Sacrifice
A Sequel to Quietly into the Night
Conventional Couples
Rating: PG-13

Chapter Fifteen

Antar – Uzshtar City

The journey to Uzshtar City did not take long. They left Malik and Franchet at the edge of the city, and Naloch led Isabelle and Lexie into yet another cave. Isabelle stumbled several times as she carried the still sleeping child in her arms. After they had walked for several minutes, Lexie began to stir.

"Auntie Isabelle," said Lexie in a sleepy voice. "I'm hungry. Can I have something to eat?"
"I'll see what I can find for you Lexie," she said. "Naloch, can I get some food for Lexie. I think she wore herself out healing both you and Jereon. She needs to eat to rebuild her strength."
"We don't have much, and what we do have, must be conserved," hedged Naloch.
Isabelle drew herself up angrily. "Naloch, you keep calling me princess, well as your princess, I demand that you provide Lexie with some food! She is just a child. She's been ripped from her world, and thrown into this war that she knows nothing about. She saved your life and the life of your son. The very least you can do is give her something to eat. If our reserves our low, give her mine, give her yours for that matter. You owe her that much!"
"As you wish Princess," said Naloch, bowing his head to hide the angry spark in his eye.
"Naloch, wait," said Isabelle. "Keep your rations for yourself, but please give Lexie mine. I have to protect her."
"I don't think that's going to be much of a problem Princess," said Naloch. "For neither of you are going any further."

Isabelle looked up, puzzled by the sound of Naloch's voice.
"Naloch, what's the matter?"
"You always were rather dimwitted Princess," said Naloch. "Haven't you figured out yet that I'm not Naloch?" As he spoke, his appearance underwent a metamorphosis from the kindly Antarian she had known to a stranger with cruel eyes and a jagged scar bisecting his face.
"Who are you?" asked Isabelle, her voice trembling.
"Princess, you don't recognize me? I'm hurt. Oh wait, you knew me on Earth as Nicholas. Here on Antar, I am known as Nicoro. I am second in command to Lord Kivar."
"You can't be Nicholas, he's dead. He was a skin, and we destroyed all their husks before the harvest."
"You silly witless fool, that was just another elaborate ruse set up by Lord Kivar to keep you occupied. A game if you will that he used to amuse himself."

Isabelle shifted Lexie behind her as Nicoro spoke, and tried to edge backward.
"Don't bother Princess," said Nicoro. "I allowed you to escape from me once, it won't happen again."
"What are you talking about? When did I escape from you?"
"Do you not remember anything of your former life? When you were here on Antar?"
"No, not really, only things that Tess told us, but most of those were lies anyhow."
"Lord Kivar had duped you into believing he loved you, and was willing to do anything to work out a peaceful agreement with your family to end the war. You foolishly agreed to allow Kivar into the city to meet with your brother. I escorted you to the city gates to gain admittance for Lord Kivar. At the last minute, you had doubts, and tried to escape. You hit me across the face with a garden tool and ran to alert your brother and his stupid second in command, but it was too late. Kivar had already breached the city's gates, and the rest, as you know is history. Kivar has ruled ever since."
"It's a shame I didn't kill you then," said Isabelle. "I think I'll do it now instead." She raised her hand and sent an energy beam directly at the man.
Nicoro went flying backwards and landed in a pile against the cave wall.
"Lexie, sweetie, I want you to walk back that way, towards the entrance of the cave. Do not go outside. Stay inside the cave. Ok sweetie, can you do that for Auntie Isabelle?"
"Ok Auntie, but don't you want me to fix his boo boo again?"
"No," Isabelle said with a slightly hysterical edge to her voice. "I most definitely don't want you to do that. He's not really Naloch honey, he was playing a bad trick on us."
"I knowed that," whispered Lexie
"You did honey? How?"
"When I made his boo boos get better, I got to see pictures in my head. He told me he was Jeremy's daddy, but none of his pictures had any of the stuff I saw when I fixed Jeremy."
"Oh Lexie, sweetie, why didn't you tell me?"
"Cause he said he'd hurt you if I did. He said he'd give you boo boos that I couldn't fix, and I gots scared!"

Isabelle bent down and hugged the child. "Of course you did sweetie, but promise me that you won't ever keep a secret like that again, from me, or your daddy, or any grown up that loves you. OK?"
Lexie nodded and Isabelle gave her a small pat on the fanny. "Ok, start walking towards the front of the cave, but wait for me there." As soon as Lexie was out of site, Isabelle turned towards the groaning mass against the cave wall.
"You bastard! I can't believe you said something like that to a child. You deserve to die, but before I kill you, where is Naloch?"
"I'm not going to answer your questions Princess," groaned Nicoro."
"You will, one way or another," said Isabelle. "Where is Naloch, and what about those other two, Malik and Franchet? Who are they loyal to?"
"I'll die before I answer your questions you bitch."
"You'll die regardless, but if you won't answer, I'll get the answers out of you myself," she said, fury making her voice hard. Isabelle knelt down next to Nicoro and placed her hand on his chest.
"Last chance to tell me what you want to know, you bastard."
"Never," he gasped.
"Fine," said Isabelle. She sent a burst of energy into his chest, and concentrated as hard as she possibly could. The energy from hand filled his body with an intense heat. As he died, she received flashes of his live, and the evil that he did. One final burst of energy from Isabelle caused his body to be consumed in flames. She stepped away from what was left of his body and ran to the entrance of the cave.

"Lexie? Lexie? Where are you?" she whispered as loudly as she dared as she made her way through the tunnel. Within a few minutes, she was reunited with Lexie and she hugged the child tightly.
"Good girl Lexie," she said, trying to quell the tears that threatened to run down her face. "You were such a good listener. When we get home, I'm going to take you out for a giant ice cream. How does that sound?"
"Is the bad man going to come get us?" whispered Lexie, her fingers in he mouth.
"No honey, Auntie made that bad man go away. He's not going to hurt anybody ever again."
"Ok Auntie Isabelle. Can we go find my Daddy now, or maybe even my Mommy? I miss them?"
"We're going to try and find your Daddy sweetie, and guess what, Uncle Michael's with them too! Won't that be fun?"
"Did Auntie Maria and Lizzie Belle come too? She's my baby sister you know, and I have to teach her things. Auntie Maria said so!" said Lexie importantly.
Isabelle marveled at the incredible recuperative powers this small child seemed to have. "No honey, Auntie Maria and the baby are back home, but I'm sure we'll see them as soon as possible. Lexie, can you do Auntie a favor?"

Lexie looked at Isabelle with her big brown eyes and nodded.
"Ok then, can you talk to Kam the way he talks to you?"
"I don't know, I never tried."
"Well, I want you to try, and if you can do it, ask Kam to tell your Daddy to have Uncle Kyle contact me. Can you do that for me?"
"I'll try."
"Ok sweetie, and while you are trying, Auntie Isabelle is going to pick you up and give you a piggy back ride."
"Where we goin?"
"Oh, on a grand adventure to rescue a Queen who is locked in a tower in a castle."
"Just like the story in my book!" shouted the child.
"Yeah," said Isabelle. "Just like that."