The Adventures of the Jade Dragon

Episode 8

The Jade Dragon and the Mountain of Heaven

Chapter 6 Melissa

Melissa moved silently through the rocks on the edge of the bandit camp. Death itself could not have made less noise, and in this instance, Melissa was death itself. She had left Solange and the nanny in what she hoped was a safe refuge off the main trail. If anything went wrong the girl had enough money to make her way back to Kunming where she could alert the local authorities. Not that that would do any good, but at least her child would be safe. Fortunately, Roshac had enough cash on him to see the nanny and the baby safely back to the United States, and she had written a letter to her heroine companion Suzi Kendall in Metro City explaining what had happened. It was the best she could do. Now she just had to hope that the nanny would never need to use the letter.

She hoped that she was in time. There was no telling what Khasar might have done to Sun Lin by now, and Natassia had been in a coma. She could easily have died in the time Melissa was away.

The first sentry was just ahead. Melissa readied the rope she had in her hands. It was a thin piece of tough twine wrapped about two short pieces of wood. She would have referred wire, but it was the best she could do on short notice. Tucked into one of the boots she had taken from Roshac was the thug’s sheath knife. She would use it when she had to.

The trick was not to just kill the sentry, but to do it in such a way that his body would not be noticed. Melissa had studied the camp and the movements of the sentries. She had fifteen minutes, timed by Roshac’s watch before this sentry would be missed.

The first man died quite quickly. The cord cut into the bandit’s neck choking off his air and blood supply so completely that he passed out after only a few seconds. After that Melissa simply kept it tight until she was sure he was dead.

The second man made a bit more of a fuss, but he still died silently enough that no one was alerted. The next few bandits walked right into her. She simply had to wait while they reported in and pick off each one. Inside of half an hour there was not a single man left guarding the camp.

“It’s what I was trained for,” Melissa thought, thinking of her life as a member of the Assassin’s guild. Now she needed to find Khasar’s tent. What was in there was valuable above all else. She would, however, have to be very careful. There were still at least a hundred live bandits in the camp.

It wasn’t difficult to find the bandit chieftain’s tent. It was the largest in the camp. It was also the only one from which the sounds of laughing and revelry could be heard. Melissa had noted when she was in the camp that Khasar often amused himself and some of the senior members of his band by bringing in women from the surrounding villages. Most of them were far from willing participants, but there were always one or two who went willingly.

Melissa had hoped that Khasar might be getting an early night. It would have made things so much easier. Now she would have to try and sneak into a tent that was occupied by people who were fully awake. It would not be easy, and she didn’t have much time. Any second and the dead sentries might be discovered. She did not have the luxury of waiting for a more opportune moment.

Silent as a ghost she moved through the camp, past the quiet tents of sleeping men, and a couple that were not so quiet. The sound of vigorous sexual activity could be heard coming from these and Melissa wondered how much of it was consensual. She longed to stop and find out, but dared not take the time. She passed within a few yards of the cage where the Jade Dragon and Nova were confined. She had noted it earlier in the day. Nova still seemed to be unconscious, while Sun Lin seemed still crippled by the brutal ordeal she had been put through by Khasar. It was tempting to kill the guards next to the cage, but rescuing them would not be enough. It was imperative that she first obtain the Dragon’s Eye, and that was almost certainly in Khasar’s tent.

The front of the tent was guarded so Melissa crept around to the back. It was a large tent, almost as big as a small house. She knew from her previous visit to the tent that the front part contained the equivalent of a living room. She had never seen the back part of the tent, but guessed it probably contained sleeping areas for Khasar and his mistresses.

It was fortunate that she made no noise because when she arrived at the back she almost stumbled over a dozing guard. It was the guard’s misfortune to be there and to wake up at precisely that time. Melissa didn’t have the time to use her crude garrote, instead she stabbed Roshac’s sheath knife sideways into the throat of the startled guard. His dying was bloody, but at least it was quick and quiet.

Wiping the knife on the dead bandit’s clothing, Melissa moved to the back of the tent and made a small slit near the bottom. Inside it was completely black, but with the amount of noise coming from the front of the tent she guessed that it was probably not occupied. In any case it was a chance she would have to take. Slowly she crept into the dark space and then waited, taking in her surroundings.

It was dead quiet in the back of the tent. When she was sure that it was not occupied, Melissa moved toward the front. The squealing and laughter coming from that area seemed to indicate that Khasar was enjoying himself immensely.

Moving on her belly, Melissa wormed her way toward the lantern light at the front of the tent. The back of the tent was separated from the front by a thin veil of beads. Melissa could see through them perfectly. What she saw did not shock her, but it was impressive.

Khasar was entertaining four women, all of whom were participating by choice from the looks of things. One of them had her tongue stuck as far up his anus as it would go. Another was spread in front of him where he could lick her vulva; the third was pinned beneath him and writhing in pleasure as he transfixed her with his manhood, and still another was sprawled across his back, her naked, sweating body massaging his.

Certain that a man so involved would not notice her, Melissa raised her head and scanned the tent. Where would the Dragon’s Eye be? She was sure that Khasar would keep the precious gem close. There were a number of boxes in the tent, but nothing that indicated that any of them might hide the mystical jewel. Since Khasar was not wearing any clothing he was not concealing it on his body. Somehow Melissa had to find a way to figure out where Khasar had put it and she had to do so quickly. It was probably only a matter of minutes before one of the dead sentries was discovered.

Her eyes fell on the lamp. If the tent caught fire… Ever so slowly Melissa moved from her hiding place, snaking her way across the floor only feet away from the orgy. The single lamp was suspended from a crosstree about six feet off the floor of the tent. She would have to stand to reach it. Tensing her muscles, Melissa waited until one of the girls Khasar was entertaining let loose a particularly loud cry. Then uncoiling like a snake she leapt up, caught the lantern and hurled it across the tent, splashing the flammable oil as she did so. In a continuous flow of her body, Melissa dropped back to the floor and rolled into the back of the tent. From there she watched as the flames rolled across the floor and the girls scattered before it.

But it was Khasar Melissa watched. Instead of fleeing the tent he ran to a Taoist statue, and grabbing it, headed for the door of the tent. It was what Melissa had hoped. She doubted that Khasar was very religious. Vaulting from her hiding place she hurled the knife with deadly precision. It caught Khasar between the shoulder blades. With a scream, the bandit arched backward falling into the flames and taking the statue with him.

“Damn,” Melissa exclaimed. She hadn’t wanted that to happen. Most of the inside of the tent was ablaze by now, and the smoke was suffocating. But she dared not leave the statue where it was. Grabbing the centre pole of the tent she hauled on it with all her strength, bring the tent down around her and dropping it right onto the flames. The weight of the tent drove her to her knees, but also smothered most of the fire. Ignoring the remaining flames, Melissa thrust her hand into fire and pulled the statue free; ignoring both the pain and the fact that Khasar’s grip on the statue showed that he was still alive.

Fighting her way through the folds of the tent, she managed to crawl to the hole she had cut in the back. Outside, the shouts of the bandits showed that most of the camp had been awakened, but she was counting on the confusion and the darkness to help her escape.

Outside she ran straight into two of the bandits. They were much more surprised to see her than she was to see them and this time Melissa used her third weapon, her hands and feet; driving her fingers into the neck of the closest bandit and then pivoting and smashing her foot into the side of the second bandit’s head.

She didn’t wait to see if they were hors de combat. There were too many other bandits converging in her direction. Now there was only one way to save the situation. She headed for the cage where Sun Lin and Natassia were confined.

Shots rang out as she headed away from the smoldering tent. Shouts of alarm sounded throughout the camp, but without Khasar to direct them, the bandits seemed momentarily confused. That and the darkness helped Melissa to escape unscathed. In front of the cage were two more guards armed with rifles. It helped Melissa that there were so many men running this way and that in the camp. Ordinarily they probably would have shot at or at least challenged anyone running toward the cage, but in the chaotic atmosphere Melissa had created they hesitated as the lone female figure emerged from the darkness. Melissa did not give them any time to adjust. Without slowing she slammed full tilt into the closest bandit, her hands and feet doing deadly work as she hit him with a flurry of blows, driving him back into the other sentry. The man staggered back, attempting to bring his rifle to bear, but at that moment an arm from within the cage encircled his neck. He dropped his rifle struggling helplessly as Sun Lin choked the life out of him.

Melissa checked the door to the cage. It was chained shut with a crude padlock. For a trained assassin removing the lock was the work of only a few seconds. Melissa darted into the cage, and replacing the chain and lock, moved to the back of the enclosure to where Natassia lay, still unconscious.

Melissa removed the small statue from where she had tucked it inside her clothing. Tipping it over she could feel that there was a wooded plug in the bottom. She pried it out with her fingers and immediately a green glow shone from within.

Melissa moved to Natassia’s side. The heroine’s breathing was very shallow. Was she in time? Had Sun Lin in her battered condition been able to help her companion? It had been three full days since Natassia had eaten or drunk anything unless Sun Lin had managed to get anything into her while Melissa had been gone.

In front of the cage, Sun Lin stood next to the bars, screening Melissa from those outside. By this time a few of the bandits had remembered the prisoners and had come to investigate. They had found the two dead bandits outside the cage and were shouting at Sun Lin demanding to know what had happened. It would only be a matter of a few seconds before they realized that there was someone in the cage who had not been there before.

Melissa opened Natassia’s shirt and placed the shimmering gem between her breasts. The Dragon’s Eye glowed fiercely radiating an unearthly power. Natassia stirred, awakening from her almost enchanted sleep. With a gasp she sucked in air, almost as if she had been holding her breath for a long time. Then her exposed breasts seemed to swell and her nipples stiffened as if excited sexually. Natassia opened her eyes. “Where am I?” she gasped. “What happened?”

“You were shot,” Melissa whispered. “And the Dragon’s Eye was stolen. You’ve been unconscious for days.”

“Why are you whispering?” asked Natassia, and then quite suddenly a look of comprehension swept over her face, to be replaced by one of determination. Her eyes went past Melissa to the Chinese bandits outside the cage, several of whom were threatening Sun Lin with their rifles.

She sat up, clutching the Dragon’s Eye in her hand. Assessing the situation, she placed the gem against the hollow of her navel and bound it in place with a strip of cloth ripped from the bottom of her shirt. Then buttoning her shirt, she leaped to her feet. Exploding from the cage, she charged into the Chinese bandits, closely followed by Melissa.

The last thing the bandits had been expecting was for the cage containing their prisoners to simply disintegrate, the door flying outward and followed by a raging demon. This time there was no organized resistance as Nova ripped into them. The broken bodies of bandits flew in all directions as she swept amongst them. Directly behind her was Melissa, “picking up the garbage,” as the heroine-assassin thought of it. The double attack, launched in the middle of the night, broke the bandits, and they fled, their cries of “demons” underscoring their terror.

Natassia and Melissa stood in the middle of the almost deserted camp. On the ground around them were the bodies of over two dozen dead and injured men. Only the women the bandits had forced to act as sexual slaves remained. There seemed little point in pursuing the fleeing bandits. It would be too difficult to locate them in the dark, and they had fled in all directions.

“Sun Lin,” said Melissa. Natassia turned in the direction of the cage. Melissa’s tone of voice and the fact that Sun Lin had not followed her into battle meant only one thing and that was that their leader was severely injured. She ran back to the cage almost as fast as she had charged from it.

The green eyed heroine was waiting outside the ruined door of the cage. She smiled as Natassia and Melissa returned, but Natassia could deduce from her body language that she was in severe pain. “Sit,” Natassia ordered, and placing her hands on Sun Lin’s bare shoulders urged her power into the Chinese heroine’s body. It took only seconds for the energy of the Dragon’s Eye to heal the festering lacerations that Khasar had laid across her back. Then Nova turned to Melissa. “And you?” she asked.

“I’ve got a bit of a problem with my feet,” answered the ex-assassin. In fact, Melissa’s feet burned. She had bound them up as best she could before returning to rescue Sun Lin and Natassia, and had simply ignored the pain until now. Natassia’s smile indicated that she understood Melissa’s understatement. Repeating what she had done to Sun Lin, she dealt with the bruises and lacerations that afflicted Melissa’s body.

“See if there is anyone else in the camp that needs my attention,” Natassia said. “In the meantime, is there any food around here? I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.”

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