Calvin shouldered Ella out of the way and swiped his sword at her assailant. Karra tackled him to the ground and with her iron grip, held his blade still. Fighting to steady his sword, Karra leaned in close with wide, bloodlust eyes.

Pressing her lips against his forehead, she said, “you’ve been most entertaining tonight.”

She then pierced his side with the knife-like fingers of her other hand. He reared his head back as he screamed.

“Cal!” Ella leaped onto the girl’s back and squeezed her arms ever tighter around her neck. “Let him go.”

Though briefly surprised by Ella’s sudden chokehold, Karra would not give her the pleasure of being her victim. She pulled her hand from Calvin’s side, then swiped the grappling girl’s shoulder, leaving a series of deep cuts. Wincing from the pain, Ella relaxed her grip just long enough for Karra to shake free and assume a rather savage attack stance from atop the bed.

“Oh the choices,” Karra said, watching Ella and Calvin stumble to their feet. “Should I fancy the moment and bleed the both of you, or simply end your lives outright?”

All-too quickly, her musings came to end as the sounds of pounding from the hatch at the far end of the room disturbed their savage quarrel. Half a moment later the hatch flung open and Kenzo, katana in hand, and dressed in a loose-fitting blue cloth pants and shirt came rushing in.

“What’s going on?” Kenzo growled. “Never have I had such loud neighbors.”

Karra received the familiar face with mild adoration.

“Another guest.” At first, she presented him a deceivingly warm smile, then she sighed. “This does make things a little less fun.”

A distant rumbling and then a sudden clatter gave everyone pause. For a moment, the room shook, then grew still leaving behind an ominous silence.

Ella slowly scanned her surroundings, as if anticipating another unfortunate surprise. “What in the world was that?”

Karra mocked her guests with a satisfied expression. “It seems dearest brother just finished dressing down your engine compartment. Amazing what a few well-placed sticks of dynamite will do.”

“Sabotage! This reeks of Royalist brutality, “ Kenzo accused.

“Royalists indeed. But come now. Brutal we are certainly not. I prefer methodical.“

“But the engine compartment is a whole other car away,” Ella added. “It could be a hundred sticks of dynamite and we wouldn‘t feel the shock. Unless. . .”

Karra skipped playfully on the bed, then jumped onto the floor behind her. “I do love explosions. Especially the ones that are set off at all the right vulnerabilities to ignite a most predictable chain that collapses both bulkheads and machinery across the whole spine of this wonderous little ship.”

Ella glared. “How do you know so much about this ship?”

Karra pressed a finger against her lips. “A little birdy told us.”

Calvin, once again readied his sword while Ella snatched a hefty metal rod from a nearby shelf. The faces of Karra’s three aggressors fumed of anger and passioned outrage, which, considering the room’s limited space and Kenzo’s suspected competency with the katana in his hand, left her at an unexpected disadvantage.

“Well, bugger,” Karra blurted. “This hardly played out the way I wanted. Well, ‘c’est lav ie‘.”

She retreated several steps, then gave a gracious bow. “A pleasure to finally meet you Ella. Oh and do be mindful of our future date. Because though you may have avoided it this time, death will surely find you again.”

With a gestured click of her wrists, she released the tension in a series of springs embedded in her gloves that fired off the talons from her fingertips. Ella and her friends bounded for the floor as the tiny, dagger-like volley flew above their heads and pummeled the wall behind them.

Blowing a parting kiss, Karra hastened a cat-like retreat through the blown porthole behind her.

Kenzo returned to his feet and gave Ella a hard look.

“Tell me everything when I get back.” He then glanced at Calvin. “The both of you.”

Then, leaping through the porthole, he gave chase.

Across ceiling-bolted walkways, hurdling over pipes and skimming across grated vents, Kenzo tailed the gleefully laughing girl. She half-sprinted, half pranced, zipping from one direction to another as she joyfully badgered-on the boy behind her.

“You can’t catch this bird silly fox,” she said, tossing her cloak, which briefly caught against Kenzo’s face.

He stumbled for several paces, then sheered bits of the offending cloth away with his katana. Regaining his vision, he found himself standing alone atop the landship with hardly a sign of the girl.

“Just like a Royalist assassin to run,” he shouted. “Cowards, all of you.”

He kicked a nearby exposed pipe, fighting the urge to leave. But his instinct told him that he would not be so easily abandoned. It was then that his suspicions remained true, as a somewhat distant, jaunty voice answered.

“If you’re going to be so crude, then I minus will not show myself at all. And here I thought I’d found myself an enchantingly rakish sort of man.”

“Come out and fight me.”

“Oh my. Straight to the point, just like a true Imperialist. I have a feeling you’ll be much more fun than that preachy Hispanian.”

“My pride does not rest with the Empire. It is with my clan.”

“How forgetful of me. Your people are still in that nasty little clan civil war. How many clans are there now? There are so many, I tend to lose count.”

“I said come out.”

“What if I don’t feel like it? After all, you‘re not the one I‘m after.”

“Fine. Then don’t come out. But tell me this. Why are you doing this?”

A resounding laugh filled the air.

“Because Baroness Alionora told us it would be fun. And you know what? It is.”

Something tumbled across the ground, catching his attention long enough to realize the need to bound for cover. The spark from the dynamite’s fuze whipped about as it rolled to a stop, then exploded into a fiery ball that ripped and tossed pieces of the landship’s hull in every direction. Kenzo managed just in time to find safety behind an outcrop of metal paneling, but the blast sent him reeling while the sudden blaze left his clothes smoldering and in tatters.

Slowly, Kenzo lifted himself to his feet and saw standing above the smoke, an assassin identical to the viciously condescending girl he’d chased just a moment before. However, there was a darkly reserved demeanor about this one that left Kenzo somewhat intimidated.

“Karra, it’s time to go home,” the being announced in a masculine voice.

“Aw. But Kain, I haven’t killed the girl yet.” Karra hung upside down from a watch tower high above them, relishing in her absurd posture as she swung back and forth with her legs wrapped around a support bar.

“There will be plenty of oppportunities for that later. For now, our presence is known, and that just might inconvenience our stay here.”

Kenzo, realizing that he’d lost his weapon in his recent tumble, reached for a torn piece of railing and held it at the ready.

“What could you possibly want with Ella?” he shouted.

“Rather resilient, these Imperial’s,” Kain said giving him an expressionless glance.

“And brave too,” Karra added, idly swinging from bar to bar like a monkey.

Kain crossed his arms and unamusedly peered down at the young man.

“Know this Imperial; seeing as I do not care to waste anymore dynamite, and the fact that my sister’s infatuation with you is somewhat diminished, we will let you keep your life.”

“I’m not scared of you.”

“Good. People who have no fear of death, tend to meet it all the sooner. You’d best watch her, because Ella will meet hers in time.”

As his gaze remained focused on Kain, Karra approached her victim from behind and struck him hard on the back of his neck. Kenzo slumped into unconciousness and the two siblings continued their escape.

“Kain,” Karra said as they sprinted away. “I think you’re right. That boy doesn’t deserve to sing at my funeral.”

Her brother offered a sliver of a smile.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 6: DAUGHTER OF NOTHING