Huntsman (2 page)

Harka sat back in her leather armour and looked around. “What is this armour for?”

“Hunting. I like to go hunting. Of course, I never catch anything, but the act of stalking my prey is satisfying on a very base level.”

“When the rains stops, do you want to hunt?”

He grinned. “Do you think you can keep up?”

“No, but you can use me as bait.”

Derin had a bemused expression on his face. “Definitely an odd creature.”

They were on their second pot of tea when he asked, “How long will the healing take?”

“Oh, it takes six months to a year depending on how stubborn you are, but with me here, the time will fly. A matter of days with me in here will see you through. We alter your perception of time.”

He settled in his seat. “How long has it been so far?”

She cocked her head and checked. “Six weeks. A few hunting trips and the whole thing will be done.”

“You are serious. It will feel that quick?”

“Of course. We don’t want to drive either of us insane before I leave your mind. It is better if it feels faster. Don’t you think?”

Derin leaned back in his chair. “I think that there are many things I would like to do with you, and I wouldn’t like any of them to end too quickly.”

She struggled with his meaning, but when she looked into his eyes, she understood. “Oh dear. Well, that would pass the time, but let’s try hunting first.”

Harka had had a few boyfriends in her day, but they had been of the weak and un-athletic sort. Derin was the best-built nerd she had ever seen.

They drank tea and nibbled on cookies far into the rainy night. When the rain stopped, Derin stood. “Time to hunt.”

She got to her feet and followed him out onto the porch. A bow and arrow were presented to her with a flourish. “You are assuming I know how to use them.”

He grinned. “I just want to see what happens when you try.”

They sat in a hunting blind and waited for their prey. Harka had no idea what they were hunting; she only knew that it was taking its own sweet time for something supposedly summoned by Derin’s subconscious.

She had tried to ask him what they were waiting for, but he shushed her.

The shrubs rustled and something small and fluffy hopped into the clearing. Harka turned to ask Derin about it when a violent thrashing of the shrubs preceded something much larger.

A creature made of scales, fur and fangs broke from cover and pursued the small fluffy thing.

Derin began to fire arrow after arrow, and Harka tried to follow suit.

She drew the arrow back and aimed at the rear haunch. She was as shocked as Derin when the arrow struck the creature in its eye and it skidded to the ground.

He jumped out of the blind and headed toward the beast. “It’s dead.”

She blinked. “So, what do I do now?”

“Well, you can help me deal with it.”

“Great. What is it?”

She climbed down on the ladder and walked across the churned turf.

“If I had a guess, I would say survivor’s guilt. We all felt our people die, so I am guessing that this is my way of dealing with it.”

Harka winced. “I am sorry I shot it. I was aiming at the butt.”

He chuckled and set about the gory business of field prepping the creature. Harka could only stand by and watch.

“Haven’t you ever hunted before?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I went camping with my parents once and my father gutted a fish, but I am not really one for interfacing with my food.”

“You should. Everyone needs to remember where the basics come from. If you can know all the basics of survival in the rough, you can live with the confidence of knowing that you can deal with anything your world has to offer.”

He finished gutting the animal and left the guts in the clearing; she helped heave the creature onto the cart that appeared for the purpose.

Over the next day, Harka learned about skinning, preparing the fat and meat, and smoking for preservation.

At the end of the day, her clothing was stiff with blood and she was exhausted.

“I need a bath.” It was a definite statement.

“There is a storm coming, so you can’t use the local pool. You will be stuck with a bath.”

She crossed her arms. “Fine, make with the tub and water.”

He had been sitting in front of the fire, but he got up at her order, and in the far corner of the large room, a tub appeared full of steaming water. A privacy screen was set around it when she insisted.

Sighing with relief when he left, she stripped off the leather, the fabric, the skirt, the bodice, the underskirt and the boots. When the layers were gone, she slipped into the water before it disappeared again and soaked her exhausted body. Keeping up with him was tiring.

Once she was scrubbed clean, she leaned back in the tub and let the water lap at the edges. Harka looked over at her grubby clothing and finally called out, “Is there a way to clean my clothing?”

“You could wash them.”

“It would take them hours to dry. Do you have something for me to wear in the mean time?”

“I do. Wash your things and I will get you something to wear.”

She went to it and climbed out of the tub, grabbing her blouse and soaking it in her bathwater. The outer skirt went in next. When all of her clothing was washed as clean as it could get and wrung out, she draped it over the privacy screen.

“Derin, if you haven’t fallen asleep out there, I would appreciate the clothing.”

A bundle of white fabric came flying at her over the screen and she grabbed it, shaking it out and slipping it over her head. She was wearing his shirt.

With bare feet, she poked her head around the screen. “Thanks for the bath. Being spattered with blood is distracting.”

“I agree. I could have cleaned your clothing, but you couldn’t be in them at the time. You still would have ended up naked, and I think that the bath gave us both a moment of privacy.”

She wandered into the main room and sat across the table from him, pouring out two cups of tea.

“So, what does your government want with me?”

Harka shrugged. “I don’t know. I only know I am getting five years’ wages for this six months. I will be able to open my own shop when I have recovered.”

He sipped at his tea. “What is it doing to you?”

“Well, first, there is the hair loss then loss of muscle tone and skin density. I will be in rougher shape than you are when I get out of this. It will all be worth it though. I will be my own boss in a tiny shop on the edge of the city.”

Derin smiled. “You don’t like being bossed around?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have the temperament for it. I like to be in constant motion. It is a compulsion.”

“So, this time must be awkward for you.”

“Well, my body suffers but my mind is scrambling around trying to figure out which book to take down and peruse first.”

He rose to his feet, and she watched the play of muscles in his back. He had literally given her the shirt off his back and the view was enthralling.

When he had been facing her, she had kept her gaze on his face, but there was no danger of him seeing her gape at him now.

The Edinar women must have been striking if they could keep the attention of these men. If Derin was a fair sample of his race, they were beautiful, elegant and attractive.

While he stared at one wall and made a few selections, she darted to another shelf and pulled out a book that was scarlet with gold lettering. She opened the book and closed it just as quickly.

She heard a chuckle from across the room.

“The sex manual is not for those who don’t have strong and analytical curiosity. You have to look at the images clinically or you will shock yourself to your toes.”

Harka put the book back on the shelf and read a few of the titles on the colourful books in the immediate area. It seemed that the candy-like colours all had a sexual component.

Derin put a pile of books on the table, and he returned to her. “I have made some selections for you. Come on. The amount of heat your blush is generating is not an efficient way to heat the room.”

She ignored him and returned to the chair with her bare legs tucked under her. In her mind, she was stuck on one factoid. “How can there be twenty types of kissing with different variations? A kiss is just a kiss, right?”

Derin sat across from her. “When was the last time you were kissed?”

“My mom kisses my forehead from time to time.” She looked at him with wide eyes.

She could see his shock.

“You are kidding.”

“Sometimes on my cheek.” Harka poured another cup of tea for each of them.

She grabbed for a book, and he put his hand over hers.

“You mean you have never kissed a man?”

She shrugged. “Not the way you mean. If I kiss you here, I still won’t have kissed a man. We will leave and this will all be a dream, well not even a dream. It will be lost time for me and strange impressions for you.”

“Why?”

“Because we have already been together for four months. Monitors are trained to alter the perception of time. It is our only skill, really.”

“So, if I kissed you, you would not remember it.” He frowned as if the thought was objectionable.

“Well, I might remember an impression but not you in detail.”

“Damn.” He sat back as if his plans had been ruined.

She sat and flipped through a book on business management. When her feet fell asleep, she moved them to sit with them on the floor, tingling and warning her that pain was imminent.

Thunder crackled overhead and the room suddenly got chilly. She shivered and grabbed a book, taking it to the chair by the fire.

Derin joined her, but there was only one comfy chair, so he surprised her by lifting her and setting her down across his lap, book and all.

“This can’t be comfortable for you, Derin.”

“It is precisely where I want to be at this very moment.”

She turned to look at him, and his lips were half an inch from hers. He kept his gaze on her, and closed the distance. He kissed her slowly and softly, coaxing her into participating.

Harka clutched the book to her chest and held onto it with white knuckles while she hesitantly returned his kiss.

He placed one hand on her waist and held her with that one hand while their kisses continued.

When Derin lifted his head, he pressed his forehead to hers. “That was one type of kissing.”

She blinked, a little out of breath. “I see. It felt like more.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but the ground under them shuddered. “What is that?”

“Your healing is almost complete. They are getting ready to eject me from your mind.” She released her book with one hand and stroked his cheek. “It has been educational.”

“I don’t want to forget you.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

* * * *

They remained together like that until she faded out of his mind and left him alone, the rumpled pile of his shirt on his lap.

If he wanted her, he was going to have to get control over his body and get her. Now, he just needed to keep her in mind.

He quickly pulled together books that would remind him of her and placed them in the centre of his psyche. With a calm attitude, he exited his home and gave himself back to his body to rejoin the physical world.

The hunt was on.

* * * *

Talking to the therapist after being a monitor for six months was Harka’s least favourite part of rehab. The muscle pain was fine; the emotional digging was annoying.

“So, Ms. Tweel. Are you having any dreams this week?”

Harka sighed. “No. Nothing beyond my dream to open a shop. I have filed a business plan and gotten the loans and staff all lined up. I just need a full discharge from you and I can resume my life.”

The therapist sighed and made notes. “Well, you seem to have covered all points of your recovery, but if the dreams return, I want you to come back in. I will leave you with the clearance. There shouldn’t be too many aftereffects from the monitor duty. We want you back to normal.”

Harka smiled tightly. “I don’t think normal was applied to any of the monitors. We all wanted the reward at the end and were willing to do anything.”

The therapist didn’t say another word. She signed the discharge papers and included the offer for additional sessions.

With a bright smile and the short inclination of her head, Harka headed out of the facility with her small bag over her shoulder. She was free. The money was in her account and her shop was ready to enter business.

The only thing was that with hiring competent people, Harka had put herself out of a job. She was strictly set up to reap the rewards, and she had no idea where the management information in her mind had come from. She thought she should know but she didn’t.

Ten months after being discharged from the monitor program, Harka got an invitation in the mail.

As a previous monitor, you are cordially invited to a ball to celebrate the fortieth Edinar awakening.

Dress is formal and the ball will be held at the Harkenar Observatory, eight in the evening on five-day.

We look forward to seeing you there. This project has benefited all of us and we expect your cooperation.

Harka checked her calendar. “Damn it, only two days.”

She went to her com and called a friend. “Hiya, Sno, have you got an invitation?”

Sno snorted. “Two days to find a formal gown? How thoughtful of them.”

“I can pick you up and we can head to the shop right away.”

“I will be ready.” Sno disconnected the call.

Harka left her home and headed to Sno’s home up the hill. The small vehicle that she had purchased with her first quarter’s profits was a small splurge, but it let her get around and occasionally have a passenger.

Her friend joined her in the vehicle and buckled in. “I have no idea what I am going to do with my hair.”

Harka put the vehicle in gear and headed for the shopping district. “Neither do I. I never anticipated losing all of it to begin with, let alone what to do when it grew back.”