The Coming From the Shadows Series
Coming From the Shadows: Lydia
The Ambush
November 1908 A.D.
The humid air was thick, and clung to Cathryn as Cathryn disembarked from the steamer; the journey from Australia to the Siam; travelling to Chanthaburi had been a rushed decision to flee from the Imperium’s Cultists; her raven-dark hair, threaded with steely grey was pulled back, revealing the sharp angles of her face and her unnervingly silver-grey of her eyes .
Behind Cathryn was Elizabeth; the oldest of Cathryn’s twin daughters, amongst the throngs of Thai merchants, she stood out as an oddity; all blonde hair and icy-blue eyes looking much like glacial ice – she carried herself with a confident stride as she followed her mother.
Behind Elizabeth was her twin; Lydia, she was the younger of the two, and unlike her sister who resembled their father, Lydia mirrored their mother, her long raven-dark hair and silvery-grey eyes that were constantly assessing her surroundings; over her shoulder was her usual bag; hanging alongside the bag, tide tightly and limiting its movement was Lydia’s Jian Sword.
Then, there was Damir; a Serbian national and a former soldier, he was the tallest of the group with a physical stature indicating regular training, his head narrow but, as was clear from the constant looks from women, he was not uneasy on the eye – he shifted his dark eyes to take in the crowd of people they began to mingle into.
And finally, there was Norina; she was almost identical to Lydia, which often led to people mistaking them as sisters; her long raven-dark hair and silvery-grey eyes, it was often only when she spoke people realised they were not related; her nationality being Italian, her lack of English often a barrier in communication, though Lydia regularly coached her through English, and Lydia’s understanding of Italian allowed for easy communication between Lydia and Norina resulting in a close bond between the two.
As the group moved through the throngs of people; a shadow detached itself from a nearby stall – a man, unremarkable, save for the unsettling and intense gaze he fixed upon the group.
He seemed to blend seamlessly into the crowd, a ghost within the rising heat, yet Cathryn felt his eyes on them – it felt like a brand against her skin.
She shifted her gaze briefly – she knew that the Imperium was present, it hadn’t even taken them long to track them “Let’s move” she said, her voice was low and gravelly “No lingering”
The journey began immediately; there was no time for rest – they needed to travel to Yangon, it became an arduous journey; days bled into weeks as the landscape shifted from fertile rice paddies to dense jungle; they travelled by oxcart, by riverboat and on foot.
Cathryn was ever vigilant as they traversed the landscape.
During their rest periods were they set up the encampments, Lydia would often practise – going through her usual sword-training, her movements often graceful, her strikes through the air fast, moving like water – she moved fluidly, her twists and spins against invisible opponents as she focused on each of her movements; when adding in secondary movements, she used nearby trees as targets to throw knives; combining her sword training and knife-throwing to create different fighting combinations.
Elizabeth simply sat and watched; Lydia was so different from their childhood – Lydia had gone from a fearful child to a skilled fighter, she questioned herself if that came from her previous bullying back at the Estate when they were being raised by their father and his brutal education.
Elizabeth’s mind wandered back to things long since passed; Growing up in a Cultist environment Lydia had always been seen as the weakest link between her and their Half-Brother; William – Lydia struggled all the time, she failed to follow the harsh lessons, and refused to kill or partake in animal cruelty that had often been part of their fathers education – Elizabeth remembered Lydia’s screams when they echoed in the silent halls, often left to suffer and struggle without support.
That had only intensified when their mother was forcibly removed from the Estate – but now, right here, Lydia had advanced further than she had, Lydia had become cold, quiet and fiercely determined, she demonstrated controlled fury during her fight against the woman from Japan; she demonstrated a brutality by removing Keiko’s sword hand without hesitation, but it was the mercy Lydia displayed that stood out, even if that mercy came at a cost.
Elizabeth had gone the opposite way; she went from devotion to her fathers ways, to become more diplomatic, she learnt to use firearms and became less and less of a fighter.
Elizabeth looked down a moment towards the crackling of the fire.
By the morning; they would be back on the move yet again; while they moved, Elizabeth took notice of Lydia’s distraction; a rare moment of softness that she was unaware had been seen – she was reading the last letter from a British soldier; Thomas, Elizabeth saw a sadness present in her expression.
She raised her hand against her chin; she was right, Lydia obviously did feel something – Elizabeth cleared her throat snapping Lydia to attention before they got moving to join with the others.
On the fifth night of their travel; they struggled to find somewhere to set up camp; so they were forced to set up in a rather precarious place along the road they were travelling along – it was while they began settling into a warm meal that it happened.
The Cultists came rushing; their attack was swift and precise; landing with a brutal efficiency causing the group to scatter in random directions as the air filled with the crack of gunfire.
Cathryn stumbled towards the edge of the road as she tried backing out of the way of a Cultist swinging a sword towards her; she barely managed to free the wicked-looking curved blade she had; a Kukri blade, it slid free from the sheath she had attached to the back of her waist; she raised it in defence, intercepting a strike; with a quick movement she swung her foot across scraping across the floor as she threw her body forwards; catching the Cultists ankle with her foot and using her shoulder to knock him off his feet entirely while he was unbalanced.
Elizabeth stumbled to safety, or what she thought was safety until she felt someone grabbing her arm, forcing her wrist upwards and twisting her arm into an awkward angle behind her back; she reacted with instinct, swinging her head back while trying to twist her body in the same direction that her arm was being moved, trying to relieve the pressure; her head though landed with a sickening crack and she felt her wrist being released, she span around; drawing a revolver free and without hesitation she pulled the trigger; the loud bang rung out like a deafening sound causing her ears to ring..
As Elizabeth moved away from the collapsing body; she caught movement out of the periphery of her vision and she ducked down as a sword narrowly avoided her head; she could hear it was like wire whipping through the air – though by letting herself collapse to the ground, she felt herself hit the floor with a heavy thud; her eyes landing on her attacker, though Cathryn intervened before a second strike could land.
Damir rushed away from the group; he knew there was a better chance of fighting if they couldn’t group up on him; purposely choosing dense foliage as a battleground; as the Cultists chased after him, he used his surroundings to his advantage; unfortunately though, he also moved further and further away from Cathryn’s group.
As the chaos continued; Lydia found herself standing over the body of a fallen Cultist; her eyes scanning around the chaotic fighting; her eyes landed on Norina – Two Cultists attempted to drag her off, pulling her in the direction of the impenetrable darkness of the woods; Lydia moved – she moved with purpose as she rushed past and ignored two Cultists attempting to stop her, the only acknowledgement of their attempts was a quick swing of her sword forcing them out of her way – to Lydia, Norina was more important.
Within the dense darkness; Lydia didn’t lose sight of Norina, she caught up with very quickly and as the Cultists realised she was coming at them, they stopped in an attempt to engage her; her movement though were unrestricted – she struck with ferocity, while controlled, her strike was devastating and brutal; the first Cultist felt the strike first hit him on the thigh, the sword cut deep, sending him tumbling; but the second strike, a swift movement took his jaw, leaving him bleeding on the ground.
Lydia spun the sword with a fluid motion as she struck at the second; the sword landed swiftly in a downward strike hitting him through the top of his head and sending him down to the ground sprawling.
Lydia shifted her attention onto Norina, moving her left hand and grabbing Norina’s hand; she pulled her as she got moving; the two moving quickly into the dense jungle; Lydia knew there were more pursuing them.
Knowing if they kept running, they would get into a much worse state of confusion, with no idea where to go; Lydia decided to stop, pulling Norina behind a thick curtain of vines and pressed her hand against her mouth to silence Norina’s terrified gasps – the sounds of their pursuers grew closer, heavy thuds of their feet, the snapping of twigs and whisperd commands.
Lydia held her breath; her eyes fixed on Norina – her senses were on high alert, the air hung thick with the smell of damp earth and fear, after what seemed like an eternity, the sounds faded, replaced with a deafening silence of the jungle.
Finally, once the danger had passed, Lydia moved her hand away from Norina’s mouth she took her hand again and pulled her – they moved deeper into the woods, they needed to retrace their steps, to return back to her mother.
Meanwhile; Cathryn and Elizabeth found themselves finally reaching the edge of a settlement “We need to go back; we need to find your sister” Cathryn’s voice was laced with urgency, Elizabeth understand her mothers desperate concern for Lydia, she shifted her gaze
“I know; but we need somewhere safe first; we can’t just go straight back out there, its far too dark, we don’t know how many of them are still out there; we need to regroup Mum” Elizabeth looked to her mother
Cathryn didn’t like it, but she knew her daughter was correct, if they went rushing back out in search now, they would run into more trouble, and that certainly wouldn’t help with finding Lydia, Norina or Damir.
“Lets check that lodging house; we can plan things out from there” Elizabeth suggested; she could see the worry building in her mothers face, but Cathryn reluctantly nodded in agreement
Along the same road that the ambush has initially taken place; a figure approaches the ruined encampment; his posture clearly on guard as he rests his hand against a pistol holstered on his hip; the figure stood carefully inspecting the signs of the camp before turning his head and looking at the surrounding foliage.
“Did you think they survived?” a voice questions
“Of course” the figure answered, his eyes still scanning the surroundings “Cathryn’s group will seek out safety, we’ll go that way, the nearest lodging house is in that direction, I suspect that is where Cathryn will go”
The second figure comes up beside him; dressed much like a monk, he had his hands resting behind his back; a rifle was flung over his shoulder, the strap holding it securely against his shoulder; slowly he nodded “Let’s go then Xian”
Xian; turned his head to look at the younger man beside him, slowly, he nodded his head before the two began walking.
Written By: Westley H.
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