Chapter 18: Turnabout
Thalya smirked as she held the hawk-lance in her hand; in front of her lied Nia Ennis, prone and utterly subdued, having been struck by the butt of her lance. As Thalya flipped Nia to her back, the Princess smirked to savor the victory. A quick check of her pulse indicated she was alive, just unconscious.
After dragging the dead weight of Nia to separate her from other victims of this battle, Thalya looked down to see that the wounded hawk had just breathed his last.
“Hmph,” Thalya said, dropping her lance. “What a shame but acceptable. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
As she said this, she turned to a hawkman who had just arrived, his frame broad and mighty, his armor golden bright. With him came two other hawkmen, underlings judging by their unassuming armor, commonly worn by the hawk soldiers.
“You could have at least let her heal him,” he said, unamused.
“My apologies, King Horus,” Thalya said. “But I simply saw an opportunity.”
Horus nodded, but begrudgingly. “Of course, interesting maneuver you’ve pulled off. I can’t help but wonder what you’re really after.”
“With respect, Your Highness. My goals are none of your business,” responded Thalya. “The important thing is that I fulfilled my end of the bargain,” Thalya said. “Nia Ennis of Earth, my father’s bride is yours.”
One hawk underling picked up Nia, and put her on his shoulder.
“Two brides in one day,” Horus said. “Fortune truly smiles upon me.”
Thalya looked at Horus with confusion.
“Two brides? What are you talking…?”
Before Thalya could finish, she felt a pair of strong arms restraining her; it was the other hawk underling. The eyes of the Kruptosian Princess widened with panic; she looked to Horus with an expression that seemed like someone who wanted to beg for mercy.
“Your Highness…,” she said, her voice desperate.
Horus said nothing, but instead gave a signal of indication. The underling nodded and placed a cloth over her face. Thalya’s eyes widened, she knew the sickening smell well; it was the essence of Sleeping Lotus of the Light Forest. Thalya didn’t struggle, she knew it was no use; soon everything went dark.
***
King Horus of Ra smiled as he looked at the two beauties he had just captured. As he ordered, the two underlings quickly surrendered them to the king, and he placed them both each on his shoulders. The Hawk King’s thoughts went to his new acquisitions. On the left was the Sethite with the golden hair, Nia Ennis; he had heard tales of her, of how she healed the King of Aquaea; and her willingness to heal hawks who were absolute strangers to her; her purity of heart was as clear as her beauty. On the right was the equally beautiful Princess Thalya, the scheming plotter, skin red just like her father’s as if to show she was just as capable of blood as him, if in more subtle of ways; yet she was alluring all the same.
Just as Horus was readying himself to leave, he heard a voice, an anguished cry of a man.
“Nia!”
Horus turned and immediately saw a Sethite man at a distance; it was the Sethite woman’s companion, the Abel Ramsey he had heard so much about.
And he was running towards them, rather quickly.
Horus looked to his two hawkmen. “Deal with him.”
But a gunfire rang, and one hawkman collapsed. The culprit was another Sethite man at a distance, surely the one they called Rick Smits.
And before the other hawkman could respond, Abel was already upon the hawks, dodging the lance and slashed with his stun baton; the underling crumpled immediately to the ground.
Horus turned tailed and flew, both women in tow.
Yet Abel Ramsey was not making it easy. Horus felt an arm tugging his foot even as he was going airborne. A quick boot to the face was enough to send Abel back down.
Horus sped up his flight to gain further altitude, then dodged just in time to avoid a high-pressure water beam. That was a close one. Once again, as the Hawk King was making his escape with both Nia Ennis and Princess Thalya, he heard the anguished Sethite cry of, “Nia!”
And Horus dared not look back, and not because he might have been pursued—neither the lions nor the Sethites could catch up to him now—but he couldn’t bear to. The Hawk King’s thoughts then turned to Cain the Conqueror, knowing full-well that the Emperor was within striking distance of the Sethites.
Forgive me, Abel Ramsey May your death at the hands of Cain be swift.
***
“Nia!”
Abel looked up to the sky in disbelief. Nia was gone; he could hardly believe it. It felt like he was in a horrible dream, except he couldn’t wake up. In his hand he held the bracer the once injured hawk had left behind, the one Nia had healed; when the hawkman carrying both Nia and Thalya was flying away, Abel saw that one of his wrists was missing a bracer; it was him, no mistaking it. Abel then thought of Thalya, whom he chose to spare; despite what he saw he knew the Kruptosian Princess had played a part in Nia’s capture. Whether regret and despair would have overtaken Captain Abel Ramsey had he been left to his devices was unknown, as the loud roar of Muwatalli interrupted his thoughts.
But the Lion Chief’s anger wasn’t directed at Abel, rather it was pointed towards the towering black-armored figure just a few feet in front of him, none other than Emperor Cain the Conqueror himself.
“You,” Muwatalli said. “We have a score to settle.”
Cain waved an arm dismissively. “Out of the way, Lion Chief. My business is with the Sethite.”
Muwatalli frowned. “Grr….”
Abel furrowed his brows. “With me? What do you want, you tyrant?”
“Indeed,” Cain said. “I propose an alliance between the both of us. Between my empire and your little band of outlaws.”
“And why should I work with you, tyrant?”
“Rather simple. The Hawkmen have captured two people I value the most: my daughter and my bride.”
Abel formed his hands into fists. “Nia is not your bride.”
Cain remained cool. “That remains to be seen. But our disagreements aside, both of us stand to gain from a mutual alliance.”
Muwatalli interjected, “If you think…”
“Wait,” Abel said, extending an arm before the Lion Chief; then he turned to the Kruptosian Emperor. “Give me time to consider this.”
Cain smirked. “Of course. You have until sunrise tomorrow. Meet me right outside this smoldering wreck of a camp, I shall await your response. Be sure to think it through.
“And a gesture of goodwill, I shall consider this camp a lost cause. My soldiers will not pursue the lionmen prisoners your friends have freed.”
Then, the Emperor bowed before he made his leave, much to the anger and consternation of Muwatalli. But Abel remained focused; his thoughts were only on Nia, and his promise to her:
I will never abandon you, Lieutenant. Never. And you can take that to the bank.
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