Telepath (A Hyllis Family Story #4)

by Laurence Dahners

  Sarno called after Tarc, “He’s a… ruthless bastard. I never should’ve hooked up with him…” After a moment, he shouted, “Be careful!”

  Muttering, “He’s gonna be a sorry bastard,” Tarc ran after Carlos and his sister. He expanded his ghost, partly so it could tell him what was happening up around the corner, but also so he could search for a way to cut the corner through the low brushy woods. Tracing a path out with his ghost, he aimed himself at a gap in the trees that led to that trail. The warm spots representing Daussie and Carlos had stopped moving, but Tarc’s shortcut through the brush would come out just beyond them so he stayed with it thinking he could cut them off. He slipped his ghost around behind him to check on Sarno. The man was following, though well back. Tarc whipped through the brush, thinking that path he’d chosen with his ghost wasn’t as clear as he’d thought.

  Tarc burst out of the brush and onto the road, turning left since his ghost told him Daussie and Carlos were still about six meters that direction. Carlos was sprawled on the road and Daussie stood over him, arms akimbo, face filled with fury.

  Tarc slowed and walked the last few steps, a sick feeling coming over him, “What happened?”

  In a voice that seethed, Daussie said, “The bastard told me I was about to be the fourth girl he raped and killed.”

  “Oh…” Tarc looked down at Carlos’s prostrate form. The eye Tarc could see was wide and startled looking. It twitched. Carlos wasn’t breathing. Tarc’s ghost showed him that the man’s heart still beat, though it was irregular. “You cut his spinal cord?” Tarc asked.

  Daussie shrugged, “Lower brain stem.”

  Upper spinal cord, lower brain stem. Pretty much the same thing, right? Tarc thought. He stepped closer and put his arm around Daussie’s shaking shoulders. “You gonna be okay?”

  “No,” Daussie said, voice cracking.

  Tarc squeezed her shoulders, “Hey. You did the right thing. Same thing a court would’ve done in any town.”

  She turned and buried her face in his chest.

  Tarc was awkwardly patting his sister’s back when Sarno jogged around the corner. He stopped to stare. After a few moments, he said, “What happened?”

  Tarc said, “He told Daussie he’d raped and killed three girls. And, that she was next.”

  “So you killed him?”

  “No.” Tarc said, “She killed him. I told you guys she was dangerous.”

  Daussie pulled away from Tarc’s chest to stare up at him through her tears. “Don’t tell people that!” she whisper-hissed.

  He whispered urgently back, “If they’re afraid of you, they won’t do shit that gets them killed!” After a moment, “Besides, it’s the truth.”

  Sarno had slowly come closer. Now, staring down at Carlos’s body, he asked in a hushed tone, “How’d she do it?”

  “Medulla oblongata strike,” Tarc said in the same tone. He felt Daussie’s shoulders shake. At first he thought she’d sobbed again. Then he realized she was laughing at him for calling one of their supposed ancient martial arts blows by the Latin name of the lower part of the brainstem. He hoped the laugh would be therapeutic.

  Thankfully, Sarno didn’t ask what the words meant. Instead, wide-eyed, he asked, “You want me to bury him?”

  Daussie turned to look down at Carlos, then said, “Does he have any family?”

  Sarno slowly shook his head, “Not that I know of. He just kind of showed up in these parts a few weeks ago. He’s an ass. Even worse when he’s drunk. I wouldn’t’ve had anything to do with him, except my family’s hungry and he said he knew where we could find some salvage.”

  Tarc sighed, “Let’s go get the shovels.”

  Sarno hesitated, then said, “Let’s drag him off the road first.”

  Chagrined at having ignored such an important detail, Tarc nodded. He glanced both ways down the road and took Carlos’s hands. Sarno took the man’s feet and they clumsily carried him back along the path Tarc had taken through the brush.

  As they push their way through the brush, Carlos said, “I tried to follow you through the woods here, but I got lost. How’d you do it?”

  “Just lucky I guess,” Tarc said. “How about over there?” he said pointing to a small opening with his chin.

  They laid out the body on one edge of the opening. Sarno nodded at the body, “You mind if I take what I can find?”

  Tarc shrugged and stood uncomfortably while Sarno went through Carlos’s pockets, finding the coppers Tarc had paid the man, as well as a few silvers he’d evidently already had. Sarno glanced up apologetically, then started removing the man’s clothes. He said, “My family can’t afford for me to pass on the value of the clothing.”

  Tarc shrugged and said, “I understand.” When Sarno was pulling the scabbard and belt off, Tarc started. “Where’d the sword go?”

  Daussie spoke from behind him. “It was under him. I’ve got it,” she said, holding it out a little awkwardly.

  Tarc took it and, when Sarno handed him the scabbard, he sheathed it and hung it on his own belt. Sarno said, “I’m sure you want that sword, but can I have the broken one? I could probably get some money from one of the blacksmiths. They could shorten it a little more to make a machete out of it.”

  “Um,” Tarc said, not quite sure how to deal with this issue.

  Then Daussie smoothly lied, “Carlos had the broken one too. He threw it out into the woods off the left side of the road.”

  Sarno frowns, “Really? Seems crazy. He could’ve sold the blade for some coin.”

  Daussie shook her head, “I don’t think he thought the metal was any good. After all, it broke pretty easily.”

  Sarno said, “Maybe not. I guess you guys wouldn’t care if I kept it? I mean, if I manage to find it?”

  “No problem,” Tarc said.

  They went back to the underground room and brought up the shovels. Sarno went off to bury Carlos while Daussie and Tarc stayed behind to put three more bars in the opening of the chamber. While Daussie was cutting the holes, Tarc banged on one of the pipes with the big hammer.

  By the time Tarc and Daussie had finished installing the bars and loaded the mules, Sarno was back. “You got it done?” Tarc asked.

  Sarno nodded, staring at the bars. “How’d you do that?!”

  Tarc said, “Drove them in with the hammer. You probably heard me pounding them all the way over where you were.”

  Sarno gave a dubious nod.

  Daussie looked at him, “Are we supposed to report what happened to Carlos to the Sheriff?”

  Sarno looked a little startled. He shook his head, “There’s no sheriff in Clancy Vail. Just the Baron and his guardia.” He made a little wince, “You really don’t want to get them involved in anything if you don’t have to.”

  When they left Sarno was searching the left side of the road for the fragments of the sword. Tarc felt guilty about letting him waste his time but they certainly didn’t want Sarno to know they’d repaired the broken sword.

  ~~~

  When they got back to the tavern, it was immediately evident the day had been anything but the slow one they’d expected. Positive word of mouth about the free bread and beans they’d been handing out had spread. There was a line out the door waiting to try Eva’s cooking. They’d sold out of their spicy beans and pizza dough early in the afternoon. Since then they’d been frying chicken and French fries, baking pork and potatoes, chopping salads, and making soup out of whatever any ingredients they could buy. Everything had been selling as fast as they could make it. Daum and Grace had alternated between going out to scavenge for supplies and waiting tables. Kazy and Nylin had helped in the kitchen while one-armed Farlin worked the cash box, taking money and making change.

  Daum confided that Farlin was really good at it. “He’s got a real head for numbers and manages to watch the entire room. No one sneaks out without paying while he’s in charge.”

  Tarc and Daussie buckled down and started helping. That gave Daum
a chance to get back in the brewing room to tend his—so far ignored—first batch of beer.

  Vyrda came in and looked around at the crowd in astonishment. Then she pitched in to help as well.

  Once he’d unloaded the stainless steel off the mules, Tarc made several runs, restocking, then over-stocking the tavern with firewood.

  Not having beer was their saving grace. Once the customers had eaten, they went home. Or moved on to taverns that did have beer.

  Finally, things had slowed enough they could close the doors. The Hyllises and their employees gathered in the big room. Kazy leaned back in a chair looking exhausted. “Is it going to be this way every day?”

  Daum shrugged, “That wouldn’t be so bad. It’d mean we were making enough money to support ourselves and our new employees. Also, we’d be able to save up a cushion for hard times in the future. Unfortunately, when a new tavern opens, it’s often swamped at first because everyone wants to try the new food and beer. Regrettably business usually tapers off after a while.”

  Vyrda said, “I’ve got a couple of young cousins who could serve tables if you’d like. If business drops off later, they’d be able to return to the things their parents have them doing right now.”

  After agreeing to hire Vyrda’s cousins, at least until business slacked off, Eva turned to Tarc and Daussie, “Did you find anything worthwhile out at our salvage project?”

  Tarc took everyone to look at the stack of stainless steel rods, tubes, pipes, angle irons, and etcetera while telling them about their day—though he didn’t say anything about the final incident with Carlos, wanting to save it until later when he could explain it to Daum, Eva, and Kazy alone.

  Daum was excited to have something they could sell because getting the tavern started up had consumed their capital and they’d had to take out a loan. The sooner they could pay it off, the less they’d wind up spending on interest.

  Turning back to what they’d found, Tarc said, “We dug out that wheelchair and also dug up a rolling bed or stretcher.” He turned to his mother, “I really do think it was some kind of medical facility.”

  Eva clapped her hands together in excitement, looking around, “Where are they?”

  “Um, they’re too big and clumsy to load onto a mule. We’re going to need to borrow or rent a wagon.”

  Farlin said, “Can I be the one to negotiate the sale of all that stainless steel? My dad used to say that bargaining was my strong suit.”

  Daum looked uncomfortable. “Where’re you thinking you’d be able to sell it?”

  Farlin said, “I talked to a customer that deals in salvage this afternoon. We should talk to him, but I also think that, since it’s essentially raw metal, we should go directly to some of the blacksmiths. That way we’d cut out the middleman. Tomorrow morning, before the tavern gets busy, could I take some samples of the steel around and dicker with them on price?”

  Daum looked at him thoughtfully, then said, “Sure. You won’t be able to carry much of it with just one hand, but you get some prices, then I’ll go with you the next morning to make the actual sale.”

  Farlin turned to Tarc and said, “Just a suggestion. If you think you’re going to find any more large objects that you’ll need a wagon to transport, you should wait to rent a wagon until you’ve got a bunch of stuff, all ready to move in one day. That’d save you the hassle and the probable increased cost of renting the wagon for parts of several days.”

  Tarc thought that was a great idea, but Daum said, “I’m worried enough about someone stealing the wheelchair and rolling bed tonight. I don’t think we should accumulate even more tempting stuff out there that someone could make off with.”

  Tarc said, “Um, we figured out a way to bar the opening so people can’t get in when we’re not there.”

  Grace said, “Thieves are often pretty ingenious about opening things…”

  Tarc shrugged, “I’m pretty sure no one’ll be able to get in without us there to help them.”

  Daum opened his mouth, looking as if he were about to object along the same lines as Grace, but subsided at Tarc’s look and tiny shake of the head.

  Eva sighed and stood, “Nylin, Grace, I need help starting more bread dough, beans, bacon, and pork for tomorrow.”

  Everyone got up to take on various tasks, but Eva caught Tarc, Kazy, and Daussie with her eye. Gathering them, she spoke quietly, “You guys need to get back to your studying and Vyrda wants to study with you. Why don’t you introduce her to our books and get started?”

  Tarc started to roll his eyes and protest, then realized that Daussie and Kazy looked eager. Vyrda looked practically ecstatic. Crap, he thought as he followed them toward his room. Since he had a room to himself, it’d become the de facto family gathering place—which was a real pain in the butt

  ~~~

  Nylin paused to watch Tarc leave. It’s not just that he’s so handsome and kind, she thought, but that it seems he can do practically anything…

  Chapter Eight

  Later that night, as everyone was getting ready to go to sleep, the Hyllises got together in Tarc’s room for a confidential debriefing about the day.

  Daum wasn’t very happy about the fact that Tarc had hired some complete unknowns to help with the salvage operation.

  Daussie listened with some awe as Tarc calmly pointed out how hiring them had turned Sarno into an asset rather than a threat.

  Daum narrowed his eyes, “What about the other guy? Carlos, right?”

  Tarc shrugged, “He kept being a problem. Eventually, Daussie had to kill him.”

  With a gasp of indrawn breath, Eva turned and put her arms around Daussie. She said something, probably something meant to be comforting, but Daussie missed it because she was listening to Daum. Staring at Tarc, Daum spoke accusingly, “Daussie had to kill him?”

  Despite Daum’s reproachful tone, Tarc remained composed. “I warned them she was deadly. Evidently, Carlos didn’t believe it.” Tarc shrugged, “Turned out he needed killing anyway.”

  “Needed killing?!” Eva said, as if horrified that Tarc could think anyone fit that description.

  Tarc glanced at Daussie and evidently recognized she didn’t want to try to explain her own actions. He continued, still sounding unruffled, “The man told Daussie he’d raped and killed three other young women. He said she’d be number four. I’d submit that almost any court would find for capital punishment after such a confession, followed by a similar threat.”

  There was a beat in the conversation, then Daum shrugged and said, “Granted. But why was Daussie the one who had to do it?”

  “They were too far away from me. He’d led her away at sword point. A sword I didn’t realize he’d had—”

  Daum interrupted, “Why was that man alone with her in the first place?!”

  Tarc gazed coolly at his father for a moment. Daussie’s feelings had just begun to transition from dismayed-embarrassed that everyone was learning she’d killed someone, to irritated with her father for thinking she needed a nursemaid, when Tarc said, “I can’t be with her every minute dad. Besides, I hope you realize she’s much deadlier than I am.”

  Daum’s eyes widened and flashed over to Daussie. “But… I thought you had to have a seed or a pebble and time to transport it into the carotid or something…?”

  Tarc looked at Daussie again and apparently decided she still didn’t want to explain herself. He said, “Remember, she transported a thin disk of bone out of Farlin’s humerus? This time she transported a disk out of the man’s brain stem. Dropped him between one step and the next.” He shrugged, “She’d already transported a disk out of his sword so it was weak enough it practically fell apart.”

  Daussie noticed Tarc didn’t mention that the sword had already been repaired at the point she was threatened with it.

  Tarc waited a second for their parents to express more objections, then stepped to the corner of his room. Picking up the sword, he pulled it out of its scabbard. “Now this is really coo
l. After it broke, Daussie freshened the surfaces on either side of the break so they fit together perfectly. Then I was able to weld it back together—”

  Wide-eyed, Daum said, “You welded something?! How?”

  Daussie felt amused by the way Tarc had so easily distracted their father from the Carlos situation by describing an exotic new technical solution. Tarc explained how he was able to heat very small sections of the metal to a molten state, letting them melt together and weld. “It took quite a while just to make this one little weld,” he said holding up the sword and pointing to a fine black streak across the base of it, but I think it’s pretty strong.” Tarc set the point of the sword on the floor and leaned heavily on it.