Blood and Iron - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I came down out of my ‘warrior mind’ to confront my recklessness.   I had a ‘clean sweep’ here; I’d killed everybody who could ferret out the conspiracy and help me save the girl.  Whoever she was!

I looked over at Tor, sitting incongruously in his chair with his head far back and throat, gaping killed so quickly, so thoughtlessly.  My sensei tried to teach me “mind like water,” a heightened perception and rational assessment in combat.  So far, I did not impress myself.  I knew senseiwould have MUCH to say, little of it complimentary.  I was going to die, here, in the mud, outsmarted by primitives because I quit using my brain!  I bowed to sensei in apology, then knelt in contemplation.  

Standing up, I studied the two bodies.   Grimacing, I grabbed Jeremy by the ankles, dragging him out the door, followed by Tor.  Leaving them next to the house, I walked across the lane, carefully looking and listening, but there was no sign of anyone else around.  I lifted my pack and headed for the barn.  There was one person left who might give me some answers - Donna.

I dropped my pack by the entryway to the barn, stopping to retrieve my light crystal.  I was uncovering the crystal as I walked in.   Donna grimaced, squinting in the sudden bright light.  I greeted her calmly.  “Hello again, Donna.”  

She yelped in surprise at my voice.  Her eyes snapped full open staring at me in horror.   I placed the crystal on the floor close to her before I threw open the big door just past the wagon she was shackled to. 

I wandered around this corral, gathering wood just a few feet from the opening, even pulling a couple railings off the wooden fence.  I had my back to Donna, so I used another Trioxane tab to start the fire.  The unpainted, weathered railing blazed up into a blistering fire, hot enough that Donna flinched away.  

I kicked her ankles apart as I stood towering over her, saying evenly,  “Donna, I want you to tell me about your friends and the woman you would kill.”

She was still gagged, shaking her head emphatically.  Kneeling, I studied her until her eyes dropped again.   Using just the pad of my thumb, I pressed on nerve bundles in her legs and arms. As the pressure became pain, her body writhed while Donna’s breath whistled though the ring gag.

The metal circle of the ring gag in Donna’s mouth fascinated me.  I pushed my index finger deep in her mouth until she choked, unable to close her mouth or bite.  She gulped and heaved, with her body convulsing as I withdrew my probing finger. 

A flickering, brief vision of Natalie, vulnerable, in place of Donna, put me back on my heels.  I had to be careful.  With few limits on a hunter’s behavior, my bitterness toward Natalie could spill over, with ugly results. 

Crouching as I showed Donna my Tanto.   In silence I held up my finger, she froze as I slipped the blade along her cheek under the gag strap with a tiny movement severed it.    The gag fell away as Donna stared at me in shock.  Showing her the dagger again, I said seriously:  “You will tell me everything.  I may not kill you, but you won’t be pretty anymore.”

At her hiss of indrawn breath, I walked out by the fire standing with my back to her.  Turning and looking in the barn, I saw a piece of scrap iron hanging on the wall.   She watched in trepidation as I shoved the end of that iron into the coals at the center of my fire.

Now I knelt next to her, saying quietly, “If I cut you here…” and as I gently touched her skin with my fingernail alternating with the intense ‘acupressure’.  Donna screamed, jerking her body away as far as the shackles allowed. 

Her eyes were red from her tears, throat hoarse from screaming as I picked up the iron, glowing on the end, moving it inches from her face, saying softly, “This will hurt terribly and mark you forever.”

Donna stared past the glow into my face, begging hoarsely, “WHO are you?”

I stopped, saying loudly,  “”Please, who are you, sir?”

She shook her head as I waved the glowing metal, reclaiming her attention.  In a defeated tone, she asked, “Who are you, please, sir?”

I nodded calmly as I said, “Someone who can do as he pleases.”

Her eyes widened as with a shaky voice, she asked, “Am I your slave?”

I waved the hot iron in time as I corrected her, saying slowly, “Please sir, am I your slave?”

Her head went down, then came up, as, resigned, Donna repeated, “Please, sir, who are you?”

I tossed the iron back into the fire as I answered:  “Brock, a hunter.”

She shook her head as she thought aloud, “Tor was right. Fucking Howard.”

Now she looked at me saying all in a rush:  “You’re the crossbowman.   Tor suspected a trap.   He wanted to question you closely.  He only risked it because we required a bowman, and we hoped you were already part of The Thistles with us.    He’d have killed Howard and Alvis outright for even talking to you except for that possibility and because all were crucial to kill the Princess.  Princess Veronica, King Oswald’s daughter.”

Donna stopped suddenly, her eyes big as she quickly added, “Sir.”

I nodded in a distracted manner as I processed the information, asking her, “Who pulls the strings, Donna?”

Donna frowned prettily as she thought then replied, “Lord Chasseur delivers messages to us with instructions and information from Cinquedea; otherwise, Devlin or the spice merchant.”

I smirked as I said, “Lord Chasseur is the man on the big black horse?”

Donna started as she replied, “You saw him arrive?”

I nodded. “Yes, I saw him.  But Donna, the name ‘Chasseur’ is a fake.  It’s a word that means ‘one who rides a horse’.”

Donna started looking at me with an “O” of astonishment.  I recalled an earlier comment of hers as I asked, “What did you mean, ‘I might already be with you?’ Don’t you know all your gang members?”

She shook her head emphatically.  “No, Brock, sir.  We know only few of ‘The Thistles’, Clark the tavern keeper; Devlin the merchant in River town; and Saiful Haq, a spice peddler who travels the region by wagon.  The rest identify themselves as we hoped you would.  Tor thought it possible that Devlin might have sent you.  Since you seemed so rude Alvis was convinced you came perhaps even from Cinquedea himself.”

I nodded, as I asked quietly, “How might I have proved my bonafides, Donna?”

She smiled more calmly as she answered, “Showing a thistle plant or thistle blossom.”

I nodded as she continued, “Identification by sign and countersign with the current words: Clover and Rapier.”

Now I was confused as I repeated, “Clover and Rapier?”

Donna was enthusiastic as she answered, “Oh yes, Brock sir.  You might say ‘the fields are filled with clover’ with the countersign ‘the rapier is sharp’ and then you would know that person is one of The Thistles.

I shook my head, staring off into the distance, as I contemplated my continued health depending on not laughing during this childish secret word shit.   I looked down at Donna as I asked, “So why didn’t Alvis just ask me?”

Donna looked shocked at the question.  “Tor would have killed him he’d so much as breathed the secret words in a tavern. Only Tor could put the questions.”

I pondered how close I came to being found out and killed.  Only Tor’s distrust of his subordinates saved me. I knelt next to Donna unlocking the cuffs.  At my gesture Donna brought her arms around in front of her and I relocked the cuffs in front of her.  This gave me an opportunity to look Donna in the eye from close ranges as I asked an all-important question.  “Why, Donna?  Why are you telling me all these secrets?”

Donna looked back at me levelly as she answered calmly, “They are not here. Only you are here, Hunter Brock.  Besides, you are different from them.  Tor would have burned me without hesitation.”

She nodded as she continued, “I will be honest with you in all things, doing anything and everything that you ask.  Perhaps by that you can be persuaded to save me from ‘the raising’.”

Donna shuddered again at the thought of that barbaric hanging, looking in my eyes as she repeated in little more than a whisper, “Anything and everything, Brock sir.”

I shook my head clearing it of the jarring overlapping images of Natalie then looked down at Donna, nearly naked in the ruins of her shift.   I reached down grabbing the center chain of the Darby cuffs, pulling Donna to her feet.   The adrenaline had come surging back and I was intensely horny.

Pulling her along I walked out of the barn.   Donna followed in docile manner. Walking us into the house I glanced back to see her eyes get big as she spotted the bloodstains from Jeremy and Tor.  I kept her moving into the bedroom. 

The bed was barely a double, the mattress a feather tick suspended on a framework of ropes.  I shoved Donna to her knees.  Again she was unresisting, which, in some murky fashion, increased my need to control her.   

I removed my armor, weapons, and then my clothing, quickly disrobing leaving an untidy mound in the corner of the room.   Striding quickly back to Donna and grabbing her blonde hair, I pressed her into my crotch, scrubbing her face against my balls.  I tipped her head back, studying her face while reaching down, pulling her jaw down with my thumb.  Shoving my hardening cock in her open mouth I mashed her nose against my belly.  I held the back of her head as she struggled then abruptly I released her head. 

I was almost idly stroking my hardening cock, staring down as Donna bent forward on her hands and knees, gasping and choking.  Reaching down with my finger tangled in her blonde hair, I pulled her upright at eye level with my cock. 

Donna looked up at me, smiling as she willingly opened her mouth, engulfing my cock.  Her head came far forward as she swallowed my cock far back in her throat.  The pressure on my cock as she swallowed was exquisite.  Her head bobbed with her blonde mane swaying.  At my touch she stopped, continuing to stroke me while looking up at me.

My belt pouch was lying on the floor.  I retrieved the key for the restraints on Donna’s wrists.  At my brusque gesture Donna held up her arms presenting her cuffs.  I unlocked the cuffs, tossing them and the key on a rude table.  She rose gracefully stepping out of her ruined shift as she took my hand leading me to the bed.   

Donna lay back in the soft mattress pulling me on top kissing me as she caressed my body.  She stroked my slick cock as she spread her legs widely, pulling me to her center.   I slid deep inside her, surprised as her wetness engulfed me.  I grabbed her thighs roughly as I stroked into her while Donna pulled at my shoulders loudly encouraging me.   I fucked her hard, fingers squeezing her breasts.   My balls tingled as I slammed forward, my cock spasming deep in Donna as I shouted my completion. 

I collapsed bonelessly with my weight fully on Donna.  She held me close with her arms and legs tight around me as my breathing slowed.  She nuzzled me stroking my back as my eyes closed.

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My eyes opened slowly as I swam into daylight wakefulness.  My head was pillowed on a naked thigh; glancing up, a meaty breast shaded me.  Lifting my head slightly, I found Donna sitting up with her back against the headboard, my head in her lap, fingers playing in my hair. 

Settling on my back I looked at her with a questioning expression.   Donna shrugged, blushing as she commented quietly, “You slept plenty hard.  In truth I don’t completely know why I did not.  I am capable of harnessing the horses after all.”

I reached up to tweak a nipple as I smiled.  “I appreciate your not cutting my throat, Donna, but this is a dangerous path.  You would have been well advised to run like hell.”

Now Donna grinned, then she studied me carefully, saying, “You are a good man, Hunter Brock, despite your protests.  I cast my lot with you, Brock sir.”

I lay quietly as Donna continued playing with my hair.  I looked up to ask, “And how would you know that, lovely Donna?”

Donna looked abashed for just a moment as she replied, “Your aura, Brock sir, mirrors a worthy soul damaged by a woman’s infidelity and a friend’s betrayal.”

I lay lost in wonder, then I shook it off as I asked, “Tell me about Tor’s plan for killing the Princess. When is she due?”

Donna’s hand stilled as she marshaled her thoughts. “According to Lord Chasseur, Veronica’s coach is due to pass here this afternoon trying to make Luther’s Inn before nightfall.  Tor planned to overturn the hay wagon blocking the road in the swampy part of the woods…”

Her voice trailed off and it took no great imagination to fill in the rest. 

As enjoyable as laying on the bed with Donna, we needed to move.  Reaching up I pinched Donna’s nipple hard.  She yelped stridently then looked at me in an accusing fashion.  Then Donna snickered as she helped me sit up. 

Donna lithely stepped out of bed.  I admired her naked form for just a moment before I joined her.  I felt grubby. Tor, as you might guess, was not much for washing.  I ended up in the back yard, standing in a copper laundry tub while Donna scrubbed me, then sluiced me with warm water.   I returned the favor, spreading the suds on Donna’s slick body, rinsing her with pails of water thrown on her giggling form. Something about our bathing in broad daylight outside just made it that much more salacious and fun.

Finally we called a halt to our wet fun.  Donna looked at me happily as we stood, drying ourselves in the sunlight warmth, asking, “Brock sir, could you give me a little time to clean up the messy house before I feed you?”

I nodded, then she looked at me ruefully, saying, “You made a bit of a mess in there, sir.”

It was only true.  We moved back inside, Donna found another cotton shift to wear as I dressed in my soft buckskins and moccasins.  While Donna carried buckets of water into the farmstead. I dragged Tor and Jeremy’s bodies in the grove across the road and lined them up with the others. 

Now that it was daylight I searched all of them, emptying pockets, and took stock of their possessions.  I gained only meager intelligence, with the exception that every one had a thistle flower!  I wrapped their belongings in Tor’s shirt, and carried the package back to the barn. 

In the barn I opened the trap door.  I used the light crystal to take a quick survey of the cellar.  Weapons and armor were stacked untidily with two large chests in the center.  The sack Donna was trying to fill was still at the bottom of the ladder, with Lord Chasseur’s saddlebags next to it. 

I threw a few more jewels, with some gold and silver coins, in the sack, along with a goodly selection into the saddlebags.  I was going to remove a portion of the loot before the authorities arrived to confiscate it.  The sack was going to Donna, with the saddlebags hung from a tree branch in the grove for me to retrieve at some later time.  I tossed a couple of nicely decorated daggers in the sack, assuming that Donna would know how to use them.

Lifting the light crystal, I found a small shelf high up on a wall behind the largest chest.  There were several finely decorated jewel boxes.  I shuddered to imagine what had happened to the owners.  I flipped them open one after another, gently as if I was intruding.  The last was most intriguing, and I took it down for a closer look.   

This box was made of wood laminations, alternating blocks of light and dark wood mixing Birch, Walnut, Maple and Cherry for different color, texture and grain. 

I flipped open this box and then stopped.  I stood, pondering the jewelry pieces.  They weren’t just in padding, they were each inset in a carefully carved, incised niche, exactly shaped to the form of each individual piece, jewel or coin. I closed the box, turning it over and over in my hands.  I opened the box to verify that each space was filled, then I closed it again.

It was a puzzle box.  I was sure of it.  I set it on the large chest trying to discern a seam or lap as I closely examined it with my light focusing to see a pattern to the colors and textures.  Gently I began to prod and touch the laminations. 

I don’t know how long I was engaged when I felt a square give, then another turn, and another move, until a click as a small drawer, quite invisible to that point, suddenly slid open.

Continued in Chapter 11

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