by Ann Raina
Dissatisfied, he grabbed a curry-comb and fondled the mare’s ears with the other hand, but she shied away, sensing his anger. He exhaled in frustration.
“You don’t understand. All this protective stuff is nice around the villages. The Horlyns there are mostly young and inexperienced. They try to find out about the occupants who invade their territory and if you scream loud enough they’ll fly away. The older ones know us and stay in Emerald Green or Beechtree Pride. They don’t care about us as long as we keep a distance. Entering their territory for more than a few hours is…dangerous to say the least.” He shook his head. “And the Horlyns are not the only ones you need to fear—and now you make me part of it. Thanks a lot.”
Rayenne looked at him for a long time, as if his ability to speak in whole sentences had surprised her. Then she nodded.
“In the old days it was risky, I agree. But you don’t know about the latest technological developments, Saji. We will be protected, don’t worry.”
“Who’s worried?”
Sajitar curried his mare, still shaking his head, then fetched the saddle and added the small saddlebags, which held water, food, clothes and some useful items to survive on a long ride. Used to traveling a lot, he had come to take less and less with him.
Two men entered the stable, the first one tall and broad, the first one, the other small and fat. They checked the stable with dark skeptical eyes, taking up details in a second. Their stance and bearing made clear they had not come to claim their mounts. They looked displaced in their long dark brown coats and grey buttoned-up shirts. Sajitar glanced at the polished riding boots and his heartbeat sped up.
Felberi saw them at the same moment and, cursing, went for his high-pressure gun. Swiveling around, he fired three shots in a row.
“Get down, Ray!”
The men cussed, ducked behind the stable doors for protection and shot back the same instant.
Rayenne cleared her gun to aim across the stall door. The B-horse behind her reared, startled by the noise. She was pushed against the wooden wall and screamed in pain.
The B-horses in the adjacent boxes went wild, trampling the ground while they tried to break the doors. Sajitar opened the stall door next to him and the animal jumped, its eyes wide, hooves hitting the wall. Then in fear it bolted down the small alley and fled into the street, hooves clacking on the hardened sand.
The two attackers forgot to shoot and flattened against the wall. The fat man shouted. “Damned beasts!”
Felberi’s gun roared again and the tall man went down screaming. His gun skittered across the floor and he did not move anymore. The second attacker seized the moment, raising his gun and shooting at head-height through the stable, clearly not caring if he hit men or B-horses.
Sajitar had seen it coming. He pulled Rayenne down behind the dividing wall, shielding her with his body. The air was thick with dust from the trampling animals and the noise was deafening. Gasping for air, he coughed and prayed for a gun to defend himself. The sound of stones and metal pieces hitting the wall froze him. It was unfamiliar, more threatening than anything he had heard so far. In the alley, Felberi shouted something Sajitar couldn’t decipher. A scream followed. Rayenne stood up to fire once more and stumbled backwards. The attacker was right in front of her. She looked into the muzzle, frozen. For a second, there was only the gun and the smile of the fat gangster behind it.
“That’s for my partner, you slut.”
Sajitar kicked the door open and hit the man’s chest. His gun fired at the ceiling as he fell and Rayenne pulled the trigger, blowing the wooden bullet in his face. He went down without a sound. The gun dropped and Ray was at his side to make sure he would not try to grab it again.
“Thanks.” Turning to Sajitar, Rayenne put up the gun. Her eyes were wide with fear. She had seen death coming and had been left untouched. She took a deep breath and winced at the pain in her back. “You’re fast.”
Sajitar nodded. He shivered and for a few heartbeats his vision was blurred. “You’re welcome. Who the fuck were they?”
“We’ll find out. Felberi?” She stepped over the unconscious man to run for her partner. “Hey, Felberi? Are you all right? Oh, goodness, no!”
The police officer had fallen backward into the alley. The right half of his face was covered with blood as were his neck and shoulder. “Damn it. Damn these monsters!” She hit the ground with her fist.
Sajitar checked the second attacker and found him unconscious like his partner. He would be out for hours, long enough for them to get away.
“Did they kill your partner?” Sajitar asked.
Rayenne glanced over her shoulder, rage and grief clouding her voice.
“They use dirty shot, Saji. Have you never heard of it? Stones, metal spikes, everything else they can force through the muzzle without blowing it. I don’t know how they alter their guns, but it’s deadly. It happened before. Fuck! Felberi was a good guy.” She shook her head, took Felberi’s guns and stood to bind the attackers’ hands on their backs. “Maybe I should kill these muggers and leave.”
“Maybe you should.”
While she bound their ankles, too, Sajitar got a closer look at the attacker. He pushed away the hair from the back of his neck and saw a dark red circle with another, smaller one, crossing it. One letter was printed in each of them, but not of an alphabet he knew.
“They have a tattoo.”
“A tattoo?” Rayenne wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye, then turned the head of the second man, grimacing at what she saw. “Yeah, he’s got that, too. Two circles and two letters.”
“You saw that before, I suppose.”
“Sanjongy. No surprise they’re in this game.” She looked up when Sajitar got closer. Her tone was harsh, but he saw pain and fear in her eyes. The shootout had terrified her. Somehow it was satisfying he was not the only one almost wetting his pants. “It’s a well-organized group of criminals. You know that.”
Sajitar balled his hands to fists. He pressed his lips tight, but the words came out in a heated rush.
“No, I don’t! I have nothing to do with them!”
“Really? Do you take me to be some stupid village girl?”
Sajitar growled in his throat, wishing he could somehow convince her.
“Anyway, how could they have known I was here?” He stood and stepped back, as if getting distance would prove his innocence. He ran a shaking hand through his hair. I need to get away. Fast. “After all, this is one of the remotest districts on this planet, right? Even the usual police forces avoid coming here. That’s why you were sent after my tracks.”
Rayenne nodded, keeping him in her stare. “If I knew how to find you, so did they.”
Sajitar opened his mouth for a reply and shut it again without a word. Suddenly, the two men looked more dangerous than before. He wiped sweat off his face. His gut twisted and he felt sick to his stomach. Even swallowing was difficult and he regretted having eaten an all-too-hearty breakfast.
“Guess that wasn’t a thought that came to your little mind, right?” Rayenne went past him to cover Felberi’s body with a blanket. Then she removed some items from his saddlebags, took the saddle and bridle off his B-horse and fetched her own.
Her gait and her voice were firm, and in that moment he hated her for being composed and armed. She knew how to handle the situation even though she had just lost her partner and had to be afraid. He hated that leaving with her was his only option. The idea of more men waiting somewhere made his heart race and his palms sweat. He couldn’t stay and hide anymore. The plan had sounded so foolproof in the beginning!
“Come, Mr. Sajitar Haju, you’re still under arrest. And I prefer to put some distance between them and us and call HQ sooner rather than later. These muggers are known to travel in groups.” She turned one last time to face him. Grim determination twisted her features. “If they’re out to kill us, they’ll send an army after us if they have to. So you’d better stay close to me. Is that u
nderstood?”
He wanted to ask why she knew, but came up with “Where do we go?” Glancing over his shoulder, Sajitar considered it careless to leave the unconscious men behind. If they awoke and were able to get rid of the handcuffs, they would go about their business which meant they would take up the hunt again. He would have voted for Rayenne’s anger to explode and put an end to their lives. The thought came around again and frightened him. Did I really think about killing someone? As much as possible, violence and he walked different paths.
“There’s a small station north of here with an overhead transmission line. Just a few hours ahead. We’ll call for help and wait there.”
She waited for him to lead his B-horse out of the stable carefully. The stench of blood was in the air and though his mare had been in many places, she shied away and would have bolted without his hand at the reins.
Outside, he mounted the fidgeting B-horse with some trouble and watched Rayenne do the same. She was slender, but he knew better than to take her to be fragile. He had met enough women to accept that there was no such thing as a helpless woman—not on Belthraine, anyway. And truly not in a job that consisted mostly of dealing with hardcore criminals.
Again, it cut him to the quick that she considered him to be one of them.
The thought of being the target of Sanjongy caused him to turn every now and again while the B-horses trotted down the street. He had done some illegal things in his life, but to be on a death list had never been a possibility. Sanjongy! Every man and his mouse feared the gang that had more deaths on their list than the police had employees. And that was a conservative estimate.
He tried to calm down and tell himself that police officers made a much better target. No one loved to be around them, and their reputation was worse than on other planets.
There were stories of policemen being bribed by high ranking criminals to look away while a robbery took place. Stories of how they used brutal force if they thought it appropriate, and sometimes even if they were just out for a brawl. Their appearance far away from Belson Park had made some local folks nervous. This has to be the reason for two killers to show up. Probably Felberi and Ray were in trouble with the gang and now they want revenge.
Reflecting on his situation, he was not sure if the police escort would do him any good. Sanjongy might catch him anyway. What was one police officer against gang members? He inhaled deeply. Don’t expect the worst every time.
Rayenne held the reins with one hand while the other rested on the butt of her gun. Her fingers danced along the trigger and her dark brown gelding fidgeted, sensing her nervousness much better than the people watching them leave town.
Sajitar kept quiet. He tried to look in all directions at the same time, but he was not experienced enough to recognize an assassin without looking into a muzzle. The end of the shootout in the stable had been pure luck. He knew it, and he was sure Rayenne did, too.
If Sanjongy sent more freaks with the mission to kill, there was no doubt about the outcome.
They reached the main street of the village. Now that the sun was up, there were women with children as well as workers on coaches, snapping whips at their B-horses. With one uniformed escort they were still worth a shy glance—then all the passers-by hurried on. Sajitar sensed their sudden unrest. The few men he had talked to had a crime register longer than his arm, and right now Sajitar envied them being left alone while he was led out of town. He glanced over his shoulder, but there was no one to regret his departure.
Belthraine had been a settlers’ dream for one and a half centuries. There were diggers who had thought the planet would be rich in gems or minerals, coal or oil, but for years they had been unlucky. They had built settlements around the huge woods and cut down trees for huts and coaches. Only then did they realize that the wood was special. Its grain in orange, light yellow and dark red quickly became famous among rich people all over the quadrant, and therefore expensive.
Large corporations established subsidiaries to enhance the clearing and maximize exports.
Sajitar smiled. The news of the corporations—especially one called 2Harvest—pumping credits like confetti on New Year’s Eve into the planet had been welcomed by the local authorities, but the planet’s extraordinary mixture of gases, some of them not yet identified, ruined all plans for a quick clearing immediately.
There was no way to use machines fueled with fossil energies. Every spark led to explosions and lives lost. The atmosphere’s high saturation with oxygen prohibited the use of powerful machines effectively, much to the chagrin of wealthy and greedy corporation owners. Many alterations were tried and in the end it was back to axes. The logging made slow progress and the wood became even more expensive. Scientists were hired and fired, but still the planet’s breathable air was a mystery.
Among those settlers living off the wood had been Sajitar’s grandparents and then his parents. They had made a small fortune with selling trunks, but Sajitar did not strive for a living in the rural areas of the planet. Belson Park had developed into a town and would soon be a city due to the money spent by the corporations and some illegal businesses. He had longed to be there like a moth to a flame.
Even if it burned.
“Two attackers, ten o’clock!” Rayenne shouted and had her gun up at the same moment. She shot without taking time to aim, hitting one of the assassins in the shoulder. The masked man screamed and fell backwards, dropping his gun while the other took a dive. “Bastards!” Her B-horse reared, but she turned it one-handed and shot again, if only to push the attackers back.
The second man had a better defense position. He shot several bullets in a row, not caring if he hit trees, bushes or men, but was a bad shooter. Bark blew up, littering the way with pieces in orange and brown while some of the settlers’ B-horses reared and galloped away, pulling their coaches with them. Passers-by fled the scene screaming, running for cover. One went down, his face distorted by pain. Some people shouted for the police. A B-horse ran through the line of fire and wondrously escaped unharmed.
Sajitar did not wait to learn the winner.
“Run, Tessla, run!”
He pressed his heels into Tessla’s flanks, spurring her to run flat into the woods. The mare complied, eager to leave. He ducked on her back, her soft mane in his face. He did not look back. The sound of high-pressure guns filled the air. Something hit his side, stung and was gone a moment later. His cry went unheard. Shouts followed him, words he did not understand and did not want to hear.
Maybe Rayenne was still trying to catch him. Maybe she shouted at the assassin to give up or went down this very moment. Sajitar only saw the dark wood in front of him, trees with trunks so thick not even three men could embrace them. The bark was rough and full of deep runnels. Branches hung low like arms reaching out for him with twenty fingers each. They scratched greedily over Sajitar’s back, but did not bring him down. The B-horse stumbled over a root, caught her step and ran on. He clung to the mane, pressed his knees against the saddle, knowing he might break his neck if he fell off. Listening to the mighty inhale of the B-horse, he hoped the odds were on his side to get away. If he could shake off Rayenne and the freaks he would be in great shape.
The shooting stopped abruptly and he was still close enough to hear a woman’s voice.
“You stupid, damned idiot! Wait! Wait for me!”
Sajitar closed his eyes as if to close his ears, too. He was escaping, no matter who the attackers were. He could survive in the woods. He had done so before, even if it had cost him. In his mind there was no better option than being alone.
“Stop!”
No, all of his working brain cells shouted. No stopping! You’re close to escaping!
He forced his mare on. The mount complied eagerly, pumping air in her lungs and flattening to a hard gallop wherever the ground allowed it.
The hooves behind him were getting closer. He heard Rayenne’s voice through the blood pulsing through his ears.
“Stop, Saji! Or I’ll shoot you in the back!”
“Fuck this day.”
He reined his B-horse. Tessla slowed down from gallop to trot, then to a walk that allowed him to turn in the saddle. With wide nostrils the mare pumped air into her mighty lungs, as if saying she had strength for another twenty miles.
He could not believe that this young police officer had in fact caught up on him. He did not like her threat, either. His mare shook her slender head unwillingly. She wanted to run on and he wanted that, too. The B-horse had more common sense than he, and once again, he felt closer to his animal than to any person.
Rayenne brought her gelding close. The B-horse pumped air like its owner, but did not appear out of breath. Sweat poured down Ray’s face. A black strand of hair hung wet across her forehead, decorated with small twigs and leaves. She wiped it away, glaring at him as if he had tried to murder her instead of escaping. Irrationally, he thought that not even being afraid and sweaty took an edge off her beauty. Her large brown eyes were even larger now and he wanted to touch her reddened cheek. The sudden emotion was unwelcome and irritating. A minute ago he had wanted to leave her behind, ignoring the consequences. Am I out of my mind? Men lost homes and lands for a woman. Don’t be one of them!
He cleared his throat, trying to look as innocent as a young B-horse. He took out his flagon of Kiliak and drank deep. He needed some strong wine to soothe his nerves now.
“Did you get him for good?”
She panted so hard she needed a moment to find her voice again.
“I saw him fall. He won’t follow us anymore.” Rayenne shook her head and looked over her shoulder where the wood had closed like a flap behind them. “At least he stopped shooting and I’m grateful for that.” It was almost night where they stood and the street and people, good or bad, seemed miles away. Their sounds were muffled, too, strengthening the impression that the small town was a day’s ride away. “But he’s not dead.” Exhaling, she turned back, fighting again with a loose lock that wouldn’t stay behind her ear. “You unhurt?”