by Lizzie Vega
The shadows created by the center orb gave his brow line a heavy thick appearance only serving to make his face a more defined and sinister look.
He had appeared exactly as they had predicted. His dark eyes reflected in the light, one of them appearing to twitch slightly trying to adjust. He groaned loudly. It was deep and guttural. Iris heard a quiet gasp from where Mac and Allie were crouched in the darkness.
His head tilted slightly toward the sound, yet his gaze remained fixed on Annika. Her anger got the better of her and she raised her sword toward him, “Amund,” she bellowed, “Welcome” she almost sneered when she said it. He took a half step toward her, then stopped. He seemed to soundlessly repeat Annika’s greeting. He groaned again and closed his eyes as if in pain. He took a half step back and seemed to bend slightly. He stood up straight and threw his shoulders back,
“Annika!” he thundered back. His shoulders heaved as he took a labored breath, “I have come for you.”
And with that, most of their plan went straight to hell.
Amund stared at Annika then he looked squarely at the hooded figure behind her. Again, he stepped forward squinting, trying the get a better look. His hand reached for his sword as he did.
“Amund!” This time it was Katie. She was almost as loud as Annika. “Welcome.” Her greeting had the tiniest inflection of an accent. The days of Annika’s influence had made an impression, but, being Katie, she added a sneering comment, “Asshole.”
The warlord stopped short. At first, he smiled, he looked at Katie and then back at Annika and blinked. Michael quietly whispered to Samantha, “Sam, do it,” and he felt her shoulders straightening in front of him. She opened her mouth to speak, but only the softest, almost melodic and loving sound came out her mouth, “Amund,” she beckoned softly, “Welcome.”
He swung to his right and glared at Samantha. His mouth opened to say something but his eyes grew wide. He was clearly confused. “What?” he stammered, “what witchery is this?” he asked in an exasperated tone. He began to draw his sword out of its engraved sling. Now surrounded by carbon copies of his bride to be, panic set in, “This will not stand.” As the sword left the sling, he turned slightly to his right. Until now, Iris had not moved a muscle, she stepped toward the summoning circle.
She caught Stefan’s eye as he quickly touched his throat and tipped his head toward Amund. A rough chain with three glowing glass amulets hung around the angry warlord’s neck.
He caught her movement but all he could really discern was a pair of glowing green eyes in a sea of darkness, “Sire?” Iris asked in a somewhat mocking tone, she took another step toward him, “Your mind, Amund, your mind is failing you.” He stared at her but then remembered the other three that surrounded him. He crouched again and took a step back his sword swinging back and forth at the three princesses. He kept watching the three women in front of him, momentarily taking his eye off Iris.
Iris called out into the darkness, “Allie, now!” The screens above their heads crackled to life. The images that exploded across the screens took them all by surprise. While Allie had included Parker’s dreaded giant spiders, she blended them with inter-cut images of marching armies and lightning storms fading into volcanoes and then back to spiders. The only sound on the video was thunderous drum cadence she borrowed from the University marching band archives.
Amund stood stock still, his sword coming down from its offensive position. His slack jawed expression was one of increasing horror, unable to process what was happening.
There was a moment when it looked as though they could pull this off and subdue him. His shoulders sagged and he looked back and forth at the three women. He settled his eyes on the real princess. At that moment, Allie froze the spider image on the screen and cut the audio.
He looked at the screens and then back at Annika, “It wasn’t to be like this.” he said loudly. He looked back at Katie and then to Sam. He dropped his sword on the floor.
Sam shook her head, and she had found her voice, “No, it’s not what seems” But Amund’s voice overpowered hers, “This was supposed to be easy.”
He moved a little to his left but continued to stare at Annika, “I’ve wasted too much time on you already.” He raised his chin defiantly, “Plenty more whores where you came from.”
That did it.
Annika lunged toward him, her arm coming up as the fingers of her other hand clasped together around the handle of her sword. She brought the sword down at him with blinding speed.
A brilliant flash of lightning arced across the skylights of the warehouse and the deafening volley of thunder that accompanied it proved too much for the power transformer down the street. The warehouse and surrounding neighborhood plunged into darkness.
The only light in the warehouse was from the stars that were orbiting above them. In the second or two it took Annika to step toward Amund, he stepped toward her to defend himself from her attack.
He caught, then held her wrists in his left hand and with his right, drew a small pointed dagger from behind an armored plate on his forearm. The lights and screens flickered once, then went dark causing a strobe effect. They flashed on again and stayed lit.
Amund quickly looked to his left. Stefan lunged toward Amund but got tangled up with Katie as she did the same. The collision caused him to rotate ahead of her and he couldn’t free his arm to protect either of them with his sword.
Amund swung his free hand around in a vicious circle and the blade of his dagger shredded through Stefan’s lightly woven robe creating a large gash in the fabric. From the look on Stefan’s face, it had pierced more than fabric. He retreated a short step to regain his footing and attack again.
Amund bent down to create some leverage with Annika and, as he flexed his leg muscles, practically threw the princess across the circle back into Parker’s arms. Parker brought the bat’leth around to cover Annika with some degree of protection and tried to pull her away.
That left Katie. She continued her assault and she lashed out with her nails carving a deep gash in Amund’s face. “That’s more like it,” he cried out as he gathered her up and brought the dagger in close to her neck.
Iris ripped the black shirt away to expose her shoulders and arms and moved toward Amund in a flash, her tendrils moving in such a fashion that it appeared that steam was rising off her skin. Her eyes were flaring far past the level that any of the group had witnessed. She got Amund’s brief attention, yet it only served to make him angrier.
“Stop this.” Amund thundered. Iris took a second step toward him and she saw the blade press into Katie’s neck.
“No further or she dies. Then no one gets her.” Annika also backed off a step. Stefan rose up and removed his hood, “Let her go,” he said flatly, “You’re undeserving of such a woman.”
Amund laughed as he recognized his old adversary, “A ghost, Stefan? It seems so. You fight like one. I should have finished you off long ago. That was supposed to be the Elin’s job.”
As Amund continued to mock Stefan, he took his eyes off the group and Iris moved quietly behind him. She motioned to Michael and held up her hand with her fingers extended. She was buying time.
Michael quickly looked around the warehouse and saw a figure moving toward the gathering, “No,” he said, “We’ve got this.” He appeared to be talking in two different directions.
Michael spoke up again, this time directly to Amund, “We’ll fight you one at a time. If you win, you can take her.”
“What?” Samantha cried out, “That’s not right.”
But Michael stepped toward Amund and dropped his prop weapon. To Amund, he was unarmed.
Amund took the blade from Katie’s throat and pointed it at Michael. He was maybe three steps away from the point of the blade.
“Michael, please don’t.” Sam was on the verge of hysteria. Annika moved to stand with her. Amund’s eyes continued to dart between the two women. He had forgotten about Iris.
Parker step
ped from Annika’s side and into the circle, “Then you fight me,” he said to Amund. The warlord laughed but he then pointed the blade at Parker. With a quick look to Stefan, he mocked Parker, “You’re just a boy, you’re just a joke.”
Katie squirmed in his grasp, “No,” she said, “Far from it.”
“No matter,” laughed Amund as her reached toward Katie’s chest and fumbled for her pendant.
“Stop it, What the fuck?” Katie said loudly as he groped her chest. He secured the jewel in his fingertips and smiled as he looked at them. “This is all I need to return with her.”
He took the crystal in his thick palm and squeezed it with a broad smile on his face. The thick muscles in his arm flexed all the way to his shoulder. His smile faded as nothing happened to them. He squeezed again. His grin became a grimace. “How is this possible?” he asked incredulously.
Iris brought one of her fingers down, her hand showed four.
Annika stepped forward, she held her amulet in her fingers, “You blind fool, you don’t even know your own bride.”
Another finger one came down, it was a countdown.
Three fingers.
She held up the jewel to taunt him, “This is the one you need.” she said, “You want it, let her go.”
Now two.
Taking a cue from Annika, Sam stepped toward Amund, “No,” she hollered, the power of her voice surprised her, “I am the one you seek. You’ll leave when we want you to leave.”
One.
Sorry Katie, as Iris pressed the Taser’s trigger just as Michael lunged toward them.
It didn’t fire.
Iris cast it aside and threw her open hands toward Armund. A tendril from each arm instantly coiled and leapt from her hands with a hiss. One caught Armund on the shoulder, digging in and drawing his hand away from Katie’s thoat. The other twisting root clamped down around his throat. Iris’s eyes flashed a deep red as a wave of power ran down her arms and caused Amund’s body to jerk upright. Both Amund and Katie began rising off the concrete floor.
An electrical surge shot through his body just as Michael tackled Katie to break contact with Amund.
The dagger fell from his pulsing hand and his body was racked with a convulsive spasm that brought him to his knees. He fell over in a heap as the current from Iris continued coursing through his massive frame.
Iris stood over him as the spasms began to subside, the green tendrils released and began slowly withdraw from Armund’s body. She stepped over him again, the tendrils surged back to his neck. She was seething in anger, “You son of a bitch. No one treats my family like that.”
Stefan rushed to Iris and gently pulled her back from Armund’s crumpled body. She had defended her friends, but this was the first time she had used her powers to physically incapacitate someone.
Samantha and Annika tended to Katie while Michael and Parker grabbed rolls of duct tape and secured Amund’s hands and feet. A pale Parker relieved his fear with a joke, “Let’s leave the one off his mouth, at least until the drooling stops.”
Alec walked quietly into the protection circle, he put his hand on Michaels’ shoulder, “Well done. That was an incredibly brave thing you did.” Michael’s expression froze, and he stared at Alec for a moment, then he smiled softly and nodded, “Thank you.”
Sam and Katie made their way over to Michael. Katie seemed to have survived the ordeal with nothing more than a bump on the head. She walked up to Michael and threw her arms around him, “You were amazing.” She kissed him right on the lips. The kiss dragged out for a couple of seconds until Sam interjected, “Hey now, girlfriend, right here, seeing this.”
Katie backed away from Michael’s face laughing, “I know. I’m just playing.” She looked at Sam, “He is amazing, you know. Hey, and you… This is the one you seek,” as she repeated Sam’s remark to Amund, “Such a bad ass.”
Sam just rolled her eyes and tilted her head toward Parker as he stood next to Annika, “Also amazing, just sayin,” she said quietly. “Yeah, I know,” Katie responded quietly, “He is full of surprises, isn’t he?”
Katie walked over to Parker and Annika, “Can I barge in here, please?” She winked at Anni and looked straight at Parker. For once, there was no snarky comment, no clever aside or double entendre, she just put her arms around him and drew him in close and held him. He returned the hug without a word. She went up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek and then reached over and gave Annika a hug as well.
Sam nudged Michael playfully, “And, there is it,” she said with a smile. Michael nodded in agreement, “That was a lot of communication just now, without anyone saying anything. All this time, I had no idea.”
Stefan had walked Iris over to a dark corner of the warehouse to decompress. She had stopped shaking but just stood there with Stefan standing, silently, next to her. She held out her hand and he took it gently. At first, she was quiet, her shoulders beginning to shake, then, “That was too close, Stefan. I’ve never…I could have killed him, but Katie might have…”
She leaned into his chest with a single sob, then quieted herself. Stefan put his arms around her, “You did exactly what you needed to do. And not at either your, or Alec’s expense. Katie is fine. Everyone is safe. You were amazing.”
She took another deep breath and managed a smile, “Yeah, well maybe I’m good,” she said, “I’ve never taken it that far before.”
She looked over at the conversations happening in the lounge and then looked at Amund still sprawled in the middle of the protection circle, “I feel better. Let’s go relax for a bit. I want to review our next step with Alec before we begin this next part. They’re pretty fired up about him. I don’t want it to get out of hand.” She blew out a quick breath and shook her head, “Seeing how I just got a little out of control.”
He nodded and Iris reached to hug him, her arm brushing against the cut on his arm, “Oh, I’m sorry.” He shook his head, “It’s ok. It’s just a scratch.”
Brushing a lock of her hair off her forehead, Stefan agreed, “Alec and I talked about this next part. We need to keep it simple.”
Iris raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, I know. Crazy simple.”
Chapter 51
“Katie, can you bring me a glass of water and a spoon, please?” Iris revisited the suitcase and took out a small glass jar. Carefully twisting off the lid she poured jar’s granular contents into the container.
“Tea?” Katie asked, “after all this, you’re brewing tea?” She shrugged curiously as Stefan joined them at the table.
Iris grinned at Stefan, “Not tea. It’s a little contribution from Yumi.” She snickered, “After all, she was a flower child from the Sixties. Armund will have no idea what planet he is on, let alone what time frame he’s in.”
Stefan nodded at the implication. “He’s prided himself in the appearance of being powerful for so long, this is perfect. How long will it last?”
Iris shrugged, “She told me it’s powerful. I’m gonna give him the whole thing. The kingdom will think he’s a lunatic.”
She walked over to the unconscious warlord, now strapped to a chair and poured half of the liquid down his throat. The effect was almost instant.
Annika stood on the edge of the circle as Michael and Parker cut the tape bonds that had held Amund to the chair.
The warrior didn’t so much fall out of the chair as he slide out as if he was suddenly boneless. He lay there in the middle of the circle, drooling and twitching quietly. Stripped of his armor and weapons, he lay there helpless like a newborn calf. Naked except for an odd pair of shortened trousers held by a drawstring. Katie marked the occasion, “Boxers or briefs?”
Alec repaired the summoning circle, then brought both the sword and the shield inside it with him. He turned toward Annika, “Ready when you are, my lady.”
“Wait,” Iris interrupted as she brought a second helping of her herbal tea. “Let’s make sure he arrives in a full psychedelic haze.” She brought the cup to his lips
and tried pouring into his mouth with debatable success.
Annika’s expression vacillated from one of sadness to one of unbridled anger. She paced around the circle impatiently just staring at Amund. Not once was there any sign of pity or regret for what they had done to him. She never smiled at him or mocked him openly. They made a point of not being cruel, but they were never kind. Amund began to flail his arms around and, at one point, tried to sit up only to flip over and end up dropping his face smack onto the floor, his ass in the air, mumbling quietly about spiders.
“Ow, that’s gonna leave a mark,” mused Parker. That seemed to sit just right with the princess as she walked around behind Amund. She stood there and from the look on her face, now a devilish smirk, she caught Katie’s eye. Katie seemingly had already read her mind. Amund had inadvertently offered up a perfect target. “Oh, hell yeah,” she nodded, “If you don’t do it, I will.”
“One last thing before he leaves us,” as Annika lined him up visually. She took a step back and vaulted toward Amund’s exposed rear end. She planted her left foot as she approached and her lean powerful thigh rotating her right leg in a whipsaw action. She caught him perfectly in the crotch. With a dull thud of the impact, Amund gasped and lurched forward, flattening out on the floor.
“Oh,, oh my God, right in the gringos, Ha ha ha,” Katie just burst out laughing with a look of great satisfaction on her face.
“Oooh,” Parker winced, “I think I felt that from over here. Damn.” Michael tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh.
Annika stood over Amund for a moment but she didn’t taunt him. She seemed satisfied with her effort.
She turned and walked up to Alec as he stood at the edge of the circle. She placed something in his hand, “Send him.”
“With pleasure, your highness.”
Alec looked at Amund’s position on the floor as he continued to squirm and grasp mindlessly at his crotch. He could see Amund opening his eyes occasionally and decided to take advantage of the view.