Theurgy: Forsaken Oaths (Book Two)

Chapter 63 Children of the Empire

    Moxie groaned as she slowly rose to consciousness. She felt as if a thick fog had been torn away from her suddenly, leaving her painfully aware once more of the world around her. She racked her brain, trying to remember the last thing she had done, her coming to Antalya, speaking with whoever was in charge, and then . . . a blur. A blur she couldn't readily decipher until she noticed where she was. She was in some low-lit room with many sheets and pillows littering the floor. Men and women laying asleep or dazing, completely nude, atop one another, including her. She looked down and saw that her uniform and her weapons were taken off and left in a pie in her corner of the room; she almost screamed as she felt a hand of a woman settle on her leg, and gathered a sheet to cover her naked form. It was a miracle she did not transform on the spot and rampage from the sheer embarrassment. But she would have to suffer worst as she noticed footsteps carefully traversing the aftermath of what had most certainly occurred in this place.

"My my," Lyse's straight, but amused voice, washed over her, sending chills down her spine and red in her cheeks as she turned to regard the young prince. "Of all the places, I didn't expect to behold you here, Moxie Smithe."

Moxie gritted her teeth, suffering the humiliation before giving the biggest forced smile she could muster, showing off her extended fangs. "If you ever mention a word of this to Makyra or John, I'll tear your spine through your arse."

"Duly noted," Lyse nodded in acceptance. "But in exchange, I have a few questions. Or perhaps demand. Please become decent so we can properly discuss such things. And if you need a few more minutes to . . . gather yourself, I understand."

Moxie let out a sigh, and carefully began picking herself up, and getting dressed in at least her dress shirt and trousers before following the knight outside. To her surprise, she saw a lot of her men about, sifting through the rubble, helping out injured, and so on. And there were bodies, wearing Antalya uniforms that were more than likely Talin agents. This was the aftermath of a battle, she assumed. She doesn't know who ordered her men to leave the Nautilus, but she wished they had done so sooner and spared her the embarrassment of being seen naked by Lyse like this. Right now he was conversing with Blij, Tug and Rali, who all turned to greet her, the smiles on Rali and Tug's faces hiding nothing of the fact that they knew what had happened to her.

"Hey captain," Rali said jovially. "I might be somewhat out of line when i say this, but if you were simply looking for a good time here in Antalya, who not invite the rest of us, eh?"

"She wasn't," Lyse said before Moxie could snap at her physician. "She was under a spell. She did not do this of her own volition."

"Are you alright, Moxie?" Blij asked her with a steadying gaze."

Moxie shrugged. "I'll be fine . . ."

She gestured towards the wreckage that once was the headquarters of the police here, Talin's base of operation, which was nothing more than kindling and alls supporting nothing at all. And near the center of this was the body of a woman, broken and bloody, sitting in a crater. "You've certainly left a lot for us to clean up here, Prince. Thankfully the engineers and architects will be here within the next few days for that."

"At least we have somewhat of a . . . messy canvas to build from," Tug remarked, puffing out a large cloud of burned tobacco into the air. "Still, though, rebuilding this place will take some time, and without the military police, we're the only authority holding this place down."

"You will of course have the full backing of the Empire," Lyse said. "Antalya will be important in this war to come, and you will be it's protector, from here on out. I trust you to do what you must, admiral. Especially if it means taking care of that . . . monster that plague the seas now."