“The lizard or the man?” Dayne asked in shock.
“Both, if we can help it.” I blurred into motion, leaving Dayne as I ran at top speed into the trees far left of the rider’s field of vision. He swore in a guttural tongue, then his lizard began to turn, but was foiled by the heavy growth and thicker trees close to the middle, where I could now see low stone walls covered with moss. A spring house, I thought, and with a victim or victims trapped inside. When I hit the brush, I bore down on my muscles as white flashes filled my sight. I tore through the growth at a speed that was inhuman, running up the muscled tail of the lizard with the pommel of my blade lifted to send the rider into a deep sleep, but his gun was facing me, and he fired. There was no avoiding the shot, but I whirled and took the bullet across my leg. It carved a deep groove that scorched like lava, and then I was close enough to grab the sonofabitch by his greasy hair and jerk him into the air with me as I fell.
Before we hit the ground, I had my hands around his neck, yelling that he should call off his monster. I didn’t know if he understood me, but my weight crushed him like an accordion, leaving him heaving for breath and on the verge of puking.
I lifted my shotgun and put it on the nose of the—well, hell, it was a dragon. There was no other word for it, and the massive animal hissed, revealing a mouth full of teeth like ivory daggers. Then its cheeks expanded, and a dozen long spines stuck out. That was what had killed the people pinned to the house, and I bellowed at the thing to stand down while my foot was planted firmly on its rider’s chest.
The man made a sound, and the dragon looked down, then flicked its long tongue out in a questing motion. The man repeated the sound, and the beast sat back on its haunches like a German Shepherd.
“Well, fuck me,” I said.
“I do not think so. She does not like your kind,” the rider said in a weak voice.
“You speak? Good. Who’s in the spring house?”
“I have no idea. I just arrived. I was searching the settlement when I heard screams,” the man said.
“Bullshit. There are two dead bodies run through with one of your pet’s pigstickers. You expect me to think you weren’t getting ready to feed some more people to this—to whatever this thing is?” I asked.
“Her name is Cyndar and no, she was not about to eat anyone. You may be able to kill me, but you will do so without me admitting a lie. Do you think my people are the only Konnodar riders in this land? Don’t be daft,” the man said, his eyes fighting to stay open. I’d hit him hard.
“Konnodar? That’s the lizard, right? Who are you?” I asked. When he didn’t answer, I tapped him with my boot. “Hey. Answer me. Who are you?”
His eyes opened and he drew in a long, ragged breath. “Rutoro. Of the Western Free Ranches. You may surprise that these are to the west. I’m going to be sick.” He turned to spew on the ground, and even his dragon pulled back. Dayne chose that moment to approach, her dark eyes flashing as she looked over the scene.
“This is cozy. A giant lizard and a vomiting drunk. Not what I expected out here,” Dayne said.
“Not drunk. I landed on him, made him toss his dinner. He’ll be fine in a minute. His name is Rutoro, and the, ah, Konnodar is called Cyndar. He says he isn’t responsible for the murders, and that he isn’t the only rider, either,” I said.
“He’s right. There are two more sets of tracks, and they both go north,” Dayne said.
I heard a noise in the brush, and then a small, firm voice called out. “You could ask us, you know.” It was a young man’s voice, followed by whispers of several other people.
“Come on out,” I called. “Jack Bowman, and Dayne. The man spilling his guts is Rutoro, and his mount is called Cyndar.”
A rustling followed, along with the emergence of several faces in the dying light. There were a few adults, three kids, and the teenager who had spoken. They were armed with knives, two guns, and a wicked looking tube that might have been a flamethrower.
I lifted my hands in greeting. “I lead the Free Oasis and mean no harm.”
A tall woman with a command authority stepped forward, her hand lightly touching a pistol tucked in the sash around her narrow waist. She was in her middle years, with graying hair and hazel eyes that were tilted with a hint of Asia. She smiled, and it was cool but not cold. Coming nearly to her eyes.
“I lead the Paired Springs, and we mean you no harm either. As of now,” she added, inclining her head politely.
“My lady,” I said, returning her nod. “Jack Bowman. Since this is your home, would you like us to step outside the confines until you choose to invite us in?”
“A kind offer, but unwarranted. I’m Rae, Leadwoman here, and it seems a waste to make you go stand on the porch while we”—her eyes flickered over to where the dead bodies still hung—“clean the place up.”
“May I help you bury your dead?” I asked, and Rae flinched. She was expecting many things, but an offer like that was clearly not among them.
“I would appreciate that, Jack. This is only our second loss in ten years, and before you do anything else to Rutoro, it wasn’t him. Look at the color of his saddle leathers,” Rae said.
I glanced to Cyndar and saw that Rae was correct. The saddle straps were burnished a deep red with stripes of blue. “Red and blue. I take it that’s the colors of your people, Rutoro?”
“It is,” he said, his voice stronger now that he was done emptying his stomach. He stood, if unsteadily, but he was making progress. One hand rested on Cyndar’s muzzle, and his face had regained some color.
“And who are the other riders? Are they organized into some kind of tribe?” I asked.
“Green and gold,” Rae said. “River people in a constant state of war, but they’ve never come this far east before. At least not in my lifetime, and not with the intent to murder.”
“How many people attacked you?” Dayne asked.
“Three riders and a few rifles. Couldn’t get a clean count because we were fighting back. I think we killed two,” Rae said.
“We’ll find them if they’re here. You say there were, what, ten in total?” I asked.
“About that,” Rae answered.
I thought for a moment, then made my decision. “I apologize for bowing out of grave duty, but I’m going to take Dayne and hunt down the raiders. When I’ve killed them, I’ll let you know. Rutoro, where are these other people from? What river?”
Rae and Rutoro both pointed northwest. “Norudda, that way. We don’t go into their territory, and they didn’t leave it. Until now, that is,” Rutoro said.
“Help Rae guard her people until they’re organized, then take a message for me. The Free Oasis is taking control of this entire area. We ask no taxes, no tribute, and no emissaries.”
“What aren’t you telling us about this new benevolent overlord?” Rae asked.
“For one, the overlord is me, and the other issue is quite simple. There is no slavery, no use of ogres, and no predatory behaviors. If I see it happen, your community will be . . . removed, let’s say, from the landscape.”
Both Rae and Rutoro’s eyebrows shot up, but they said nothing.
“We’ll return at some point to bring you communicators, supplies, and anything else you might need to live, and you’ll have a say in how we proceed, as long as your wishes are within the laws I intend to implement. I won’t allow warlords to survive, not in the world I’m going to rebuild,” I told them. “Dayne, if you will? Let’s hunt.”
“What are you going to do to them?” asked the young man in Rae’s group.
“Kill them, most likely, but some will be given a choice,” I answered.
“Make sure to make them bow. Respect is big with them. They made our people bow before they killed us,” the young man said. He spat on the ground, his eyes burning with anger.
I nodded. “Every one of them will bow. I guarantee it.”
17
We saw the raider’s fire less than four hours later, along th
e track that went west over rolling ground littered with scrub and the odd tree. I killed the engine and let the truck coast to a stop. We’d been running dark, at a slow pace, and with minimal noise. I saw no guards, but there were two fires, meaning more than a few people and beasts.
“I don’t like killing the Konnodar, but if we have to, we will. We’re going to snipe first, draw them out, and then I go blade first for quiet kills up close. Same drill. Get one alive, back to the truck, and ask questions,” I said.
“Like you did with me,” Dayne said, grinning. “It’s okay. I can accept being beaten, as long as it wasn’t an easy loss.”
“Fair enough. What’s your range at night, given the fires?”
“Three hundred or so. No wind tonight, so maybe three-fifty, tops. I can use the truck as my shooting platform and add a bit to that number,” Dayne said.
“Good. Get settled and shoot at will. I’ll be slashing in from the west. Try not to shoot me. My leg is still oozing and I don’t want to run low on oil,” I told her, then slipped away into the darkness. She would either shoot them or me, and I would know in the first seconds. Something told me Dayne understood my way was better than Kassos, but people did odd things when human greed and anger were at play.
In seconds, I was stalking across the ground, moving fast and cutting an angle that let me curl in from the darkness beyond their fires. I assumed lizards had excellent senses, but the wind was in my face and I’d have a few seconds before I was seen. If Dayne shot true, that was all I would need.
Her first shot rang out, taking a man’s head off as he stood to piss. He toppled over in the darkness, and the Konnodar hissed in unison, spreading their frills and rising up on legs that were bulging with muscle. There were three, and their riders sprang into action, though there was a wobble in their movement. I smelled liquor and knew the men were drunk, and then one of the riders clutched his throat, burbled, and fell. The rolling report of Dayne’s shot filled my senses but she was already on to the next target, a rider wearing nothing but his shirt.
“Naked balls on a dragon back. That’s got to hurt,” I mumbled, still moving forward in the dark. I didn’t have to worry about the naked rider, because his head bloomed next as Dayne’s shot opened his brain pan to the night sky like a bomb had gone off in his skull. He pitched forward in a bloody mess, and his lizard snapped reflexively at him, tearing his arm off and cracking the bone between its massive jaws.
That was all the lizards needed to trigger a feeding frenzy, and men began running everywhere, howling in fear and lashing out with swords and anything else that came to hand as the massive beasts went insane with bloodlust. Two men streaked toward me, blind from the fire and seeing nothing except freedom. I slid forward and cut the first man in two with a savage horizontal chop, spilling his guts in the sand as he pawed weakly at the place his lower half used to be. The second man presented his back as he passed by, so I stabbed out and down, lashing through his back muscles like I was butchering a deer. He began to fall but I caught him, threw him over my shoulder, and began running away as his blood sheeted down my back. He shrieked in pain with each hard step, but then I was at the truck, shouting to Dayne that she should drive.
She did, and we left the scene of carnage behind as the Konnodar finished their gruesome feast, muzzles wet with gore in the firelight while we pelted over the ground, lights on as the need for stealth was no longer a consideration. After five hard minutes, I slapped the roof, telling Dayne to slow down.
She wound down the engine as we cruised into a low spot, dust following us like a rumor.
“He alive?” she asked out the window.
“He is. Hurt, but he’ll make it. Won’t you, friend?” I asked. The man’s only response was a look of such panic I thought his heart would burst, so I smiled, but that only made things worse. Apparently, I don’t reassure people by smiling when I’m covered in blood and dust.
“Want me to stop? Or go back all the way to Rae?”
“All the way back. This won’t take long,” I said.
We drove in silence, and once again the sun rose with me staring an act of violence in the face. When we stopped, Rae and her people walked toward us, recognition on their faces as I lifted the wounded rider out of the truck. He slumped over on the ground, his clothes stiff with blood, both dried and fresh. His face was a rictus of pain, and Rae held her hand up to stop people from rushing at him for an immediate—and satisfying—form of justice.
“We don’t have long so get your questions ready, then it’s my turn,” I said.
Rae stepped forward without hesitation and slapped the man across the mouth, hard. Then she did it again. “Name.”
“I like her,” I said to Dayne, who nodded.
“Linvull,” he said, his voice husky from the dust and ride and pain.
“Why did your people come east?” Rae asked.
“Told to.”
“Who told you?” Rae said without waiting.
“The—commanders. They run the trade routes. Don’t know their names. They show up twice a year for supplies,” Linvull said.
“What supplies?” Rae asked.
Linvull stared at her as if she was stupid, then saw her raise a hand again. “Our children.”
“What?” Rae asked, stunned.
“You don’t have to give them up?” Linvull asked.
“My children? What are you—Linvull, how many children?” Rae asked.
He grimaced, and fresh blood ran down his side to patter on the ground. “All of them.”
We were silent for a beat, then I stepped in. “Linvulle, are these people associated with the Procurators?”
Again, he gave us a look of disbelief. “Associated?” He coughed, and his mouth was crimson. “They are the Procs.” Then he slid to the ground, twitched once, and died.
I touched my communicator and brought it to my lips. “Aristine, major issue here. I need you to patch anyone and everyone in on this channel so that I don’t repeat myself.”
“It’s done,” came her voice, crackling with command experience.
“There’s a new player here. Called the Procurators, and they have access to ‘bots, some tech, and they’ve got the entire region around Kassos running scared. Something else worth noting. There are people who ride giant lizards out here, they call them Konnodar,” I said.
“I know the term, didn’t know what it was. We’ve heard radio calls about them. Are you near any of the riders?” she asked.
“I am.”
“Search them. See what tech they have, and then, if you can, get me a blood sample. I need to know what generation of ‘bots we’re dealing with. I’ve heard of these—Procurators—but not in any context. They’re ghosts. Too spotty in the communication record for us to have much data. Do you think they’re to the west?” Aristine asked.
“I’d almost guarantee it. There are river tribes on giant lizards to the north, Scalebeasts in every cave to the south, and a heluva lot of open desert. They must have a network of their own, if not a stronghold. We’re a hard day or two from the Konnodar who don’t play well with others, by the way,” I said.
“There’s more than one tribe?” came Yulin’s voice.
“At least two, but there could be more. I’m still learning on site. I know there’s human slavery, theft, and more, but that’s just the tip of what is turning into a fucking mess. We’ll move out as soon as possible and transmit anything we find. Kassos is in an uproar by design, but there are a lot of people around the city who need help. If I can rally a few of them, we take huge gains in territory and stabilize the region,” I said.
“Sounds good. Be careful,” Aristine said.
“You know it.” I cut the connection and turned to the people around me, who were now staring. Hightec still caused a sense of wonder in some places. Like here.
“Rae, I’ll get right to the point. Do you want to be part of our network?” I asked her.
“Yes,” came the answer without a
second’s hesitation.
“Don’t you want to know the details?” I said.
“No. I want my people safe. I’ve watched you for long enough to know there’s more here than meets the eye. Consider us a part of whatever it is you’re building and put us on your map. We’ll need—well, we won’t need much, but we might have certain things in order to keep us safe, if only as a stop on your larger network.”
“Come with me,” I told her, walking to the truck. I reached into my go-bag and drew out a backup communicator. “Put it on something tough and wear it around your neck. Tap here, speak, and you’re connected to us. Go ahead.”
She touched the link and Aristine spoke. “Yes?”
“Um—hello?” Rae answered.
“This is General Aristine. Are you with Jack? Is he alright?”
“He’s fine. He gave me this, ah, device once we said we were on board with your team. Or nation, I think. I’m Rae.”
“Welcome, Rae. I’m in charge of the Eden Chain, among other things. I’m going to link you to an officer. Are your people safe?”
“We are now. Jack will be leaving soon, and we took some losses,” Rae ventured.
I smiled. Aristine knew what needed to be done. She said, “I have your position. How many people, what do you need, and are there any medical emergencies?”
Rae began to answer, and I cut in on a subchannel as I walked away. “Thanks,” I told Aristine, then I said my goodbyes to the newest members of our team. Dayne followed for a step before cutting her eyes askance at the Cyndar and Rutoro. “Mind sticking around? The same offer goes for you, and your people.”
Rutoro slapped Cyndar’s flank. “I’ll stay here until your people arrive, but I’ll need to discuss this with my family and riverwatch. If it were up to me, the answer would be yes, without hesitation.”
“That’s fair. Our welcome stands. Let me know however you can, and we’ll meet again,” I told the man and his lizard.
Future Reborn Box Set Page 70