Deadlands Hunt (2 page)

"Yeah, but the lady in question had her eyes on Chase," Bran said, industriously scrubbing the back of his neck. "And she's a real lady, not some farmer's daughter."

"Or a Charnim whore," Curtis snorted, fishing the soap out to use.

"So? Want to wager on whether or not I can charm her out of that silk dress she's wearing?" Kyle challenged. "I damn sure wouldn't mind..."

"No wager," Chase barked, tired of the talk. He wanted to soak the cold out of his bones in peace. "The saloon here has a couple of Kestran courtesans if you've got the itch that bad. Leave the human lady and her friend alone."

"Sorry." Kyle blinked in surprise. "Wasn't meanin' to piss on your territory, Chase. Didn't think you were interested."

"I'm not." Chase caught the bar of soap Curtis tossed. "I
am
interested in not causing any problems that might make the innkeeper decide to say 'no rooms available' the next time we come through here."

"Moonstruck or not, the lady might cry foul come morning," Curtis agreed, scrubbing one arm. "Her two male companions damn sure will, and I'll lay wager on that one."

"Well, guess I'm for the saloon after dinner then." Looking over at Bran, Kyle asked, "What about you?"

"I'll go if Chase says we can." One eye squinted half closed as Bran cleaned an ear.

"As long as you behave yourselves and don't stay out all night," Chase responded. "I plan to soak up as much of the firelight as possible before climbing into bed. I’m hoping the rain stops before morning."

"I'll keep you company," Curtis offered, switching his attention and cloth to his other arm. "If there's decent beer to be had here. And you two better come back quiet, 'cause you wake me up and I'll thrash both your asses."

*

The common room was half-full of waiting diners when the Werens returned. Amethyst watched them cross the room to settle at the table closest to the fire, which happened to be the one right next to her own. Peter and Brian exchanged an uneasy glance after realizing who'd become their neighbors. She inspected her two companions. Neither was as tall or muscular as the Werens. How long would they manage to last in the Deadlands?

From what Amethyst understood, Weren were safe. Human children learned early how to recognize the other species of Meris Vos on sight so they would know whether to run screaming for safety or not. Werens, the Shalinar, Charnim, and the Kestrans were all trading partners of the humans, thus the safe classification.

Amethyst decided 'safe' was a matter of personal opinion when near people capable of ripping someone to small bits without expending much effort. She'd never been near anyone who actually exuded the fact they were dangerous from their very pores.

This close, realizing how uneasy all the other diners had become, she had second, third and fourth thoughts about attempting to speak with them.
I have no choice
.
Not if I want to find Pearl
, she finally decided, staring at her dinner of roasted meat and vegetables.

*

All four Weren noticed the intense regard of the red haired human, despite her attempts to hide it. A glance at Chase told them the wise course would be to pretend they hadn't. Kyle, seated next to Bran, seldom managed to follow this course with complete success.

Under the guise of reaching for the peppermill, he muttered in his younger pack mate's pinkly clean ear, "Yeah, she's moonstruck."

Bran grinned, bowing his head over his plate. Sitting back, Kyle proceeded to grind a thick crust of pepper over the potatoes waiting on his plate. He loathed potatoes, but the rule was when at a human's table as a guest, 'clean your plate, or clean everyone's saddles'.

Having broken that particular rule more times than he had fingers and toes, the lesson had finally stuck. He ate the damned potatoes now, using plenty of pepper to hide their pasty blandness.

Releasing the much-depleted peppermill to roam from hand to hand, Kyle glanced at Chase. His pack leader’s steady gaze had been on him since his whispered assessment in Bran's ear. Assuming a look of false innocence, Kyle mouthed "What?"

The narrowing of eyes and minute shake of head warned Kyle that he was treading a thin line. Pushing might end with his anticipated after dinner jaunt unceremoniously cancelled. Chastened, the Weren applied himself immediately to the hated potatoes, gulping them down with much grimacing, getting them out of the way before enjoying the rest of his meal.

Curtis snickered, not having missed the byplay. He sobered when Chase shifted on their shared bench enough to bump him. It had taken the burly shape shifter exactly half a thrashing to realize Chase was the dominant of the two. Curtis never forgot a lesson learned. Especially one that had resulted in so many bruises.

For his part, Chase was certain the human wasn't moonstruck. There was a strain in her bearing that meant trouble. Many types of trouble were within his domain to handle, but all of those came from over the border. The four humans obviously hadn't come from the Deadlands, even if they had crossed a border of sorts. Weren impartiality was sometimes requested in order to settle disputes between humans, although usually as a last resort.

Travelers seldom ended up parties to such disputes, so the shape shifter doubted that was the case. Which meant it was a mystery, and Chase didn't like mysteries that involved his pack. The red head's constant scrutiny told him this mystery did, or at least that she thought it did.

*

Amethyst accepted the tin bowl of blackberry cobbler with a smile of thanks for the serving maid. The girl smiled back, already a regular recipient of the generous largesse Amethyst was wont to spread about to those who tended to her needs. Watching the girl move to the Werens' table, she noted how short work was made of serving out dessert and collecting empty plates before the girl vacated the area.

Glancing down, Amethyst took a moment to appreciate the golden crust swimming atop a thick, rich purple sea of berry filling. Looking up, she found Brian gazing at her with an expression of mild disapproval.

For some reason she was unable to fathom, the golden haired young man seemed to think that he was the leader of their expedition. It was a notion she hadn't yet bothered to disabuse him of, but it appeared the time to do so was drawing nigh.

Amethyst knew that Brian was biding his time and planned to propose. She supposed he was nice enough, but 'nice' wasn't a good reason to shackle one's self to another for life. After weeks of travelling together, Amethyst was also certain that neither Brian nor Peter actually qualified as men just yet.

Not compared to the men who lived life outside of stone walls. The men out here knew that peace could disappear in the blink of an eye, and that death could come roaring over the border at any given moment.

In the same vein, Amethyst realized she wasn't yet the woman her age supposedly granted her the status of being. Not compared to those that walked around with long knives and daggers dangling from their waists, as they were the most important accessory of choice. These women were prepared to defend their children and themselves at the drop of a hat, spitting in Death's eye in order to do so.

Adersol was two worlds away from the one she was accustomed to. Her world consisted of teas in richly appointed drawing rooms, fancy dress balls, and sedate canters around the park. Even the thrilling hunts occurring outside Taryton's protective walls couldn't measure up to life on the frontier. She was a stranger in a land she knew little about, wanting to cross over into one that was even more dangerous.

Dessert neatly and appreciatively disposed of; Amethyst dabbed at her lips and laid the napkin on the table. Her next act was to pull a small, leather bound diary and fountain pen from her purse. She’d just done so when Brian cleared his throat and announced, "I think we should go upstairs to discuss a few things."

Lifting her head, Amethyst delivered a level gaze. Brian instantly confirmed her opinion of him as still being a boy by flushing pink and hastily asking, "Don't you think, Amy?"

"I think…" She leaned an elbow against the edge of the table, thoughtfully tapping her bottom lip with the end of the pen.” That retiring is a better idea. The three of you go on ahead. I'll be up once I've taken care of today's entry."

"What a wonderful idea!" Sally enthused as if by pre-arranged cue. The blond, seated closest to the Weren occupied table, had been slowly creeping down the shared bench throughout the meal. Another inch and Amethyst was certain Sally would be in her lap. "P'raps the upstairs drawing room for a hand of whist and a brandy before bed?"

Peter, who was a thin, serious faced young man, gave the girl an adoring look. Amethyst was amused by his resemblance to a puppy upon witnessing it; the soft brown eyes and careless tumble of dark brown hair that refused to surrender to pomade only fed that impression. "That's a wonderful idea, Sally."

Blinking at the clear dismissal, whatever protest Brian intended to make abruptly died, as lightning seemed to flash in Amethyst's eyes. Deciding discretion was definitely the better part of valor for the moment, he quickly rose. "Until morning, dear lady."

"Quite," she curtly replied, mind already back on the problem of how to approach the Weren. Waiting until her three friends had disappeared from view, Amethyst glanced around the common room. Other diners were paying for their meals and shrugging into coats and jackets in clear preparation to depart. She saw that two of the Weren were also rising. It would help, she decided. It would be much easier to face two instead of four.

Two

"Come on, let's go," Kyle urged Bran, eager to secure the Kestran courtesans before the evening grew later.

"Keep your pants on," Bran replied, carefully spooning the last dregs of sticky sweetness from his bowl. The youngest of them was very serious about his sweets, which came along far less regularly than he preferred.

"Having them on is the problem," Kyle whined, standing up. Curtis snorted in amused disgust.

"One day, you're going to drop them in the wrong place at the wrong time and I’m not picking the buckshot out of your ass when it happens," he promised.

"If the girl's pretty enough, it's never the wrong place or time." Kyle grinned and grasped Bran by the scruff of the neck, pulling him to his feet. "Come on."

"Remember what I said." Chase gave them a look, making sure Kyle received the larger helping of it. Bran nodded, but the pack leader wasn't worried about his behavior or obedience. Kyle was the one enthusiasm regularly carried away.

"No trouble. Don't be gone all night." Kyle nodded. "Right. Got it."

"And don't wake us up coming in," Curtis reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, or you'll thrash our asses. We know already." Kyle walked off, dragging Bran along. The briefest of pauses was made to snatch their dusters from the hooks by the door, then the door shut behind them. Curtis shook his head.

"Remind me again why we keep that tail chaser around?"

"Entertainment." Chase grinned. "The bee thing was pretty funny."

Agreement was the release of a loud guffaw of laughter. Those still in the process of bundling up against the weather began moving more quickly. "That was! He's such a dumbass."

The innkeeper headed their way, his pleasant expression of earlier looking worse for the wear. Realizing their presence had run off the after dinner drinkers the man usually served, Chase nudged his pack mate. "Was everything satisfactory, my lords?"

"More than. Thanks," Chase answered.

"Ah, but I do have a request, good sir." Curtis flipped a gold coin in the air. "Can we trouble you for all the beer we can hold while we enjoy the fire?"

That sweetened the man's souring disposition nicely. Werens could hold quite a lot of beer. "Of course, of course!"

"Let me know when that runs out," Curtis added while flipping the coin a second time. It landed neatly in the innkeeper's hand. With a nod and a smile, he retreated to the bar. The two shape shifters exchanged a grin, though it rankled both that courtesy needed purchasing. Still, it was only their first year on the border and such actions should pay off in the future. Chase really hated sleeping outdoors in the rain, so doing what they could to prevent that was a necessity.

By then, they and the red head were the only people still present aside from the innkeeper. Returning with two large steins of beer, he offered another quick smile before seeing if the lady required anything else. She didn't and he disappeared into the kitchen.

Chase glanced at her, wondering what she was so busily writing in the small, leather book she was bent over. A half glass of wine sat ignored, the pen's tip making light scratching sounds while traveling across the page.

*

Finishing her day's written recollection, Amethyst realized it looked no more productive on paper than it had felt in the doing. Gently blowing on the page to speed the drying process, she wondered if it was the right time to approach the Weren. They sat quietly, drinking their beer. Testing the page by pressing a fingertip to one word, she determined it was safe to close her diary and did so.

Putting it away left her with no real reason to remain downstairs. Spotting her wine glass, Amethyst took a sip in an attempt to bolster her courage. She had to speak to them. There might be a chance Pearl still lived and needed rescuing. Clearing her throat with a timid 'ahem', she turned to look at them. "This is a pleasant spot."