Fractured Earth Saga 1: Apocalypse Orphan (30 page)

Wolf stepped forward. “I am in command, ladies. State your business for interrupting my sleep.”

The woman eyed Wolf with a sneer and replied, “Well, you are a large one. I may keep you a while…for breeding stock.”

A second woman snickered and said, “I’ll bet breeding with us would kill him.”

“I’ll take that bet,” Wolf said with a grin.

“Silence, you insolent fool! My master has commanded that we offer you mercy. If you all surrender now, we will let you live,” the woman said as she removed her mask. “What is your answer?”

“I have a better idea. Renounce Jonar and join me,” Wolf said.

The Amazon leader glanced around at Wolf’s men in disgust and said, “Your men reek of fear and I see you have traitors with you. Why would I join you? What can you possibly offer to change my allegiance?”

“Skylla, he is the Warrior of Legend,” Eras said, calling the woman by name. “Put him to any test if you doubt my words.”

“Him? The Warrior of Legend? I don’t believe you…but fine, I will put him to the test.” She flashed Eras a seductive smile and added, “For old time’s sake.”

“I’m here, Commander. I have weapons locked on…” Syn’s voice trailed off in Wolf’s ear, and then she said, “Only you, Commander, can find such women.”

Wolf shook his head, signaling Syn to hold off on an attack. With a confident smile, he said, “What are the tests, Skylla? That’s your name, right?”

“Why do you smile, large one? Does my name amuse you?” the leader asked irritably. She was not unattractive; she had a full figure and an aura of power about her that unexpectedly excited Wolf. She had a superb tan, and her features reminded him of a Latina woman from the distant past. In fact, she reminded him of someone—a cross between Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek, two beautiful actresses from his days on Earth before Nomad rewrote the history of civilization. Eras and the woman locked eyes. After a moment, she broke his gaze and glared at Wolf, stomping a foot into the ground. “I asked a question, big man. Why are you laughing?”

“In my land, we had a legend of a woman named Skylla. She was once a beautiful nymph loved by a sea god named Glaukos. She had a jealous rival—a powerful witch named Circe—who used her magic to transform Skylla into a monster.”

“What did this woman look like after she became a monster?” Skylla asked curiously.

“Are you sure you want to know? She became quite hideous,” Wolf answered.

“Yes. Tell me.”

“A writer from my past named Homer described Skylla as a creature with twelve dangling feet, six long necks, and grisly heads lined with triple rows of sharp teeth. Her voice sounded like the yelping of dogs. She was a horrible bane to sailors, and they avoided her.”

The woman frowned and demanded, “How did the witch do it?”

“The witch turned her into a monster by poisoning the water of the spring where Skylla bathed.”

“Enough of this fool’s talk!” Skylla snapped impatiently. “Your first test is to subdue four Nanna at once. Will you try?”

“First of all, what is a Nanna?” Wolf asked.

The woman sneered and pointed at herself and then to one of the wolf-like creatures. “We are all Nanna. You will fight our animal kin, halfwit!”

“Do you want them killed or subdued?” Wolf asked in an almost bored voice.

“Either, but to keep them living and bend them to your will would be added glory. No one has ever done it.”

“Okay, let’s do this,” Wolf said.

The morning sun had risen over the mountains and illuminated the forest clearing, giving Wolf a good look at the other warrior-women. They were all tan and, like Skylla, would have been called Latina in his time. Most were desirable and looked as if they had been recruited from a resort beach in Mexico. They formed a circle around him, and the four largest animals were brought forward. Wolf removed his weapons, and as he stripped off his shirt, his men applauded his massive, rippling muscles.

“Show off,” Syn hissed in his ear.

“I’m ready,” Wolf announced, standing with his arms crossed.

“Bola, Dihu, Rena, Fra…attack this fool and kill him!” Skylla yelled, pointing at Wolf.

The wolves ran at Wolf, swarming him, and his men looked away, certain he would be ripped to shreds. The women screamed with excitement as the animals tried to bite into Wolf and chew him to pieces. With one hand, he grabbed the scruff of one animal’s neck and lifted it off the ground. He placed his foot on the neck of another, not killing it, but pinning it to the ground. With his other hand, he reached out and grabbed a third animal by the neck, letting the fourth chew ineffectively at his ankle. Finally, the wolves stopped fighting. He lifted his foot off the one he had pinned to the ground, and it ran into the forest yelping. He released the other two from his hands, dropping them to the ground, and they retreated to their owners with their tails between their legs.

Wolf went to a knee and grasped the remaining hound by the scruff and patted the animal on the head and belly, scratching it behind the ear, until it rolled over on its back. It licked Wolf’s hand in affection as its hind leg scratched in the air from the pleasure of Wolf’s touch. He stood and the animal came to its feet, sitting by Wolf and looking up at him with fondness.

Skylla had watched in wonder, and now she approached Wolf and examined his body. She moved her face close to him and inhaled slowly, detecting no fear emanating from him, only masculinity. Not a scratch was visible where the wolves had attacked him. She ran a hand over his shoulders and chest, remarking, “You are as hard as a castle wall, but I am still unconvinced. The legends say you must be stronger than any man and no blade can cut you. Until I see it, I will not believe it,” Skylla said, sounding less self-assured.

“What other tests do you have?” Wolf asked, pretending to suppress a yawn.

“Show me your strength, big man.” She pointed to a nearby hill where a granite boulder about the size of a car on Old Earth was partially embedded in the ground. “Move that,” she commanded with a smirk, knowing the task wasn’t possible.

“Commander, that boulder is lodged three feet into the ground and weighs more than two thousand pounds,” Syn warned in his ear.

Wolf nodded as he walked to the boulder. He groped around the undersurface of the rock, searching for a way to grasp its coarse, unyielding bulk. At one corner, he found what he needed, and crouching, he placed his hands under the rock. He strained to pick up the boulder, using his thighs to lift and pulling with his arms.

“Legendary Warrior indeed!” Skylla said with a derisive laugh. “He is a fool for even trying to lift that rock.”

Wolf’s muscles stressed under the force he was exerting. The veins in his arms popped out like ropes and coils, and his body chiseled from the massive strain. When the boulder lifted on the corner, the laughter stopped. Wolf stood and pushed the large stone over until it was resting on its side, then he knelt and let it tilt across his shoulders. Slowly, he stood with the massive rock draped like a blanket across his shoulders. He looked at Skylla and pressed the boulder over his head. He stood, trembling from the enormous weight as he gazed at the woman and asked, “Where do you want it?” Without waiting for an answer, he hurled the boulder ten feet into the small glen.

“You are certainly strong, big one, but I have one last test,” Skylla said, drawing her sword. “If I can’t cut you with my blade, I will believe.” She swung the sword at Wolf’s neck with all her strength. The blade broke upon contact, leaving him without a scratch. Skylla stared at him in stunned silence as Wolf smiled. She knelt, cupping her hands in front of her, and said, “Please, my lord, allow me to serve you. I will be loyal to you as will my warriors.”

Wolf looked down and said, “Arise, Skylla. I accept your service and your warriors.” He handed her a washer from his shirt pocket as he dressed. All of her warriors approached him, pledging their loyalty, and some promised other things that the women wanted to bestow on him.

“I’m watching you, Commander. Don’t run off into the woods with one of these leather-clad lesbians,” Syn hissed.

“Tell me, Skylla, what were your orders concerning us?” Wolf inquired.

“I was to find you and offer terms of surrender. If you refused, we were to kill you. I now see we might all have died if we had attacked. Why Jonar sent my warriors, I do not know. I was angry at first and was just going to kill you without offering terms of surrender, but then I saw that handsome devil,” she said, pointing at Eras. “He promised me something I had wanted for a long time, but fate decided against us.”

“Now that we have a lord who is just, maybe we can be together finally,” Eras answered. Turning to Wolf with a hopeful look, he explained, “My lord, Skylla and I have loved each other for years. Ancient taboo and sacred scriptures outlaw marriage to a Nanna, and Jonar wouldn’t allow the marriage in his army, so we could not become one.”

“Taboo on marriage?” Wolf asked curiously.

Skylla hissed, “As if we would even want a lowly man. We are elite warriors and require no man to fulfill us. Those foolish taboos and scriptures mean nothing to us.”

“Tell me of these taboos and scriptures,” said Wolf.

Eras nodded. “Verse One says: ‘The wasteland has become a place of sin where women have usurped the role of man and strive to raise their own septs. Man was created in the image of Jesu and woman to serve his needs.’ Verse Two: ‘Abomination has arisen on the plains where women strive with men, use men for pleasure, and slay men for sport. The issue of this coupling must be put to death, for it was born from lust and spite.’ Verse Three has caused the biggest controversy: ‘Slay the woman of the wasteland, do not let her breed or you bring death to your door. If her child lives, then you will die, your wells will go dry, your crops will wither, the wasteland will devour your cities, and death will soon follow.’”

“Only fools believe such ignorance,” Skylla scoffed.

“You know the masses have been raised to believe this for many years. It is enforced by death, but I would gladly accept that to be with you,” Eras vowed bravely.

Skylla smiled at Eras with affection. “You know I would never allow you to put your life in danger, my love.”

“My life is nothing without you,” Eras said. Kneeling before Wolf with his heart in his eyes, he pleaded, “Will you permit us to marry, my lord?”

“Eras, you know my life is changed now,” Skylla interjected, looking troubled. “You are asking me to give up my Enrica status. It took years for me to become the leader. Only the Nannas’ best fighter can be Enrica. In all the years since my sister disappeared, I am the only one who passed the tests and lived. You ask not only for my love, you ask for my way of life.”

Eras replied earnestly, “I know it is much, but will you say yes?”

Skylla looked conflicted and was about to answer when Wolf said, “Yes, I will assent. A man and a woman who love each other should never be kept apart. When we return to the castle, I will ask Randelf to perform the ceremony.”

“What ceremony, my lord?” Eras asked with a frown. “If you, as our liege, consent and we both agree, then it’s done. However, you are my leader, so you make the customs and pass the laws. Is there something else we need to do?”

Sadness crossed Wolf’s face. “This world has forgotten so much. We will talk to Randelf when we return to the castle. Now, come…we have delayed long enough. Let’s get to Haakon’s homestead.”

Chapter 22

S
yn had returned and was waiting for Wolf as he and his men emerged from the woods at the edge of Haakon’s farmstead. She stood in the clearing, dressed in her candy striper outfit. Wolf’s newly pledged Nanna warriors stared at her garb; some commented on it, while others talked of making similar attire. The men gazed at Syn’s perfect body, and more than a few jaws dropped. Wolf rolled his eyes and walked over to Syn, embracing her and giving her a kiss.

“Commander, I brought all the items you requested,” she announced, smiling sweetly as she caressed Wolf’s arms and shoulders.

“As usual, you have made a spectacular entrance. You look beautiful, my love,” Wolf said.

“In this old outfit, Commander? It hardly took me any time to put it on,” Syn responded with a playful laugh, running her hands down her body for effect.

“This is my betrothed,” Wolf announced to the men in his detail. “Her name is Syn. Let us secure these boxes quickly so we can return to the castle. Captain Eras, take charge, and start back at once. I am going to visit Haakon. Syn and I will catch up with you in a few hours.”

Eras saluted smartly and ordered, “You men…secure this gear. I want two men on each box. Let’s move it!” The soldiers jumped to obey their captain’s orders, and several of Skylla’s muscular women assisted. The containers had rails for lifting and transport, so carrying them back to the castle would be easy. Soon, all the crates were lifted from the ground, and Eras led his detachment back into the woods on the return journey to King Waylan’s castle.

Haakon’s property stood over the next hill, so Wolf and Syn walked up to the crest. As they looked down over the farmstead, it was evident Haakon had built his new dwelling sturdier.

“How far can you go before the holo-emitters fail?” Wolf asked.