Every Man's Fantasy Ch. 09

"I'd like to smooth off that edge."

"Go ahead, if you can."

With a touch of showmanship, Ezra made a strong blue laser-blade, two inches long, holding it up for all to see, saying:

"Stand back everyone, at least ten feet, and don't look directly at the blade when I make the cut."

They all stepped back and copied him as he shielded his eyes with one hand; then he sliced cleanly through the offending metal in a fraction of a second. There had been a bright white flash. Now there was an orange glow on the edge that remained. He held out the cut piece, a triangle with two jagged edges and a shiny smooth edge, gently smoking where the surface-paint had rippled and burned.

"Don't anyone try to touch it," he said. "It's still searing hot." He proved this by dipping one corner in a cup of water, which hissed and bubbled off a cloud of steam.

The pen-knife needed recharging in the sun; after which he took a log from the camp-fire and, adjusting the laser-blade with another twist of the dials, burnt a hole in it. The wood crackled, sputtered and burst into flames. The tribe clapped.

"You can see how dangerous this tool can be, Juniel, so name your price to let me buy it."

"I don't know."

"How about I make you something? Your own chair, for example."

"I don't want a chair."

"Well, you think about what you want and I promise I'll make it for you."

Then he remembered he'd made a lot of promises since arriving on Samothea and not been able to keep them all. Also, Juniel was an intelligent girl and he knew with what lawyer-like tenacity an intelligent ten-year-old can insist on an agreement.

"What I mean," he amended himself, "is that, in exchange for giving me the pen-knife, I will make, find or do for you anything you want, so long as it's legal, moral, physically possible, of finite size, duration and cost and not likely to cause fear or harm to innocent people or animals."

Juniel absorbed this promise and nodded seriously.

"I accept," she said. "Will you show me how to use it?"

"Of course."

"Certainly not!" Leanne exclaimed. "Ezra, what are you thinking?"

"She fusses," Juniel said, with an air of wise resignation.

"So I see," Ezra whispered confidentially.

He twisted the dials a last time, locking the setting into place with a code. Now the blade could only get warm and not project more than half-an-inch.

"I've made it safe, Leanne," as he demonstrated by passing a soft red blade straight through his hand. There were sharp intakes of breath - some of the audience actually jumped - followed by relieved laughter.

"Here, Juniel," he said, giving the knife back to her. "If you twist this dial, you can change the colour. I'll give everyone lessons on how to use it, if Juniel will lend it to me for the time-being."

"I will, later," she said earnestly. For now, she wanted to play with it. Odette and the other children joined her and they played changing the colour of the blade all afternoon, until it ran out of charge; then they brought it back for Ezra to recharge it.

That night, Ezra had a surprise from Cressi (as if being scratched and bitten during sex weren't surprise enough): Cressi brought her bedmate, Salema, into the hut with her.

Cressi and Salema were lovers and so often shared a hut that their periods had synchronised. Salema was due to have her period in the week she would be with Ezra. Cressi therefore decided to share him with her. He didn't mind. The three of them made love sweetly. He had the joy of lying back while the two women knelt on the bed and took turns to suck his cock.

Salema was short and curvy, with Creole features and warm blood. Sultry and sensual, in contrast to the wild and agonistic Cressi, the girls made a beautiful combination. As always with the women of Samothea, never having had sex with a man before and not quite knowing what to do, Salema encouraged Ezra to take charge; but when she decided what she liked, she had no hesitation in saying so.

They finished with Salema on top, riding his cock slowly, leaning back, with Cressi sucking her tits and rubbing her clit, while Ezra brought Cressi off with a probing finger, flicking her own joy buzzer with his thumb. Juices flowed and moaning cries kept those in the nearby huts awake into the early hours.

***

Over-night, Juniel thought about what she wanted in exchange for her knife. She consulted her mother and, after breakfast, approached Ezra.

"I know what I want," she told him.

"Well done. What is it?"

"I want a baby sister."

He smiled and looked to Leanne to see if she was party to the request. Leanne smiled back at him.

"Well, I can't guarantee success, you understand. Nor can we be sure it will be a sister. You may get a baby brother instead. What would you say to that?"

Juniel thought for a minute.

"A brother would be satisfactory; so long as he's not too messy and does what he's told."

"I can't guarantee that, either; but I think you've made an excellent choice."

"When will you do it?"

"Well, I need to consult your mother about the best time."

"That's a good idea," Juniel agreed, seriously. "Mum's already been to the Cloner City once. She can tell you what to do."

Making time to try to impregnate Leanne (a task he looked forward to, she was a good-looking blonde woman and friendly) reminded him of something. He looked out for Devon and found her heading down to the sea to go fishing. He walked with her to the raft.

"Devon, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you want a child?"

She stopped walking. She'd already thought about it. Her first motivation in agreeing to be Ezra's bedmate was the chance to conceive. Learning about sex with a man was also fun. Now she had Kalyndra, it didn't change matters.

"Yes, I want a child."

"Well, here's an indelicate question: is there any chance last week was the right time for you to conceive."

She had no idea why that was an indelicate question.

"Do you mean, when is my period due?"

"Yes, I mean that."

"Not for another week."

"Well, then, if you want, we can find some time to be together before I leave and try properly for a child."

She didn't hesitate.

"I'd like that, Ezra. I'd like that very much."

She kissed him sweetly and skipped off to her job, happy that something else in her life was now turning out as she wanted it to.

***

Ezra devoted the rest of the day to working with his pen-knife, using yesterday's metal off-cut to make a blade. He completed the knife with a crude wooden handle fastened to the tang with threads and presented it to Calliope, who was pleased and commissioned him to trim off more scraps from the boat and make knives for all the Mariners.

There was a couple of days' work involved and Ezra realised he needed help to make the handles, so he asked if anyone was good at wood-working. Odette was immediately pushed forward. It seemed like wood-carving was her special skill. With the encouragement of her mother, the girl overcame her diffidence and ran to fetch an example, bringing back a sculpture of a hovering kestrel: a beautiful piece about ten inches high, even more admirable because Odette had worked only with stone tools.

Ezra invited Odette to carve some fancy handles to fit the blades he would make. She took the job seriously and did well. Two other women joined in the production line, with twine and fish-bone glue and by the time they all rested for lunch, there were half-a-dozen knives ready to be given out.

Seeing Odette's skill at carving gave Ezra an idea. Straight after lunch he made two special knives: a chisel for Odette to use in her carving; and a very thin, slightly curved blade, on which he put an extra-sharp edge using Juniel's grind-stones. Watching him work on this curious tool, Odette asked what it was for.

"It's a razor: a knife I can shave with."

He had to explain shaving to her and then he made his suggestion.

"You're a very skilful sculptress, Odette. Will you do some sculpting on me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Will you shave me with this razor?"

"I'll try."

To begin with, he wanted her to lop his beard short with the pen-knife on a low setting. It was dangerous using it near his skin, so he cautioned her to be extra-careful. She gave it some thought and pulled a comb out of her hair, one of those she wore to keep the frizzy mop under control.

In front of an audience of the whole tribe (after he rejected complaints from Kalyndra, Cressi and others who liked his beard), Odette used her comb against his skin as a guide and sliced through the beard, leaving a thick stubble.

"That's good work, Odette," he enthused gratefully. "I feel cooler already."

Then, with cooking oil as a lubricant, she began to shave his beard, going down the cheeks and up the neck and chin, as he instructed. It was very painful, however careful she was. Inevitably, there were nicks followed by involuntary flinches and bleeding; but, in ten minutes, Ezra felt the relief of being clean-shaven for the first time in nearly eight months.

"Hmm," he said, feeling his chin and smarting as he touched a cut, "I don't think that razor's sharp enough but it was worth it."

He decided he'd stick to having his beard trimmed down to stubble for now.

"So, how about a haircut?"

"You want a haircut now?" Odette asked. "You're not going to wait for haircut day?"

"What the devil is haircut day?"

"It's the day we all have our hair cut." She sounded surprised he didn't know that. "At the Cloner Fair."

"What's the Cloner Fair?"

Calliope was enjoying the show from a bench by the table.

"It's an annual fair we have at the Cloner City," she explained, "when the chiefs meet. On one of the days, we get our hair cut by the Cloners because they own all the scissors."

"I did hear something about the annual chief's meeting. It was the only one Mirselene goes to. But why can't they cut your hair at other times; or, better still, lend you the scissors?"

"Ah, well, you don't know the Cloners yet, Ezra. They don't 'lend' anything. As for haircut day. I suppose it's just a tradition."

As Calliope explained, Ezra encouraged Odette to start cutting his hair with the pen-knife, using the comb against her hand to cut it short. She did good work and sliced Ezra hair back to an inch or so, just how he wanted it, despite the moans of his fans in the audience who wanted him to look like a hippy.

Now it was dinner time and Ezra recharged his pen-knife to present it to Juniel so she could keep it over-night and look at the pretty colours.

Two days later, a small group went for a walk southward along the beach, looking for anything that might have washed up from the sunken space-ship. It was Juniel's treat and also her job to find the place again where she picked up the pen-knife.

Besides Juniel and Ezra, there was Juniel's mother, Leanne, Odette, Kalyndra, Devon and Thalassa. They carried water and food. All wore sun-hats: some crude modern ones, some ancient and torn. Ezra had one specially made by Odette's mother, Althea. It was a bowl-shaped leather cap with a cloth surround, like a curtain, sewn onto it. It kept the sun out of his eyes and off the back of his neck; necessary, now that his hair was short again.

Unfortunately, they found nothing in the ten or so miles they covered each way, though Juniel was positive they'd found the right place. The problem was the sand dunes were always shifting, so who could say where they were six months ago or so. None the less, they went for a swim, diving to take a good look at the sea-bed, hoping to see wreckage of any kind; but there was no success.

Because the pen-knife was buoyant, and the long-shore drift was strongly northward, it might have floated for many miles before being washed up on the beach. Still, it was an enjoyable day out with a picnic. Juniel found some interesting shells and coloured pebbles; Odette collected some drift-wood that she could carve; Kalyndra and Devon disappeared together for a while; and everyone got back to the Settlement exhausted.

Finding the knife added strongly to Ezra's desire to salvage his ship. It showed that only some of his electronic equipment was damaged by the x-rays from the black hole. Maybe more technology would work. It also showed how useful Earthside technology will be on Samothea, how it could transform the lives of the women here.

6 A visit from the Herders

Early one morning, while Salema and Cressi were dozing in bed with Ezra, the peace of the Mariner Settlement was shattered by the thumping of hooves, as three riders galloped down from the plain straight into the camp, spears sloped over their shoulders. The commotion alerted the awake Mariners, who ran into their huts to get their own spears. The lead rider was a wiry but powerful-looking black woman, a Zulu, covered in tattoos. She pulled her horse up in front of the boat and shouted:

"Belena, you old mermaid! Where are you, Sister? Show your face! I haven't ridden all this way to be ignored!"

Her pony, foaming with sweat, too agitated to stand still, snorted and stamped.

With great dignity, Calliope stepped out of the boat and into the square.

"I am Calliope, acting chief of the Mariners," she said, refusing to shout. "Belena is not here."

"Well, acting chief Calliope. I heard you'd driven Belena out and taken her place but I didn't believe anyone could perform such a brazen act of treachery!"

"The Mariners exiled Belena and chose me in her place. If you have come to throw accusations about, Solange, then you can leave by the way you've come. If you want to be friendly, then leave your horse and spear behind and join me at the table. We can discuss your concerns over breakfast."

Solange, chief of the Herders, dismounted and stuck her spear point-first into the ground. Her two tribeswomen did likewise. She threw her reins to one of her women. The three stood in front of the boat while Calliope made herself comfortable at her table, inviting the Herders to sit down. Solange ignored the invitation but walked up and down, no more able to rest than her highly-strung horse.

"I've also heard you have a man here," she proclaimed. "I want to see him."

Calliope knew that Solange was testing her, seeing if she would lose her dignity or her temper.

"Ezra Goldrick is our guest. I will ask if he is willing to meet you but perhaps he is not one who likes being ordered about. ... If you are staying, Sister," she added sweetly, "then we have fish and vegetables. The soup also is very good."

Solange remained standing, her women at attention behind her.

"Please invite your man to show himself."

Kalyndra was closest to Ezra's hut, so Calliope said to her:

"Please ask Ezra if he cares to meet Solange."

She headed to the hut but he'd heard and pushed aside the cloth to step out. He was bigger than the Herder chief expected. She liked what she saw, especially that he kept her gaze.

Solange herself was middle height but carried herself with such dignity that she seemed taller. Very strong and aggressive, she had on a leather jacket and leather shorts. Her sandals were tied up about her calves. Black and purple tattoos ran up her legs and arms, across her shoulders and chest, making her skin seem darker than its natural brown.

She walked up to him for a closer look. He stared back, unmoved by her aggression.

"I hear you're potent, Earthman. Let me see your loins, so I can judge for myself."

"Go fuck yourself!" he replied.

Solange laughed.

"I heard you've already got two of your Woodlander whores pregnant."

Ezra smacked her. It was a back-handed slap to the face, not a punch, but he hit her so hard she went sprawling onto the floor, her arms and legs flailing. The Herder women tried to rush forward but the Mariners were ready with their spears and held them at bay.

Solange was stunned but not unconscious. His strike rattled the teeth in her jaw and robbed her legs of their strength. She tried to rise but her knees buckled. From the floor, she raised an arm to signal her women not to resist.

"You are stronger than I thought," she said, sitting up and rubbing feeling back into her jaw. "That's good to know. You also don't take insults lightly. That's also good. ... I like you, Earthman. ... Help me up."

Ezra stayed still.

"Sister?"

Calliope nodded to Devon, who carefully laid down her knife out of reach and helped Solange stand. She lent on Devon a second as her strength returned.

"Thank you," she said, brushing dust off her tunic. "Sister, I will take those refreshments you were kind enough to offer."

She sat at the table and indicated the other Herder women, saying to Calliope:

"You remember Galatea, my lieutenant? And this is Ash."

"Of course. Welcome, ladies. Come and make yourselves comfortable."

"Ash, you stay with the horses. Galatea, come and join us," Solange ordered.

"I'll send Ash over some food," Calliope offered. "What about watering your horses?"

"We'll take them to the stream when we leave."

"It's high tide. It'll be brackish at the moment. You should go upstream."

While Galatea made her way to the table, Ash tied two of the horses' reins together but she hobbled Solange's mount, preventing the bad-tempered nervous animal from bolting.

It was now that Ezra got his first look at the two Herder women and immediately tried to hide all signs of recognition. Ash was a small, Chinese-looking girl, very thin, with waist-length straight black hair and a leather tunic; but it was Galatea he recognised. She had wavy black hair, a good tan and electric pale green eyes: the very spit and image of Wildchild.

He felt Solange was looking at him and hoped he'd given nothing away, but she didn't speak and the awkward moment passed when Ferne joined Calliope and the Herders at the table, so the chiefs and their deputies could discuss politics. The other Mariners went on with their jobs, bringing breakfast and preparing to go fishing, though some of the wary ones stayed nearby, holding their weapons. They sat on the benches near the camp-fire. Ezra sat with them.

"I expect you're wondering how I know you'd exiled Belena," Solange said to Calliope.

"Not really. I guess one of the Herders met her on the way to or from the Cloner City."

"Yes, one of my braves saw an old woman trudging alone on the prairie. She turned around and gave her a lift to the city, then she reported the outrage to me."

"I'm glad your rider helped Belena. We had to expel her but we don't want her to suffer. I repeat, though, her temporary banishment was in accordance with our laws, which she broke."

"How, exactly, did she break your laws?" Solange demanded.

"By tyranny, bullying ... and other crimes that are none of your damn business, Sister."

Solange gave Calliope a good look and found a quiet strength in the woman. She always became less aggressive when someone stood up to her.

"She's a friend, Calliope. Belena and I had fun times together. She was good to you Mermaids and drove a hard bargain with the Cloners."

"She wasn't good to all the Mariners, Solange," Ferne said, gently.

The Herder chief paused a second.

"I accept that," she said. "I know Belena's philosophy: 'the strong should dominate; the weak should submit'. Apparently, she put it into practise."

She ignored the hard stares from Calliope and Ferne.

Solange had the ability to be at her ease anywhere. She was twenty feet from her spear, surrounded by armed Mariners and had been slapped almost unconscious; yet she was as relaxed as a lion in a herd of gazelle. She tasted her food.

"Calliope, this soup is good," she said.

As the two chiefs and their lieutenants discussed the existing treaty between the tribes, Odette and Juniel shyly approached the table. Calliope noticed them first.