Condemned

by Cari Silverwood

  The florses were exhausted and the last leg of the journey that brought them to this ridge had been taken slowly.

  “There is my farm.” Takk drew her into his side. He smelled of mauleon sweat and florse sweat, and general grime, but they all did.

  Green countryside fell away below the gentle but rocky slope of this hill. Farm paddocks were squared off by fences and animals grazed there, tiny dots seen from above. It was astoundingly beautiful and the fresh cold air blowing across Avalon’s face made her feel this was a unique, once-in-her-lifetime excitement.

  They had really arrived. This had happened, yet still she suffered niggling doubt.

  How could this ever be her future?

  How could she, of all people, ever expect to have a good, happy life? The recent killings only reinforced that notion. The screaming and shouting. The cries. The bodies they’d left behind them, trampled under hooves with sword and blast holes weeping red. She shuddered.

  Kondio took her hand, jarring her back to now.

  “Mine too. My farm is to the right, Ava, a bit further away. We’re next to each other. Planning to merge them so we can be—”

  “One, big...” Timin had cut in, patting her behind then resting his hand on her shoulder. “...happy—”

  “Fuck!” Zo walked in front of them onto the verge of the road where green grasses swayed, looking annoyed and with his wide nostrils flaring. He held out his arms to either side. “Where’s my piece of her, dear family?”

  “You’re blocking the view, asshole,” Takk pointed out.

  When the hands on her tightened, she smiled and slipped out from under, and went to Zo to give him a hug. “Here.” Avalon buried her face in his shirt. “Pooh, you stink too.”

  “Someone is getting dunked thoroughly in cold brrr...” Zo fake shivered, “...cold water when we get to the farm.”

  “I don’t care.” She turned in his arms to face the others. “I never said thank you to anyone except Takk, so here it is. Thank you for coming for me. Thank you all for surviving that ambush.” Her brow wrinkled of its own accord as her anxiety returned. “You haven’t said anything about it yet. Please, we need to be honest. It was me, wasn’t it? Those were humans. They were after me and I feel so, so sorry, I brought—”

  Zo’s hand covered her mouth, muffling her. “Shhh. No need to be. We’re adults. We killed them all. They’re gone.” He slipped his hand from her lips.

  “Not all gone, I’d venture.” Takk frowned, mouth tweaking up. “Avalon is right. We may as well talk through some strategies, ideas, and rules, here and now. First of all, we’re family. We all need to have a say in this. We aren’t running anywhere unless we all go. Though the girl may have slightly less of a say.”

  He winked at her.

  “Heyyy.” She thought about going over and smacking his chest, but... maybe later. Possibly safer that way, and more likely to lead to him doing things to her butt. She wrenched her thoughts into line. Later.

  “Keep going, Takk,” Zo said. She felt him nod and the pressure of his arms where they crossed over her front. “Let’s hear what you think of that ambush. I have a fact some may have missed though. There were darts in at least three of them—their sword arms were hit. I figure it’s why every single one of them missed.”

  “Yeah, I hadn’t seen that, but it means we had help. Expert help. Maybe some traitors in with them because anything else seems unlikely. I was thinking our best choice was to gather what we want from our homes, my farm, Kon’s, and leave here. That help we had changes things for the better. However, whoever organized that ambush knows us, and yes, knows our girl. It’s what I warned of. You know too much, Ava.”

  He’d used her pet name. It made her feel warm and squishy inside to have all her males looking after her but also terrible. “I don’t want to be the cause of your deaths.”

  “Should I gag her?” Zo rumbled out.

  “Not yet.” Timin grinned, his shaggy brown mane shaking against the sunlight. “Soon though if she keeps saying nonsense. We’re yours. You’re ours. Shush while the big guys talk.”

  “Fuck,” she whispered, pouting. But she remained silent afterward.

  Why? She hated being relegated to the underling, the lesser. Yet this talk made her feel one with them also. Family was good. She was sure if she truly had a problem with any decisions, any that didn’t mean her asking them to abandon her, they’d listen. Well, fairly sure?

  Then there was Takk and his recent, dominant, take her prisoner and birch her ass attitude. She wondered how far he intended to go with that. Negotiating this relationship could be very interesting.

  “Talk if you have new facts, Ava.” Somberly, Kon eyed her. “Always. Unless we’re fucking you at the time.”

  They laughed at that and she found herself blushing. Stupid to do so, considering. Oh, well. She smiled. Idiots.

  “Continuing on with this,” Takk reminded them. “I propose we wait a month. Tight security. No letting Avalon out of our sight, off the farms, or anywhere near strangers. No telling anyone we have a human mate, ever, really. It is what it is. You’d be almost a prisoner here, is that what you want? Going anywhere with her, at any time in the future, would require a disguise. This secret can still get us imprisoned by our government or killed by yours.”

  She shrugged. “Stay on your farm? Disguises? Those parts, I can bear.”

  Going back to Montague would be a death sentence. And if she remained here, she would not take chances that might cause them harm.

  “Fookin’ crap.” Kon shook his head, kicked a rock off road. “You’re right. Always were, Takk. I’m not sorry though. Family is exactly what I want. Even if I die tomorrow, because I know how short life can be.” His voice sounded as if it’d cracked in a few places.

  Ava recalled his wife had died in raids by her own people, make that by humans. She loosened herself from Zo’s hold and went to Kon, hugged him and stayed beside him. When she rested her head on his side, he sneaked his arm around her, found her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.

  “Thank you.” He hugged her with a quick squeeze.

  “Okay. Are we agreed?” Takk raised his voice. “A month here. See if danger follows us. If it does, I think we need to scamper back over the mountains. We could find work.”

  “Sure.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes.”

  Avalon nodded too, though worry was still gnawing at her. “Yes.”

  Snaar was the only mauleon kingdom that she knew of on the planet, but it was huge. She could see the point. It should be possible to hide. Hopefully. She stared at the ground under her boots.

  “Mount up. Let’s get down there.” With that, Takk ended the meeting. “Riding with Kon?”

  She nodded.

  “Did any of you notice our follower?” Timin extended his arm, pointing down the road they’d come along.

  “I did, just now.” Zo was also staring at the distant trotting figure.

  “What the stars...” Kondio sounded as stunned as she was. “Is that the, you-know?”

  “Yes, the fucking machine from the temple,” Takk filled in.

  Nibbles had found them, and he was riding atop what Avalon preferred to call the love-bot—its gangly metal legs were running somewhat strangely, lopsided almost, kicking up road dust.

  “Wonder if it’d do the harvesting?” Kon scratched at his chin.

  She was more concerned with it possibly deciding to breed with some of his farm animals. Though it appeared to have lost the black dildo on the end of its apparatus.

  A definite improvement.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  A month had passed. A month in which zero things of a suspicious nature had occurred. No soldiers, no assassins, and no spies had been seen. Takk’s sister and her partner had been running his farm while he was absent, and they had been sworn to secrecy. No one from the nearby town had seen her. When outside in the fields, she concealed her form with heavy clothes and a ha
t.

  The lovemaking between her and her four mauleon mates had been... She paused to swallow, fork in hand at the dinner table. Smiling, Avalon looked around the wide table. Nothing could make her happier than this.

  A month was almost up. After that they’d agreed the danger was likely to have passed.

  Perhaps Uncle and whoever he associated with would decide she was too much trouble to eliminate? Assassins were not cheap. She knew this since hiring a good thief was expensive too. Or so she’d heard. Hadn’t really had a chance to climb the ranks of thieves, and she was glad of that.

  Death at an early age, or prison, was a huge occupational hazard.

  Zo was to her left and he had noticed her dreamily smiling around at the others, with the fork dangling from her fingers. His hand arrived in her lap. His claws sank through her skirt and into her thigh, making her gasp. The instant heat from his claws was familiar and welcome.

  “Lower, please.”

  “Minx.” Nevertheless he began to slowly walk his claws inward toward her pussy, making her wriggle.

  A knock thundered through the farmhouse. Someone pounded on the door three more times. An armored fist, her brain told her. The sound was distinctive.

  All her mauleons stiffened, faces tight, emotions locking down.

  “I’ll get it.” Zo pushed out his chair.

  But all of them rose soon after, and they headed for the weapons racked and stored near the entrance hallway.

  Crap. She bit her lip, inhaled. Maybe she and they were imagining too much. Too dire a cause? It might be, what? The grocery delivery? She jogged over to Timin and crouched. He handed her a pistol. The power gauge read full, of course. She switched it on.

  And then she prayed.

  Voices murmured—Zo and some other male.

  The rest of the mauleons, along with her, had flattened themselves to either side of the gap where the hallway entered the dining area. Weapons were clutched in their fists. Sword, pistol, laz rifle.

  She was behind Timin and Takk. Kon was on the opposite side.

  “Be good,” Timin hissed, glaring.

  Meaning don’t get shot. Being pampered sometimes went too far.

  “You can all come out here.” Zo stood in the hall opening. “Avalon included. It’s okay.”

  “You’re sure, Zo? Not just imagining this?” Hesitantly, Takk peeled himself from the wall.

  “I am.”

  Kondio grabbed her hand and hung on. “Stay with me. Any problems run back in here.”

  Her heart had ratcheted up to battle-ready level anyway. Please, let nothing bad happen.

  With their weapons lowered but carried, and she was sure everyone was ready to use them, they followed him to the door, then out onto the wide front verandah.

  A king’s officer waited, uniformed, gloved, but with his fancy silver and gold helmet under his arm. He nodded to them, smiled tersely.

  Two dismounted cavalry stood by their florses, beyond the gate to the house yard.

  “I have a message for you all. You have each been granted a pardon by the king.” He handed Zo a thick package. “It’s in there. You are not expected to attend court to accept this. That includes the huleon female previously, ahem, executed for her crimes, Avalon de Gorr.”

  Which translated to not welcome in court, she decided.

  He peered at her, frowned, then continued reciting. “Here is also a private message for Captain Takk Reubin. I am directed to burn this after it’s read.”

  Takk took the offered envelope and read the enclosed letter. Though his eyebrows rose, he gave little else away of his emotions. Frustrating mauleon. She was dying to know.

  Then he handed the letter and envelope to the officer who promptly set fire to it using a lighter. Once it had burned away to a corner of paper, he placed that on the landing floor, and watched it burn down to the tiniest fragments.

  Having stomped on those and ground them into the floorboards, he smiled, saluted, spun on his heel, and strode down the steps and across the yard.

  No one moved until he’d mounted, and he and his soldiers were riding away.

  “Tell us everything,” Zo said, turning to Takk. “What the fucking hells was written on that?”

  “Well—”

  Before he could say another word, something else galloped from their yard after the disappearing cavalry, only to turn at a split in the road leading to the farm, and head in the opposite direction.

  Nibbles and the love-bot?

  “Why?” She knew she sounded forlorn. Ridiculous. She’d just been pardoned. They were, she was, free of all the horrible burdens they’d carried. The secrets, the guilt, gone. However...

  “Why would he leave without any goodbye?”

  Like a mousey wave of a paw? She ruefully smiled. As if.

  “Was that your mouse-bot, Timin? And yours, Ava.” Kondio remembered at the last second that Nibbles had initially been hers. “Barely saw them this last month, except at your bench repairing stuff.”

  “Ummm.” Timin looked unusually inscrutable.

  “More important, we are now free to go about creating a future without fear of persecution.”

  They all looked to Takk.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  J’kai watched the departure of the cavalry as they passed below on a road circling this knoll, while the bots went elsewhere. She stayed where she was, hidden in the empty animal burrow behind a veil of branches and green leaves. It was cool here. Besides, the priests were standing in her way.

  Mission accomplished, however. She smiled. Smiling was now her favorite expression, ever since she met Raiden. Ex-lawman, now an artist. He intended to travel in a small florse-drawn caravan, discovering new places of inspiration for his paintings and sculptures.

  The girl’s uncle was dead, a suicide everyone supposed, from the evidence she’d left. His legacy of deep, dark secrets that he’d kept locked in a vault, she’d disposed of carefully, efficiently, like a barrage of poison darts.

  The world was a little safer minus a man like him, though she knew others would rise to take his place, same as the foam on a fresh brew of rotbone toxin.

  She’d been honest with Raiden, which had startled the mauleon—finding an assassin in his bed—but surprise had become curiosity then admiration, in that she’d decided to do something worthwhile and cease to practice her profession.

  Honesty had felt wonderful, and she’d been mirroring Avalon’s honesty. She’d learned a lot from her.

  The priests lined up on this same hillside, a breath away, a whisper away. They were oblivious to J’kai’s presence and their conversation was informative.

  “There they go. The prophecy embodied, just as High Priest Nostrodamm predicted,” a bald-headed male intoned.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes.”

  They all nodded, five priests in a row in dirty blue robes. They’d been watching the farm for a week.

  She supposed it had taken them this long to track the bots.

  “Let us return and report that warbot and the mouse-bot are away on their fated travels.”

  Wait. What?

  This was too much. She could’ve followed them back to Omage, toyed with surveillance, recorded conversations, but she had a life to live.

  J’kai climbed to her feet and emerged from the burrow, leaving her roll of weapons behind. It was going to be difficult to break her old habit of traveling fully armed. Silently she reached the last priest in the file, the bald one. She tapped his shoulder.

  “Oh!” He recoiled and turned at the same instant, almost falling down the hill. The others, caught equally by surprise, arranged themselves as if ready to flee.

  “Tell me one thing before you leave. What is this prophecy I hear you speak of?”

  His fearful gaze made her realize she held a naked dagger in her left hand.

  “Oops.” Quickly she slipped it into a chest sheath. “Sorry. Habit.”

  “I... I suppose it no longer can hurt to
say?”

  “Of course it won’t. Just curious.” Fucking curious. “Warbot?” she prompted.

  “The prophecy. Yes, WARBOT as is inscribed on its chest.” He cleared his throat. “Lo, a pale rider from the heavens on an iron steed shall herald the end of the world, and the rise of a new one.”

  That was it?

  The priest picked up her confusion. “The... the pale rider is the white mouse-bot and the iron steed is—”

  “I get it.” She waved them off. “You may go.”

  Their hurried exit meant it was only seconds before she was alone on the hillside, contemplating the future.

  “Would’ve been a better prophecy if that was a warbot.” She’d studied the specs and blueprints of exactly that bot at Huge Library. The original inscription actually would have read: GARBOT. It was a standard bot produced once upon a time by the Garbologist Company. Good at picking up litter but not at war. She supposed its litter-spearing arm had been misconstrued as a weapon.

  Oh, well. J’kai shrugged.

  Now, finally, she had all the time in the world to pursue her romance with her mauleon.

  A millisecond before the dart struck her right leg, she glimpsed the helmet of the king’s officer. Collapsing already, her surprise translated to horror as three more darts sank into her left thigh and shoulders. Paralyzed by the time she hit the soft ground, the dagger that thumped into her left hand, pinning it to the dirt, was felt as searing pain but her arm did not flinch. She sagged onto her back, limp, already certain of the identity of this false officer.

  “Arx,” she gurgled, finding the toxin affecting her speech.

  “Yes. Evening, J’kai. I have heard of you. A pity to meet this way, but I have my job to do.”

  “What?” Oh, no. Oh, no. Not now. Not today. She’d had a future, for once. She swallowed awkwardly, feeling the warm blood on her hand and her strength leaching away. “What is it?”

  “The job? To kill whoever killed my client. You were difficult to find, let alone convict in my private court of wrongdoers.”