Gold Standard

by Kyell Gold

  Streak’s eyes widened, but he nodded. Volle pulled their hips together to conceal the fact that they were no longer tied, just as Dereath’s muzzle reappeared in the curtain. “There are still three soldiers here, in case you’re thinking of trying something,” he said suspiciously.

  “Could you have them fetch us something to eat, leaving you alone and unprotected?” Volle didn’t want to take too much time, but he did want to let the rat lower his guard.

  “Ha ha.” Dereath sneered.

  “Could we at least have some privacy to be made presentable before you force him to take me back to prison?”

  “Oh, you’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before. Or won’t see again,” he leered.

  Volle shrugged. “Fine.” He wiped his belly with his shirt, and motioned for Streak to get up. “I need to change my shirt, though.” Deliberately, he held his shirt up, giving Dereath a good view of his sheath.

  “Mm.” The rat was looking at both him and Streak. “Sure, fine.”

  Volle had to work to keep his tail still as he walked to the wardrobe. At the door, he turned to Streak, who was pulling his pants up. “Wolf? Can you help me pick out one?”

  Streak looked at Dereath, but crossed the room before the rat could say “Wait!” He slipped into the wardrobe, and Volle closed the door behind them both. He slid the bolt and walked to the back.

  “Why does Helfer have a lock on his wardrobe? And what does this gain us?” Streak fastened his pants and followed Volle to the back of the wardrobe.

  “I figure we have about five minutes,” Volle said, fingers running over the stonework at the back of the wardrobe. “Ah, here it is.” He pressed on a stone about seven feet off the ground. There was a sharp click, and a section of the wall swung inward, revealing a dark passageway. The air inside was chill and dank, and smelled of mildew and rot.

  Volle stepped into the passage. He held out a paw to Streak. “Coming?”

  The wolf’s eyes lit up. He bounded into the passage, almost knocking Volle over, and swept him up in a tight hug.

  “Hey!” Volle laughed softly. “Careful! We need to get that closed. See the handle there? Pull it closed with that.”

  Streak licked the fox’s muzzle and set him down carefully. He pulled the door closed with a satisfying click. Volle thought it was one of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard.

  The passageway went only a short distance before ending in a ladder. They climbed down a long ways, and at the bottom, Volle’s arms hurt again. Only then did he feel it was safe to talk.

  “Helfer used this passage to get himself in and out. So he wouldn’t have to bother with security when he wanted to bring uninvited guests back, usually. I only used it a handful of times.”

  “Pretty lucky that you knew about that,” Streak said. Volle grinned back at him. The passage wasn’t quite wide enough for two, but Streak was walking close behind him. The wolf seemed to have a bounce in his step again, and his tail was wagging.

  “I’m sure there are several other ways into and out of the castle.” Volle knew of two others for certain. “I’m lucky that I got to know Hef well enough that he trusted me with this one.”

  At the end of the passage, Volle listened at the wooden door, then opened it slowly. They emerged into a dark cellar full of barrels and crates. A line of light at the far end indicated where the stairs to the street were, and gave them enough light to see that the cellar was deserted. Volle closed the door, which seemed to merge with the paneling of the cellar. He followed Streak across the cellar toward the stairs.

  “You took your sweet time.” Seir hopped off a crate and walked toward them. She looked exactly as Volle remembered her: half his height, thin and wiry, with a nondescript tunic tied with a length of rope around her waist. He remembered the scar in her left ear that she wouldn’t tell anyone the origin of. He remembered the swing of her tail. And he remembered the way her eyes could look soft and hard at the same time, as they did now.

  Streak growled and bared his teeth, but Volle waved him off. “Seir’s a friend of mine,” he said. “You got the plans okay?”

  “Safe and sound and on their way home. And so should we be.” She stood a foot away from him, arms planted on her tiny hips. “We were so worried, Volle. When I got your note…”

  He stepped forward and hugged her, and she threw her arms around him. “It’s okay now,” he said. “Long as you can get us home.”

  “Us, eh?” She eyed Streak warily, stepping back from Volle.

  Volle took Streak’s paw. “He saved my life.”

  “Uh-huh. And more than that. I can still smell, you know.” Seir nodded curtly to Streak. “Sorry. This one has a tendency to think with his cock sometimes.”

  Volle’s ears flattened in embarrassment, but Streak just smiled politely. “We found that we do think a lot alike.”

  Seir chuckled, and walked over to Streak, examining him up close. “All right. I like him. Well, we’ll have a good long time to get to know each other. It’s a week and a half to the border, and we won’t dare show our muzzles outside the carriage most of the way.”

  “The border?” Streak’s paw tightened around Volle’s.

  “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Volle squeezed back. “I won’t ask you to do anything against your country.”

  Seir looked back and forth, and stepped back. “So, ah, let me go get the carriage. Back in five. Don’t go anywhere.” She climbed up the stairs and slipped out the door, letting a brief burst of evening air and light into the room.

  “You already gave her the papers?” Streak said, not letting go of Volle’s paw.

  “Afraid so. I told the truth about the portrait, but I had a friend get the papers early this morning.” He chuckled. “I fear Dereath is in for a number of disappointments.”

  Streak wasn’t smiling. “So…you could’ve escaped any time today.”

  “I…well, I guess so.”

  “But you stayed. For me?” Streak’s voice had dropped to a whisper.

  “You didn’t think I’d run off without you, did you? Not after all you did for me.”

  “You knew I was betraying you and you still stayed for me?” Streak was sniffing back tears now.

  Volle stepped forward and pulled the big wolf into his arms. “Of course I did, you silly. Because I knew you were doing it out of love. And I thought I had a pretty good chance of getting you away from Dereath. I mean, his tail isn’t nearly as nice as mine.”

  Streak’s composure broke, and his body shook with half-laughs, half-sobs. “No, your tail is much, much nicer.” Volle held on to him and nuzzled gently. He nuzzled back, and then they were sharing a kiss again, and that’s how Seir found them.

  “Break it up, you two.” She grinned. “Plenty of time for that on the way back.”

  They sat together in the carriage, with the shades drawn until it was safely outside the town limits. Volle leaned against Streak, who put an arm around him, and Seir smiled from the opposite seat. For a while, none of them spoke. Streak rubbed Volle’s chest through his shirt, and Volle rested a paw on the wolf’s pants.

  “What are you going to do when we get back?” Seir said as the carriage turned a corner. “They might want you to stay on as an advisor.”

  Volle’s tail swung lazily back and forth, brushing Streak’s leg and foot. “I just spent five or six months in prison. I don’t think I feel much like doing anything at the moment. Maybe I could get a minor estate somewhere in the country. Though I don’t really know anything about farming.” He tilted his head back and smiled up at the wolf.

  “Mmm,” Streak said, brushing a paw gently over his muzzle. “I think I know someone who might be able to show you a few things.”

  “Really? What’s his name?” Volle grinned.

  The wolf leaned over and kissed his nose. “You can call him ‘Streak.’ He likes that just fine.”

  Further Reading

  The following books by Kyell Gold are available from Sof
awolf Press (http://www.sofawolf.com) in print, except where noted, and from many retailers in electronic form:

  Volle – The story of how Volle came to Tephos, and the first adventure he had there.

  The Prisoner’s Release and Other Stories – The story of how Volle escaped from prison, and the story of what happened after, plus two other stories following characters from “Volle.”

  Pendant of Fortune – Volle returns to Tephos to defend his honor, but soon finds himself fighting for much more.

  Shadow of the Father – Volle’s son, Yilon, must travel to the far-off land he is meant to rule, but he will have to fight treachery to take the lordship.

  Weasel Presents (print edition from FurPlanet.com) – Five short stories from the land of Argaea, including “Helfer’s Busy Day” and “Yilon’s Journal.”

  Waterways – The full story of Kory’s journey to understand himself, and what it means to be gay.

  Out of Position – Dev the football player and Lee the gay activist discover how to navigate their relationship.

  Isolation Play (available as e-book fall 2011) – The continuing story of Dev and Lee, as they contend with family and friends in their search for acceptance.

  Bridges (print edition from FurPlanet.com) – Hayward seems content to set up pairs of his friends. But what does he really need for himself?

  Coming in 2011:

  In the Doghouse of Justice – A collection of seven League of Canids stories (including “Don’t Blink”) from Sofawolf Press (August 2011).

  Science Friction – Sexual hijinks in graduate school at a southern coastal college from FurPlanet.com (September 2011).

  Follow http://kyellgold.livejournal.com or follow Kyell on Twitter for further updates on upcoming publications.

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