One Whore's Town Ch. 08

"It's okay. Let it out," Betty said. She glanced at Ghent and said, "Water — and whisky."

Her man nodded and went to fetch it.

Jan looked a little pale as well, but she moved in to help comfort her fellow prostitute. Pallah figured out that the only place one couldn't see the bodies was sitting down behind the furniture fortress, so he led his apprentice there.

Betty knew Lana would need the whisky soon, but for the moment, she took the water and a towel Ghent had thoughtfully picked up. She nodded toward Jan when he held out the liquor bottle. The buxom blonde took a long pull, and then offered the bottle to Ginny. The redhead was sitting with her sister, holding her hand. Keri in turn was holding Lilly's hand. Ginny took a drink, but her sister shook her head when offered the bottle. Lilly had no qualms.

Betty handed over the towel after Lana's spasms had passed. Betty straightened and looked over the couch to see that the men were making short work of the bodies. Unfortunately, it did nothing for the pools and splatters of blood.

Remembering how little she wanted to hear about how she'd done the right thing after she threatened Josephine, Betty instead offered the comfort that they were safe now. She reminded Lana — and everyone else — that the General's soldiers were everywhere, and nobody was getting past them. Slowly, but surely, everyone reached a reasonable level of calm.

The whisky helped.

Betty heard quiet conversation and looked to see Ghent and Hoss speaking. Ghent nodded to Hoss and then walked over when he saw Betty looking.

"Raven says it's all clear. We should have everyone go to the new rooms. Once they're in the hall... Well... It's clean back there," Ghent said.

"What about the horses?" Abel asked.

"They're okay," Ghent answered. "There was one man in there, but he made the mistake of getting too close to Studly. He didn't get any farther."

The young man crossed his arms in front of his chest and said, "Good."

Pallah said, "Abel and I will go back to the stables."

"I'd rather everyone stays close," Betty said.

Ghent put his hand on her shoulder. "General's man said they're not going anywhere. They'll be as safe in the stable as they are here."

What he didn't say with words, she saw in his eyes. The pair would be more comfortable in familiar, bloodless surroundings, with tasks to distract them. She nodded and said, "Go on."

Once Pallah and his charge left, Betty said, "Let's go to the new rooms. Try not to..." She sighed. "We all need to get out of this room."

Though there was some hesitation, the women began to rise. The three who hadn't actually seen more than flashes of the carnage paled when they saw the blood, but Hoss and Mack distracted them as much as possible while leading the two sisters and Lilly out of the front room.

Jan said, "Come on, Lana."

"I'll need your ring, honey," Betty said.

Lana looked at her in confusion for a moment, but then saw her special hump over Betty's shoulder. He was still sprawled out in magical slumber. She nodded, slipped off her ring, and handed it to Betty.

"I'm sorry, honey. This is all my fault," Betty said.

Lana's features hardened for a moment. "No. It's that bitch. I hope she's pulling all her hair out right now."

Betty forced a smile and said, "That's a nice thought."

Hoss returned and offered a hand. "My room's not much, and it's a bit crowded, but..."

Ghent held out his hand to Betty as Hoss led Lana away. "I'll carry that fella out and wake him up out there. He's gonna have a fit, and they don't need to hear that."

Betty handed over the ring.

Raven walked in, looking unsettled. "The General's... Whatever he said his rank was... Anyway, he wants to talk to you. Could you put up Wynn and Shad? Wynn emptied his quiver and took out more of those bastards than anyone, but once everything calmed down... He should be around friendly faces."

"Of course. Everyone is back in the new rooms," Betty said.

Raven looked back and waved. "Shad."

Betty heard a few whispered words, and then Wynn walked in with his brother's hand resting on his shoulder. The young man had a blank look on his face and walked as though he barely knew where he was.

"Could you tell the General's man that I'll be out in a minute?" Betty asked.

"Sure."

Betty steered the two brothers around the worst of the blood, and saw Ghent carrying the slumbering man outside. As Ghent had said, there was little evidence of the struggle in the hallway. The attackers had made it well past the area before Hoss and Mack had engaged them.

Betty wanted to go and offer what comfort she could, but she knew she was responsible for everything that happened, despite Lana's insistence otherwise. Once the brothers reached the doorway of the first room, she turned and walked to the front door.

"Ma'am," The General's officer said when she emerged.

"Thank you for your help," Betty said.

The soldier said, "It is fortunate we received a report of a man matching Roja's description having robbed an herbalist nearby. We were returning from our investigation when we heard the sounds of battle. I am told all your people are unharmed?"

"Nobody seriously wounded." Unharmed was hardly the word to describe anyone who had experienced what happened that night. "I know I can't prove it, but Josephine sent these men," Betty said.

"You have no need of proof. We have a confession from one of the murderers. I offered him a clean death if he confessed, as he was slowly drowning in his own blood. He implicated your rival unprompted, and cursed her for lying about magical protection with his last breath. I have already sent someone to rouse General Corra."

"The one Studly kicked in the stable. Caved his chest in," Ghent offered.

Betty noticed a pair of covered bodies beyond the soldier. "You lost men?"

"Those set to watch your house. I have little doubt they were slain by the dark arts." The soldier turned and spit to show his disdain.

"I'm so sorry," Betty said.

"General Corra will see that justice is served. My men will remain until his arrival. You are safe. The one called Raven has removed the threat of magic."

Betty looked around and asked, "Where is Raven?"

The soldier answered, "She has gone to check farther afield. If any men still lurk in the grass, I trust they will meet a swift end. This is a woman I would not wish to cross."

Ghent and Betty glanced at each other. Betty knew that he was thinking the same thing she was thinking. Raven had likely gone after Josephine.

The sound of hooves pounding on the hard-packed earth emerged in the distance, growing ever closer. Soon enough, the riders appeared on the road in the moonlight. Even in the dim light and at a distance, it was easy to recognize Corra astride his magnificent war horse at the head of the men.

The General vaulted from his saddle before his horse had even come to a stop. He walked over to his slain men, spoke briefly with the soldiers who attended them, bowed his head, and made a religious sign Betty knew was associated with the god of war.

"Did you lose anyone?" Corra asked as he approached.

"No, your men arrived just in time. I'm so sorry that it was too late for your soldiers," Betty answered.

"It is a risk we all face each day. Though they were felled by foul magic, the need to remove them as a threat means they did their duty." Corra then turned to his officer. "You have a confession?"

"Unprompted, and a dying declaration. The whore Josephine is responsible for the death here," the soldier answered.

Corra pointed to the man and said to Betty, "This is all I need. The woman will be brought before me in chains, and put to death at dawn for murder." He then signaled to a group of his men who had remained mounted. They wheeled their horses and rode back out to the road.

"That quickly?" Betty asked.

"She is a foreigner responsible for the death of Draxnian soldiers. We have a dying declaration to a man of rank and noble family. All that remains is to ask if one of your men would like to be the one to remove her head?"

Betty quickly held up a hand. "We've all seen enough death tonight."

The General gave a brief nod. "To those ends..." He turned to his officer, "Remove the corpses. We will see if they provide information that might lead to others who need to join them in death."

Janus walked up as the General and his officer barked orders, and said, "I was thinking that maybe we could move all the beds into my workshop for now."

"It's clean?" Ghent asked.

"Of bodies and blood, anyway," Janus answered.

Betty saw the wisdom of it. Eventually, they would all need to sleep. "Do it."

"What miracle is this?" Corra asked, having turned and noticed Janus.

Janus shrugged and smiled. "Don't remember much honestly, but I took a bolt in the chest. They took it out, poured a potion in me, and when I came to..." He held up his hands and pointed them toward his still bare and unblemished chest.

Corra muttered something in his native tongue, looking amazed as he beheld the change to Janus. He then asked Betty, "You possess such magic?"

"It's a blessed potion. I'd seen what they could do before, so I always keep one on hand for emergencies," Betty answered.

"Well that you did," Corra said. "Where might I acquire some of these potions?"

"It takes the priests who make them about a week each, and I paid two silver crowns on top of a month of free humps for each one, but I could put you in touch."

"Madita se..." Corra muttered, which Betty knew meant roughly damn me.

Betty shared the sentiment. She had nearly balked at the price when she found the priests who made them.

Ghent offered, "Seen a few drops heal some pretty nasty wounds and sicknesses, so they go a long way unless somebody's on death's door."

"That is good to know. At the very least, I would wish to acquire one for my wife and sons," Corra said.

Betty said, "After everything you've done for a bunch of whores, I'll see that you get one for your family. I have two back home, and it will only take a couple of days to get one sent here for you."

"I thank you, but I will pay. I consider our assistance in kind for the aid you have provided us. What will you do now that your rival will answer for her crimes?" Corra asked.

Betty shook her head. "I put everyone in danger here. We're going home before I find a way to make it worse."

"I see something very different," the General said. "You were besieged and lost not a single life. Were you one of my soldiers, you would be decorated for such an accomplishment."

"Even if he led them into the nightmare in the first place, and it was pure, dumb luck that anyone survived?"

"You accept responsibility, and do all within your power to make right the circumstances you find yourself in. That is the mark of a true leader," Corra said.

"Here, here," Janus said.

"Damn straight," Ghent agreed.

"You see?" the General said, breaking out into a wide smile. "I would be sad to see you go, but if you choose to do so, my men will ride to protect you on your journey."

Betty curtsied, and said, "Thank you, General." She certainly wasn't going to argue against having well-trained men surrounding them for the trip home.

Once again, the sound of galloping horses split the night.

The General's brow furrowed and he turned toward the road. A minute later, two of his soldiers appeared in the moonlight. As the two men reigned in, one shouted, "Sir, the woman was dead when we arrived."

Corra asked, "How?"

Betty and Ghent looked at each other in concern for Raven.

"We believe Roja killed her. He is dead as well. One of the town watchmen shot him."

Betty's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected revelation.

The General groaned and massaged his temples. He then turned and said, "Madam, I fear I must go and discover what madness has unfolded. These men will remain here tonight, and more will be sent to relieve them in the morning, so you may rest in peace. Or as much peace as you may find."

"Thank you, General."

As Corra moved to mount, Betty said, "Get the beds moved. Hopefully, they'll have the bodies cleared out soon. We'll have everyone move to the workshop as soon as they do. Sooner or later, exhaustion will get the better of us all."

"Yes'm," Ghent and Janus said in unison.

Ulis and his brothers-in-arms approached, having dressed their wounds. Ulis said, "We'll help. Not much sense in us standing guard with all these soldiers on hand."

Callis added, "We may be able to help a bit with something else. The boy's first time killing?"

Betty nodded and sighed. "He's not the only one."

"We'll do what we can. Sometimes it's better coming from someone you're not so close to," Callis said.

"Thank you... For that, and standing strong out here alone."

Ulis smiled. "Bit hairy at first when our swords were bouncing off them, but once they started to bite, and their archers started dropping like flies to the boy and that devil woman, it really wasn't much of a scrap. We'll get to work."

Betty followed, but didn't go inside. As she stood outside the door, her hand began to tremble. She clenched her teeth and her fist. She made herself watch as Corra's soldiers piled up bodies. The first bed made its way from the house to the workshop, borne by the men. A horse and cart rolled in after a short while, and the corpses found their way onto the cart.

Movement in her peripheral vision caused Betty to spin toward it and reach for her dagger.

Raven held up her hands for a moment, and then continued her approach. "So, the bitch is dead."

"What happened?"

Raven hiked a thumb at the doorway, and then walked inside. Betty followed as the rogue walked toward Lilly's room, which was farthest from everyone else in the new rooms.

Once inside, Raven said, "I was going to go slit her throat to end this mess I got you into—"

Betty interrupted, "You?"

"Yeah, me. If I hadn't egged you on, you would have been safely back at Alice's Kip by now. You know that. You depended on me, and I read this all wrong. I didn't think she was willing or able to pull something like this. I didn't take her seriously, and that's on me."

"I'm the one who walked into this," Betty countered.

"And you would have walked right back out of it. Anyway, there's no winning this. Shit went down, and we're not going to get anywhere fighting over whose fault it is."

Betty shrugged. "Fair enough."

Raven said, "I climbed up and let myself in a window. That's when I heard Roja ranting. Skulked over to see what was going on. He had her tied up, gagged, and he'd cut her clothes off afterward, because part of it was trapped by the rope. Guessing he whacked her upside the head first."

"Why would he attack her?" Betty asked.

"That's what he was ranting about. He blamed her for what happened to him. Completely out of his mind. Going on and on about killing Damson and stealing her poke. How her goddess had abandoned her. How she was going to die slowly and horribly. He was foaming at the mouth, and getting louder the longer he went on. Guess he didn't realize he'd attracted attention."

"Someone heard?"

"City guard. I made myself scarce when I heard someone open the door downstairs, and I assume they spotted her bully boy. She was dead anyway. I realized it when she started flopping like a fish. Poison. Nasty stuff. Found a place across the road to watch as they surrounded the place. Charged a green recruit when he came out. The guy panicked and put a bolt in his chest. Dead before he hit the ground."

"So, they're all gone," Betty quietly said.

"Yep. One fell swoop. Headed back here once Corra's men showed up." Raven looked around and asked, "The fuck happened to Lilly's bed?"

"The boys are moving them to the workshop, away from..." she gestured toward the front room.

Raven grunted in approval. "Good idea. Wynn doing okay?"

"He's with everyone else. The last thing any of them need is—"

Raven cut her off. "Blah, blah. Your fault. Bullshit. What they need is to see you with a strong hand on the reins." She walked over and took Betty's hand. "Go. The first thing Wynn asked after he knew his brothers were okay was about you. He only let himself fall apart after he knew the job was done and you were all safe." She smiled and chuckled. "You can fall apart once everyone is asleep."

Betty let out a shuddering sigh and squeezed the rogue's hand. "I don't know that I'll make it that long."

"Yes, you will. Go. Get them moved into the shop and abed. Once the bodies are gone and the sun is shining, things will be better. I'm going to go make sure they haven't messed with any of the bone wizard's stuff."

Betty couldn't stop the faint smile that curled her lips. "You told them it was dangerous, and to let you take care of it."

"Exactly. Maybe I can offer a bit of carrot instead of the stick with my pet wizard. Wasn't totally lying, though. Anything that makes my skin crawl is getting the point of my dagger and de-magicked. Bone magic is some dark shit. Shattered his bloodstone as soon as I had a second."

Ghent peeked into the room. "Got all the beds moved except the two in the rooms back there and ours. They've got all the bodies hauled off. The girls have been asking about you."

Betty took a deep breath. When Raven nodded, she said, "Let's get everyone moved out of here."

****

Betty started awake, but somehow didn't scream. She whimpered and shuddered when Ghent pulled her close. She realized that she must have dozed off and it was just a dream, but she could still hear the sickening thud of her crossbow bolt slamming into the man's chest, and see the life draining out of his eyes as he crumpled.

"You should let me take you to bed," Ghent whispered.

Though she was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, she shook her head.

Ghent said, "No help to anybody if you collapse, and everybody else is asleep."

"They need the beds," Betty countered.

"Nobody using the wagons, and they're all ready to go. Damn near as comfortable as the beds."

"I..." Betty began, but then trailed off as she heard the sound of horses. Rather than the pounding of hooves, it was snorts and the jangling of tackle that alerted her just before Corra appeared on the road.

He spoke to the soldiers stationed there and then motioned for the column he was leading to pause. Betty squeezed Ghent's hand, and he helped her to her feet.

The General reined in and slipped off his horse. "Madam, you should rest. I assure you that you will be safe. My men watch over you, and all who threatened you are no more."

When he gestured, Betty looked toward the road and saw two wagons. One of them held what was obviously a body wrapped in some sort of shroud and carefully laid out on a bier. She couldn't see anything in the second, more common wagon, but she could guess. Considering Corra's enmity for Roja, she was surprised to see his body treated with such respect.

He must have known what she was thinking, because he said, "As much as I would take pleasure in seeing him dumped in the pit with the rest of the murderers, there are certain norms that must be observed. In truth, providing him with honor and dignity he does not deserve will be more offensive to his family than if I left him for the vultures and plains cats. That would give them a weapon to wield against us. A proper burial befitting his station will force them to extend pleasantries instead, and they will taste bile with every word."

Though she already knew the details, she kept up appearances by asking, "Josephine and Damson?"

"Poison," he answered. "While not proper justice, their end was prolonged, and unpleasant, to say the least. They have paid dearly for their crimes. They will be the first into the pit, as we have no need to identify them."