Two watery homunculi guarded the room. They activated, sweeping tides of water at the concubines. But they all had been enhanced by Christy, moving with grace and speed that no mortal woman could. Chyna ducked the water spray while Toni and Alexina leaped over them.
“We’ll handle the homunculi! You save Master!” Toni shouted.
The door to Kyle’s cell was open. And her brother was in trouble. Makerah stood over him, prepared to finish off her brother.
“Banzai!” Fatima shouted, dropping Earthbones and setting her spear. She charged forward.
She raced through the diamond antechamber, passing the concubines dueling the homunculi. Fire burned at the tip of her spear, bright and hot. She burst into Kyle’s cell. Makerah looked up in surprise. Her spear plunged into his chest.
Makerah became water.
Fatima didn’t hit any resistance like she expected, her spear sliding through the Marid’s liquid body. She tripped on Kyle and fell through Makerah’s watery form, falling to the floor on the other side drenched. She didn’t like that. The water pulled off of her as Makerah reformed his figure.
She used her fire to warm her body. Steam flashed around her as she rolled to her feet. She fell into her stance, thrusting her spear with precision at Makerah. He flashed to water each time her weapon’s point found his flesh.
Britney leapt into the room, Waterclaw flashed, pulling the water off of Kyle. Her husband rose, freed from the Marid’s watery grip.
“Summon Earthbones, big bro!” Fatima shouted as she worked through her katas, her spear forms, driving Makerah back towards the wall.
Fumi shot a green arrow at Christy and Fatima’s mother, pulling Christy away from the murderous rage in her mother’s eyes. “She’s possessed by Hecate!” Christy screamed. “Watch out!”
Fumi screamed as an unspoken spell struck her, wracking her body. She fell to the floor in convulsions. “This is getting meddlesome!” Hecate snarled.
A great anger boiled inside Fatima. Her mother was possessed by that hate-filled Goddess. She stabbed harder at Makerah.
“Kyle!” Aaliyah shouted, rushing into the room.
“You need to get out of here!” Kyle called out. “It’s dangerous.”
“No!” Fatima declared. “We’re finishing this today! You’ll be the Sultan, big bro!”
Fatima had Makerah backed into the corner, Ann and Kayleah—her two concubines—joining the attack. Petite Ann danced, her strawberry-blonde hair flying as she kicked and punched, enhanced by Christy.
“He is not the Sultan!” raged Makerah. “No insect can lead the Djinn! I am the Sultan!”
Water exploded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fatima was hit by a wave of water, throwing her and the two concubines back away from the Marid. Mad rage swam in Makerah’s eyes. Water spouted from all around him. It was chaos in the room. Concubines were hit by the lashing water, sent sprawling as Makerah strode across the room. Other concubines swarmed towards Faiza. But Kyle’s mother was possessed by Hecate. The dark goddess cast her spells with ease, and Kyle’s concubines were falling unconscious or were wracked by pain.
“Ishtar, come to our aide against your dark foe!” chanted Phillipa as she and Sable strode into the room.
Kyle reached out with his powers and commanded Earthbones to his hand as Makerah advanced on him. The sword flashed to life in his hand, shining with gold light. He fell into his stance, cutting the lashing water that the Marid threw at him.
“You will submit to my will!” Makerah cackled, driving back Toni and Alexina as they tried to leap on him from behind.
“I should have killed you in the throne room,” Kyle growled. “This time I’ll make sure I finish the job.”
He advanced on Makerah, swinging his sword. He reached out to the diamond walls, commanding them. Unlike sapphire, diamond couldn’t resist his telepathic command. Shields appeared, ripped from the walls and floors, deflecting Makerah’s watery attacks.
Makerah hissed in frustration. Kyle closed with his foe, hacking with his sword. He knew the truth. His sword could hurt Makerah even in his watery form. He believed it and his sword shone with the strength of his conviction.
The Unbound Marid howled in pain as Kyle’s sword found flesh. Blood streamed down the Marid’s body. But the wounds did not slow him. He cackled, his watery attacks coming faster, battering into the diamond shields that whirled about Kyle.
“I am so much more than any Marid!” Makerah cried out. “I have been transformed by Hecate! Perfected!”
Kyle groaned. “She made you her familiar?”
“Yes!”
“So you’re her slave? I thought you said you were the Sultan?”
“I am not her slave!” Another gout of water exploded from the Marid. Kyle’s shields barely held back the tide. Shannon screamed in pain as she was caught in the tidal explosion and was sent crashing into a wall. Kyle hoped her enhancements would protect her.
“All familiars are slaves!” Kyle laughed. “I know. I have a bunch of familiars!”
“That’s right!” gasped Shannon, forcing herself to rise. “I’m Master’s familiar! I’m his slave! Just like you are, Marid!”
“I AM NO SLAVE!”
Water slapped into one of Kyle’s diamond shields, knocking the chunk of translucent wall out of the air. The angry Marid channeled his ferocity into his attacks on Kyle, slapping shield after shield out of the sky. Water billowed around him, lashing at him from every direction.
Kyle didn’t have the reflexes to stop all these attacks. Makerah left himself completely open, pouring all his energy into killing Kyle. Chyna, Toni, and Shannon took the opportunity to attack the Unbound, landing powerful kicks and punches on the Marid. But Makerah ignored them. All the Unbound cared about was Kyle’s death.
Pain cracked across Kyle’s leg. A tendril of water slammed into him with the force of a semi-truck. His thighbone snapped, a jagged piece of bone splintering out the side of his thigh. Kyle fell hard, screaming in pain.
Water lashed down onto his chest. Ribs cracked. Pain erupted. Another tendril fell. And another. His body was broken. His ribs crushed. He coughed blood. It hurt to breath. His lungs felt heavy, filling up with his blood.
Kyle’s sword fell from his hand.
“Master!” Shannon cried out in fear.
“Brother!” Fatima snarled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christy was battered by Hecate’s spells, reeling back before the Goddess’s power. Phillipa and Sable’s spells helped, but none of them were a match for the Goddess’s awesome strength. Christy wasn’t even sure how her wards were still standing. She had been stripped of her amulet, the focus for her power.
But Ishtar’s power still rushed into her, building in her stomach. Growing. The memory of suckling at the goddess’s breast, Ishtar’s mother milk pouring down into her hungry stomach, consumed Christy. It had been so intimate to suckle from the Goddess. She had been adopted by the Goddess, made a part of Ishtar’s flesh.
I’ve been prepared for this moment. Christy’s hazel eyes widened. Ishtar and Hecate had long been rivals, each disagreeing on how magic should be used. Christy always assumed Ishtar rescued her that terrible day as part of the Goddesses ongoing feud. What if it was for this exact moment. To see Hecate defeated.