The Mamluks (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 1) Page 9

  “Maybe. But it doesn’t matter.” He got up, walked across the room and sat beside me. “Any new ideas?”

  “No. Just can’t sleep.”

  Elos gradually lifted his hand. “It is, Robert, yes?”

  Robert nodded.

  Elos pointed at his neck. “You have blood.”

  Robert reached up and felt around his neck. He pulled his hand away and checked his fingers, showing some blood. “Oh, don’t worry. This happens sometimes when I sleep. The collar presses into my skin and cuts me.”

  I looked at his neck and stared for a moment, blinking my eyes. “You said the collars are unbreakable, Elos?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure?” I glanced at him. “What about the lasers? Could they break them?”

  “Yes. However, the correct blast would be necessary. Perhaps a small, rapid shot.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “A rapid shot?”

  “The sija can adjust to different firing speeds and ranges.”

  Robert quickly cut in. “Guys, we’re jumping the gun here. The only way we can get our own laser is if we get the ozlon.”

  I felt a sharp pain my chest, afraid of what I was about to say. “They bring one to us every day.” I looked at Robert, then Elos.

  I saw Robert shaking his head from the corner of my eye. “No. Forget it, Andrew.”

  “I do not understand,” Elos said.

  I stood up and looked around. “We’re going to kill one of them and take their sija.”

  “Have you lost your mind? We might as well kill ourselves first,” Robert barked.

  I looked down at him. “You’re wrong. We’re prisoners, right? So let’s start acting like prisoners.” I walked to the wall and pulled out one of the flat, stone candles.

  “What are you suggesting, Andrew?”

  “Well you see, Elos. Here on Earth, there was this TV show called Lockup. It was a documentary series about prisoners from around the world. I used to watch it sometimes, and on the show, the prisoners would make weapons out of just about anything.” I blew out the candle and turned around. “Remember, they’re just flesh and blood like us.”

  Robert stood up. “No. We are not doing this.”

  Elos stood up. “The proposal is most interesting.”

  I smiled. “Indeed it is.”

  Robert lowered his head and walked to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and looked up, giving me a serious stare. “My friend, listen to me. This is not the way. They will kill us.”

  “No, Robert. It’s the only way.” I reached up and took his hand off my shoulder. “Look, I know you’re terrified. And so am I. But that’s exactly what they want. They control their victims with fear and intimidation. We have to overcome that and fight back.”

  Elos came over and stood by me. Robert crossed his arms and held his head down, sighing. I stood there, staring at him, waiting for him to join in.

  Finally, he looked up and shrugged. “All right. What the hell. Might as well go out swinging,”

  I smiled and nodded, looking back and forth between Robert and Elos. “Let’s sharpen some gears.”

  Chapter 47

  I was jogging through the forest with the girls. Linas, the Mamluk who designed everyone’s attire, made us some pretty cool running shoes. They looked like go-go boots, but the bottoms were flat like sneakers and made of a rubber-like material. Along with the shoes, we wore skintight bodysuits.

  We came across a mountain and hiked to the top. I looked into the distance and saw a sea of slaves working on an open landscape. Katie and Bridget noticed them, too—and we all stopped and stared for a moment.

  “It’s amazing, isn’t it? We’ll never have to work another day in our lives,” Bridget said.

  I smiled just thinking about it. Then, unexpectedly, I looked away and thought about Juozas. I was still troubled by the question he asked me—afraid he would continue asking about my past.

  “Hey, you OK?” Bridget said, reaching out and rubbing my shoulder.

  “You’ve been acting strange lately,” Katie said, crossing her arms.

  I sighed. “It’s Juozas. He asked me about my mother the other day.”

  There was a brief silence.

  “Oh my,” Bridget said. “Well, what did you say?”

  “Nothing.” I turned and looked at her closely “And now I’m a little concerned.” I waited a second before continuing. “What’s going to happen when the kids grow up and start figuring things out on their own?”

  Katie nodded. “You know, I never thought about that.”

  “I don’t think anything’s going to happen,” Bridget said.

  I crossed my arms. “Well, what would you say if London asked you where you were born? Or what is was like growing up there?”

  Bridget shrugged. “I would lie.”

  “Of course you would. But it wouldn’t be that easy. They can sense dishonesty just like anyone else. And that would create some distrust.”

  “You may be right. But I don’t think it will affect much.”

  I exhaled and faced the forest. “I’m just afraid I’ll lose my bond with Juozas if he knows I’m feeding him falsehoods.”

  “Well, it would help if you weren’t so playful with him,” Bridget went on.

  I turned and gave her a cold stare. “What do you mean?”

  She paused, giving me a look of pity. “You’re too fun-loving and cheery when you’re around him. You need to be more firm.”

  I laughed. “What? He’s just a child. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

  Bridget walked up to me. “What I’m saying, Emily, is—you treat him like a human. He’s a Mamluk. And he should be firm like them.”

  “He’s not just a Mamluk. He’s part human, too. All the children are.”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean they should grow up to be sympathetic. Toughen him up a little. You will always be able to enjoy fun activities with Juozas. But in your day to day interactions, don’t be so lighthearted.”

  I huffed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I teach him all the right things. He knows not to be kind to slaves or servants.”

  “But as you say, Emily. He will start to figure things out on his own. And his sensitive manner might change his views.”

  I didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. I somberly walked to the edge of the mountain and took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I’ll talk to Dalia about it.” I bounced on my feet for a moment as I looked down the hillside. “Come on. Let’s head back.”

  Chapter 48

  I was on my way to Dalia’s room when I saw Juozas running through the hallway.

  “Hey, slow down there.”

  Juozas stopped and jogged to me. “Hey, Mother. Where are you going?” He playfully marched beside me, smiling wide.

  “Stop that, Juozas. I’m on my way to see Dalia.”

  His face got sad as he went into a normal walk. We came to the end of the hall and ran into Audrey. She was holding a wooden bucket in one arm and a stack of cleaning cloths in the other. I ignored her and carried on, glancing at Juozas to make sure he was doing the same.

  But just before we could turn the corner, Audrey slipped and fell into the wall, dropping the bucket and spilling water all over. Juozas quickly went back and helped her up.

  “Are you all right?”

  I spun around in a rage, huffing like I was about to blow smoke. “Juozas!”

  He shuddered and looked at me in shock as I glared back at him. Audrey picked up her things and ran off. Juozas slowly came back to me. I put my hand on his shoulder and watched him like a hawk.

  “What was that? You know right from wrong.”

  His eyes watered. “I’m sorry.”

  I sighed and put my head down for a second, then looked up. “Son, I love you. But you can’t show kindness to those who are lesser than we are.”

  Juozas reached up and wiped his eye. “Yes, Mother.”

  I smiled and gave him an encouraging
look. “Never again. Okay?”

  Juozas nodded.

  Chapter 49

  I found Dalia in her room and asked to speak with her. She kindly agreed, and we decided to go for a walk in the garden. We headed to the front entrance and went outside. It was perfect for a walk. The air was still, and the sun was just setting.

  When we got to the garden, I took a second to appreciate the growth of our amazing plants. They were almost as tall as me. And every species had a beauty all its own.

  “This is most enjoyable, Emily. I have not walked the garden in some time.”

  I came across a row of zawe and smiled, remembering the time Adomas showed them to me. “Thanks for seeing me, Dalia. I’ve been dealing with some issues, and I wanted your advice.”

  “What troubles you?”

  “Well, it’s about Juozas. I was talking to the girls today, and they told me I was being too playful with him. I didn’t want to believe it at first. But as they explained further, I finally understood. Anyway, I came home and saw Juozas in the hallway. We passed Audrey, and she fell as we were turning the corner. Juozas went back to help her up. It was awful, Dalia. I’ve told him so many times before to disregard servants and slaves. But it seems he hasn’t been listening to me. Or maybe my fun-loving attitude has rubbed off, and he’s becoming too compassionate.”

  I looked up at Dalia and saw concern in her eyes. “It appears that way.” We stopped at a leafy plant, and she pulled some leaves off. “However, with proper guidance, Juozas will amend.” She handed me a leaf, then ate another.

  I checked the leaf, feeling the thickness. Then I bit half off it and chomped slowly. To my surprise, it was sweet and chewy, like a piece of candy. “Wow, these are really good.”

  I took some more leaves before carrying on with Dalia. Walking through the garden with her was just another reminder of how wonderful life had become with the Mamluks.

  Chapter 50

  We were sitting on the floor, sharpening the gears with the stone candles from the wall. But even though we had decided on what we wanted to do, we still needed to come up with an effective strategy.

  “Do you know how to work the sija, Elos?” I asked.

  “Yes. However, if the host of the ozlon is killed, the energy will decrease dramatically, and the sija will deactivate.”

  “How much time will we have?” Robert said.

  “Not long.”

  “We need specifics. Hours, minutes?” I said.

  Elos paused. “I do not understand.”

  Perplexed, Robert and I glanced at each other.

  Then I looked at Elos. “It’s a measurement of time. For example—’’ I paused and clicked my fingers. “It took me a second to do that.”

  Elos looked around. “Perhaps the time it would take to craft a sija.”

  We got up and went to the machinery. Robert and I stood by, watching Elos build a sija from start to finish. First, he dumped a pile of metal into the front of the machine. Then he went to the control board and pressed some buttons. The machine made some weird noises, and things started moving.

  I focused hard, estimating how much time was going by. After what seemed like a decent amount of time, the exterior of the sija came out on the conveyor belt. Elos picked it up and took it to the tables. He grabbed a big gear and locked it into a small gear. Finally, he slid the combined gears into the exterior, locking them in place.

  Elos handed me the sija. “That is the time we will have.”

  The weight of the device dropped my arms. “What do you think, Rob?”

  He released a solemn sigh. “That was about thirty minutes.”

  I nodded restlessly. “Yeah, I was thinking that, too.” I put the sija on a table. “So what do you think, Elos?”

  “It will be difficult to find the ozlon in that time.”

  “And Madison.” I huffed and shook my head “Shit—this is going to be really tricky.”

  Robert crossed his arms. “I just thought of something. When the soldiers bring us food, there are always two.”

  “Yes. A soldier never completes a task on their own. Even the smallest duty requires an ally.”

  I shrugged. “That just means we’ll have two sijas instead of one.”

  Robert rolled his eyes and covered his face. “Oh, dear God. I can’t believe I agreed to do this.”

  “Come on, my friend. Stop filling your head with doubt.”

  He chuckled a bit as he lowered his hand and smiled tensely. “Yeah, sure. Let’s take a snap shot of this. We kill the soldiers, take their sijas, break the collars, sneak into the building, find Madison and the ozlon. Then escape the area without being seen—all in thirty minutes.”

  After hearing the succession of it all—I finally admitted to myself that we were probably going to die trying to escape. But I didn’t care. I was happy knowing that I would be going out my way.

  Chapter 51

  Everyone got in position. I was hiding on the right side of the stairs while Robert hid on the left. We had broken two legs off the wooden tables and were holding them horizontally across our chests. Tied to the chair legs, we each had a gear that had been sharpened into a spearhead. Elos was kneeling about six feet from the stairway, pretending like he was fixing something on his mask.

  Finally, I heard the metal door slide open. The light from outside shined down the stairway. My heart rate increased, and my palms got sweaty. I tried to relax as I listened to the soldiers marching down the steps. As the shadows got closer, I glanced at Robert to see how he was doing. His lips were firmly pursed, and he was trembling worse than me.

  The first soldier passed by. She looked around for a second. Then she set the bowl of food and cups of water on the floor. The other soldier came forward and stood beside her, looking down at Elos like he knew something was wrong. I glanced at Robert and gave him the signal.

  We ran out of our hiding spots and charged the soldiers, slamming the logs into the backs of their legs. They fell backwards, and we jumped out of the way before being crushed. We quickly raised the spearheads high over our heads.

  Robert screeched and stabbed the soldier nearest him in her head. I let out a scream and stabbed the other soldier in his head. We stepped back and watched them slowly fizzle. Blood leaked from their wounds and made a large puddle on the floor. We carefully stepped around it and went to their arms. Elos helped us find the latches on their sijas, and we took them off.

  First, Robert got on the floor and closed his eyes. Elos lifted the sija and angled it as he adjusted the range and firing speed.

  “Remain still.”

  He shot a quick laser beam at Robert’s neck. It was a perfect hit, snapping the collar in half. Robert stood up and ripped it off.

  I rushed to the floor and closed my eyes. I heard the sija starting up again and braced myself. Elos fired. The laser connected, breaking my collar. I jumped off the floor and yanked the remains away.

  I hurried to Elos and took the sija. “All right, now show me what to do.”

  “The laser is set. Aim well and press here.”

  He pointed at the button. I nodded and wiped some sweat off my forehead. Elos got on the floor. I held the sija out and tried to get a good aim, but my hands were shaking.

  “Come on, Andrew—relax,” Robert said.

  I took a deep breath and focused.

  “Just do it,” he went on, panicking.

  Finally, I pressed the button. The laser shot out and hit Elos’s collar, snapping it apart. I released a deep sigh and smiled. Elos got up and took off the remains. I gave the sija back to him and grabbed the other one.

  He held it out and pointed at another button. “To activate the force field, press here.”

  I gave him a quick nod. We snuck up the stairway and went into the tunnel. On his sija, Elos pressed a button that closed the door. Robert and I followed his lead as we went ahead. The area was clear. We headed around the corner, staying as low as possible.

  The building was supporte
d by enormous pillars. We used them for cover as we hurried to an entryway on the far end of the passage. Elos went in first, looking from left to right.

  “The room is clear.”

  We followed him inside and looked around.

  “Let’s find Madison. She’ll know where Dalia’s room is,” I said.

  Chapter 52

  I was at the stadium with Adomas. He was practicing a few techniques on the stadium floor. The arena was empty, and I was sitting nearby in the front row, about ten feet up from where he was.

  “So who’s your next opponent?” I called out, my voice echoing through the arena.

  “That has not been determined. However, a true Champion must always be ready to defend the title.” He lunged into a high kick, then followed with an array of punches.

  I nodded and smiled. “Very nice.”

  Adomas had taken his sija off and put it in the seat next to me. Suddenly, it beeped, and a holographic screen popped out. I bent over and checked it. There were three red lights flashing at the center, and a message scrolling across the top that read, “Unauthorized Deactivation.”

  “Adomas? There’s an alert on your sija.”

  He paused and faced me. “Throw it down.”

  I struggled to pick it up and threw it over the barrier.

  Adomas caught it with one hand and checked the screen. His face quickly became infuriated. “Impossible.”

  I put my hands on the barrier and looked down. “Is everything all right?”

  “We must leave.” Adomas put the sija on and called a ship. “Jump to me.” He stood tall and opened his arms wide.

  I climbed over the barrier and leaped into his arms. He put me down as a ship flew into the stadium. We hurried to the ship as it landed.

  “What’s happened?”

  “Three prisoners have deactivated from my security system. And their designated location is our building.”

  Chapter 53

  Finally, we found Madison on the second floor. She was walking through the halls holding a stack of folded clothing.