Men of Anderas II: Dak the Protector (24 page)

He should be grateful not devastated. Now he
could get on with his life. Yet, all he wanted was to hold her and
do whatever it took to make this right. Nothing made sense anymore.
How could both ends of that argument mean so much to him?

Are you there, Little Witch? I didn’t do
this to you--to us. Trust me, Kierin. Please.
He didn’t know if
she heard him and refused to believe it was permanent.

Spotting the whore’s clothes, Dak opened the
window and threw them out. The stench of her cheap perfume burned
his nose so he left the window open to clear the air. Grabbing the
pitcher of water, he scrubbed at the lingering feel and smell of
Bess
on his skin. When he felt clean again he lay back on
his bed. Several serious issues warred within his heart and brain
and he had to deal with them. It was time to get off that emotional
fence and decide what he wanted for the rest of his life. First and
foremost, he had to deal with Kierin. What did he want? Why was he
so lost without her
presence
? Did he want that commitment?
What was he prepared to do to win her back?

* * * *

“Ya doin’ okay, Dak?” Jamison quietly asked
from his position behind the bar.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.” Dak didn’t
want to talk to Jamison. He was still pissed at the man’s
interference. What he really wanted was to punch something but he
was too tired from lack of sleep and worry to make the effort. It
was just another page from the story that was his life for the past
year. Events calling for action came with tentacles of rules and
emotions and any number of other issues binding his need for
action. Long hours of endless questions and he still couldn’t come
up with a plan of action that solved
all
his problems.

He
had
to return to Kierin.

He
needed
to contact JarDan.

He
wanted
to find the rest of his
crew.

He felt like the needle on a broken compass.
With nothing to point him in the right direction, he just spun
around and around in endless circles. Kierin was the magnet he
needed but he honestly didn’t know if she would listen to anything
he had to say.

There were many times in his life when he
wished he were more like JarDan. The minute JarDan saw Melodie he
knew she was his life mate. He never doubted his decision no matter
how hard Melodie fought against their joining. They were so happy
together and the baby just made their world complete.

Dak never wanted a love match. The pain of
losing someone he loved was a constant ache in his heart. First his
parents then JarDan’s mother, Arica, who took a young orphaned boy
into her heart.

He wanted a suitable mate of his choosing
and sons to carry on his name. Nothing more than a business
decision. Both parties agreeing to a mutually beneficial
arrangement. He didn’t choose Kierin. She was the wrong mate. She
didn’t come from one of the planets colonized by the Ancients as
dictated by Anderan law. The baby they created made him a felon,
the act punishable by death. Yet, for all the reasons she was wrong
he couldn’t imagine anyone else in his life, his heart, or his bed.
For months he’d blamed this need to be near her on the crystals.
Any excuse to deny what was happening. Now it may be too late.

I’m coming home, Little Witch. We can get
through this.
He waited for long minutes but no answer filled
the void in his soul. The pain of her rejection choked the air from
his lungs. Fighting past the pain, fighting this hopelessness was
every bit as hard as hand-to-hand combat. Just like combat, he was
fighting for his life. In combat he knew the power of his arm, the
sharpness of his sword. In an emotional battle he was unarmed and
ignorant of the rules.

Forcing air into his lungs, Dak straightened
to his full height and took the first step toward control of his
life. And it felt
GOOD
!

The stakes were high among players at
Jamison’s busiest table and he needed a big win. He needed fifty
gold coins to contact JarDan and enough to support Kierin and the
baby. The fortune he inherited from his parents didn’t do him a
damn bit of good on Cyperia. He only had thirty gold and a small
handful of silver coins.
Don’t let me fuck this up, too.
Wiping his sweaty hands against his pants, Dak whipped a chair from
a nearby table and sat down.

“Mind if I join you?” He asked dropping a
small bag of coins on the table.

“The buy in is five gold coins. You got that
much in that puny bag?” The player with the fewest coins was always
the one looking for a fight. This guy was a miner with more coin
than skill. He would be the easiest man to beat. The other four
weren’t as easy to read. That unknown element kept him sweating.
Not a good sign to the other players.
Get it under control, dumb
ass. Keep this up and you’ll walk across that desert.

Before Dak could answer, Jamison stepped up
and put the five coins on the table. “If he don’ I do. Now play
cards.”

Dak glared at Jamison but the old man just
winked and walked away.
Fine. Let the bastard stake me the ante.
As an apology, I guess it works as well as anything else.

For several hours coins changed hands at a
slow pace. Dak now had enough to contact JarDan but he needed a
substantial number of coins to support Kierin until help arrived
from Anderas. He needed to up the stakes and prayed to the Ancients
he wasn’t making the second biggest mistake of his life.

After one look at his hand, he allowed a
small grin to twitch the edges of his mouth and pushed every
carefully stacked coin into the middle of the table. Bile churned
in his gut as each man around the table raised the bet. He had
nothing else.
You idiot! Why did you think they wouldn’t call
your bluff?
With a sickening heart, Dak picked up his cards to
toss them into the pile.

Jamison slammed a restraining hand on his
arm and laid down a piece of paper. “This here is the deed ta the
bar and every scrap of wood ‘n drop of liquor in it. It’s worth a
dang sight more ‘n everythin’ on that table. I’m coverin’ Dak’s bet
‘n anythin’ that goes higher. I seen his hand and I ain’t gonna
lose nothin’.”

“I can’t let you do that.” Dak argued.

“Tol’ ya afore, yur a good man ‘n I only bet
on a sure thing.”

“But ….”

“Shut up, Dak and raise the bet.” Jamison
wouldn’t give him the chance to explain.

“I bet Jamison’s bar.” Dak pushed the deed
into the center and prayed they wouldn’t be homeless after tonight.
He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t one man after
another throwing his cards down, pulling out of the chance to take
the pot. He didn’t know if he should jump and shout or puke and
pass out.

Every man in the bar had gathered around
this game and not a one of them had dared to speak. Tonight’s
entertainment would be the talk of the town for years to come. Dak
ignored everyone but the men at his table. They were the only ones
between him and whatever life he chose.

The loudmouth waited, watching and weighing
the cards in his hand with what Jamison claimed Dak held. Finally,
he threw them down. “If that old hard-ass is willin’ to risk this
place on what you’re holdin’, I’m out. Exactly what kind of hand do
you have?”

“He ain’ gotta show his hand ‘n ya know it.
Jus’ push them coins over this direction and get on about yur
bizness. Me ‘n Dak got some bizness of our own to conduct.”

Raising his voice to be heard above the
noise of the bar, Jamison bellowed. “That’s all the excitement for
tonight. Call it a night, folks. I’m closin’ early. Yur welcome to
come by fer breakfast in about four hours if ya want but I’m jus’
plain tuckered out.”

An hour and several grumbling arguments
later everyone was gone and the place was cleaned and ready for the
next day’s crowd.

“Why did you do that?” Dak asked Jamison
when they settled down with a drink to count all the coins. “I’ll
split the pot with you but the deed doesn’t count as winnings.”

“I seen yur cards ‘n ya didn’ have a pigs
chance o’ winnin’. Figured we had to bluff big to save yur bacon.
Worked real good, too, if I do say so myself.” The old man chuckled
at his devious trick.

“You could have lost the bar. This place is
everything you own. That was a hellava risk to take.” Dak would
never understand why anyone would take such a risk for someone they
barely knew.

“I figured I owed it ta ya after that thing
with Bess this mornin’. If I’d knowed ya had a woman ya cared for
so much I never woulda done such a fool thing. I’m real sorry,
Dak.” Jamison leaned back and looked around the quiet bar. New
tables and chairs now filled the large room and a fancy carved bar,
thanks to Dak’s skill with a carving knife, ran the length of one
long wall. It was a nice place and brought in a small fortune every
night.

“This ain’ all I own by a long shot. Me ‘n
Gussie got a place over the other side of this planet. Sits right
on the water. Fount gold there more’n a dozen years back. After a
while there wernt nothin’ left I wanted ta buy ‘n Gussie was
naggin’ ‘bout travelin’ ‘n spendin’ quality time jus’ her ‘n me.
Well, I took it in my head I wanted ta own a bar. Ya never heard
such a carryin’ on. Gussie weren’t havin’ nothin’ ta do with no
bar. So I left one day ‘n ended up here.”

Jamison leveled his determined gaze on Dak.
“I don’ know who yur runnin’ from or why but if ya got a woman what
loves ya as much as Gussie loves me don’ ya ever give up on her. I
did me some soul searchin’ and made me some decisions. I’m gonna
let my woman know if she wants me she takes me like I am--bar ‘n
all. But … if she says no … well, I may end up selling this place.
Gotta admit, I’ve missed that gal somethin’ awful. If ya breathe a
word of that I’ll cut yur gizzard right outta yur neck.”

Dak laughed at his friend. “Here’s your half
of the pot and your secrets are safe with me.”

“I don’ want nothin’ but the deed to this
place ‘n the five gold coins I tossed in the pot. The rest is yurs.
If ya’ve a mind to tell a few of yur secrets I’d be willin’ to keep
‘em safe, too.”

Dak was stunned at the amount of money
Jamison was refusing. There was over ten thousand gold coins plus
all the silver coins. “I don’t know what to say. “Thank you”
doesn’t seem adequate for all this but … thank you. I have enough
to contact my family and the rest can be used to locate my
crew.”

Dak was quiet for several minutes while he
sipped on his whiskey. He owed Jamison the truth. He couldn’t do
anything until the Communication Center opened so a few hours spent
together sounded very good.

“My name is Beldon Dak from the planet
Anderas. I’m third in line for the throne of Falcon Tor.”

“Damn, boy. Didn’ know I had friggin’
royalty workin’ here. La de da, kinda gives the place a little
class, don’cha think?”

“You are one crazy son-of-a-bitch. You know
that?” Dak laughed until tears ran from his eyes. “As I was saying
before I was so rudely interrupted ….”

“Mouthy bastard.” Jamison mumbled.

“My crew and I were captured on Safe Haven
and sold into slavery. I was bought by a crystal witch. Let’s just
say she had a unique method of control. We ended up in her
fortress, a good ten days ride from here. I agreed to stay for
thirty days in exchange for a list of the people who purchased
slaves during the time we were held captive. I hated those crystals
and what they could do and I counted down the days until I could
leave.” Dak refused to tell Jamison about Kierin’s secret or why
she needed an Anderan male.

“It wasn’t until I was here that I realized
what I left behind. As soon as I can send word to the king and let
him know I’m alive and where I am, I’m going back. I said some
things that hurt her deeply. I just hope I can win her trust again.
I don’t know what I’ll do if she ….”

“Don’cha be thinkin’ like that. Ya do
whatever ya have to do. Hell, grovel on yur knees through pig shit,
if ya have to. Is she worth the heartache ya may have to live with
fer a spell till she comes around?”

Dak closed his eyes and saw Kierin’s face;
heard her soft voice; and thrilled to her touch. “Yes.” He answered
softly. “She’s worth whatever I have to do.”

“Then there ya go. Wernt so hard to figure
out now wuz it?”

“Wait here a minute.” Dak ran to his room
and returned with the list of names from the slave auction. “When I
send word to JarDan, he’ll send a crew here but it will take
several months. I’m not going to wait. When they arrive, will you
give them this list so they can start locating any crew member
who’s still alive?”

“Well a’course I will. ‘N I got somethin’
else fer ya ta take with ya.” Jamison rummaged around behind the
bar and returned with a worn cardboard box containing two
communication devices.

“These here comm units got a range of about
ten miles. I know ya ain’ jus’ runnin’ from that gal ‘o yurs. Ya
talk in yur sleep when ya got a belly full of bug juice ‘n I don’
wanna know more about that. Afor ya go, leave me directions ta some
place close enough yur friends can reach ya on this thing. Ya can
decide where ta meet ‘em when they call.”

Dak took the unit and drew a map on the back
of one page of names. He wouldn’t lead anyone to Kierin’s fortress
unless he knew who was looking for him.

“Thank you, Jamison. You’re a good man and
I’m proud to call you friend. Gussie is one lucky woman.”

Jamison chuckled. “That she is, boy. That
she is.”

* * * *

Sunrise found Dak loading his gear onto a
new horse with the items he bought for Kierin and the baby loaded
onto three pack animals. As soon as the Communication Center
opened, he’d be on his way home.
Home.
For his entire life,
Anderas was
home
. Falcon Tor was
home
. JarDan and his
family were
home
. They were still important to him but it
just wasn’t the same. He couldn’t remember ever being so
ecstatically happy in his life.