A Hero's Bargain Read online

  He was tired and she was frightened. It was a splendid recipe for a misunderstanding and quarreling. He didn’t want to argue with her, but anything he said would be wrong. He might as well just let her get it out of her system.

  Only, if he didn’t come back, the guilt of parting with hurtful words would haunt her. He didn’t want that, but it loomed in front of them. He sat up and held out his hand to her.

  “We shouldn’t fight, angel. Come and lie down. I’d like to make love to you.”

  Saba shook her head. “No. I won’t. I won’t give myself to you and then have you leave.”

  His simmering anger bubbled over.

  “Sex as the prize for good behavior, angel? You learn fast.”

  She flinched. Yes, he was still a jerk where women were concerned. This was Saba and he had to mend his ways.

  He stood and went to her, enfolding her in his arms. She was stiff, refusing to put her arms around him. He deserved it. Saba was just young enough and inexperienced enough where men were concerned not to be aware of how her words had sounded.

  She pushed at him. “We have work to do. I’ve got to find Jennica and prepare food for the trail. Release me.”

  Ryder let his arms fall away. She grabbed her clothes and moved to the far corner of the hut before pulling them on. Once dressed, she wouldn’t look at him. She waved her hand in the general direction of the back door.

  “Outside there is a large black crock with the pig grease. I’ll send someone to get the hide. You might want to cut it into sections first.”

  “All right. Do you have a sharp knife?”

  She nodded. “It’s also outside.” With that she was gone, out the front door without even looking at him. Sighing, he sat in the chair by the hearth and called up his demons, trying to exorcise them one more time.

  * * * *

  Saba mustered her dignity and walked with her head held high to Jennica’s hut. Damn him! Why did he have to act the hero? Why couldn’t Ryder just stay in the village and be safe? It wasn’t fair.

  She’d just found him and he was going to get himself killed.

  The door to Jennica’s five-sided hut was open. The shape of the hut was an oddity in the village. Jennica’s grandfather had built it, then needed more space for a rapidly growing family and had simply moved a few walls. Saba came to an abrupt stop at the sound of a man’s voice inside.

  What is Tyree doing here?

  She peeked inside and knew what he was doing here. Kissing Jennica.

  How long had that been going on right under her nose?

  It didn’t matter. She waited until he stepped away from her aunt to announce her presence. Jennica jumped away from Tyree, her cheeks turning rosy red. Saba shook her head.

  “I suppose you are preparing food for his pack?”

  Jennica licked her lips and looked at Tyree. “No. He said nothing.”

  Saba rolled her eyes. “He said plenty, Jennica. Just not with words. Perhaps he will get the ruined hide down from my roof and see that Ryder makes progress with his task while we prepare two packs.”

  She watched without comment as Tyree kissed Jennica once again and left without a word. Her questions could wait until later.

  “Come and have dinner with me this evening. It will be good for us to have company.”

  Jennica flashed her a grateful look and nodded. She climbed up on a chair to pull two packs down from a small storage loft that ran across the end of her hut without being asked.

  The women had prepared traveling packs for many men over the years. They knew what was needed and who had extra to spare. They added what they had to the packs then took what extra fruit they had to Delnor’s hut to be shared. Other women had gathered there with their packs and extras and soon the job was completed. There was little discussion until they’d finished. Lammi touched Saba’s arm.

  “Can this stranger really kill the errol?”

  Saba patted her hand. She couldn’t allow her own fears to show. As headwoman, the others looked to her for advice, and strength. She would not let them down, even though she longed to tell them that her heart was cold with fear and let them give her comfort.

  “He believes it to be so, Lammi. We’ll see.”

  “Do you not worry? Saba, we have seen your closed door. Do you think we don’t know what must be between you and this man?”

  What was between them? Whatever it was it was not strong enough to keep him with her and safe. He would rather go and die at the hands of the errol. Nothing was between them. Nothing at all. Blackness swirled around her.

  She was aware of hands, soothing with their gentle touches, and of arms around her. She was rocked gently on the tide of caring from her sisters, and yet she wondered why they did not tend to whomever was sobbing. Her mother reached for her and stroked her hair.

  “Do not cry, daughter, not for me. I am at peace.”

  “Mother. I’m so scared he will die, too.”

  “Do not worry. His love for you is as real as mine.”

  The mist swirled and her mother was gone. She was sitting on the floor of Delnor’s hut with all the women hovering around her. Jennica held her tightly. Lammi was holding a cup to her lips and spilling akdov into her mouth and on her chin. She choked.

  Many hands pounded on her back. She wheezed and tried to speak.

  “Stop hitting me.” She started to giggle. How much of the potent liquor had they poured into her?

  Jennica suddenly refocused in front of her. “The men will be victorious. Tyree has said so.”

  Saba giggled some more. “And since he has decreed it, it will come to pass?”

  Jennica shook her head and sounded dismayed. “We have overdosed her. She’s intoxicated.”

  Hands lifted her and soon she was lying on a bed, a calm pool surrounded by a gray fog. Ryder’s face appeared above hers. His nose wrinkled.

  “I’d say she’s drunk. Good job, ladies.” His lips brushed her forehead then his breath tickled her ear. “I love you, angel. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Pain split her heart. She grabbed at him, wrapping her leaden arms around his neck. “Don’t go! Please don’t die!”

  “I have a job to do, and I’m not going to die. I promise, angel. I’ll be fine.” He stroked her face with a large hand. She remembered his hands. They were strong but they were not the hands of a man who did manual labor every day.

  “You smell.” Somewhere in the only lucid part of her mind that remained, she cringed, disbelieving she’d said that to him. He chuckled.

  “I do, that’s right. When I get back, you can give me a bath and I’ll smell good again. How’s that?”

  “That’s fine. I think I have to sleep now.”

  His lips brushed hers. “I’m sure you do. I hope your head doesn’t pound too badly when you wake.”

  She closed her eyes, not wanting to see him leave. There was a sense of movement, the murmur of voices, then quiet. She was spinning, spinning. The whole bed was spinning. Sleep. If she took a nap, the bed would stop spinning. She hoped. She hoped she wouldn’t be sick when she woke up.

  Her last thought as she drifted into healing sleep was a silent prayer that Ryder would return safe and she’d sleep until he woke her.

  Chapter 21

  Ryder walked outside into the sunshine and joined the small group of waiting men.

  “Is she all right?” Tyree handed him his pack and his weapon.

  “She’s a wee bit drunk.”

  Tyree’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s not like her.” He put his hands on his hips and glared at Ryder. “It’s your influence.”

  “Of course it is,” he agreed with his best urbane charm. It may not be his influence but it was surely his fault. Why split hairs? And why stand in the middle of the yard with a village full of witnesses and fight about it?

  He slipped the Eliminator into his pack. “Let’s get going, Tyree. I want this over with.”

  The headman nodded and started for the gate. The men fell
in behind him. Ryder cast one last look at the women gathered just outside the door then turned to go. He’d have plenty of time to ponder how she was as he walked.

  It was more than alcohol that had put Saba on her back. She’d carried a heavy load for so long, it was bound to catch up with her sooner or later. He’d never fault her for it. Hell, he’d never even mention it if he lived to make his way back to her. She had a lot of pride. Embarrassing her over this was something he’d not do.

  She needed to sleep it off, and he would be grateful for her forced rest. Certainly she’d shorted herself on rest since she’d found him and nursed him back to health.

  They entered the woods and headed roughly west. Two hours later, they stopped by a small stream to rest. It wasn’t long before a young man jogged into the clearing. Ryder guessed this was one of the runners who kept Tyree supplied with information. He had the long, rangy look of a runner. The young man disappeared back into the forest and Tyree motioned for them to move on. Ryder joined him at the head of the line.

  “What did he tell you?”

  Tyree didn’t turn his head. “The errol is coming this way. On this trail. All is as I told you it would be. The runners are following it. I’ve instructed them to get closer to it and drive it to the caves.”

  “That’s taking a big chance with lives, Tyree.”

  “I don’t agree. It should just make the errol uncomfortable. He’s headed for the caves for the night. We shall see it makes it there.”

  “The caves where you tried—and failed—to kill it before. It will remember that.”

  “No, it won’t.”

  “You persist in thinking this thing has no intelligence. I tell you that it does.”

  “You know less about it than I do, outsider. You’ve never seen it.”

  Ryder reined in his temper. “Not this one, no. But I’ve seen its brethren on a dozen worlds you’ve never even dreamed of. It will remember you tried to bury it alive.”

  Tyree blew out a breath full of the sound of annoyance. “We didn’t plan to bury it. A runner was above it on the ridge and somehow started a landslide. It was merely fortuitous.”

  “You think it can’t add up the pieces and come to a conclusion?”

  “It’s used the cave since then, Ryder Vaughan. How do you explain that? If it thought we’d laid a deliberate trap, would it do that?”

  The man had a point. “Probably not. Don’t underestimate anything about it, Tyree.”

  “I’m not. Now. You will tell me the truth. Where did this thing come from?”

  “Better I see it first and be sure.”

  “Do not seek to anger me, stranger. We are far from the village and only I and my men will know the truth of what happens out here.”

  The hair on Ryder’s neck prickled uneasily. “Well, then, here’s a truth for you. My weapon will work only for me. The grip scans the hand holding it for the configuration of blood vessels and the trigger is made of this incredible stuff that reads an individual’s deoxyribonucleic acid. If the results don’t match, the weapon won’t fire.”

  Tyree turned on him. His hands closed around Ryder’s biceps in a painful grip. Packs hit the ground as the men hastened to surround them. One of the men tried to push between them but Tyree wouldn’t release him.

  Ryder didn’t struggle. He and Tyree had been heading to this moment from the very beginning, and he wasn’t backing away from it. They had to come to a real and permanent understanding or else Ryder could never stay in the village.

  Tyree had to accept him as an equal, or lose his place as headman. And Ryder had to let everyone know he was Tyree’s equal and yet supported Tyree as headman. In doing that, Ryder could implement plans to improve the day-to-day lives of the people Tyree couldn’t even conceive of, never having seen the worlds Ryder had seen, and do it with the headman’s backing.

  “If you break my arms, I won’t be using any weapon, will I, headman?”

  Tyree’s lips curled into a snarl. “You are lying.”

  Ryder shook his head. “No. I was told the Ramalho do not commit murder. Do they, Tyree? Do they also lie? I saw what passed between you and Saba. She believes you won’t harm me. She trusts, Tyree. If you betray that trust, where will you be?”

  Tyree thrust him away. Hands grabbed him and balanced him. He picked up his pack and pulled out the Eliminator and held it out to Tyree.

  “Take it, Tyree.” The man didn’t move.

  “Take it!” He thrust the weapon against Tyree’s chest. Tyree’s hand closed over it. Ryder let go.

  Tyree stared at him with eyes gone cold, and spoke with a voice even colder. “Show me how it works.”

  Ryder plucked the weapon from him, aimed, and fired at a rock. It vanished. The men were deathly silent behind him. He handed it to Tyree, who took aim at a second rock and fired. Nothing happened. He tried again. And again. Ryder held out his hand.

  “Give it to me.”

  Tyree reluctantly laid it in Ryder’s open palm. Ryder flipped the weapon over, aimed, and fired. The rock Tyree had shot at vanished. Ryder stepped in front of the headman.

  “I didn’t lie. I don’t lie. Remember that, Tyree. You’ll have reason to question me in the future, and that’s okay. But I’ll remind you of the here and now if you do.”

  Tyree looked at him, his expression unreadable. “Can you hit more than rocks, outsider?”

  Ryder returned his stare and matched his tone. “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

  * * * *

  Another two hours of walking found them at the base of the blue mountains. Ryder had wondered about the reference. It was self-explanatory. The rocks had a definite blue-gray cast to them. As sun dipped lower, the rocks looked midnight blue.

  Ryder felt the effects of traipsing over rough terrain in his back, but he’d be damned if he would ask for a break. It probably wasn’t wise to take one with the sun dipping so low. They came upon a sheltered spot tucked against a high rock face and a stand of thicket. The men made a rough camp with practiced ease. Tyree disappeared for a few minutes and came back with some strange-looking material he quickly had burning.

  One by one the men took their turn going into the woods and bringing back chunks of the stuff. Ryder was about ready to suggest that a fire would be a dead giveaway of their location when one of the men carefully arranged flat rocks over the burning material. It didn’t take long for the rocks to glow hotly and cups of water placed on them to heat. Ryder pulled his crockery mug out of his pack, filled it from his water skin, and placed his beside Tyree’s.

  “Now what?” he asked as his tea brewed.

  “A runner will find us. The errol must be nearby or one would be here already. The creature doesn’t move about much in the dark.”

  Ryder refrained from pointing out the Xenturans didn’t have any problems seeing in the dark. It was the Ramalho men who couldn’t see in the dark.

  “They’ve got a highly developed sense of smell. They don’t need to move about to know what’s around them.”

  “We know.” Tyree handed him his cup. “That’s why we all stink.” Several of the men laughed softly. He opened his pack and drew out a flask, took a swallow and passed it around. It got to Ryder and instead of drinking he poured a shot into his tea. One of the men snapped his fingers.

  “Hand that back over here.”

  Ryder complied and the akdov ended up in all the cups. After a few sips and slurps there were grunts of approval. Ryder sighed.

  He wanted to teach them improved building and communication techniques, not new ways to consume alcohol. Well, something had to come first and if it helped get him included as one of them, it was worth it.

  Tyree suddenly grabbed his arm. “Silence.” The word was whispered but everyone snapped to attention.

  Ryder opened his awareness to the forest around them. He heard it, too. Stealthy footfalls growing closer. A twig snapped and all sound ceased. The man sitting in the deepest shadow suddenly faded away. There
was a quick thud, the sound of a scuffle, and then the man returned with a youth. The runner grinned. Tyree seemed pleased.

  “Well done, young Niforr. You got very close before we heard you. Sit and eat.” Tyree handed the runner his own cup and food from his pack. The young man drank as if parched and all the men hastened to set their water skins where he could reach them.

  “What can you tell us while you eat?”

  “It’s in the cave, Tyree. The one that is partially blocked. The other runners have come to the edge of the forest.”

  “Do you think it’s aware of you?”

  The youth nodded. “Yes. It seemed to be. It kept looking behind itself on the trail. That is something it never does.”

  Tyree nodded. “Very well. Ryder, get some sleep. You will not stand a watch. We need you as rested as possible for when we move. Everyone else knows what to do. We’ll move three hours past midnight.”

  With that he finished his tea and strode off into the woods again. This time he returned with firewood. Soon they had a nice, warm fire. Ryder found a comfortable spot to recline with his pack as a pillow. Before long, Tyree was lying beside him.

  “Do you snore, outsider?”

  “Probably.”

  “Well, I can ignore your noise, but don’t mistake me for Saba and think me willing.”

  Ryder looked up at the stars. “If I were you, then, I’d move away. You do have a nice ass.”

  The men laughed. Tyree grinned. Ryder burrowed deeper into his borrowed jacket and tried not to dwell on the morning.

  Chapter 22

  A gentle shaking woke Ryder hours later. He snapped to awareness and pushed up to a sitting position. Tyree hunkered down beside him.

  “We’ll go as soon as everyone eats a bite. Here.” He handed Ryder tea. Ryder wrapped his chilled hands around the hot mug. Their breath fogged in the cold night air.

  “Thanks.”

  “There’s been no sign of movement from the errol.”

  Ryder took a sip of his tea. It burned the whole way down to his stomach. “Are you sure he can’t get out the backside of that cave?”