Chapter 2

While not everyone on Eckleston was happy about having dizyntk around, Fendirillen felt largely accepted on his few forays into town. His English was excellent, he was tall enough to not seem a child to the humans, and he provided a useful service for the community, both as a Ranger and as a hunter. Still, he kept an eye out for trouble.

In the end it wasn’t his eyes that alerted him, though, it was his ears, and the trouble wasn’t his.

The first sign of something amiss was a sound like a muffled curse coming from somewhere up ahead. That was followed by a hard sound, like someone slapping a piece of meat. With his attention focused, he heard a male voice hiss, “Dammit, bitch, quit struggling, or I’m going to have to get rough with you!”

That was enough to get a rough fix on where the sounds were coming from, and he was off like a shot. There was a copse of trees in a small park nearby, and the sound was coming from behind it. When he got there, he found a large man preparing to slap a tall woman.

“Stop that this instant!” he shouted before barreling into the man at speed. His momentum was enough to break the man’s hold on the woman, but when she fell, she looked to be stunned, and she didn’t start moving away.

“What the hell!” Turning, the man saw Fendirillen and bellowed, “I’m going to skin you, you fucking pussycat!” He then lunged for the dizyntk.

Either the human had never dealt with dizyntk before or he was not in his right mind — trying to grapple is not the way to attack someone with lethally sharp claws and blinding reaction time unless you’ve had a lot of training. With two quick swipes, Fendirillen laid a grid on the man’s face, leaving the much larger man writhing on the ground.

“Hey! What’s going on here!”

Fendirillen turned to see a constable of the local police force with a weapon drawn and pointing at him. He put his hands out and said in his least threatening voice, “I heard the woman cursing and a sound like a slap. When I got here and told him to stop hitting her, he attacked me.”

“Yeah, sure, likely story,” said the constable. He took a closer look at the woman on the ground who was starting to come around, and his gaze hardened. “She’s just one of those temple whores who probably decided to not give out after being paid.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look at her wrist.”

Fendirillen did and saw a bonding bracelet, which didn’t answer his question at all. “The bracelet means she’s bonded, not that she’s a prostitute. Surely you know that.”

“Bullshit! I say it means she’s a whore, and I’m the one with a gun pointed at ... SHIT!”

Both of them had written off the woman as being too badly hurt to get involved. Her toe in the constable’s testicles proved she was still to be reckoned with. Wincing, she got to her feet and kicked the constable in the head before stomping on his gun hand.

“I’m not a whore, and you know it, Bradwick. I also know that you are no longer a constable.”

Despite her bravado, Fendirillen could tell that she was hurting, so he tucked his shoulder in to where she could lean on him, getting a grateful smile in return. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a communicator and punched a couple of buttons.

“I need to report an assault ... Me ... Someone came to my aid ... Just so you know, it was one of John Bradwick’s friends, and John threatened to shoot the person who helped me out. He’s still pretending he’s on the force ... The guy who assaulted me ran afoul of my dizyntk benefactor, so he’s going to need a healer for sure ... We’ll wait, but hurry, please. I’m feeling pretty rough.”

She tucked the communicator back in her pocket and took a closer look at her rescuer. “Ranger?”

“Yes, Ma’am. And a hunter when needed.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you at the Temple, but I suppose you don’t get into town much, do you.”

“That is correct. My name is Fendirillen Grindlien.” At that, he nodded his head and flexed his claws across his chest.

“Well met, Fendirillen. My name is Cheri Hanson, and I’m an acolyte at the Temple.”

Fendirillen’s eyes widened at that, and he gave her a fuller bow. “I heard that a few humans were joining the Orders. I’m very pleased to know that it’s true, and to meet one who has found the calling.”

“Please don’t bow any more or kneel or anything, I’m still just an acolyte, after all. I will say, though, that the Goddess found me and not the other way around. I had a vision of the Goddess when I first visited the Temple. No, please don’t kneel. Really.”

Fendirillen guiltily stood back up, but he looked at her in wonder.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Cheri. I feel honored to know one who had a vision of the Goddess.”

“Honestly, I’m the one who is pleased here. If you hadn’t come along, I could’ve been in real trouble.” Cheri then looked him in the eye, nodded slightly to him and said, “May I?”

Fendirillen panicked momentarily. His scent had driven him away from his home, and she wanted to check it out? Still, she was human, and they had not reacted poorly to him, so he gave his permission.

She leaned in and inhaled deeply before stepping back with a smile on her face. “Very nice. I know my sniffer isn’t as sensitive as yours, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a dizyntk that smelled like you. Very masculine, almost musky.”

He tried not to show just how much her statement startled him, but he did file it away for later.

Just then, the real police showed up, and things got a bit busy. After questioning, they gave Cheri something to ease her pain and something more to take the next day, as she was sure to be sore. Then she and Fendirillen were allowed to leave. He offered to walk her home, as the painkillers might affect her judgment. Before they left, though, he faced her and said, “Please, call me Rillen.”

“Thank you, Rillen. As you know, my people don’t always have shortened versions of their names, and mine is one of those. If it was, though, you’d be welcome to use the short version.”

After getting her home, Fendirillen stopped by the Temple to let them know what had happened, and that Cheri might be late the next day.

The following morning, Cheri was stiff and sore, but the pain relievers they’d given her the day before took the edge off of it. Ginny was still asleep after a late shift at the restaurant, where she worked tending tables and acting as a sous-chef as needed.

Once the pain relievers did their thing, she started some coffee — sure to wake Ginny — and a simple breakfast, all the while wondering if she would be able to attend to her duties at the Temple. That question was answered as soon as Ginny saw her face.

“What in the world happened to you!”

“One of the fundamentalists was waiting for me when I finished at the Temple last night.”

“Damn! I didn’t know there were any still in town.”

“Well, this one probably won’t be for much longer. I was doing my best, but I was in trouble when a dizyntk Ranger showed up and taught him the error of his ways.”

“I take it he didn’t kill the idiot, or there wouldn’t be any doubt about his fate.”

“No, but Rillen — that’s the Ranger’s name — did slice him up pretty good. That’s when Bradwick tried his constable thing again, and I got to return the favor.” Cheri’s look at that point might have been considered a smile, but it was the sort of smile you see on a predator, just before lunch. “After this, I doubt that even Bradwick’s contacts can keep him from being deported to the Protectorate.”

“Silver lining, huh? So, ‘Rillen?’”

“Nice guy — just barreled right in when I was about to get slapped hard. Afterward, while we were waiting for the police, we got to talking and I had to talk him out of going to his knees.” At that point, Cheri rolled her eyes at the tendency of dizyntk to treat them as special after their vision. “Still, he sounded genuinely happy that I’m joining the Orders. Uh, and I asked to check out his scent. Something was strange there, but I’m not sure what. Anyway, his scent is very different, but also very nice.”

At Ginny’s cocked eyebrow she went on, “No, nothing like that, but something there hit me pretty hard. Might have been because of the knock on the head, but I’m thinking not.”

“Hmmm ... Sounds like I need to meet this gentleman who swept you on to your feet.”

One of the many things that Cheri loved about Ginny was her quick mind, and her comment brought a smile, which brought a wince, which made up her mind about her duties. “Let’s eat, then go down to the Temple. I need to let them know what happened, and that I won’t be there today.”

When they got to the Temple, they were met by Sister Linarti herself. “I wasn’t sure we’d see you today, Cheri. Ranger Fendirillen stopped by last night and told us of your misadventure.”