Chapter 28

"I'm here to see Mary," I said, in my most polite voice.

"Well she ain't up to seeing the likes of you," he said.

I didn't even think about it, I reached in and grabbed him with both hands by his shirtfront, made as if to shove him, and when he shifted his weight to compensate I yanked him as hard as I could and stepped out of the way as I tripped him on the way by. I gave him a stout kick in the ass on the way and had my sword point at his throat when he turned over.

"Now, let's start over. Unless you want to die without me ever knowing who I killed you'd better tell me your name."

"Cletus."

"That's better, Cletus. You see, Cletus, I'm a good friend of Mary's and I ain't leaving unless she tells me to. If she's in there hurt it's gonna go hard on you. Now, stand up slowly," I said, and he did, but he looked nervous.

I tied his hands behind him and then had him lead me into the house. I found Mary tied to her bed, naked, and she had a gag in her mouth. She did look happy to see me though. I released the eight-inch knife from my sleeve drop, caught it by the blade, and used the handle to tranquilize Cletus.

I pulled the gag out of Mary's mouth and took a kiss before I released her hands. I let her up and she disappeared to go wash herself off a little while I encouraged Cletus to get back up and lead me back outside.

Mary came out the door dressed in a few minutes and told me about Cletus. I only had to swat him once with my sword to keep him quiet.

"He's a ne'er-do-well who showed up lately. He's been hanging around town trying to get odd jobs to keep himself fed. We tried to use him at the stable for a couple of days, but he's as lazy as he is ugly.

"He came by this morning begging for food so I gave him some lunch and then when everyone went back to work he grabbed me and raped me. It wasn't a big thing," she said, and then laughed at him.

"Well, normally I'd cut his dick and balls off for something like that, but if he's worthless anyway I might as well just kill him," I said.

"It sounds like a plan to me," Mary said, "but don't let him bleed all over the front yard. Take him off down into the woods a little. I've got to go get supper started. He's got me running late."

I told Cletus to head out toward the woods and he started begging almost right away. It was a shame - a guy who could beg like that could have made a good lawyer on earth. Finally, when we got into the woods he grew a little backbone.

"You can't just kill me like this. It ain't right."

"Yep, I can," I said, and ran him through the heart with my sword." I checked his pockets and the rest of his body and he didn't even have a piece of a knife, much less a pinch.

Mary had said she was running late for supper so when I made it back to her front yard I mounted Blacky and rode him, leading the string, down to the stable. Tom Jr was there, but he was full grown now. We had a happy reunion and he was even happier when I told him I'd brought the stock for his breeding program.

"The two with saddles were donated along the way by men who were tired of living."

I left him to take care of the stock while I rode Blacky to the bank and got two bows and a hundred arrows out of my stash. Tom was easily big enough to handle the compound bow now.

It was still an hour or so before suppertime so I took the bows and arrows down to the stable to show Tom how to get started with them. He had a target and backstop set up down there so I let him get a few shots in before we closed the place and headed for his home.

Mary's table was just a little crowded since two of their hands and their wives ate with us, but the food was damned sure good. I ate a good bit, but I didn't stuff myself like I wanted to. After the meal was over and the dishes cleaned up Mary and I retired to her bedroom.

I was as horny as a polecat of course, but I had a little sense. No woman had red hot sex on her mind just after being raped, and while Mary stripped off and climbed into bed I just held her and we talked until we went to sleep.

Breakfast was wonderful the next morning and I ate all I could. I was no match for Tom though - he seemed to have a hollow leg. I guess it was the growing boy syndrome. Mary was in a better mood too, but still a little quiet.

I went to work with Tom and hung around the stable for an hour or so, but then I decided it was time for me to get into the rescuing business. I left all the horses with him except Blacky. I didn't even take a packhorse. I did take one of the new bows of course, and a hundred arrows.

I made a pass by the house on my way and got a little going away package from Mary, as in, food. She tried to apologize for being a little off her feed, but I told her not to mention it and I gave her a sweet kiss and then took off.

I wondered if it seemed to her I was running off because she didn't feel like fucking, but I decided worrying about something like that was a good way to get myself killed. It was one way I didn't want to return to Earth.

There was a town about five miles from were the supposed Damsel holders had their place. Kathy had told me it was a rather rough town and she warned me there might be people in it who were friendly to the kidnappers.

It sounded like potentially any town on Chaos to me, and I decided it wasn't the place to modify my usual behavior. I had come to expect trouble from any armed man I met on Chaos. When I didn't get it I was pleasantly surprised, but when I did get it - most of the time - I was at least ready.

For once I didn't hurry Blacky along. We mostly walked to Cancerville. I let him trot occasionally, but mostly didn't. I might need his speed on this mission and I wanted to save it as much as possible.

I spent the night about halfway there, in the woods back from the side of the road. It was uneventful and the next morning, after warming up a sausage and eating it I rode to town.

There were three inns in the town and I decided to stay in the most popular one. The common room was well attended, but I hired a room first and went to it, acting like I was leaving something, but actually returning with everything I took up there. I left a little stick closed up in the doorframe as I left and I went down and took Blacky to a stable and got him a stall for the night.

Back at the inn I ordered stew and watered wine. I found a seat near the back of he room and a serving girl brought it to me. I noticed that I was noticed about then.

A largish man nearer the front started talking loudly about fancy men coming in from elsewhere and lording it over the good people of the town. I wondered what he knew about the good people, but I ignored him. He did keep getting louder as things went along though and I kept ignoring him.

Ignoring him didn't mean I wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He seemed to have two helpers involved in whatever he was cooking up. He also moved my way as he talked. He didn't come toward me directly, but he would move now and then and he always ended up closer to me.

I could almost feel him on the verge of attack and I could actually see he already had his knife out. The serving girl brought me another bowl of stew and he stood for his attack after she left it and headed back to the kitchen. He turned toward me with his knife in his hand and said "He..." and then was choking on his own blood since one of my throwing knives was lodged in his throat.

I stood up, drawing my sword as I did and walked over to his thrashing body. I knelt to search his pockets as he lay trying to gasp from breath. By the time I'd cleaned his pockets and taken his knife he was dead. I pulled my throwing knife out of his throat, wiped the blood off it on his shirt, and pocketed the change, picked up his knife and resumed my seat. I let my sword lay across my lap while I was at it. Then I returned to my stew.

"Hey, you can't just kill a fella like that," one of his former pals said.

"If you and your friend hadn't sat there scratching your asses when he attacked he might have had a better chance. Damn, if you two were all I had for help I'd give up stealing for a living," I said, and took another bite.

A quick-witted comeback was beyond him. He drew what he must have thought of as a sword, but when I faked a draw and throw of my knife again he fell down and then he crawled out of the inn, dragging his sword behind him.

Suddenly I jumped up from the table and rushed to my room. As I'd expected my door was open and when I rushed to it I found their other friend searching my room.

"What are you looking for?" I asked him, and it was the first he knew I was there. He was especially surprised to see my sword very near his neck.

"Come on, get up," I said, and he did. I marched him back out to the stairs and gave him a kick down them.

I went on back to my room then, shut the door, and placed the chair and the washbasin on my side of the door. I didn't bother to undress or get under the covers.

I was up early in the morning and I left the inn and went looking for any place else serving food. The stew last night hadn't made me sick, but it was so greasy I knew breakfast would be worse. I saw a house off the main street with tables in the front yard and a couple of people eating breakfast.

The food was surprisingly good and I paid for and ate a second breakfast after I finished the first one. I walked back to the main street and found a sort of general store and loaded up on sausages. I knew I'd had my last cooked meal for a while.

Back at the livery stable the hostler told me a couple of men had been admiring my horse. I told him it was a good way to get dead, admiring my horse too closely. I saddled up, tied on my provisions, mounted, and rode out of town to the north.

I only went a couple of miles north and then cut off into the woods. This was going to be a pain in the ass, but I intended to cut through the woods to make the five or so miles to the kidnappers cabin. I estimated it would take me a couple of days to find it this way.

Early in the morning, four days later, I came across what must be the place. It was a small, but sturdy looking building in a clearing. Unusually it had a big window on every side, as if they were sitting in there waiting for someone to approach. While I watched a man came out of the building, went to the privy, and went back in. Soon enough another one did the same thing.

I got confirmation I was on the right trail when another one came out and let the Damsel Geeneane use the privy. I was hiding behind a tree and lying on the ground to keep my head from showing at a height they might expect it.

I watched the place almost all day. I finally got to see all four of the men hit the privy, and I even saw the Damsel Geeneane go again right before dark. When the sun set I went back to check on Blacky. I had unsaddled him when I stopped here, but I decided to move him further from their cabin. I let him drink at a small stream I crossed and then hobbled him in a tiny clearing maybe a third of a mile from the cabin.

When I made it back to the edge of the woods I saw I had another bunch who had no idea about night vision. They must have had several lanterns going inside the house and no doubt they were looking out the windows. It was admirable they knew enough to understand an attack could come at night. It was stupid to have lights blazing to try and see out into the dark.