Lovers in the Woods (2 page)

“I suppose you’re used to riding long
hours?”

Sajitar glanced away from Officer
Whiteclaw and put on his light brown canvas jacket. The question
was just another mockery. Everyone of Belthraine was used to either
riding or driving a coach. There was no other way to get
around.

“Did you take care of my B-horse?”

“Can’t you truly remember anything?”

Oh, yes, your radiant smile, big
shining eyes, intelligent words and heap
s of understanding to make me feel
good. You were like fire to a candle.

Sajitar decided to stick to his
amnesia.
“If
that’s a trick question, I’m already sick of it. Try something
new.”

“Your mare’s all right. She bristled a bit,
but I calmed her down when we got here.”

“
By telling her a goodnight police story?
I’d have loved to hear that.” He got a nasty glance from both
officers, and under different circumstances he would have
laughed.

She followed him through the door and into
a misty alley toward the stable. Only few people were up at this
hour and all of them looked nervously at the man being escorted by
two officers of the Belthraine Police Division One, short PDO,
trained for cross-country chases. Sajitar understood their distrust
and pondered once more about a way to escape. But he knew no one
and could not expect a stranger to help him. Those men and women
who chose to live far away from the pleasantries of a large town
had either a criminal record or religious motifs. Wherever the
police showed up there was trouble ahead for everyone, even in the
remotest districts.

Two men evaded them by escaping
through a swing
ing door, another vanished behind a curtain. They avoided
eye contact, but Sajitar knew they would watch the police walk by
before they went about their business. It was a pity he didn’t even
know anyone with a gun in this town to help him out. Remaining
alone had been the trick to stay unnoticed. No questions asked and
no trouble for anyone. He, for that matter, would not have acted
any different.

“
If you start to get on my nerves during
the trip,” Rayenne pointed out, “I’m authorized to gag, handcuff
and throw you across the saddle.”

Sajitar couldn’t help but smile.

“
Authorized,
hmm? Officer Whiteclaw, do you like using this phrase when
talking to your…suspects?”

“Beware if I turn my phrases into your harsh
reality.”

“
Beware if you find out that you've got the
wrong guy,” he replied earnestly, ignoring her mockery once again.
“Your suspect is still on the move, don’t you forget that. And if
he learns you’ve arrested me, he’ll double his efforts to get
away.”

Whiteclaw frowned, then after scrutinizing
his face, shook her head.

“No, we know
that you worked there. We also had a definite description and
visual confirmation of you being there at the time in question.
Plus your fingerprints were at the spaceport. There’s no
mistake.”

“You got my…”
He broke off, pretending that he still could not recall the evening
hours.

“Yes.” She
nodded slowly, clearly letting him feel her superiority. “And we
found remnants of the substance known as Barylom. A soft grey
powder, as you well remember.”

“I didn’t—”

“Save your
breath and spare your explanations for the judge. I’ve heard all of
this before.”

Sajitar
complied, realizing that no argument would get him off the
hook.

They reached
the stable and Sajitar was relieved to see his mare in one of the
stalls. She pricked her large ears and gave him a quizzical look
out of dark brown eyes. Sajitar stroked her nostrils gently.

Due to the high percentage of oxygen in the air, all animals
on Belthraine were able to run for miles once they had enough
training. Cross-breeds with the zebra-like animals living on the
planet were called B-horses. They were the only animals the
settlers could ride, since the native ones were too wild to be
tamed. Few lines of breeding existed that would take men half
across the planet without asking for a stop. Sajitar loved his
brown mare dearly. He usually stayed in her box or slept close to
her while they were outdoors.
The
night
was lonely for her
.
And I was too drunk to
know.

“How long will
the trip take?”

Rayenne frowned and watched the
groom take up his hayfork and leave through the back entrance.
“Four standard weeks’ ride
, if it works well. We’ll leave the road and cross
a part of Emerald Green to be faster.”

“
Cross…” He stopped stroking the mare,
searching eye contact with Rayenne, trying to make her listen to
his words. “Do I hear badly this morning or are you truly nuts?
There have been reports of Horlyn attacks. And we are talking of
the large sizes here, not the small ones you know from the
outskirts of Oak Village. Don’t you know anything about this
area?”

“We have
protective gear,” Whiteclaw replied, glancing at Felberi, who was
already currying his B-horse. The captain was listening, but did
not interfere. He only patted his saddlebag with a sideways glance.
“No Horlyn with more than one brain cell will get close to us.”

“That’s what you hope, but it’s not
knowledge.” Sajitar exhaled, trying to calm down. The situation
grew stranger by the minute and he racked his brain about how to
escape this damned trap. Escorted by the police, who would guard
him and therefore be slow, the ride would take much longer than
they anticipated. There was no shortcut through the wood, that much
was certain. And no matter what kind of protection the police had
developed, the animals of the forest were hard to keep at bay if
they searched for prey or were disturbed. And though the
aggressiveness of Horlyns was disputable, they did not like
strangers to enter their territory.

Dissatisfied, he grabbed a curry-comb and
fondled the mare’s ears with the other hand, but she shied away,
sensing his anger. He exhaled in frustration.

“
You don’t understand. All this protective
stuff is nice around the villages. The Horlyns there are mostly
young and inexperienced. They try to find out about the occupants
who invade their territory and if you scream loud enough they’ll
fly away. The older ones know us and stay in Emerald Green or
Beechtree Pride. They don’t care about us as long as we keep a
distance. Entering their territory for more than a few hours
is…dangerous to say the least.” He shook his head. “And the Horlyns
are not the only ones you need to fear—and now you make me part of
it. Thanks a lot.”

Rayenne looked
at him for a long time, as if his ability to speak in whole
sentences had surprised her. Then she nodded.

“In the old
days it was risky, I agree. But you don’t know about the latest
technological developments, Saji. We will be protected, don’t
worry.”

“Who’s worried?”

Sajitar curried his mare, still shaking his
head, then fetched the saddle and added the small saddlebags, which
held water, food, clothes and some useful items to survive on a
long ride. Used to traveling a lot, he had come to take less and
less with him.

Two men entered the stable, the first one
tall and broad, the first one, the other small and fat. They
checked the stable with dark skeptical eyes, taking up details in a
second. Their stance and bearing made clear they had not come to
claim their mounts. They looked displaced in their long dark brown
coats and grey buttoned-up shirts. Sajitar glanced at the polished
riding boots and his heartbeat sped up.

Felberi saw them at the same moment and,
cursing, went for his high-pressure gun. Swiveling around, he fired
three shots in a row.

“Get down, Ray!”

The men cussed, ducked behind the stable
doors for protection and shot back the same instant.

Rayenne cleared her gun to aim across the
stall door. The B-horse behind her reared, startled by the noise.
She was pushed against the wooden wall and screamed in
pain.

The B-horses in the adjacent boxes went
wild, trampling the ground while they tried to break the doors.
Sajitar opened the stall door next to him and the animal jumped,
its eyes wide, hooves hitting the wall. Then in fear it bolted down
the small alley and fled into the street, hooves clacking on the
hardened sand.

The two attackers forgot to
shoot and flattened against the wall. The fat man shouted.
“Damned
beasts!”

Felberi’s gun roared again and the tall
man went down screaming. His gun skittered across the floor and he
did not move anymore. The second attacker seized the moment,
raising his gun and shooting at head-height through the stable,
clearly not caring if he hit men or B-horses.

Sajitar had seen it coming. He pulled
Rayenne down behind the dividing wall, shielding her with his body.
The air was thick with dust from the trampling animals and the
noise was deafening. Gasping for air, he coughed and prayed for a
gun to defend himself. The sound of stones and metal pieces hitting
the wall froze him. It was unfamiliar, more threatening than
anything he had heard so far. In the alley, Felberi shouted
something Sajitar couldn’t decipher. A scream followed. Rayenne
stood up to fire once more and stumbled backwards. The attacker was
right in front of her. She looked into the muzzle, frozen. For a
second, there was only the gun and the smile of the fat gangster
behind it.

“That’s for my partner, you slut.”

Sajitar kicked the door open and hit the
man’s chest. His gun fired at the ceiling as he fell and Rayenne
pulled the trigger, blowing the wooden bullet in his face. He went
down without a sound. The gun dropped and Ray was at his side to
make sure he would not try to grab it again.

“Thanks.” Turning to Sajitar, Rayenne put up
the gun. Her eyes were wide with fear. She had seen death coming
and had been left untouched. She took a deep breath and winced at
the pain in her back. “You’re fast.”

Sajitar nodded. He shivered and for a few
heartbeats his vision was blurred. “You’re welcome. Who the fuck
were they?”

“We’ll find out. Felberi?” She stepped over
the unconscious man to run for her partner. “Hey, Felberi? Are you
all right? Oh, goodness, no!”

The police officer had fallen backward into
the alley. The right half of his face was covered with blood as
were his neck and shoulder. “Damn it. Damn these monsters!” She hit
the ground with her fist.

Sajitar checked
the second attacker and found him unconscious like his partner. He
would be out for hours, long enough for them to get away.

“
Did they
kill
your partner?”
Sajitar asked.

Rayenne glanced
over her shoulder, rage and grief clouding her voice.

“They use dirty shot, Saji. Have you never
heard of it? Stones, metal spikes, everything else they can force
through the muzzle without blowing it. I don’t know how they alter
their guns, but it’s deadly. It happened before. Fuck! Felberi was
a good guy.” She shook her head, took Felberi’s guns and stood to
bind the attackers’ hands on their backs. “Maybe I should kill
these muggers and leave.”

“Maybe you should.”

While she bound their ankles, too, Sajitar
got a closer look at the attacker. He pushed away the hair from the
back of his neck and saw a dark red circle with another, smaller
one, crossing it. One letter was printed in each of them, but not
of an alphabet he knew.

“They have a tattoo.”

“A tattoo?” Rayenne wiped away a tear from
the corner of her eye, then turned the head of the second man,
grimacing at what she saw. “Yeah, he’s got that, too. Two circles
and two letters.”

“You saw that
before, I suppose.”

“Sanjongy. No surprise they’re in this game.”
She looked up when Sajitar got closer. Her tone was harsh, but he
saw pain and fear in her eyes. The shootout had terrified her.
Somehow it was satisfying he was not the only one almost wetting
his pants. “It’s a well-organized group of criminals. You know
that.”

Sajitar balled his hands to fists. He pressed
his lips tight, but the words came out in a heated rush.

“
No, I don’t!
I
have
nothing to do with them!”

“Really? Do you
take me to be some stupid village girl?”

Sajitar growled
in his throat, wishing he could somehow convince her.

“Anyway, how could they have known I was here?” He stood and
stepped back, as if getting distance would prove his innocence. He
ran a shaking hand through his hair.
I need
to get away. Fast.
“After all, this is one
of the remotest districts on this planet, right? Even the usual
police forces avoid coming here. That’s why you were sent after my
tracks.”

Rayenne nodded, keeping him in her stare. “If
I knew how to find you, so did they.”

Sajitar opened his mouth for a reply and
shut it again without a word. Suddenly, the two men looked more
dangerous than before. He wiped sweat off his face. His gut twisted
and he felt sick to his stomach. Even swallowing was difficult and
he regretted having eaten an all-too-hearty breakfast.

“
Guess that wasn’t a thought that came to
your little mind, right?” Rayenne went past him to cover Felberi’s
body with a blanket. Then she removed some items from his
saddlebags, took the saddle and bridle off his B-horse and fetched
her own.