Reason For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 1) (21 page)

The Master Hunter waved for Valerie to walk beside him as he followed the others at a more sedate pace.

“Your hunters are skilled,” Valerie told him.  “They got closer to me than most before I noticed them.”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.  “Not close enough, I suspect,” he said wryly.

“No.  Not close enough, Master Hunter.  Which clan are you from?”

“We are the Mulgrew’s and you may call me Jens.  Jens Rothe.  The title is for those that must learn and I think there is nothing I could teach you.”

“In my experience, there is always something to learn from everyone.  Even from a new born babe.”

“Ah, you are a mother.  I have two of my own, the boy Klaus is my son.”

The pain threatened to overtake her and with it the rage that was part and parcel.  Just for a moment, she wanted nothing more than to kill all of them as an out let of all that emotion.  She forced it down and took a deep breath before replying.

“Once.  No longer.  My name is Valerie, Valerie Carter.”

Jens was not a stupid man and life was hard in the tribes.  He knew the look of a mother in pain well and said no more.

They came out of the gully into an open area.  The seven children with three others, who had not been at the gully, were moving a dozen Tofu’s into line.  The Tofu’s were a large herbivorous herd animal with eight legs.  The tribes used them for pack animals in the Mountains rough terrain.  All were loaded with various animals and plants that called the Ginormicas their home.  The tribes would use every part of this hunting parties catch to sustain itself.  Many of the plants were rare medicinal varieties the tribe could sell to off world drug companies for legitimate uses and quite a few illegitimate ones.

The hunters chivvied the Tofu’s into position.  When Jens reached the head of the column, they all set off without a word.  The hunting party moved at a walking pace with only the whisper of the Tofu’s foot falls.  Valerie was impressed by their discipline.  It was one of the reasons the Butler clan were so dangerous and why it had taken an elite Legion Commando Devil company to deal with them.

Grateful for the silence to stop any more questions, Valerie slipped into the depths of her thoughts and despair.  Her senses removed the column from her consciousness and swept out further, concentrating on any sounds that could be a danger to her.

The time moved quickly for her.  When the hunters relaxed and started to talk to one another it was her cue to come back to her surroundings.  They were just approaching a ridge and as she was at the head of the column beside Jens, Valerie was the first to see the tribes camp spread out in a rocky valley.  There were easily a thousand people down there amongst the tents and temporary shelters.  A bustle of humanity and one that scared Valerie far, far more than facing the Stone Dragon.

She could not help but stop.  Down there were questions and emotions she had no way of dealing with.  She felt a hand on her shoulder as Jens guided her to one side, out of the way of the column.  At any other time in the last month she would have broken his arm at the very least for touching her.  In the face of that mass of people, she was defenceless and could not resist as he turned her towards him.

His brown eyes looked into her own, with an expression of concern.  “Do not worry,” he said softly.  “There will be no questions.  I will see to it.  You may need to tell your story of the Dragon but that is all.”

Valerie swallowed and took a deep breath.  “Thank you.  I-” She started to explain and stopped, shaking her head.  “Thank you.”

“There is no need.  Many have known loss here and nothing more will be said.  Now come, there is food and rest to be had for all of us weary travellers.”  He turned to one of the hunters, a girl who had unwrapped her Keffiyeh to reveal a face that could not be more than thirteen years old and long dark hair.  “Edel.  Take the Warrior to our guest quarters.  Stay with her and make sure she has everything she needs.”

“Yes, Master Hunter.”  The girl replied.  “This way, if it will please you, Warrior.”

Valerie nodded her thanks to Jens and followed the girl down into the valley.  She did not question the notion of a guide and what was effectively a watchdog.  No one who was not of the tribe was allowed into the camp without an escort, no matter how honoured. 

The girl seemed ill at ease as she led Valerie, and the Major could not help herself.  The mother in her would not let her.

“You saw the fang and stopped blood being shed.”

The girl looked up at her.  “Yes, I have seen one once before.  A Warrior who visited from the Fisher clan years ago had one.  The tale he told was of a grand battle of a dozen warriors.  Few survived.”

“I can see why, I wouldn’t want to face another one again.”

Edel stopped and looked at the older woman.  “You killed it alone and with knives.  Never in all the mountains has anyone ever faced a Stone Dragon alone and survived.  I have heard all the tales and none speak of this.”

Stepping past Edel to continue walking, Valerie shrugged.  “I was lucky.”

Quickly catching up, the girl snorted in disbelief.  “If that was luck, I wish I had your luck so I could stumble across a diamond deposit in these mountains and pay off the clans debts.  That was not luck, the way you moved, it was...  It was...  I don’t know what it was.”

Mentally swearing to herself, Valerie knew better than to start a child off like that.  It was very difficult to find an off switch to stop them talking about things you didn’t want said, and asking questions you didn’t want asked.  Diversion was the only tactic with a chance of working.  Valerie reached behind her and pulled out the fang from where it was strapped to her pack.

“Here, would you like to hold it?”  Valerie held it out to the girl.

With eyes wide Edel took the fang reverently.  “It’s heavy and feels so sharp.”

“Dragons have a higher carbon content in their bones than any other animal on Blaze.”  Valerie told her, remembering her briefing from the Butler operation years ago.  “I doubt that fang has dulled one bit since it was first grown.”

Running her hands up and down the grey fang Edel inspected every millimetre of it.  “What are you going to do with it?”

“Turn it into a knife.  I have some rawhide of the beasts skin to wrap as a handle.  My thermals are much better blades but they rely on power and out here, as you know better than most, I’m sure, it’s better to have a low tech option.  That fang as a knife will be sharper and stronger than any unpowered metal blade.”

“Thank you.”  Edel said, handing the fang back.  “The others will be so jealous that I handled a Fang of the Stone.”

“Well either don’t tell them before I have gone, or make sure they know not to bother me, or I will rip their arms off.”  Valerie meant the last as a joke.  From the look on Edel’s face as she nodded vigorously, it did not come out that way at all.  Valerie mentally shrugged that away, it was not important, so long as they didn’t bother her, that was all that mattered.

They reached a temporary shelter that started out life as part of a disaster recovery kit to house families, if their homes were destroyed in an earthquake or something similar.  Now it was the Mulgrew guest quarters.  Many of the panels had been replaced with Tofu hides.  Probably after they were damaged during the clan’s nomadic movements. 

Pulling a hide drape aside, Edel led Valerie into the quarters.  It was large and spacious, with Valerie as the only occupant at the moment.  That wasn’t strictly true, Valerie knew, Edel would stay here tonight in her role as a, ‘guide’.

Pointing to the pallets of furs and blankets on the floor Edel explained.  “Pick any of them.  We don’t have any other guests unless one is on the way here.  Once the sun is set, no one is allowed to enter the camp.”  She pointed to several large pails of water to one side.  “We can wash there, we have about an hour before we need to be at the Chief’s fire.”

Dropping her pack on one of the pallets, Valerie took her coat, armour and pistol holsters off before taking the thermal knives from her boots.  Edel threw her own lighter bag on the pallet next to Valerie and started stripping her clothes off.

“Have you been invited to the Chiefs fire before?”  Valerie asked, knowing that it was a high honour in many tribes.

“No.”  Edel replied and shrugged.  “We all get to go at least once when we join our chosen path.  As a Hunter it is my turn in a couple of months.”  She wasn’t shy and stripped down to just her under wear before going to the washing water. 

Not that Valerie was worried either, in the Legion it wasn’t unusual to wash alongside the opposite sex, stripping down in front of a perfect stranger was of no concern.  Her shirt, trousers and boots joined the rest of her gear on the bag followed by her underwear.  Joining Edel at the water they washed themselves vigorously of the trail dirt ingrained in their skins.  Valerie didn’t know how long Edel had been out hunting, she seemed to have about the same amount as Valerie, who hadn’t washed properly since her convalescent camp.

Taking advantage of the opportunity Valerie checked the wound on her calf.

“Is that where the Dragon bit you?”  Edel questioned.

“Yeah, it wasn’t as bad as it looked on the holo.  It was mostly blood rather than tissue damage.”  Valerie lied.

“It’s healed well.”

Nodding in reply, Valerie was happy with how it looked and thought she was at least at ninety-five percent now.  “Can you wash my back?” she asked Edel.  Again the distraction tactic.  It was considered an honour to wash the back of a Warrior not of your tribe.  It was a sign of complete trust.  You were never more vulnerable than when naked and with your back to someone.

“I would be honoured, Warrior.”  The girl replied formally, though she did not save on the soap as she scrubbed the dirt away.  Valerie returned the favour before the two of them dried off and pulled on clean clothes.  Valerie left her armour on the pallet and strapped on her holsters.

“You don’t need those.”  Edel said, a little intimidated.

“I know.  It’s one of those things.  Where I go, these go.  They are my Fate.”  Edel nodded in understanding.  A Master Warrior of the tribes chose their Fate.  They could not be separated from them unless under the most dire of circumstances.  If Valerie requested hospitality from the tribe, they could have asked she not carry them as part of the bargain.  As the Mulgrew’s made the offer to Valerie, she was well within her rights to keep them.  It was still seen as bad manners.

Arranging her gear around her pallet Valerie made sure it was all easily accessible and tidy before lying back on the soft furs.  Edel pushed her stuff to the floor and collapsed down on her pallet.  Valerie could tell the girl wanted to ask more questions and was holding back. 

Shutting her eyes to discourage her, Valerie tried to go into a trance and funnel all of the emotions that roared through her into a ball.  It was a meditation technique her martial arts teachers taught her long ago in the Prometheus program.  The idea was to pull all of your negative thoughts together and then mentally throw them away.  Valerie could not get it to work for her.  She started small, the little irritations that are a part of life and they came together easily from long practise.  When she tried anything from her family no matter how unconnected, the trickle of pain became a torrent.  The ball instantly wobbled and burst apart, spraying memories and pain to ever corner of her mind.

It was a relief when Edel stirred, Valerie could feel her hesitancy from the next pallet as she gathered the courage to interrupt.  Valerie steadied herself as best she could before opening her eyes and turning to the girl.

“Time to go?” she asked.

“Yes.”  Edel said with obvious relief.  “They will be starting soon.”

Nodding, Valerie swung round off the bed and gathered her coat, on a whim she took the fang as well.  Together the two of them left the guest quarters.  Out in the now dark night, camp fires had sprung up all around them, with people gathered in circles around each one.  Edel lead them confidently, taking them easily round each fire, until they reached the centre of the camp and the biggest fire and circle.

Leading them to one edge Edel took Valerie up to a dark shape she recognised as the Master Hunter.  He climbed to his feet and turned to them.

“Good work, Edel.  Welcome to the Chiefs fire, Master Warrior,” he said formally.  Turning, he indicated a wizened old woman who climbed slowly to her feet.  “May I introduce Master Warrior Valerie Carter, sole slayer of a Stone Dragon.”

Bowing to the woman, Valerie guessed she was not much younger than Valerie’s own one hundred and eight years.  The Chiefs back was straight and Valerie could see in the fire light that her eyes were clear.  This was a strong woman who led her tribe with confidence.

“It is an honour to be here, Chief Mulgrew.”

“The honour is also ours Dragon Slayer.  Please take a seat next to me, the food will be here shortly.”  The Chief looked at Edel who stood back, almost trying to hide in the dark.  “I can see you there young hunter.  My eyes can still manage that, welcome to my fire and please be seated between Master Carter and Master Rothe.”

“It, it is an honour Chief Mulgrew,” the girl stammered.

“Yes, yes.  An honour to us all.  Let us sit so we can eat, or we will all be saying what an honour it is all night, and I will not get to hear the tale of a Stone Dragon slaying.”  They all sat cross legged on furs set there to protect them from the cold ground.  Food quickly came around, brought to the fire on large platters.  The bearers joined those at the fire and then the platters were passed round the circle.  No one was needed to serve the food.  Each took what they wanted and passed the platters on.