Chapter 20

I'll be damned if I didn't see Gembo, Jabo, and Jenbo as soon as I opened the door. They were about a hundred yards off sitting on a deadfall near the edge of a very small woods. They rose as soon as they heard me open the door. I pulled the Glock out of its holster as I stepped out. This didn't faze the three since they had no idea what it was.

Stalking me wasn't the right thing for them to try. I wasn't the cause of Gembo's troubles. Hell I hadn't even heard of him before the mating with Gema and Merita was planned and partially paid for. One look at him told me he was serious about this. His face seemed to be scowling and he was armed with his spear.

He was a well-built and nicely developed young man, but he was short. Jabo and Jenbo were both at least six feet. Gembo was only about five-nine. Apparently he couldn't shake the feelings which came with it. Oh well, he wouldn't be worried about it for long. I continued to approach them until I was within about seventy feet.

"Where is your spear stranger? Go back and get your spear. We didn't come to kill you while you were empty handed," Gembo said, shouting.

"Why do you want to kill me? I have not troubled you," I said, in a calm and quiet voice.

"I have come for your mates. I will kill you and they will be mine," Gembo said.

The first thing in my mind was, You'll shit and fall back in it first, but I didn't say it aloud. A little of this cave man crap was already too much.

Apparently Gembo wanted to stand around and argue a while to get up his nerve before it came down to the nut cuttin', but I wasn't in the mood. He said he'd come to kill me and take my mates. I raised the Glock and tried to put a one hundred and forty-seven grain, nine-millimeter hollow point through Gembo's pump.

No doubt I must have given the trigger a little jerk because the round went a little high and to the left catching Gembo right on the bottom of the sternum. Since it made solid contact right on his center of gravity it knocked him over backward. I'm sure it made a hell of a mess in his lungs and pulmonary system as it tore through, expanding all the way.

Jabo and Jenbo were just staring at me and then looked at Gembo. He was kicking his legs a little, reflexes I suppose. His mouth was open wide like he was gasping for breath, but every time he tried, blood flowed up out of his mouth and there was a horrible sucking and then hissing from his chest. There was also a wide frothy pool of blood coming from the entrance wound.

Jabo and Jenbo rushed to Gembo and knelt down beside him. I approached more slowly. They were both trying to ask Gembo what happened at the same time. He was in no position to explain even if he'd known, which he didn't. I thought he probably had twenty or thirty seconds of consciousness left. He sure as hell couldn't get enough wind into the tattered remains of his lungs to speak. Jabo put an arm around Gembo's shoulders and tried to raise him.

I was only about twenty-five feet from them now.

"Gembo will be dead soon. You cannot help him. You should probably stand up and try to save yourselves."

They looked at me then just as Gembo coughed up a huge gout of blood and lung tissue. Jabo laid him back down then he and Jenbo stood up. When they stood I saw Jabo flex his arm to pull back and hurl his spear. My aim was better this time. Jabo got his through the heart, Jenbo was releasing his spear as I shot him, also right through the heart. When the spear struck me I was glad his aim had been true and had been at my chest. I felt like I'd been hit with a small club and I had to take a step back to keep from falling myself. The flint point broke against the mail but didn't even consider penetrating.

Apparently the girls had been watching from the door for most of the fracas. They came running to me now, crying and moaning, when they reached me they tried to find the wound they knew Jenbo's spear must have made.

"John, oh John, please don't die," Gema said, begging and practically screaming.

"Do not worry, I am not hurt."

"But we saw the spear strike you and Jenbo had a powerful arm," Maia cried.

"Now you know why I wear the shiny shirt. Remember never to tell anyone of it."

They unbuttoned my shirt then and examined the mail. I could see the spear hadn't even bent any of the tiny rings.

"Is the shirt magic John?" Merita asked.

"No, it is not magic, it is just strong. It is made of the same thing the wagon is made of, but it is many tiny rings locked together. I am not afraid of spears while wearing the shiny shirt. I am just glad Jenbo aimed for my chest and his aim was true."

They looked over to the three dead men then, and then walked over to get a closer look.

"There is so much blood John, especially from Gembo. The lightning is powerful. They were stupid not to believe what a hunter you are," Maia said.

"Well they are not stupid now, they are just dead. Georgo says I must take their bodies back to their camp and gather their mates and their belongings."

"Yes you must. Delia, Waaya, and Winna will suffer and starve if you do not take them," Gema said.

"If you don't no other man would dare mate with them since you have killed all their mates and do not even have a scratch," Merita said.

"What will the women think and what about you. You are the mates I chose. I will not have them causing trouble for us."

"They will not cause trouble. They will know their mates are dead and they are now your mates. They do not want to live alone with no man to protect them and hunt for them. Even though none of them have children now they would still have much trouble if they had to hunt for themselves," Gema said.

"Then none of you will mind if they come to live with us?"

"We will not mind John. It will be better, you will see. Delia, Waaya, and Winna are all good women and they will be obedient to you. They are hard workers too. Delia, Gembo's mate is very pretty too. In fact they are all pretty. They will be so surprised when they see the bed and Gema, Merita, and I will get to hold them down, at least the first time," Maia said, and her eyes were shining with excitement as she did.

"It is a good thing I haven't released any of the extra horses I captured. I will have a lot of horses to train, but we will have more help gathering hay and grain for them now."