The Mamluks (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 1) (16 page)

Chapter 73

I got to my feet and ran into the darkness as the rocks came
down. Luckily, they stopped just as I got to the wall. I paused and took a deep
breath. Falling down had knocked the wind out of me, and I could feel myself
bleeding from a gash on my arm.

The opening from above gave me enough light to see. I looked
around, trying to find Emily, wondering if she had been crushed by the
boulders. Cautiously, I walked forward, scanning every inch of the area.

I looked up and realized the rocks had piled on top of each
other, creating some steppingstones that led back to the ballroom. I hurried to
the stones and climbed up, stepping into the light.

Out of nowhere, I saw a bright light out of the corner of my
eye. I spun around with only seconds to spare and blocked Emily’s shot with an
orb. She ran out of the shadows, sending rapid-fire my way. I jumped out of the
light and tried to hide behind a boulder. But Emily stayed on me. She leaped
through the air like a ballerina and landed in front of me.

There was blood running down the left side of her face, and
she had a sinister look in her eyes. We went at it with orbs, leaping from
place to place. Seconds later, Emily nailed me with a swift kick to the side.
The strike sent me crumbling to my knees.

Emily wasted no time and tried to crush me with a constant
beam. But I blocked it with an orb. The force from the colliding lasers sent
her stumbling backwards, and the constant beam went away. I got up, then
quickly lowered to my knees, clutching my side. It felt like my ribs were
broken.

Emily ran up to me and fired away with rapid shots. I was
able to block them with an orb, but my awareness was slipping away. I tackled
Emily out of desperation. But she easily pushed me off and got up. I tried to
get up, but I was hurt and exhausted.

Emily kept shooting furiously. I blocked a few more shots,
then—she caught me. A laser zipped past my stomach, cutting deep. I screamed
and fell backwards. The sija slipped out of my hands and tumbled away. I
trembled as I gripped my stomach.

Emily stopped shooting and let out a slow exhale. She walked
up to me and aimed. I lay there, taking deep breaths, looking up at the woman I
once loved. There was no emotion in her eyes. Just a coldness that made her
seem more frightening than the Mamluks.

I rolled over and crawled to the light. I made it to the
first steppingstone and pulled myself up. My vision was getting blurry, and
everything sounded like a steady buzz. I collapsed on my back and spread my
arms out. I saw Emily walk up and stand over me, still aiming her sija.

At that moment, I leaned my head back and saw someone
standing at the top of the wreckage. Struggling with my blurred vision, it took
me a second to realize it was a Mamluk. He was holding his hand out, like he
wanted Emily to stop. He hurried down the stones and said something to her.
Finally, just before I blacked out, he kneeled and looked at me with concern in
his eyes.

Chapter 74

Juozas lowered my arm. “
Mother
—he’s dead.”

I checked Andrew’s face and saw no life in his eyes. Juozas
rose and gently checked the gash on my head.

“Are you all right?”

I stayed silent for a moment, still looking at Andrew. “Yes.
I’m fine.” I looked up at Juozas and smiled. Then I hiked out of the wreckage.

There was a group of soldiers standing by the exit on the
far side of the demolished room. They noticed me and came over.

Seconds later, Juozas came out of the wreckage, carrying
Andrew. I turned with the soldiers and watched him set the corpse on the floor.
Juozas backed away and slowly looked at me, his eyes full of guilt.

There was a long silence.

Finally, a soldier stepped forward.

“Emily of Earth. The other intruder is dead. However, Adomas
is unconscious. And we’ve lost communication with Dalia.”

I looked up at him, then to all the others. Finally, I
realized they were waiting for me to give them orders. I glanced at Juozas—then
looked back to the soldiers.

“Take the intruders to the forest. Have the slaves bury
their bodies.”

The soldiers got right to it and scooped Andrew’s corpse off
the floor.

“Giedre is standing by at a secure location. We have a ship
waiting for you outside.”

I nodded and headed out with the soldiers. But before I
could leave, I looked back and saw Juozas standing in the same spot, holding
his head down.

“Son?”

He looked up and stared at me for a moment. Then he walked
over and joined the rest of us.

“Forgive me, Mother.”

I let out a troubled sigh as I watched him go past us and
head to the ship.

“Come, Emily. Your wounds need tending.”

Chapter 75

That night, Giedre patched me and Adomas up. Afterward, we
gathered at the beach for a celebration. Dalia cut her trip short and came back
to join us. The soldiers were playing the drums—and everyone found a dance
partner. Dalia was dancing with Ignas. And I was dancing with Adomas.

I looked around, smiling—hoping to see Juozas dancing with
Lauren-Lynn. Instead, I saw him sitting by the shoreline, looking out into the
ocean. I gave Adomas a concerned look—and he gave me a nod. I danced away from
him and jogged over to Juozas.

I sat down beside him and rubbed his arm. “Hey, what’s
wrong?”

He was quiet for a second. “I don’t know, Mother. Something
doesn’t feel right.”

I leaned my head against his hulking arm. “You worry too
much, Son. Everything is how it should be.”

Juozas exhaled. “What should I do?”

“Let go of your emotions. Only then will you mend the
conflict of your soul.”

He slowly nodded.

I looked up and saw Lauren-Lynn approaching. She stopped
beside me, and I flashed a warm smile.

“Here’s someone to cheer you up.”

Lauren-Lynn smiled and put her hand out. “Dance with me,
Juozas.”

I stood up and backed away, crossing my arms.

Finally, Juozas looked up and smiled back at Lauren-Lynn. He
took her hand and rose to his feet. “Come, we will show them how to dance.”
Juozas led her to the crowd.

Adomas came over and stood by me. We stayed there for a
moment and watched Juozas.

“What do you think?” Adomas glanced at me. “Can he escape
the compassion?”

I wanted to be confident in Juozas’s abilities. But the
uncertainty that had plagued him for so long seemed like it was getting worse.
I worried that it would eventually lead to an early demise.

“For his sake—I
really
hope so.”

Chapter 76

The sun was just coming over the horizon as I walked along
the edge of the forest, monitoring a field of working slaves—making sure they
were doing their jobs well. Still, as I looked down at their miserable faces, I
felt utter guilt. Mother was right. To find peace, I needed to let go of my
emotions and accept reality.

I exhaled and held my head high as I stepped away from the
forest, out of the shade. I walked onto an open terrain and felt the warmth of
the sun. Then, suddenly, I heard someone humming a delightful tune.

I looked around and found the singer. It was a slave,
working about twelve feet from me. He had dark skin and a head full of gray
hair. I paused and listened as he added words to the humming.

First, he sang about being born by
a river, in a tent. Then, he ended with a remarkable phrase that struck me like
a rock.
“A change is gonna come.”

My heart raced and my eyes got
wide. The slave had an amazing voice, unlike anything I’d ever heard before.
Slowly, I walked toward the man as he kept singing. The words were gripping,
like a benevolent force calling to me.

The slave went on, singing about
how hard life had been and about his fear of death. Again, that phrase at the
end struck me.
“A change is gonna come.”

I stopped in front of the man,
smiling. “You have an incredible voice.”

The slave looked up and put a hand
over his eyes. “
Well now
—I ain’t never seen one of you
Mamluks
say something nice to us.”

I quickly checked the area, making
sure I was a good distance from the other soldiers.

“Where did you learn to sing like
that?”

The slave chuckled. “I used to be
a somebody in this town before your kind arrived. That was ‘
A Change Is
Gonna Come’
you just heard. Sam Cooke—Nineteen-sixty-three.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Sam Cooke?
Nineteen-sixty-three?”

The man shook his head and got
back to work. “
My Lord
—I guess our history dies with us.”

I watched him shovel the dirt for
a second, like he was shoveling away the precious history he spoke off. I
wanted to stay there and learn more. But I knew I couldn’t. Finally, I snapped
out of my daze and let out a desolate sigh. I moved on, looking down at the
soil. But in the background, I could hear the slave continue the song. I smiled
and listened carefully.

“A change is gonna come.”