Chapter 12: Was that supposed to be a left turn at Albuquerque?

We rode for two hours at a steady pace, and then I made us dismount and walk for an hour before we stopped to have an early lunch. Fresh baked bread and cheese with decent ale to wash it down, it was a very good meal.

I asked Meri about her life up to now, and while reluctant to talk about it, she did go into light detail. It seems that her Papa was one of the slavers that I killed. She was brought up by her Aunt Virginia, a strict baker, while her Papa was off on raiding missions. A few weeks ago he had come back and argued with Virginia about Meri. The argument had ended with him slapping Virginia. He'd given Meri clothes to wear and made her leave with him. Her dad didn't care if the men used her as long as they didn't beat her, the one that did he killed. She didn't go into detail and I didn't press.

"I hated him, he was always mean to everyone. When he beat my aunt and took me away from her, I knew that I was stuck. I wanted to run back to my aunt but I didn't know were she was. We rode the stupid horses for two weeks straight. I liked baking, I was always covered in flour and oil but it smelled good. I miss Aunt Virginia."

"Was your Father the one that had the lockbox?"

"Yeah, it was his." She admitted. "I don't know nothing, no one talked to me. We just rode the horses and I tried to hide so the men would leave me alone." She was openly crying.

"We found this big lake and we stopped for a day, while Papa told me that I was supposed to keep the men off of the girls. If one came near them I was to either cut him or go get Papa. He said this in front of everyone, so that they wouldn't bother me or the girls. At least that's what he said."

"That night they broke up into groups and went to raid. I stayed back and watched the camp. I wanted to run, but they took my horse and I didn't know where I was. The next day they brought back a lot of people, but two groups didn't. Papa was mad, so he sent out most of the men to go and look for them at a farm that was on the other side of the lake."

"Those are the ones that first found me." I interrupted. "They were chasing after Kira when they stumbled on me. After that we went to her grandma's farm. Go on."

"When they came back empty handed, Papa was really mad. He hit one of the guys and told the others to split up and go look for you. They were supposed to come right back if they did. One said that he saw a gravedigger and an old lady talking, so he came back and got a big group to go kill you. They figured that there had to be more hiding somewhere."

The next thing that I know is; you kill Papa and walk into both tents to kill the men in there. I didn't want you to kill me too, but I was too scared to hide."

"I'm glad that you dropped your knife."

"Me too."

"Alright, enough resting, mount up."

"Umm. Sir, I mean um, Lord Charles, did you really kill all of the raiders yourself?"

Time to see if the girl had a brain. "What do you think? Did you see anyone else with a weapon when we returned to the farm?" I glanced over to watch her reaction; she was chewing her lower lip, it looked like she was trying to remember.

"I don't remember." She glanced at me like she did something wrong.

"When we returned there were only two people, correct? You would have noticed if there was anyone with blood on them, or if they had been bloody, they would have washed it off and looked clean. Did either of them fit that description?"

"No, they both looked tired and dusty." Again she was chewing her lip. "You were the only one that had blood on you, and it was all over you."

"Good. One of your jobs it going to be to watch and memorize what everyone is saying near us. When we enter a town, I want you looking to see if anything stands out. I think that this Errand that the old lady sent us on is not going to be without more surprises than either of us would like."

"Huh?"

I pulled up and stopped. She also stopped, "Close your eyes." I waited for a few seconds, "Don't open your eyes. Now without opening your eyes, describe your horse. Tell me everything that you can remember, don't leave out anything." I leaned back and watched her think.

"Um, he's black with a white nose. He is taller than I am, but just by a little bit."

"Is his back or his head taller than you?"

"His head is a lot taller than I am, it is his back that is just a bit taller than me."

"Go on."

"Oh, one of his feet is white too, his front one. The tail and mane are a lighter black than the rest of him. He is easier to ride than my last horse."

"Which foot has a white stocking, and what about the saddle and blanket and rider?"

"Oh, um, my right?" She took a breath, "There is a brown blanket under the saddle; the blanket is a little bigger than the saddle. The saddle is dark brown and smaller than yours."