Rise Above

Chapter Fourteen

Amira found Lady Kahina's journal. Of course she had a journal. Biting hard on her lip Amira opened it. 'This world is not like the one we left behind. The people here are weak and it's already decided we're going to make it a better place. We brought the Tunnels with us. The magic isn't as strong here as it was there, but I'm certain we can still use it. So are the others. That's why we've been going around looking for people we can choose for our first group. Getting any of them out again isn't going to be easy, so I said we should go for the younger ones, in order to train them up, and some of the others agreed with me. In the end there was a pretty even split and that made it easy for us to compromise. We're going to use a mix of both.
'Convincing their families to let go of them will be easy enough. All we need to do is give them money. People here will do anything for money, even sell their children. It's disgusting, but useful for our plans, and I'm already finding what I need to buy my first children. It won't be long until I'm sculpting them to be the perfect fighters. Eugene has offered to help me, believing I have the best plan, and I've accepted his help. There was a time when I wouldn't have done. Now, though, things are very different, and he's someone I trust enough to work with. The others... well, I think I'd rather work with a snail than any of them.'
At the back of the book was a list of names. Towards the bottom Amira saw hers, along with Samuel and Savanna's. 'Children of Stephen and Jasmine. Parents deceased - it was the only way we could get the children they owed us. Now the three young ones are being trained by the very best people I can find. This is a family tree that has to work out. I'll be marrying the survivor to someone from one of the three other families Eugene and I believe are the best of the best. I really do hope it will be Amira. She is the best of the three and I believe she will make the best children.'
"Reading that isn't going to help." Samuel wrapped his arms around Amira. "We don't need to know what was going through that woman's head. All that mattered is what she did."
"I know, but I was thinking I might go through all the records that are here to make a memorial for all those who died in the tunnels. There are so many and we need to remember them, as well as the people who were killed to get what the Battle Lords and Ladies felt they were entitled to."
"You're talking about our parents."
"As well as the parents of other children. We weren't the only ones taken by force."