“Did I forget to mention that your parents are both alive and still working for us? You come and slit this young lady’s throat, and I’ll tell you how to find them,” the man held the dagger out in front of himself handle pointed towards Helena.
“Liar! My parents would never work with someone like you.”
“Are you sure? Do you really understand anything about your parents? I know more about your parents than anyone has ever been willing to tell you. I understand their secret research. Met anyone else who knows about that or is willing to talk about it?”
Helena speaking through her tears, shrugged off the two strongmen holding her back, and moved closer to the man with no name. “How can I believe you’re telling the truth?” As she inched nearer to the contraption of captivity.
The man rolled his head, working to keep his composure, “I promise I’m telling the truth. Listen, cross my heart hope to die, stick a needle in my eye,” saying the children’s poem directed the motion with the sacrificial dagger in his right hand, “Is that good enough? Now climb up on top of Missy here and do your best to slit her throat with one clean swipe when I finish the chant. Afterwards, the first thing I’ll do is tell you everything I know about your parents, and I’ll order the dragon to rescue them.”
Helena began climbing onto Missy. “I am so sorry Missy. I must find my parents. If there’s any chance, he knows something I’ve got to do this,” she gingerly rested her knees on Missy’s arms, her feet placed on the cross, underneath Missy’s body.
Missy began screaming and bucking attempting to throw Helena into the water.
“That’a girl. Now don’t slit her throat until I give you the signal. We don’t want anything happening prematurely,” he handed her the ancient dagger and Helena couldn’t take it.
“Come on... Is this a dagger which I see before me? Take the knife, your parents await!” he motioned for her to take the weapon.
Helena relented and took the dagger clutching it in both hands over Missy’s bare throat. “Close your eyes Missy I’ll make it as quick as possible,” tears running down Helena’s face mixed with Missy’s.
Missy was losing her voice from screaming so much. The fear becoming overwhelming she did everything in her power to buck Helena’s small frame off her body and failed.
The nondescript man with no name picked up the chant again. Every eye in the room except Missy’s and Helena’s, glued to the man with the scroll, chanting to summon a Dragon, in a language that nobody understood. The mantra continued to build in crescendo, the man in black moving closer to ensure that Helena would strike at the correct time. When he came to the point where blood was meant to flow, he took his right thumb and jabbed it towards his throat like an ancient Roman Emperor.
Missy went silent, fainted cold. Helena followed the cue perfectly trusting the dagger as quickly as she could. Right into the unknown man’s left eye, crashing through his skull, piercing his brain. Just as rapidly she pulled it out spraying the man’s blood into the pool. The four men standing guard were shocked at the brutality of her attack and started backing away. Helena jumped off Missy ready to fight anyone who came within striking distance.
“We told you Sister Ping was playing you all for fools!” she shouted at everyone in the room.
Without the Grand Witch, none of the followers’ brave enough to attack. Helena scrambled to the twitching dead man’s body and started searching for keys under the robes. Looking up and threatening those closest to her with the bloodied blade from time to time. When she found a key in the man’s front trouser pocket instead of wasting time fighting with the robe and the pants she cut through both, and a good portion of the man’s leg, more blood pouring out.
The crowd gasped at her brutality, “You were ready to slit a young girl’s throat, and this bothers you?” Helena snarled and started unlocking Missy’s bindings. When finished she moved as quick as possible to the lever and using her adrenaline-fueled strength twisted it enough to have the much heavier Missy slide onto the pool deck. When she hit, a lightbulb popped. Then another, then five in a row, then the room sounded like the automatic pistol firing as light bulbs popped until last single lamp over the pool let loose plunging the space into the full moonlight from overhead.
The water began to boil and glow a sickly green, not unlike the limelight the Russian Zeppelin used for landing lights. Water leaped from the pool as it reached a rolling boiling point. And out from the center of the pool rose a Chinese man dressed in Shang Dynasty clothing, elegantly embroidered with gold and black dragons on green cloth. He promptly walked across the water towards the dead body on the pool deck.
Helena did her best to pull the unconscious Missy away from the water. She only made it twenty paces before the Chinese man landed on firm ground.
His arms crossed, hands hidden inside his sleeves. He slowly turned taking inventory of the black-clad individuals now trapped inside an immense glass bowl. Like rats trying to escape a sinking ship, they scrambled over one another trying to reach the too few exits.
Next came a great laugh so jovial those around found it hard not to join in. Removing his hands from the sleeves of the robe he clapped them together three times which was followed by a bright green flash of light and what was once a man, turned into a great Dragon. The most beautiful iridescent Jade snake-like Dragon Helena had ever seen.
Helena beheld the Dragon’s face, and she swore that it winked at her. It began
