“You filthy bitch. I'll kill you for this.”
The arm that was pinning her right side let go, she fumbled for the handle of her knife. The knife was still on her belt, but she was laying on it, and the knife was turned up under her. She could feel it digging into her stomach, but she couldn't quite get a grip on the handle.
Jefflem's breathing was ragged and even his breathing sounded angry. His left hand still held her left arm above the elbow, and now he started to shift his weight, trying to get back on top of her. “You broke my nose.” He almost sounded calm, and that scared her even worse than him sounding angry. “Let's see how I can repay you.”
Heather made a frantic lunge for the handle of the knife, and relief flooded through her as her hand wrapped around the cool metal. She could feel Jefflem's weight shifting, and she knew that she didn't have a whole lot of time. She yanked the knife from its sheath, and jabbed it backwards into his right leg, which was lying over her side.
He howled in pain and jerked his leg away from the knife. With his weight suddenly gone, Heather rolled away from him and climbed quickly to her feet. She turned to face him, crouching somewhat, with the knife held out in front of her.
He was kneeling on his left knee, while he held his hand over the bleeding wound on his right leg. “You bitch,” he repeated again, his face showing disbelief that she had managed to hurt him.
“Poor little boy,” she practically spit the words at him. “What? Did you think that I would just lie there?” She moved forward almost too quick to follow, and slashed across his right shoulder, leaving a red bleeding line on his skin.
Jefflem screamed and fell backwards, scooting and sliding on the ground to get away from the knife wielding woman. “What are you doing? Get away from me with that thing!” He continued scooting on his butt, his eyes starting to show fear for the first time.
Heather actually smiled, but it was a cold furious smile. “What am I doing? Surely you know. You wanted to stick that little thing of yours in me,” she nodded toward his pants, “And now I intend to return the favor.” She hefted the knife, “I intend to stick this little think in you.” She spoke in a cold quiet voice that was all the more frightening by its lack of emotion. Her anger almost seemed to be gone, and in its place was a detached determination to finish this fight.
Jefflem's eyes widened and he sped up his scooting away from her. “Wait! We can work this out.”
Heather didn't respond, but instead just kept slowly approaching, almost stalking the young man. One slow step after another, she came closer and closer. She paused, confused, as a look of relief came over the face of Jefflem. Her confusion was short lived, as rough hands seized her by the shoulders and yanked her backwards. The knife was quickly taken from her.
She stomped her foot down on where she hoped her attacker's foot was, and at the same time snapped her head back, hoping to hit her attacker's chin. She was rewarded with a sharp pain on the back of her head as she hit somebody's chin hard, and a gruff voice let loose with several oaths.
“Stop it!” Another voice called from farther behind her. “Don't hurt her.”
The gruff voice, that had been cursing, now stopped and asked, “Hurt her? What about hurting me?”
The rough hands let her go, and pushed her down on the ground. She landed rather hard on her stomach, but she rolled over immediately trying to get a glance at the man who had been holding her. She recognized the man too; it was Shim, one of Master Elridge's wagon drivers. He stood in between her and Jefflem, trying to keep an eye on both of them.
Heather realized that her scuffle with Jefflem had drawn a crowd. A large group of wagon drivers, guards, and trail hands had gathered, and more were hurrying over, but her attention was quickly drawn to the man in front, it was Master Elridge.
Master Elridge, or Wylon as he had asked to be called, looked from Heather lying on the ground, to Jefflem, who was sitting on the ground and bleeding profusely from several wounds. There seemed to be a nervous tick in his right cheek.
Heather noticed Aaron and Mikela returning from gathering firewood, and was relieved to have some support in the crowd. Although, what they could do to help was beyond her, since they were so outnumbered.
“What in the name of the abyss is going on here?” Master Elridge demanded.
Heather opened her mouth to answer, but Jefflem interrupted her. “That bitch tried to kill me. If Shim hadn't gotten here, she might have succeeded.”
Shim grunted, “If I hadn't gotten here, then she definitely would have succeeded.”
Wylon nodded to Heather, “Is that true? Did you try to kill the boy?”
“Absolutely,” Heather spat. Barely noticing the look of surprise that flitted across Wylon's face. “That punk tried to rape me. I intend to try and geld that little....”
“She's lying!” Jefflem interjected. “She asked me to come here, and when I did, then she attacked me.” He pointed towards the cuts on his body. “You see what she did to me.”
Aaron's hand was resting on the hilt of his sword, but he knew that if he drew that sword then all three of them were dead. There were simply too many to beat in a fight. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he kept watching the crowd, while trying to listen to what was being said.
Wylon looked back from Jefflem to Heather; he seemed to be studying her. He turned back to Jefflem, “And after she attacked you, what happened?”
Jefflem smiled, “I tried to get away from her and she pulled the knife on me.” He pointed to his chest and shoulder, “You can see that she knows how to use it.”
Wylon looked back at Heather, but he continued speaking to Jefflem, “And I suppose that her shirt got torn in the scuffle?”
Jefflem's smile slipped a little, “Uh, yes.”
Wylon continued to stare at Heather, “I'm curious Jefflem, if she attacked you with a knife, and then you ran, how did she get dirt and mud all over her face?”
“The boy's lying.” A deep voice called from the crowd.
Both Jefflem and Wylon looked up, actually Jefflem was glaring into the crowd. But the speaker was not to be seen.
Aaron's spirits started to rise just a bit. Perhaps they could talk their way out of this after all.
“The boy has been chasing the girl ever since we left.” This time it was Shim that spoke. “She's been trying to get him to leave her alone the whole way.”
Jefflem turned his glare on Shim, “And what do you know about it?”
Shim turned towards Jefflem, and the boy shrank back from the anger in the big man's glower. “Everyone in the camp knows about it. We have all seen your pathetic attempts to win her affections, and we have all seen her telling you to stop.”
Wylon raised his hand, “That's enough Shim.” Shim closed his mouth with a snap. “Jefflem, I think that you are lying.” Disbelief filled the young boy's face, but Wylon continued, “Shim, take Jefflem and give him twenty lashes.”
“Uncle, you can't do that. I'm family. ”Jefflem pleaded, even as the big wagon driver started pulling him toward the center of camp.
“Count your blessings. If you weren't family, then I would have given you thirty lashes.”
Shim pulled the young man by the right arm. Jefflem looked frightened half to death as he was half-led and half-dragged away.
Wylon ordered the crowd to disperse, and then came closer to Heather. Aaron and Mikela walked over as well.
Wylon took Heather by the hand, “I must apologize for my nephew's actions. I assure you that he will be punished, and this will not happen again.”
Heather nodded, and Wylon walked away.
“Are you okay?” Mikela asked, waiting until Wylon was gone.
“I'm fine,” Heather answered. “I just wish I had another couple of moments, so I could have killed the bastard.”
Aaron smiled, “I thought that we were dead for sure. I wish I knew the wagon driver that spoke up in your favor.”
Mikela smiled at him, “You do. It was
me.”
Aaron and Heather exchanged glances. “What do you mean it was you?” Heather asked.
Mikela smile got even wider, “Remember, I am a magician. There are many things that I can do. I thought that if one of the wagon drivers supported Heather, then perhaps some of the other guards and drivers would as well.”
Aaron laughed, “Nice trick, and quick thinking.”
Derek fidgeted as he helped Trestus set up the two tents that the four of them had been sleeping in for the past seven days. They easily could have reached King's Folly days ago, but the entertainers moved much slower than he would have liked. Twice now, they had set up their fair for a whole day near some tiny town. Derek had almost died of impatience when Philias had insisted on spending two days in a field near a small cow town.
He grudgingly admitted that the entertainers knew what they were doing. The townspeople really seemed to enjoy the music, dancing, story-telling, and especially the food that the entertainers prepared. Aside from a few small fights, mainly between young townsmen, things had gone smoothly at each of the fairs.
On several occasions, Derek had thought about leaving the caravan, but each time caution got the better of him, and they had stayed. No one had seen their mysterious followers again, but he didn't want to take any chances, so they had continued to play their part as members of the entertainer troupe. He and Trestus wore clothes that fit right in with the entertainers, and they had helped set up and take down the large tents, where the dancing and singing took place. Kara had gone even farther by helping prepare and serve the food to the customers.
As much as Derek wanted to be away from the caravan, he enjoyed their company. The men were friendly and he and Trestus had started playing cards and drinking ale with them in the evenings. Derek had lost more than he had won, but it didn't matter. The card games were fun, and they helped pass the time.
The ladies were nice as well, but after several of them had been a little too nice to him, Kara had taken the time to have a little conversation with them. Since then, not a one of them would even look him in the eyes, except Deanna. She had remained the same flirtatious woman that she had been that first night, but she hadn't tried to escalate things since then.
Trestus, being a single man, had enjoyed his time with the entertainers. The same ladies that were now steadfastly ignoring Derek, had turned their attention toward Trestus. His mood had improved dramatically since they had joined the caravan.
“Hey, are you guys coming?” A voice called to them.
Derek looked up from the tent and saw Jarin, one of the musicians. “Already?” Normally the games didn't start until after dinner.
Jarin smiled, “Well, I want a chance to finish winning all of your money.” He was a short slim man with his hair graying.
Now it was Derek's turn to smile. He had lost more money than he had won, but not one copper had gone to Jarin. In fact, he didn't think that Jarin had won a single pot in any of the games they had played, but that hadn't soured the little man's enthusiasm for the games. “I'll be right there. Let me just finish putting up this tent first.”
Jarin laughed, “You better. I have seen the way that woman of yours drives you.”
Derek scowled. “What do you mean? I'm the man in this family.”
Jarin only laughed again in answer. “How about you, Trestus?”
Trestus looked up from where he was kneeling down next to the tent. “Uh, no. I have something to do.”
Jarin grinned a wicked grin, “Don't you mean you have someone to do?” Trestus scowled, which only caused the musician to laugh again. “I hear that you have been getting around with the ladies.”
Trestus sighed rather loudly, causing Derek and Jarin to exchange glances.
“Everything okay?” Derek asked.
“Not exactly.” Trestus answered slowly. “I sort of promised Sarah and Marim that I would spend tonight with both of them.”
Jarin and Derek howled with laughter, “Why did you do such a stupid thing?” Derek asked when the laughs had subsided.
“Well, I had already asked Sarah to spend tonight with me, and then I sort of was in a compromising situation with Marim when she asked me to spend this evening with her.” He shrugged, “What could I say? I felt compelled to say yes.”
Derek laughed again, drawing another scowl from Trestus. “It's not funny. What am I going to do?” He asked, desperately.
“Why don't you lie down and pretend to be sick.” Jarin suggested.
“Pretend to be sick?” Trestus asked doubtfully.
“Sure.” Jarin answered. “You won't have to spend the evening with either girl, and neither of them should be mad at you.”
Trestus starred blankly at Jarin for a moment, “That's brilliant. In fact, I'm already starting to feel bad.” He grinned as he spoke and then he crawled into one of the tents, leaving Derek and Jarin laughing as he disappeared.
“So how about you, Derek? Feel like losing in some cards?”
About an hour later, Derek finally sat down at a table with six other men to play cards. They played a variety of games, most of which were new to Derek, although a few were common games played in Telur.
A big man named Damistus was shuffling the cards. “What game are we playing?”
Damistus grinned, “You're favorite, the naked queen.”
Derek groaned, he tended to lose money quickly at this game. “Why don't I just give you my money now and save us both some time?”
Derek was tired and his eyes were starting to blur from lack of sleep. They had been playing cards for so long, that the rest of the camp had already gone quiet. His luck had been so-so that night. The pile of money in front of him hadn't gotten any bigger, but it had gotten any smaller either. He was already out of the current hand though, which was good for him, as Jarin won what had to be his first hand of the evening and raked in a huge pot.
Damistus and another musician named Gil both pushed back their chairs at the same time. “Well, that does it. That hand cleared me out.” Damistus said, without a trace of animosity in his voice.
Gil nodded, “Me too. Plus it's late; sunup is going to come awful early.”
Derek started to rise as well when a hand touched his shoulder. He looked up to see Deanna smiling down at him. “I also enjoy playing cards. Perhaps, I can take this seat?” She motioned toward Gil's empty seat, which was the chair next to Derek.
“Uh...” Derek started to say.
“Sure. Why don't you?” Kara said, stepping up next to the table. “I also like playing cards. I'll take this seat.” She said as she sat down in Damistus' empty chair.
Deanna looked surprised, “Uh, perhaps I'll play some other time.”
Kara smiled wickedly at the other woman, “What's the matter? You do know how to play cards. Don't you?”
Deanna flushed and an angry look came over her face. She sat down in the chair next to Derek.
Derek was wide awake now, looking from one woman to the other. It felt like the temperature had dropped twenty degrees since they joined the game.
It was Jarin's turn to deal, and he looked warily from woman to woman, but they both glared at him, so from then on he kept his eyes focused on the deck of cards.
One game quickly turned into ten with both women each winning one and mainly only losing small amounts. Neither one of them had been suckered into losing a big hand, but Deanna still had more money sitting in front of her than did Kara. Derek was dealing, and he had already folded his hand and the rest of the men quickly folded as well.
Deanna pushed about half of her money into the pot, drawing some whistles from the onlookers. It was a large bet.
Kara smiled and pushed all the rest of her money into the pot causing Deanna to blink in surprise. “You're not going to back out now, are you?”
Deanna glared at Kara, “Of course not. In fact, I am going to re-raise.” She then pushed the rest of her money into the middle of the table.
“I don't have that muc
h.” Kara said quickly.
“Well, then I guess you lose.” Deanna said in a nasty tone.
“These are friendly games; we don't normally raise more money than the other players have.” Jarin said quietly.
Deanna turned her cool gaze on Jarin and he quickly fell silent; then turning back to Kara, “Well? Can you call the bet?”
Kara didn't speak; instead she just slipped the small silver bracelet from her wrist and set it on top of the money.
“Kara, Are you sure that you want to do this?” Derek asked. He had seen her play with the bracelet before, and he was sure that it was special to Kara.
Her eyes narrowed, “It's mine, and I can do with it as I want.”
“Yes, you can.” Deanna said, “But I won't accept the bracelet instead of money.”
This time it was Derek that angrily turned on Deanna. “Now hold on. In a friendly game of cards, you're the one that raised more money than the other player had, and you then refuse to accept a bracelet for the remainder of the bet? That doesn't seem right.”
“I agree.” Jarin interjected. “The least you can do is let her bet the bracelet.”
Deanna once again turned her angry gaze on Jarin, but this time he didn't melt away from it. Instead, he met her angry gaze and even returned one of his own.
“Fine.” Deanna said in an angry voice. “You can bet the stupid bracelet.” She laid her cards down on the table. She had the three and four of trees, the five of scepters, the six of swords, and the seven of mages. “A straight run.” She regarded Kara coldly, “Can you beat that?”
Kara didn't answer, instead she held the other woman's gaze for a moment. Then she threw her cards down on the table, rose from her chair, and stomped from the tent.
Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series Page 25