The Mamluks (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 1)

by Lake, Edward

  “You are ready to test your wisdom.”

  I smiled and gave her a thankful nod. We looked to the crowd and waited.

  The first citizen stepped forward. He was dressed in lavish attire, wearing a funky looking hat. “Great Dalia. Emily of Earth. I am Mykolas.”

  Dalia folded her hands. “State your concerns, Mykolas.”

  “Production in our region has slowed during recent times. Many of our slaves have died off. And others have been killed for trying to flee. I ask that you supply our land with more slaves to maintain our way of life.”

  “Breeding of slaves has not yet commenced.”

  “My Ruler, we must start now. Soon, there will not be enough slaves to harvest the crops.”

  There was an unsettling silence. Dalia looked on with a blank stare. Then, Mykolas turned to me.

  “What do you suggest, Emily?”

  My heart thumped. I looked at Dalia, not knowing what to say. She glanced at me and smiled, like she was telling me this was my moment. I slowly looked back at Mykolas and stood up. The crowd whispered as I stepped forward.

  “Well, I agree that we should start now. The slaves are getting older. And it will take time to grow a new generation.”

  I turned to look at Dalia for approval. She was still smiling, staring at me like a proud mother. I returned a smile to her, but quickly made a serious face as I looked back to the crowd.

  “The breeding of slaves shall commence at once. In the meantime, I will gather what slaves I can from around the world and send them to areas in need.”

  Chapter 60

  The next day, Adomas gathered tens of thousands of slaves in our region for an urgent announcement. They were lined up in vertical rows about ten feet apart, spread out across an open terrain. There were hundreds of soldiers walking through the rows, monitoring the crowd.

  I was standing on a metal stage that had been placed in front of the crowd. Dalia was at center stage, while Adomas and Juozas stood by me.

  A series of globe-shaped devices had been placed around the crowd. Dalia held her sija to her mouth and pressed a button, and the devices let off a steady buzz. “Humans!” Her voice echoed seamlessly across the landscape. “At sundown, you will begin reproduction with the females of your species. Any slave who refuses will be killed.”

  She lowered her arm and turned off the amplifiers. Then she left the stage with Adomas and headed back to our ship.

  Juozas and I stayed close as we stepped off the stage. And not surprisingly, I glanced at him and saw an uncomfortable look in his eyes.

  Later on, at sunset, I found Juozas standing on the balcony that looked over our garden. He had his arms placed on the railing, holding his hands together, looking down with a frown.

  I quietly walked to my chair and took a seat.

  Juozas turned around, surprised. “Oh…hello, Mother.”

  “Hello, Son. Is something troubling you?”

  Juozas shook his head. “No. I was just thinking.”

  I studied him intensely, suspicious. “Well, have a seat. Tell me about it.”

  Juozas sat down and took a second before starting. “Mother?—Why do we need slaves?”

  I let out a deep huff. “Because someone has to do the work.”

  Juozas leaned forward a little. “Yes, but—couldn’t we do our own work?”

  I thought of my answer carefully. “Son, you must understand that everything in life serves a purpose. From the sun to the soil—everything contributes to our survival. Slaves are no different. Their duty is to serve the dominant species of this planet.”

  Juozas put his hand over his mouth and leaned back, staring into the distance. I watched his face and saw grave concern in his eyes.

  Then he lowered his hand and looked at me, smiling tensely. “I was just wondering.”

  “It’s all right, Dear. And remember—I’m always here whenever you want to talk.”

  Juozas got up and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Mother. I love you.”

  “I love you, Son.”

  Chapter 61

  It was time. All servants in our region were ordered to the main entrance of their building. I was standing by with the soldiers to make sure the servants in our building were accounted for. As we checked them, I realized Audrey was missing.

  I went upstairs and marched to her room. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her hands in her lap.

  I pointed down the hall in a rage. “Audrey! Go to the main entrance. Now!”

  Even as a grown woman, she was still a nervous wreck. “Emily—I’m afraid.”

  I stampeded inside and stood over her. “I don’t care. Get up and go downstairs. Or you will be killed for disobeying orders.”

  Audrey looked up at me with tears running down her face. “I remember when we first met. You were so kind and appreciative. But since then—you’ve become as cruel as them.”

  I turned and walked to the entryway.

  She got up and hurried past me. “All right—I’m going. Please forgive me.”

  I followed Audrey downstairs and watched the soldiers take her away. When the area was clear, I turned and headed down the hallway.

  But as I approached the stairway, I felt a sharp pain shoot throughout my body. In shock, I grabbed my chest and stumbled into the wall. I slid to my knees and checked my hands. There was light flashing under my skin. I quickly looked at my arms and realized the light was flashing all over.

  “Help!” I screamed.

  A soldier came running from around the corner and kneeled beside me. “Emily? What has happened?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. Call Giedre.” Then, slowly, I blacked out.

  Chapter 62

  I woke up in my room and saw Giedre and Adomas standing over me. I sat up in bed and checked my hands. The flashing light was gone.

  I looked up at Giedre in a daze. “What happened?”

  “You have become one with the ozlon. It seems the stabilization shocked your system.”

  I looked down and checked the substance. The inside was solid. “Wow.” I climbed off the bed. I could feel a steady flow of energy coursing through my veins. It was like an incredible high that lingered on and on. Finally, I checked my arms and realized my muscle tone had increased.

  I ripped the marble off my necklace and held it up between two fingers. Then, carefully, I made a fist around it and closed my eyes. “Um, this feels good.” I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.

  Adomas stepped forward. “Follow me, Emily.”

  We went to the roof and boarded a ship. He took me to a mountaintop and landed at the center. We got out of the ship and walked to the edge of the mountain.

  Adomas stood beside me as the wind blew my hair. “Like fire, ozlon can grow and become stronger.” He turned and faced the sky. “Now, open your hand and expand the energy.”

  I put my fist out and turned it palm up. I released my fingers and carefully watched the ozlon, trying to make it grow. Gradually, the marble got bigger and bigger. After a few seconds, the substance turned into a bright, white orb and floated over my palm.

  Adomas backed away. “More, Emily.”

  I focused hard and the orb sparked. I could feel my body getting stronger as the energy grew. Seconds later, the orb formed into a massive laser beam and shot out into the sky.

  I screamed as I felt the overwhelming power in the palm of my hand. After holding it for a second, I quickly closed my hand and pulled my arm back, making the laser beam disappear into the marble.

  I took a huge breath and raised my fist. “Unbelievable.”

  Adomas walked up to me. “That is why we wear these.” He handed me a human-sized sija.

  It was such a rewarding moment, something I’ll never forget. I held the sija and stared at it for a second. “I’m speechless. Thank you—so much.”

  Adomas pointed at a hole on the back end of the device. “Insert the ozlon here.”

  I felt a rush of adrenaline as I put the m
arble in the hole. The sija made some noises and something on the device shifted, closing the hole.

  A few lights came on, and a hologram of a rocky planet popped out, gradually spinning around. “Identity yourself,” a computerized voice said.

  I smiled wide. “This is Emily of Earth.”

  Once more, the sija made some quick noises, and the lights flashed. “Authentication complete.” The hologram went away.

  Proudly, I put the sija on my arm and closed it up. Then I turned and stared at Adomas.

  “I love you.”

  He looked on with a blank stare. But I wasn’t expecting him to say it back. Mamluks didn’t speak of love. They showed it.

  “You have earned this power, Emily. When the time comes, use it to rule well.”

  Chapter 63

  I kept thinking about what Madison told me, and—at last—I realized there was only one resolution that would give us salvation.

  I was by myself, lying on the cold floor of our ship, staring at the ozlon on my wrist. I saw the moving parts slow down. My eyes grew wide, and I looked harder. The substance was becoming almost non-moving. I sat up and tore it off my wrist. I held the ozlon in my hand and stared, nodding. “Yes. That’s it.”

  Suddenly, there was a knock at the ramp, breaking my concentration. I got up quickly and let everyone inside. They were carrying some fish and set what they had on the floor. Then they spread out. Elos found a seat in the cockpit, while Robert and Madison sat on the seats that were built into the wall.

  I closed the ramp and walked forward. “We have to talk.”

  Elos turned in his seat and faced me. Madison and Robert looked at me.

  I paused and held the ozlon out. “Look.”

  Robert got up, narrowing his eyes. “My God. It’s stabilizing.”

  “Yeah, and I think I know why.” I pulled my hand back and waited a second before continuing. “I have to go back to Los Angeles.”

  Madison huffed and shook her head. “Andrew, we talked about this.”

  “Just listen to me for a second, all right?” I exhaled. “I’m not asking any of you to go with me. But I have to take the ship.”

  Robert gave me an aggravated look. “You’d leave us? After everything we’ve been through?”

  I looked down with great sorrow. “You don’t understand, Rob. I’m not going back to live.”

  A cold silence came over us.

  “No. It doesn’t have to end that way,” Madison said.

  I looked up and stared at her. “You’re wrong. That is my purpose: to send a message to the rest of the world—and let them know we can fight back.”

  She crossed her arms. “But of all places, why Los Angeles?”

  “It’s just like you said, Madison. If we leave this area, we’ll be sitting ducks, so if I have one shot to send a message—I’m going after the biggest target.”

  Robert walked up to me. “Why, Andrew? We’re free. Sure, it’s not ideal, but we have a place to lay our heads. Food to eat. Land with plenty of water.”

  “Sure, that’s great for us. But what about the rest of the world?” I widened my eyes, glaring at him. “Don’t you get it? If we stay here and die—all that we’ve learned dies with us.”

  Robert looked away, blinking his eyes. “Good God—you’re right.”

  Madison stood up and stared at me. “So—you want us to spread the word—while you go back to die?”

  I nodded sadly.

  Robert looked back at me. “What if we just left the ship here? That way, we could all stay together.”

  I shook my head. “No, my friend. I have to do this. Imagine the kind of message it would send if I killed Adomas or Dalia.”

  Elos got up and walked to me. “I will join you, Andrew.”

  I gave him a gracious smile and put my hand on his shoulder. “No, Elos. Your knowledge is too important. If there’s anyone who should share what they know with the world— it’s you.”

  Madison stepped closer. We were all standing in a circle now.

  “It would be a crime for any of us to let you do this alone.” She erupted into tears. “So I’m going with you. And that’s final.”

  I released a few tears and aggressively pulled her close. We hugged and squeezed hard. Robert opened his arms and hugged us. I peeked at Elos and saw him standing there clueless. I reached out and pulled him close.

  Moments later, I felt a sharp pain throughout my body. I dropped to the floor and shivered uncontrollably.

  “Andrew!” Robert yelled.

  Madison stumbled backwards and collapsed. I looked at her and saw light flashing under her skin. I checked my hand and saw the same thing. Then, I passed out.

  Chapter 64

  I woke up lying in the snow. Someone helped me to my feet, and when my vision cleared, I realized it was Elos.

  “What happened to me?”

  “The ozlon you carry has stabilized.”

  He let go and handed me the marble. I held it out and stared. There was a tingling sensation flowing through my body, and I felt stronger than ever.

  Robert walked up from behind, holding Madison. Watchfully, he let her go and gave her the ozlon she was carrying. It had stabilized, too.

  She held it out, still shaken from before. “How do we use it, Elos?”

  He reached down and picked up the two sijas we had taken from the Mamluks. He gave one to Madison and the other to me. Elos pointed at a hole near the back of the device.

  “Insert the ozlon here.”

  We followed the instructions. Something shifted on the devices, and the holes closed up. Then the sijas made some noises, and the lights came on.

  I held mine up in daze. “This is—amazing.”

  A hologram of a rocky planet popped out of both sijas, slowly spinning around. “Identify yourself.”

  Madison and I looked at Elos, confused.

  “What should we do?” I asked.

  Elos stepped forward. “You cannot mimic the voices of the dead soldiers. However, this device I wear can mimic the voice of Adomas. After being his prisoner for so long—I know it well.”

  He made some adjustments to his mask. “Bring the sijas close.”

  We held the sijas close together.

  Elos bent down. “Bypass the authentication.” The voice sounded just like Adomas’s, deep and intimidating.

  The lights on the sijas blinked. “Confirm authorization to bypass the authentication.”

  “This is Adomas. Champion of all Mamluks.”

  The sijas made some quick noises. “Authorization complete. Authentication bypassed.” The holograms went away.

  I smiled. “You’re the man, Elos. I mean…the Ecknor.”

  He looked on with an empty stare. “I do not understand.”

  Madison chucked. “It means you’re awesome.”

  Elos gave her a subtle nod. Then he stepped back and pointed at the sky. “Test your sijas.”

  Robert stepped back, too. Madison and I spread out and held the sijas like shotguns.

  I glanced at the device. “Now what?”

  “Expand the energy.”

  “How?” Madison asked.

  “Remember, when stable, the ozlon can be controlled by the host. You feel it in your bodies, yes?”

  We nodded.

  “Focus, and expand the energy.”

  Together, we looked into the sky and aimed high. I concentrated hard and felt the energy building up. Within seconds, a bright light sparked from the edge of the sija. The light grew into an orb and hovered over the edge. I glanced at Madison and saw the same thing.

  Finally, massive laser beams shot out of our sijas and blasted through the air. I felt the power taking over my body as my beam grew. I quickly lowered the sija and the laser went away. The weight of the device carried me to the snow. I landed on my side and dropped it.

  Madison pulled back, making her laser go away. The sija slipped out of her hands and splashed in the snow. She went to the ground and kneeled by it. “T
hat was incredible.”

  I smiled at her. “Hell yeah it was.”

  Elos walked up to us. “When you return to the land of the Champion—go to his building and destroy the security room. That will temporarily disrupt their communications—and prevent them from calling more soldiers.”

  I sat up and nodded.

  Elos turned and waved us on. “Come, I will teach you the controls of the device.”

  Chapter 65

  I arrived at the Soldiers’ Academy and found Ignas in the training room. He was listening to music while stretching. I looked around and realized the music was coming from his sija. It sounded like opera, and whoever was singing it had an amazing voice.

  In shock, I put my hands on my hips and gasped. “Now why hasn’t anyone told me about this?”

  Ignas turned toward me. “I thought I heard someone approaching.”

  “Sorry to disturb you.”

  Ignas walked up to me and kneeled, bowing his head. “No, Emily. You are always welcome.”

  I was stunned by the gesture, feeling it was inappropriate. “Thank you, Ignas. But I’m not the Ruler yet.”

  He rose and flashed a loving smile. “Soon—you will be.”

  I blushed and looked away, crossing my arms.

  Ignas walked to a ray of light coming from the window. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

  “Well, first, tell me about this singer you’re playing.”

  “Her name is Kamile. She is considered the greatest singer of our kind.”

  I nodded. “I can see why. Where does she live?”

  “Here on Earth. She travels from region to region and sings for the locals. These are her private recordings.”

  I took a moment and listened. “When is she coming here?”

  Ignas turned and gave me a smug look. “I’m sure a request from someone of your stature would receive a quick response.” Then he went into a stretch. “In the meantime, I shall send the recordings to your sija.”

  I smiled. “Why, thank you.”

  I walked forward and stretched with him. “I’d like to learn some fighting techniques.”