by Sharon Green
"Then until Gordi agrees to go along with the first idea, you'd better act as if you're not considering any others," Tandro said, handing Jake a piece of the dried meat he'd already taken out of one of his saddlebags. "Our new slaves need to be properly trained, and this is part of the right way to do it. When we reach Gordi's town you'll have to be even more careful to do everything right."
Jake took the dried meat with an inner sigh, knowing that if he refused to take Tandro's advice he'd be wasting his time speaking to Gordi. And he couldn't afford to waste his time, not when the success of this assignment would mean a change for the better for everyone on the planet.
The dried meat didn't make all that pleasant a meal, but a few swallows of water afterward helped some. When the meal was over Jake joined Tandro's silence for a while, going over in his head what he would say to Gordi during the interview. And especially what he would not say. One new idea at a time, saving the next concept for -
"Am I imagining things, or are those men riding right for us?" Jake suddenly found himself asking, the approach of the strangers odd enough to bring him out of his thoughts. When he glanced at Tandro with the question, his surprise changed to suspicion. There were another two men approaching from the right, and they were coming as directly toward Jake's little procession as the first two.
"My guess would be that someone's found out why you want to talk to Gordi," Tandro said without taking his gaze from the two men on his side. "I hope you're as good with that knife at your belt as you claim to be. I'm willing to bet that we'll both find out the truth of the claim in just another couple of minutes."
"No bet," Jake said at once, knowing Tandro was right. The native had had to give some kind of reason for why Jake wanted to talk to Gordi, and lying about the proposed subject would have alienated Gordi completely. So Tandro had had to tell the truth, both he and Jake hoping there would be no leak, but obviously there had been.
"The two on your side are yours, the other two mine," Tandro commented as he pulled his horse to a stop, still as calm and unruffled as he usually was. "We'll be fighting on foot, so let's get off our horses right now. If you give two assassins on foot a chance to come at you while you're still mounted, you won't live to make the same mistake a second time."
Jake didn't entirely agree with that opinion, not when he'd had a lot more training than Tandro had, but he still didn't argue. He dismounted quickly, then took care of a necessary chore just as quickly.
"You slaves stay back out of the way," he called to Tain and the girl, who had also noticed the newcomers, and then he gave all his attention to the men Tandro had called assassins.
Each of the two men on Jake's side were dressed in the same way he was, wearing nothing but a body cloth with a leather knife belt around the waist. The fairly large knives were the weapon of choice among the planet's mercenaries, their technology unable to handle making any more advanced weapons, their personal skills not up to using anything as large as a sword. Jake did know how to use a sword, but that wasn't the technique he meant to use against the attackers. Knife fighting was an art in itself, and Jake had even more practice with that art than he had with swords.
So the first thing Jake did was take off the belt his knife was hung from, then he freed the sheathe from the belt and put the belt around his saddle horn. The two soon-to-be attackers were already on foot and approaching with their knives in their fists, and they seemed to be sneering at what Jake was doing. Obviously they didn't understand that Jake hadn't wanted to simply drop the belt, not when leaving it on the ground could end up making a foot hazard for him during the fight.
The two also didn't seem to understand why Jake had taken the knife sheathe off the belt. When he unsheathed the knife as he moved forward away from his horse, the attackers didn't even glance at the heavy leather sheathe being held in Jake's left hand. He held to the wider end, of course, and his grip was just as firm as the grip he had around the hilt of his eight inch knife.
If it hadn't been cloudy, all three blades would have gleamed as Jake and the two assassins reached each other. The two men jumped forward at the same time in an effort to reach their target before he set himself, but Jake had been set the minute he had his weapons in hand. And the empty sheathe was a weapon of sorts, which the attacker on the left found out when Jake blocked his thrust. At the same time Jake used his knife to block the attack from his right, and then it was his turn.
Slapping the sheathe hard onto the nose of the man on his left put that man down, and then Jake could give the man on his right all his attention. The sheathe blocked another thrust before Jake kicked the assassin in his privates, and before the man could bend all the way with the pain he'd been given Jake ended the pain for good with a thrust of his own knife.
The second assassin was just struggling back to his feet when Jake used his knife on this other attacker. It wasn't anger that moved Jake, but a hatred and loathing for the very concept of assassins. Assassins struck out of the dark from behind, or else tried to overwhelm their chosen victim with greater numbers. That kind of cowardice had always infuriated and enraged Jake, and he hadn't hesitated a moment in showing how he felt.
But he didn't have the time to stand around admiring his handiwork. He turned fast to see that Tandro was still alive and moving, but the native was being hard pressed by his two attackers. Jake sprinted over to where the three were trying to gut one another, and one of the two assassins turned away from Tandro and in his direction. It took no more than seconds before the third assassin was on the ground with his lifeblood leaking out, but Jake didn't get a chance at the fourth. Tandro had already taken care of the man, and as the native turned away from the body he'd made he gave Jake a lazy grin.
"If this ever happens again, remind me to doubt your ability even more than I did this time," Tandro commented with amusement. "If I handle things that way, I probably won't even have to bother with one of the garbage. Nice work, my friend."
"Your efforts weren't particularly shabby either, my friend," Jake responded with his own grin. "Let's clean our blades and then we can be on our way again."
Tandro agreed without hesitation, so the two men turned to their former enemies and used clean sections of the dead men's loin coverings to wipe their knives on. The knives would have to be cleaned again and oiled later, but for the moment the job was good enough. When Jake was done he walked back to his horse to retrieve his belt, then threaded the belt through the knife sheathe again. Jake had just about finished putting everything back together when he noticed that he couldn't see Tain and the girl.
Suddenly afraid that he'd been lured away from the two women with the attack, Jake rushed back to where he'd last seen them. But the women weren't gone, just having some trouble. The girl Ennie knelt in the grass while she threw up, Tain standing with a hand to the girl's back in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting.
"She's not used to seeing things like that," Tain said to Jake as he came to a halt not far from the two, only glancing in his direction. "And she hasn't eaten enough lately to have more than liquid coming up. Once she's back in control of herself she'll need some water."
Hearing Tain's suggestion, Jake felt like cursing himself out. He'd had water to keep him going in this heat, and he'd been on a horse. The two women had been walking, and it hadn't occurred to him at any point that they needed water of their own. Thinking of the women as slaves was turning him stupid, and he also cursed the fact that he had no choice but to continue like that.
"I've got the water right here," Tandro said as he came around the far side of the pack horses. The native's expression was as calm as ever, but Jake thought he could see a bit of concern in the man's dark eyes. The emotion was probably due to the fact that Ennie wasn't really a slave who could be completely ignored, but Jake decided instantly to take advantage of the emotion no matter what it came from.
"After this little … interruption, we're going to have to make up some time," Jake said to Tandro
after nodding to acknowledge what the native had brought. "I think we'll be best off taking the slaves on our horses with us at least for a while, otherwise we won't make the town before dark."
"I agree," Tandro said almost at once, his gaze on the small blond girl who was only now regaining control of herself. "It also isn't smart to put too much stress on a slave you've paid good money for. You can lose the slave by doing that, and it would be easier just throwing away the money without bothering with the rest."
Tandro glanced over at Jake when he finished his say, the look letting Jake know that Tandro was supplying a good excuse for the reason they would be treating their slaves more gently. The line of argument did hold up, and it also reminded Jake that Tandro was very much for ending slavery. The man only rarely showed what he was feeling, so it was perfectly possible that Jake had overestimated Tandro's devotion to the outer trappings of that way of life.
Jake joined Tandro in waiting patiently until Ennie had stopped heaving completely, and then Tandro gave Tain the waterskin and allowed the woman to help Ennie drink from it. When Ennie had rinsed her mouth and then swallowed as much as she could hold, Jake had Tain take her own drink from the skin. While Tain was drinking, Tandro moved closer to Ennie and told her to close her eyes, then the man picked the girl up and carried her back toward his horse.
"Okay, let's go," Jake said to Tain once the woman had lowered the waterskin and recapped it, taking the skin from her before gesturing toward his horse. "The sooner we get to the town, the sooner we can get something hot into Ennie."
If Jake had expected Tain to say something, he ended up disappointed. The glance she sent to him was impossible to interpret, and then she was moving around the pack horse and toward his saddle mount. She still looked incredibly appealing in that vest and skirt, but the way she stood and walked gave him the impression that she was ignoring him rather than obeying. A flash of impatience burned its way through Jake, right along with more than a touch of annoyance as he followed. Tain seemed to be silently accusing him of something, and it wasn't possible to defend against that kind of accusation.
As he boosted Tain up to the saddle then mounted behind her, Jake found himself just short of growling. He'd been doing his best to find out what was bothering the woman, but she'd been doing her best to avoid talking to him. Well, if that was the way she wanted it, Jake didn't mind going along. And if he was going to be accused, it would only be fair if he did something to be guilty of.
And maybe if Tain was taught what true misery could consist of, she just might become more willing to talk to him…
* * *
Tain sat as stiffly as possible in front of Killen, hating the way it wasn't possible to avoid coming in contact with the man's body at so many points. She would have much preferred continuing to walk, but saying so would have been more than a waste of breath. Killen had announced that they had to make up lost time, which meant he wouldn't have accepted her refusal to ride even if for some reason he wanted to. And the way the hand attached to the arm he had around her middle caressed her from time to time said he had no reason to want to.
Anger tried to rise in Tain again, but useless gestures were too pathetic for her to want to repeat them over and over. They'd been riding for hours now at a faster pace than they'd kept to earlier, and every time Killen's hand touched her in some way her temper had wanted to flame out of control. But slaves weren't allowed to lose their tempers with their owners, so all she'd been able to do was snarl in the privacy of her own mind and fight not to squirm. That insertion was completely gone by now, but its effects tended to linger…
The day had become completely overcast, but rather than lessening the heat the coming rain had added humidity to the air. The only one who didn't seem to mind was Ennie, who sat sideways in front of Tandro, her eyes closed as she leaned against the man. If the poor girl hadn't looked so played out, Tain would have been tempted to wish for another attack. Just about anything would have been acceptable if it had gotten her away from Killen, and if another attack came she might have been given the chance to tend a wound on the miserable man.
Not that that would be very likely, Tain thought as she looked around at the open fields surrounding the road they now moved along. Killen is too good a fighter for any of these locals to have a chance against him, which is a real pity. Tending his wounds is something that would give me a whole lot of pleasure.
But thought of the attack brought Tain back to more practical considerations. Killen hadn't given her any details about his assignment, but it looked like someone knew what he intended and disliked the idea enough to want to stop him. She would have enjoyed helping out during the attack, if for no other reason than to work off some of the aggression growling around inside her, but Killen had made sure to order her to stay back even though he and Tandro were outnumbered. Another stupidity to chalk up against the man's account…
Tain's attention came back to the road and its surrounding area to find that she had a surprise waiting. Up ahead, beyond an even more open area, was the beginning of what looked like a town. Since it was getting on toward sundown, the town was probably the one the men had been talking about. Whether or not they would be able to reach the town and whatever shelter was available before the rain started remained to be seen, but at least the chance was better now than it had been.
It took almost another hour before they reached the town's wall and the men guarding its currently open gate. It was a lot closer to full dark and to the time when the skies would open up, but instead of continuing on to whatever hostel the men intended to stay at they turned aside as soon as they were through the gate. Their destination turned out to be a small building to the left of the gate and only a short distance away from it, and they drew rein before a man coming out of the building.
"Good evening, Captain," Tandro said to the man, who wore some kind of medallion around his neck. "We don't want to take up too much of your time right now when you're probably about to order the gate closed, but it's our duty to report that we were attacked on our way here. We left the bodies where they fell, so if any of the attackers' horses turn up you'll know what's happening."
"Glad to hear you know the right way of doing this kind of thing," the man answered with a nod, his glance going from Ennie to Tain and staying with Tain for longer than she liked. "Obviously the slaves were upset by what happened, so you might as well get them and yourselves to shelter before the coming storm lets go. Just don't leave town until I can get back to you for the details."
"We'll be at the travelers' house for a few days, so you can find us there," Tandro answered with his own nod. "Until tomorrow, Captain."
Tandro turned his horse back to the street the road had become, Killen following his example silently. Tain pretended she didn't see the way the captain stood and stared at her until he couldn't see her any longer, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel the man's gaze for much too long a time. Men didn't stare at free women like that, at least not right out where the stare would be noticed, and the experience was more disturbing than Tain had expected it to be.
The travelers' house was a large hostel that stood by itself about three streets away from the gate, an equally large stable attached on the left. Tandro led the way into the stable before he stopped to dismount, and it still hadn't started to rain yet. Killen also dismounted and then lifted Tain down, Tain surreptitiously watching as Ennie was awakened and put on her own feet. The girl seemed steadier than she had earlier, but Tain didn't like the way Ennie just stood staring at nothing. It was fairly clear that Ennie wasn't distracted, only completely uninterested in her surroundings.
The hurried arrival of two teenage boys drew Tain's attention away from Ennie, but the boys weren't attacking the way Tain had first thought. The two were stable hands whose job it was to see to the horses of newcomers, and they'd had to hurry because they'd probably been sitting around relaxing somewhere thinking no new guests would be arriving.
"Take good car
e of our horses, boys, and make sure you store our possessions close to their stalls," Tandro ordered after tossing each of the boys a coin. "We'll be staying for a few days, but when we're ready to leave we don't want to have to go searching for our equipment."
"All the possessions of guests are kept in the same storeroom," one of the boys answered, his hand happily closed on the coin he'd been given. "There's always a guard on the storeroom, and we're the only ones who are allowed inside. We'll put all your possessions together, so when you're ready to leave we won't have to wonder which stuff is yours and which belongs to someone else."
"And we also have cages if you want to leave your slaves out here with the horses instead of taking them inside with you," the other boy put in just as happily. "The house has lots of slaves for the use of guests, to give you some variety even if you did arrive with slaves of your own."
"We haven't had these slaves very long, so we'll be taking them in with us," Killen responded before Tandro could say anything. "We're in the middle of training the slaves, you understand, so it isn't a good idea to break into the training right now and possibly undo what's already been taught them."
"But that doesn't mean my brother and I won't take a break of our own," Tandro said with a smile of amusement. "Thanks for the information, boys, and we'll see you again before we leave."
The boys were delighted to be reminded that they'd be tipped again, and they got out of the way to let the new guests move toward the door that probably led into the hostel. Both Killen and Tandro had taken the saddlebags from their horses, and Tandro moved Ennie before him by the hand he had on the back of her neck. Killen, though, opted for a different method of bringing Tain along.
"Follow me, slave," Killen said before heading for the door, giving Tain no choice but to trail along behind him. Both boys watched her as she walked past them, and she had the distinct impression that they would have touched her if they'd only dared. But she was owned by a guest, and stable boys weren't entitled to make free with the possessions of guests.