The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories (6 page)

This client was another cougar, a soldier or something, one of the ones who came to the Jackal’s Staff perhaps once or twice in their lifetime, having heard of its reputation for servicing nobles. Usually it was enough for Jonas to be well-groomed and meet them in an insect-free room. This particular cougar’s fantasies went a bit beyond that, which was okay with Jonas (he’d done stranger things) except that part of the cougar’s fantasy involved Jonas coming in his mouth.

Usually this wouldn’t have been any trouble either. Unfortunately, the combination of the wine and Jonas’s mood, together with apprehension about his earlier near-mishap, proved impossible to overcome. Not only did he not come at the proper time, he was not even able to stay fully erect.

The client refused to listen to his apologies, and so Jonas stopped offering them, taking several cuffs across the muzzle as the soldier ranted on about how much he’d saved up, and how this had completely ruined everything, and this place was no better than the seedy Open Hole brothel down the river, just more expensive and pretentious, and on and on while he pulled his clothes on. “Your owner’s going to hear about this,” the soldier concluded, shaking a fist at Jonas, and then he slammed the door shut behind him.

Jonas sank back onto the bed and curled up, hiding his head in his arms. He didn’t pause to examine the thoughts that whirled through his mind, just let them pass by while he waited for Tally.

The door opened and closed. “Done for the night?”

Jonas sat up with an effort and looked at Tally. “I’m sorry.”

“
It’s all straightened out. I’ll keep your tips for tonight and you just go to bed and don’t worry about it. Take the day off tomorrow. Okay?”

“
Thanks.” The word sounded hollow, but he wasn’t even sure if Tally had heard. The door was closing before he was finished.

Jonas lay back. The bed was more comfortable than his, but he knew the cleaners would be in to freshen up the room before too long. Indeed, once he finally forced himself into the corridor, he passed one of the cleaning mice, keeping to the wall and walking quietly. He ignored it, as he always did, and walked back to the lounge.

Alicar was there, getting dressed and chatting with Pike, who was already dressed. As Jonas entered, Pike’s eyes flicked to him and then away. “I guess I’d better get going and get some sleep,” he said. “Goodnight, Jonas.”

“
Night.” Jonas waved.

As Pike slipped out, Alicar said, “I thought you were sick.”

“
No, just thinking about a lot of things.” Jonas sighed. “I screwed up with a client tonight.”

“
Oh, okay, that’s probably what he meant, then.” Alicar pulled on a shirt.

“
Who?”

“
Tally. He gave me a couple of your regulars, said you weren’t feeling well.”

Jonas felt his fur prickle. “Who?”

“
A redcoat and a cougar.”

“
The fox…was he tall? Thin?”

“
Yeah, he said to say goodbye to you. I guess he’s leaving town or something.”

“
Shit!” Jonas ran for his room, not bothering to close the door, rummaging through his chest and grabbing clothes from it, throwing on his heaviest pair of pants and his shirt and vest.

Alicar appeared in his doorway. “What’s the matter?”

“
Pike, damn him. He told. He told Tally, and they fixed it.” He grabbed his money, what little there was, and slipped a pendant over his neck, one he hadn’t worn in years. It carried his family sigil on it and was his only link back to them. Even though he never expected to see any of them again, he couldn’t force himself to leave it behind.

“
Don’t go dark,” Alicar warned. He blocked the door as best he could.

“
Get out of my way.”

“
Listen, don’t…”

Jonas pushed the bobcat aside. “I heard you the first time. Tell Tally goodbye.” He stalked out and down the corridor.

“
Jonas, wait!” Alicar grabbed at his arm and Jonas pushed him aside. A moment later, Jonas could hear him running back down the corridor to get Tally. The cougar didn’t care. He pushed the back door open and walked out into the cold early morning.

He didn’t know exactly where Pike lived, but he’d heard him talk about the Kingsbridge quarter, and the main road that led there was not crowded at this time of night. Once his eyes adjusted to the dimness, Jonas saw two figures down the road. He ran up the road toward them, eyes fixed on them, hoping they wouldn’t notice him.

And they didn’t, not until he was close enough to see that the closer of the two had a long ringed tail. Then he saw Pike and the rabbit ahead of him turn and look at him. Pike squeaked; they both started running, but Jonas focused on Pike. The distance between them melted away; if Pike had ducked into a side alley, he might’ve lost Jonas, but he ran straight down the open street and Jonas caught him easily.

He threw the raccoon to the ground and landed on top of him, cutting off the plea of “Jonas!” with a hard paw to the muzzle, claws out. Pike’s nose smacked against the stones of the street and blood welled up in the white fur around his whiskers. His eyes widened until Jonas could see the whites behind them. “Darkness!” he panted.

“
Darkness take
you
!” Jonas snarled, and lifted his paw to strike again. Pike flinched, and Jonas’s paw glanced off his muzzle, raking through the raccoon’s cheek ruff and tearing out some fur.

“
Jonas! Please!”

“
You told!”

“
I was trying to help you!”

“
Help me!” Jonas’s anguish echoed off the buildings. “Help me stay trapped, imprisoned?”

“
Prison? I was trying to stop you from making a mistake.”

“
What could you know about that?” The blood on Pike’s muzzle was black in the dim light. Jonas couldn’t stop looking at it. The scent had just reached his nostrils.

“
You’re still young. You’ll believe anyone who asks you to run away with him.” Pike coughed. “It never ends well, that sort of thing. Just save your money, kit, you can quit in a few years. You don’t have a family to support yet.”

“
I don’t
have
any money!”

In the wake of that cry, as Pike stared at him, footsteps approached at a run. Jonas saw shapes coming down the road and got up, taking a few steps back in a panic before Pike grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alley. Too confused to do anything else, startled at how quickly the raccoon had gotten up, Jonas just followed.

They splashed through puddles that chilled their paws and then huddled against a dark wall, listening to the would-be rescuers shout. “Hey! Call out if you’re hurt! We can’t find you!” They held silent, a couple feet apart, until the noises of searching died down.

“
I’m sorry,” Jonas whispered.

“
Why don’t you have any money?” Pike whispered back.

Jonas hesitated. “Come on,” Pike said. “I want to sit in front of a fire. Tell me on the way.”

They walked for another half mile, and Jonas told Pike how Sasha had been such a good friend, how he’d discovered the money gone, how Alexan had seemed so tender and had asked Jonas to come with him (he embellished that part), how Jonas couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more than just run away. He even told Pike how devastated he’d felt when the fox hadn’t shown up for his appointment, and the raccoon was silent. Jonas hoped he felt guilty.

They stopped outside a small row house. Pike unlocked the door and slipped inside. “Just keep your voice down,” he said. “The cubs are sleeping.”

“
Doesn’t your wife mind what you do?” Jonas asked, wondering for the first time.

Pike shrugged. “She died giving birth to Kirish.”

“
Oh.” He didn’t know what to say to that. “I’m sorry.”

The raccoon busied himself lighting a fire. “Her mother stays with the cubs. I make enough money to keep everyone fed, and to pay our taxes.”

Jonas sat down on the rug and watched as the fire caught. Pike tossed some wood onto it and then left the room. He came back wiping water from his muzzle and handed a wooden cup to Jonas. “Here. I don’t have anything fancier.”

Jonas sipped the water, curling his tail around him. The fire felt good on his wet paws, but he felt uneasy inside when he saw the wetness on Pike’s muzzle, remembering the black traces of blood he’d put there. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “Are you hurt?”

“
It’s a little tender.” Pike sat beside him. “It really was for your own good, Jonas. You know, that merchant would’ve just taken you to Ferrenis and then either abandoned you there or abused you ’til you ran away. And then you’d be in a foreign country with nowhere to turn.”

“
You can’t know that,” Jonas said, but his dream had faded even further. The darkness was going with it, driven out by Pike’s warmth. He felt that all of his other life was a dream, but this was real, and he should hold onto it.

“
It happened to one prostitute I knew. He ran off with a client and came back seven months later with…he was hurt. And sick. He died a couple months after that. Tally said it had happened at least five times since he started working at the Staff. Neither of us wanted to see it happen to you.”

“
Hasn’t anyone ever run off and been happy?” Jonas filed away the surprising knowledge that Tally had once been a worker at the Staff. He always thought of the cougar as the manager and couldn’t imagine him spreading his legs for anyone or putting that pretty muzzle between someone’s legs.

Pike stared into the fire. “Maybe. But it’s not often. Not as often as the other way. Think about it, Jonas. If these people wanted commitment, would they keep coming to us?”

“
Maybe they just can’t meet people,” he said.

Pike shrugged and sat quietly, and Jonas sat next to him, basking in the fire’s warmth. “Anyway,” Pike said after a couple minutes, “your fox didn’t come look for you too hard. If he really wanted you to come with him, he’d have asked about you, wouldn’t he? He’ll be on the road and you’ll see him again in the spring. Meanwhile, just try to relax. There are good things about our life, you know.”

He covered Jonas’s paw with his, and Jonas moved his paw away. Pike withdrew his, and folded his arms in front of him. They didn’t speak again until Jonas said, “I think my paws are dry.”

“
Better get back to the Staff, then,” Pike said. “I’ll see you for exercises.”

“
Yeah.” They both got to their feet, and stood awkwardly before Jonas pulled Pike into a hug. “I’m sorry again about your muzzle. Really. I was just…” He struggled to find words to describe how that betrayal had felt on top of Sasha’s, but Pike touched his lips with a finger.

“
I’ll tell Tally I don’t want to do blow jobs for a couple days. Don’t worry, no permanent damage done.”

“
I didn’t know we could do that.”

“
You
can’t. Age has its privileges.” Pike stood on tiptoes and touched noses. “It’s not as bad as it feels, kitty. Trust me. Okay?”

“
Yeah.” Jonas stepped back. “Thanks.”

The glow of morning was creeping into the sky, making it easier for him to get his bearings. He found his way back to the main road, and trudged back towards the Jackal’s Staff, turning his back on the dawn.

He couldn’t escape the feeling that he was returning to jail. Having been given a taste of freedom, would he be able to tolerate his life for much longer? What he really needed was someone he could trust, someone he could devote himself to, and he didn’t think he would find that at the Staff. What choice did he have, though? Alexan was gone, and there was nobody else in his life he could trust.

His paws slowed. Alexan hadn’t gone yet. The gates would be locked until dawn.

Tally had given him the day off. He wouldn’t be expected to come in.

If he were to be stuck at the Staff for years to come, at least he would not have passed up every chance to make a new life for himself. After a glance in the direction of the palace and the Jackal’s Staff, he turned and walked purposefully towards the rosy skies over the eastern gate.

Chapter 4

Jonas beat the sun to the eastern gate by a few minutes. He hesitated at the back of the fifteen wagons waiting to leave, mounts asleep in their traces, the owners just stirring. Alexan would be near the rear of the pack if he’d been to the Staff the previous night. As stealthily as he could, Jonas investigated the rear wagons, but none of them held the smell of fox. Heart pounding, he padded through the darkness to the wagons closer to the front, and now that the owners were waking up, he could stroll by and see that only one contained a fox, and he was short and stocky, definitely not Alexan.