Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 61 - Confusion

Kay reached the compound first, took stock of the situation, and motioned for the men to spread out and attack.

Why were there no guards at the perimeter?

Using her watch, she quickly followed the route to the central grassy area where all the heat signatures were and paused between two trees.

Every member of the household sat on their knees with their hands behind their heads, even the guards.

What the heck? Was this a trap? She glanced at the watch again. The heat signatures matched the ones on the device.

"Delta team leader, the house and outbuildings are empty. Should we advance?" Roshas asked.

"Wait, give me a second," she said.

***

The prisoner she had come to rescue sat ahead of the others on the grass, isolated, with no one near him. It would be easy for someone to kill him before she got to him. 

"We know you are here; please, do not harm me or my family. Take the ancient and leave us in peace," an Indian-sounding voice said, and she located the richly clad man beside a woman and two children in traditionally Eastern garb. "Azera forced us to keep him here and treat him according to her wishes. This was never our will. Ask Hercules, please?"

"It is true what they say," the tall man said. Built like a tank, he was everything the movies said he'd be, but for his strange, almost colorless eyes and the absolute lack of expression. His thick, short hair was almost the same color as Akira's.  

"Artemis, no," Kay warned over her mike as the ancient almost moved forward, and for a moment, their eyes met and battled, but to her surprise, her sister obeyed.

"There is no one out here but us. We are a peaceful people; our only sin was that we were a part of Azera's household staff. King Thane cast us out with her, and we became marked as dark fae, but we are not and were never. We are of the light," the pleading sound of his voice, the uneven beat of his heart, and something about his aura convinced her, and she moved from the shadows.

Hercules jumped to his feet and grabbed a spear from the ground. She froze as she thought he would throw it at her, but then he pointed it at his chest, and she recognized the odd glint of the metal that encased the tip.

"Thane will not get me and punish me as he did my family!" he yelled, his gaze colder than ice.

"Don't, please listen to me," she said as she lowered her gun to the ground, motioning for the others to stay put. "Akira lied to you all of these years. Thane wasn't the one hunting your families, and she wasn't hiding you from him."

"Liar!" he yelled, and the spear's tip slid past the cloth and into his skin.

"I am your sister; can you not tell? Why would I lie to you?" she asked, holding her hands so he could see she carried no weapon.

"Because Thane brainwashed you as he did Akira."

"No, he did not. In fact, until a few weeks ago, my opinion of my maker was not very high either, and things changed."

"Do you think I will take you at your word? I waited two thousand years to die, and I will have my death!" he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth as the spear slid deeper into his chest and blood flowed down the sharpened tip.

"Artemis, Hera, do you want to watch our brother commit pointless suicide when he can finally live life?" Kay asked, and they appeared from the shadows like wraiths.

"Artemis? Hera? Is that really you?" he asked, his death grip on the spear's shaft loosening only slightly.

"Do you not recognize us, brother? Has it been so long?" Artemis asked.