Free Jalia and the Slavers (Jalia - World of Jalon) by John Booth Page B

arms.
    “Well, I didn’t expect your daughters would already be plucked and waiting for their imminent rapes and deaths,” Marcus said in an almost normal tone of voice. The girls were not fooled for a second as they could see madness lighting his eyes.
    Marcus turned to Karn who lay on the floor with a guard’s sword pressing against his stomach. “They are such pretty daughters, so much more for me and my men to enjoy.”
    “Why are you doing this? What have we done to you?” Karn snarled.
    “I have Daniel al’Degar, Jalia al’Dare, and maybe even the third bitch, whoever she is, against you. You have sheltered them, I’m sure.” Marcus turned to look wild-eyed at the girls. “They stole our money, almost every bar of gold the Association has. The others will kill me when they find out. Nowhere is far enough away for me to hide from them. So I am going to have my revenge on you first.”
    Marcus stepped towards the girls, Kalla and Ralta stepped back, still covering their naked bodies, but Jema was made of sterner stuff and held her ground, hands at her side. She looked at her father, held captive on the floor with a sword held ready to gut him and her anger grew. Who were these men to think they could treat them like this?
    Marcus held his sword at Jema and traced it’s tip down between Jema’s breasts to her thighs. Without being aware of it, he repeated the exact motions the guard in the Gathering Pool had done to Jalia. Jema had been practicing Jalia’s attack on the guard, using her sword propped on a table. She knew it would be madness to try that though, Jalia had warned her how dangerous it would be.
    “I think I’ll have your little sister first. Ralta might be a virgin, who knows? I’ll cut her throat before I have you though, as I think she’ll turn out to be a screamer.”
    Anger overwhelmed Jema and she launched into Jalia’s attack, pushing the sword away from a stunned Marcus. Had he not spent the day in the caverns he might have been able to react, but he was far too tired. Jema’s toes lifted him a good four inches into the air as desperation lent her strength. His sword fell from his numb hand. She picked it up and turned to face the guards.
    The guards were too busy trying to pull the daggers out from their bellies to worry about Jema. It appeared that some of Jalia’s training had stuck with her sisters and as soon as she began to move, they dived for the knives they had been practicing with. Jalia had given them a special lesson the previous morning on the limits of unarmed combat and the merits of learning how to throw a knife.
    Marcus was on his knees, holding his crushed testicals in his hands. Jema raised the sword high and struck, cutting Marcus’s head at the neck. She didn’t quite manage to cut it off and Marcus’s head hung low against his chest held on by his windpipe and an inch of flesh. It did him little good though, as he fell lifeless to the floor.
    Karn got unsteadily to his feet as his daughters ran to hug him.
    “So this is why I shouldn’t interrupt your practicing,” Karn said wearily, looking in disbelief at the bodies lying on his floor. “It is going to be very difficult to get all those blood stains out of the floorboards. Sam is going to be furious with you.”

9.        Mopping Up
     
    Jalia and Daniel were lost. Their last torch died over two hours ago and they continued to walk up the tunnel in the dark, Daniel in the lead with one hand against the wall and the other holding Jalia’s hand. To say they were tired would be an understatement.
    “I wonder what time of day it is?” Daniel asked, “I feel like we’ve been walking in here for weeks.”
    “It is a few minutes passed seven in the evening,” Jalia said with utter certainty. “We haven’t been in here a full day, Daniel.”
    “How can you possibly know that?”
    “I always know what the time is,” Jalia shrugged, though Daniel couldn’t see it. “I’ve been able to do