Half-Breed

by Anna L. Walls

  He was going to give his search one more day and if nothing panned out, he would head out anyway. He didn’t have to work in order to pay his way across the country, but it was an opportunity to build up some of the gold he needed to pay his long overdue debts, and the pouch of gold Omaha gave him put him nearly half way to his goal.

  The third morning of his stay, Canis and Cepheid had scarcely set foot in the market square when a man in his middle years stopped him. “Are you the guard who is looking for pay east?” he asked.

  The most noticeable thing about the man was the fact that he was dressed in plain brown robes that reached half way to his knees and it was cinched at his waist by a wide, unadorned sword belt. His pants were a lighter brown, loose fitting and tucked into the tops of his boots. Around his neck, displayed openly, he wore a necklace, the chain of which was made of thick links of silver. The silver pendent looked like a small wand about three inches long with wings near its upper end. A snake entwined the whole thing. In his hand, he held an unusually long walking stick, though he didn’t look like he needed one.

  “I am heading to Chicago,” said Canis. “And I would take work that will take me there.”

  “Good, we are heading to Port Daven. That’s half way there. We’ve already made one attempt and we were attacked by bandits. They took everything we had. We were lucky to escape with our lives. We have decided to take on an extra sword. My name is Wayne. What are your rates?”

  “What are my services worth to you?” returned Canis. He didn’t have any ‘rates’; he just wanted to reach Chicago. He was certain he knew how he would be able to earn his gold once he got there.

  The man laughed and said, “Come, you can speak with the leader of our party. He’s at the Prairie Wind Inn. The inn keeper says some interesting things about you.”

  “Nothing bad I hope,” said Canis. What could the innkeeper have to say about me?

  “No, nothing bad. How do you think I found you so quickly? All he can talk about is your eyes. He says he saw a wolf with eyes like yours somewhere north of here about ten years ago.”

  Canis was shaken by this news. His mother had died somewhere north of here about ten years ago or so, and his father’s companion had died at about that same time in that same area. He didn’t know if it had blue eyes or not, though.

  They reached the inn and Wayne took them to a room on the second floor. An older man was lying on a bed there. “Columbus, I believe this is the young man the innkeeper was speaking about looking for work,” said Wayne.

  “Yes I do believe so,” said Columbus as he pushed himself to sit up. Wayne went to help him.

  “What are your names, boys,” said Columbus when Wayne had him propped up and had stepped aside.

  This man had on a white linen shirt with his light brown pants, but the dark brown robe was draped across a chair, and the heavy sword was lying on the table with another silver necklace. “My name is Canis and this is my wife, Cepheid.”

  “Forgive me, my dear. Dressed like that, I assumed you were perhaps a younger brother.”

  Cepheid nodded her forgiveness, but offered no excuses for her attire. Many people had assumed she was a boy, even Canis had at first.

  “I hear you are looking for work going east. There are six of us. Accompanying us is a woman, two boys, and a girl. The children are scarcely teenagers and the woman searches for new students to take to the school.”

  “I am told you lost everything to bandits. Can you tell me more?”

  “Are you taking the job, or are you fishing for information?” asked Columbus.

  “I have decided I will head east tomorrow if I cannot find work by then. If you pay well enough, I will take you with me,” replied Canis.

  Columbus considered the two of them for a protracted stretch of time, taking in everything he could see. “Can you use that sword of yours?”

  “I can, but I do not depend on it exclusively.”

  “That means you fight with whatever means that comes to mind,” said Wayne with a chuckle. “Not a bad idea if you can manage it.”

  “I am a fair marksman with a bow, which I have left with the rest of my belongings,” continued Canis.

  “Where are you staying?” asked Wayne. “It’s not at any of the inns in the city, I checked.”

  “Six other friends travel with me and they are seldom welcome at an inn, so I am camped on the edge of town.”

  “Really? I’ll need to meet these other friends of yours before we decide to take you on,” said Columbus.

  Canis took in the apparent disabled status of the man, but shrugged. “The innkeeper will not appreciate them coming here, but I will bring them if you wish.”

  “Yes, I think you should. Wayne and I can discuss your wages while you’re gone. I will have the private dining room set up for the eight of you. I’ll meet you there in, what, two hours?”

  “Two hours will be fine,” said Canis, and he turned to leave, ushering Cepheid out before him. As he was crossing the common room, he glanced at the innkeeper. He toyed with the idea of questioning him about the wolf he had seen with blue eyes, but declined in favor of a small warning. The happenings of ten years ago would affect nothing now.

  He strode up to the man and said, “Thank you for passing on my name. I will be returning here in a couple hours with some friends of mine to meet with Mr. Columbus in your private dining room. Please do not become alarmed and keep your patrons in their seats when we arrive.”

  The man gave him a puzzled look, but nodded. “All right,” he said with an uncertain tone. Canis passed him a copper for his trouble.

  Short of two hours later, Canis returned to the Prairie Wind with all of his party. He didn’t like leaving his camp unguarded, but it was well hidden and he didn’t plan to stay long. He stepped in the door first and the innkeeper nodded toward the door to his private dining room. “They’re already waiting for you. They have ordered lunch for ten. Are there that many of you?”

  Canis nodded. He moved the rest of the way into the room closely followed by Cepheid and the Wulfen. The reaction across the room peopled with the lunch crowd was audible, but everyone was stunned enough to freeze rather than jump up to start a ruckus. The claws of the Wulfen, walking across the floor, clicked loudly in the overly silent room.

  The reaction in the private dining room was much the same. Mr. Columbus was sitting at the far end of the room near the fireplace. He had his leg propped up on another chair and Wayne sat across the corner of the table from him. When the Wulfen filed into the room and surrounded the rest of the table, Wayne leapt to his feet and reached for his sword.

  “Drawing your sword might be a bad idea,” said Canis, the soft rumble of his voice sounded much more threatening in present company.

  The Wulfen sat or lay down around the edge of the small room, but all of their eyes were on Wayne. As soon as Wayne removed his hand from his sword and resumed his seat, all with protracted slowness, Canis and Cepheid also took a seat. Cepheid chose a chair closest to the door while Canis picked one about half way down the table across from Wayne. “You wanted to meet my friends.” He waved an open hand toward each Wulfen in turn. “Rrusharr – Ggrrawrr – Rranggrr – Nnarr. The two younger ones are the pups of Rrusharr and Ggrrawrr. They have chosen no names yet.” Canis grit his teeth at that last statement. These men would not understand how he would know such a thing.

  Columbus, who had drawn back as far as his chair would let him, cleared his tight throat. “Well, this isn’t exactly what I expected, but I think I can understand why they’re not welcome in an inn.” He hesitated. “Are you…?”

  “You are in no danger here. These are my family and if we travel together, they will be part of your guard.”

  “I should hope so,” said Columbus. “I would hate to travel with them knowing they were set against me. The others might not be so easily convinced, though.”

  “Puppies and children are much alike. I foresee little problem there,” said Canis
.

  “Well, Wayne. I think we need to reconsider our plans. We expected six other men, and men unwelcome at an inn might be a problem around women, even if they were well paid. However, this arrangement might be well worth the gold. I have enough gold left on my person to see us outfitted again, but that leaves little to offer you until we reach the school at Port Daven. In lieu of up-front payment of at least partial wages, I will offer you this,” he removed the heavy necklace from around his neck and pushed it across the table toward Canis. “I will be wanting that back.”

  Canis lifted the necklace. Its weight told him that it was made of solid silver. He studied it closely. “This is important to you. I see Wayne has one too, so it must mean something. Can you tell me, or is it a secret?”

  “It’s no secret. These are given to the knights of the healers, and we would not be parted from them willingly. The healers will not wield a sword in their own defense and yet they cannot travel across the country unprotected; it would be folly for them to try. The Brown Knights protect them.”

  “It seems to me that, if one of those bandits could have managed to get their hands on one of these, they might have been able to redeem it at the school for gold, much like I will be doing.”

  “Redeeming one of those without its owner to speak for its carrier might be a little more unpleasant than anything you will experience,” said Wayne.

  “I see,” said Canis. He studied the two men, looking them directly in the eyes for long moments, but their gaze never faltered. “I will accept your terms.”

  “You did not even ask what our terms were,” said Wayne.

  “I am sure your terms will be fair. Men who would devote themselves to the protection of those who cannot, would not cheat someone who could help them do their job. May I wear this or would that be…” Canis didn’t know what to call it, “…against the rules?”

  “You will be defending healers for this journey,” said Columbus. “I see no reason why you shouldn’t wear that for a time.”

  “Good, it will be safer on my person than among the luggage.” He slid the chain around his neck and lifted his braid through the loop. He was forced to take a moment to disentangle the chain from the barbs adorning the lower end of his braid.

  For the first time, Wayne and Columbus saw this and their eyes widened. Both of them had no problem imagining what such an adornment could do in a fight. The heavy braid reached below his waist and the lower hand-span was lethal with both black and white barbs.

  “May I be so bold as to ask what those are?” said Wayne cautiously.

  “These,” said Canis, the end of his braid was still in his hand, the chain of the necklace only just settled around his neck by the weight of its pendant. “Some of these are bear claws and teeth, and some are tiger claws and teeth. Both are a tribute to a very dangerous, but successful hunt. They also serve to remind me that I would never willingly hunt such creatures again.”

  “You may get the chance to expand your collection,” said Columbus. “I have seen tigers on more than one occasion in crossing the Empty Plains around Port Daven.”

  “Well then it is my hope they do not take an interest in us,” said Canis. He remembered clearly the damage these claws had done while in the possession of their last masters.

  “At least we won’t be seeing any bears, that size or otherwise. I don’t believe I have even heard of any anywhere, but in the mountains,” said Columbus.

  “We can hope not. This bear could eat a moose in one sitting and wish to hunt again the next day. As I said, I would not hunt such creatures ever again, if I could avoid it.” Canis tossed his braid back behind his shoulders and returned to the original subject. “When do you plan to depart? You are injured, sir, and I would not recommend taking a wagon out where a tiger might roam. It could prove to be too tempting.”

  “If you are not too anxious, we will depart day after tomorrow at dawn. We should be able to purchase sufficient animals and supplies by then, and by then, I should be able to ride again with care,” said Columbus.

  “Good, I will prepare as well.” Canis was about to rise and leave when a soft knock sounded at the door.

  The innkeeper was at the door Cepheid opened. “You ordered ten meals, sir, but under the circumstances…”

  Canis looked at the other two men, then back at the innkeeper. “My supplies are growing thin.”

  Columbus nodded and the innkeeper bowed his way back out of the door to return with help delivering the required number of plates. When that task was completed, he asked, “What will you all be drinking?”

  “Beer,” said Columbus and Wayne in turn.

  “Water for the rest of us,” said Canis. “Bring bowls for my friends.”

  The man nodded and departed. Two mugs of beer, two mugs of water, a stack of bowls and two large pitchers of water were delivered in short order and they all began to eat their lunch in silence.

  Healers and Hunters

  Canis used the delay in their departure to stock up more on some of his gear. If he was going to be guarding again, there were things he needed that he could do without otherwise, and with the news that tigers roamed the plains ahead of them, he wanted to be fully prepared. The arrows he’d brought with him had dwindled in number and size as the occasional arrowhead broke off the end of the shaft. He found a fletcher and purchased new arrow parts. Wood was precious here, but the man’s shop was well stocked. He even had shafts the size and length that Canis wanted, though he didn’t have any completed arrows of that size. He did have many that would fit Cepheid’s bow and draw, and Canis purchased a bundle. He also had a large bin of flint and obsidian stones as well as many roughed out blanks. Canis purchased many of the man’s blanks and had them wrapped in a leather wallet to protect them from each other. He also bought some of the unworked obsidian; they could be useful for many things. Those he had managed to keep from the Yellow Stone quarry had outlived much of their usefulness and he had found none since.

  Next, he went to the blacksmith. There he had the shoes on their horses checked and their swords sharpened. It was here that he saw something unusual. The man’s apprentice had made a pair of gloves with sharpened ‘claws’ attached to the back of the hand.

  Canis tried one on. Protruding through leather on the back of the hand were three curved metal blades shaped like the claws of a large predator. They came out of the leather and arched forward to reach past the middle knuckles on Canis’s hand. The curved outer edge as well as the point of each claw was quite sharp. They were stabilized by a wide strap of heavier leather sewn both around the palm and around the wrist, which buckled tight to keep the glove from slipping. The glove itself was sturdy, but soft and pliable and had half fingers so his grip otherwise was not obstructed.

  The blacksmith saw his interest in the gloves and said, “My boy made those. He did fine work on the gloves, but I think he ruined them when he added those claws. He said he had a dream about making them.”

  “I like them,” said Canis. “I will take them and pay you for them when I pick up the rest of my gear tomorrow.” He strapped both gloves on and made a few experimental fists. They were comfortable and had a comforting weight. He figured he knew the source of the boy’s dream. The Mother was looking out for him.

  Cepheid was also doing some shopping. She went into a seamstress’ shop and bought thread and needles. She also bought new pants and underclothes. The ones she had were getting too tight.

  Then she went to a leather shop and purchased the heavier thread and needles used to sew leather; she was down to her last needle and there had been little chance to make thread.

  Next, she was directed to an herbalist’s shop. Rranggrr would be having her puppies soon and Canis would need something to deaden the experience. He was not so closely attached to Rranggrr as he was to Rrusharr, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t experience her delivery just as hard.

  Curiosity drew her into a jeweler’s shop where she found that someone had some inter
est in wolves. In one corner of the display shelf was a small collection of pieces made of colored glass melted skillfully together that had wolves as a model for the pictures. There was a heavy ring with a wolf’s head on it and a pin that almost matched, but the pose was different. Then she saw the thing she liked the most of all; affixed to a black, V-shaped leather strap was a brooch that looked almost exactly like the tear-shaped tattoo Canis had left on Michael’s face. It was designed to rest snuggly in the hollow of the throat. It was only right that Canis should wear such a thing, so she paid a full silver coin for it. For herself she bought a small necklace of polished stones. None of the stones was bigger than her smallest fingertip, and none of them looked like any other on the strand. It only cost a couple copper pennies, and since she had already bought the brooch, the jeweler let her have the necklace for nothing.

  That evening they exchanged their purchases for each other. Canis handed Cepheid the bundle of new arrows, and she handed him the brooch. The brooch reminded Canis that of all the opportunities they’d had to shop, he never bought her anything that wasn’t practical. He promised himself he would find something nice for her before they left the city.

  The next day, his quest proved to be far more difficult than he imagined. She had already bought herself a pretty necklace and when the jeweler saw the brooch, he commented that it couldn’t be sitting in a better place. After searching for a good portion of the day, he ended up buying a looking glass, comb, and brush set in a small decorative case. It was still a practical item, but it was pretty. The backs of the comb and brush as well as the case were inlaid with colorful chips of wood and stone and lacquered to a high polish and the case sported a tiny silver clasp. He also bought a new comb for himself; his had lasted several years and was starting to fall apart. When he watched Cepheid fuss over her new box, he knew he had chosen well.