A Big Shiny Blue Marble Ch. 53

"Let her go," he said, "This won't get you anything."

"Oh, it'll get us away," one of the men said with a cocky grin, "and it's all we need, a chance to get back with this girly here. She's not worth much, but I can see that she's worth a bit to you, kid. Like I said, it's all we need."

"It's not going to buy you a thing," Shane said as he stepped closer, "You'll never get away. You just don't know why yet."

"Shut the fuck up," a second one of the men yelled as he shot Shane in the chest.

Callie cried out and then fell quiet as all of them placed the muzzles of their pistols to her throat. She looked and began to cry as Shane stood looking down at the hole in his shirt.

It confused the guards and the one who had shot him raised his pistol to do it again.

D'Arcy stood behind them, unnoticed as yet and wondering about how to get Callie out of harm's way without surprising the men to the point where one of their fingers tightened on a trigger involuntarily.

He thought that the fear aspect might serve him, but he was still a little nervous.

Shane looked up, just barely hanging onto his self-control as he plucked the soft lead bullet from his chest, "D'Arcy," he said.

"Show them," D'Arcy snarled to the roadmen, "Show them why they'll never see the sun again."

The three heads spun around to look behind them and they looked up.

They had to.

D'Arcy stood in his feral form, seven feet tall on longer legs and not looking to be pleased at all.

One glance was enough and the nearest one swung his pistol toward D'Arcy.

But then it was gone, flying off across the darkened road to lie lost in the long grass there. The man's hand was torn almost clean off and it was only the horrific sight of that which kept him from noticing how much the muscles and tendons of his arm and shoulder were hurting from the physical shock of D'Arcy's swing and the way that they'd almost been torn from him. Other than the way that D'Arcy now stood in a different position, no one had seen him move, but it was quite obvious that he had.

The other two jammed their pistols against Callie's throat hard enough to make her cry out in pain.

D'Arcy lowered his head a little as he seized the disarmed one by the throat and held him up to the others as he began to pull the man's head off by twisting slowly. The man screamed in pain and fear, but it wasn't long before a nerve in his brain stem was severed and he hung limp as D'Arcy pulled a little more to finish it before he dropped the man in two pieces, more or less. Other than D'Arcy, who couldn't have cared less, everyone else was pleased that the shrieking had stopped.

"Look around, "he growled, "and you'll see why you can't get away."

The two men looked a little frantically, but all that they saw were six more werewolves. The buttons and seams of Shane's clothing were already losing to the differences in the two states of physiology that his body was capable of.

"If you hurt her," D'Arcy said, his breath billowing out in a cloud of fog in the cold night air, "the last thing that you'll see will be my dick when I fuck your eyeballs out."

Far off down the long thin clearing next to the road, Rudhi stared at D'Arcy and a gasp slid past her teeth, just before she let the breath out as a tiny whimper and acknowledged something to herself.

Her body wanted his at the molecular level. She knew that because she was sopping wet just from looking at him like this.

It was still a bit of a stand-off. The last two guards had the presence of mind to stay close to Callie and they wouldn't move their guns no matter what Shane or D'Arcy said. D'Arcy noticed the movement through the trees in the flickering light of the two small campfires and he looked past the men and Callie for a moment. Then he stared.

Rudhi was walking toward them.

She was walking toward them all wearing little more than an open leather bodice and the smallest of thongs. Other than that, they could just see the tops of her boots. The rest of her was obscured by her cloak which billowed and blew around her like a dark rumor though there was no wind. Her long black hair moved to the same ghostly wind as her cloak and there wasn't a person there who didn't hang in her spell then.

They saw someone who was nearly naked walking toward them, her breasts bared in the open bodice – strips of leather trailing from the rings through her nipples.

She smiled then, not caring how her long teeth might look now and her blue eyes fairly glowed in her happiness to help in this. Her cloak turned into a smoky-looking thing which began to obscure her outline.

"Wh - who is she?" one of the men said, but no one replied.

If Rudhi heard it, she made no sign of it, but as she walked, she began to turn around, still walking.

The effect was that she appeared to be fading from view, but as she completed the turn, she drew a pair of thin blades from her war gauntlet one after another and tossed them gently, the way a child might toss the bloom of a flower into the air.

She made no sound, the effect of her motions causing several of those present to think of her as more of an apparition than a living person.

But Rudhi wasn't tossing flowers and the two blades sang as they suddenly flew to stand quivering from the wrists of the men.

The two pistols fell to the ground from numb fingers as the men cried out from the pain of the cold which they felt.

"Do not pull them out," Rudhi said as she stepped up, still smiling, the fangs in her smile matching the ones on her cheeks. "You do not possess the strength."

She stepped a little closer and gently pushed Callie away – out of the middle of this. As soon as Callie saw that she wasn't in peril any longer, she thanked Rudhi and ran to Shane.

"Why didn't you just thank your luck and run?" D'Arcy asked the men who both stood bent over, holding their damaged and frozen wrists in agony. There were quiet crickling sounds as the blades twisted slowly and barbs came out of them to bite into the cold flesh of the two.

"It was him," one of them said, in between his gasps, indicating the dead one as they both hissed in pain, "He said we might find out something to use in explaining why this didn't work."

D'Arcy leaned down, his face inches from those of the men, "That was stupid," he said, "you should have just run and left town, not even going back to the quarry. Have you learned anything?"

"Yeah," the heavier one nodded, "the best roadmen in the business are stinking werewolves."

"Stinking?" D'Arcy chuckled, "It's not us who've shit themselves."

He looked at Rudhi, "I'm sorry that you had to see this."

But Rudhi only grinned, "See what?" the words rang in his mind, "All that I see is the male who I was speaking with. I see nothing wrong here, D'Arcy. Other than these fools, I like what is before me."

D'Arcy smiled then, feeling better, "I'm just not used to being near somebody who knows about us and isn't just like us, I guess. Though I'm starting to see that for all of our differences, there are things about us both that are sort of the same."

The men stood wondering why the werewolf seemed to be talking to himself, since they only heard one side of the conversation.

She nodded, "If you wish, I can show you more of what I am."

He nodded, looking at her body while trying not to be terribly obvious about it, "Sure, Rudhi."

"Only step back a little then," she smiled, "This can be ... a little wet."

D'Arcy nodded and the two men noticed that they now stood alone as they watched the tall werewolf step back a few paces. When they turned again, the pain in their wrists began to ebb a little because the thin knives had disappeared. They straightened up and looked at the strange female who stood there seeming to billow a little in the thin moonlight. Her smile was as enigmatic as ever.

"Thanks," one of them said a little nervously as he tried to flex his hand. The other one just cursed.

As they looked at her, they saw dark swirls begin hear her hands and before anything had really registered, the man who had thanked Rudhi for removing the blade hung in shocked silence from the long dagger which now protruded from his chest as she stepped forward, and with an overhead swing which looked like more of a spiral, the sword in her right hand lifted his head from his shoulders in a spray of blood. His body fell twitching violently and the last of the human guards who had chased them all day screamed in terror.

The dagger and the sword were gone in the next instant and Rudhi held him by the throat in a vice-like grip as her smiling face came closer.

"If you felt badly about my seeing what you are," Rudhi's voice came to D'arcy's mind, "then I can do the same and show you this – the way that I feed on the lives of others when the mood is on me."

He heard what sounded to him as a slightly saddened sigh from her then, "I would never harm you. But I must sometimes take life to live on. It is just what I am."

Her left hand reached for the man's chest and she tore his shirt open in one motion. As he stared, she placed her hand on his skin and he stood transfixed for a few seconds before he fell to the ground as a darkening husk.

She saw D'Arcy looking at the ruin that she'd left and she wanted to turn away, but she had to know. "Does this change anything for you?"

He looked up and shook his head, "Why would it?" he asked very quietly, "You're a lot neater about murder than I am. Though you're wearing bit of the mess, I think."

She looked down and then the blood on her faded from sight, "Better?"

"Much, "he smiled as he stepped over the husk on the ground. "Ask Callie if she is hurt," Rudhi chided him gently.

He spun then, "Are you alright, Callie? I think you spent a few seconds right at the edge there."

"I'm fine," she said in a bit of shock from what she'd witnessed, "Thanks, all of you," before she turned back to Shane.

They stood holding each other for a long moment before Shane suddenly realized that he was standing in a very feral form in rather torn clothing and he tried to disengage himself, thinking that Callie might not have thought of it. But her fingers dug into the fur over his chest and she looked up with a pleased smile and threw an arm around his neck.

"You're not going anywhere," she chuckled as she held onto him tightly, "Are you hurt? I saw one of them shoot you." She knew that the wolf-born are usually not badly hurt by most regular firearms, but she wanted to be sure and she felt a little concern.

He nodded, "I'm uh,... I'm uh," he stammered, not knowing what to do now.

"Muh muh muh," Callie giggled as she mocked him gently, knowing now that he was not hurt and feeling a little giddy at having cheated death again – and that marked at least three times in a single day.

"I'm ok," he said.

She looked up then, "I'm glad then. C'mon, Shane, let's find a quiet place. I want to talk to you."

He nodded and they walked away.

---------------------------------

Nancy was alone in the wagon and miserable. Her cheeks and jaw hurt. She was sure that she had a split lip and if she didn't – well that would likely be a miracle for the way that her head and face hurt.

Samantha's hatred for her was patently obvious even though she'd done nothing to the small woman. Samantha was quite plainly in Ewan's corner and that was another thing that had been made quite clear to her. As well, now she knew that all of the people in Samantha's party were werewolves. They usually transported and guarded human patients on these trips and those humans never knew what it was that protected them from highwaymen, thieves, bandits and even flocks of demons as they traveled the often lonely and desolate roads out here.

Nancy realized that it was just a way to make a living and she did have to hand it to them in a way. Nobody knew their secret, but even she had heard of this bunch and their successful record. They didn't come cheap unless they were feeling charitable or bored, she'd heard, but with them along, you were pretty much guaranteed to be alive and fit when you got to wherever it was that you needed them to take you.

That was all well and good, but now most of them were looking at her and she wondered when they'd begin the rapacious depredations which Samantha had promised. Her response to Samantha had been mostly empty bravado, and now she really prayed that it wouldn't come down to her being assaulted and likely killed by a pack of wolf-born – or whatever the fuck they called themselves.

She looked over and saw one of them looking at her in a rather intense sort of way. She looked away and tried to concentrate on the little bit of the landscape which was still visible to her in the fading light. When she looked back a few minutes later, the tall roadman was still studying her silently. It began to bother her, but not as much as her full bladder was screaming to her at the moment. She hadn't peed since before all of this had begun.

She caught a glimpse of the one called D'Arcy and wanted to catch his eye to ask him, but the same tall and silent roadman had his attention first. She cursed under her breath as she watched them speak quietly. Just then, the silent watcher stepped away for a minute and she was able to call D'Arcy over.

"I hate to bother you," she said in earnest, "but I've got to pee. I know that you all hate me, but I'm really hoping that I'm not expected to just pee my pants and sit in it all night. Is there a way that I can be allowed to go? I promise not to try to run away."

The large leader of the group smirked at that. "Think about it for a second. You know about us now, right? Exactly how far do you think you could get away from noses like ours? But you do have a point, I guess. I'll see what I can do. You'll have to wait a few more minutes anyway while I try to line something up." Before she could thank him, D'Arcy was gone and she sat with her knees clamped tightly together.

The tall silent one came to the wagon after a minute and he looked at her from only a foot or so away and said nothing. Nancy looked up then, "Is that all you're going to do, is look at me? Can't you talk or something?"

He made no answer, but D'Arcy came around into her view from the other side of the wagon then. "This is Roland," he said, "He's the only one who's volunteered - or could be bothered - to look after you, I guess. You ought to try to play nice."

Nancy looked from one to the other, "Does he understand English?"

"Look, "D'Arcy said, his voice turning hard, "Don't push your luck, ok? Can't you ever restrain that shit attitude of yours? I've found you somebody. I'd have thought that you'd be a little thankful."

"I am thankful, "Nancy said, "It was an honest question. I wasn't being sarcastic. He just stares at me and I haven't heard him make a sound."

D'Arcy stepped over and spoke quietly though the silent roadman was close enough to hear everything, "The others just call him Wheezer, but I wouldn't recommend that you ever say that to him. He can understand English and about a half-dozen other languages, but he can't speak above a whisper. I owe him my life about a hundred times over and he's saved my kid brother's ass a lot more than that. He taught me this job and he really ought to be doing it but his voice prevents it." D'Arcy fell silent then and walked away again.

Nancy looked over after a moment, "I really need to pee, Roland. Is there a way that I can do that without any more shame than I've already had to sit through?"

Roland nodded and he beckoned her closer.

"I can't move much more," she said, "I'm tied up and tied down to the fucking wagon as well."

He leaned over the edge and she had to listen hard, since his whispers were very quiet. "I'll untie you from the wagon and help you out. Please don't try to run. It can't go well and it won't work. You might be able to run away in the darkness, but it won't hide you from me. My eyes are a lot better than yours in the dark. I want to help you, but you have to let me do that."

She looked at his face and was surprised that there wasn't the dislike there which she saw everywhere else, so she nodded, "I won't try anything. I really have to go."

He untied her bonds from the wagon and then he reached for her, but she recoiled a little and he shook his head, "I was only going to pick you up."

Nancy thought about it and nodded her assent and to her surprise, she found that he was very gentle with her as well as incredibly strong and he set her down on her feet, taking one of the ropes and making it into sort of a lead, "This way, please," he whispered and so she went.

He led her to some scrub grass out of sight of the others and she looked at him, "What now?"

He looked a little embarrassed for her, "You can go here."

"No, I can't, "she said, "My hands are tied together and I need to get my pants down to do this, don't I? I'm trying not to be difficult, but I just don't see – "

"Stand up straight," he whispered, "and I'm sorry about all this."

While she was wondering what he'd meant, he undid her pants and she found them around her ankles in one motion.

"Now, I guess you squat, or whatever you have to do. Tell me if you need help with anything."

Nancy was sure that her red face was visible by its glow a second later from the way that it felt to her, but she tried to get it done, "I'm sorry," she said, "I can't pee if somebody's watching me. Please look away."

He shook his head, "No. I'm not going to enjoy any of this at all. You said you had to go. If you have to go that badly, then it won't make any difference if I'm looking to make sure that you're alright."

She was going to argue further, but she found herself about to fall over backwards onto her ass. Roland caught her and steadied her without a word, so she just let go as she leaned against him. A few seconds later she began to speak, but she couldn't look at him because she was sure that she'd cry in her shame if she did, "I'd have liked to have been able to wipe. This is fucking awful."

"I know and I'm sorry, "he whispered, "but there's only so much that I can do and your pants are still dry unless you fall backwards now. Are you done?"

Nancy nodded with a quiet sob and she found that she needed to lean against him to steady herself, but she was surprised when he wiped her and then helped her up.

"What was that, your hand? I couldn't see."

"No," he said, "I brought a clean rag from my pack. I always carry a couple." He pulled up her pants for her and got the button done up with no trouble and then he folded the rag a little carefully and stuck it into her pocket for the next time before he led her back to the wagon. Once he'd lifted her back in and tied her down again, he tried to smile, but it wasn't working very well.

Nancy decided that he likely didn't smile all that much.

"I'm going to go and see if I can find you some of that food that they're having. I hope there's some left."

Nancy was still feeling mortified and humiliated so she just nodded silently and then she was alone. As she knelt there, she realized that he'd actually tried to help her through what was a normal biological function made incredibly difficult and awkward by the need to keep her restrained and she did appreciate that he hadn't been a jerk about it. She was a little angry with herself for playing the whole thing as high-handed as she had earlier at the quarry, reasoning that if she hadn't been as stupid as she had been, she might have spared herself a lot of trouble.

Now she was miles from the place where she had any authority. Here, she was just a human woman in the middle of a pack of werewolves; at least some of them with grudges – and they were only the ones that she could figure out. She had no idea what the others were who were helping suddenly.