Power Rangers Zeo: Venusian Encounter, Heather Ray [books that read to you .txt] 📗

get back from the conference in Germany? Oh, you're going directly to Florida? I'm leaving this evening, and Diane flew in this morning directly from college. Okay, I'll see you in Florida, dear. Bye!"

As soon as Leila hung up the phone, the assassin leapt from the shadows with her sword drawn. Leila managed to dodge the attack, but the sword cut through the phone cord. Leila stood up and looked at her attacker calmly.

"Scorpina. I thought you now served only Lord Zedd. You seem to still be Syren's favorite flunkie!"

"And you seem to be just as spirited as ever, Leila," said Scorpina with an evil grin, "Now, are you coming with me peacefully to Venus Island, or will I have to use force?"

"What do you think?" asked Leila, quickly grabbing a butcher's knife from the drawer, "I admit I may be a little rusty, but I can hold my own against the likes of you!"

"You were never my equal, Leila," said Scorpina angrily, sheathing her sword and pulling out a smaller dagger, "You have no hope of defeating me!"

The two women circled each other cautiously in the spacious kitchen of the Ryan family. Leila made the first offensive move, striking at Scorpina with the sharp knife. Scorpina easily dodged the attack and delivered a high swing, which Leila managed to dodge. Scorpina drew first blood--cutting Leila accross the cheek. Almost immediately, the cut began to stop bleeding, and in a few minutes all that was left was a faint scar. Leila's eyes flashed in anger as she leapt from the tile floor and stabbed Scorpina in the chest. The blade didn't penetrate the golden armor, and Scorpina delivered a mighty kick into Leila's stomach, causing her to fall to the floor again. Before Leila could rise, Scorpina grabbed her by her auburn hair and positioned the dagger on Leila's neck, drawing a bit of blood.

"I ask you again, will you come with me, or do I have to dispose of you on the spot?"

"Your metal blade cannot finish me," said Leila, "I am full-blooded Venusian. I am immortal!"

"Almost," said Scorpina with a wicked laugh. Suddenly the blade of the small dagger began to glow with heat. Leila winced as the flame burned her neck.

"This is no ordinary blade," said Scorpina, pressing the dagger deeper into Leila's soft flesh, "It is a Hyperion Dagger, forged in magical fires. It has internalized the power of an inferno into its magical metal, and Venusians are susceptible to fire. I knew what I was doing when I came here."

Leila's face curled into a frown as she looked down at the blade. "What do you want of me, Scorpina? If you only came to take my life, I would no longer be breathing."

"Indeed. Syren wanted to kill you and the descendents of Naya and Avagone at a ceremony celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of the Naya Massacre."

"No matter what may happen to me, the rebellion will live on! The day shall come when Dulcea will return, and Venus Island will be freed from the tyranny of Zedd and Syren."

"Not in this lifetime, 'Sister'! Oh, and one more thing -- you mentioned something while you were on the telephone earlier. Something about your 'little girl'

?"

Scorpina could feel Leila's entire body tense. She smiled in triumph. "So, you have a daughter, eh? Where can I find her?"

"You might as well end my life, Scorpina. I shall not help you track down the living descendents of Naya, Avagone, or myself."

"We already know of the descendents of the others. You are the only uncertainty, since you have lived in hiding for a century."

"Well, I plan to remain the uncertainty," declared Leila indignantly. Scorpina only cackled.

"Lord Zedd certainly has a magic spell capable of loosening your tongue, Leila. Telling me of your own free will shall no doubt be easier for you. In either case, the result is the same -- your child shall die, along with the other hybrids!"

Leila smiled weakly as she swiftly grabbed hold of Scorpina's wrist. She held the fist holding the dagger, and lowered it to her heart.

"You are right. There is only one way I shall be able to keep my secret. You may have found me, but you know nothing about me. Therefore, you need me to get the information you need. And you shall not have it, one way or another! For the future of Venus Island!"

Leila plunged the dagger into her heart, and in a flash of fiery light, all that remained was a pile of ashes and spots of blood on the white tiles of the kitchen. Scorpina rose to her feet mutely, her fist clenched in rage.

"Blast!" she cried, "She has cheated me! It shall take me forever to find the child now! But at least I know of her existence. Mark my word, Leila, your sacrifice shall be in vain! The girl shall be found. Soon."

Chapter Seven

In the gymnasium in Florida, Kimberly, Renee, and Eric practice routines under the stern eye of Coach Schmidt and his two assistants--Trevor Monroe and Ashley Stevens. Ashley monitors Eric, while Coach Schmidt watches Renee and Trevor watches Kim. As Kimberly dismounts from the balance beam, Trevor tosses her a towel.

"Nice job, Kim," he said as she approached him, wiping her forehead with the towel, "But you really need to work on your dismount."

Kim smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Okay, but first lemme get a bottle of water."

"I can get it for you," he offered with a smirk and bowing, "Anything for my graceful angel."

Kim giggled and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Whatever," she said, walking out of the room.

"You got five minutes, Beautiful!" he called after her, "You don't have much time left before the individuals!"

Kim nodded and jogged to the hallway. She stopped and leaned against the wall, rubbing her arms with her hands. She looked down at her feet sadly.

Oh, I HATE

it when he calls me 'Beautiful'

!

she thought as she slowly made her way to the vending machine, It only reminds me of Tommy, and how happy we were together. We felt that nothing could ever come between us -- not Rita, not Zedd, not duty, not a thing! In the end, life just led us in two separate directions.

Kim absently dropped a few coins in the machine, and waited as the bottle fell to the opening. She picked it up and took a long sip.

I still feel so guilty about that letter! I know I could have handled the situation better. Instead, I let my own insecurities take precedence over Tommy's feelings, and I selfishly sent him a letter instead of talking to him, and making him understand. Nonetheless, I know what I did was for the best. We couldn't stay together. There's just too much to come between us, and like Renee always said -- long distance relationships never work. Someone always gets hurt. She was right.

Kim walked down the hall towards the gym entrance, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to see the face of a beautiful blonde woman in a shimmering suit of gold armor. Kim gasped as the woman proceeded to punch Kimberly in the face. Kim fell to the ground, dropping her bottle of water. The bottle rolled down the hall and past the open door of the gym. Trevor, who was waiting for Kim to return, saw the bottle roll past.

"Kim?" he called, running down the hall. He stopped when he saw Kim lying on the floor, barely conscious, and a woman in golden armor standing above her with a glowing red sword. "KIM!!"

The woman glanced at Trevor and smiled wickedly. She stepped over Kim and approached the shocked young man. Trevor froze in place, as he watched the woman's green eyes turn gold.

"Trevor," cried Kim weakly, "RUN!!"

"He cannot hear you, child of Naya," said the attacker, turning back towards Kim. Kim rose to her feet and looked in horror at Trevor's still body.

"What have you done to him?" she cried angrily, "Who are you? What do you want from me?!"

"I am Dalal, Venusian warrior and enchantress. I have entranced this male with my powers. I am here to put an end to your life, Kimberly Anne Hart. Any other questions?"

Kim stared at Dalal in shock, and touched her hand to her nose. Seconds ago, her nose was bleeding profusely, but now it was completely dry of blood. Kim looked at her hand curiously.

"I see you have already healed from that punch. But you cannot heal from a Hyperion blade!"

Dalal dove at Kim at superhuman speed, but Kim managed to leap out of the way at equal speed. Kim flipped gracefully through the air, and landed a good twenty feet from her jumping off point. She blinked in surprise as she landed, and continued to dodge the energy blasts Dalal fired. All the noise attracted the attention of the other gymnasts in the building. Renee, Eric, and Coach Schmidt ran into the hall to investigate, and witnessed Kimberly's amazing flips.

"What is going on?" asked Coach Schmidt in his thick accent.

"Sorry, gentlemen," said Dalal, her eyes glowing gold, "But I don't need any complications."

Immediately, both the coach and Eric froze in place. Renee stood her ground in mute shock as she saw her friends freeze before her eyes. Dalal lifted her hand into the air, forming a sphere of energy.

"I am unable to entrance human females," she said, "so I have to deal with you in a more--permanent manner."

Dalal fired her sphere of energy at Renee, who was too surprised to move. Kimberly screamed and ran to intercept the attack, but she wasn't fast enough. The sphere of pulsing energy crashed into Renee's body, throwing the girl into the wall. Kimberly dropped to her knees and cradled the still body of her roommate, tears filling her eyes. She then glanced at the frozen bodies of her friends, and suddenly, she felt a pulse of power in her heart. Her eyes began to glow pink, and much to her surprise, she saw her hands pulse with radiant pink light. Kim gently lay Renee's head on the ground and turned her attention to Dalal. She didn't notice the blood dripping from Renee's mouth slowly dry up and vanish.

"Okay, Dalal," said Kim, clenching her fists angrily, "Now you've gone too far! Release my friends from your magic spell!"

"Surely you jest!" laughed Dalal, "You aren't even of full Venusian blood! You are by no means my equal!"

Kimberly leapt into the air, leaving a streak of pink light behind her. Kim plowed into Dalal, and Dalal heard the sound of a mighty crane