recommended him
for any bodyguarding she needed done. She had a thing she wanted
to do that night but she was nervous and scared and even though she
was sure there would be no trouble, she thought it wouldn’t
hurt to have somebody along. Just in case. Just to make her more
comfortable. After Saucerhead agreed to stick with her until she
felt she didn’t need him anymore, she went away until shortly
before dusk, when she came back with a small open carriage.
“She have anything with her?”
“Bunch of cases in the back. The kind women stuff with
clothes and things. She wasn’t planning on coming
back.”
“Uhm. She say anything about what she was
doing?”
That was the only time he was a little uncertain about what he
ought to tell. He decided I needed everything. “She never
said what she was up to. But she was going to meet somebody. And
she wasn’t planning on coming back.”
“Then if you hadn’t been along, she would’ve
disappeared and nobody would’ve known what really
happened.” Gods. I blind myself with my own brilliance
sometimes.
“Yeah. You going to let me tell it? Or should I catch a
nap while you’re jacking your jaw?”
“One more thing, then you can get on. Your payment. How
and when?”
“Up front. I always make them pay up
front . . . well, I almost made an exception
for her. I took every coin she had, and then she was still half a
mark short. I forgave her that and told her she should hold out
part of the fee so she wouldn’t short herself. But she said
there was no problem, and when we got where we were going,
I’d get my other half mark and maybe a nice bonus for being
such a sweetheart.”
“Yeah. That’s Saucerhead Tharpe all over. A real
sweetheart. All right. Go on.”
They had moved out in the twilight, Saucerhead on horseback
behind the carriage. He was lightly armed, but that wasn’t
unusual. He preferred to rely on his strength and speed. I
didn’t have to ask if he had seen anyone watching or
following. He was looking for that and saw nothing. They left the
city after dark and headed north at a leisurely pace, not doing any
fancy switch backing, not hurrying, and not drawing any special
attention. Because he rode behind the buggy most of the way, they
didn’t talk much. But there was a three-quarter moon and a
clear sky, and he was able to tell she was getting more worried and
nervous as the night wore on. She was thoughtful of him and the
animals, pausing for several rests.
About three in the morning they came to a woodland crossroad a
couple miles from the famous old battleground at Litchfield, where
some say the old imperial bones still sometimes get up and stalk
around in search of the man who betrayed their commander.
As is customary at important crossroads, there was a central
grass diamond with its tutelary obelisk. Amiranda stopped next to
the obelisk where her team could crop grass. She told Saucerhead
they would wait there. As soon as the person she was meeting
showed, he could head back to TunFaire.
Saucerhead dismounted. After working the kinks out he just
stood leaning against the buggy, waiting. Amiranda had little to
say. An hour dragged past. She became more worried by the minute.
Saucerhead’s feeble attempts to reassure her foundered on
his ignorance. She believed her worst fears were coming true. The
moon was about to depart the heavens and the east was lightening
when Saucerhead realized they were no longer alone. An absence of
the gossip of birds awakening tipped him off. He just had time to
warn Amiranda before they charged out of the woods. The moment he
saw them he knew they weren’t just road agents.
“There was at least fifteen of them, Garrett. Ogres. Some
of them with the pure blood, like you don’t hardly never see
no more. They had knives and sharp sticks and clubs and big bones
and you could tell they was bent on murder. They was cussing in
ogre on account of me being there. They wasn’t expecting
me.”
Saucerhead
for any bodyguarding she needed done. She had a thing she wanted
to do that night but she was nervous and scared and even though she
was sure there would be no trouble, she thought it wouldn’t
hurt to have somebody along. Just in case. Just to make her more
comfortable. After Saucerhead agreed to stick with her until she
felt she didn’t need him anymore, she went away until shortly
before dusk, when she came back with a small open carriage.
“She have anything with her?”
“Bunch of cases in the back. The kind women stuff with
clothes and things. She wasn’t planning on coming
back.”
“Uhm. She say anything about what she was
doing?”
That was the only time he was a little uncertain about what he
ought to tell. He decided I needed everything. “She never
said what she was up to. But she was going to meet somebody. And
she wasn’t planning on coming back.”
“Then if you hadn’t been along, she would’ve
disappeared and nobody would’ve known what really
happened.” Gods. I blind myself with my own brilliance
sometimes.
“Yeah. You going to let me tell it? Or should I catch a
nap while you’re jacking your jaw?”
“One more thing, then you can get on. Your payment. How
and when?”
“Up front. I always make them pay up
front . . . well, I almost made an exception
for her. I took every coin she had, and then she was still half a
mark short. I forgave her that and told her she should hold out
part of the fee so she wouldn’t short herself. But she said
there was no problem, and when we got where we were going,
I’d get my other half mark and maybe a nice bonus for being
such a sweetheart.”
“Yeah. That’s Saucerhead Tharpe all over. A real
sweetheart. All right. Go on.”
They had moved out in the twilight, Saucerhead on horseback
behind the carriage. He was lightly armed, but that wasn’t
unusual. He preferred to rely on his strength and speed. I
didn’t have to ask if he had seen anyone watching or
following. He was looking for that and saw nothing. They left the
city after dark and headed north at a leisurely pace, not doing any
fancy switch backing, not hurrying, and not drawing any special
attention. Because he rode behind the buggy most of the way, they
didn’t talk much. But there was a three-quarter moon and a
clear sky, and he was able to tell she was getting more worried and
nervous as the night wore on. She was thoughtful of him and the
animals, pausing for several rests.
About three in the morning they came to a woodland crossroad a
couple miles from the famous old battleground at Litchfield, where
some say the old imperial bones still sometimes get up and stalk
around in search of the man who betrayed their commander.
As is customary at important crossroads, there was a central
grass diamond with its tutelary obelisk. Amiranda stopped next to
the obelisk where her team could crop grass. She told Saucerhead
they would wait there. As soon as the person she was meeting
showed, he could head back to TunFaire.
Saucerhead dismounted. After working the kinks out he just
stood leaning against the buggy, waiting. Amiranda had little to
say. An hour dragged past. She became more worried by the minute.
Saucerhead’s feeble attempts to reassure her foundered on
his ignorance. She believed her worst fears were coming true. The
moon was about to depart the heavens and the east was lightening
when Saucerhead realized they were no longer alone. An absence of
the gossip of birds awakening tipped him off. He just had time to
warn Amiranda before they charged out of the woods. The moment he
saw them he knew they weren’t just road agents.
“There was at least fifteen of them, Garrett. Ogres. Some
of them with the pure blood, like you don’t hardly never see
no more. They had knives and sharp sticks and clubs and big bones
and you could tell they was bent on murder. They was cussing in
ogre on account of me being there. They wasn’t expecting
me.”
Saucerhead
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