Chapter 47: Sle'tu

The next day with the exception of Emma, the team gathered in front of the tent.

"I thought about it some more last night and I think we will pay a little visit to the winged men. Kate and Ava you stay here with Em. The rest of you will be going with me. Becka, Isha, Shakti and Roxy you go with me. Kyle, Eliana, Xenos and Caprice you are going in the other air car. Kyle, I want someone else to fly besides you. I want you free to use your fire ability if needed. My aircar is probably going to end up landed in front of the castle gate. Kyle, I want your aircar to stay airborne and cover us. I'll just have to work out the details as the situation calls for," Stan said and then asked for questions.

The two aircars rose into the sky and the passengers waved goodbye to those remaining behind. A short time later they were hovering over the castle. Stan's aircar descended until he was low enough to lean over the side and speak to the guards on the castle walls.

"Tell Am'tu that I am coming to see him. Tell him I and several members of my team will be coming through the front gate and any attempts to stop us will be dealt with harshly. Tell him I wish to talk about my team member who was brutalized within his walls. Tell him now and tell him I come," Stan said and nodded to Roxy that she should land.

When they set down Stan, Isha, Becka and Shakti climbed out of the aircar. "Go back up and standby with the other aircar," Stan told Roxy. The four of them then turned and walked toward the ruined gate. When they had approached to within a few paces of the entrance a man stepped forward.

"Halt. You are forbidden to advance further," he said.

"Are you going to stop us?" Stan sneered and with that he leveled his rifle and squeezed the trigger.

The man's knees shook as part of the stone wall beside him crumbled and fell to his feet. "The next shot will be aimed at you and not the wall," Stan said. "Now no more delays. Take us to see Am'tu or should I call up to those aircars above our heads and have the whole castle engulfed in fire and destroyed?" Stan shouted and glared at the man.

"Follow me," he said with a gulp and turning, led the way across the square and into the palace where he relinquished them to two palace guards after a quick conversation. As they had crossed the square they saw that two more women had been put on crosses and branded like the first one they had spotted.

"Wait here," one of the guards said. "I will see if the King wishes to grant you an audience," he finished.

"We wait briefly while you announce us but you must understand this is not a request. We will talk to Am'tu and we will not await his whim. Now go and announce us and tell him we are coming." The guard turned and quickly went through the door.

The second guard looked at them and then said to Stan, "Why are these women armed? Women are never permitted to be armed. You may be granted an audience but women are not permitted into the throne room unless they are properly restrained and they will certainly not be permitted in while armed."

"Just try and take my weapons away," Shakti said to him and glared.

Stan quickly diffused the tense situation by saying, "we are from a different place and our women carry arms. If you try to take their arms away they will kill you. Just pretend they are men." Stan chuckled at his last statement.

"Ok we have waited long enough. Shakti, Becka," Stan said and glanced at the guard. Before he could even begin to react the guard found himself disarmed and helpless in the grasp of the two women with a knife pressed to his throat. Isha kicked the doors of the waiting room open wide and the five of them stepped into the throne room. Shakti took her knife from the guard's throat and placed her boot against his butt. With a forceful shove she sent him sprawling to his face in front of Am'tu.

They took in the scene in a glance. Am'tu was seated on his throne with Ka'al standing beside him. The first guard was bowed with his forehead pressed to the floor at the bottom step of the raised dais the throne sat on. On each side of Am'tu a woman knelt in robes that covered her completely leaving only her eyes exposed. Each wore a collar which was attached to a heavy chain and secured to a solid looking ring set in the floor.

Am'tu jumped to his feet, "What is the meaning of this intrusion? I did not give my permission for you to enter. You can not enter my throne room without I the king's permission first," Am'tu said as he huff and puffed, working himself into a frenzy.

"Sit down and shut the fuck up Am'tu. I do not answer to you nor do I have to ask your permission to do anything. What I have to say to you and your answers are a matter of life and death ... your life or death and your people's life and death."

"What do you want? The prisoner is no longer here. She has escaped."

"She did not escape. She was rescued by my people. She had been horribly tortured. She may not live," Stan lied about the last. "The one responsible must pay for his crimes," Stan said.

"I can not do that. He is my son," Am'tu returned.

Stan bristled in anger. "Your son forfeited his privileges as a king's son and his very right to exist when he tortured my team member that way." Stan shouted.

Isha spoke to Stan rapidly in the Zaflan language and Stan in turn addressed Am'tu. "My teammate has offered a solution that will spare the lives of many and I will defer to her wishes. Your Son must fight her in the square to the death. If he is victorious, we will leave and not bother you further nor will we seek retribution for the torture he performed on my other teammate. If she is victorious you will change your ways as we tell you to."

"What chance does he have against your weapons that kill from afar? That is not a fair fight," Am'tu said.

Isha unstrapped her pistol and handed it and her rifle to Becka. "I will fight him using only my sword and knife," she said.

"None of you will interfere? Even when my son kills her?" Am'tu asked.

"You have my word," Stan answered.

"Then I agree," Am'tu said.

"But father..." Ka'al began and the team members saw the fear in his eyes.

"Silence I have spoken," Am'tu interrupted.

"Father you don't understand, they have..." Ka'al attempted again only to have Am'tu interrupt him again.

"Silence I say. You may be my son but I am still the king so you will obey. She may be armed but she is still just a mere woman and you are one of my most highly trained warriors. You will kill her and these strangers will leave us once and for all. I am the king and this is my decision."

He rose, clapped his hands and the two guards got to their feet. They unfastened the chains that attached to the floor rings and gave their ends to the King. Another clap of his hands summoned an additional ten guards to the room.

He addressed the two woman at his sides, "You will now see how foolish it is to arm women and you will know that women will never be equal to men," he boasted and looked at the three female team members as he did. The procession headed for the square with six of the guards surrounding Stan and his teammates.

As they walked out into the square Stan spoke to Isha in Zaflan. "Isha I know you are very angry at Ka'al for what he did to Em. We all are. I want you to kill him and I want you to humiliate him and make him suffer while you are doing it but don't play with him too long because I don't trust him. He impresses me as a tricky bastard and when he sees how easily you could defeat him he is liable to try anything. I also don't trust Am'tu to keep his word so be ready to fight our way out of here."

"Thanks Stan. At least you are confident I can defeat him," Isha said with a smile.

"If I was not confident you could beat him I would never have agreed to your plan," Stan said and returned her smile.