A Hero's Bargain (16 page)

She gave
herself over to his kiss, to the feel of his hands on her body, and to whatever
the future would bring her.

It was
early when Ryder woke to the dawn birds setting up their daily chorus. But that
wasn’t what woke him. Stealthy sounds from Saba’s little herb-drying lean-to
drifted to him. He rolled from the bed and practiced some stealth of his own.

He
cracked the back door enough to take a peek.

“Jennica.”

She let
out a startled shriek and dropped the bundle of herbs she’d just plucked off a
hook. She made a grab for them and lost her balance on her tabletop perch.
Ryder flung open the door and caught her before she landed on the hard ground.
He heard Saba call out from inside. Jennica pushed at him.

“Let me
go! Don’t tell Saba you saw me—please!”

“Oh no.
You’re not putting me in the middle of anything.” A shadow fell across them.
“Besides, Saba knows.” He looked up and grinned at her.

“What’s
going on?” Saba looked at them quizzically. Ryder was ruefully aware of being
naked. He really didn’t want to stand up in front of Jennica. It was better he
just crouch here and cover his private bits with both hands and try to forget
she’d already seen them.

Jennica
stuttered, then finally pointed at the bundle of herbs on the ground. “I needed
a few,” she finally said meekly.

Saba
rolled her eyes. “Get them and go.”

Jennica
quickly did as instructed, but Saba didn’t let her get away.

“You can
tell me all about it later,
Aunt
Jennica.”

Jennica’s
eyes widened. She darted around the corner of the hut. Ryder finally stood up,
smiling.

“She’s
keeping secrets, is she?” He ushered Saba back into the hut. He grabbed a long
stick and stirred the fire while Saba filled her kettle. Gods, he’d give his
right arm for a cup of java. The tea the village drank was dark, rich, and
fragrant, but it just wasn’t coffee.

“She’ll
confess to me. I’ve known there was someone she’s been interested in.” She
handed him the kettle then placed her hands on his shoulders. “I didn’t plan on
getting up this early.”

Ryder
didn’t know if that was an invitation or not, but he’d take it as one. He rose
and led her back to the bed. They settled in the middle, wrapping arms and legs
around each other in a comfortable jumble. The revelations of yesterday, and
the passions of the night, made him pause.

Saba
didn’t love him. He’d given her the opening to tell him and she’d let it go. It
stung a bit.

He’d
never considered a woman’s feelings all that much. Of course, he’d made it a
practice to only be involved with older, more mature women who understood their
time together was more about companionship and an available sex partner than
undying love and commitment. His angel was a completely different thing. He
loved her and knew it for love.

It wasn’t
gratitude for saving his life, although he was grateful. It wasn’t fear he’d be
stranded alone on this strange world. He’d been stranded before and had some pretty
good survival skills. Nor was it that she’d taken him into her bed. No, this
was something new that encompassed everything he was and everything he’d ever
hoped to be. He’d never wanted to be a hero—until now.

Being her
hero was all that mattered. She nuzzled his neck and sighed contentedly. He
wondered if she realized she made that sound. Oh yes, she loved him, too. She
just had to realize it for herself. Stubborn female.

As much
as he wanted to spend another day in bed with her, making love, napping, and
making love again, he had to talk with Tyree. Jennica was up and running about
the village, which meant so were others. The sounds from the village yard were
increasing. Ryder opened his mouth to suggest the inevitable, that they get up
and have their tea, but a discreet knock on the door stopped him. He kissed her
quickly then reached for his pants.

He opened
the door to a glowering Tyree.

“The
errol
is one day away. We have plans to make.”

“Top of the morning to you, Headman
Tyree. Come on in and break bread with us.” Ryder made a sweeping bow. Tyree
was obviously not amused.

“This is serious.”

“Of course it’s. So is my empty
stomach.” Ryder turned his back on Tyree and walked back to the fire, expecting
to feel the headman’s hands grab him at any moment. Nothing happened. Tyree
followed him and took the other chair.

Saba had slipped into a flowing
robe, and she busied herself preparing them a small repast. The water steamed
in the kettle. He offered Tyree tea. The man kept glancing at Saba with curious
eyes.

“Tyree, where is the
errol
?
What’s the terrain between where it’s, and here?” Ryder passed a small trencher
of bread, cheese, and fruit to Tyree. A small piece of roasted meat was with
the cheese.

“My thanks, Saba, for the meat.
I’ve hunters out already this morning, to the east. A wild pig was spotted.”

She brightened and smiled at him.
“I can taste the stew already.” She met Ryder’s deliberate gaze and quickly got
back on subject. “But let’s talk about the
errol
.”

Tyree took a bite of his bread before
speaking. “The
errol
is following the old logging trail. It’s likely to
shelter in the caves on the other side of the blue mountain tonight. We can be
there and kill it when it emerges in the morning.”

“Tell me about these caves.” Ryder
sipped his tea.

“There are six caves on the other
side. One of them is occupied by a family of
sutars.
They smell so bad
even the creature won’t go in there. Three other caves are wet inside. The
other two are comfortable shelters—warm and dry. It will use one of those.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It always has when it’s come in
this direction. Always.”

Ryder accepted the headman’s words.
It made perfect tactical sense for the men of the Ralmaho to track the
errol’s
every move and learn its habits. “Why didn’t you seal it up in one of the
caves?”

Tyree looked disgusted. “We did,
outsider. We did. It dug its way out.”

“Where else might it go?”

“Nowhere else. It’s never deviated.
Not once in seven seasons of Wae.”

“It knows I’m here.” Ryder was sure
of it. And if it were Xenturan, it knew a spaceship had fallen.
Faithe
had surely made a big fireball as she came down. The creature would have needed
to find out if that ship were salvageable. It was what he would do if he were
in the
errol’s
position. Tyree wasn’t convinced.

“You can’t be sure of that.”

Ryder wasn’t going to argue. Tyree
would never believe the creature to be highly intelligent. Why start trouble?

“No, I
can’t be sure. It just makes sense that it saw my ship coming into the
atmosphere. It should be curious.” He leaned forward. “I need to know, headman,
if there’s a place where we can trap him.”

“Trap it?
Why?”

“I want a
good look at it, that’s why.”

“Look at
it after you kill it.”

It was
confession time again. Of a sort. “My weapon, if I get a clean shot, won’t leave
anything for me to look at.”

Saba and
Tyree gawked at him. He looked from one to the other, and back again. “You can
both close your mouths now.”

Saba
looked truly shocked, but Tyree was quickly putting together the tactical
possibilities of such a weapon. In that moment Ryder knew he’d been correct not
to tell them the weapon would only work for him.

“There is
a place we may be able to corner it. I don’t think it’s wise and I won’t allow
my men to take undue risks.”

“I
understand that, Tyree. I don’t want them taking undue risks either.” Ryder
finished off a slice of bread. “But I need a look at it. I need a clean shot.
If I don’t hit it clean, I won’t get a second chance.”

“Wounding
it should be enough if it bleeds out.”

“My
weapon fires a particle beam. There won’t be any blood left.” Ryder shook his
head again. They didn’t fully understand what he meant, but it didn’t matter.

“You two
look like twins with your mouths open like that.” He reached out and tapped
Saba’s chin. He poked the fire again.

“Listen,
Tyree. If I only graze the
errol,
the blood vessels will be cauterized
and he’ll have a scar. Big fucking deal. But what will be a big deal is it will
hurt like hell and piss him off to no end. That’s something we can’t afford.”

Tyree
nodded. “You’re right. We don’t need it angrier. We need it dead.”

“How many
men do you have?”

“For
this, only a handful are experienced enough.” He looked at Saba’s downcast
face. “It used to be different, before the
errol
killed.”

“No more
will die, Tyree. One way or the other, it ends tomorrow. Will you try to do as
I ask?”

Tyree
stared at him. The moment stretched on and on until Ryder was ready to accept
the headman’s refusal. Then Tyree nodded.

“What do
you want us to do?”

* * * *

Saba listened to the men talk and
wondered if they realized how alike they were. Both were proud, and very stubborn.
If they would just stop trying to be the one on top, and work together, they
could lead the Ramalho to great things.

She
picked up Tyree’s empty plate and put another chunk of meat on it. He
constantly shorted himself on rations, saying he’d eaten in the forest, and she
knew it wasn’t always true. His hand closed over hers when she handed it back
to him. Startled, her gaze met his, so full of concern for her.

Did he
wonder if Ryder had forced her to intimacy? Cold fear snaked up her spine. If
he did suspect rape, it was possible Ryder would never return from the woods.
She cast about in her mind, frantically trying to think of something to say or
do that would tell Tyree bedding Ryder was her choice, and hers alone. She
smiled at Tyree, pulling her hand away and laying it on Ryder’s shoulder. To
her great surprise Ryder took it and lifted it to his lips.

She
stared at his head, bowed over her hand. His lips were warm and soft as his
thumb caressed her knuckles in a gentle sweep. His head lifted and his gaze met
hers and she was suddenly drowning in the blueness of his eyes as the room spun
around them. There was only him.

Tyree
cleared his throat. She jerked back to awareness. Ryder was giving her a
rueful, lop-sided smile.

“You two
can make honey-eyes at each other later,” Tyree said gruffly. “Fix us more tea,
Saba. Planning such as this is thirsty work.”

She
leaned over and brushed a kiss on Ryder’s lips in front Tyree. Let him have no
doubt and no reason to harm Ryder on her behalf. Her knees were shaky with
relief as she dutifully replenished their mugs. She shivered with it when she
risked a glance at Tyree. He saw, and nodded.

If Ryder
saw the silent messages passed back and forth between her and Tyree, he didn’t
show it. It made her curious as to the minds of men, but into that she
shouldn’t delve, else she give too much away. She and Tyree had worked together
for a long time. She hoped the three of them could find a way to work for the
benefit of the Ramalho.

“I think
we should go, now, and get into position.” Ryder sounded grim. “We’ll want to
disguise our scent. Saba, do you have anything that can help with that?”

The men
leaving now was not something Saba wanted to see happen, but Tyree was nodding
in agreement.

“I have
some old pig grease, and a hide that didn’t cure properly. The hide can be cut
and each man can carry a piece.” She shook her head. “If I rub it with the
grease, it will smell truly foul.”

Tyree and
Ryder were both grinning. Only a man would look forward to such an odor. She
started her own planning.

“I’ll
call for the women to prepare packs for you.” She looked at Ryder. He may not
appreciate being given this task but it needed to be done. “Ryder, you can prepare
the hide.”

“I’ll
gladly do that. There’s no point in you smelling bad, too, is there?”

Tyree
downed the last of his tea and stood. “I’m leaving. I can’t stand to watch the
pair of you together any longer.” He looked at Ryder. “We’ll leave after the
midday meal. That will give everyone time to…” he shook his head, “whatever.”
He opened the door then turned back.

“Saba,
try to see he’s able to walk with us.”

Ryder
leaned back in his chair and laughed wickedly, clearly appreciating Tyree’s
humor. She didn’t think it was so funny. Actually, she wasn’t sure what Tyree
had meant. They had serious work to do and the men were dragging their feet.

She
retrieved her trousers and tunic. Before she could pull them on Ryder was
behind her.

“Don’t
get dressed. Not yet. Get back in bed.”

“There is
work to do!” She made a grab at her shirt as he tossed it over a chair.

“It can
wait an hour. There are things I need to say to you.”

Her chest
started to ache. Ryder wasn’t coming back. He would go with the hunters and once
his mission was completed, he would continue onward to seek a way to go home
and she’d never see him again.