Bonded Spirits

by Jake Daniel

  Chapter Seven

  I nudged Gwen’s shoulder playfully and gave the reins a quick snap, sending the horse forward toward the line of shops ahead.

  We reached a small stable that marked the start of Dunway. It was a small town, with only about twenty buildings total, including houses, a couple small shops, and a small church that stood in the middle of town with a tall steeple.

  I steered the wagon off to the side of the stable and tied the horse to a post. I gave him a small pat. “Thanks, buddy. We’ll be right back.” The horse snuffed in response, almost as if it understood. I walked to the side of the wagon and held out a hand to help Gwen down.

  “Well, I suppose we need to do a little asking around.” I scanned the street and saw a small building not too far from the stable.

  It had a black steel sign swinging lazily back and forth out front in the shape of a cow, and on its back was the shape of a pig. I walked up to it with Gwen by my side and stopped as I neared. “The Hog n’ Heifer Inn.” I chuckled at the name and walked up the wood steps to the front door.

  A couple of men in tattered clothing called out to Gwen as they approached. “Hey sweetheart, show us your tits!”

  I immediately regretted leaving my gun under the seat in the wagon. I knew better than that. I hadn’t run into any trouble since I arrived, but I had a feeling that streak was about to run out.

  I walked out to meet the men in the street. I relaxed slightly when I saw both of their faces. The bloodshot, drooping eyes, clammy skin, and combustible breath alerted me to the fact that they were completely smashed.

  The taller of the two men stopped and faced me, lifting a long shaky finger and pointing it in my chest. “You got a problem, stranger?”

  “Depends. Are you going to apologize to the lady?” I waited for an answer. If there was one thing I didn’t have patience for, it was a man being a dick to a woman.

  I’d seen enough of that shit out of my father while growing up. The man moved his face closer to mine. I felt like I was going to get drunk by the potent fumes of his breath alone. I stood my ground, staring the man in the face. Something hunting taught me over the years was how to keep my composure in any situation. “Well?”

  The man pushed his long pointy finger into my chest and pushed himself backward. “You’re in the wrong town, cupcake.” He took a few stumbling steps forward and nearly crashed into Gwen.

  She sidestepped at the last second and the motion caused her cloak to reveal her legs for a moment. The man spun and spit at my feet. “And a goddamn monster, no less? They’re only good for fuckin’ and target practice.” He turned to his friend and let out a howling laugh. “This piece of shit thinks he can come into our town and tell us how we’re supposed to act. What a cock...”

  I’d heard enough. I had my knife in my left hand within a second as my right fist connected solidly with his chin, sending him sprawling to the ground.

  He climbed back to his feet, rubbing his face and glaring at me. He swung wildly, and as he missed, I brought the knife down, catching his ear and slicing it off in one swift motion.

  He looked down and screamed in horror. “My fucking ear. You cut off my fucking ear?!”

  While he scrambled to his feet, I brought my boot forward and connected with his temple, knocking him out cold.

  I turned to his buddy, who looked like he was about to piss himself. “You have something to add?” The sniveling man shook his head and hurried over to his unconscious friend. “Try to think twice about what you want to say to a lady in the future.” I turned and walked toward Gwen, who stood at the bottom stair of the inn. “Shall we?”

  She pulled me in close as I approached and kissed me passionately for several seconds before releasing me. She panted as she pulled back reluctantly. “I’ll thank you properly later.”

  We walked up the stairs and a voice came from behind me as I nearly reached the door. “Disgusting monster fucker.”

  I spun and met the eyes of the man who crouched over his sleeping friend. Without a word, I walked back down the stairs, reared back with my size thirteen boot, and kicked him squarely in the asshole. The son of a bitch cried, actual tears streaming down his face.

  I stood behind the man and held my blade to his neck. “Got anything else to fucking say?” I pushed it into his skin, bringing a fresh strip of blood to his neck. I removed the knife and pushed him to the ground in a heap.

  Satisfied, I turned and rejoined Gwen. I couldn’t keep down the smile as I caught the look of shock on her face.

  She leaned in as I neared. “Right in the asshole? Couldn’t have done it better myself!”

  I held the door open for Gwen and followed her inside. A long bar stretched across in front of us with patrons lined up along its length.

  There were several men and women scattered about at several tables and additional non-humans as well. I turned slightly to Gwen and motioned her over to an open table near the back of the room.

  Only a few people acknowledged our arrival, while most stayed focused on their drinks or plates of food spread out in front of them.

  It was almost reminiscent of a bar from back home, complete with the douchebags shooting their shot, and failing miserably as they attempted to flirt with a smattering of women that were there.

  Gwen pulled up a chair and flipped it backwards, resting her chest on the top of the backrest of the chair as she faced me. I pulled out a chair and sat across from her while we waited for the barkeep to notice us.

  I motioned toward a table behind us with a man and a woman that had a full set of beautiful wings tucked in behind her back. “Are they not worried about the poachers?”

  Gwen stole a quick glance behind her before responding. “Every non-human here has either agreed to be in their service, or someone purchased them. The poachers know better than to mess with them. See her over there?” She motioned with her head to a table to our right. There was a beautiful woman with a thick fluffy tail and small fluffy ears atop her otherwise completely normal-looking human body. She wore a long royal blue dress that draped gracefully over her fit frame. “See the tattoo on her upper arm?”

  I looked and saw a crescent moon with four stars lined up underneath it. “She belongs to Lunar Ranch. The man she is with is the lead hand of the ranch. His name is Brock Bradford.” She let out a long breath. “Evil son of a bitch. He doesn’t care for satyrs, he says we care more about music and alcohol and are untrainable.” She stopped and smiled. “He’s mostly right.”

  I returned her smile and scanned the rest of the room. My smile quickly faded as I spotted a gigantic creature that had just entered through the front door along with a tall, slender black-haired woman.

  It was a hulking creature with hooves at the bottom of its hair-covered legs and a chest that seemed as wide as the bar was long. Two thick black horns curved out from the top of its cow-like head, a thick iron chain hung from its neck with the woman carrying one end loosely. “Is that a minotaur?”

  Gwen nodded slowly and then shook her head lightly. “I’m not sure how they got him to agree to be under the service of a human. Minotaur are not typically ones to concede to others.” Her eyes turned toward the table in sadness. “It never used to be like this. Humans and monsters could once coexist. It really only became bad once Corlinius came into power. It gradually became worse until it turned into what you see here. It’s not just the women that are victims. Men and children are not immune to the poachers, they’re often killed in droves or taken into captivity as well.”

  “Has anyone ever tried to stand up to the king?” I asked.

  “Oh sure, and they are long gone. Any time there is even a hint of an uprising, the king sends his entire army, quickly ending any sort of resistance that may arise.”

  I pointed at a horned blue woman across the room who sat next to a diminutive woman with two long white rabbit ears that peeked out from the top of her head. “How about them? Why is that small, rabbit, woman...” I paused, I was
n’t exactly sure how to describe her except that she looked like a girl you’d find at the Playboy mansion back in Heffner’s prime, only much shorter, and with real ears instead of a headband. “It looks like the blue woman isn’t here with anyone, and that the small rabbit woman is with her.”

  “She’s a succubus. Very powerful and very wealthy.” She shook her head and smirked at the succubus. “Every man that’s tried to capture a succubus has typically fallen under their spell or not survived. I think the king has focused on the ones he can control first.” She chuckled and waved down the barkeep before continuing. “It makes me laugh when I see a human under their command, though. Succubi are, let’s say, hard to please. The men usually look like they have run for days without a break. You won’t usually see the same one for very long.”

  A full-figured woman with long brunette hair and breasts the size of my head, that looked about ready to pop out of her tight black and white spotted bikini top, arrived at our table.

  She placed a beer in front of each of us. Her long skinny tail waved lazily behind her and two small white curved horns protruded from atop her head. As soon as I saw her ears, I nearly tipped over. They were exactly like a cow’s ears.

  The woman slapped a hand down on the table and smiled widely. “Well, aren’t you a fine piece of ass?!” She turned to Gwen and nudged her with a playful elbow. “I bet he has a massive cock, doesn’t he?”

  Gwen laughed and nodded. “You have no idea.”

  The barkeep raised her eyebrows and leaned forward over the table, giving me a full view of her enormous breasts. “Well, my name is Chloe.” She glanced down to my groin and licked her lips. My eyes rested on her amazing cleavage before drifting up to meet her eyes. She smiled and leaned closer. “Hmm, where have you been hiding? I haven’t seen you before. Are you part of the reinforcement unit the king brought in?”

  “Reinforcement unit?”

  “Oh, well, maybe not. I figured with your satyress here that you were rounding up the stragglers from the group that came through here the other day.”

  My heart leapt and knew she had to be talking about Gwen’s sisters. “Can you tell me which way they went?”

  “You mean the ones that survived?” The woman’s eyes shifted between Gwen’s and mine.

  We both looked at the barkeep with furrowed brows. “Survived?”

  Chapter Eight

  The barkeep nodded and kept her eyes focused on mine and I did everything in my power to keep mine from drifting back down to her amazing rack.

  Her two furry and slightly floppy ears twitched slightly. She pushed back from the table and cocked her head. “What? You act like you’ve never seen a holstaur before.”

  I brushed a hand back through my hair. “Hmm, well, can’t say I have. A holstaur?”

  “Yeah, you know, a milk-producing version of a minotaur? Ring any bells? I swear, it’s like you have lived under a rock your whole life.”

  I couldn’t tell if she was joking or being completely serious. I kept my gaze focused on hers for several seconds.

  A wide smile rose to her face, and she slammed her hand down on the table. ‘Ha! I’m just busting your balls. I can tell you’re not from here. We don’t have real men like you in these parts, typically. Just Striker’s little band of bitches, and I’m pretty sure they couldn’t please a human, much less any of the more advanced species.” She turned and shared a smile with Gwen before leaning down and whispering in my ear. Her breasts were louder than her voice. At least that was why I believe it took a few seconds for me to register what she was saying. “If you like what you see now, stop by later tonight. I’ll show you something I know you’ve never seen before.”

  I raised my eyebrows and gave her a small smirk. “Thanks for the offer. I may have to take you up on that, eventually, but for now, can you tell me what happened to the reinforcements you mentioned?”

  The barkeep pushed slowly back from the table and nodded. “They stopped at the bakery and a few of the men tried to take advantage of ol’ Miss Ashnam.” She stopped and chuckled. “The dumbasses picked the wrong lady to mess with. One of the hardest old bag’s this side of the capitol. I can guarantee they won’t be sending anyone else back inside that shop soon, and honestly, if I were you, I’d avoid it like the plague.”

  “Miss Ashnam still runs that bakery? I remember going in there when I was much younger, and I thought she was going to take me hostage.”

  Chloe nodded. “Well, it’s a good thing you got out when you did. She’s kept a poor Alraune captive for as long as I can remember. Poor girl. The last time I stopped in it didn’t look like she was going to survive much longer.” She paused and shook her head. “I don’t know what happened to Aurilon, but this never would’ve stood in the past.” She turned back to me as if breaking herself away from memories of a distant past. “Just be careful who you trust. There are many around here who I wouldn’t trust as far as I could throw.”

  I took a long swig of my beer and nodded. “Thanks for the advice. So, how many of them died?”

  “I heard all but two of them. The ones who stayed with the other satyress in the wagon.” She paused and leaned closer to the table, ensuring her voice wouldn’t carry. “Don’t worry, the other satyrs survived. Although, I worry that once they arrive wherever they’re going that some of them may pay for their captor’s failures. Last I heard, they were headed to Necross.”

  Gwen let out a long, quiet sigh of relief. “Thank you so much. That means there’s still hope.” A renewed sense of determination flashed across her face.

  Chloe nodded. “If they’ve got as much fight as you, there’s hope.” She held a finger in the air. Unless you run into someone like Ashnam. We couldn’t believe how easily she took them out.”

  I looked toward the front door. “Are you saying that ol’ Miss Ashnam single-handedly took out an entire group of poachers? What happened to her after the fight?”

  The barkeep shrugged and followed my gaze. “Nothing yet, but I wouldn’t put it past them to come back with reinforcements and demand revenge.” She paused and scanned the room. “Meet me in the room behind the bar as soon as that succubi leaves. Those beers are on me.” She pushed up from our table and lifted my heavy mug to my lips. I took a large swig with her help and she called out in a voice loud enough for the room to hear her. “Drink up, sweetheart. The night is young!”

  I finished my beer, and she returned to the bar, leaving me along with Gwen once more. I shook my head slowly and kept my voice down. “So, I gather you two know each other?”

  Gwen took a large swig of her frothy beer and licked her lips as she set it down slowly. “Yes, you could say that. Except for the non-humans that have served willingly, the others try to... look out for each other.” She looked around cautiously before continuing. “Be very careful who you decide to trust.” She stopped and her eyes shifted to the table. “I fear I may have put you in grave danger. There are many humans, and non-humans that will not hesitate to take an attempt at your life if they find out where you are from and how strong your core is.”

  I turned slightly in my seat and rested my arm on the table. “As long as we stick together, I’m pretty sure we will be okay. I saw how you handled that knife. You are much more skilled than you let on.”

  She raised her eyes back to meet mine and smiled. “I may know a few things about fighting, although I much prefer to sing and...” She lifted her mug and downed the rest of its contents. “Drink.” She let out a refreshed sigh.

  I quickly emptied the remaining contents of my mug as an armored man entered the inn. He was alone and scanned the bar area before walking up and speaking to Chloe. He was looking for someone, and I wasn’t in the mood to kick another asshole yet. “Gwen, let’s get out of here and try to pick up a few supplies before we head on to Necross.” I pushed up from the table and we exited while the others attended to their beverages and the man remained locked in conversation with the holstaur.

  To my surpri
se, there wasn’t a group of poachers waiting for us outside. Instead, there wasn’t another soul around. “Let’s try to hurry, I’m not liking the looks of this. I know Wofferd’s wagon has wine, but I didn’t see any food earlier. Let’s stock up and get the hell out of here.” I said as I scanned the road in either direction.

  Gwen agreed and pointed out a small bakery a short distance up the road. “There. They have the best knotty bread and cheese in town.”

  I looked at the small swinging sign that protruded from above the small shop’s door. “Ashnam’s confectionary and cheese importer.”

  I furrowed my brow and pointed toward the sign. “Isn’t this the lady who killed a bunch of the poachers, that we need to stay far away from? I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” I heard the shouts of a group of men as they shambled down the road toward us. I took a deep breath and watched for a moment while they neared. “I’m not sure how much time we have left. Guess we need to at least try it.”

  I entered the shop with Gwen by my side and a haggard looking old woman who had her hair tied back in a tight bun appeared behind the counter.

  She wore a dusty flour covered blue apron and had a large hair covered wart covering the tip of her nose. She cleared her throat loudly and stared directly at me. “What are you doing here? I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear.”

  I stood my ground and gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry, those guys deserved everything you gave them. I’m only here for a few supplies and then we’ll be on our way.”

  The woman leaned over the counter and inspected Gwen curiously. She coughed and then cleared her throat loudly. “She’s not marked. Yet, she stays with you? Interesting.”

  Gwen remained stoic by my side. I knew she was trying not to say anything that could otherwise send the woman over the edge.