing down at my hands to see them shaking uncontrollably.
I spun around to see many pairs of eyes staring at me. Gawonii had already made his way over to my side, but it was the audience behind me that kept my attention. The
mixed expressions of horror, awe, and respect were mirrored on their faces.
I saw one onlooker go to one knee, lowering his head. The next one followed and so on. The entire crowd bowed, leaving Kamama, Mohe, and Iswali.
Kamama glanced over at her father, then stepped away from him before going down on her knees.
“We will be honored to be led by you, Your Highness.”
Mohe was the last one standing, his defiance blatant, making the others look up from their bowed positions to glare at him.
Iswali’s face twisted with rage, and he pushed Mohe forward, forcing him to his knees. “You bow before your queen,” he growled. The rorrets pranced nervously behind me, sensing the tension. Iswali’s Yracs, having complete ability to move again, took their place on each side of me, extending their talons and ready to strike.
I watched as Iswali dragged Mohe over to me. “Not only did he attack you, Your Highness, he threw you to the wolves. What is your punishment for his betrayal? Surely, you will not let him live yet another day to succeed in what he failed to fulfill this evening?”
My eyes wouldn’t move off of Mohe’s face, which remained fixed on showing disrespect. I zoned in on Gawonii in my peripheral vision and waited, but he maintained his silence. Even, shockingly, suppressing his usual need for mental communication.
This was my decision to make.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Mohe began. “I betrayed you more than once this evening. What is your punishment our dear beloved, Ama?” He spat at my feet.
The alpha stomped his feet beside me, outwardly expressing my agitation at Mohe’s insolence.
I could feel all eyes on me … waiting. Even ‘she’ smoldered under the skin, crawling and itching underneath the thin layer to enact a speedy punishment to her enemy.
Iswali’s eyes opened wide at my hesitation. “Strike! Take the respect you deserve,” he cried loud enough for those to hear. “You are Ama, Great Water Angeni. You deserve respect!”
I looked at the people watching me, expecting me to do what they had feared for years. And then I walked away.
The Ageni Series: Queen Page 12