Chapter 54

I didn't know where the information came from, but I knew she was a Tarqa. Oh my God! That was what Bandor thought Sammi was when she kicked his butt and released Amy in Iraq, when he had said 'What have you done? You have released one of those? Are you crazy? Do you know what you have done? It will destroy us all!' I didn't know much about whom they were or what they were. The information I was processing I knew came from the white energy. I relaxed a little. What I had heard about the Tarqa told me that Bandor had not brought nearly enough men; not to take on a Tarqa. This might not even be a fair fight.

She put her finger up to her lips. No shit, lady! Duh! Then she held up one finger pointing to herself, then another finger and pointed to the other room. Just to make sure I didn't miss it, she held up two fingers and pointed to herself and then to the other room. Two Tarqas?!? I relaxed and stopped worrying completely. The Ancient Prophecy didn't need ME to sort this one out! It didn't even need my girls for this battle. 'They' must have been bored; from the little I knew, two Tarqas were overkill for this job! We must be really special to someone.

I watched carefully as she glided smoothly towards me. The guards never even knew she was there as she passed each one. I looked closely at her face as she slipped towards me. She was pretty. She reminded me of someone I knew. She was smiling, almost laughing as she approached me. It was obvious she was having a good time, and was looking forward to an even better time. She reminded me of Amy in that respect. I looked at her eyes, then looked closer in surprise. Her eyes were not flat and devoid of all expression. Maybe that would kick in later, but with all Bandor's men around, she should have been in 'Amy mode' already, even if they couldn't see her. I looked into her eyes and almost fell in love right there. She had the prettiest gray eyes I had ever seen. I realized who she reminded me of; she looked a lot like Cindi. I couldn't tell if her hair was blonde, but other than that, she looked a lot like her. She was older, however; she wasn't a teenager. She had eyes like Sammi.

She slipped over next to me and touched my cheek softly with her hand. It was a very touching, intimate gesture. I felt my legs almost collapse, it was so touching and sexy. Then she wrapped her arm around mine and kissed me on the cheek. God, I think I did love her! She put her mouth near my ear and started whispering to me. I almost missed what she said, her warm breath was so exciting.

"We're going to take all these men out for you. Ok?" She giggled softly. God! Duh? No, please don't, I want to suffer and die! I was concerned, though. First of all, for the snotty things I was thinking about her. Strangely enough, though, mind reading didn't seem to be an ability she had.

"Are you sure you can take care of them all? I would hate to see you killed when I've only just met you," I told her expressing my second concern. She laughed merrily and I cursed to myself. Here I was about to die and I was flirting with a woman I had never seen before, while my future wife was in as much mortal danger as I was. I really wanted to hear her voice; it was hard to tell what she sounded like when she was just whispering.

"Oh, I could take them all by myself, but with the two of us, it's a sure deal. Don't you worry your cute little head about that." She smiled softly at me. Was she flirting with me?

"How can I ever thank you?" I asked. I wasn't just flirting this time; I was truly grateful.

"You already have, Patrick, many times over. However, if you insist on one more thank you..." She slipped her arms around my neck, lifted her lips to mine, and kissed me. Hard, long, and passionately. Well, not really that long; she knew she had to go to work soon. I think I would have fallen if she wasn't holding me up. As soon as I could breathe again, I started to feel guilty.

"That's my fiancé over there. I guess I shouldn't be flirting with you and kissing you. I'm sorry," I said regretfully. I was, too. I didn't know who this woman was, but she had really touched me. I wondered if Megan would let me have another woman in the family! Mostly she gave me girls.

"Oh, Megan won't mind. She kinda gave me permission to do this long time ago," she giggled. She looked at me closely, with a surprised little smile on her face. My mind really perked up at that. I knew her? Who was she?

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" She asked seriously. The she looked embarrassed. "Of course you don't! With this hat on, all dressed in black, and whispering so you can't really hear my voice. Look, we really don't have much time here. Close your eyes." She instructed. I did. I heard her doing some things with her clothes. Then she kissed me again. I kissed her back, enjoying every bit of it, not thinking about anything, just enjoying the kiss. Just as she started to move her lips away, a bomb exploded in my mind. Oh my God!! Oh my God!! No fucking way! My eyes flew open, and I stared directly into Elizabeth's pretty gray eyes, her blond curly hair hanging softly down her back.

"Wha... ? Elizabeth?!? Oh my God, Elizabeth?!? But... but... you're..." No wonder I felt almost in love with her. I was in love with her; had been for years.

"Dead? I'm called Liz now. Listen to me; I have to go to work and save your ass... again! Patrick, you have to stay with Megan. You two are meant for each other. She will be devastated by what has happened here today. She will cancel your wedding. Stay there, stay with her, and be there for her. You must! You two are meant for each other. Don't desert her. She will come back to you, I promise. Stay with her. She will die if you're not there when she comes back to herself. If you give up on her, I will come back and do to you what I am going to do to these guys. I mean it. Be there for her; no matter what she does, remember she truly loves you." Elizabeth grabbed me and gave me a kiss that curled my toes. "The patch on your neck... look into your mind with your white energy. Go to coordinates 143, 11, 29. You will see two 'switches' there. Use your white energy to flip the first one the opposite way. That will terminate the draining effect, and by the time I am done here, you will have regained any energy you have lost. Set your white energy on the second switch. As soon as Bandor dies and explodes, flip that one also. You'll like the effect. I love you, Patrick. I always have and I always will. You will never know what an honor it is to save your life, twice now. Please don't forget me. Oh, and watch the door there for your other surprise!"

"Wait! What about you? If you're alive, Megan..."

"I'm dead, remember? Stay with Megan! You must!"

She kissed me again quickly, then pulled her arms from around my neck, slipped away a few yards, and while still looking at me, smiling with love, shot the two guys in the head that were about to attach patches to Amy's and Cindi's necks. I heard the soft 'pfft' of the silencer. They fell to the ground, and all hell broke loose as it became obvious that Elizabeth was now visible.

Elizabeth had moved away so as to not catch me in the crossfire. As I looked at her, as she started 'doing her job' as she put it, her position put me where I could look directly into Amy's eyes as the man reached over to attach her patch, just before Elizabeth shot him. What I saw broke my heart.

Amy was panic-stricken. I could see the panic, the horror in her eyes. She was falling apart. I had never seen her so helpless, so close to giving up. The closest I had ever seen to this was in the last cycle when Cindi had died, and this was worse than that. Much worse. She knew that she had mere minutes before her world came to an end, and she was almost hysterical. She knew that Bandor would suck her powers out of her, leaving her a weak shell. She also knew that, when he was done modifying her mind, sex with him would become the center of her universe. She would be addicted, and she wouldn't even think of me anymore. She would follow him around like a puppy, begging him to fuck her. And then she would have his baby. To say she was terrified, horrified, was an understatement. I knew Bandor was enjoying this. He had reduced the two loves of my life to nothing in mere minutes. I saw Cindi talking to her softly, trying to keep her calm. She didn't seem to be very upset for someone who was about to be reduced to nothing also. Then I saw her look over at me out of the corner of her eye, and I realized with a sense of shock why she was not as upset as Amy. Her look was unmistakable — she could see Elizabeth! The look in her eyes told me she knew exactly what a Tarqa was. It told me something else even more shocking, but I didn't have time to figure out what right now.

I was still looking into Amy's eyes when she suddenly saw her Mother and she saw the two men fall to the ground, dead. I watched her eyes open as wide as saucers, then blink rapidly as her brain processed the sound of the bullet whizzing by an inch from her head. I saw the panic and horror disappear as if it were never there, replaced by excitement. She saw the patch bounce at her feet as it dropped from his nerveless fingers. I saw the tears in her eyes as she wished she could be there with her Mom. She saw at least ten men converge on Elizabeth. Amy remembered well the time she had taken on ten men in the camp in the last cycle. She longed to be next to her Mom, to teach her how to do it. I saw the new horror on her face as she prepared to watch her Mom die. Again. I saw the expression on her face; she wanted to teach her Mom how to do it.

Amy looked on in awe as her Mom taught her how it was done instead. The look in Amy's eyes clearly told me that she knew she was way out of her league. She hungrily watched every move Elizabeth made, drinking it in, learning at her Mother's knee. Amy didn't know what a Tarqa was, had never even heard of one before (I found out a little later that might not have been true), but she would never forget what her Mom taught her that day.

I looked over at Victoria, to see how she was taking the sudden appearance of Elizabeth. I saw her wide open eyes staring, but not at Elizabeth. I shifted my eyes just in time to see Robert walk through the door, firing his weapons as he walked into the room. I saw him mouth 'I love you' to Victoria as he looked at her, and I saw her burst into tears as she looked at the man she had already lost once before.

The techniques of Elizabeth and Robert were completely different. Elizabeth eagerly waded into a knot of at least ten men, her eyes bright and happy, laughing as she went, forcing the issue. I cringed as I saw her head into their midst; there was only one way I could see that this would end. I looked over at Robert, wondering why he was not moving to help her. He just calmly walked through the room, shooting everything that moved. Since we couldn't move, it was easy. He didn't even need to check his targets; if it moved, he killed it. Elizabeth was his sister; I knew he wouldn't just leave her to die. He knew Elizabeth well; they had obviously worked together before. He knew she didn't need his help. I wondered briefly about all those times she hadn't come home when she had the chance. I looked back at her to see what I had missed, what Robert knew that I didn't. I looked back just in time.

After she shot the two men near Amy and Cindi, Elizabeth ran full speed towards the largest group of men she could see. She holstered her guns briefly as she put her hair into a ponytail as she ran, slipping it through one of those little cloth bands to hold it in place. She looked like she was heading for a run in the park, and looked like she would enjoy it much more. I distinctly heard her tinkling bell-like laugh as she reached them, pulling her guns out again.

She leaped into the air, performing the splits as she kicked two men in the head, one with each foot. As she pivoted in the air, she shot two other men, without even looking at them. She hit the ground, pivoted with her right leg out, sweeping the feet out from under the next man. She shot him in the head as he fell, planted her foot and kicked the next man in the chest. I heard his back break as he hit the wall.

I saw a man behind her grab her arm. She pivoted, throwing the gun in her right hand as high into the air as she could. I watched it out of the corner of my eye as it rose to just inches below the ceiling and then started its fall back down. Meanwhile, she pinned the man's hand against her arm, and yanked down, breaking or dislocating his collarbone. It only hurt for a second before she grabbed his head and snapped his neck. She grabbed the arm of the second man that reached for her and dropped her shoulder, lifting him and throwing him over her. She shot him in the chest with her other gun as he arched over her, then calmly reached out and caught the falling gun in her hand. She turned and shot two men that were closing on Robert. She laughed merrily as he shot her an 'I can take care of my own, thank you very much!' look, smiling to show her he was kidding. She negligently, almost lazily shot the last two men around her right between the eyes.

Suddenly, she was surrounded by dead bodies. Elizabeth had always been easily bored, so she decided to switch tactics. She seemed to like Robert's technique, and she just walked calmly through the room, shooting everything that moved. Bodies were falling everywhere. I held my breath as I watched Elizabeth run out of bullets in both guns at once.

That was what the men had been waiting for. The battle had been going on all of 30-40 seconds so far, and Elizabeth had already killed 18 men. Robert had taken out about half that many. That still left a lot of men. As they saw her start to reload, six jumped her at once. It was a mistake they would never learn from.

Elizabeth laughed aloud in sheer delight, dropped both of the now useless guns to the floor, and swung into action. She grabbed one man around the head and twisted, snapping his neck. She immediately let him go, and slashed the edge of her hand across the throat of another, shattering his larynx. Neither one had fallen to the floor yet when she leapt straight up into the air, kicking two men in the chest. As she landed, one of the remaining men pointed his gun at her. She grabbed his gun hand, pushed it into the stomach of the other man, and pulled the trigger. She then broke the gun wielder's arm, twisted it into his own stomach, and emptied the magazine into him. She let go of his arm, picked her guns up off the floor, and walked away, slapping the new magazines into the guns before the last man had even hit the floor.

All of this had taken place in a very short period of time. The surprise was total, and up to this point, none of Bandor's men had even fired a shot. They had been dealing with all of us, who were paralyzed, and then only two functional people came through the door; no big deal. They were sadists, just like Bandor, and preferred to kill with their hands, looking into their victim's eyes as they died. It was about this time that they decided that was probably a bad move in this case.

The first man to draw his weapon fired at Elizabeth, hitting her dead in the chest. I saw her flinch and a brief look of pain crossed her face, and then she shot him in the face. She continued on across the room as if nothing had happened. I could only assume that Robert had made her wear a bulletproof vest. It was at that point that I was in a position to look directly into her eyes again.

They were still not flat and devoid of all expression. They were the liveliest, most cheerful, prettiest gray eyes I had ever seen, about like Sammi's when she had an orgasm. I realized with shock that I wasn't that far off. Elizabeth was having the time of her life. She was enjoying this. I saw the calmness in her eyes, along with the excitement, and my blood ran cold. I suddenly realized that Elizabeth didn't expect to survive this, didn't care if she died. I began to closely watch every move she made, knowing it might be the last memory I had of her.

The slaughter continued. The men that Bandor had brought with him were normal human thugs. There was no way they could deal with a Tarqa and probably the best Marine secret operative in the world. Or at least he would be if he wasn't dead! I was still freaked out by all of this. I saw their bodies at the funeral, damn it! It wasn't even a closed casket.

As they got down to single digits as far as men facing each one, Elizabeth gave up on the guns altogether. In a lightning series of moves, she took on the last six men. She leaped straight up into the air, spinning in a roundhouse kick, but with an added flair. She swung her legs independently as she twirled, taking out a man with each leg. She had obviously planned well what she was going to do because as she came down, she snapped each arm out violently, hitting the next two men in the face with the palms of her hands. She turned slightly and then did something that I didn't believe was possible. One of the remaining two men fired his gun at her at point blank range. My heart leaped into my throat. She calmly stepped to the side, dodging the bullet as it zipped by her face! Huh? That didn't work even in the movies! She laughed at the shocked look on his face, and probably on mine too, kicked the gun out of his hand, and spun around in a 360 again, kicking him into the wall. She grabbed the arm of the last man as he extended his gun hand to shoot her, took the gun out of his hand as she broke his wrist, and threw him through the air past Robert. Robert looked briefly at the body as it flew past him and calmly shot the man in the chest. Elizabeth laughed delightedly and mouthed 'thanks Bro' at him. 'No problem, Sis' he mouthed back and then calmly shot the last three facing him. They turned together, almost as if choreographed, and faced Bandor from across the room. I could see several bullet holes on both Elizabeth and Robert where some of Bandor's men had actually hit them. The vests had adsorbed the impact.

I watched, fascinated, as Elizabeth walked slowly over to where Bandor was standing. She flowed like a big, deadly cat. Cire came to mind. I saw the look of irritation on Bandor's face. He obviously had expected trouble or he wouldn't have brought 50 men. I don't think he ever expected to lose them all. I saw the look of irritation change to one of anger and surprise as she came close enough that he saw her face.

"Bitch!" He spit out. "What are you doing here? I heard you died. I'm going to enjoy killing you!"

"Dickhead. I guess it's up to me to put you down. I've waited a long time for this, you snake." I was suddenly scared for her. I knew Elizabeth well. I could tell from the tone of her voice, she didn't expect to win. I was a little worried about this anyway. I had not expected to see any signs of powers from Robert, but I was sure the Tarqa were members of our race. Not once during the entire fight had Elizabeth showed any signs of having powers, even the way her eyes looked. I hoped she wasn't going up against Bandor without at least shields.

Without warning, Elizabeth and Robert both brought their guns up and fired the entire clip into Bandor's face. He laughed as they bounced off his black shield.

"Do you feel better now?" He taunted them. Elizabeth gave him a cold little smile.

"I'll feel better when I cut your balls off and shove them down your throat," she answered softly. I saw Cindi cringe. She had never seen this side of her Mother. Of course, that could be said for everyone who saw Elizabeth today. I saw Amy blink her eyes rapidly, trying to get my attention. I looked down and saw her foot move slightly. Then I saw her concentrate as hard as she could. I saw a drop of blood drip out of her nose, then her foot jerked convulsively and the chip that the man had dropped when Elizabeth shot him slid over to land in front of me. I looked at her in amazement. She looked straight up with her eyes, pulling them in as far as she could, so that I could just see the whites. I quickly realized what she was telling me. I slipped my white power out as far as I could, before it hit the wall Bandor had erected. I 'saw' Amy's white and green power sneak between a chink in the wall, and race over to me, seeming to be delighted to see me. I could see the effort that Amy was making was taking a lot out of her. Then, her energy retreated and she relaxed. She looked at the patch on my neck and started crying. I wished I could tell her it didn't matter. I realized that she had been running a test with her energy. She was seeing if she could do it, and showing me she could help.

"You know you can't beat me, Elizabeth," Bandor told her, making her name sound like a cuss word. "You never could. What makes you think it's different now?" He paused and I saw something I didn't think I would ever see. Compassion from Bandor.

"Look, Elizabeth, I really do feel bad about how things have worked out between us. I didn't want to hurt you; you gave me no choice. Please... turn around and walk out of here. Don't make me kill you." Bandor really looked serious as he tried to convince her to leave. I was surprised to hear Elizabeth's answer.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I accept your apology and forgive you for what you have done to me. I always knew you didn't hurt me purposely. You just never thought of anyone but yourself. But you know I can't let you do what you are planning with these people. I have to stop you. For once, I don't look forward to it, but what has to be has to be."

"Elizabeth. You know you can't kill me. Don't kill yourself for nothing. Please." He was almost begging. She smiled sadly as she reached behind her.

"You were right about my not being able to kill you. That is, until I found this." She slipped the sword out of its scabbard and held it in front of her.

The sword was about 5 1⁄2 feet long, with a slight curve in the blade. It had a completely black edge. Occasionally, when the light was just right, a tinge of crimson was visible on the edge. The handle was black, covered with red thread that formed diamonds on the sides of the handle. Two small threads hung from the end; one had a small ornament in it, the other had a plain loop. The sheath she pulled it out of was bordering on black cherry in color, with crimson visible only under light.

"What the hell? Where... where did you find that? Who have you been hanging out with, girl?" He looked shocked.

"I see you recognize it. Good. I would hate for you to not know how you died," she told him seriously. Robert looked at her and started to say something, but stopped when she looked at him.

"It won't work, Elizabeth. There is only one person that can wield that sword. We both know that isn't you." I wondered why Bandor still looked so worried.

"I don't intend to use its full power, Bandor; just use it to kill you. I can handle that much of it."

"Last chance, Elizabeth. Turn around and walk away." I could see by the look on his face and the look in his eyes, he didn't expect her to walk. She held the sword out in front of her. Bandor sighed, and then waved his hand slightly. A sword appeared in his hand also. It appeared that the blade was made from crystal onyx. It was about 5 feet long, one foot wide at the base, slightly narrowing at the top. It was a plain looking, ugly sword. Elizabeth grinned at him.

"Just like old times, huh Bandy? I always beat you then, too." I saw a smile of pure delight on her face. His face darkened with rage.

"Don't ever call me that again!" He swung the sword at her without warning.

Elizabeth laughed and casually slid the end of her sword in a small arc, catching his and deflecting his thrust. There was a loud noise, almost like an explosion, and sparks flew everywhere. As he started to pull his sword back, she flicked the end of hers again and, seemingly effortlessly, flipped his sword into the air, out of his hands. He looked shocked, then stared at his sword flying through the air. It immediately flew right back to him. She laughed at him again.

"Just can't do it without those damned powers of yours, can you? Come on, chicken shit; do it, just you and me. Leave the powers out of it." She was taunting him.

"You only say that because you can't use them anymore."

"Really?" She asked in a quiet, dangerous voice. Go ahead, Bandor, piss her off! She's Amy's Mother!

"Really. I heard all about it. Prove to me that you can use yours, and I won't use mine," he taunted her back.

Bandor would have been scared if he saw what I saw. The chamber that had been glowing dimly, seemingly without an owner nearby, suddenly glowed brighter. It had a pretty gray light in it; it looked like her eyes. I saw the look in Elizabeth's eyes; for the briefest second, they turned flat and devoid of all expression, then they were normal again. I swear I heard a happy little chuckle come from the chamber. The plate changed to say 'in use'. The gray ball of energy in the chamber quickly ramped up to full power, blinding us all with its intensity, and a huge bolt of gray light slammed into Bandor, knocking him against the wall. He looked stunned.

"That's cheating! I said yours! You can't use his!" Bandor was pissed.

"Why not? It's mine now too," she said sadly. He looked even more stunned.

"So you were dead," he mused quietly. Elizabeth interrupted quickly.

"A deal is a deal. You can't use your power," she insisted. He nodded. I hoped she realized what the rest of the world knew; he was going to cheat. I just hoped it took long enough that Amy and I could get our act together.

By the way Bandor handled the monster he called a sword, his style was obvious; hack and slash. He and the ugly sword in his hand made a good pair. I was so engrossed in the sword I nearly missed Elizabeth's first attack; she was that fast. I was worried because her sword was tiny when compared to Bandor's titan sized sword. I grinned as I wondered if he wasn't compensating for something. My smile disappeared as I thought of what he had done to Megan. Elizabeth moved in close and after dodging a power swing by Bandor, casually flicked her wrist and brought blood from Bandor's thigh. It wasn't a serious blow, but it had to hurt. I had never seen Elizabeth sword fight before. I realized now that there were many things about her I had never seen before. After her first attack, however, I was less worried. It was obvious that she relied on finesse, not brute strength. I hoped Elizabeth got the bastard again

Maybe she heard me, because the next thing I knew Bandor was bleeding from his left shoulder and from his right forearm. There was not a mark on Elizabeth, other than the bullet impacts from before. I knew those had to hurt, but she just ignored them. I could tell Bandor was getting pissed; it wouldn't be long now before his fair play ended, in his usual Bandor way.

Bandor would attack like a madman, with no real control over his movements with the monstrous sword. I almost felt sorry for him; almost. Elizabeth blocked Bandor's latest barrage of blows

I could swear I saw those swords pulsing, but with everything that had happened in the last few minutes, I figured I was seeing things. I watched as Bandor and Elizabeth circled each other. Bandor would occasionally try getting closer to Elizabeth, only to have to move back before Elizabeth sliced something important off.

For all of Bandor's effort to kill Elizabeth, she had no injuries whatsoever, besides the bullet holes in her vest. Bandor on the other hand, had cuts all over on his arms, shoulders, and thighs.

I figured there were only a few options left. Bandor would be severely injured by Elizabeth, and then Lady Samantha would finish him off; I figured if he was injured badly enough, he would not be able to keep us frozen. Alternatively, he would defeat Elizabeth and Robert and then have his evil way with all of us. That was not my favorite option. Of course, I still didn't know what the Ancient Prophecy had in mind to deal with this situation. We were surely led here by it; I doubted it would desert us now.

After another barrage of wild blows by Bandor and skillful parrying by Elizabeth, they pulled apart. I could see it in his eyes; Bandor knew he was beaten. Elizabeth had parried every move he made with the sword and had injured him several times. Everyone knew where this was going. I saw him look out the corner of his eye, directly at Robert. I gasped as I realized what he was thinking, how evil he was, how much he must have hated Elizabeth. If he couldn't defeat her, he could still cause her pain.

Several things happened all at once. I saw Bandor reach back and hurl a bolt of black energy at Robert. I could tell it was a killing bolt. Elizabeth had obviously been expecting it. She hurled herself in front of Robert, to take the blow. Seconds before that, I felt Amy in my mind again. She hurled all of her power that she could garner through the break in the wall and into my mind. Her green and white mixed with my white. I saw her eyes roll back in her head and she fainted with the exertion. I slammed my white mixed with her green and white energy out of the breech in the wall Amy had entered through and hurled it at the chip on the floor. The chip flew through the air, intersecting Bandor's black bolt just before it would have hit Robert. As soon as it met the bolt, I wrapped what little shield I had left around Elizabeth and Robert, to try to protect them against Bandor's bolt and the chip explosion. I knew it was too little, too late. I just hoped I could protect everyone else from the explosion.