Zara the Wolf (25 page)

I swung wide of Arucci on my way to Hipula. True to my word,
I ran for more than twenty-four hours before stopping. It felt wonderful being
free and well away from castles and royalty. I slept and hunted the rest of the
day and had a hot meal of a raccoon I shot. With no need to hunt for a few
days, I ran from morning to dark each day, knowing the trip from Monis to
Arucci was considered four to five days and Arucci to Hipula nine to
ten—a total of thirteen to fifteen days. Even swinging wide I thought I
could make it in nine or ten days as the land was mostly rolling plains and
even ground.

I reached the Forlorn River on the sixth day. There I
stopped to fish, wash, and rest. As I lay there that night, I wondered if this
were the life for me, traveling the country, living off the land, and free to
come and go as I wished. With the Ojaza training, I could survive without civilization.
But I had met some very good people, and helping them had been rewarding in
many ways. Saving Ethel and her two children felt good, and she was certainly
worth saving. Saving the caravan to Calle was satisfying as well as befriending
Lutz and Raigosa. Saving Shelly was not only rewarding, but I thought she would
enrich whoever decided to settle and work her land. And helping to rid the land
of the Sirens … I didn't hate the Sirens, but I thought they would be worse
than the current royalty if they came into power. I didn't think Duke Phipps
was a bad or vicious leader. The Sirens terrified him, and he had lost his normal
good sense to fear.

I woke in the morning realizing I still
didn't know what I wanted or where I fit. I guessed I was a bit more civilized
but I was not sure I wanted to be totally civilized. Not sure why I felt good
about being able to outrun a horse, or live off the land, or be a match against
any swordsman, but I did. I intentionally ignored how I felt about the blue
dimension.

I arrived at the gates of Hipula early
in the day, ten days after leaving Monis. I had no trouble at the city gates;
access during the day was open to anyone, although large groups might have been
stopped and questioned. At the castle, I stated I was with Baroness Shelly. I
think the guard recognized me from the last time, because to my surprise he
waved me in. I decided to visit Lutz or Eaton if they were still here and ease
my way back in. I found Lutz first in the practice yard working out with a group
of soldiers. He stopped when he saw me.

"Zara, it's good to see you. There
are at least ten different wagers on you: would you return, when, are you dead
or alive, and so on. Now we can determine the winners and losers. It's
officially thirty-nine days and twelve hours for the
when-wager
. You are officially alive for the
dead-or-alive-wager
. And yes for the
will-she-return-wager
." He laughed. "It's good to see
you, Zara, especially alive and well."

"Thanks. What's been
happening?"

"We arrived twenty-five days ago.
Duke Brodka is still in charge. Lady Shelly said she wouldn't leave until you
returned. She's paying my three companions and me to stay and accompany her to tour
her lands. She sent Eaton and a couple of troops to Calle by schooner to
deliver a report to Wetzel. Sonya and Joanna have returned to the Trasslat
Monastery. Sonya said to tell you that you would be welcome at the Monastery. Oh,
yesterday ten troopers and a captain arrived from Calle with official-looking
documents. I haven't heard what's in the documents or why the troops and a
captain. The troopers don't know, and I haven't had a chance to sit down with
the captain." He frowned. "Maybe we should keep your return a secret
until we find out. You do have a tendency to aggravate royalty with annoying
truths."

"Too late," I said, watching
Lady Shelly come flying across the courtyard with a captain in a black and
silver uniform—Wetzel's colors—trying to keep up without running.

"Zara, you're back!" She
grabbed me in a bear hug, then stepped back and looked me up and down.
"You appear unhurt."

"I'm well, Lady Shelly." I felt
touched by her concern for me.

"Come, you need to get cleaned up,
and you can tell me what you have been doing all this time. Oh sorry, Captain Dennis,
this is Zara, my absent chaperone and companion, who has been running wild for
the past month. Duke Wetzel sent Captain Dennis and ten troopers to replace my
detail and see me home when I'm ready."

"Zara, I’ve heard a lot about you.
You've quite a reputation back in Calle."

"Nice to meet you, Captain,"
I said as Shelly grabbed my arm and began pulling me toward the castle. "I
think I'm being abducted." I shrugged and gave a wry smile.

"Come quietly, or I'll have the
Captain call for help. I've been waiting for weeks to hear what happened. Duke
Phipps sent a messenger to thank me for my help in disposing of the Sirens,
like I actually did something," she said as she crossed the courtyard with
me in tow.

"But you did, Lady Shelly. You
kept me from leaving, for which I'm thankful. Otherwise, I'd be a wanted woman
throughout Aesona."

"Maybe, but it's thanks to you the
Sirens are gone, not Phipps or Bradley or anyone else."

"There’s a chain of reasons,
beginning with Duke Wetzel and you. Without him and you, I believe the Sirens
would have won," I said as she closed the door, a faint blush on her
cheeks.

"Duke Wetzel agrees with you,
because … he’s elevated me to Viscountess. I'm the only one!" She was
jumping up and down and laughing. "There's more, but you first."

"Congratulations, Viscountess
Shelly." I gave a low bow. "You're halfway there."

"Where? Oh, duchess." She
laughed. "It's Shelly when we're in private, and you’re stalling."

"As you know, I convinced Bradley
that he had achieved what Duke Phipps asked him to accomplish and to forget
mentioning anything about Sirens who might have escaped. Judging by Phipps’s
message to you, Bradley did just that. Anyway, I followed the trail the three
started off on…" I tried to avoid the details, but Shelly wouldn't have it,
stopping me time and again for the specifics of each day. The telling was a two-hour
emotional ride—she cried over the Indians who were murdered by the Sirens
and laughed until tears ran down her cheeks over the wolf-spirit and was
intently interested in my feelings during the journey.

"I always think you take too many
chances, and you do. However, on reflection, I think that when choosing a
course of action, you're careful to take the one with the least risk, although
it appears to be the one with the most. Like your wolf-spirit act. I think you
carefully weighed your options and decided it had the least risk." She
studied me with her eyes.

"True. I'm not suicidal. The
Indians believe in the animal spirits, so dressed appropriately—"

"Naked?" She giggled.

"Animal spirits don't need
clothes. So with me dressed appropriately, they wanted to believe, and I had to
assume the two Sirens had good illusions but their speech and actions had
everyone confused. So who would they believe, them or the wolf-spirit?"

"Duke Wetzel has awarded you one
hundred gold for taking his assignment and wants to talk to us as soon as
possible. He has a schooner waiting for us."

* * *

Duke Brodka raised Shelly to
Viscountess when he heard Duke Wetzel had. It meant Shelly could appoint a
Baron to manage her land while she was away. She appointed a baron named
Massey. Everyone won: Baron Massey had land to manage, which meant income and
prestige. Duke Brodka got taxes on the property, and Shelly had additional
income and a summer estate if she wished. We sailed a week later.

"What are you planning on doing
when we return to Calle?" Lutz asked as I stood gazing at the changing coastline.
I had never been on a boat, and I found it an interesting experience, although
I wouldn't want to be a sailor. We had one day of strong winds that had Shelly,
all the troops, and me sick the entire day.

"I think that is going to depend
on the duke. They can be difficult people to refuse. Besides, I've been from
Calle to Kariso and didn't find any place I felt like I fit. Actually, I found
a lot of places I don't."

"Yes, dukes usually get what they
want. I'll tell you, the duke pays well. I've earned more in these past few
months than the last five years."

* * *

We reached Calle twelve days after
leaving Hipula. I had intended to stay at one of the local inns, but Shelly
dragged me to the castle, where I was given my own room. I wanted to run. It
felt like a cage, and I had no idea what Wetzel wanted. He had scheduled a private
breakfast meeting for the next day.

A knock at the door the next morning
felt like an invitation to my last meal. I thought Wetzel a fair man, but he
was a duke, and they could be ruthless when they wanted something, as Phipps
had proven. When I opened the door, Shelly stood there looking bright and
excited in an ankle-length black and green combination dress.

"Come, you don't want to be late,
do you?" Shelly asked, excitement in her voice.

"No, I'd like to be absent."

"You like dungeons?" She
laughed and grabbed my arm. We had barely arrived when the duke entered. Shelly
and I gave small bows. Wetzel said nothing, but his lip twitched watching us.

"I'd like to hear all the details
of your trip, from leaving Calle to your arrival back here," he said, and
proceeded to drag every detail from Shelly and my perspective. We talked
through the morning, stopped briefly for lunch, and continued through the
afternoon. He wanted every detail, including my tracking of the three Sirens.
When we finished, he sat back, alternately staring at Shelly and me.

"It's as I thought. You two—for
whatever reason—are a perfect team. You not only work well together but
you compliment each other. I have a proposal for you to consider," he said
with a slight grin.
I'd like you to
consider before you say yes,
I mused. "My dukedom runs along the Black
Mountains, which have multiple Indian tribes that threaten, rob, and kill my
people. My barons do nothing except periodically suggest I give them a hundred
troopers so they can wipe the Indians out for good. But I agree with you, Zara:
we would only lose a hundred good troopers and wouldn't eliminate one tribe,
much less the ten or more in those mountains." He stopped for a drink of
his wine.
Here comes the punch line,
I
mused, involuntarily holding my breath. "You accomplished more than I
could have reasonably expected when I sent you out to
Look
, and I think you always will. So I'd like to make you, Shelly,
Countess of the Black Mountains, and you, Zara, her Warden of the Black Mountains
with my authority to do what you can to protect my lands from the
Indians." He laughed. "I don't expect you to take troops into the
mountains or to get rid of them. That would be unreasonable. I merely ask you
provide my barons with practical advice to reduce the threat and killings and
to help like you did for me with Shelly."

Shelly looked to me, knowing the titles
depended upon my agreement.

"You'd be free to travel and sleep
outdoors," she quipped, but her eyes pleaded. It actually is a good offer
and may be where I do fit—helping people like those in the Manola Community.
Time will tell.

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SCIENCE FICTION

The Riss Series:

   
 
The Riss Gamble (Book I)

    
The Riss Proposal
(Book II)

    
The Riss Survival
(Book III)

    
The Riss Accession
(Book IV)

    
The Riss Challenge
(Book V)

The Black Guard

FANTASY EPIC

The Shadow Series:

    
The Shadow Ryana (Book
I)

    
The Shadow Gypsy (Book
II)

Zara the Wolf

Women of Power

Talon of the Unnamed Goddess

Scales of Justice

Blood Duty

URBAN FANTASY

The Kazak Series:

    
The Kazak Guardians:
Lynn's Rules (Book I)

    
The Kazak Guardians:
The Unthinkable (Book II)

PARANORMAL ROMANCE /
HORROR

The Seer Renee

The Laughing Hounds

HISTORICAL FICTION

The Stewart Chronicles

    
A King Ensnared (Book
I)

    
A King Uncaged (Book
II)

The Black Douglas Trilogy:

    
Kingdom's Cost (Book
I)

    
Countenance of War (Book
II)

    
Not for Glory (Book III)

Freedom's Sword