Eudokia dropped to her knees. She gave it sideration, but it actually happened. It made her freeze. They took her eeam. ‘Alone…I’m alone, again.’ A fist pounded against the earth. It was real. She felt odd. They were nothing but trouble. She didly hate them, but she held no love for them either.

  Lifting her head, Eudokia’s face restored the determination that floundered before her reality. ‘I must tih the pn.’ Eudokia stood up, letting a ripple escape her feet. Faint glows of light began to appear moving away from her. They took the shapes of footprints pced down as though an invisible person walked. Gng at the path created, Eudokia nodded. ‘So they’re going back the same way. They’ll be with the others then.’

  She broke out into a light jog making for the vilge. ‘I’m ing everyone!’

  Chapter 206 – Child at Py

  Inside Kapni, things tio py out as a normal afternoon. Nothing appeared as though there were fn intruders hiding out holding soldiers hostage. Eudokia used her power to ge her appearao keep the vilgers unaware of any sort of danger. She had longer hair and a tunic stylized into a makeshift dress. It was enough to make it seem like any other child running around. ‘I o keep this quiet, with two teams w they’ll know if something happens. I ’t risk it.’

  When she arrived at the house, she waited across the dirt road. It looked no different from before. She didn’t expect things to ge. ‘They’re inside.’ A ball appeared from behind her babsp; It was made from dirty old leather, stitched together poorly. She bou on her knee and k around her feet. The eime, her eyes never left the house.

  She watched the house for minutes. Miuro almost an hour. Nothing. No movement came from any of the windows. It really seemed as if no one was inside. Eudokia kherwise. ‘I hoped to have seen anything to help the pn, but I’ll just have to go with things as they are. I ’t dey any longer.’

  The ball rolled back over her foot. She kicked it up, boung it around her leg. It started to move faster and faster. The momentum built up in the ball, spinning quickly in the air. Eudokia suddenly drew her leg back letting the ball fall. Just before the ball touched the ground, she released her foot, sending the ball into the air. It spun off arg into a wide curve. The angle looked good as it sped towards the house’s window. However, it he railing of the porch, veering it off course.

  Eudokia narrowed her eyes, annoyed. ‘Thought I had it…’ The ball suddenly turned an impossible angle as it bounced off the a into the window. A loud crash of the ball knog into something came out of the house. Voices erupted from inside.

  Grinning, she lowered her foot down. “It’s showtime!”

  She ran across the road getting close to the house. The ball caused several voices to e from the house. She picked up the Japanese mixed among Atntean. Those speaking Atntean were clearly panicked, frightened by the other voices. her could uand the other.

  ‘Time to act, I ’t believe I’m actually using what she taught me.’ Drawing in her breath and quickly exhaling, she quied her breathing as though winded. She rushed up the stairs to kno the door. It caused more voices and skittering of feet. ‘It’ll be the owners, not the intruders that show themselves.’ Eudokia thought through all of the sarios aled on the ohat made the most sense.

  Only a few moments passed before the footsteps were at the door. The door deyed in opening, likely fear in the owner of getting someone else involved. When it finally opened, a middle-aged woman stood ihreshold trying her best not to look pletely terrified, yet failing before Eudokia’s well-trained eyes.

  It was clear from the sight of the woman, she wouldn’t start the versation. Eudokia took the lead. “I’m… so sorry!” She worked being out of breath into the performanbsp; “I ying…and…the ball got out…of trol.”

  The woman still said nothing, her eyes darted baething unseen. “Speak,” a voice said softly. Eudokia carefully sed the interior. She made sure to uand Japahis time around.

  Lag the forward movement, Eudokia forced a little more to try to get the woman to py along. “I’m really sorry…if I broke something!” She worked up some tears. “I didn’t mean it! Ho!” Eudokia leaned in a little like she was searg out for damage.

  Finally, the woman acted pushing Eudokia babsp; “N-NO! No.” She caught the volume of her void pulled it in quickly. “I-It’s fine. You didn’t break anything.”

  “Oh, really?” Eudokia replied quickly, looking relieved. “I heard a really loud noise, so I was so afraid I broke something.”

  “It just bounced oable pushing it into the wall. Everything’s fine!” The womao try to close the door on Eudokia, wanting to spare her from the trouble.

  Keeping up her child-like innoce, Eudokia leaned her head in looking around for the ball. “Is my ball around here?” Everything moved as she calcuted. ‘This is all very easily predictable. The woman will try to get me to leave, but if I force my way in they’ll be forced to ad grab me.’ She just o get inside.

  “I-I’ll go…get it for you! Don’t e in!” The woman rushed off into the hall to fetch the ball. It left the door pletely unattended, allowing Eudokia to step inside fully. When the woman came back, she dropped the ball in panibsp; “N-NO! I told you!” She rao Eudokia, grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her.

  Heavy footsteps moved into the hall. “What the hell’s going on in here?” One of the Japaruders finally appeared. “Damn! Get in here!” His arm motioo someone iher room. He charged through grabbing the woman roughly.

  “Run! Flee now!” shouted the woman, trying to push Eudokia out the door.

  Eudokia preteo be pletely paralyzed in fear and fused. She said nothing while reading everything. The man closed the door with one hand seg the house. However, the Atntean woman struggled with him not wanting Eudokia caught. He sharply baded her, knog her to the ground.

  A sean ran out to help secure the situation in the hall. The first grabbed Eudokia by the forearm tightly. “e,” he anded, in a deep rough voice that needed no transtion to uand. The sed pulled the and dragged her, still resisting a little, bato the main room.

  In the room, she saw all of her men along with six Japanese and two Atntean civilians. ‘They’re different from what they showed us in training,’ ented Eudokia. The men looked closer to soldiers than researchers did with their mannerisms and equipment. Each of them had at least one gun holstered at their side and a couple even had automatic ons she never had seen before. ‘There’s something strange about those ons. They look more advahan I think is possible.’

  Despite their appearahey didn’t look like they were part of any Japanese anization Atntis was familiar with. Their training prepared them with all the typical military uniforms, stific anizations and the reted markings for each group. None of it matched anything she had ever seen. ‘They aren’t JSDF, PMCs perhaps?’ She did see they all had the same logo, a sword and shield c up a sun.

  “Captain, we were forced t the child in,” the first man said.

  Eudokia stumbled forward, from the rough treatment. Her knee smmed into the wood floor, droppio the ground in pain. ‘They’ll report my capture to the others.’ She started to cry looking terrified of everything unknoening around her.

  An older man with slightly graying hair, which looked a little premature for his age, stared at Eudokia making silent judgments. “Fine, ’t help it. Sergeant, report this to Alpha Team.”

  ‘Good, I act soon.’

  “This is getting more and more plicated,” groaned a man, forced to guard the hostages. He always had his hand on his on, poi the group.

  “Quiet,” ordered the Captain. “Everything is still going acc to pn.”

  “But sir, we still haven’t found the st member of this squad. They’re the most dangerous!”

  “Which is why we have the insurance we brought.”

  “But we don’t even know if it works.”

  “Enough! You’re talking too much, focus on your job!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The report ended and the radio closed. Everything looked to be slowly returning to their status quo. Eudokia still y on the ground uo move. The soldier just kicked her in her ribs to get her into the group. She tio bawl softly, not wanting to be hit again. ‘It’s time.’ She flicked her eyes up at Nikon, who sat o her. They didn’t need any words to uand each other. He uood her.

  The ball slowly rolled into the room. Unnoticed by the soldiers, it began to spin. It built up spin until it became only a spherical blur. When ready, it leapt into the air hitting the man holding the on, knog him out instantly. It bounced off his face, already moving to ao take a sed out.

  At that moment, Nikon stood up freed from his bonds and charged the nearby soldier. The rest of her team sprung into a following his lead. They all struggled with their oppo, but it ended quickly with the intruders subdued. Nikon motioo the team to tie them up. He went over Eudokia, who helped the Atntean couple back up to their feet. “Looks like your pn worked. It went pletely as you predicted.” Once he helped the husband up, his haended out to Eudokia showing him the device she gave him. “This worked perfectly.”

  Before she left to track dowrail, she passed off a device to Nikon. It was small enough to hide inside his boot. “Hold on to this. It’s possible that they’re scouting the area for us. So they might find you. Put up a good fight, but let yourself be captured.”

  Nikon looked a little fused by the orders. “Get captured? What is this?”

  “They’re likely holding Daidalos aia in the same pce they’d take you. If you’re captured, I’ll follow them babsp; This device will take care of any sort of bindings they might use, I structed for that purpose. When I give you the signal, make your move and take down everyone in the room. You’ll o be quibsp; Uand?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “I’m gd it all worked out,” Eudokia replied, granting a slight smile to him. ‘Everything is acc to pn.’ Her eyes narrowed in respoo deeper emotions.

  She recalled what Dareia told her. ‘You may be able to do everything yourself, but make them feel needed. Like you hem, that they’re important. If a persohey’re important, indispensable to the team they’ll follow you. It makes them easy to predict when you trol their importance.’

  Eudokia shifted herself a little, cheg on the woman. She still looked a little nervous. “Everything is fine now. We’re from the South Gate, you’re safe.”

  Shaking her head, the wife had something to say that seemed important. Her shaking void the relief of the tension made it difficult for her to speak. “N-n-n, there’s—“

  “Get down!” shouted Nikon, as he leapt into the air pushing down Eudokia. A loud bst went off drowning out anything more Nikon said. Blood sprayed across Eudokia’s fa shobsp; The force of whatever hit Nikon knocked both of them to the ground.

  The seventh soldier stood over the two of them pointing his gun at them. “Damn, bastard Atnteans!” He tried to fire his on again, pnning to finish them both off, but the trigger failed to move. It distracted him enough that he didn’t see Nikon back up on his feet ing at him until it was too te. They struggled with Nikon panting heavily from his injury.

  The two men turned and rolled irying to best the other’s strength. Furniture pushed back as they knocked into everything in their way. A vase broke and a small marble statue cttered to the floor. Nikon slipped his leg in tripping the two t them both to the ground. It did nothing to ge their struggle as the Japanese soldier tried tle Nikon with the shoulder strap of his on. Nikon fumbled about pig up the statue as his breathing became shallower. Summoning the st of his strength, he smmed the statue into the man’s face.

  The impact broke them free. Nikon could breathe again, but the soldier wasn’t down. A sed ter the man was back up ing for Nikon. He swung the statue again, putting the man down. Blood spttered from the sed impabsp; His blood staihe statue. Nikon sighed, rolling off and lying on the floor.

  Eudokia rushed over to Nikon’s side. “Nikon! Why did you do that!? I could’ve—“

  He gri her. The pain in his back made him cough suddenly. “You said it before…we’re family…”

  “…you’re stupid…” In the hall the soldier came from, ice disappeared, unneeded. A ripple came out from her. “I’ll patch you up!”

  “Thanks…” he said weakly, “…it hurts…a lot…”

  She remembered oher thing Dareia told her. ‘You know you’ve mastered it when you make them move exactly the way you want without giving them an order. When you reach that point, you truly trol them. They’ll be yours forever.’