This story takes place after 'Prisoner of Sinestro' and before 'Loss.' In no way do I own this series or its characters.
What is Love?
Chapter 21
Hal couldn't help but let out a low whistle. "You're kidding," he muttered.
Khalil shook his head before looking at the ground. "I wish I was. He was never really the same after that. Before, Razer was generally carefree, didn't pay much attention to the war. He had a temper, but he kept to himself most of the time. Yet after that event, he became very bitter. It's where his hatred for the warlords took root."
"I never knew," Hal replied. "That's certainly something I wouldn't tell anyone. I wonder if Naaman or Adira went through anything like that…"
Khalil's head rose up in surprise. "Adira? You're hanging around with her?"
"Well, sort of. She, Zafeer, and Naaman are technically supposed to be guarding us but they're pretty lenient for the most part." When Khalil's gaze darkened, Hal couldn't help but wonder what he'd said wrong. "Uh, something bothering you?"
"All I can advise is do not listen to anything she says! Adira harbors ill will against our culture for reasons that are unknown. She tends to take every opportunity to voice her opposition and point out all of its 'flaws'," he said bitterly, his hands clenching at his sides.
"Sooo, I'm guessing you two don't agree on most things?" Hal said casually, not wanting to upset him.
"That's an understatement. You see, my family was very strict about learning the meaning and the origin, of our traditions. As I'm sure you've seen, Adira is not well versed in her history, is she?"
That much Hal could agree with, remembering their incident at the mines and the way she'd flippantly dismissed their importance as though they were nothing. Even Naaman had seemed upset with her lack of respect. Obviously, this was a touchy subject for the young man. Not wanting the conversation to evolve into another political talk, the green lantern did his best to change the subject. "Anyway, what happened next? In your story, that is."
Khalil eyed him. "Are you sure you want to hear the rest of this?" When Hal nodded, he sighed. "Very well…"
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Khalil gulped. Right behind him, four scraggly and armed Musa soldiers stood jeering at the group. Large grins were plastered on their faces, showing off their chipped teeth, browned from neglect. With swords raised, the soldiers stomped slowly towards the young group, who continued to back up helplessly against the wall. Being the eldest of the three, Khalil did his best to shield the other two with his body in hopes of giving them some sort of protection, but once they were cornered, his efforts were all for naught. Before any of them could think, one of the men had wrapped his arms underneath Khalil's armpits and behind his head, immobilizing him and cutting off his access to his throwing stars in his sleeves. After a brief struggle, another soldier had easily wrestled Razer to the ground, pinning his head to the floor. The last two had dropped their weapons to take hold of Ilana, who continued to shake uncontrollably as they stroked the side of her face, pushing her hair away.
"Come on sweetie, no need to be scared, just wanna get a look at ya!" the heavy round one with greasy facial hair snickered at her. Ilana shut her eyes, causing his grin to grow larger. "Tell me, did your mama ever tell you what it's like to become a real woman?" he asked. She whimpered in response.
"Hey, back off, I saw her first!" the taller one retaliated, jerking her arm towards him. "Besides, you already got the older lady!"
From where he was pinned, Razer growled under his breath. "Let her go!"
The lanky guard holding him only pressed his face further to the ground. "Settle down junior," he sneered tauntingly.
The heavy one laughed out loud. "Alright then, if you really want a part of the action, why don't we both show her a good time?" he asked his companion.
"Sounds good to me!" the other said with a grotesque grin. Closing in on her, they pulled Ilana towards them, hiding her from view of the other two.
"NO!" they heard her cry.
On the ground, Razer struggled ferociously against the man holding him. He kicked out with his legs, jerked his hands as best as he could, and even considered biting his captor if he could reach. But it was no use, he was trapped. "ILANA!"
"GAAAAAAGGGHHH!"
A loud, decidedly male, scream rang out, startling them all. Eyes widened as the heavy soldier stumbled backwards, his left hand clutched to his eye. Between his fingers, blood began to ooze out and drip to the floor. Not a second later, the other guard staggered back as well, grabbing hold of his hand where blood began to seep out from a long cut across his palm. In front of them, Ilana stood up, the stiletto she'd kept hidden on her person now clenched in one of her hands. Her breathing was heavy and her body still shivered, but she held it high and firm.
"S-stay away from me!" Ilana screamed, slashing the blade blindly in front of her. The other two stepped back to avoid it.
Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Khalil went limp, letting gravity pull him to the ground. Caught off guard, the soldier's grip on him loosened. Once free, he reared his head back, allowing the back of his skull to crash into the man's face with a satisfying crunch before elbowing him to the ground. Reaching into his sleeve, he withdrew two throwing stars and flung them at the guard holding Razer captive. With his arms occupied, the guard had little choice but to roll out of the way, releasing his prisoner in the process.
Razer quickly pulled himself off the ground, and then ran over to Ilana, taking her hand in his own.
"RUN!" Khalil yelled to them, making his way towards the exit. They didn't need to be told twice. The group ran as quickly as their feet would allow them, jumping over fallen debris, darting through the doorways. And yet, they'd barely even made it across the threshold when they were cornered once more as seven more soldiers showed up out of nowhere. Turning back towards the house, they could only freeze where they stood as the four previous guards arrived, blocking any means of escape. There was no use fighting their way through, they'd never win with just the three of them. It was hopeless.
The heavy guard stomped up, yanking at Ilana's hair, causing her to cry out in pain. "You little wench!" he cussed, spittle flying from his mouth. "I'll teach you to mess with me!"
"Leave her alone!" Razer cried, pulling out his knife and jabbing it towards the man's chest. Irked, the soldier knocked the knife away with his right hand then punched him in the jaw, knocking him off his feet. Razer coughed as he hit the ground, sand getting into his eyes. His breath came out in dry and raspy, the pain searing through him and rattling his teeth.
"Razer!" Ilana kneeled down, pulling him into her lap. "Are you OK?" she whispered softly. All he could do was nod slowly.
Snarling now, the soldier's nostrils flared with anger. "A word of advice kids, don't EVER piss off a guy you can't defeat!" he growled, tying a bandage around his head.
Razer gritted his teeth. "You scum…" he muttered.
"What did you say?"
Khalil coughed nervously. "Ray now's not the time to be picking fights!"
Razer paid him no attention. Through the pain that flared in his jaw, he spat "…after what you did to my mother…not even garbage is as low as you!"
"RAAAAAAAAAGH!" the guard screamed in a malicious rage, drawing his sword and raising it over his head, aiming to chop the boy to bits. Ilana threw herself over him, hoping to shield him in any way she could. The sword came flying down in one swoop, cold metal whistling through the air, moments away from hitting its target—
"Stop!"
And the just like that, the sword froze, mere centimeters away from Ilana's neck. Backs straightening, the soldiers turned to face the newcomer. From their places on the ground, the three young adults looked up to see another man standing before them. He too wore the attire of a soldier, just like all the others. However, there was something different about him. This man was younger than most of the others, couldn't have been but a few years older than Khalil himself. Yet, he appeared to be fairly well kempt in comparison to the rest of them and the air that surrounded him seemed to hum with authority. When he stepped forward, none of them moved. Even big, round, and greasy kept still. This new man stared at them all with a hardened glare, eyes roaming over each and every one of them, taking in the situation. When he spoke, his voice was as crisp as he looked.
"What is the meaning of this soldier?" he asked.
"Nothing Captain!" the one addressed straightened. "While searching for supplies, we came across this lot. When they attacked, they gave us little choice but to fight back sir!"
"Liar," Khalil couldn't help but roll his eyes, earning him another kick in the back.
"Regardless, I distinctly remember Lord Diaab order us to bring anyone we find to him alive. For your sake, I hope this to be the case?" he asked, crossing his arms.
At the utterance of that name, chills ran down the spines of the three captives. Diaab…Diaab the conqueror…was really here?!
"Yes sir! These three were the only ones we found."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then I hope you don't mind me taking a look around?"
The soldier shook his head furiously. "No sir!"
And with that, the captain marched passed them and entered the house. Once he was out of sight, all eyes flickered to the heavy round soldier who gulped audibly.
"Well, it was nice knowin' ya," the lanky soldier whispered to him.
"Tch, you think I'm afraid of that guy?" he whispered back. "Bah! The only reason why he got promoted or even got into the army at all was because our Lord's brat favored him! Just wait, he's so wet behind the ears, he'll probably die before the battle's even begun."
"Oh gentlemen!" his voice called out from inside, "do you mind coming in here for a second?"
"We'll see," the other said as they followed his voice, ending up in the room where Renana's body still lay. Next to her, the captain stood menacingly, his glare darker than before, his posture rigid, his frown deep.
"Who. Did. This?" he spoke slowly, gesturing to the corpse. All fingers in the room rose and pointed at the culprit without a second thought. "Come forward soldier." He did so. Unbuttoning his coat pocket, the captain reached into it and revealed a small book, so small it could nearly fit into the palm of his hand. Closing the pocket back up, he then tossed the book to the soldier before speaking. "What is this that I've just given you?"
The soldier's eyes glanced down at the book in his hands. "It's the book of our ancestors, Captain."
"Correct. Now then, open the book to page 22. Read to me lines 15, 16, and 17 in paragraph 4." The captain turned his back to them.
He flipped through the book and scanned the page until he found the paragraph his commander spoke of, grumbling through it. Clearing his throat he began to read. "And then the gods called out to him, 'As you have asked, she will be yours. However, should you ever raise a hand against her, or force yourself upon her, the greatest price you will be forced to pay. For so vile an act, death be the consequence that could cover or heal the wounds of a pure maid now defiled.'" After he'd finished reading, the soldier closed the book and gave the captain a skeptical look. "Your point, Captain?" he asked almost mockingly.
With his back still facing them, the captain responded with a light chuckle. "Come now soldier, even you're not dumb enough to not understand the meaning. As our ancestors used to tell us, the gods always have the final say."
Then, faster than the blink of an eye, the captain spun around, at the same time lifting his hand, letting something fly through the air. With a sickening squelch, a dagger buried itself deep into heavy soldier's throat. His eyes clouded over, and with one final gurgle, the man fell backwards with a loud thud, the dagger still lodged in his neck. No one moved; no one but the young captain who made his way over to the body to observe his work.
"Humph, animal," he muttered, peering down at the body with disgust. "You!" he jabbed a finger at the lanky soldier. "Clean up this mess."
"A-a-a-ay-ay sir!" the man responded.
The captain nodded. "And you!" he pointed at another soldier, "give this woman proper burial rights. She'll need them in order to successfully descend into the gods' plane. And thanks to your so-called comrade, not only do you have to perform the traditional rights, but you'll need to perform a purification ceremony as well! No one is going anywhere until it's been completed correctly. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir!" the replied.
"Oh, and by the way if I ever hear any of you insulting my young master or call him a brat again, I will personally cut out your tongue and make you wear it as an example to everyone else."
And without another word, they went to work. The lanky soldier began to mop up the blood of his fallen partner in crime, while the others began the ceremony as they'd been told. Renana was removed from the floor and placed onto one of the mattresses in the room. They'd closed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest, and covered her waist with one of the torn curtains. Her hair was laid back into her shoulders and finally her headscarf was replaced. Once all of the candles were lit and placed around her body, then the ceremony began. And while all of this played out, the captain simply stood there watching without even batting an eye. He stood cool as the running river water that lined his cheeks, undisturbed by the Firewinds that roared across every year. Only after the ceremony was finished and all the tasks that had been asked of them completed did he reward his men with reprieve. The man conducting the ceremony wiped the sweat from his brow and headed outside, most of others following him. The only ones left in the room then were the three young ones, two other soldiers, and the captain himself.
"What should we do with these three, Captain?" one of them asked.
"I thought I made myself clear. They are to be delivered to Lord Diaab in one piece!"
"Yes sir, right away!" they replied.
"Good," he said in reply, calmly walking past as though he didn't have a care in the world.
"Thank you."
He stopped mid-step. Turning on his heel, the captain about-faced and found Razer standing before him, giving him an earnest look. "Thank you for what you did for Mother."
Narrowing his eyes at him, the captain casually walked over until he stood no more than a quarter of a meter away. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of Razer's jaw and pulled him forward to meet his eyes. Beneath his chin, he pressed a dagger to his skin. Ilana gasped. Khalil could only watch helplessly.
"Listen boy, consider yourself lucky that I happened to show up when I did; otherwise it would have been your girlfriend's body and possibly yours that my men would have been mopping up. If you value your life, or the life of your loved ones, you better learn to keep that big mouth of yours under control. One of these days, it might just get you into deep trouble. Understand?!" he growled, pressing the dagger deeper. Razer nodded dumbly.
"Good. Now get moving, all of you!" he yelled, shoving Razer against the wall. Once they'd collected themselves, they too made their way outside where the soldiers began to escort them away from the village, heading deeper into the unknown desert.
By then, night had begun to fall across the land, draping this side of Volkreg into a blanket of dark orange, making the sand appear almost red, just like the sky. Secretly, the kids shivered at the prospect of being out at night. Whenever it got dark, the world became so black it was difficult to see anything.
Even freshly spilled blood...
Ooh, dark I know. This chapter is a bit shorter because I wanted to get one out before I left for a few days. I'm still studying abroad, but I will be going on a trip starting Thursday for a few days and will be without my laptop. If anyone PMs me then, I won't be able to respond until I get back, so don't be surprised if I don't respond right away!
Next chapter, Razer, Ilana, and Khalil meet the dreaded warlord! How will it turn out?! You're also probably wondering, who is this mysterious captain? That will also be revealed later on, maybe in the next chapter as well, depending on how long it gets!
And, regarding the contest, I've gotten about four entries so far. Out of those, there's two in particular that I'm leaning towards, but I'm still open for entries. I'm surprised that no male characters were submitted. But anyway, I'll probably have decided by the next chapter, so make sure to come up with something by then. The rules are in the previous chapter, and they haven't changed.
Reviews, comments, and criticisms are greatly accepted, just no flames!