Chapter 45: The Rescue

As the last winged man flew out of range the team broke from cover. Six of them rushed into the surrounding jungle to make sure there were no more attackers hidden there. Ava, Eliana and Becka began to hurriedly take down the tent room while Stan, Kyle and Kate discussed strategies.

In minutes the camp disassembly was finished and the group returned from the jungle to say that no more winged men were left in the immediate area. Ava looked at Stan with an unspoken question and deep concern for her sister written all over her face.

"If there is any way possible we will get her back Ava. Alive if possible but we will make them pay dearly if she is dead," Stan promised. "I don't take kindly to having a member of my team kidnapped or harmed. We will follow as soon as we can determine in which direction she was taken."

"I may have a solution to that dilemma," Kyle said. "I have been monitoring her radio and she still has it in her ear also she is still wearing the choker necklace translator we gave her. Both of these will serve nicely as direction finders. They went that direction." Kyle finished and pointed antispinward and toward the lower wall.

The team clambered aboard the aircars, took to the air and raced in the direction of Kyle's point.

Ka'al strode into the dungeon and stopped before Emma who was chained to the wall by shackles that were attached to her wrists and ankles. She was suspended about a foot off the floor.

"Wake her," Ka'al demanded of one of the three guards present. The guard took a bucket from the floor which was filled with ice cold water and pitched its contents on Emma, dousing her with water.

Emma regained conscious and spluttered as water dripped from her eyebrows, nose and the rest of her body. She opened her eyes and looked into Ka'al's.

"What a fucked up thing to see first. At least you could have wakened me to see a snake or worm first and not worm shit," Emma said looking straight at Ka'al.

Her head snapped to one side and two of her teeth came loose in her mouth at Ka'al slap that echoed through the chamber. Ugly red marks in the shape of fingers sprang into being on her cheek.

Emma was sure she was going to die but she thought maybe if she could antagonize Ka'al into a rage he would kill her quickly by accident. Blood from her missing teeth and the cut on her lip filled her mouth. She spit the blood out right in Ka'al face and insulted him more.

"Is that the best you can do worm shit. Slap a helpless insignificant woman. I'm surprised you didn't have someone else do it because you might injure your delicate female hands."

Ka'al seethed in barely controlled anger as in a low malevolent voice he said, "Take her to the play room but not before you break both of her shin bones."

Emma hung helpless as two metal cylinders were fitted around her lower legs. A small metal wheel was located on the outside of each cylinder. Emma bit her lip but finally screamed in agony as the wheels were turned one at a time tightening the bands inside the cylinder until they crushed her fibula and tibia in four different places on each leg. Her nerve system shut down and she blacked out.

She awoke with a start as another bucket of ice water was poured over her. As she became aware once more she found herself lying face up on a table. Straps had been placed on her upper and lower legs and arms along with another just under her breasts. She could not move. She could sense that the cylinders had been removed from her legs. Her nerves had reduced the pain from them to a dull ache but she knew her legs were broken.

"Ah ready to continue I see," Ka'al said as he leaned into her view.

"You won't be needing this," he said and with his knife he cut the straps and between the cups of her bra top ripping it from under her and tossed it to the floor heedless of the cuts the knife had caused to her skin.

"You won't be needing this either," He said and cut her bottoms at each side of her waist. He ripped the bottoms from her and tossed them to the floor to join her top.

"Aww such pretty flame red pubic hair. We'll have to do something about that but I have other plans right now."

"I've already taken care of your legs now I will take care of your hands."

Emma watched as gloves were placed on each of her hands. When they were on, water was poured over each of her hands. To her horror and pain the gloves began to shrink crushing her hand and fingers as they did until they dried. They fit tight like a second skin on her now useless and broken hands when they stopped shrinking.

"I guess you won't be able to dance around and wield a sword anymore will you. Not that I intend to give you a chance to do that. Now I will take care of that pretty patch of hair that covers your womanhood," Ka'al said.

"Fuck you. You sadistic shit. You may be able to destroy my body and eventually take my life but you can never change the fact that you are worm shit and a coward on top of that," Emma said through gritted teeth.

Ka'al glared at her and then using his knife began to scrape her pubic hair off causing numerous cuts as he did. When he had finished her bare but blood soaked pussy was exposed for him to see.

"My, my such a pretty pussy. Maybe I will let my soldiers' use it before I have it sewed closed. How many warriors can I get down here? Maybe fifty or so. Would you like that? Would you like to service fifty of my warriors' slut? Who knows maybe you would enjoy it," he spoke and leered at her.

"As long as you are not one of them Ka'al but then I forget that you are not a man and therefore you probably can't even get it up," Emma taunted.

Ka'al leaned close to her ear to whisper more cruel words just in time to hear a voice in Emma ear shout.

"For God's sake shut the fuck up Emma. We are on our way to rescue you but you must stay alive until we can get it done," Stan's voice spoke in her ear mic.

Emma smiled at the same time as Ka'al jumped back. "What is this? How can your friends be here and yet not here at the same time?" Ka'al almost shrieked. He looked closer in her ear and spotted the tiny radio. He dug it out threw it on the floor and crushed it. He was too late though because Kyle already had a fix on the location.

"Sew her pussy closed so that none can ever use her and mark her with the fire," he ordered the two guards. "I must take care of other business right now," he finished.

Ka'al vanished from sight and his receding steps told Emma he had left the room. The two guards followed his orders but not before each of them raped her. Emma cried out in pain as one guard began to sew the folds of her labia together tightly. The other guard had stepped from her view.

"Scream all you wish no one will hear you," the guard said as he stepped back in to sight carrying a rod. On the end of the rod the letter K was encircled. The rod was white hot.

"This is how Ka'al marks his females," the guard said but usually only once on their left buttock cheek. "You however he wants marked all over so that when others see your body they will know of Ka'al's fury.

"Lets start here shall we," the guard and pressed the hot brand to the tender flesh of Emma's stomach. She passed out after the third brand. When the hot brand cooled and not longer burned the mark of K into her flesh the guard heated it again. When he was finished she had been branded in over a dozen places including her breasts, stomach, inner and outer thighs, her butt cheeks and directly above her clit.

The guards unstrapped her from the table and dumped Emma's broken, mutilated body on the floor of a cold dank cell. She sprawled there unmoving looking like a broken doll. They were secure in the knowledge that she would be going nowhere on two broken legs. The guards closed and locked the cell door They would check on her in a couple of days to make sure she was dead and then display her body in the town square for all to see what happened to those who opposed their prince.

Stan spotted the castle in the distance and ordered the aircars to a halt. The guards at the castle took no note of the two dots that hung in the air at the very extreme of their vision. This was not the case on the aircars as multiple eyes studied the castle through vision glasses.

"Bring us slightly closer and maintain max altitude," Stan ordered Kyle.

"You got it chief tell me when," Kyle said and began to slowly move closer with the other aircar following, while Stan and others of his team studied the castle details.

"Stop. Hold right here," Stan said.

They were high enough that they could look into the castle and see inside the walls. They saw many warriors lounging around in the shade and others who were probably females that were garbed in robes that covered them from the top of their heads to their ankles. In one corner small versions of the winged men were practicing sword play. These were more than likely male children.

Kate halted the sweep of her glasses and studied a form that was hanging from a type of cross that was in the form of an X in the center of the square. The vision automatically dialed in focus and Kate swore under her breath. She was looking at a person that had appeared to be female. The person was naked and pinned to the X by stakes driven through her hands and ankles holding her spread eagle. Her wings had been cut off leaving only short stumps on her back.

Kate's glasses continued to bring the sight into clearer focus and she pointed out what she was studying to the others. Kate had to look again and then cursed once more.

"Oh you sick fucks," she said out loud.

Stan focused in and saw what Kate was cussing about. The woman had a spike driven through her womanhood and her belly just above her pussy was branded with the words, no males from this womb. Judging from the large puddle of dried blood on the ground below her she was probably dead but just as probably she had been alive when she was mounted to the X.

"If they do that to their own females what must they have done to Emma?" She asked of no one in particular. Shakti studied the robed figures closer and saw that each one of them had twin lumps on her back.

"I think all the females have their wings clipped. Probably to prevent escape," Shakti said.

Stan removed his eyes from his vision glasses and took a minute to submerge his anger. He glanced at Ava who was pale as a ghost.

"If they have harmed Emma we bring these beings to their knees. I promise you they will pay," Stan said through gritted teeth.

"Eliana did you notice the large pool of water in the square. It is sunken down to what I believe is the same level as the surrounding water. Now I don't think these people are advanced enough to have pumps that fill it so I wonder..."

"You wonder if there is an underground source to fill the pool that I could swim through and gain access inside the castle walls," Eliana finished for him.

"Yes," Stan said simply.

"Can you get a little closer and let me swim over there to see? I can swim from this distance but it will take longer," Eliana asked.

"Eliana we don't know what kind of sea life there is," Stan cautioned.

"That's just a chance we will have to take Stan besides I'm a big girl and I can handle myself," Eliana answered.

"Be careful Eliana," Stan cautioned further.

"I'll be fine Dad," Eliana said with a grin and then leaned over and kissed Stan saying "Thanks for worrying just the same."

"Kyle drop down to just above the water surface and go closer. I think as fast as we can go will lessen the chance of being spotted. Stop when Eliana gives the word," Stan said.

When they were about a mile away and behind a small island Eliana told Kyle to stop.

"See you soon," Eliana said and dived overboard.

Her sword and rifle would hamper her so she wore only her knife and pistol. With strong strokes she swam toward the castle coming to the surface several times to check her progress. During her swim she spotted several ominous shapes in the distance but nothing she felt she could not handle.

Kyle had retreated behind the small island and Stan listened for Eliana's radio contact. The other aircar had come up to join them.

"Stan I'm at the shore of the castle island. It's very rocky as we surmised. I am going to start looking for underwater caves now and will stay in contact if possible. If you don't hear from me for a while don't worry though," Eliana finished and started swimming around the island.

After following several false caves she spotted one that had a metal screen in front of it. Drawing her pistol she burned through it in minutes. She radio Stan with an update and told him she would talk to him more soon. Eliana swam into the tunnel on the other side of the grate and had not gone very before she saw unmistakable signs that the tunnel had been extended artificially. She continued to swim and then spotted light ahead. She also spotted a smaller tunnel that led off to one side. Eliana swam toward the light and stopped just short of entering the pool.

I wonder where that side tunnel leads, she thought. Eliana doubled back to its entrance and swam in. This tunnel was smaller but still plenty big enough to accommodate her. She spotted a dim light ahead and came to a fine mesh metal screen. It was again the work of but a few minutes to burn her way through. She swam toward the surface at one edge of the pool and broke the surface silently. She was in a chamber carved out of solid rock and empty at the present. Eliana looked around and saw three doors, two on opposite walls and one in the center of one of the longer walls. She took a few minutes to get her bearings and then smiled.