Dancer of Gor (66 page)

I tightened in the binding fiber, shuddering. "He may not recover consciousness before we are taken away," I said. "Perhaps the beasts may not notice he is alive. Perhaps he can make good his escape."

Suddenly Tela, to my left, made a frightened noise. "There," she said, suddenly. "There, beside the well!"

"What is it?" asked Mina.

I could not see anything. I tried to lift my head but, bound as I was, kneeling, tied by the neck at the rail, I could do very little. I sobbed with frustration.

"What is it?" said Mina, insistently.

"You cannot see it now," said Tela. "I think it is behind the well."

"What was it?" asked Mina.

"There!" cried Tela, frightened. "A sleen!"

Terror coursed through us.

"It is probably not on our scent," said Tupita. "Do not move!"

We could see it now, by the well, its head lifted above the grass.

It was looking at us.

"Do not move," said Tupita.

I did not know if we could move, we were so frightened even had we desired to do so.

The head of the sleen remained immobile for more than twenty seconds. Had we not seen it, had we not known where it (pg. 397) was, we might not have noticed it, even though it was only a matter of yards away. It is incredible how still such things can hold themselves. Then, suddenly, it moved. It circled the well. Then, oddly enough, it put its frontpaws, of its six legs, up on the well, and thrust its head over the upper wall of the well, and then lowered its head, apparently peering within. It then withdrew its head from the opening of the well, and slipped back into the grass.

Mirus stirred, lying on the two bodies. He groaned.

"Oh, Master," moaned Tupita, almost silently, "do not awaken now. Do not make noise!"

"He has blood on him," said Cara. "It will come this way!"

"It must not come this way," said Tupita. "It might hurt the master."

"What of us!" said Cara. There was a small sound from her wrist chains, where the links near the manacles had been bound together by the binding fiber.

Surely the animal could hear that!

"We do not matter," said Tupita. "We are only slaves."

Cara moaned.

"Do not awaken, Master," whispered Tupita to Mirus. "Lie still."

He, I think, though, could not hear her, or could not understand her.

Interestingly, though I think such a beast might easily detect the small sounds, even the whispers, we made, it did not seem to notice them. It seemed, rather, intent upon some other business.Mirus groaned, and lifted his head. He lifted his body, too, a little. He was a very strong man.

"Lie still, Master," whispered Tupita. "There is a sleen about."

"It is on a scent," whispered Tela. "Look at it!"

the animal now seemed to be very excited. It was near the well, its snout to the ground. It circled the well twice, and then circled it again, increasing the size of the circle. I heard it making small, eager noises. Then it hurried in our direction for a moment, and then stopped, and then, again, began to move toward us.

Groggily Mirus, blood running down the side of his head, crawled toward the scabbard and blade, taken from him by one of the beasts, which lay near him. The blades, too, for that matter, of the two slain fellows were also in the vicinity, one still in its sheath, the other half drawn.

"Go away! Go away!" cried Tela to the sleen.

(pg. 398) Its eyes were now very bright. It was a gray hunting sleen.

Mirus staggered unsteadily to his feet, discarding the scabbard. He nearly fell, but regained his feet. He held the hilt with two hands.

He came toward me, reeling, bleeding. I then realized it was his intention to strike me.

"There is a sleen behind you!" cried Tupita. "Turn around! Turn around!"

"That is not a wild sleen!" cried Mina.

It wore a collar, a large, heavy, spiked collar.

Mirus reeled about. He stood then, sword drawn, between the beast and us.

Tela put her head back and screamed, wildly, shrilly, helplessly/

The beast regarded us.

"I is Borko, the sleen of Hendow!" cried Tupita. "It has come to kill us!"

it had come after us, pursuing us, doubtless, as runaway slaves!

I suddenly recalled the reference to an inquiry, or inquiries in Argentum, that on the part of my former master, Tyrrhenius. I had been sold shortly thereafter. I also remembered that I had walked barefoot on the Viktel Aria, at the stirrup of Aulus, and, too, had so trod the camp of Pietro Vacchi.

"No," said Mirus. "It is on one scent. It is after only one quarry."

I saw the sleen view me.

"Master," I called out to Mirus. "Defend me!"

But he, both hands on the hilt of his sword, holding it at rest now, pointed downward, backed away. He stood between the beast and Tupita.

Borko looked at him. he remembered him, doubtless, from Brundisium.

Without taking his eyes off the sleen, by feel, Mirus cut the ropes that tied Tupita to the railing, and then cut free the binding fiber on her ankles, and wrists."

"Do not mind me," wept Tupita. "Do not let him kill Tuka!"

But Mirus held her by one arm, and backed away.

"I find this," he said to me, "an acceptable and suitable vengeance, superior even to the sword, or to the thousand cuts, that you, my dear Doreen or Tuka, or whatever masters now choose to call you, you stinking, worthless, curvaceous, treacherous slave slut, should be torn to pieces by a sleen!"

"No!" screamed Tupita.

(pg. 399) "Kill, Borko, kill!" he cried, indicating me with the point of his sword.

I closed my eyes, sobbing.

I felt then, however, the huge, cold snout of the beast thrusting itself under my left arm. I gasped, and cried out, softly. But there had been little, if anything, of menace in the gesture. Perhaps it was confirming my scent, prior to its attack. Then, again it rubbed its snout on my body. This seemed clearly an act of affection. I had seen it act so with Hendow himself. It was nuzzling me. Then I felt its large tongue lick across my body.

"Good Borko! Good Borko!" cried Tupita.

"Kill!" cried Mirus. "Kill her!"

Borko looked at him, quizzically.

"Very well, then, stupid beast," he said. "I shall do so myself!" he then raised his blade. Immediately the entire attitude of the sleen altered. It suddenly became alive with menace and hate. Its fur erected, its eyes blazed, it snarled viciously.

Mirus, startled, stepped back.

I think perhaps if the sleen had not known him from Brundisium, and as the friend of his master, he might have attacked him. Certainly, it seemed, as it was, he had no intention of letting him approach me.

"It is protecting her!" cried Tupita, delightedly. "See! It will kill you if you try to hurt her! Come away! Let her go! Why fuss with a slave?"

Mirus then, in fury, held the blade with one hand. If he raised it, even a little, Borko growled, watching him.

"Free the other girls, Master," said Tupita. "Then let us away, before the beasts return!"

Mirus regarded her in rage.

"At one time you used to muchly pleasure yourself with me," said Tupita. "Am I not still of interest to you? Have I become so unattractive? Have you forgotten? It is so long ago?"

Mirus made a noise, almost like an animal.

"See Tela there," she said. "She was an overseer's girl. See Mina, and Cara! Both are beautiful! You can put sword claim on us all!"

Mirus, in fury, lashed back with his hand, striking Tupita from him. She fell back, her mouth bloody, by the post to my right, that supporting the rail on that side.

He wavered. Fresh blood shone then at the side of his head. He staggered.

"Look!" cried Tupita, pointing across the meadow.

(pg. 400) Mirus sank to one knee. He was weak from the loss of blood. It seemed he could scarcely hold his sword.

We looked where Tupita had pointed. Another figure was treading the meadow now, toward us. I could not mistake him, though he now seemed much different from when I had remembered him.

"It is Hendow!" cried Tupita.

"Yes!" I said.

But it was not the Hendow I remembered from Brundisium. It had the same stature, and shoulders, and mighty arms, but it was now a bronze, leaner Hendow, one even more terrible and fierce than I had known, one who held now in his hand a bloodied sword.

"Mirus!" he cried. "Old friend! What are you doing here?"

"Hendow!" said Mirus, tears in his eyes. "Beloved friend!"

"You are hurt," said Hendow.

"You are welcome here," said Mirus, weakly.

"Forgive me, old friend, for thrusting you aside in Brundisium," said Hendow. "I was a fool."

"How did you find us here?" asked Mirus.

"I was following Borko," said Hendow. "Then I heard a scream." That would have been Tela's scream. Others, too, of course, might have heard that scream.

"Masters, let us away!" said Tupita.

"Your sword is bloody," observed Mirus.

"I met one who disputed my passage," said Hendow.

"Let us away, please, Masters!" said Tupita.

"Kneel," said Hendow to her, with terrible, savage authority.

Immediately Tupita knelt, and was silent.

Hendow came toward me, and crouched down before me. "Good Borko," he said. "Good Borko!" the sleen pushed his snout against him, and licked his bared arm. Hendow touched me on the side of the head, with extreme gentleness. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes, Master," I said.

"They have you well secured," he smiled.

"As befits a slave, Master," I said.

"There are others about," said Mirus. "There were six men here, and three strange beasts, not sleen."

"Somewhere," said Tupita, "there is a slave wagon. Another three men are said to be there."

"I saw no slave wagon," said Hendow.

"You finished a man?" said Mirus.

"It would seem so," said Hendow. "His head is gone."

(Pg. 401) Then there are still five about, at least," said Mirus, "and the beasts, they are most dangerous."

"There are side to be three at a slave wagon, Master," said Tupita.

"Can you fight?" asked Hendow. "It would be like old times, before the tavern."

"I can be of no help to you," said Mirus. "It is hard to see. I am weak. I think I have lost much blood. I can hardly hold my sword. I fight to retain consciousness."

"I have no intention of leaving you here to die," said Hendow. "Better that we would perish together."

"No," said Mirus. "Better that only one die."

"I will not leave you," said Mirus.

"Do but one thing for me, before your departure," said Mirus.

"I am not leaving you," said Hendow.

"Put the fangs of Borko to that slave," said Mirus, indicating me, "or, if you wish, slay her for me, with your sword."

"Beloved Mirus!" said Hendow.

"She betrayed me to the chains of Ionicus!" said Mirus.

"False! False!" cried Hendow in fury.

"It is true," said Mirus. "I swear it by our love,"

"Is this true?" asked Hendow of me, incredulously.

"Yes, Master," I wept.

"She was a lure girl!" cried Tupita. "Must we not obey, as we are slaves!"

"It seems," said Hendow, "that there is one here whose neck might well be consigned to the sword."

"Yes," said Mirus.

"Have you the strength to strike?" asked Hendow.

"I think so," said Mirus.

"You would prefer, surely, to do this deed yourself," said Hendow.

"Yes," said Mirus, rising unsteadily to his feet. He gripped the sword again with two hands. I did not know if he could stand for more than another moment.

"Very well," said Hendow. "Strike Tupita."

"Tupita?" asked Mirus.

Tupita shrank back, small, where she was kneeling in the grass.

(pg. 402) "Yes," said Hendow. "I caught a thief, to whose lair I was led by Borko. He spoke quickly, after only his legs were broken. Tupita stole Doreen, duping her into leaving the house, she thinking she was still first girl, and intended to sell her, using her price to secure tarn passage from Brundisium in the guise of a free woman. she is, thus, a runaway slave. Moreover, I now put sword claim upon them both. Dispute it with me, if you will. I further learned from the thief they were both sold in Samnium. I spared his life, as he was cooperative. He is now doubtless, with his fellows, stealing other women. It was in Samnium I again picked up the trail. Borko and I have followed it for weeks. We lost it many times, but, each time, managed to find it again. Most recently we found it on the Vitkel Aria, south of Venna. Thus, you see, had it not been for Tupita, for her running away, for her betrayal of a sister in bondage, for her willingness to assume the habiliments of a free woman, in itself a great crime, this slave would not have been in Argentum, to lure you. if one is covered with guilt here, surely it is Tupita. Accordingly, I now give you my permission to strike her."