Tales from the Kurtherian Universe: Fans Write For The Fans: Book 3

by Michael Anderle

  This story was written because I had to write it, plain and simple. I started and never finished four other stories for the Fans Write anthology before finally giving up and writing this one. I lost my dad December 3rd of last year, and no matter what story I tried to write, the grief and loss made itself known so strongly that I had to get it out. So, I shamelessly plagiarized my life. I took my grief, and my mom’s grief, and shoved us all onto the Meredith Reynolds. Oh, and I added a dog—a silly oversized puppy to make us all smile.

  This is not the first story I have written. It’s not even the first thing I have ever had published. It is, however, the first time I have written something so intensely personal to me and then shared it with the world. Something that would not allow me to leave the pages blank.

  This is my dream. It has always been my dream! I have so many stories, whole universes even, inside my head waiting to get out. This is my first attempt at sharing those stories, those voices inside my head, with anyone but my closest friends and family, so thank you for being my guinea pigs!

  I have heard it said that writers write because they have no choice. There is something inside us that will not be silenced, no matter how hard we try. I think this is true, and when we are very lucky; that something—that voice, if you will—lives on long after we die. Thank you for listening to my voice.

  This has been scary, fun, and thrilling, kind of like a roller coaster ride. I hope it continues.

  Ad Aeternitatem!

  Trae

  Haiku From The Kurtherian Universe

  Wrinkle-assed ball-sack,

  Llama-sniffing fudge packer.

  Who thought of those, Mike?

  John, Eric, Scott, Darryl,

  BA has a badass team.

  The Queen's Bitches rule!

  ADAM and TOM try

  to impart sense to BA

  Thankless job, ain't it?

  The Valley

  By Kat N. Snow

  In a world turned upside down, some people just kept on living a normal life, without a clue what was going on outside what they knew. Most of them never realizing that there was something different about a neighbor, or an acquaintance. Asa could be your best friend if you needed one, but don’t get on her bad side, you won’t like what can happen because she is different. What do you know about the people that live near you?

  Chapter One

  The drone of many people talking was getting louder, and Asa was getting a headache. She stood with her elbows on the bar and her chin in her hands, looking bored and half-asleep. It seemed as though she were paying no attention, but she was really watching several of the people closely between pouring drinks. Lexi had just grabbed a tray full of cider and was turning away as one guy shoved another, knocking him into her. Asa took the tray with one hand, pulling Lexi to the side with the other. It happened so fast that Lexi barely realized what had happened. She turned to yell at the guys, but they were just standing there looking at each other like they had never intended to fight. Asa handed Lexi back her tray, smiled, and didn’t say a word. It was easier that way.

  Normally there weren’t this many people. They had been streaming in since the rains and snowmelt from the mountains had started flooding the lower lands. While that made for very fertile land, most years it brought lower levels of water. This year was particularly heavy. Asa’s place was on a hill, so it didn’t have the problem some of the rest of the valley did. Many people built their homes on stilts because they’d lost one to the water once. Others like Asa got lucky and were rarely affected by the floods.

  The inn was fairly large. The kitchen was in the back, and there were smaller rooms upstairs and two more rooms downstairs. The main room was public and furnished with a dozen tables and benches. It was near many farms and homes, and people often came in to ask for a room or camping space while they did their business.

  Asa didn’t charge them. She really couldn’t. Most people paid with goods because they hadn’t had or used money in a very long time. Rarely they paid with some rare item they’d found, like cast iron pans, or a whole piece of glassware. Usually, families kept those, though. Some of them, like the family in the public room, weren’t even buying food because they’d brought their own. She didn’t care, as long as things didn’t get out of hand. And really, what was she going to do with all the food people gave her? She knew the cook wouldn’t mind more pots and pans, though.

  Asa was idly watching one of the little girls trying to stay out of the way of the many adult feet. She would flatten herself against the wall, pulling a face as if it too might get stepped on if it were out too far. As Asa smiled at her antics, a drunken young man got out of his seat to take a swipe at someone he’d obviously taken offense to. She closed her eyes for a moment, and the young man slumped back into his chair. She looked at Lis, and the woman hurried over to prop him up before he slid to the floor. She turned again to Asa, and shook her head and grinned. He was totally out. Lis didn’t have to ask how Asa did that. She knew.

  The usual young men were starting to become loud after drinking more than they were accustomed to. Some of them were making passes at the servers, but Asa knew that Lis could handle them. If the other girls had any real problems, they knew to go to her first. She was great at deflecting them without making them feel like jerks. Unless they were jerks. She let them know that, too. Lis and Asa were more friends than employer and employee. Asa trusted her.

  It rarely got very bad at times like this. Most of the people in the room were neighbors, or related. You didn’t let yourself get too out of hand when your aunt or sister might notice.

  Chapter Two

  Things were starting to change in the room. It was getting late, and tempers were rising along with the amount of cider and beer consumed. There was also less room for each person as more people came in. That made problems all by itself, as elbows bumped and feet were stepped on. There had been more than a couple of times when people reacted and shoved others. Asa could stop the fights before they occurred, but it was wearing on her. It was time to do something about it. Asa called to Lis as she passed, heading over to the family with the little girls.

  “Time, Lis. Check out the back room and get anyone who isn’t sleeping to leave. I’m moving all the families in there for the night.”

  Lis hesitated. “Asa, I’ll need some help. There are a couple of men back there who aren’t going to move easy. I’ve been ignoring them for a while so you didn’t have to take your mind off the crowd. As long as they didn’t start anything with anyone else, I figured they’d keep.”

  Asa frowned. ”What do you mean, Lis? What exactly are they doing?”

  Lis hesitated again. “Well, you know the family with the little girls? They tried to go back there when they came in. I heard the men tell them it was a private room. I told the family that wasn’t true, but they said they would just as soon stay out here. Probably didn’t want to cause a problem. I was so busy right then that I forgot about them until now. As far as I’ve noticed, nobody else has tried to go back there, so I just ignored them.”

  Asa’s eyes flashed in anger. “Well, I think,” she said, with a deadly smile, ”that those men are about to have company who will make them wish they’d invited the family and a lot of others in.”

  She headed toward the door.

  Lis grinned. “May I watch?” She was one of a very few people who knew what Asa could do.

  “Sure. I just wish you’d told me sooner.”

  As she opened the door to the other room, a gruff voice snarled, ”Get out! This is a private room!”

  She smiled at the two men, who were sitting at a table playing cards. It wasn’t a pleasant expression. Neither of them had even bothered to turn to look at who was at the door.

  “Gentlemen, and I use that term loosely, this is not a private room.”

  Asa spoke quietly and calmly. “As a matter of fact, it is being turned over to the families with children, so please gather your things and move out
...now.”

  The larger of the two got up and turned with a sneer on his face.

  “And exactly who do you think is gonna make us?”

  He looked her up and down. It didn’t seem like she’d be much of a problem. Brown hair, gray eyes, short, and rather slightly built. Obviously, they weren’t from nearby. No one who knew the inn or any of the people around here would have spoken to Asa like that.

  Not even if they hadn’t personally learned what she was capable of. People talked, and most knew or had heard of someone who’d tried to cause trouble here. People who misbehaved at the inn learned fast—and they learned hard sometimes. She had already decided that this man was going to learn hard. His friend hadn’t said anything, just watched. Maybe he’d be smarter.

  She held the door and waved her hand at it as if he hadn’t spoken. It was his last chance to get out without trouble. He stepped forward as if to walk through the door and grabbed at her arm to shove her out through it.

  He found himself lying on the floor about ten feet from the door. Asa was standing right where she’d been, still holding the door. He started to get up and flinched as his arm gave out under him. His eyes widened, and he looked confused. He tried again, and held the one arm close to him as he rose. He groaned as he inspected it. The wrist was broken.

  The other man had been quietly gathering their things.

  “Sorry, miss,” he apologized. “We’ll be leaving right away. My friend here didn’t know what he was doing.” He gave the other a wry grin. “We’re from the other end of the valley.”

  “Friend?” Asa snorted. “Why didn’t you warn him if he’s your friend?”

  “Well,” he started, glancing at the speechless man, who was cradling the wrist to his chest, “I did. I tried to tell him not to do those things, ‘cause it would get him a lot of grief. He told me that he wasn’t worried about some little woman. I’d heard things about you and said that not all women were the same, and he laughed. He never listens to me. So, I figured seeing is believing.”

  He smiled sheepishly. “Only worry I had was that you’d knock us both out and I wouldn’t have a chance to see him learn.”

  The other man had stood there without saying a word. His face had become angrier as he listened to the other man talk.

  Finally he burst out, “You fool! She could have killed me! I never even knew what hit me until I tried to get off the floor. What are you, crazy?”

  “Enough!” Asa waved at the door again. “Get out. Stop in the kitchen. Cayla is our healer. She’ll fix the wrist. I don’t want to see either of you around here anymore. We have enough trouble as it is, with so many people here. We don’t need you. Go wherever you like, just not here. If I see either of you anywhere near here, you’ll wish I hadn’t.”

  “But,” the troublemaker whined, “where can we go?”

  “You should have thought of that before. Go sleep in the woods, for all I care! Out!”

  Asa’s eyes narrowed as she spoke. The men hurried through the door and back toward the kitchen.

  “Start the families coming in, Lis. Make sure each of them has enough room before you let more in.”

  “If you see either of them in here again, tell me immediately. Warn the others to watch for them. Maybe they will be smart enough to stay away, but being idiots, that isn’t likely. And unless they slog through a few miles of water to the other end of the valley, I figure they won’t go far.” She sighed.

  She headed back out to watch the rest of the inn.

  Chapter Three

  Asa was back at the bar, pouring mugs of cider for the servers to hand out when Tom came in. Tom didn’t actually work for Asa, but the inn was his base of operations. When she needed a favor, she asked Tom. When someone was looking for a guide or help of some kind, she sent them to Tom. It was a good arrangement.

  “It’s getting worse,” he said, nodding at the offer of cider. “Anyone without a boat probably isn’t going to make it here after today unless they know how to swim. I passed a family about two miles down the road that was heading here. Both parents were carrying a little one on their shoulders. The father also had one in his arms. There’re spots out there that are as deep as your thighs. I’m wondering if you might take a boat out with me to check around and make sure there aren’t any people already stuck? I could go alone, but with you along it’ll be a lot quicker.”

  “Mother, Tom,” Asa sighed. “I don’t know. This place is mobbed, and it’s getting late. Lis can handle most things that come up, but we’ve had problems already. Do you think it can wait until tomorrow? By then, I’ll know exactly what I’ve got here. And I’d like to go out. A few hours of silence would be great. So, tomorrow morning?”

  “That’ll be fine. I don’t think it’ll get that much worse by then. It’s just slowly getting higher and higher. Don’t know how much more melt will come from the mountains. That’s another thing I’d like to check on.” He paused, then sighed. “Well, let’s take care of one thing before we start worrying about another. I’ll get everything ready for morning. If you need me, I’ll be in the stable. Only quiet place around now.” He shook his head and got up to leave.

  “See you in the morning. It’ll be a rest for me.” She laughed, and started to turn away…

  Chapter Four

  A man came in. He was young, maybe eighteen. He looked around like he was totally lost. Nobody who lived in the valley wore anything but serviceable clothing, but it was clean, for the most part, and well taken care of. Making your own tended to make you careful about what you used. This man looked like he hadn’t been decently clothed for a very long time, and it looked like he’d been in a fight or something, with a few rips down one side of his shirt. He walked to the bar, and looking down, he hoarsely asked, “Cider, please?”

  Tom looked him up and down and said, “Looks to me like you need more than that.”

  The man glanced at him quickly, and then slowly drank the mug of cider Asa put on the counter in front of him. He nodded once but kept sipping, looking down.

  Tom thought he’d seen a flash of yellow from the man’s eyes and stared at him carefully. He’d only seen something like that once before—when Asa had arrived.

  “Name’s Tom. Don’t think I’ve seen you before. Where did you come into the valley? Not often outsiders find their way here.” Nobody had, not since Asa.

  The man kept sipping his cider. ”Was being chased by a bear, and I slipped and fell, up on the mountain. Couldn’t find a way back up and got lost. Just started walking, and here I am. Where is here, by the way?”

  Tom answered, “Doesn’t really have a name. Might have once, but we just call it the valley. And it’s big enough that it might have had more than one town. Where you came from, did it have a name?”

  Asa had been watching the young man and said to Tom, “He’s telling the truth.”

  At that, the man looked into Asa’s face, glimpsed the flash in her eyes, and backed up. Obviously, he’d met someone like her before, and it hadn’t been a good experience. “I’m not here to cause any trouble, just had no idea where I was. I’ll leave.”

  Asa quietly said, “If you aren’t causing any problems, you don’t have to. So, how long have you been traveling alone? Or are you? Alone, I mean.”

  “I’ve been traveling alone for quite a while,” he said. “The group I was with last year got into a fight, about… Anyway, two of them died, including our, um…leader. There were only five of us to start with, and the other two were a couple. We didn’t know each other well. They decided to take off on their own.”

  “Well, go on into the kitchen and tell Cayla I said to feed you. As long as you aren’t here to make a problem, I can probably find some work for you if you want it. At least for a while. Water is going to get pretty deep soon, just so you know. It will make it very hard for you to leave anyway.”

  She just kept wiping the counter, not engaging him in a staring contest for the moment.

  He nodded, smiled
shyly, and said, “Appreciate it. I’ll do any work you have. By the way, name is Zack.” He headed to the kitchen.

  “You sure about this?” Tom asked after Zack had walked away. “There is something real different about that boy.”

  Asa answered in a low voice, “Yes. He isn’t here to cause trouble. And by the way,” she grinned, “he can hear you even that far away. See you in the morning.”

  Chapter Five

  “I don’t know about leaving that guy here while we are gone. I know you said he was okay, but you just met him, and there is something weird about him that I can’t figure out,” Tom told Asa as they loaded up the dinghy.

  “I talked to him before I came out. He’s okay, just lost in more ways than one,” she answered.

  “Look, I’ve never questioned you about what you are, and most people just think you are really good at some kind of defense thing and are really smart, but I know you aren’t like the rest of us. Neither is he. Why?” Tom never looked up, just started pushing the boat toward the water. He didn’t sound confrontational, just curious.

  “There were other people like me back where I came from.”

  She paused for a few seconds, trying to think how to make him understand a world that wasn’t like the one here in the valley. It was totally closed off from elsewhere, and the only way in was by accident—the way both she and this new guy had gotten here.