Sassiebone: Thank you for the review ^^ I am so happy you stumbled across my story. I hope I do not disappoint you, things are just about to pick up ;)

xx

SSC

Chapter 6

They were led to a clearing behind the palace. Khan was exchanging suspicious looks with Orlando and Susan who walked beside him. They followed the Sheikh, his cousins, the strange man and his contributions.

The Sheikh had introduced the odd man, his name was Salim. "The handler of the creatures." As The ruler had so casually put it.

Khan didn't understand why they kept referring to the humans as creatures. Other than the anomalous shade of colour in their eyes, they seemed ordinary.

A lone cloud was floating about the horizon, casting over the setting sun. Rays of light fanned out over the blue sky.

The sands seemed frozen with permanent ripples, soft shadows across the russet hills. Khan's inquisitive gaze fell upon the erect mute green tent just a few feet away. There were two male servants. Their uniform consisted of white robe with long, bell-bottom sleeves. The robe was held in place with a thick sash, adorned in a delicate, thin gold pattern. They were frantically bustling about, arranging seats for them.

As they neared the sight, Khan saw a platform laid out at the centre of the clearing, in front of the tent. It was a flat metal structure. He guessed to be ten feet in length and five in width.

The Sheikh's royal robes were bellowing majestically in response to the mild wind. The heat of the morning was gathered and swept away by the light breeze. Small sand tornadoes were brewing in the distance, among their continuous desert hill background.

The Auguments were led to the shade of the tent. Six low, curved back wooden chairs were placed over a golden brown carpet, with two servants posed at the back wall of the tent.

Khan wondered when His Highness would utter an explanation to the ominous statement he had made in the ballroom earlier.

The mysterious three in their suits marched across the platform and lined up at the far left corner. They shifted around in soldier elegance and faced the tent.

The Auguments took their seats after the Sheikh and his cousins. Khan sat beside Zayed with Orlando on his left. Susan sat on the free seat beside Orlando, primly folding her hands on her lap.

Orlando sat pleasantly and made a friendly gesture to one of the servants and whispered a request. The eager boy scampered off and returned with a round silver tray. There were neatly cut, rectangular pieces of soft date cake. Orlando eagerly picked up a slab of the confectionery, uttered a "Shookhran." and began to nibble on the cake.

Susan rolled her clear eyes at her comrade's inability to pass a moment without eating.

Khan knew a demonstration of their so called "Killing" abilities was about to begin. His gaze fixated automatically on to the woman in the red suit. Her attention was focused on the floor, immersed in her thoughts. Sensing his scrutiny her chin lifted, her gaze fixated on him.

Khan's eyes narrowed curiously. She stared back, boldly.

Three new faces emerged from the same path they had taken. Two large broad shouldered men marched in their directions. Each held a grim expression with dark facial hair that made them seem menacing. They were dressed in loose black Cossack pants and tight blue t-shirts that acted like a second skin. As if they were made for the sole purpose of highlighting their bulging biceps.

"A militia friend from Iraq sent me his finest warriors." The Sheikh informed as the brooding warriors strutted towards them and lined up before them. They simultaneously bowed to Zayed. The Sheikh acknowledged their salutation with a regal nod of his head.

"They have been trained heavily in combat and said to be the best of their kind."

"Kind?" Khan echoed inquisitively.

"Assassins." Zayed added casually. Susan and Orlando immediately tensed at the word and sat up a little. They were familiar with the word, having to deal kill of plenty during their time in India.

Fascinating. Khan mused to himself, sinking into his chair.

"I've promised a payment of five gold bricks for their participation."

"Ah." Khan uttered, pleased that his deduction was correct "So this is a demonstration."

"But of course." The Sheikh boomed with a wide gesture of his arms. "I would never give faulty merchandise."

It could have been a trick of the eye, but Khan saw the woman's jaw clench at the words that left the Sheikh's lips. Khan wasn't irked in the slightest. He was more intrigued to see what talents his gifts possessed.

"I have named them the Wahash." Zayed stared rather proudly, like the name itself should have induced terror into Khan. But the Auguments remained calm and composed.

"Let's begin the demonstration. Yallah, Salim!"

Salim was standing idly and at the raucous command by the Sheikh, he scampered on to the middle of the platform.

Khan watched the slouching man carefully. He clicked his fingers together and made an impatient gesture of his hand. The Wahash in the leaf green suit stepped forward. His march was rigid and his face was devoid of emotion. He stopped beside Ali Al Kim and faced the Sheikh.

Zayed leaned towards Khan's side and in turn the Augument leader gave him his ear.

"You see the Wahash, they feel no pain." He stated his voice thick with his rough accent. Khan watched as the Wahash shrugged off his coat, revealing the white wife beater he wore underneath. His nearly black skin was prominent against his top. He casually let his coat fall to the floor. Then he straightened his shoulders and clenched his hands at his side, as if preparing himself.

Salim produced a dagger from the belt at his side and unsheathed it. Then without warning he plunged it deep into the Wahash's stomach. Orlando gaped and nearly dropped his half eaten slice of cake. Susan sat up vigilantly.

Khan was startled too, and observed the Wahash's expressions very keenly. All he saw was indifference. Even as Salim pulled out the blade at a painstakingly slow pace, The Wahash remained calm and controlled.

"His name is Sabaah. Salim had informed me that he possessed the most brute strength among his kind." Zayed added in a nonchalant way while Khan struggled to avert his attention from the blade, it was dripping with red blood.

"I can see that." He had to force his voice to be devoid of amazement when he was struggling to process what he had just saw.

No pain? The idea sounded positively absurd. Auguments felt pain too. It was a basic, sensory need to escape danger. But they healed fast thus shortening their recovery time.

The Wahash however.

Salim lifted up the loose material of Sabaah's top but the hem, revealing the already healing wound on his taut stomach.

"They do not attack unless commanded to. It is part of their training." The Sheikh added as Salim stepped out of the ring and one of the assassins entered the arena. Sabaah faced the solider with the same passive expression as before.

Khan watched as the assassin took a stance. Legs apart and arms folded towards his body and fingers curled into a fist. Then after a moment of hesitation the man punched Sabaah straight across his strong jaw.

He took the hit stolidly. His head snapped to the side from the impact but he regained his composure quickly. The assassin continued to land blows across his face, then his stomach and even to his chest. Sabaah stood, enduring it all, even as blood dripped down his left nostril and cuts began to form across his high cheek bones.

Khan could only sit still and review the entire spectacle while trying not to let his shock truly show. He glanced and was taken aback by the way the skin on the bridge of her nose was slightly wrinkled. He continued to watch her.

Rhythmically to each strike the hired warrior inflicted on Sabaah. Her glower continued to deepen. The golden gleam in her eyes was back and fiercer than ever.

When the assassin grew tired and his trembling, muscular arms slackened at his side. His frustration was clear in the heavy, guttural pants that left his lips and the dark shadow of hate under his eyes. Pushing past the fatigue he attempted to make another assault when the Sheikh's rough command stopped him.

He froze up, uttered a curse under his breath and then straightened his posture. He stiffly turned to face the royal, bowed and then ambled off the platform.

Sabaah's jaw was at an ugly angle, but he adjusted the dislocated bone with an ease that was terrifying to watch. Then he lowered his arms to his sides again, bent over to pick up his fallen jacket, shrugged it on and then walked off the stage once more.

Susan and Oswald exchanged concerned furtive glances. Khan continued to watch the woman. The glimpse of resentment he had witnessed in her had disappeared behind to a mask of indifference.

"Who commands them?" Khan questioned, sternly.

"The person they recognize to be their master."

That's a topic of debate. He couldn't help but reflect on. He relaxed into his seat, his fingers weaving together in thought. He could feel the royals probing stares falling on to him.

After a moment of deliberating silence, he decided to speak.

"I wish to see their skills in battle." He requested flatly.

"But of course. Ashera is known to be the most excellent fighter." He was referring to the other male, the shorter one.

"That maybe, but." His cold attention never left the female. "I want to see her."

Khan was expecting a rebuttal of some form from the Sheikh, but the man merely smiled wickedly.

"Very well." He said with a congenial nod of his head. Then he fixated his gaze back on to the handler.

"Al mara." He gravelled out to Salim. The man scattered to do his bidding and made the same rude movement of his hands towards the woman. She blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. Khan half expected to see a look of astonishment on her face, but she treated the request with the same apathy Sabaah had.

She stepped into the platform as Salim moved back. Another assassin entered the ring. The dark, harsh features of his face made his smug smile seem sinister. He craned his neck roughly from side to side, emitting cracking noises.

The woman faced him, her hands reaching up and beginning to unclasp the brass buttons of her coat. She shrugged off the material in a grace that Khan found too sensual. He resisted the urge to shift in his seat.

Bronze shoulders peaked out from beneath the vermilion red. She wore a vest similar in colour but more fitting to her feminine frame. Khan observed her carefully, absorbing the sight of her tone slender arms down to her taut, slim waist. She tossed the coat on to the floor, neglecting it.

Khan couldn't help but see self-righteousness in her defenceless stance against the assassin. Her opponent was a staggering six feet and she seemed minuscule in comparison to his bristling body. But she remained undaunted, waiting for the adversary to make the first move.

He pushed off the balls of his feet as a guttural yell left the base of his thick neck. He charged at her. Khan knew what the dramatic act meant, the man wanted to intimidate her. It was a pompous and over the top but he still sought after her response.

She moved in a cat like ferocity, fast and agile. She ducked and side swept under the man's arm that swung in her direction. He was caught off guard by her sudden disappearance. She moved behind him and kicked him hard in the back. The man stumbled forward and fell fast first on to the metal plate. They heard the sickening crack of bone and the loud ear piercing scream that left his lips.

Her leg was still posed in the air. With a measured control over her balance, she folded her elongated leg towards her body till her heel hit the back of her thigh. Simultaneously she slanted forward and regained her erect posture. Her arms that were pulled towards her chest, loosened at her sides.

Khan was amazed, how did someone so small deliver such a powerful attack?

She regained her composure so smoothly it was hard to fathom that she had even retaliated.

The brute of a man scrambled up, bringing his legs under him. He spun around wildly and locked his seething gaze on to her. Blood was gushing down his nose and seeped into his bristly moustache.

He snarled then ran at her.

She didn't move to duck this time. Instead she faced him head on. He swung his right arm, fist tight and ready to make impact with her face. She caught his wide wrist in an open palm and her claws dug into his skin. Another howl escaped his mouth and his tried to hit her with his free arm. She dipped her head under the blow like she was avoiding a beam and then stepped to the right, bringing the man's arm with her.

Another sickening crack echoed in the wind followed by the man's cry of agony. She had dislocated his shoulder in a brutal precision.

"She is a feisty little hell cat isn't she." Orlando mused in a perverse wonder, practically on the edge of his seat and staring at the woman.

"She isn't anything special." Susan grumbled, unimpressed as always.

Khan had no comment. He was too taken by the sight of her. She was circling the man she had brought to his knees. She was watching him, holding on to his limp arm and snivelling in pain. Khan saw it, the pleasure in her gleaming golden orbs. She had enjoyed the hurt she had caused, she revelled in her power.

Realizing the battle was over she retreated back to her original spot and stood once more in her dignified place.

The assassin was struggling to get his legs under him again while supporting his arm.

"Their skills are suppressed now to their basic instincts. Only through saying their summoning command does their true potential show." Zayed's words caught Khan's interest.

"Summoning command, you're Highness?"

"Why yes. Do you know what the word Wahash means ?" The Sheikh turned his princely chin on to Khan, watching him with a self-righteous satisfaction.

"No I am not familiar with the word." The Augument leader answered truthfully. The Emirati's predatory smile widened.

"It means, beast." His words hung in the air in a menacing impression. Abruptly his attention snapped back to the shabby handler.

"Salim." He barked grabbing the man's notice "Nakul al amar."

Khan immediately saw the way her posture stricken. Say the command? Khan translated the Sheikh's command in his mind. He felt his blood race at the sudden tension that thickened the air around him.

What command?

Salim the handler fixated his hawk like gaze on to the woman's back.

"Khathal."

Her shoulders unexpectedly hunched forward. The tight curls of her hair curtained the sides of her face. Khan did not miss the way her tan arms began to convulse, the tremors travelled to the rest of her body.

Her opponent had seen the change and took stumbling, cautious steps back with one hand still on his injured shoulder.

Her head snapped up and this time, she was the one snarling. She charged at an impossible speed and jumped up into the air. Her opponent didn't even have a chance to run because she had already kicked him down with the heels of her boots and pinned him to the floor.

The Augument's watched, unable to run away as she brought her clawed hands down on the man's neck.

Again and again.

Blood and bits of flesh splattered across the surface of the platform, left and right. Soon the man was a lifeless, bleeding corpse. The woman was still slashing at him, through skin and muscles and into bone.

"Kalas." The handler boomed gruffly, startling them out of their reverie.

Her arm froze mid strike. A moment of stunned silence passed through the desert. Then, slowly, she straightened to her full height.

She was panting, her chest was heaving at each breath she took. The red liquid had managed to tinge strands of her sunset hair and her shirt. The dark red liquid caked her hands like a painted gloves.

Her movements were rigid as she stepped over the body and stood by the dead man's side. She tucked her hands behind her body, her profile facing them and her face once again, devoid of sentiment.

A loud retching noise pierced the silence. One of servants lacked the stamina to contain his nauseated state and had scattered off to vomit. The unappealing noise still managed to reach them in the vast space.

"So my friend, what do you think?" Zayed inquired coolly, choosing to ignore the noises made by a member of his staff.

Khan was gritting his teeth. His attention still hadn't left her. The blank, departed look in her eyes was unnerving. His incensed stare shot to the dead body of the former assassin, a expression of stunned dread was froze on his wide eyed expression.

"I think. They will be the most fearsome creatures at my disposal." Despite the amazed gratitude in his voice, Khan was fighting the urge to rip out the Sheikh's throat then and there. The ruler was placing erratic, murderous creatures under their roofs and claiming them to be gifts.

The threat wasn't subtle in the least.

"I knew you would like them my friend!" The Sheikh bellowed proudly, a deep hearty laugh leaving his lips that further antagonized the Augument captain. The Emirati king clapped Khan on the back of the shoulder again and gestured his free hand at the Wahash.

"Now, who do you wish to take?"

*Khathal: Kill