The Expedition, Chapter 18

 Burning embers hung in the air as she walked toward her father.

She carried her spear in her hand.

"What are you doing, Amelia?" Her father asked, holding his sword in his hand, the blade pointed to the ground. "What are you now, some primitive savage? Look at you! You look stupid, dressed like some slutty warrior whore!"

She swallowed.

He jumped off the platform. "You are not even my daughter anymore, are you? You have probably let those filthy heathens touch you! You should know it stains your skin if you lie in the dirt."

Amelia kept silent, feeling the magic flow through her, and knowing what needed to be done.

"Do you see this?" he asked, holding his sword. "This is the blade that took a dragon's life! And one day, it will take another's. I am the one who will destroy the Mal'a'kai tribe. And since you did the job of killing the death cult, I will take over this miserable country. Perhaps once their spirit is broken, we can ship them all out as slaves. Tidy profit in that, you know."

He laughed, and Amelia felt a rage building inside her. She gritted her teeth and held her spear tightly in both hands, wanting to lash out with the Goddess' magic and blast him to smithereens.

"Are you angry?" he smiled, an evil grin of wickedness crossing his face. "I am confident that once these people own nothing, they will be happy. And the best way for that to happen is for me to be the one to sell them to build my new colonies. I will put them to work in the mines and in the fields."

"You are a monster," Amelia said, staring at him contemptuously.

He shrugged. "I am the maker of kings. That is my job. The making of kings." He nodded. "I am a dragon slayer."

"You are nothing but a thief, and a coward," she said. "You use your power to take the lands and resources of the innocent. You take their lives as well, so you can have more gold and power."

"Power, girl, is everything. Without power, you are nothing. It's the reason the weak do not survive. It's the reason why you won't survive, either. You have no power. You're a common whore, and when your tribe is destroyed, you and everyone else will be sent to the mines or die in the desert. All you do is delay the inevitable." He pointed his sword at her. "You will be beaten. I'll take you as a concubine and enjoy you in bed. Maybe I'll give you a baby. I might even have a son. And then, I will give your womb to my men and kill you."

Amelia narrowed her eyes. "You are a monster."

"And you are going to die," he said with a sneer.

Amelia charged.

She held her spear forward, extending her magical lash behind her and running forward to meet him. He swung his sword at her, and she held her spear, holding it with one hand and extending the magic lash of energy from the end with the other, catching his sword with the magical whip and sending him flying into the air and landing several feet away from her, rolling across the rocky ground in front of the rest of his men.

"Kill her! Kill her!" He roared.

Amelia stood facing them all with her spear held high, a glowing blue shield of magic that stretched in a circle from the blade to her hand and flowed to her shoulder, wrapping her in the power of the warrior's magic. The mercenaries all rushed at her, and she swung the shield behind her, catching the first two men to attack and knocking them into their comrades. She used her spear to extend her shield, sending a lash of blue magic through the shield, knocking several other mercenaries backward from the force. She spun, extending the magic shield around her, catching several other soldiers in the magic barrier. She whipped the magical shield forward, sending a blast of energy that knocked the soldiers back off the road into the desert, where they died screaming as they were killed by their own blades.

The mages rushed forward and cast spells at her. She held her spear high, deflecting the spells and then throwing it forward with magic lash, catching the spellcasters and throwing them backward. She spun and whirled and lashed with the spear, catching every spell in the magical lash and throwing it into the air and down at the mages, vaporizing them in the magic of the Goddess.

She looked to the left and saw a large group of men with shields rushing toward her. They were coming up from the lower road. She used the magical lash to shoot a lightning bolt at the front of the phalanx of shields, sending them all flying backward. She rushed forward, catching the front two of the phalanx with her lash, lifting them into the air and then dropping them back to the ground, causing them to break their legs and ribs.

She was struck from behind and fell to the ground, dizzy from the impact to the side of her head. She rolled over and her father stood over her, sword pointed at her face.

"Yield," he sneered. "My whore daughter."

She rolled away and jumped to her feet.

She looked into her father's eyes and smiled. "Never."

"Kill her!" he yelled.

Amelia raised her spear and felt a wave of magic flowing from her to her weapon. It glowed brightly with blue magic, and she swung it at the mercenary trying to cut her down from behind. The man flew off the edge of the mountain. She looked around, seeing the mercenaries on either side of the path all rushing toward her.

She extended the spear again, creating a shield of blue energy that deflected the blows of their blades. She turned, whipping the magical lash of energy around and catching the next soldier who tried to cut her down, sending him into the sky. He landed, screaming, on the spikes of the lower road, impaling himself.

"Die!" her father yelled, charging her.

She blocked his strike with her spear and pushed him away with a magic push that sent him flying backward to land in the middle of the mercenaries. He got to his feet and jumped forward, attacking her again. Amelia blocked his strikes with a magical lash and swept her spear sideways, knocking him to the ground.

He rolled away from her and jumped, drawing a long dagger and charging again. Amelia blocked his attack with the magical spear and then knocked the dagger out of his hand with a magical push that sent it flying to the bottom of the mountain, far below.

He roared in anger. "I am going to kill you and then kill them." He pointed to the warriors fighting for the temple. "You have ruined everything, and now you'll pay for it with your life!"

He drew another long dagger and held it towards her chest.

"You have ruined my life!" He screamed, stabbing her chest. "I am sorry I screwed your mother!"

She held her spear, and with the power of the Goddess flowing through her, she deflected the blade and sent him flying backward, landing hard on his back on the ground. He slid down the side of the mountain to the lower road. She followed him down the slope and watched him roll to a stop, lying on the rocks and bleeding from his head.

He looked up at her. "I'm dying, Amelia."

She held her spear near his neck.

He laughed, spitting blood. "And it's all your fault. But you will pay. I will be buried in gold, and you will be buried alive in a box." He coughed and closed his eyes. "Do it if you wish. It makes no difference to me. You are no daughter of mine, and I have no love for you. You are a disappointment to me."

"I am no disappointment," she said, shaking her head.

"I was born to kill dragons," he said, laughing. "I was born to build nations."

"No," she said. "You were born to steal. You were born to murder. You were born to make war." She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "And you are going to die today. For all your crimes. For all your sins. And for all your evil deeds."

She raised her spear to finish him, but he grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes. "I love you, Amelia. You are my greatest accomplishment."

"You're wrong," she said, stepping back from him and pointing her spear. "I am the greatest mistake you have ever made."

She struck him down with a blow from her spear.

The sounds of battle faded away as the smoke rose into the sky. Ashes floated on the wind. Blood soaked the sand.

Carrying her spear, she turned and walked away.

The battle was won.

And she walked off into the desert to die.