Liang Jian Amal walked زوبعة, Zawbiae, as he had already rode him hard to the village, he still depended on the animal and didnt want to wear him out too quickly. He was almost running himself though, holding onto the reins that he held in front of the horse"s face. He couldn"t help hoping that he was on the right track and couldn"t seem to make himself go fast enough.Soon the silhouette of a couple squat houses appeared on the horizon and he started to rush a little faster letting go of the horses reins as it trotted to keep up with him. The guard, walking his horse as well, struggled to keep up.
He came to the first building and began to pound at the door desperately. When no one answered he gave a few more pounds on it before running to the next building to try that door. The door hung slightly ajar, one of the hinges smashed from a forced entry.
He went back and quietly motioned to the guard to follow him quietly, as he pulled a long knife from the back his saddle.
He stalked into the quiet household keeping his knife at the ready, as he ventured further inside the overpowering smell of blood started to permeate through the air. The guard behind him covered his face with his sleeve trying to stifle the coppery smell. They quietly moved through he house and found the smell to be coming from the single bedroom in one of the beds lay a boy of about 10 or 12. His throat had been cut cleanly, soaking the bed pooling below it.
Liang Jian Amal rushed out of the house and burst into the second place which was a large storehouse. Inside a middle aged man who"s throat had also been cut lay on the floor face down in his own blood. He had a sinking suspicion that this might just be the man he had been looking for. He gripped tightly on his knife seeing the gruesome scene.
"Where is she?"
He frantically searched inside finding only a couple of large empty sacks, and a wagon loaded with goods. There was nothing else.
Liang JianAmal staggered outside and ran his fingers through his hair holding his head.
"Chang! Chang!" He couldn"t help calling into the night. There was nothing but stars and silence that answered him. It was mostly brushland this far south, and further south and to the east led to desert. The horizon showed nothing but an empty expanse, dotted with brush here and there; beyond that a faint shadowing of mountains lay behind far in the distance. West led to mountainainous country, inhospitable, and uneasy to traverse.
"Where are you?"
"Sir come see this!" The guard who had gone behind the house called out to him.
On the ground were tire tracks leading away to the south.
"Just what happened here?"
----
The faint sounds of shouting started to bring Chang around. She felt much more clear headed waking up this time, even though she still felt a little muddled.
Chang dug her nails into her palms sharpening her focus. She was trapped in a rough material of some kind in the darkness.
A loud crack was heard as a boot kicked in the door to the room she was being held in. Light appeared at her feet, as the material that held her was opened, and she was dumped unceremoniously onto the ground. She saw she was in a large mostly empty room except for four men, one she recognized as being the vendor from the morning. The shopkeeper was pleading with a man for payment as he had taken a great risk.
She heard an oomph beside her as another young woman was dumped from a large sack by one of the men beside her. The woman lay where she fell. The man who dumped her pulled the woman and looked at her face before looking at a small picture that he held. He threw her to the ground before grabbing Chang and examined her face and compared it with a small picture that he held.
"This is the one." The man in front of her said gripping her hair.
"Take them both." One of the men at the doorway spoke and both of the women were grabbed and dragged out of the building stumbling. As they pa.s.sed by the shopkeeper who had kidnapped her spoke up.
"My lords, you are pleased, yes? Will I receive my payment now?"
"Ah yes, time to clean up loose ends." The man who had instructed them to be taken out jerked his chin at the other man. The larger man strode up and grabbed the shopkeeper and dragged a knife across the other man"s throat, before throwing him to the ground. "He has a son too, take care of him too just in case."
The shopkeeper started to convulse on the ground as his life bled out of him in weakening spurts as his limbs jerked and spasmed.
Chang was shocked seeing a man being killed so coldly and easily and couldn"t tear her eyes away from the sickening sight as she was dragged away. She and the other woman were thrown into the back of a truck and their hands bound with rope and tied to the side structure of the open aired vehicle. She was still in shock unable to process all that was going on when the last man entered the vehicle and started it up. The man who had done most of the talking grabbed on Chang"s hair causing her to cry out. He ripped her head back forcing her to look into his cold dark eyes.
"You were warned Miss Dumont. Now here are the consequences."