by Mark Tufo
“Hello, pardner,” I said. “What are the chances you know someone named Durgan? I guessed I’d always hoped all the true assholes would have died with the rest, apparently this was more than I could hope for.”
He paused but did not soreut did peak. Who knows maybe it was beyond his capability. I think he was a little off put that I wasn’t crying for my mama. The whip cracked again, I’ve got to admit, it was impressive. The other two men fanned out, one had a long knife the other a rake.
“You’re kidding right?” I asked. “You brought a rake to a mugging.”
“Oh, this ain’t no mugging, pardner,” the man with the whip snarled. “This is a good old-fashioned murder.”
“Well, I don’t know what jury is going to consider this a murder, it’s merely self-defense on my part,” I told him.
“What’s he talking about Clyde?” the one with the knife asked.
“Shut up and gut him,” Clyde told the knife wielder.
“There’s no harm yet. I suggest you go back home to your butchering duties,” I told the man as he approached. He hesitated, and then kept coming. “Fine, have it your way.” I sat down on the small boardwalk, my legs out in front of me on the hard dirt-packed roadway. I patted Oggie’s massive head as he sat next to me.
“What are you doing?” the man asked.
“What’s your name?” I asked as he halved the distance.
“Lionel.”
“What are you two doing? Get a room!” Clyde shouted.
“Lionel, got a wife? Kids maybe?” His head bobbed as I asked the question. “I will kill you if you come closer. Do you believe me?” I asked, looking over at him menacingly.
“I do,” he gulped.
“Here’s a gold coin.” I flipped him one out of the bag. His eyes grew bigger than the barkeeps. “I would imagine that will keep you and your family in whatever passes for food in this time for a long while. Now get the fuck out of here.” He looked over once at Clyde and bolted.
“I knew you were yellow!” Clyde shouted to his back.
“All these years and they still use that crappy insult. Funny.”
“You going to try and buy my balls too, funny man?” Clyde asked.
“I don’t have a small enough coin for that,” I told him. “Odds are you’re too stupid and greedy to take what I’d offered anyway.”
“Why settle when I can have it all.”
“Screw this,” Rake man said, tossing his rake to the side and following Lionel into the night. The rake must have been worth something to him though because he skulked back quietly and retrieved it before once again heading to parts unknown.
“Not like I needed them anyway, and now I don’t have to share,” Clyde said as he approached, the whip snapping not more than an inch from the toe of my boot. “Hand over the bag, or the next one takes out your eye, and then I’m going to cut up your dog and eat him for Moon-day dinner.”
“Oh, Clyde, why are there always men like you? Why can’t we evolve past this? Well, you know what? I’m going to do my part to sku my parend your lineage. There will always be assholes, you’re proof in the pudding, but you’ll never be one again. You crossed the line bringing my dog into this.”
His whip was already in motion as I got up. I noted it would have struck my head had I not. I snagged the leather before it had a chance to crack; I was at his side in an instant.
“How’d you do that?” he asked, his mind trying to race and catch up to the events.
“You see, Clyde, if you’re going to pick a fight…you really should make sure your opponent isn’t a bigger asshole than you are.” I gripped his throat in my hand. He fell to his knees as I forced his airway closed, blood began to spill around my fingers as they dug in.
“You there!” an authoritative voice rang out. “Stop what you’re doing, I’m Judge Rory.”
“Impeccable timing, Judge,” I sneered. “Did you wait until the tables were turned before you made yourself known? Maybe you even had a stake in good Clyde’s venture here?”
“Unhand him now and you won’t swing,” he said.
“I walk away or he dies.”
“This is an assault, you’re going to jail.”
“Three men sent by your purveyor of shitty beverages meant to strip me of my money and my life. I am merely teaching the one stupid enough to stay, a lesson,” I said. Clyde was clawing at my hand trying to find a way to get air into his lungs.
“I know Clyde’s an ass. He’s married to my sister, but family is family.”
“You of all people should know then. Hell, I’m doing you a favor.”
“Perhaps, but I can’t have a stranger come into my town and cause trouble.”
“I walk, Judge, or he dies and then I walk, the choice is yours,” I said, gripping even tighter. Blood was beginning to drop to the ground. Oggie growled as the Judge reached for something is his pocket.
He showed Oggie the handkerchief as he wiped his brow. He took a little longer than was necessary to answer. My guess is he knew Clyde had it coming and maybe this was a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.
“You leaving tomorrow?” he asked.
“I am,” I told him.
“Coming back?”
“Highly unlikely,” I answered truthfully.
“We have a deal then, let him go and you can leave.”
I loosened my grip and pushed Clyde backwards into the dirt. I leaned down close. “You ever threaten my dog again; I will rip the throats from everyone and everything you love. Then I’ll let Oggie finish off what I started. Capisce?”
Pretty sure he didn’t know what understand meant in Italian, but he understood the context of the words. He was sucking wet breaths through his tortured windpipe. His face turned back from its angry purple into a more savory beet red.
I tip ize="+0ipped my head to the Judge and walked off.
“Get your ass up,” I heard the Judge say to Clyde. From the sound of it, he may have even kicked him in the ass.
“How long you been watching?” I asked Tommy as I walked down the street.
“Long enough to realize I can’t leave you alone,” he told me as he fell into step.
“Find what you were looking for?” I asked.
He nodded.
We walked to the hotel. “Mead sucks,” I told him as I opened the door.
As Oggie and Tommy got on the bed I opted for the uncomfortable chair. Didn’t matter much, I didn’t sleep.
The sun had no sooner spilled into the window than we were on the move.
“Thanks for your hospitality,” I told the man that had checked us in. I flipped him the finger, he semi-waved back with a look of confusion on his face.
Tommy smiled and softly told me that the gesture hadn’t made the leap into the future.
“You’re kidding?” I asked astonished.
He shook his head.
“The most universal, beloved way to tell someone to go fuck themselves and no one in this time knows it?” I turned and flipped the man with both middle fingers. He again waved then mimicked my gesture, still shaking his head in confusion. “I might like it here after all,” I told Tommy as I clapped his back.
We picked up a fair amount of supplies from the general store-slash-hardware-slash-feed store. I looked up at a wicked looking hand axe; it was polished to a high sheen.
“The steel is from the Ago Age,” The owner said, bringing it down to show me. It took a moment to realize that the ‘Ago Age’ was my age. “The wood was all rotten, so I made that handle myself, put some carvings in it to make it special. I ran my finger along the wolf’s head he had engraved.
“How much?” I asked him.
“Pardon, sir, I hadn’t meant to sell it. I just wanted to use it as a display piece.”
“Seems a shame to have such a wonderful piece, rust and dull without ever being used,” I said as I reached for my bag.
“Even so, finding things in this good of condition is becoming exceedingly rare.”
I couldn’t tell if he was trying to drive up the price or convince me he wasn’t selling. “What’s it worth?” I asked as I held open my free hand with three gleaming gold coins shining back at him.
“In honesty, my friend, not even one of those,” he said, never picking one up.
“I’ll give you all three.”
He stepped back. “Do you mean to rob and kill me?”
“I’m trying to make a deal.”
“Sir, you could almost buy everything in here for that price.”
“ng ize="+0Listen, odds are I won’t live long enough to use all my money. Put it to good use; buy your wife that dress she’s been looking at.”
“How did you know?”
“Women are women. Deal?” I asked placing the coins on the countertop.
“It’s a deal only if you decide that tomorrow when you realize you overspent, that you just merely need to ask for the money back and I will do so.”
“I’m a lot of things, some good some bad, but if we strike this deal be secure in the knowledge I will be exceedingly happy and will never come back for the coins.” He seemed to feel better when we shook hands. “Incredible craftsmanship,” I said as I peered at the carvings heading out the door.
“What took you so long?” Tommy asked from his perch on the cart.
“New toy,” I told him as I climbed aboard and handed it to him.
“Wolf,” he said, looking at the carving.
“Seemed appropriate don’t you think?”
He snapped the reins and the horses started forward. The Judge tipped his hat as we sauntered by. I thought about giving him the finger, too; not because of the man, but rather the badge. What can I say? I have a real issue with authority. But, even though he might not know what the finger meant he would understand the intent. Something about cops, they just knew. Maybe because they always expected the worst out of people; I, instead, nodded slightly at him.
“Here, I got you this,” Tommy said, reaching into a bag next to him.
“A black cowboy hat? How friggin’ sweet! Did it come with a gun by any chance?” I asked as I donned it. I crooked it to the side. “Do I look like a gangster?”
“You look like a drunkard.”
I straightened it out. “Thank you for this,” I told him.
“I figured you’d like it.”
Oggie was snoring contentedly as we rode out of Robert’s Land. All in all, I think it went excessively well. I didn’t die, I didn’t kill anyone, and I wasn’t in jail. Might damn near be a record for me.
“Want to drive?” Tommy asked.
“I don’t have my license.”
“Just keep it under eight miles per hour and we’ll be fine.”
“What’s the matter?” I asked him.
“I think your friend is following us.”
“Once an idiot, always an idiot.”
“We’ll wait for tonight when he intends to strike. We’ll be far enough from the town and then we can drink.”
“You mean you. Right?”
“We need to,” he stressed. “We can live off animals just fine, but you’ll be stronger taking human blood.”
“I...I don’t think I can, Tommy. First off, the idea of placing my lips and teeth on any part of that vermin gives me the chills.”
“I wouldn’t tell you to do it if it wasn’t important. The Lycan are strong and fast, we need to be stronger and faster.”
“I’d rather eat ham,” I told him, referring to my legendary dislike for the cured meat.
“You haven’t gotten over that?” he asked, turning towards me. I shrugged.
“Tommy, why don’t we just keep going? He won’t be able to keep up when we don’t stop for the night.”
“You said it yourself last night; we’d be doing the world a favor.”
“Yeah, but that was a hot-blooded response, this is so cold and calculated.”
“Would it help if I told you that, if he stays alive, he will cause great harm to that small boy we saw coming into town?”
“It would. Would it be true?” I asked.
He didn’t respond to the question. “We’ll stop here for the night,” he said as we pulled into a small clearing. A circle of oaks had been hewn, and a thick plush carpet of moss had taken up residency. Lord knew it was going to be more comfortable than the night’s previous chair and cleaner than the mattress.
“I wonder what purpose this was done for?” I asked as I walked around the perimeter.
Tommy was not his jovial self as he, once again, ignored or declined to answer my query.
“I’ll take first watch. Clyde is not smart enough to be patient and wait until we’re deep asleep. He’ll attack as soon as it’s dark enough.”
I saw hints and bits of Eliza, his evil sister, in Tommy as he spoke of eating this man. Although that wasn’t completely fair, Eliza would have said it with a smile, Tommy was all clinical.
“Wow, he’s not even that smart,” I told Tommy as I saw Clyde running from tree to tree closing in. A cat wearing a cowbell would be less conspicuous. “Tommy, this is worse than taking candy from a baby, at least the baby has a mother to protect it.
“It must be done,” Tommy said, leaving our small encampment. I heard a slight commotion about fifty yards off and then Tommy was back, a struggling Clyde in his iron clutches.
“What are you two?” he begged.
“Unfortunately, the last thing you’ll ever see,” I told him.
Tommy tilted the man’s head to the side and began to drink quickly. The man’s eyes began to close as if he were in a trance. “Get in here,” Tommy said, pulling his fangs from the man. A droplet of blood formed in each hole, then they quickly coagulated.
“I can’t, Tommy.”
“Suit yourself,” he said as he drank his fill. I won’t lie, my pulse quickened as I watched him eat. A large part of me wanted to join in the festivities. Granted, the part of me that wanted to feed was in the minority, but it was still a significant portion.
Tommy threw the man over his shoulder and headed over to the cart. I was curious to see what he was doing and I followed. He grabbed a shovel, found an area that wouldn’t be too root tangled and dug a hole. It wasn’t any shallow grave either, it was a good six feet down. He tenderly laid the body down, filled in the gravesite and even mumbled a small prayer. I’d never seen a lion pray after eating a gazelle. I’ll admit I was pretty confused.
“What...what was that all about?” I asked him later as we sat around our small campfire.
“I prayed for his quick return to where his soul was forged and asked forgiveness for those transgressions he had committed during life.”
“Do you have that kind of pull...up there?” I asked, wondering if he could do the same for me.
“Doubtful, but it can’t hurt to try.” And with that statement, we were done.
Oggie had been patrolling the woods and came back with a fat rabbit, he dropped it next to me, I drained it dry and then put it on a small spit. When it was done to his liking I stripped the meager meat from it and let him eat. He rested his head in my lap as I sat there through the night.
I had a hard time getting the image of Tommy killing Clyde out of my mind, and it was with that thought we started our next day. The day was dark and dreary; it looked like a storm was brewing both inside and out.
I don’t know how long we were traveling, the rhythmic rocking of the cart had me slightly in a trance, and the day was too dark to follow the progression of the sun. I was yanked from my mind when I saw the black-cloaked figure of a person sitting astride an extremely large black horse up ahead. My heart skipped as I tried to peer through the gloom.
“Eliza?” I asked with a start. I began to arise. She was back! The desire to turn around and haul ass was prevalent.
“Hello, Azile!” Tommy shouted, waving towards her.
She pulled her cloak back; even as I was seeing the woman’s face I had a hard time reconciling it. My mind had su
perimposed Eliza’s beautifully stark features atop Azile’s softer ones. Not to say that Azile wasn’t beautiful, just in a different way from Eliza. Our cart had just pulled up to her, and I was still trying to regain control of my emotions. When I got close, I realized the black of her cloak was actually a deep red made even darker by the muted light of the day.
“Hello, Tomas,” Azile said warmly. “Michael.” She nodded, smiling at me.
“Hello, Azile,” I said.
“I had my doubts whether you’d come or not. Tomas was relatively sure, I wasn’t convinced. I’d visited you a few times over the years; you grew more despondent each season.”
“I never knew,” I told her.
“Purpose!” she said happily as she alit from her horse. The dog that had grown to near pony proportions charged her, tongue lolling, tail wagging. He jumped into her arms. She caught him and twirled him around as if he were still a pup.
“Everybody know my dog before me?” I asked, slightly jealous.
Azile kissed Oggie’s muzzle and gently placed him back on. him ba the ground. He nudged up against her leg.
“You didn’t know because I didn’t want you to, Michael.” Azile said, referring back to my prior statement. “It was difficult for me to see you so morose.”
“Just imagine my discomfort,” I told her. “You should have said hello.”
“Would it have helped?” she asked, coming towards me.
“No.” I let my head drop a little. She placed her hand tenderly on my cheek, much like someone I had loved over a millennia ago used to.
I shied away from the intimate contact.
“I’m sorry,” she said, quickly retracting her hand. “It’s just so good to see you.” She turned towards Tommy. “Did you get everything?”
“It’s been difficult…but yes.” He removed a blanket from the back of the cart, a gleaming pile of metal shone back.
“Holy shit, is that silver?” I asked, going over towards him. There were trinkets, coins, serving plates, and even some swords. When Tommy nodded, I asked. “This really works on werewolves?”
“It won’t kill them outright,” Azile said, “but it inflicts more damage than normal steel or lead. Every town we go to I will instruct them to glaze all the tips of their weapons with it.”