by Erik Reid
“I can’t,” Dani replied.
“I have Oscar,” I said. “You need something, and the armor won’t fit you. At least take the sword.”
I held Gretna’s weapon toward Dani, sheathed in its scabbard with the belt strap dangling free. After pulling Gretna’s corpse into the shade beneath one of the towering trees of Kaylee’s simki enclave, I couldn’t just leave a good weapon to rust. Not with what lay ahead of us.
Dani’s gaze drifted toward the horizon and I followed it there. “Sun’ll set in a few hours,” I said.
“The threat of darkness makes arming myself seem like a better idea,” Dani said. “I don’t know how to use it though.”
“We’re all learning a lot on this little field trip,” I said. “Maybe next time Ms. Frizzle will teach us swordplay.” After a brief silence I said, “Just take it. You can change your mind later.”
Dani nodded and fastened the strap around herself like a belt, letting the sheathed sword hang by her side.
I reached into the saddlebags Gretna had packed for our trip, way back at the royal stables in Varrowsgard. Hard to believe that was just yesterday. Yesterday, the captain of the guard was a boisterous woman with a vivid voice and lacking an ounce of fear or reservation.
Today, she was a pale shadow of the woman we knew. The golden undertones to her skin had faded to nothing, leaving a pale, blood-drained corpse in her place.
My hand dug around in the horse’s pouch until I found a blanket. I draped it over Gretna’s body from head to toe. Dani and Kaylee took turns placing flowers on top of it. Clara hung back, however, holding her arms tightly around herself and refraining from looking directly at Gretna’s body. I didn’t blame her. The sadness in her eyes and the slump of her shoulders said how deeply she blamed herself for Gretna’s death, even though it was the bloodhounds the rest of us blamed.
“Gretna,” I said. “I didn’t know you well. I did know that you approved of mixed bathing, and that’s pretty cool. I also know you were brave, and selfless, and carried a sense of duty and honor that few people in my world still value. I value it, thanks to your example. You would have made a kickass surrogate mom to the queen’s dragon whelp. The world is worse without you in it.”
When I looked back, Dani was crying. “Did you mean that?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Gretna’s mission was to protect us and this gauntlet long enough for Benoch to help us save the world from a demon’s horde of vampire jackals. She died for that cause, and it falls to us now. I don’t want to see any of you hurt. I’m ready to step up and take over where Gretna left off.”
“Me too,” Dani said. She pulled the sword from its sheath and inspected the blade from tip to hilt. She twisted it, catching the sun’s light and flashing its reflection a few times as she took stock of her new weapon. “We won’t let her down.”
“Maybe the queen will even name the princess after her,” I said.
“No,” Dani said. “The name was selected when the queen laid her egg: Smaug.”
“You have to be kidding me,” I said.
Dani shrugged. “It’s a family name. Means ‘she who travels through small spaces.’ ”
“Sure it does,” I said. “Because, why not.”
“Kyle,” Dani said, taking my arm by the elbow and turning me to the side. “You’re bleeding. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It’s nothing,” I said. “The last thing I want is to make Clara feel like she has another patient to treat. She’s been through enough.”
“I guess you’re right,” Dani said. “So now what? All we know is that Benoch’s compound is underneath a hill.”
I held Oscar up to my face. “Oscar. Take us to Benoch. Destination: Benoch’s bunker. Siri, open Google Maps.”
Nothing.
“I think our best bet,” I said, “is to ride west. We’ll catch the fork in the road Gretna wanted us to take the first time, and then we can ride onward. See what we see. I’ll take Kaylee so you can ride with Clara. You’ve got a calming way about you, and I think your company would do her some good right now.”
Dani kissed me on the cheek before she turned to go. It took me by surprise. “What was that for?”
“For staying,” she said. “Gretna’s not here to point a sword at you if you threaten to run off with my people’s last connection to the human hero that saved us in the distant past. You could leave, take that power with you, and we’d be helpless out here. Something’s keeping you around, and I’d like to think maybe that something is me.”
I watched her walk toward Clara and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. After a few comforting words said out of earshot, I saw the pair head toward a horse and mount it.
“Does that mean I’m with you?” Kaylee asked. She stood inches behind me, so that when I turned to face her my nose brushed against her hair. She was several inches shorter than me, and looked up into my eyes with a bright smile and her hands held behind her back.
“Yep,” I said. “Let’s ride.”
Our horses started off fast, cutting a direct route west and catching the dirt path we needed after just an hour’s ride. They slowed down as we continued along that dusty road, tiring under the constant strain of carrying a pair of riders each, plus our full saddlebags. As the sun set behind the northern mountains, their gait reduced to a mere saunter, dragging out the last leg of our travel into night.
Kaylee’s arms wrapped around my waist this whole time, and she alternated between resting a cheek against the outside of my arm so she could see forward, and resting against my upper back where I imagined her gazing into the distance to each side.
I didn’t have the luxury of taking in the sights. As the man in charge of the reins, I had to keep my eyes ahead. Always face forward on a horse, right, Gretna?
Now, Kaylee’s grip started to loosen and I wondered if her cheek against my back signaled the onset of sleep. I hated the idea of setting up camp here, in the middle of nowhere, and especially this close to a road. My eyes strained to gage the distance ahead to the next tree or set of bushes that might offer some concealment.
What I saw was so much more.
“Is that a town?” I called out to Dani, riding just a few feet away.
After leaning forward and squinting for a moment, she smiled. “Looks like it. It’s hard to tell though. The watchtowers are all dark. It barely cuts a shape against the night sky.”
“Do you have enough rounds for an inn?” I asked.
“Not a fancy one,” she said.
“HoJo is fine,” I said. “Hell, I’d settle for an Econolodge. Anything but a youth hostel. Those people are too crunchy.”
It was another hour before we approached the front gate of the settlement, and it was a far cry from the grandeur of the draykin capital city. This “city” had no central fortress, only a few towers set at odd intervals that rose two stories above the low-lying buildings that huddled together behind the wooden village wall.
Those towers were built of stone — the only stone buildings amidst the cluster of dumpy shacks and cottages — but there were no guards perched at their peaks. Whatever flags flew from their poles were invisible in this darkness, with not a single mote of light coming from the watch towers themselves.
We rode right up to the front gate to find it cracked open. We dismounted and led our steeds toward the wooden entry doors to the town ahead and peered inside.
The streets were dirt, and the buildings had little more than candlelight escaping the narrow gaps between closed shutters or beneath locked doors. It was like the whole village was under curfew, leaving the town darker than the hour would normally suggest.
“Shouldn’t there be guards at the front gate?” I asked.
“Typically yes,” Dani said. “With the capital under siege, I would expect even more security, not less.”
“Maybe they’re ninja guards,” I said. “They see us but we don’t see them.”
Kaylee yawned. “Whatever they a
re, can they tell us where the inn is? I’m beat.”
I set up a quick waypoint named Tiny Town for the cramped, nameless hamlet, and we pressed onward down the street with our horses behind us. A row of shops lined the initial corridor, with close-knit homes built side by side down every cross street. None seemed to produce any sounds from within.
“At the end of this block is a hitching post,” Dani said. “We should set the horses up for the night and let them rest while we wander around.”
“Is that safe?” I asked. “Couldn’t someone steal them?”
“They could,” Dani said, “which is why we should get back here at daybreak, lower the chances anyone will find them before we do. It’s also why we should let them sleep as soon as possible.”
We led the horses down the alley, tied them to their post, and scrounged up some hay for a small meal. While they ate, I loosened their saddles and then took the saddlebags off their backs. We might have no choice but to leave the horses out, but I’d be damned if I’d let our gear sit out here unattended.
Happily, we didn’t have to leave the horses very far from the village’s inn. Just around the corner was a pair of wooden doors on a building wider than the others on the block. A single candle’s faint light flickered in the gap between those doors, so we pushed them open and found a clerk behind a desk.
The man had bags under his eyes and a short, dull dagger clutched tight in his hand. His back stiffened as the four of us approached, but he held his dark red wings close to his back. He was nervous, but not aggressive.
“I don’t have any rounds on premises,” he said. “I bank my funds daily, sent by messenger directly to Varrowsgard proper.”
“Cool plan,” I said. “We just want some beds for the night.”
“You’re not here to rob me?” he asked. He gestured toward Dani’s sword, still swinging at her side.
“This is for self-protection,” she said.
“Good,” he said, relaxing his wings. “If those hooligans come back, maybe you can self-protect me too.”
“What hooligans?” I asked.
“Things deteriorate so quickly,” he said. “A pair of riders came into town with messages for the town guard, recalling them all to the capital to protect the queen. In less than a day, a few scurrilous men around town banded together and took up arms against the merchants, taking whatever goods and coins they wanted to.”
He pushed a paper toward me. A wax seal with the queen’s insignia weighed down part of it, making the single page crinkle as I lifted it from the desk.
All royal guards are hereby ordered to return to her majesty’s side. Her royal egg is endangered, and with it, the fate of our fair kingdom.
By the order of Queen Zolocki, master of moons, tamer of wild rivers, and breath of the birds of song.
“The queen didn’t leave a single guard here to keep the peace?” Dani asked.
“Not a one,” the man said. “I’m surprised you escaped their notice, unless they’re all drunk at the tavern across town by now, celebrating their ill-gotten gains. I wish someone with a strong arm and a sharp blade would cut them down to size.”
A silence hung in the air between the innkeeper and our tired little group. I broke that silence gladly.
“So that’s two rooms then,” I said.
The man sighed. “Of course.”
While he gathered up the keys from a pegboard behind his desk, I pulled Dani aside and handed her one of the saddlebags I had slung over my shoulder. “Let’s split the supplies for the night.”
“You don’t want to share a room with me?” she asked.
“I do,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Sweet Jesus, I do. But it’s better if you sleep while I keep an eye out.”
“Even Gretna wasn’t worried about keeping watch, and that was overnight beside an open lake,” Dani said.
“Bloodhounds suck at stealth,” I said. “We’d hear howling and people screaming well before they burst down our door. No, it’s Kaylee I’m thinking about. If she doesn’t know what she’s capable of, we can’t know what she’s incapable of.”
“She protected us against a dozen attackers at once,” Dani said.
“Or she lost all control and went into a rampage that happened to help us out, that one time,” I said. “We don’t know what’ll set her off next.”
“Kaylee wanted to protect the horses,” Dani said. “If her attacks were indiscriminate, she’d have killed them too. She didn’t, because she has a good heart.”
I shrugged. “Do either of us want to risk putting Clara in a room with Kaylee if our simki tagalong goes bonkers again?”
Dani sighed. “We’ve just had so many missed opportunities to… get to know each other better.”
“I know,” I said. “In the past, I’ve never let tomorrow’s consequences get in the way of a night’s fun. This feels different. Clara looks so fragile right now, we can’t pair her off with Kaylee and hope everything turns out fine.”
“Okay,” Dani said. She dug around inside the saddlebag I handed her. “Good, this one has the stash of noxyweed I plucked while you were passed out by the lake. Sir?” she asked, turning toward the innkeeper. He startled at the sound of her voice, but then took a deep breath.
“Do you have a small kitchen for inn guests to use?” she asked.
“Second floor,” he said, “rear of the building. Just keep the lights off. That goes for all of you. I can’t risk attracting those thieves.”
“I didn’t know you were gathering herbs by the lake,” I said.
“You were out cold that night,” she said, “but Clara wasn’t. She kept whimpering in her sleep and shaking violently. Momma Jumbo must have done a number on her. I can’t imagine watching Gretna die will leave her any better off, but I can cook something up with a touch of noxyweed to help her sleep better.”
“A little candy before bed,” I said. “You’re the babysitter every kid wished for.” I took her hand and squeezed it. “Have a good night, Dani.”
“You too, monkey.” I opened my mouth but she cut me off. “It’s not an insult to you, remember? You’re not simki.”
“I’ll allow it,” I said. “But only because you’re cute.”
“Who’s cute?” Kaylee asked. She had snuck up behind me again, staring up at the back of my head and waiting for me to turn around and find her inches from my body.
“Oscar,” I said, lifting my gloved hand. “Doesn’t he look stunning in black?”
“That’s the name of your glove?” she asked. “Where’s the other one?”
“I only wear one,” I said. “In case I need to moonwalk.”
She puzzled over that for a moment and then gave up.
“Clara and I should head upstairs,” Dani said.
“Sweet dreams,” I said. “Don’t let the deranged vampire bloodhounds with terrifying self-drilling-screws-for-teeth bite.”
She smiled and ascended the wooden steps, swaying her hips just a little further than necessary. When she was finally out of sight, I turned toward Kaylee.
“You’re with me for the night. I hope that’s okay.” I held out the room key, with the room number engraved on the keychain.
She snatched it from my hand and darted toward the stairs, yelling as she went. “Last one’s a rotten banana!”
“Shh!” the innkeeper reminded us. All I could do was shrug and follow after my playful simki. Halfway up the stairs I paused, realizing the queen’s note was still in my hand. I folded it up and tucked it into my pocket. The innkeeper wouldn’t miss it and I wanted to keep tabs on Kaylee.
The upstairs door was already open, with the simki girl standing just inside. The room was small, holding a single bed somewhere between the size of a twin and a full mattress. The opposite wall had a small window, but a pair of shutters affixed to the inside of the room were closed. The faintest sliver of moonlight snuck through anyway, leaving a series of horizontal lines across the bedsheets.
Kaylee moved arou
nd to the other side of the bed. With her back facing me, she unbuttoned the single button that held the strap on her dress, allowing the garment to spill into a ring of yellow fabric at her feet.
I wished for more light, but I’d have to settle for the indirect gleam of the moon on her body. Her skin was smooth and perfect, from her slender neck down the tiny ridges of her spine. Her round, tight ass cheeks looked like a nice handful that led to slender, shapely legs.
“Do you always sleep naked?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “Then the wrinkles can fall out of my dress before morning. Don’t tell me you sleep in those weird pants.”
“No,” I said, unfastening my fly. “Jeans are not for sleeping.”
Kaylee bent over to pick up her dress and the tiredness began to drain away from my body. Despite my growing affection toward Dani, my brain and my body started a few new calculations.
The odds of getting some tonight were greater than zero percent, so sleep could wait. What about Dani? I asked myself. Nothing exclusive. Nothing guaranteed. No harm in seeing where things go.
My brain knew that seeing where things go meant make bad decisions, rationalize them later. It was too late to disagree. While Kaylee found a hanger for her dress, my dick stood out at full attention.
I left my clothing on the floor and climbed under the single bedsheet, leaning against the backboard in a sitting position that might reduce my overall… profile.
Kaylee spun around when she was finished, pointing her naked chest right at me. I sat a little higher and licked my lips.
Just like her ass, those breasts were perfectly small and pert. Not overflowing with flesh, but not minimal or flat either. The kind of body that most men would count well within their range of preferences. I knew I did.
She yawned and stretched her arms high above her head, curling her long monkey-like tail behind her. Then she flipped up her corner of the covers and slipped into the bed next to me. She laid her head on a pillow and brushed her elbow against my hip beneath the covers.
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “This bed is so small.”