Hunted fgc-2

by Lindsay Buroker

  Kali had an inkling of how the story wouldend, but she asked, “What happened?” anyway.

  “He bit me, jumped the fence of the pen, andran off. I never saw him again.”

  “Am I correct in guessing you’re comparingthis mangy, scrawny dog to me?” Though more amused than angry, shehad a feeling she should give him a hard time.

  “No, of course not.” Cedar cleared histhroat. “Maybe a little.” Another beat passed, and he switched hisanswer to, “Yes.”

  “At least it was a handsome and smart dog,”she muttered. “Under the mange.”

  “Very smart,” he said carefully.

  “So, this story means…you’re afraid I’dbite you if you took me to the dancing hall?”

  “More afraid I’d bite you,” he said.“And then you’d run away.”

  “Oh.” Kali caught her bottom lip between herteeth. She grew aware of her heartbeat, its rapid thumps againsther ribs. Her eyes were probably huge too. Like those of a startleddoe. She was glad for the darkness and that he was behind her so hecould not see her face. “I…know I can be a little…standoffishat times.”

  He snorted.

  “Most times,” she admitted. “But nobody everbeat me. No scars or anything. Well, except for that one scar fromthe time I decided to make guncotton. Oh, and the first time Itried to make those metal dogs and incorporate the flash gold,well, that needed stitches from Doc. Marvin, but I’m notbite-you-and-jump-the-fence damaged. Really.” She winced. She meantthe words, but at the same time she felt like she was trying toconvince herself.

  The fire had died down, and men snored. Upand down the river, the sounds of croaking frogs competed with thegurgling water.

  “It’s possible to scar someone withouttouching them,” Cedar said quietly.

  “I guess.” Between Sebastian, her mother, andher father, she had certainly been hurt often enough. It was hardto dismantle her booby traps and let people get close. She was notcertain she could even have this conversation-admit thisvulnerability-with Cedar by the light of day.

  Cedar stirred. Since she had crawled underthe blanket with him, he had been careful to keep his distance, butnow he rested a hand on her waist. Her instincts reacted before hermind, and she tensed. She rolled her eyes at herself and forcedherself to relax.

  “You all right?” he asked.

  “Just depressed. I am that dog.”

  He chuckled softly, his warm breath stirringthe hairs on the back of her neck. He started to retract theembrace. Kali caught his hand to keep it there. She wrapped herfingers about his calloused palm and she shifted onto her back,turning her head toward his. Darkness hid his face, but, for whatshe intended next, maybe that was easiest-safest. She wanted tobelieve he desired a relationship with her, but nobody ever hadbefore, not without an ulterior motive, and it was hard to believesomeone like him would be the first.

  Stop analyzing this, came the thought fromthe back of her mind. Do it before you lose your nerve.

  Cedar must have sensed her intent for he wasthe one to lean close. She almost grinned when that beard stubblerasped against her jaw, but then his lips pressed against hers, andshe forgot about that earlier conversation. The chilly Yukonevening grew warm. She was vaguely aware of releasing his hand andsliding her arm around him, twining her fingers into the soft,thick hair on the back of his head. The closeness of theirbodies.

  Too soon, he broke the kiss. His callousedhand came up to cup her jaw, and he stroked her cheek with histhumb. Another night, the touch seemed to promise, when we’re noton the ground, in a camp full of strangers, with a mission toaccomplish. And, as close as they were, she had no troublebelieving his interest now.

  “Milos,” Cedar murmured.

  “What?”

  “My name.”

  Oh! The M on his Winchester. “That doesn’tsound so bad,” she said.

  “Milos Kartes. I got close to Cudgel inDenver, and he framed me for an ugly series of murders. There maybe a Pinkerton detective after me. I figured it wisest to go backto my childhood nickname.”

  “Ah.” So, someone was hunting him as well.Although it was criminals who sought her, while the law stalkedhim. If she continued to work with him, could that mean trouble forher someday? Did it matter, given all the trouble already courtingher? Once she had her airship, she could evade those who huntedher. No need to stay in any one port for long, not when she had aworld to see. Maybe Cedar would even want to come along. “Thank youfor trusting me with your name. Though I must admit, yourreluctance to share it had me hoping for somethingembarrassing.”

  A long moment passed, as if he wereconsidering something. Finally, he said, “My middle name isKallisto.”

  “That’s…pretty.”

  “Oh, very pretty. It was my Greekgrandmother’s name.”

  “Grandmother?”

  “Yes, my mama had been saving it for when shehad a girl. After only boys, she decided to pass it on to heryoungest. Me. Apparently it means most beautiful.”

  Kali did not manage to keep from laughing,though she stifled it quickly. The last thing she wanted was toruin things by offending him.

  “My Han name is Tsul Gah,” she said, feelingthe need to match his honesty. “Small rabbit. My mother thought Iwas going to be a precious little daughter, not a troublemaker whodisassembled the chief’s dog sled to make skis out of the runners.When I went to live with my father, he just called me, “girl,” so Idecided to pick my own name, a white name. The only white women inMoose Hollow were prostitutes. Kali was the middle name of one whowas decent to me. I later learned it was a Hindi name that meansblack. Guess I wasn’t meant to be white.”

  He did not speak for a long moment, and shewondered if she should have kept the information to herself. Theexplanation for his middle name was cute and endearing. Herexplanation was… Well, it certainly made her childhood seempathetic.

  “Did you ever know happiness growing up?”Cedar asked.

  “Making things made me happy. Beinggood at making things. If you’re good at something you liketo do, it gives you the self-assurance and confidence to deal withthe world’s disappointments.” Mostly.

  “Then I’m glad you had that.”

  He kissed her again, though it had thebrevity of a goodnight kiss. She forgave him for not offering morewhen he slid his arms around her and snuggled against her back.

  “I like Milos,” Kali said. “May I useit?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about Kallisto?”

  “Not unless you want me to use your pliers topull your tongue out through your nostrils.”

  She smirked. “Do you always threaten womenafter you kiss them?”

  “You didn’t think I was a nice boy, didyou?”

  PART IV

  Kali woke to something pressing against hermouth. Her first thought was of Cedar giving her a kiss, but thatfantasy evaporated quickly. The pressure was too hard. It smotheredher nose as well as her mouth and cut off her air. Someone’s hand.She tried to unleash her teeth, to gnash down on it. The gripmerely tightened.

  She tried to sit up, but failed to rise aninch. Hands forced her shoulders down, and something across herlegs pinned them to the ground.

  Darkness still blanketed the forest, but shefigured out what was going on. Cedar had gone to investigate theother camp, and Sebastian was taking the moment to truss her upfor…whatever stupid plan he had now.

  She writhed and bucked in the blankets,though only to disguise her real goal: she found the two smoke nutsin her pockets and yanked them free.

  “Hurry, pick her up,” Sebastianwhispered.

  Trying to be quiet was he? He must fear Cedarwould hear and return. Good.

  Now if Cedar’s fancy blanket weren’tconstricting her almost as much as her assailants, she might beable to do something. The men-at least four of them-hefted her intothe air with the Euklisia Rug still tangled about her. She grippeda smoke nut in each hand, thumbs poised to press up on the triggertabs.

  “In the tent?” a man with a
guttural accentrasped.

  They started moving her, stumbling over therocky ground as they went. Maybe they would be more distractednow.

  “No, we don’t want her lover to be able toget to her,” Sebastian said. “We need to-argh!”

  Kali grinned fiercely as she bit down on hishand, glad he was the one who’d sport tooth marks. He snarled andlet go.

  “Cedar!” she bellowed.

  One of the hands gripping her shoulder let goto reach for her mouth. The maneuver dipped her down, so her headalmost cracked against the rocks.

  Sensing she had her moment, Kali yanked herarms from beneath the blanket, flicked a trigger tab, and droppedone of the smoke nuts. She twisted and used her free hand to grabthe closest thing to her face. A belt. Perfect.

  Something slammed into her back. She almostdropped her second smoke nut, but she managed to yank on the beltand stuff the device down the owner’s trousers.

  Unfortunately, she was as close to the smokeweapons as the men. Kali burrowed back into the cocoon of blankets,squeezed her eyes shut, and dug for the knife at her belt.

  “What did she-”

  “Damn it, move!” Sebastian yelled. “It’s oneof her things!”

  Whoever held her legs dropped them. Kalithrashed, though she made sure not to leave the padded shelter ofthe blankets. The last man with a grip on her lost it, and she hitthe ground, a hard nodule gouging into her side. She rolled away,not wanting to smother her own artillery.

  She did not hear the click that heralded therelease of the metallic shards, but yelps of pain told the story.Though she was rolling away as fast as she could, severalprojectiles struck the side of her blanket. A couple burrowedthrough the material and her clothing, slicing into her skin. Itwas not as bad as it would have been if she had no padding though,and she scampered out of the blankets without permanent damage.

  Smoke from the weapon stung her eyes. In thedarkness, she struggled to see what was happening, but angry shoutsof “It got me!” and “Get it out!” told her where people were.Agonized screams came from the man who had taken the projectile inthe pants. Given these thugs’ goals, she could feel littleremorse.

  Kali patted about, looking for her rifle.They must have taken it. She could not find her packsack-hertools! — either. Damn Sebastian. He must have moved all herbelongings first. Damn her heavy sleep too.

  Knowing the smoke nuts would not buy herindefinite time, she scrambled away from the camp. All the firesalong the shoreline had gone out, and clouds hid the stars and themoon. Only the sound of the river helped her navigate. Though shewas on the wrong side of the waterway, she headed in the directionof the Wilder camp, hoping Cedar had heard the commotion and wascoming to help.

  “Which way’d she go?” one of the men behindher snarled.

  Kali kept running, not bothering withstealth. The pained curses of the most injured man pierced thenight, and concerned calls from other claims covered herretreat.

  “Get her, you idiots,” Sebastian yelled.“She’s worth a lot of money.”

  That quieted some of the outcries.

  A blocky shape loomed out of the darknessahead of Kali. She threw out her hands to keep from crashing intoit. Hard, cold metal met her touch. A couple of seconds of gropingallowed her to identify a steam engine and furnace. Had flames beenburning in the firebox, she might have come up with a creative usefor the machinery, but she merely noted it was probably used to aidin digging and that a mine shaft would be nearby. She skirted thearea.

  “Sebastian?” came a man’s whisper from aheadof Kali.

  She froze.

  “I lost track of the big bloke with the gunskills,” the speaker went on, raising his voice. “Sebastian, isthat you?”

  “Stay up there,” Sebastian yelled to the man.“She may have gone that way. Head her off.”

  Boots crunched on river pebbles. Kali easedback until she bumped against the boiler. She hunkered in itsshadow, hoping it would camouflage her. A hint of dawn brightenedthe sky, and it would grow harder to hide soon.

  “A hundred dollars cash to whoever finds thegirl,” Sebastian called.

  At first Kali thought he was still trying torally his men, but an answering call came from a claim downriver.“What’s she look like?” That wasn’t one of Sebastian’s thugs.

  “A woman!” Sebastian called. “There aren’tmany up here.”

  “Oh, right. You want her dead or alive?”

  “Women ain’t no good dead!” came a call fromacross the river.

  Kali thunked her head back against theboiler. The entire Sixty Mile River was going to be after her in aminute. She glared down at the puny knife she still held. If shehad her pack, she would have tools and supplies and might be ableto build something. In lieu of that, her rifle would be handy justthen too.

  “Anyone who touches the woman dies.” That wasCedar. Good. His voice came from across the river. Not good. Howhad he gotten over there and how long would it take him to return?She had not seen any boats.

  “Says who?”

  Kali had no idea who that was.

  She patted around the dormant steam engine.Maybe this claim held something useful she could use. Since nobodyhad come out to check on the ruckus, she figured the owners were intown.

  “The last man you’ll ever see if you hurther.” Cedar’s voice was closer. He must be on the shorelinedirectly opposite from her.

  In the growing light, she thought she couldpick out his tall form over there, but she dared not call to him.She patted the ground, found a stone, and hurled it in hisdirection. The surrounding shouts kept her from telling if itsplashed down or clattered onto the bank next to him, but she hopedhe heard and guessed where it had come from.

  A shot fired. It originated in Sebastian’scamp, and she had little trouble guessing the target. Her stomachchurned with concern for Cedar, but it was best to leave him to hisown devices and figure out a plan of her own.

  Kali returned to her inspection of theequipment. Her knuckles bumped against a wood box. She found thelid, opened it, and groped inside. Charcoal and a smaller boxcontaining long wooden matches. She grabbed the latter, though shedid not know how she might use them yet.

  More gunshots fired, going back and forthacross the river, and the chatter died down. So far no bullets hadslammed into the ground near her, but the scout was still standingguard up ahead-she could make out his dark figure now too-and hewas bound to see her if she made a run for the forest.

  On her hands and knees, she crept around theboiler, still hoping to find something she could use. Her fingersbrushed air. The mine shaft entrance, nothing but a hole in theground with a pipe leading into it. Not digging equipment afterall. Maybe some sort of heating system to thaw the permafrost andmake it easier to work? If so, there might be a whole network oftunnels beneath her.

  Tunnels she could get herself trapped in. Sheshook her head. Going in was not a good idea.

  Unless…

  Could she make them believe she had gone in,get them all to follow, and then escape into the forest whileeveryone was searching the tunnels? She better check and see howextensive the system was first.

  Hoping the one-man-versus-the-entire-rivergunfight Cedar had started would give her time, she eased over thelip of the hole. She probed for a bottom with her feet. There. Fivefeet below.

  She released the lip and dropped to thebottom, clunking something with her elbow on the way. A lanternstuck in a niche in the wall. She grabbed it and followed thepiping system into a low tunnel that led away from the river. Thewalls radiated coldness and smelled of damp earth. Creeping intothe Stygian darkness made her think of the tombs and sepulchers ina book she had once read about the Dark Ages. The gunfire grewmuffled and distant. When she judged herself far enough from theentrance so the flame would not be visible, she lit thelantern.

  Pickaxes and shovels leaned against dirt andstone walls marbled with quartz and thin threads that might havebeen gold. For all she knew about mining, it might have been ironpyrite too.


  A few meters ahead, the passage branched intothree tunnels. Enough exploring. The mine promised the maze she hadhoped for, one her would-be captors could waste several minutesexploring. All she had to do was set a decoy at the entrance sothey believed she had gone down and then hide nearby until theydropped down to explore. It’d be better if she could figure outsome sort of time-delay device to cause a sound, making the meneven more certain she was down there, but she did not want to riskdelving further and genuinely being trapped.

  Kali was about to turn around when somethingglinted in the darkness, reflecting her lantern light. She onlyhesitated a heartbeat before jogging toward it. Just anothermoment….

  The tunnel broadened into a small room filledwith… Were those potatoes? She peered closer. Several crateslined the wall. Though they must have been harvested monthsearlier, they appeared fine, preserved by the surroundingpermafrost. But why were they in a mine?

  A rusted, decommissioned boiler stood in thecorner while rows of ceramic jugs lined the opposite side of thechamber. A clunky metal contraption rose against the back wall. Itwas the source of the reflection she had noticed. Theobject-machine? — might have been anything; the mishmash of partscomprising it reminded her of something she would create out ofscrap metal. It was only when she opened a box that emitted ayeasty smell that the pieces clicked together.

  “Oh.” She rolled her eyes, feeling foolishfor taking so long to get it. “Alcohol. Right.”

  A thump sounded near the entrance. Someonejumping down.

  Kali cursed under her breath and cut out thelantern. She had dawdled too long.

  “Kali?” came a soft call.

  She blew out a relieved breath. “Cedar, backhere.”

  “We have a problem,” he said, voice drawingnear.

  She relit the lantern. “You’re mad that Ishot up your fancy sleeping blanket?”

  “All right, two problems.”

  Cedar jogged into view, water sloughing fromhis clothes and matting his hair to his head. He bore a rifle inone hand while his sword dripped blood in the other. A second riflepoked over his shoulder, scraping against the wall as heapproached. He also wore his packsack. No, wait. That was herpacksack. Her tools! Excellent.