certain any buyer's going to be more interested in torture than rape."
"Then why don't you do it."
"Do what?"
"Rape me, of course."
He spun around and gave her pop-eyed look of shock. "What did you say?!"
She frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Point the pistol at me."
"What are you talking about?"
She shook her head in a defiant manner. "Do it!"
He turned the muzzle of the weapon towards her. "I don't understand."
"In a moment I'm going to turn around and kneel, as if submitting to your demands. You will then come up behind me--"
"No! I can't, I--"
"--and use your body to shield you cutting my bonds. Not all the way through; just enough that I can tear them loose when I need to. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, but--"
"No 'but's; you really don't have a choice, not if you meant what you said."
"Alright, then."
She glanced at the Leng Men. They were unloading cans and packs and tools; whatever they had planned, it looked like they intended to execute it soon. She didn't believe she had much time left. Turning, she knelt and leaned forward slightly.
"Alright, here I come."
"Just remember what I said earlier this evening."
He didn't reply, but she felt him straddle her legs, raise her chemise, and lean against her arse, followed by the slip of his knife between her wrists. He sawed at the rope and the bonds loosened as some of the braided threads parted.
He withdrew the knife. "That should do it. Here." He thrust the pistol into her hands.
That gesture surprised her. He was taking a chance she wouldn't kill him. It was at that moment she decided she could trust him again.
"Pardon me," she heard the leader say. She turned on her knees to face him and stood up as Michael stepped away.
"I hate to interrupt this tender moment," and he grinned in a lascivious manner, "but I need to leave if we're going to get her across the border before dawn."
"I would like to dress first."
"You look fine the way you are." He licked his lips.
"Could I at least have my coat? It'll be cold at altitude. You don't want me to catch my death, now, do you?"
He scowled, but he turned towards the lean-to and removed the items covering the garment.
She flexed her arms and the rope broke. She cocked the dog on the pistol against the wheel and raised it shoulder-high, holding it on its side at arm's length. She idly wondered what Eile would say in her place, then she grinned.
"Sayonara, sucker."
The Leng Man turned and stared into the muzzle of the pistol a mere two inches from his round face. For someone who had never been to the Waking World, his expression looked a perfect imitation of an 'oh, shit' realization.
She pulled the trigger, sparks flew from the pyrite held in the dog's jaws, and the weapon discharged with an explosive bang, spewing fire. The .56 caliber minie ball slammed into his forehead just above the bridge of his nose and threw him back, demolishing the lean-to as he fell. His turban blew off with the back of his head, revealing satyrish horns and ears.
She tossed the pistol onto her pack, summoned Caliburn, and charged the other four Leng Men, roaring a wordless battle cry. They pulled their weapons and rushed to meet her. She swung on the lead Lengite, cutting off his weapon arm with an upward slice, then chopping down on one shoulder and through his chest. She spun around on the next behind him, slashing the tip of the great sword across his abdomen, disemboweling him with one swing, and on the backswing took off his head as he collapsed to his knees. She parried the third's strike by raising the sword to her nose, deflecting his scimitar with the strong of the blade as she cut diagonally up through his face with the weak. The fourth came at her from her blind side, but screamed before he reached her. As she turned she saw Michael strike at the back of his knee, hamstringing him. Dropping Caliburn to her hip, she thrust it into his chest, piercing his heart.
A hideous roaring, croaking screech rang out from the ledge. She turned and saw the five Shantaks staring at her and Michael. Spreading their wings, they started towards them with a rapid hop-skip gate.
"Oh, bloody hell!" She forgot they were intelligent. She turned to face them, holding Caliburn upright, the hilt beside her head.
Another scream rent the air. It came from above and sounded like a titanic eagle. She looked up out of reflex, but she knew what she would see. Eleanor hurtled out of the night sky, skimming along the face of the ridge wall. Her eyes glowed and her wings burned with St. Elmo's Fires as electrical sparks danced between the vanes of her crest, from the static electricity her feathers picked up during flight. She snapped her wings open and snatched two of the Shantaks off the ledge, her talons driving into their organs, before she soared off over the valley. One of the Shantaks took to the air. Differel rushed forward and threw Caliburn. The great sword impaled itself through the monster bird's chest and it dropped to the ground like a stone.
Eleanor rose up from below the outcrop and hovered, her wing beats sounding like thunderclaps.
"Into the pool!" She grabbed Michael's tunic and ran towards the water.
"Wha--?" She threw him in as she made a flying leap. She sank down with her momentum, then popped to the surface, with him sputtering and coughing beside her.
"Dive!" She took a deep breath and submerged, pushing him down with her hand. Moments later the surface of the water lit up with an actinic glow as a fierce current rippled across the outcrop. She knew that Eleanor had discharged the entire electrical force that had accumulated in her feathers. She could feel the water heat up as the current flowed through it into the surrounding rock, but she felt none of the voltage since she wasn't grounded.
Moments later the glow faded, and she and Michael broke the surface, gasping for air. Eleanor had landed on the outcrop and ate one of the three barbecued Shantaks. She felt the Wakiya's pleasure and satisfaction, and she couldn't help laughing at the simplicity of the great raptor's desires.
Differel paused on the ridgeway and waited for Michael to make his way up the path from the outcrop.
After they had dried themselves off, and he changed clothes as she put on a new chemise, they threw the Leng Men bodies off into the valley and did the same with the Shantaks once Eleanor had had her fill. They then washed most of the blood off the rocks. The rest would have to be cleansed by decay and rain. Next they checked their gear. Gore from the leader had ruined their bedrolls, but her clothes and pistols had not been damaged, and she had a spare blanket. They spent the rest of the night wrapped together, propped up against the cave wall, as Eleanor sat perched on the ledge watching over them. In the morning she flew off as soon as they awoke. They used the embers to reheat the dinner coffee as they ate hardtack and jerky, after which they disposed of the ashes, cleaned the site, packed, and dressed for travel. During all that time they didn't say a word to each other, but while she felt no animosity, it seemed to her that he was apprehensive, as if he wasn't sure what she would do to him.
He looked surprised when he joined her on the ridge. "You waited for me?"
"We agreed to travel together."
"You still want to after last night?" The tone of disbelief sounded clear, but she detected an undercurrent of relief and hope.
"We both wanted companionship; nothing's changed since then."
"But I don't understand. How can you still trust me?"
"Everyone makes mistakes, Michael; poor choices, bad decisions we regret. Redemption comes when we realize our error, work to correct it, and make amends, but redemption also requires forgiveness. It's true, you arranged for the Leng Men to capture me, but you also made possible my escape. As far as I'm concerned one balances the other, and I am not ungrateful. So I forgive you and I'm willing to start fresh."
"I..." He wiped away a tear. "I don't know what to say."
"Thank you would be sufficient."
"Of course; thank
you."
"Also, you should realize that you cannot now go back to your old way of life."
"I know. But what else can I do? I don't have the big score I wanted, and without it I can't start over."
"There are always ways and means. I have two friends; you may have heard of them, they call themselves Team Girl, but they are also known as The Twins."
"Yes, of course. They're famous."
"Braveheart and White-Lion are also wealthy, and they're always looking for new ventures to invest in. I have no doubt they would gladly help you set up that tavern you dream of, in exchange for a cut of your profits. My husband and I would contribute to that as well."
That time he couldn't speak, and he just gave her a dumbfounded stare.
"Then too, I don't believe our encounter was an accident."
"How do you mean?"
"Kuranes suggested I take this route. I believe he meant for us to meet."
"But...why?"
She gave him a pointed stare. "You said he's a friend. According to Team Girl, friends look out for one another and help each other when they need it. I believe he wanted to help you through me, in a way that wouldn't endanger or legally threaten you."
"You mean, you won't turn me in?"
"I don't see the point. You haven't harmed anyone through your activities, have you?"
"No, I just operated as a middleman. Well, except you."
"In which case, I think a probationary period of community service would be the best restitution, along with turning Crown's evidence and describing everything you know of the smuggling operation. As for myself, all I would ask of you is