11 A Raid IV

I ducked low, dodging the fast swing of the rifle's buttstock, and using my right hand as a pivot, I bent backward and hit the back of his left knee with a kick.

His leg buckled, and he fell on one knee, wincing in pain, as I twisted my body up and sent a heavy side kick to his cheek. The force threw his face against the wooden railing with a bang, his gun falling to his feet.

He grabbed the railing, groaning painfully, as he used it as support, trying to rise to his feet. Not giving him the chance, I rose to my feet and edged closer to him, striking a nerve cluster at the base of his neck precisely with a measured punch.

He slumped to the floor, his eyes closing, as he slipped into unconsciousness. Rubbing my shoulder that ached from a previous attack, I glanced to my right. Another guard was lying motionless on the wooden floor, his rifle lying at the foot of the staircase.

"That makes it eight now," I said, my chest heaving up and down as I breathed heavily, sweat trailing down my face to soak my half mask. "Two more to go, and I think I know where they are."

I walked to the railing and bent slightly, laying my arms on it as I caught my breath, looking down below at Setesh's throne room. It was wide with polished sandalwood flooring, sandalwood wall paneling, and a well-lit chandelier hanging from the paneled ceiling.

There was a throne, a gilded ornate throne inlaid with a menagerie of colorful gems and rubies resting on a pedestal with two tall black jackal-headed Nish'ta releasers standing on both sides of the throne.

If I had to guess, this was the site where he brainwashed and manipulated his followers using Nish'ta. Also, it was a worship ground, the place he made his followers worship him as their God.

Staring at the throne just lying there and picturing him on it, being worshipped by abducted and brainwashed young men and women, made me grimace, a cold feeling of disgust welling up deep in my gut.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, opening my mental barrier for dark disturbing images and thoughts to rush into my brain.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it, I calmed myself and shook my head as I got off the railing, straightening myself to walk down the staircase on my right.

This was my last stop. I'd scouted the whole house now except for one last particular section, the section I sensed Setesh in.

I'd incapacitated all the men; only two remained, and I was guessing those remaining two were his personal attendants or, to put it more accurately, his eunuchs.

I was confident I could take them at the same time, even if Setesh joined in. So, it was time to launch the last assault that would essentially complete this raid.

Unfortunately, the fact that my mission was nearing its completion didn't set my mind at ease. In fact, it made me troubled.

So far, I hadn't encountered any females in this house. Not even one. I'd found their bedrooms and their bathrooms during my search, but none of them were there.

I had an inkling where they were, but I hoped I was wrong. If I was right, they were probably together with Setesh.

Which was very bad and disturbing because like every Goa'uld, Setesh used human women for one thing and one thing only. They were part of his harem. No, harem was saying it lightly.

They were his sex slaves, and unlike most Goa'uld sex slaves who were willing and found their service extremely honorable, these weren't. After all, brainwashed women couldn't give consent...

My face fell into a heavy frown at the thought of this, my fists clenching tight in anger till shards of pain stabbed at them, as I walked into a corridor near the foot of the stairs, my right hand slipping into my vest to take out my Zat'nik'tel.

One thing I hated more than anything in this world was rape. I couldn't stand it. It was just so repulsive. That was basically what Setesh had been doing to the women and was probably doing now.

If I had even the slightest reservation of not ending his life, it was all gone now. He'd die today, and I was going to make sure it was as painful as possible.

After a couple of minutes of tracing back my steps, I arrived at the corridor I'd been avoiding for the last one and a half hours, and steeling my mind, I walked into it.

Immediately, I felt a mental tug at the back of my head, pulling in a specific direction, towards an opening at the end of the corridor, curving to the right. I strode towards it.

As I drew closer, the tug became stronger, and this time, I could sense, almost feel the presence of a Goa'uld on the surface of my skin. It was supposed to feel familiar, like the feeling you'd get around a family member or a kindred.

But all I could feel was revulsion, a deep nagging sense of disgust and contempt that made the hairs at the back of my neck stand at attention. It was almost sickening and made my tongue taste bitter.

Halting as I reached an inch from the opening, I silently laid my body on the clean smooth floor, on my stomach, crawled to the very edge of the corridor that led to the opening, and craned my head out slightly to peer at the corridor.

Unlike most of the corridors in this house, this one was short and wide, almost akin to a hallway, with exquisite and priceless paintings running along the walls.

There was a golden chandelier hanging down from above, casting a dim soft glow to the place that brought out the red of the carpet spread across the flooring.

At the end of the hallway and the carpet stood a large and thick wooden double door. Two young men, teenagers, in distinct flowing white robes, stood sentry on both sides of the door, Zat'nik'tels strapped to their sides, and ring transport devices sleeved on their forearms.

These were the last two male members of the cult, and behind them was Setesh's private chamber. All I had to do was take them out, then Setesh would have to face me alone, and then he'd die. I could almost hear his screams.

The idea of that brought a dark smile to my face as I crawled back before I got noticed, pushing myself up to my feet. Thumbing the release hatch of my Zat'nik'tel, the serpentine weapon buzzed erect and the maw widened.

Steeling my nerves with a couple of breaths, I slid to the entrance of the hallway. Taken by surprise, the hands of the eunuchs went to the weapons on their sides, mouths opening to sound an alarm.

But they didn't get that chance. With two loud buzzes, two streaks of bright blue light shot out of my Zat'nik'tels, one after the other, hitting the two young men.

They both spasmed and slumped to the ground, blue light dancing over every inch of their bodies. In a couple of seconds, the lights vanished, and they became motionless.

Slowly, I strode to the wooden door, stepping over the bodies, and paused right in front of it. There was no sound behind the door.

It was either the room was soundproof, Setesh and the girls were sleeping, or they were all just silently waiting for me to open the door so that they'd all gang up on me at once. Either way, it really didn't matter. I was going in.

I stretched my left hand towards the door and mentally selected the telekinetic module of my harakesh. The ring weapon hummed as it activated, and the humming continued, the sound increasing in intensity each second.

The moment the humming died down, indicating the completion of its charge building up, I placed my palm on the door and with a thought, signaled a release. The door immediately exploded.