PRINCESS ERIKAI
A Shadowed Stars book one prequel story and conclusion to the Erikai short story trilogy by Steven Koutz
MATURE READERS ONLY
It had been two years since Princess Erikai had been taken by Prince Orin. Many carefully planned rescue attempts had been executed in those two years and all had failed. The rumors of Princess Erikai’s multiple rapes and torture sessions by the hands of Prince Orin and his soldiers had intensified and dedicated her half-brother, Prince Slade’s singular mission of her rescue. There were even rumors that Prince Slade’s and Prince Orin’s mother, the wicked Queen Ararra had taken her own turns with the rightful heir of the Kylde Kingdom.
In two years, nothing had mattered to him more. His close advisor, a male human named Eljon, had taken up the daily operations of the underground world that Prince Slade had built. He was of a wiry build, dark skinned and bald. His charisma helped him relate between the people and the otherwise focused prince that they needed as a leader.
Prince Slade had been aided in his long quest by an alien of the Luth Bik race, named Rayk. Rayk and his people had settled on Aklowda and been welcomed and integrated into the underground society. Rayk over this time had become Prince Slade’s closest friend and staunchest ally. Rayk was like all other Luth Biks of humanoid build. He had the hard gray colored shell-like skin that covered his body and ran to the top of his head with a flattened point. He had long brown hair that protruded from the sides of his head. His nostrils were wide-spread and he had big and shiny black eyes.
Prince Slade was in his young twenties and had through intense training developed a young muscular body. His once neatly groomed black hair had grown long. He stood in a war room with Rayk as they planned yet another attempt to rescue Princess Erikai from the dungeon of the Kylde Kingdom castle that had been built into the canyon wall. They had new intel from their spies in the castle and the remodeling of the prison wing from a spy-initiated explosion was now yet another opportunity for a rescue.
Princess Erikai had been dragged in her torn rags of clothing for yet another sexual rape from Prince Orin and his closest friend, as well as rising officer, Captain Millekio. He was of a young muscular build like Prince Orin. His hair was long and wavy brown as opposed to Prince Orin’s curly dark blond hair. Where Prince Orin had ocean blue eyes, Captain Millekio had dark green eyes. They were both desired by many of the women in the canyon palace and Queen Ararra had enjoyed many sexual encounters with them both separately and together.
Prince Orin dismissed the Gomen Satys guards, in their green and yellow armor that had brought her to their chamber. Her torn ragged clothing was ripped from her body and the two men attempted to chain her into the corner that she had been subdued in so many times before. Erikai had an opportunity of escape like many others in the past. This opportunity though brought about their first display of carelessness. They had never dismissed the guards in all the other times. In fact, the guards always took their turns with Erikai after Prince Orin and Captain Millekio were done with her, be it forced sex or straight-out torture. Erikai never knew for certain what she would receive but preferred the torture.
Another factor to her newfound hope of success was that Prince Orin and Captain Millekio had also become too sure of themselves. She would use their overconfidence as her tool. As they had her naked, facing the wall, and were preparing the manacles, Erikai delivered a backward mule kick into the groin of Prince Orin. As he collapsed in pain, and diverted Captain Millekio’s attention, Erikai delivered an upward elbow jab under Captain Millekio’s chin. He was knocked back and slowly staggered forward again into the strongest punch that Erikai had ever thrown. She kicked both downed men in their heads and gathered her torn clothing from the floor. She had taken the blaster pistol from Captain Millekio’s holster. The extra action had allowed Prince Orin to thrust his stingripper sword, still in its single blade form into her upper left leg. Luckily for Erikai, Prince Orin was not as good with bladed weapons as he thought. His own false confidence in the skill was further diluted by all his followers being too scared to tell him that he sucked at it.
Erikai only suffered a minor cut and turned to shoot Prince Orin in the head. The blaster pistol jammed and she used it as a melee weapon with a powerful swing to the side of the young prince’s head. She then decided vengeance could be served later and that escape was her priority for the moment. She flung open the door and was pushed into the corridor wall from a tackle dive at her backside, delivered by Captain Millekio. She sent a backward jabbed elbow into the side of his head this time. She then turned and started to display her furious melee fighting skills with punches and chops. Captain Mellekio dropped to his knees, with Erikai standing over him and about to deliver a downward death jab. His bloody face looked up at her and dared her to finish him.
Purple flames were fired from the stingripper divided blades of the Gomen Satys soldiers on approach. The assault had forced Erikai to release the single grip that held the captain steady for the death blow that she wanted to deliver. She was instead put on a run through the narrow and winding corridors. The Gomen Satys pursued her at Captain Mellekio’s command.
Erikai was forced to divert her path into another corridor as Gomen Satys soldiers in their yellow and green armor and helmets that looked like a ram on Earth, approached ahead of her path. They converged with the ones that pursued her from the rear and followed to what she thought was a dead end. A secret wall passage opened just as she turned to face her pursuers with her two yearlong built-up rage.
Prince Slade and Rayk were shocked to see her as they exited the secret passage. She embraced her half-brother in joy and relief. Rayk hurried them back into the secret passage. As they rushed through the tunnel, Prince Slade commented on her shredded cloth attire. He stated that he had brought something for her that would improve the look. Erikai graciously accepted the war arm. It was a heavy technical gauntlet that served as a device and a weapon. She wasted no time in attaching it to her right forearm. It was the preferred choice of all Prince Slade’s followers and fit perfectly between the elbow and the wrist.
They had hurried their way along and Rayk pushed up an overhead hatch. It was disguised as a large rock above ground. They crawled out from it and shielded their eyes to the blinding light of the planet’s four large suns at their highest position of the daytime. Something else looked down on them as well. The split blades of the stingrippers that were held and readied for range attack by the Gomen Satys soldiers positioned in the risen rock outcroppings around them. Prince Orin had led them there from a shortcut out of the canyon palace. It was obviously a little bit quicker than their secret passage. Captain Millekio was just arriving with Gomen Satys soldiers of his own and surrounded the heroes. They were disarmed of their war arms at the point of the raised stingrippers with parallel blades and ready to shoot either electricity or purple flames. Once disarmed, Prince Orin felt safe enough to stride through the rock outcroppings and stand face to face with his half-brother Prince Slade.
Prince Slade’s smile confused Prince Orin, who felt compelled to ask what Prince Slade seemed to find so amusing about his capture. Prince Slade replied, “Oh, it is not my capture that amuses me. It is most definitely your capture.” Just as the words were spoken, Prince Slade’s soldiers in the two shaded green armor popped up all around them from camouflaged passages in the rock outcroppings. The Gomen Satys were outnumbered three to one. That did not mean that they would surrender without a fight. They used their already parallel bladed weapons and engaged the soldiers of Prince Slade, armed with snap blades from their war arms as their melee weaponry.
As they fought all around the heroes, in the middle, Prince Orin swung his stingripper parallel blades at a dodging Prince Slade. Captain Millekio used lightning quick reaction to draw his blaster pistol and place it under Erikai’s chin. He promised her that it would not jam this time. Rayk had tackled him to the ground. Erikai took the time to reattach her war arm. Rayk and Captain Millekio had rolled around on the dirt and rock covered ground and delivered what punches they could. Erikai split them up with a stingripper that she had taken from one of the fallen Gomen Satys. She tossed Rayk his own war arm and asked him to join the others. She added, “This dance is mine.” She then stabbed the stingripper into the ground and opened her arms for a melee invitation.
The two princes had drifted away from the battle through their own movement. Slade was forced to take up another discarded stingripper also left in its parallel blade form. He matched each of Prince Orin’s swings. He told his half-brother, “I am unsure of how you had been resurrected brother, but it only means that I can kill you again.” Prince Slade then surprisingly, rejoined his stingripper’s parallel blades back to the single sword form and dodged under multiple wild and lunging swings from Prince Orin’s stingripper assault. Prince Slade used a dodge maneuver to step behind his half-brother and stab through his back. The single blade protruded out of Prince Orin’s chest before being pulled back through. Prince Slade then stepped around to look Prince Orin directly in his quickly glazing over eyes as his body teetered. Prince Slade then used one strong and powerful swing to remove Prince Orin’s head.
Erikai had allowed Captain Millekio to stand to his feet. She attempted a backward swing with her war arm, but found it blocked by his own armored forearm. The two of them again exchanged punches until Erikai was able to grab onto him in the form of a headlock. She looked around to see the Gomen Satys in full retreat and Prince Orin’s head fall and roll on the ground. Erikai stated that she still wanted Captain Millekio to remember him as her vengeance was delivered. She maintained the headlock but positioned her war arm to deliver a close-range pulsating energy blast that exploded is head. She saw Rayk, Prince Slade and all his soldiers staring at her in shock. She let Captain Millekio’s headless body fall to her feet and asked, “What?”
It was about ten years later when Princess Erikai strode through the underground cave passages and approached a much stronger leader in her half-brother, Prince Slade. He turned to face her with Rayk at his side. She informed him that there was a strange shuttle craft that had crashed on the surface and Queen Ararra had already dispatched forces to retrieve it and capture any survivors. Prince Slade nodded at Rayk to move to his half-sister’s side. He told her, “Make sure that does not happen and bring the survivors to me.”
This store continues in Chapter One of SHADOWED STARS book one
