For two or three days, Alex lived in the West Lake guesthouse, learning martial arts moves from Zora. There was a large courtyard next to the lake, and it was an ideal place to practice.
The Sultan of Brunei often watched, eager to take Zora home, but Zora kept finding reasons to delay their return.
On the morning of the fourth day, Alex and Zora were practicing by the lake when they heard a voice calling out.
"Have you missed me?"
Alex was shocked. He looked around, trying to find where the voice had come from. Georgina was skilled at hiding, so Alex wasn't surprised when he didn't spot her.
"Georgina is here," Alex said, keeping his voice low.
Zora looked around and called out, "Georgina! Have you recovered from our last encounter?"
Georgina came out of hiding and rushed straight at her. But Zora had been ready for her. She simply hit out at Georgina and took a step back.
Georgina stood and glared at Zora. Today, Georgina was a beautiful woman with bright eyes and her hair in braids.
"Georgina!" Alex exclaimed, happy to see her. His mental state was much better than when he had last been in New York.
Georgina sneered at Alex. "You ran away from New York without my permission," she said. "And now I find you here with her." She glared at Zora. "Well, now you'll find out what happens to anyone who betrays me."
"Georgina, you don't understand," he said, surprised by her anger. "I left New York because I had something important to do. I don't want you and Zora to fight."
Three beautiful young women walked into the courtyard.
"My lady, we have created plenty of chaos throughout the city," one of them said. "That should keep the police busy for a while. We've also dealt with the staff at this guesthouse, so you shouldn't attract any attention."
"Good!" Georgina said, smiling at her.
Two members of staff had heard the commotion and had come out to see what was happening. When they walked into the courtyard, they saw Georgina standing near Zora. "Who are you?" one of them demanded. "Step away from the queen!"
"I must have missed you two when I was cleaning up," said one of the young women. "How dare you address the Lady of the Moon like that."
She darted forward and hit the man with a move that knocked him unconscious. One of the other women did the same to his companion.
Alex gaped in shock. The three women were Georgina's students, and they were incredibly powerful. So how much more powerful was Georgina?
"Georgina, what kind of nonsense are you pulling now?" Zora asked, shaking her head. "And why are you calling yourself the Lady of the Moon? Are you ever going to grow up?"
The three young women were Celeste, Selene, and Callisto. Along with a fourth woman, Luna, they were the Moon Maidens, who were second only to Georgina in the Moon cult she had created.
"Bitch," Georgina spat out. "I can't wait to see you die!" She smirked. "By the way, I have a surprise for you. Do you know this woman?"
She gestured, and Luna walked into the courtyard with a particularly ugly woman with short, curly hair and pockmarks all over her face.
"Nelly!" Alex called, surprised to see her.
Zora was also moved when she saw Nelly.
"When I arrived in Washington D.C., I saw this girl selling pancakes, and I recognized her as your friend," Georgina said. "You seemed quite fond of her, so how about I kill her right here in front of you?"
She grabbed Nelly by the neck and lifted her off the ground. Nelly gasped, fighting for air.
"Do you really think I care?" Zora said, forcing a shrug. "I'm not that sentimental. She's just a maid who ran away. What use is she to me?"
Georgina shoved Nelly toward the four young women.
"You nearly got me last time," she said to Zora. "But you won't be so lucky this time." She launched herself right at Zora. "This time, I'm going to kill you." She wasn't afraid of Zora at all.
Zora shot toward Georgina, and the women began to fight. They moved so quickly that they were almost a blur as they struggled against each other.
Alex stared in shock, realizing that the two women were experts, and they were equally matched. Then he looked at Nelly. All four Moon Maidens were highly skilled and ruthless. He feared Nelly was in great danger.
The four women were all looking at Nelly, and Georgina was completely focused on Zora.
Alex ran over to the Moon Maidens, hoping to save Nelly.
"Don't come over here!" Nelly yelled when she saw him approach.
"He's with Zora," Celeste said. "Grab him! When the Lady has defeated Zora, we'll give him to her. Luna, watch the girl! Selene, Callisto, let's deal with this loser."
Celeste, Selene, and Callisto rushed at Alex. Although they were young, they had spent their whole lives learning martial arts. Georgina had been their teacher, and they were extremely skilled.
Alex blocked their attack, shocking the three women, who had thought he was just an ordinary person. They hadn't expected him to be able to defend himself.
They moved quickly, surrounding him, and Celeste frowned. "Where did you learn to fight?" she asked. "Why is your style so similar to ours?"
"I was taught by Zora," Alex said. "And her skills are similar to Georgina's, so maybe they had the same teacher. Will you let my friend go? She's not a part of this."
Celeste ignored him and winked at the other women. "Let's work together!" she said. "Get him!"
The three women attacked Alex again, using the skills Georgina had taught them. Alex used his own favorite techniques while he tried to anticipate their moves.
Before long, he understood how they fought, and he knew how to end it quickly. He fooled Celeste into attacking from his right side and seized her hand, pushing her away. Celeste rolled away, and Alex followed, shoving at Selene and Callisto, knocking all three women to the ground.
Alex leaped over their bodies and rushed to pull Nelly away from Luna.
Luna moved to attack, but Nelly jerked her head backward, making contact with Luna's face, and then she pulled herself free.
Alex grabbed Nelly's hand and dragged her away from the women, only stopping when he realized they weren't chasing him.
"Alex!" Nelly said, beaming at him. "I haven't seen you for days. How did you meet the queen?"
"It's complicated," Alex said. "I didn't know you were the queen's maid! No wonder you speak Malay so well."
Footsteps came from the direction of the gate, and the Sultan rushed in with several bodyguards. He saw the two women fighting and recognized one of them as his wife. Worried, he called out her name.
Zora turned to look at him and took a hit to the chest, falling to the ground.
The Sultan cried out and stepped forward, about to rush to her, but Zora signaled for him to stay where he was. If he got any closer, Georgina might kill him. The Sultan was a proud man, so it was difficult for him to stand and watch, but if he interfered, he might make things worse.
"You already have a husband," Georgina shouted at Zora. "You're completely infatuated with Xavier, but you're not worthy of him!"
She slapped Zora hard.
Zora stumbled back, wiping at her split lip.
Alex and Nelly ran to her.
"My queen!" Nelly said, crying.
"Don't cry," Zora said, cupping Nelly's cheek. "I'll be okay."
Alex glared at Georgina. "How can you be so cruel?" he asked.
"She got in my way!" Georgina said. "You have no idea what she has cost me. When has she ever been kind to me?"
All Alex knew was that Georgina had hit Zora hard enough to split her lip, so he tried to protect her. Zora had mentioned that their feud was because of a man named Xavier, but Alex didn't know any of the details. Maybe if they talked about it, then they could settle this matter without violence.
"Zora resents you because you took Xavier from her," Alex said. "So you started all of this!"
He wanted to force Georgina to face the truth.
"That's a lie!" Georgina shouted. "She stole my Xavier!"