Dynasty of Rogues

by Jane Fletcher

  Riki looked on in horror. Tanya could not outrun the spadehorn, either on the grass or in the water. Nor could she take refuge among the trees. The spadehorn’s thick fur would shield it from the stinger vine, but Tanya’s clothes would not give the same degree of protection. She was young and healthy, and unlikely to be killed by vine stings alone, but running through it would be impossible. The pain would have her collapsed on the ground within seconds.

  Riki raced forward. She had no clear idea what she could do to help, but she could not let Tanya face the spadehorn alone. A fist-sized stone caught her attention. Riki scooped it up and flung it at the young spadehorn. The rock bounced of its shoulder and the animal squealed, more surprised than hurt. Even at a few months, it was too big and thick-skinned to be injured by one thrown stone.

  Riki looked for a second missile, but it was unnecessary. The youngster’s cry had produced the desired effect on the mother. The female spadehorn was lumbering around in a wide loop, crashing through reed beds and charging at the new threat to its baby.

  Riki’s feet skidded in wet grass as she stopped and turned. Already, the furious adult was bearing down fast. Riki fled before it, but she could no more outrun the spadehorn than Tanya could. This left only one option. A bogash tree, larger and sturdier than most others, stood at the edge of the wood, relatively clear of stinger vine at its base. But could she get to it? The thunder of immense hooves was gaining.

  Before Riki was halfway to the tree she knew she stood no chance. With each step, the sound of the spadehorn got louder, the pounding hooves, the tearing grass and the snorted breath. At the last moment, Riki hurled herself aside.

  A thump hit her in midair, a glancing blow strong enough to send her spinning. She hit the ground hard, still rolling. The spadehorn thundered past. Riki levered herself up, hauled her feet under her, and continued running. She did not have time to find out whether she was badly hurt.

  The adult spadehorn’s charge had carried it on several meters, but it swung its rump around in a tight circle, tearing up clumps of mud and grass with its feet, and again hurled itself at Riki. However, the bogash tree Riki was aiming for was now just a few steps away. She launched herself over the coils of stinger vine, hit the trunk with one foot, and grabbed hold of an overhead bough. She swung herself up. Her legs locked around the branch as the spadehorn crashed into the trunk. The entire tree shook. Leaves and dead twigs rained down.

  The spadehorn bellowed and stamped back three paces. Riki hauled herself higher into the tree and wedged her body in firmly. She wrapped her arms around the main trunk. Again the mother spadehorn cannoned into the bogash. Riki felt the shock rattle her bones. An ominous crack came from the base of the tree, but it stayed upright.

  The mother spadehorn pawed the ground with its front feet, tearing grooves in the soft mud. Its breath hissed and roared like water hitting fire. Then it advanced again, more slowly, and pressed its huge shoulder against the trunk. Riki clung on as the tree swayed under the force. She could hear roots snapping, but the tree did not fall, and at last the spadehorn turned away and trampled up and down the grass, bellowing its fury. The youngster trotted to its mother’s side, still warbling unhappily. The sound did nothing to calm the mother.

  Riki looked up and down the island. The ponies had trotted farther away. This might have been to avoid the spadehorn, or to find better food. Either way, they had returned to grazing. Tanya had also retreated to a safe distance, too far to judge her expression. She was looking around and kicking through the grass, as if searching for something to use, but there was nothing she could do to help. Nor was there any need. Eventually the spadehorn would get tired and go.

  Riki would have liked to wave, to let Tanya know that she was okay, but now that she had stopped moving, the pain from where she had been struck was building into throbbing fire, engulfing her side. It took all her willpower to remain clinging on. Riki closed her eyes, thankful the spadehorn had given up the attempt to knock over the tree. She rested her head on the bark, trying to block everything out.

  A half hour passed before the mother spadehorn left. Twice it started to trot away, raising Riki’s hopes, only to remember its anger and come bellowing back. Riki was at the end of her endurance when the mother finally waded off through the swamp with its offspring at its side. Once it had definitely gone, Tanya advanced to the tree.

  “Riki. Are you okay?”

  “I will be.” Riki braced herself to jump down.

  While wedged in the bogash, her injured side had stiffened. She hurt badly enough just sitting still. Moving was going to be hell, but she could not stay where she was. Riki grabbed hold of a branch with both hands, hoping to swing clear of the stinger vine. As she moved, fire erupted down her side. Her left hand lost its grip and she dropped too soon. Luckily, she still avoided the vine, but landed awkwardly, twisting her ankle and ending up curled on the grass.

  “Riki!” Tanya sounded frightened.

  Riki tried to roll onto her feet. She got as far as her knees on the third attempt, and then Tanya was at her side, holding her steady with an arm around her shoulders.

  “Riki, are you okay?”

  “I’ll survive. I got a belt from the spadehorn. But I don’t think anything’s broken.” Riki clenched her teeth and stood up. Her head swam, and the world shifted out of focus, but then it settled.

  “Sit down. We’ll camp here.”

  Riki shook her head. “This is probably where the spadehorns sleep each night. The mother will have calmed down by then, but I’d rather not be here when they return.”

  “Are you okay to walk?”

  “Of course.”

  Riki hobbled a few steps, and then looked back. Tanya was watching with a deeply troubled expression. Riki tried to smile. “I’d count it as a favor, though, if you rounded up the ponies.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  Riki made her way to the waterside, trying to take bigger steps. She could almost persuade herself that her side was loosening up with the movement.

  Tanya arrived with the three ponies. Riki glanced at the saddle packs.

  “Have you got your bow?”

  Tanya shook her head. “No point. I dropped it when I ran, and the spadehorn trod on it.”

  “Is it no longer usable?”

  “Only as firewood.”

  Riki stepped into the water.

  “Riki?”

  She looked back. “What?”

  “Anything I can do...I...just let me know.” Tanya looked and sounded as if she was struggling to find the words she wanted.

  Riki nodded and managed a tight smile, to show she appreciated the concern. She looked across the marsh. The edge of the swamp was only five kilometers away. With luck, they would be there in a couple of hours. Then she could lie down and rest.

  *

  The hills on the far side of the marsh were carved from more of the red sandstone. The soil was well drained and mercifully clear of stinger vine. Tiger oaks formed an unbroken canopy, restricting undergrowth to a few clumps of dover fern. An abundance of fallen branches littered the ground. Collecting wood for the campfire would not take long.

  The rain clouds had passed over and the sky was clearing. Light was improving, and an hour remained before dusk, but they would be going no farther that day. As soon as they reached dry land, Tanya hurried forward. Riki had been swaying noticeably as they covered the last kilometer of swamp. She was clearly suffering and unfit to go anywhere else, but she still plodded on, doggedly putting one foot in front of the other.

  Tanya placed her hand on Riki’s shoulder. “Hey. Hold up. We’re making camp.”

  “Where?”

  Riki’s face was bloodless and her eyes were dazed. The sight increased Tanya’s determination to stop for the day. Riki was clearly far more hurt than she had implied. Tanya glanced around. Everywhere on the hillside was pretty much the same. She pointed to a nearby spot between the trunks of three large tiger oaks that would be sheltered
should the rain return.

  “There.”

  Riki nodded and staggered to the site, then leaned against one of the trees, breathing in shallow gasps.

  “Sit down. I’ll sort out the ponies,” Tanya said.

  “I’ll help.”

  “Don’t be stupid. Sit down and rest.”

  “I’m all right.”

  “You’re lying.”

  Riki glared at Tanya but then slid to the ground. The fact she had given in so quickly worried Tanya more than anything else. Quickly, Tanya unsaddled the ponies. From the packs, she pulled blankets, canvas, water bags, and tinderbox. Within minutes, a fire was going and Tanya had rigged a waterproof canvas as a shelter, arranged the packs where they would be dry, and laid out the blankets.

  Throughout this, Riki sat with her eyes closed. Tanya knelt by her side. “Come and lie down.”

  Riki opened her eyes and started to move, but stopped, wincing.

  “Stay still. Where are you hurt?”

  Riki’s hand indicated her left side, under her arm. Tanya put her hand onto Riki’s forehead and exerted her senses.

  “You’ve got the healer sense?” Riki’s voice was a whisper.

  “Don’t get excited. Not enough to talk about, but maybe better than nothing.”

  Tanya closed her eyes, trying to feel her way into Riki. She knew her ability with the healer sense was limited, but she so desperately wanted to help and ease the pain she saw in Riki’s contorted features.

  Tanya slipped into the light trance. Beyond the confines of her own body, she became aware of warm flesh, flowing blood, and electric pulses in nerves. She sank deeper in. A mass of ruptured veins bloated in her sight, offending her with their wrongness. Nerve endings were afire, signaling damage as pain, but she found no broken bones or crushed organs.

  Gently, Tanya tried to ease away dead blood, knit together flesh, and dull the flaring nerves. She knew she lacked fine control. Her efforts were clumsy and imprecise, like an idiot wrestling with fog. She could only hope she was doing more good than harm and speeding Riki’s recovery. She certainly had not reversed the injury, as a skilled healer might have done in minutes.

  Tanya opened her eyes. Riki was staring at her face, but then immediately dropped her gaze, flushing softly.

  “Thanks,” Riki said quietly.

  “Did that help?”

  “Yes. A lot.”

  “Do you think you can move now?”

  “I’ll try.”

  This time, with a little assistance, Riki levered herself from the tree trunk and shuffled the short distance to the bivouac. She lay face down on the blanket. Tanya wanted to reach out and stroke her head, kiss her cheek, and tell her it would all be okay. She restrained the impulse and instead turned to the fire.

  Soon, boots, wet socks, and cloaks were at one side, drying in the heat, and rice, dried meat, and beans were in a pot, bubbling over the flames. The food would be soft and edible in a half hour. While waiting for it to cook, Tanya went back to the waterside, and searched the reed beds in the fading light. Finding the plant she was after did not take long. Deadwort sap had no medicinal use, other than to induce numbness, but that would ease Riki’s pain and allow her a decent night’s sleep. Tanya returned to the camp.

  “I’ve found some deadwort.” She held up the dripping roots. “Do you want it?”

  “After we’ve eaten.”

  “Okay. Dinner’s about ready.”

  Tanya helped Riki sit and passed her a bowl. They ate in silence. Riki probably needed all her concentration to deal with the food. For herself, Tanya stared into her bowl because she dared not look at Riki. She could not escape the twin images—the horror she had felt, seeing the charging spadehorn toss Riki aside, and the tactile memory of Riki’s body, alive under her hand. This journey was about to get even more awkward and stressful. She cared about Riki, and now that Riki was injured and needing help, keeping a distance between them was going to be impossible.

  Chapter Seventeen—Unknown Territory

  Riki put down her bowl gingerly. She was not finding it easy to predict which movements her left arm could perform with safety. The smallest, most innocuous action could trigger explosions of fire, while larger, more expansive gestures might cause nothing more than a twinge. More generally, the ache in her side was building again, although Tanya’s intervention had taken the savage edge off the pain.

  However, the fire and food were comforting, she was warm and dry, and it was a relief to be sitting quietly. Riki looked up. Firelight danced on the leaves overhead in gold and green, and above them the sky was darkening to black. No stars broke through the clouds. The world outside the firelight was disappearing into the night. Riki hunched forward, closer to the flames.

  “How do you feel?” Tanya asked from the other side of the fire.

  “Like I’ve been kicked by an angry spadehorn.”

  “Surprising, that.”

  Riki smiled at the dry, humorous tone. Perhaps drawing the spadehorn’s attack had not been such a stupid idea, if it got Tanya talking in a friendly fashion again.

  Tanya held up the deadwort she had gathered before dinner. “Are you ready for this?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Do you need my help?”

  Riki nodded. She could feel the bruise stretching from under her side around to the middle of her back. Even if her left arm could move freely, she would not be able to reach the whole area.

  Tanya pulled the knife from her belt and sliced the root open. Thick green sap oozed out. Tanya’s nose wrinkled. The odor of rotten eggs soon wafted across to Riki. Deadwort was undeniably effective at numbing pain, but it was never going to be first choice for anyone with access to a proper healer. Riki was pleased she had decided to finish her dinner first.

  Tanya moved closer. “Do you need help getting your shirt off?”

  “Yes.” Even with help, Riki suspected that the maneuver was going to be tricky.

  Tanya’s hands moved to the buttons on Riki’s shirt. Her eyes were fixed rigidly on the task, staring at each button in turn. Riki found her own attention locked on Tanya’s face, a few centimeters away. If Tanya looked up, their eyes would meet. Riki felt a pulse kick in her gut. Suddenly, she was not so sure whether Tanya’s help in applying the sap was a good idea. Riki concentrated on the stench of deadwort, surely the least erotic scent in existence.

  The last button slipped free. Tanya carefully rolled Riki’s open shirt over her shoulders and down her arms. Riki winced as a line of agony ripped up her side.

  “Sorry.”

  “You’re doing okay. I’m just very stiff.”

  Riki eased her right hand from her shirt sleeve. Tanya assisted with the other arm and then shifted around. Riki leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Warmth from the fire flowed over the exposed skin on her stomach and breasts. Behind her, Tanya sucked a sharp breath in through her teeth.

  “Does it look bad?”

  “Like you said. As if you’ve been kicked by a spadehorn.”

  Riki felt Tanya’s hands lightly press against her back and up her side. The touch shot through her. In an instant, the pain and the reek of rotten eggs were as nothing. Riki gasped.

  “Did that hurt?”

  “It’s all right. Carry on.”

  Riki was pleased Tanya could not see her face. Tanya’s hands felt warm, strong, and sure, and so very good. Riki let her head drop forward. Her fists tightened in her lap, and abruptly, tears formed in her eyes. She wanted Tanya to touch her, but this felt like cheating. Was it wrong to enjoy the sensation so much?

  *

  Tanya spread the last of the deadwort sap over Riki’s back. The mass of black blotches looked awful, especially with the yellow and purple stains around the edges. However, Tanya felt satisfaction that the bruise had come out so quickly. It showed that her work with the healer sense had achieved some good, speeding the body’s natural processes. She suspected Riki would not be ready to travel tomorro
w, but within a few days she should be healed.

  Riki was hunched over her knees. Tanya had tried to be gentle, yet she had felt Riki flinch and heard her gasp frequently. Of course, Tanya had needed to work at keeping her own breath steady, although she suspected, for quite different reasons.

  “That’s it. I’m finished. How does it feel?”

  “Tingling. I think it’s starting to work.”

  “Do you want to put your shirt back on?”

  Riki shook her head. “I don’t want to wrench anything. Could you just drop it over my shoulders?”

  Tanya picked up the discarded shirt and draped it around Riki. The amber firelight was flowing over Riki’s skin, softening the tight curve of muscle and adding a warm flush, but Tanya noticed Riki’s nipples were hard and erect.

  “Are you cold?” The words were out of Tanya’s mouth before she had taken time to think. She bit her tongue. Why not be completely honest and admit you were ogling?

  “A little.” If Riki realized the prompting behind the question, her tone gave nothing away.

  Tanya carefully added a blanket and then returned to her previous spot at the fireside. She considered her hands forlornly. The stench of deadwort was going to be with her for days.

  “Thanks.”

  Tanya looked across the campfire. Riki’s elbows were on her knees and her head was down in a posture of dejection. Tanya resisted the temptation to shuffle back beside her. “I’m the one who owes thanks.”

  Riki glanced up through her fringe of dark hair. “What did I do?”

  “How about, saved me from being killed by the spadehorn?”

  “I didn’t do much.”

  “That’s not the way I remember it.”

  “We were both in equal danger.”

  “I was the one the mother chased until you lured it away. And that was what you wanted, wasn’t it? You wanted it to go for you rather than me.”

  “I was too angry at myself about not hearing the baby earlier. I couldn’t think straight. It wasn’t a thought-out plan.”

  Tanya hesitated, staring into the fire, but then her eyes retuned to Riki. “I don’t believe that. You deliberately put your life on the line to save mine.”