Lowborn Ch. 08

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Darkniciad
Darkniciad
1,252 Followers

"If they aren't here soon, we're leaving them," Raven warned in a whisper, the sound nearly swallowed by the cacophony of crickets. "I know this feeling, and we're about to get nabbed if we don't move."

He found it hard to argue with that. His instincts were screaming to leave immediately as well. Before he could respond, all eyes snapped toward a door opening.

"Sorry," Alice said as she hurried out, carrying two canvas bags. Behind her, Becky followed, her dress pulled up and a hand pressed between her legs. "Guy just wouldn't finish up. I finally went in and got my tits out and licked him a bit while he went at her, and the two-for set him off and made him happy."

Becky gave one last wipe with the rag between her legs and tossed the semen-coated cloth aside. "Sorry. He was one of Yvonne's regulars, and..."

"Never mind. Just get in the wagon," Raven said, cutting the brunette off. She then nodded to a disheveled boy standing nearby, and the child vanished like a ghost into the shadows. She turned to Mindblind and said, "Give it a few minutes and Magar's people will sneak out in sight of the south gate. Once the guard takes the bait, we'll get the hell out of here."

"Aren't they just going to find us on the road or see where we cut through the grass?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Farmer's track will take us west. We can run along the edge of the pasture north, then meet up with the road. They'll go after the pigeons Magar's sending south, and by the time they lose them or figure out it was a goose chase, we'll be long gone. If we were dumb enough to stay, they might all jump us, but doubt anyone's paying them enough to go chasing us out into the hinterlands in the dark."

He felt a curious and disquieting sense of disappointment in that. The anger he'd felt at not discovering the person behind the whole plot had returned with a vengeance, and he felt the need to lash out.

A few quiet, tense minutes later, Raven froze in place, looking as if she had heard something. "That's it. Let's move," she declared, and hurried to the hidden gate to open it.

The gate was narrow, and the new wagon was barely able to pass through. Then, they were outside the town, visible even in the darkness to anyone who might happen to look out a back window. They followed a narrow dirt farm road, moving away from the secret gate to the west. Raven and Mindblind jogged ahead of the slow-moving wagons, ever alert for signs of pursuit or dangerous wildlife, attempting to locate hazzards hidden by the darkness. Fortunately, the track was reasonably level and solid.

The road continued west until the town was no more than a faint haze of light in the distance, and then they reached the pasture. It took another hour of dodging startled cattle, but the course eventually led them to where the road wound north, toward Lakenshire.

Once on the road, Indigo was able to push more speed from his horse, because the tall grass surrounding the better-maintained road helped define it even with the poor illumination. The less experienced Frannie needed only to follow the wagon ahead, and the horse she guided did that instinctually.

Raven and Mindblind took up positions on either side of the road, though he was considering a return to the front to look for the numerous ruts and bumps that regularly jarred the wagons.

Ahead, campfires created spots of orange light alongside the road, and off in the plains. When Mindblind turned around, he noticed one or two campsites between their position and the direction of town as well. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt the presence of unseen eyes watching him. When an especially strong jolt hit the wagon, he slowed with the intention of moving to Raven's side of the road to talk to her, but she was ahead of him.

The nimble thief bounded atop the rear wagon, and then balanced with cat-like grace on the narrow side board, staring off into the distance.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Looks like nobody's dogging us." She jumped down from the wagon. "We should probably find a good spot and get off the road. We stand out like a sore thumb running in the dark. Make like any other travelers and set a camp. Leave the moment there's enough light to see."

"Feels like somebody's watching us," Mindblind argued.

"Plains cats. Saw a flash of one's eyes. Another good reason to stop and light a fire. One young enough or hungry enough might go for one of us, but unless one's starving, it's not coming near a fire."

"I'll go tell Indigo."

A few long-legged strides brought him to the front of the small caravan. "Raven says it doesn't look like anyone human is after us, but she sees some plains cats skulking around. Thinks we should make camp and get some fires burning."

"There are a few trees ahead, I believe. It is difficult to tell in this gloom."

"Sounds like as good a place as any. Close to any of those fires?"

"Not too close."

"Make for it. Even if it's just the dark playing tricks on you, we don't want to get up to those other camps. Got to find something soon."

Ears perking at every sound, now that he knew about the nearby plains cats, Mindblind fell back into place beside the wagon. As they rolled on, he could tell that Indigo wasn't imagining things. A small patch of trees emerged from the sea of grass. They weren't likely to find a better spot, and at least the huge, tawny-colored cats wouldn't be all but invisible, as they were in the grass.

Turning off the road into that grass was enough to prompt Raven to jump up on the wagon, and Mindblind prudently followed her example. She wasted no time as they rolled up to the trees, and hopped down to fashion a crude torch, which she sparked light to with flint and steel. The earlier storm had knocked down some large, dead limbs, providing plenty of fuel for a pair of fires.

With the darkness — and with luck, the cats it shrouded — chased away, everyone settled in. Though Raven took the first watch as usual, Mindblind found sleep elusive. He sat near one of the fires, sword still strapped to his back, staring off in the direction of the road.

Quiet footfalls alerted him to someone approaching, and he turned to see Alice. "Can't sleep?" he whispered.

She cupped her abundant breasts and followed his example by whispering, "Blessing and a curse. I swear they're still bouncing everywhere from that wagon ride. Besides, I'm nervous out here in the middle of nowhere, and anxious to get back."

"Y'all been holding up pretty well."

"It may look that way, but I think we're all about three seconds from panic at any given moment." She sat down next to him and shrugged. "We've got a lot of practice ignoring our feelings and laughing things off."

"Reckon so."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"Becky, Cammie, and I sort of had this idea. The men let loose of their coin pretty quick when new girls are around. We were thinking that maybe we could trade girls who wanted to between Yvonne and Yasmine's places. They know each other, and another madame named Samantha in Fightershaven. You think it might keep guys excited?"

He let out a grunt. "New girl's always going to catch your eye." A thought occurred to him, and she added, "Always go hog wild on something you have to wait for, too — like melons in the summer."

A wide grin spread across her face. "So, you think it would turn the trick?"

"Makes sense to me."

"I was thinking about going back to that town..." She trailed off and chuckled. "Never even knew the name of the place. We were just calling it Stingy Pussy. Me, Becky, and Cammie. Maybe work something out with the barkeep and the owner at that inn until we could get our own place. Couple of other small towns around there. Maybe all three of us could have our own places eventually."

"Sit down and count the coin instead of laying down with your legs in the air, huh?"

"We're not getting any younger."

It might have seemed absurd coming from a woman in her mid twenties — at most — but he knew it was true in her line of work. "Rough road, going your own way."

"Kind of hoping we can get Yasmine and Yvonne to help us out at first if we can make them some good money with our idea, and be in on it."

"Might just work," he responded, once again surprised by just how smart and resourceful some of the women were. It was also yet another reminder that despite all the prejudice he endured, he had his own pre-conceived notions as well.

"Hope so." She went quiet for a minute or two, then surprised him again. "We all want to say sorry for... Well, you know, the way we were back at Yasmine's. To you, I mean."

"Used to it. Don't worry about it."

"Still..."

"You got over it. Good enough for me. Damn sure made this nightmare easier, helping out the way you have."

"Had to do something. We'd all be dead or slaves except for you two coming after us."

"Had our own reasons, though."

"But you're still dragging us along, aren't you?" she said, and then stood up. "You ever need some company, any of us would be glad to help you out with that."

He chuckled. "I'll keep it in mind."

Alice returned to her place in the wagon to bed down for the night, and a few minutes later, Mindblind felt his eyelids finally getting heavy. He looked over at Raven, knowing his own turn at watch would come all too quickly. She seemed lost in thought, but still alert for danger.

As if to prove her awareness of her surroundings, she said, "Hit the rack. Be waking up Indigo soon. And if you need any company, I might not even charge you."

Shaking his head upon seeing her wry expression in the firelight, he stood up to go try to find some sleep.

****

The lonely last watch drew to a close — false dawn giving way to the real thing and heralding the time to move. As Mindblind turned back toward the wagons, he saw Raven stretching, already awake.

"Time to get moving," she said as she walked over. "Bury the fires while I get everybody up. Last thing we want is a damn wildfire chasing after us, and the wind's kicking up."

Fortunately, there was little need for the weary and uncomfortable prostitutes to do much. Giving everyone time to answer the call of nature took longer than anything else in the preparations to roll out. The women helped strike the canvas, and then pulled out food for breakfast, which would be eaten on the way.

The sun still wasn't halfway above the horizon when Indigo looked back to ensure everyone was on board and ready to go. Just as he was about to snap the reins, Raven grabbed his hand and said, "Hold it. Everybody be quiet."

The women obeyed that order without the slightest thought or question, stopping in mid-sentence and even freezing in place. As soon as quiet descended, Mindblind heard the sound of a horse at full gallop.

"Somebody's in a hell of a hurry this early in the morning," Raven remarked.

Though they were certainly visible from the road, there was nothing that could be done about it. They were at least outside of the direct line of sight. Someone would have to be purposely looking off to the sides of the road to see them, and have good reason to do so while moving at the pace the hoof beats indicated.

The sound grew louder, and then the rider appeared at a bend on the road. It only took a few seconds to recognize the horse as coming from expensive stock. The saddle and the clothes the man wore likewise spoke of wealth. He rode by without pause — eyes fixed on his path — and soon galloped out of sight.

"Old blueblood or Draxnian lackey," Mindblind grumbled, and then turned toward Indigo when he realized what he'd said.

"No offense taken, my friend," the smiling Draxnian said.

"And out of Lakenshire," Raven added. "Those stirrups are pretty much unique. Come out of the most expensive tack shop for miles. You can bet your ass that's where the gold to look for us came from."

"I got a fair look at the man," Indigo said. "I shall see if my father's name and rank will grant me audience with those of power in Lakenshire. If he is known there, we may yet find who is behind these horrible acts."

Raven said, "Me too. I'll see if anybody on the dodgy paths knows who he is."

Knuckles white where he gripped the tailgate of the wagon, Mindblind growled, "Riding like that, he probably knows he'd found us, and that we got away."

"Then we'd better get moving and get back there before they have time to get ready for us," Raven said as she jumped up onto the wagon and slid into the seat next to Frannie.

"They'd better get ready," Mindblind growled under his breath before taking his place in the seat next to Indigo.

****

Hope you've enjoyed the latest chapter. We're getting close to the end of the tale now. As always, do take the time to vote. Feedback is the fuel that keeps me writing. Your votes, comments, emails, and favorites not only accomplish the goal of dropping a coin in my tin cup, but also lift the profile of the story, which attracts more feedback. It's the best way there is to encourage your favorite authors to keep doing what they do.

Darkniciad
Darkniciad
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8 Comments
AnonymousAnonymousalmost 2 years ago

Slight discontinuities at times, but overall a great yarn.

4's & 5's from me for whole series; can't stop reading.

ausvirgoausvirgoover 3 years ago

Great story, from a master storyteller.

Loving it.

AnonymousAnonymousalmost 6 years ago
Great story, with evolving characters...

Love this story, with plenty of sex, good plot and setting, and characters that actually evolve a bit during the course of the story. Excellent writing also: the author can set up a scene without drowning the story in over-flowery prose.

AnonymousAnonymousover 10 years ago
It's Strange

No kidding, anon. This is known as foreshadowing.

Author's been laying it on pretty thick lately. Indigo says its evil, then mindblind demonstrates that it is magically altered and immediately had ongoing anger issues. Previously the author had taken pains to state that he was in control of his emotions. Yes, it's the sword.

TJ_RockTJ_Rockover 10 years ago

I've been offline for awhile now and come back to find the story finished uploading. Thank you, this was a wonderful present for getting back from out of town.

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Lowborn Ch. 07 Previous Part
Lowborn Series Info

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