The Warrior Woman

by Evelyn Lederman

  Candy approached the man, staff in hand. There was only one problem, her opponent had a knife. She needed to disarm him and use his weapon against him. Candy circled her opponent and struck at one of his kidneys. Although he groaned, she had done little harm. He lunged at her with his knife. Candy actually reacted to the move before he made it. His forward momentum caused him to fall off balance. Candy took immediate action by hitting him behind his knees and then gave another blow to his back. She whipped the staff with such power it surprised her. Her telepathic gift gave her even more strength. Before Candy reached for the knife her opponent dropped, she swung her staff one more time. This time it connected with his head, knocking him unconscious. Candy picked up the knife, stuck it in her leggings, and went to find her next opponent.

  Kelog was now in hand-to-hand combat with one of the portal guardians. She came up behind his opponent and swung her staff against his knees. Kelog took advantage of the enemy’s momentary incapacitation and jammed a spear in his chest. Candy imagined Kelog had never killed anyone before either. Her comrade seemed momentarily dazed. Candy knew the thoughts that must be going through his brain.

  “We will deal with all these emotions later, Kelog,” Candy told him. “Right now we have a job to do. The children are counting on us to protect them and keep them safe.” Kelog nodded and grabbed more spears to confront another guardian who had breached their village’s border.

  “Candy, we need you on the north end,” Klark communicated through the communal pathway. “The enemy is coming across the bridge. Everyone else needs to maintain their positions. We are getting attacked from all sides.”

  Candy ran to the far entrance into the village. Klark was battling with one of the attackers who had made it across the gorge. She was ready to confront the next man off the bridge when the one behind him threw something that was on fire. Candy watched in horror as a bottle full of alcohol and a lit rag plummeted onto one of the huts. The structure burst into flames. Several more bottles came flying over her head, making contact with more buildings.

  The smoke from the buildings made it hard to see as well as breathe. Fortunately her gift allowed her to battle the man that charged toward her. The rest of the villagers were not as lucky. It had finally sunk in that they were going to lose this battle. Worrying over what would happen to the children in the village momentarily distracted her from an opponent’s attack. Candy took a blow to her side and fell to her knees.

  Chapter 16

  Candy rose from her knees and brought up her staff to react to the next blow her opponent was about to deliver. She was able to deflect the club he wielded against her. It was questionable how long she was going to be able to hold him off. Her eyes continued to water and she tried to suppress the hacking cough caused by inhaling all the smoke.

  She was losing the battle her body fought against the fire’s by-product; she could no longer hold back the cough that started to shake her body. Out of nowhere Darah stood in front of her attacker, taking advantage of Candy’s incapacitating spasms, and drove a knife into her shoulder.

  Once again she found herself on her knees. She did not know if she should keep the dagger in her shoulder or pull it out. The last thing she wanted was to bleed out. She prepared herself for another attack from her aunt. Only one of them was going to survive this confrontation. The smoke had nullified her telepathic enhancements. Her advantage had been lost.

  “You never should have come here,” Darah cried. “My mother belongs to me and only me. Her world abandoned her and I am her consolation prize in this world. You are from a daughter she has long forgotten.” Despite the darkness, Candy could see the madness in Darah’s eyes as she continued to rave. “My father taught me how to fight. I am going to end this now.”

  Darah came after her one more time in Candy’s mind. Her gift had not left her after all. She was able to react before her opponent actually moved. This time she was prepared for her aunt. Candy shifted, painfully aware of the knife in her shoulder. She lifted the staff and with all her might struck Darah’s knee, shattering it. Darah cried out in pain and came down just short of where Candy had fallen.

  “We are here, Candy,” she heard Alex communicate through the closed telepathic channel she shared with her two friends. “Don’t get freaked out by what is about to happen.”

  Candy had no idea what Alex was talking about. She was just relieved her friends had finally arrived. Candy looked up and saw a number of well-built warriors with swords attacking the portal guardians. Candy recognized a number of the men from her short stay on Terra Nova. Her friends had leveraged allies to come and rescue her and Tolfer from this world.

  Candy was about to get up when her aunt started to come at her one last time. A blond draped in black appeared from out of the smoke and took Darah into his arms. To her amazement the man bit into her aunt’s neck.

  Candy watched in fascination as what she could only assume was a vampire feast on the girl who had stabbed her. The guilt associated with her aunt’s death was not going to fall on her shoulders. When he was done draining Darah, he dropped her like yesterday’s garbage. He looked at her and smiled. Although his mouth was covered in blood, he had to be the most handsome man she had ever seen. How could anything that lovely be so cold and deadly?

  The pain in her shoulder was overwhelming. She was light-headed as she stood on shaky legs. “Tolfer, I need you. I have been stabbed,” Candy managed to transmit to her soul mate as she once again came down hard on her knees. Her legs could no longer bear her weight.

  Soft hands grabbed her uninjured shoulder and gently helped to lie on her back. Her head was in someone’s lap. “Relax, I am here,” Alex’s soothing voice embraced her. Although they were surrounded by fighting, Candy knew everything was going to be all right. Alex was here. Chartail was right all along. Tarsea had come to rescue them. By some miracle Alex had talked her soul mate into letting her accompany them on the rescue mission.

  Dazed, Candy looked around her. Two men stood guard over them. There was no way to miss what they were: vampires. “How did you manage to get those creatures from Nightshade to join you?”

  “We needed every advantage we could get,” Alex shared with her. “Shirl felt Drake owed her and was able to talk him into helping. I went to Nightshade with them because I wanted to see what a real vampire looked like. It was unlikely we would have been victorious without the Nightshade fighters.”

  “Why aren’t these two attacking as well?” Candy asked Alex. The two men cloaked in black stood over them. Candy was concerned by the blood exiting her body. Would the vampires be able to control themselves? After everything she had been through, she did not want to be a vampire’s snack. Candy was concerned there was more blood on the ground than in her body. She knew that was not the case, but it certainly felt like it.

  “They are guarding me,” Alex responded. “Turns out they hold pregnant women with great regard. My unborn daughter may also carry a genetic marker that will allow them to breed with her.” Candy could feel Alex’s body tremble as she said those words. “Just the idea of one of those monsters with my daughter grosses me out. Tarsea is threatening to lock the poor thing in her room until she is seventy-five.” That seemed like a perfectly reasonable reaction to Candy. If their daughter was half as stubborn as Alex, there were going to be some interesting arguments in their future.

  “Where is Shirl?” Candy asked. It astonished her they were calmly conversing as mayhem was all around them. Her reality had become so surreal.

  “She is preparing to open a portal to generate an energy blast if we cannot get the upper hand on the enemy,” Alex answered. “It is a last resort, naturally. Drake cannot pay his men with dust if Shirl is forced to use the energy blast. I don’t look forward to us having to provide the blood we promised if we cannot get it from the enemy. Drake told us there would be no charge for his assistance, but the other vampires are out for blood.” Candy almost laughed. That saying was true both literally and f
iguratively.

  Lifting her head, Candy saw a number of men in the clutches of vampires. She could not feel any pity for the portal guardians or her aunt. The ground was saturated with the blood of the villagers she had grown to love and respect. As she continued to survey the area she saw Tolfer approach.

  Her soul mate came down on his knees and examined the knife that was still in her shoulder. He placed some kind of cloth around the dagger and then grabbed the handle. “I am going to pull it out on the count of three,” Tolfer told her. “One, two,” he counted and pulled the knife on the second count. Candy screamed as Tolfer removed the blade. He covered the wound with more cloth, reducing the amount she was bleeding out. “You are going to be all right, Canny. They have a med-tech device. As soon as we take care of some of the more severely injured villagers we will take care of your shoulder.”

  “I am good with Alex for now,” Candy said. “See if you can calm the children. They should not witness what is happening in the village.” She did not feel she needed to elaborate. Several of the captured portal guardians were brought forward and Alex’s guards were now being rewarded with their blood. This time she turned away, not wanting to watch what was happening to the men.

  “It is troubling I am sitting here with you as the vampires take their bounty,” Alex stated. “I should be horrified, but I am mesmerized by it all. Tolfer called you Canny. Wasn’t that what I called you before I could properly pronounce your name?” The juxtaposition of the topics Alex brought up momentarily caused Candy to pause.

  “Yes,” Candy finally answered. “He was coming up with atrocious endearments to call me. It was almost comical.” The lightheartedness of their conversation with everything going on around them was startling.

  “That is Tolfer,” Alex said. “He is always joking and laughing. Once you entered his life he sobered. I am glad you two are finally together. Maybe some of his light heartiness will return. It’s almost over, Candy. Hang on a little longer.”

  Candy continued to lie in Alex’s lap as the fires were put out and the prisoners dealt with. The village took stock of who was still standing, who was injured, and who hadn’t survived.

  Her grandmother had been one of the villagers who died in the attack. Candy did not have to face telling Alaura her daughter had stabbed her and then had been attacked by a vampire. She wished she could feel more in regard to losing her grandmother. Alaura had been a courageous woman. However, although they were related by blood, Alaura was not really her family. Shirl and Alex were.

  One of the villagers started to work on Candy’s shoulder using the med-tech device. The piece of equipment was able to heal a wound from the inside out. It was not long before her shoulder was as good as new. She was also given an injection containing a serum that would accelerate the replacement of the blood she had lost. The medicine was courtesy of the Nightshade universe. There had been nothing altruistic concerning the serum’s creation.

  Shirl and Chartail were by her side when she got back to her feet. Everyone was covered with soot and ash from the fire. The four women walked to the center hut where the survivors of the battle would determine what to do with the remaining prisoners.

  Candy walked between Alex and Shirl. She had killed today. There was blood on her hands. Now that the adrenaline was gone she found herself in a funk. Everything she told herself she would deal with later was now before her. Candy had to come to terms with everything that had happened. There was no feeling of remorse, only a slight depression in her mood. It troubled her that she had not broken down at this point.

  Victory was not always sweet, Tolfer thought as he held a crying child in his arms. The villagers and their liberators came together in the center hut to discuss what needed to be done now that the fighting was over. Every face was blackened from the ash the fires produced. Before he entered the structure he noted there were some huts still smoldering. His temporary home was in ruins.

  He had almost lost his soul mate this evening. If his brother and their reinforcements had been minutes later, Darah might have killed Candy. Tolfer blamed himself, he should have noticed Darah’s absence. When Alaura left the building in search of her daughter Tolfer was inundated with terrified children. There were others who could have comforted the little ones. He knew what that crazed woman was capable of, yet he stayed behind.

  Tarsea was consulting with Darden, Koel, and an older man he did not recognize. His soul mate was with Shirl, Alex, and Chartail. He noted the woman who had planned the Prime Ruler’s assassination was staring intently at the older man. Candy gazed at the man as well, confusion was written all over his soul mate’s face.

  His brother approached. “Hand over the child to one of the women,” Tarsea ordered. Without thought, Tolfer did exactly what his brother requested. Why had he not done that earlier when Candy needed him? “We need to settle some things before we head home.” As he did when they first came together after the battle, his brother embraced him. He tightened his hold on Tarsea. Tolfer had lost faith they would ever be rescued.

  Tolfer followed his brother as they exited the building. Their friends and the women followed. Cianan and Starc were in discussions with Ervin Allaway from Terra Nova. The vampires stood alone in the shadows.

  “Ervin,” Tarsea addressed the head of the Terra Nova clan. “We appreciate the aid you provided today. I do not know how we are ever going to repay you.”

  “No thanks are needed,” Ervin answered. “We merely repaid a debt we owed Shirl.” Tolfer noted the clan leader’s eyes on Candy. There was a possessiveness he did not like to the look. Tolfer went to stand next to his soul mate, staking his claim.

  Tolfer heard laughter in his brain. “You finally admitted to Candy you were soul mates,” Alex said through their familial link. “I can’t believe it took her being literally kidnapped for you to acknowledge your relationship. Candy has always been my family and now we are actually going to be sisters-in-law. How cool is that?”

  If Allaway noticed Tolfer’s actions toward Candy he did not visibly show it. “We offer our home to any displaced members of this clan. Although you were originally from a more advanced world, the way you have lived here is quite primitive. Women are scarce. Any woman who joins us will be treated like a queen. I give you my word you will never be forced to mate against your will.”

  Three women came forward. Tolfer was preoccupied with checking to see how Candy was while the women conversed with the men from Terra Nova. He heard bits and pieces of discussions. One of the women wanted to know if they could return here if they were not happy on Terra Nova. Shirl had promised to check on them regularly. At no point did anyone ask to return to the Troyk universe. That was one complication they did not have to address currently. Goodbyes were said and the women accompanied the Terra Nova men through the portal Shirl opened.

  The vampire Tolfer heard addressed as Drake walked forward. “We should be leaving as well. It will not be long before the sun rises.” Drake kissed Shirl’s cheek and Alex’s hand. The vampire’s eyes lingered on Alex. He was not sure whether Tarsea saw the look.

  Right or wrong, the remaining prisoners would return with the vampires to the Nightshade universe. It was payment for their lives and the only way to assure the safety of the Utopians.

  Shirl once again opened the gate. The vampires and their reluctant guests entered the portal. Tolfer felt a sense of relief now that the vampires were gone. He owed these creatures a debt too precious to place a value on.

  Klark looked around him in bewilderment. “What now?” It broke Tolfer’s heart to see this proud man broken. The Utopians were going to have to heal both physically and mentally.

  “We rebuild closer to the portal,” Chartail answered. “This village is destroyed but the portal guardian village is intact. The monthly supplies from the Troyk universe will now be all yours. We need to find a crystal telepath among our numbers to help open portals where we can gather more supplies.”

  Chartail did not even b
roach the topic of returning to the Troyk universe. She had found a home here. Tolfer watched Chartail in fascination. His brother’s former girlfriend was now a leader.

  “We can bring crystals on our next visit and train anyone who can open the portal,” Shirl added. “For the time being, you need to stay away from the Troyk universe. There are other worlds you can explore.”

  A young woman who Tolfer had worked with came forward. “When can we return to the world of our parents?”

  “Soon,” Darden answered, as he looked at the man who had been by his side throughout the aftermath of the battle. Tolfer still did not know who the man was.

  “I remember you now,” Candy said, addressing the unknown gentleman.

  “You were at the bar where I met Shirl on Earth,” Candy stated. It had been driving her crazy trying to place where she had seen him before. He was the man seated at the table when she entered the restaurant in Sedona where she was re-united with Shirl. She had thought he had wished her luck as they were leaving. Why was he here now?

  “We need to be circumspect with the information we share,” Darden responded in a telepathic channel Candy had not accessed before.

  “What is going on?” Candy asked using the same channel. She heard a number of murmurs around her as others were questioning the same thing. Did a new communal channel open in the aftermath of the war they just fought?

  “Hold up three fingers if you are picking up transmissions in this channel,” Darden instructed. Candy raised three fingers and was astonished when everyone around her did the same. She gazed over at her soul mate who was not holding up his fingers. Tolfer was too busy surveying who had responded to the request. Darden and Tarsea looked shell shocked.