Amazonia

  “Lord Eurax,” the man snapped in smartly polished high Greco. “You will address me in the manner befitting my station.”

  “You don’t get to be lord of anything until the night you rape Lord Paulus’s wife in the marriage bed,” Amazonia snarled back. “We caught your two-faced Janus sneaking around, trying to look for Lord Paulus’ son, and are about to toss her over the side to smash on the rocks below. So, get out of our way or we’ll toss you over the side as well.”

  Troll chuckled as Eurax spoke a word. At once, twenty cloaks were flipped back and each man held up the bludgeon he carried in his hand. “I think not,” Eurax pointing at Amko. “Release her.”

  Amazonia snorted. “Whatever you say… Eurax.” Setting Amko back on the ground, she took her hand off Amko’s mouth.

  Who promptly spat at her. “Whore of Hades, how dare lay filthy paws on—” Amazonia pulled her arm back and hit Amko hard in the face with her fist, the mage falling to the ground with a cry as blood spurted. “Bye doze,” she said, looking up at Az in pain and surprise. “Due boke bye doze.”

  “And I’ll break your kneecaps next,” Amazonia snarled down at the mage, shaking her bloodied fist at Amko’s face. “You’re a sadistic, two-faced Janus rat who should be strangled with her own entrails. How many times did you torment slaves for your own amusement when no one was watching but other slaves? Stripping the poor bed slaves nude and making them perform for your pleasure was the least of your crimes, and I’m going to take great delight in making you suffer for them.” Amazonia raised her fist.

  “Touch her again and I will have all of you beaten bloody,” Eurax snapped at her. “Amko, come here.” The mage scrambled away on all fours, then staggered to her feet and ran over to the men, who gave way to let her pass. Eurax pulled a white cloth from his pocket and handed it over. “Are you certain you do not know where the boy is hidden?” Holding the cloth to her face, Amko nodded, and Eurax asked, “Who does?” With her free hand, Amko made an arching motion with her hand and arm, as if pointing at someone beyond Amazonia and her Wardogs. Eurax gave her a puzzled look.

  Then his eyes widened. “Are you telling me Lady Alexina is the one who knows?” Amko nodded, and he said, “I need to know if both statements you told me the truth or not.”

  Amko nodded again before taking the hand holding the bloody cloth away from her face. She drew a sigil on her palm in blood, held it up, and seemed to speak a word. The blood glowed blue as Dancer whispered in Amazonia’s ear, “Amko was hard, but she was fair. She never did any of the things you just accused her of.”

  “She will now if she wants to stay alive,” Amazonia whispered back as the blood on Amko’s hand dissolved.

  Eurax laid a hand on her shoulder. “Mark of Truth. Impressive. Remain at side.” Amko nodded, casting a different sigil which she put over her face. The blood stopped flowing as Eurax’s hand left her shoulder, his face growing stern as he turned towards them. “Daemo created freak, if you have any intellect at all, you will coerce Lady Alexina into revealing the girl-child’s location and bring her to me.”

  “And if you have any intellect, you’ll know that Paulus is a boy who’s never going to know your filthy touch.”

  “She will know far more than just my touch.”

  Amazonia spat on the ground in front of her. “Spread butt-cheeks to Hades’ hairy cock before knowledge given.”

  “Oh, that can certainly be arranged,” Eurax replied with a leer.

  Az snorted, turning around and making a gesture of lips to her backside. “Well, there goes tonight’s entertainment. C’mon, Wardogs; let’s find our room, get drunk, and ask the servants if they’d like to join us.” Her men all chimed in their agreement and turned around as well.

  “Did I give you permission to leave?”

  Amazonia stopped. Just yesterday, the little voice in her head that had kept her alive for years would’ve screamed at her to obey him, and despite the bitterness she always felt for giving in, she would have, knowing she had no choice. The voice was still there, but faint, and growing fainter as she brushed her fingers over the callouses on her throat. Amazonia turned around. “I don’t remember needing your permission to do anything… Eurax.”

  "Then I believe a lesson in etiquette is long overdue. Gladiators,” Eurax said in the harsh tongue of Roma, “show valor. Give no mercy.”

  Unseen by Eurax, who watched intently with a jackal’s smile, Amko’s horror reflected on her face as twenty men hefted their cudgels and stalked forward. “Wait for my signal,” Amazonia said, “then—”

  A grey oval formed between the two groups and two black clad figures ran through it, moving inhumanly fast as the gateway vanished. Amazonia gaped as each cracked a man across the temple, slid past as they began to drop, and took out another, fighting with a dancer’s grace Az had never seen in the arena, or anywhere else… until tonight.

  Amazonia closed her mouth. “Wardogs,” she yelled, “with me.” The unexpected attack had thrown Eurax’s men into confusion, the big group splitting apart into several milling mobs as Amazonia raced forward. One of the men had gotten to his knees, holding his head in his free hand; Az slammed her kneecap into the man’s nose, knocking him backwards with a cry as she ripped the cudgel from his hand. Another man stumbled backwards away from a sword dancer’s attack and Az clouted him on the back of the head. He dropped and she scooped up his other cudgel before rising back up and looking around.

  Eurax was screaming something incoherent at the sword dancers… Greywolf and Lady Alexina were fighting as a team while Dancer and the Nomads were snatching cudgels away from the fallen men as well. Troll had jumped on one of the men and was now in the process of strangling him as his companions rushed towards them. Amazonia ran forward, watching as one hit Troll’s back with a glancing blow. Troll grunted but didn’t let go as Dancer jumped in a step ahead of her.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Fast as a striking snake, Dancer cracked his cudgel against the side of the man’s knee, then across his temple as the man’s leg gave way, who dropped his weapon as he fell. Amazonia moved in to block the man going after Dancer, who was scooping up the fallen cudgel off the ground, her left hand slamming her club against the man’s weapon as her right went towards his head. He blocked her blow with his arm, wrist bones cracking as another cudgel smacked her hip and bounced off. Az hissed in pain and stepped back, moving into a guard position as a different man raised his cudgel to strike again.

  Each Nomad flowed around her and went after the man, moving as one person with their strikes perfectly timed, neither getting in the way of the other as they beat him senseless. Glancing to either side, Troll had taken his man down and was now slamming his fist into the man’s face, over and over. The rest of the ex-gladiators, less than a dozen now, had scrambled away and were gathering in a mob, holding their cudgels up defensively and looking back over their shoulders. Amazonia started towards them with her Wardogs beside her, including Troll, who grinned as he got up off the unconscious man and joined the rest.

  A purplish-white hand on her arm halted her. “If you will allow me, I can end this quickly.”

  Amazonia’s blood was up, yet old habits died hard. “It’s your house. However, if they rush you, we’re not holding back.”

  Lady Alexina patted her arm. “Gratitude.” Her katana in one hand as Greywolf moved to join her, the Daemo made an inviting gesture with the other. “Citizens, we have come to a crossroad.”

  “Close ears,” Eurax yelled from behind them. Amazonia glanced over her shoulder. The downed men were either writhing on the ground or sitting, holding whatever part of them was broken as they groaned. Eurax had retreated well away from everyone except Amko. “Show valor,” he continued, “or lose reward.”

  “What good is silver if you are trapped in the Shadowlands,” Lady Alexina said to the men. “You saw how we suddenly appeared before you and how fast we moved.” Her free hand motioned at the young man. “That was Greywolf’s doing. He is a Shadow-walker.”

  Raw fear spread over all the cloaked men’s faces. “Shadow-walkers are evil sorcerers,” one spat out.

  “Perhaps they are,” Lady Alexina replied, putting her free hand on Greywolf’s shoulder, “but this evil sorcerer belongs to me. So, if I decide to get rid of you… all of you,” her arm making a sweeping gesture, “I have the perfect way to make it happen.”

  The men traded uneasy looks as an older man with a crooked nose said, “Mistress, this ain’t been our idea, not by a long league.”

  Eurax shouted out something no one paid attention to as Lady Alexina made her inviting motion once more. “I knew it was not. This was a misunderstanding, and if all of you will turn around and walk away, no mention of this night's activities will be mentioned to the Vigiles, or to the Imperial Guard.”

  “Do duty,” Eurax snapped, “or see charges laid.”

  “For what,” Amazonia shot back as she spun on her heel, “failing to beat up the Reaver Knight so you could lay false charges against me, as I’m sure you wanted to do?” Without waiting for an answer, she whipped around again and hefted her cudgels. “Hades’ hairy eyeballs, right now I’m angry enough to chew iron spikes and spit them into your eyes so deep the Vigiles will think they’re coins for the ferryman when they pull your bodies off the rocks below.” Amazonia raised her weapons over her head. “Who wants to die first?”

  Eyes wide as tidal pools, the cloaked men stared at her. Then one man at the back of the group turned and ran, two more followed, and a few moments later all of them were running away as Eurax cursed them to the depths of Hades’ pit. Greywolf looked at her and grinned. “That was well played. I thought they would make a fight of it.”

  “One of the first lessons Lord Paulus taught me was that if your enemy thinks he can’t beat you, the battle’s already over.”

  Lady Alexina inclined her head with a smile. “Wisdom much missed.”

  “Agreement,” Amazonia said, never believing she’d ever miss the man as she grimaced and turned around, the rest following suit. “Next problem to confront.”

  Lady Alexina patted her arm. “Calm fears. Problem’s solution heartbeats away.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Troll yelled, bounding away across the field. “Eurax,” he snarled, “I’m going to rip out your liver and make you eat it!”

  Lady Alexina cried out, “No! If Eurax dies, all of you could be crucified.”

  “I’ve got this,” Greywolf said as a grey oval formed in front of him. He ran through it, coming out of another gateway a heartbeat later directly in front of Troll, with his back a couple arm’s lengths from Eurax and his katana held out across his chest like a bar. “Hold up,” he shouted.

  “Get out of my way,” Troll shouted back. “I’m going to kill him.” When Greywolf didn’t move, Troll put on a burst of speed and slammed into the taller man, obviously expecting to tumble Greywolf like cavalry mowing down peasants.

  Instead, Greywolf slid an arms length in the weeds as Troll bounced off and landed flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him. “What part of stop were you not understanding?” Greywolf yelled down at him as Troll gasped for breath.

  “I’m going to have all of you crucified anyway,” Eurax yelled as a grey oval formed behind him. Fox stepped out with the Daemo butterfly Starwing on her shoulder. The gateway remained open as the little creature raised her tail like a scorpion’s, hovering behind Eurax as he said, “I’m going to cast all of you in a prison so deep, you will never see—” The butterfly stung his neck and back-winged into Fox’s arms, who stepped into the grey oval and vanished as Eurax yelped in pain and spun around.

  With no one behind him, he turned back around and his eyes saw Greywolf’s face as the young man instinctively whirled around with his katana in guard position. Eurax’s eyes went wide and he dropped to his knees, an expression of the deepest rapture on the man’s pock marked face as he spread open his arms. “A demigod,” he said in a voice filled with exultation. “How could I have been so blind not to have seen this? The wolf creature pretending to be a god of war truly is a war god, and you are her son."

  “No, no, no,” Lady Alexina moaned as the grey oval formed again and Fox, the Daemo butterfly back on her shoulder once more, stepped through. The gateway closed as Lady Alexina snapped, “Starwing, you were supposed to wait.”

  Amko had moved away from everyone, her hand at her mouth as Starwing answered in a child-like voice, “You didn’t tell me a scary man was going to try and kill him. I had to do something. Besides,” she added as Troll staggered to his feet, “I didn’t want that man to fall in love with you. He’s ugly.”

  “It could’ve been worse,” Amazonia said as she raised her voice. “Troll, come here. Now.”

  “Yes, Domina.” Eurax was babbling about building a temple for Greywolf as if he was Hercules, the young man’s expression that of a cat confronted by an overly friendly mastiff as Troll ran up to them. “Domina—”

  “Do you realize you could’ve ended up nailed to a cross for murdering a nobleman?” Amazonia snapped. Troll’s mouth worked silently as if desperately trying to get out the right words, and she added, “Save it. Lady Alexina,” her eyes meeting the Daemo’s, “do you want us to leave?”

  “No,” she replied with a sigh. “Have your Wardogs clear the field while you and I try and salvage something out of this.”