The rumble of a war cry echoed through the ranks as slaves took up arms on that fateful evening.  A thick fog was rolling in as Shadow Company led their first attack against the Sultan’s guards.  The flare they’d sent up as a signal proved useful in the gloomy winter night.

Swarms of laborers, some clutching nothing more than their hoes and sickles charged the main garrison Shadow Company discovered below Nybbas’ mansion.

Inside, Jessie found her parents.  Tied and gagged, they were strapped to a roughhewn table in shackles.  The Sultan had tortured them, and she vowed to make him pay.  Grateful for the few minutes she had with her mother and father, she figured the next time she saw them would be in Cheniere Station.  Gathering Meagan and her parents, she guided them to the secret passage out of the mansion.  “I want you to be careful and get across as quickly as possible.  Don’t even consider trying to stay and help with this battle.  Just get the hell out of here.”

Nodding, Meagan took her mother’s hand and slipped down the corridor.

Jessie gained a new appreciation for the young woman, Meagan as she and Nybbas went with Meagan’s family.  The reunions were short lived as another wave of the guard swarmed the nearby forest.

“It’s the Sultan.  He’s appeared.”  Nybbas whirled, his eyes glazed with anger.  “I have to stay and help.”

“No.  Your mission is to get my family and Meagan’s back across the veil.  Do you understand, Nybbas?”

Slowly, Nybbas nodded.

“Stay with them and help Meagan tend their needs.  Can I count on you?”

He straightened.  His expression held a newly minted purpose.  “You can count on me.”

“Good.”  One last embrace and the refugees disappeared out the escape route.  Jessie disappeared into the darkness as well.

High atop a hill, the Sultan’s horse reared again and again.  His robes billowed in the breeze of an icy December evening.  The small band of warriors watched as the Sultan held the amulet high above his head to rally his troops.  A cry of support came from the hoard of guards obeying his demands.

“This could end badly.”  Katie’s observation didn’t go unnoticed.  “We should do something.”

“Easy, darling.”  Duke narrowed his eyes at the view of their nemesis atop the hill.  The guard’s battle cries rang in their ears.  “We have to wait.”

“Wait!  Wait for what?  That bastard to destroy us all?”  She ground down on her molars.

“Let me take care of this.”  Jessie’s voice startled the two of them.

“Shouldn’t you be getting your family out of here?”  The question became rhetorical as Duke examined the situation in front of them.

“I’ll draw their fire.  You guys do your thing.  Okay?”  Jessie waited a beat for confirmation.  “Good.  Let’s do this.”

Before anyone could object, she vaulted toward the hill.

Baring his teeth, the Sultan’s dark expression centered on her advance.  He directed nearby sentinels to attack.  The first of several reached her with blades drawn.  Blood sprayed through the air in a fine crimson mist as she took the head of the first attacker.  She buried her fist in the stomach of the newcomer, giving that one a broken neck before he could spear her with his sword.  The last guard hesitated briefly.  That was all she needed to dispatch him to his demise.

Jessie adjusted her headset, pulling Logan’s gift of a lip microphone closer to her mouth.  Her opponent would most certainly underestimate her, but she wasn’t going to make the same mistake.  “Warlock, do you copy?”

“Roger,” Logan said as he confronted the second wave of the guard.

“On these coordinates.  Send the charge to this spot.”

The explosion rocked her.  Near the ground where she had stood moments before, a huge hole appeared.  She looked up and into the eyes of the evil one. Teeth bared, the Sultan welded a weapon of some size and power.  The blade grazed her arm in a weak attempt at a strike.

Stunned, the Sultan staggered backward.  Staring at the blade in his hand, he blinked wildly about.

“You’re wondering what just happened, aren’t you, ol’ boy?”  Her sarcastic reference didn’t sit well with the Sultan.  His eyes blazed in his drawn features.  Jessie couldn’t help the satisfied laugh that bubbled up inside her.  “The amulet is an expensive piece of costume jewelry now, Sultan.  It doesn’t work for you or anyone else.  All its magic is gone.”  She waited for his reaction.

The meltdown erupted in a skin searing, eye blinding fury.  He struggled to hurl the fireball sputtering in his hand at her.  A wicked heat singed her eyebrows but did little else as Jessie sidestepped his magic.

“Is that all you’ve got, Sultan?”  Clucking her tongue against her teeth, Jessie poised and carefully gauged the perfect swing.  The force behind her blow sent the Sultan tumbling backward with an intensity so strong, the trees at his back gave under the blow snapping like twigs.  The Sultan lay, a crumpled lump of caftan and robes, his mouth agape as his eyes rolled back in his head.

The battle raged below Jessie as she snatched up the unconscious Sultan.  He wore the amulet around his neck.  Its gems gleamed in the moon light.  “Now who’s the fool?” she chided.  With a calculated move, she skirted the remainder of the trees in hopes of a quick exit.

The bombs’ detonation pushed her forward.  Off the charts as far as decimals, the blast catapulted Jessie off the ground, sending her hurdling through space.