Chapter 15: Vengeance

"He is dead Troy. I saw him fall," Brynar said sadly, as he hung his head. "We will organize warriors and go recover the bodies at first light. If we go now the night life will just kill more of us."

"But I saw the Jeg carry him away!" Troy shouted.

"You saw the Jeg carry away a dead body," said Brynar. Troy was finally convinced as Kathy and Suzie agreed, to go into the jungle that night would only be suicide, and just to recover a body if it could even be found. They all went in the stockade heads hanging low at the loss of their friend.

The cat tore through the jungle at a ground-eating pace and later that night he sensed and then saw the clearing around the stockade approach. Just short of the clearing, he stopped and rippled into his human form. He ran to the gate and identified himself to the guards. He was ushered in. Kathy, Suzie, and Troy met him. Both women smothered him with kisses while Troy pounded him on the back. Suzie pointed her finger at him and his wounds began to heal even as she hugged him and kissed him once more. When their welcome finally wore down, they looked at his face, which seethed with anger.

"What is wrong?" Suzie asked. He told them the story and watched as they too first became sad and then angry. Troy turned and walked to the Chief's hut to request that warriors go with them to kill as many Jegs as possible. The three-team members looked at each other in question, as Troy's voice coming out of the hut became an angry shout. At last, he stormed out his face flushed in anger. He walked past them without saying a word and began preparing his weapons in order to leave at first light.

Kathy finally got him to talk and he shocked them by saying, "The Chief knows about the women prisoners, not how they are used and tortured but about them. In fact, he provides two women each full moon to them in return for their not attacking the stockade. He refuses to provide warriors to attack those brutal things."

"Now," Kurt seethed, "I for one am going to return and kill as many of those brutes as I can. I may die trying but I intend to kill a lot of them before I do."

"We intend to join you," They all stated at once.

They all gathered their weapons and marched across the courtyard toward the gate. Soliee and Brynar, with smiles on their faces, walked toward them to congratulate Kurt once more on his safe return. The four stormed past them not speaking and their smiles vanished as Kurt walking past turned his head and glared at them.

Upon reaching the gate, Troy shouted at the guard, "Open this gate, NOW!" When it was opened, the four members walked across the clearing, and disappeared into the jungle.

Soliee and Brynar looked at each other in question, wondering what had made their friends so mad. Soliee had seen Troy leave his father's hut so he went to see him to find out what their conversation had involved. Brynar standing outside heard a shouting match ensue within the hut. Soliee stormed out the door and walked over to Brynar. He told him to gather as many warriors, and weapons as possible, then meet him by the gate, and hurry. Confused, Brynar still did as he was told; after all, it was the Chief's son who had done the telling.

As Brynar hurried away to comply, Soliee turned and entered the hut once more and more shouting commenced. Finally, he stormed out and went toward the gate. He was pleasantly surprised to see nearly a hundred warriors gathered there waiting. Brynar told him that he had left only a few behind to guard the compound. Soliee nodded and they marched out the gate. One of the warriors was picked as a tracker and soon found the teams trail.

As they followed it, Soliee told Brynar what had transpired. "My father will answer for this when and if we return. Right now though, four of our friends are going to take on all the Jeg. We must hurry to help them." They hurried on in silence.

Kurt led the way and the rest of the team followed in silence. By afternoon, they were approaching the camp of the Jegs. They crept up in the bushes silently and looked out on the clearing just in time to see a blue beast/woman slit open the belly of another pregnant Salta woman.

A hole appeared between the eyes of the beast/woman. As she dropped, her two assistants turned and two crossbow bolts buried themselves in their left eye sockets. These two dropped also. Nearly one hundred Jegs charged the team and fifty more poured from the cave. Kathy raised both hands and flames leaped from her hands. The twenty Jegs leading the pack burst into flames. Suzie pointed the pistols at them and cut apart five more. She then pointed her finger at Kathy and replenished her with strength. She turned to the fifty charging from the cave and cut down five more.

The Jegs spread out. In quick bursts of flame, Kathy set five more on fire. Suzie dropped five more by the cave. Arrows drilled into ones by the cave each one dead center in an eye socket dropping eight more. Two of the beasts charged Kathy from the side, she was unaware of them, but they dropped far short of their goal as arrows stopped them both. Kathy momentarily pointed her hands toward the cave and ten more Jegs burst into flames. Suzie cut five more apart with her pistols and then five more.

"Suzie help Kathy hold back the main body and we will finish the ones still by the cave!" Kurt hollered.

Suzie stepped to Kathy's side and replenished her strength once more. Troy and Kurt rippled into cat form and tore into those by the cave with fierce growls, ripping claws, and fangs. Kathy waved her arms from left to right, flames leaping from her fingers. Ten more of the beasts burst into flames. Suzie replenished Kathy's strength one more time, sinking to her knees in exhaustion as she did so. She aimed her pistols and dropped three more Jegs.

The Jegs charged the women and grouped together as they did so, with one final burst Kathy set twenty more on fire. She sunk to her knees also. Over thirty Jegs were charging toward the exhausted women. Kurt ripped apart the last of the beasts by the cave and they both turned to charge into the ones attacking the women knowing that they would loose but intending to sell their lives dearly.

There was a loud roar of combined voices as nearly one hundred warriors rushed from the jungle and attacked the Jegs from the side. Spears rained through the air and ten more of the beasts dropped. The Salta warriors crashed into the Jegs and joined the battle. Kurt and Troy bounded over to Kathy and Suzie and changed into humans once more. They picked up their crossbows and stood in front of the two women protecting them. Their crossbows twanged and sent bolts into any Jegs not mixed among the warriors. Finally the last Jeg fell.

Kurt and Troy walked to the cave and into its entrance. There were the three remaining beast /women guarding the brood of nearly fifty Small Jegs and Blue beasts. With a snarl, they faced the human intruders and then charged.