Shorn: Chapter 34

Soon Shorn and Kit were walking down the road towards Sweetwater. Though it was a warm day, the first hints of autumn chill could be felt in the breeze. A few leaves were turning yellow. Flights of geese flew overhead, honking, headed south.

Shorn thought about the food stored in the cellar for winter, wondering if it would be enough. Melda said they were doing fine, but he was still skeptical. It looked like a lot of food, but there were six of them, and that wasn’t even counting Moll. He ought to spend some evenings hunting. The elk and the deer were fat from the summer.

Shorn realized that he’d been lost in his thoughts and was walking too fast. Kit was running to keep up. He slowed his pace. Kit caught up and took hold of his hand. Which surprised Shorn a little. Kit spoke often about how grown up he was getting. He didn’t want help with things. He wanted to do it himself.

But he still liked to be carried around. He liked to curl up in Shorn’s lap. And evidently, he liked holding Shorn’s hand.

Shorn didn’t say anything. He enjoyed the feeling. It felt good being needed. It felt good that Kit turned to him for comfort and safety. The contrast between how Melda’s children saw him and the way the children in Qarath did couldn’t be greater.

“Why didn’t you go swimming with the others?” Shorn asked.

Kit shrugged. “I don’t care about swimming.”

Shorn looked down at him and raised an eyebrow. “I do not believe that is true.”

Kit hung his head. “Yeah. I do like swimming.”

Shorn waited. He’d found people would tell him a lot if he said nothing.

“I didn’t want to go cuz of…” Kit’s voice at the end was so faint Shorn couldn’t hear him.

“What?”

Kit sighed. “Because of Moll.”

“Why?”

“She scares me a little. She looks mad a lot.” He put an angry expression on his face to show Shorn.

Shorn had to agree with him. Moll did scowl a lot.

“You used to look mad a lot,” Kit said.

“I did?” This was a surprise to Shorn. He didn’t think of himself as especially angry.

“Yeah. But you got better. You don’t do it so much anymore. Except when they took Moll. You looked pretty scary then.”

“I was worried about her.”

“I wasn’t.”

“No?”

Kit made a fist. “I knew you’d do for them slavers. You’re stronger than anybody. You saved the whole town from bandits.”

“The people of Sweetwater saved the town. I only helped.”

“That’s not what people say. I hear them talking. I hear lots of things when people don’t know I’m there.”

“What sort of things?”

“A lot of times it’s just someone mad at someone else. I don’t like to hear that. Why can’t people just be nice to each other?”

“I don’t know. Why do you fight with your brother and sister sometimes?”

Kit thought about that. “I guess you’re right. No one knows.”

That wasn’t at all what Shorn was trying to say, but he decided to leave it alone. Kit let go of his hand and ran on ahead. He startled a doe with her offspring, now nearly as tall as she was, and they darted across the road.

“If only I had my spear!” Kit yelled. “We’d have deer tonight!”

He trotted back to walk beside Shorn. “I’m getting better with my spear. I practice, just like you showed me.”

“That’s how you get better.”

“I want to be like you when I grow up. I want to protect people.”

“That is a fine thing to do.”

“Don’t you get lonely sometimes and want to go home?”

“I think I am home.”

“You know what I mean.” Kit pointed at the sky.

Shorn shook his head. “I am not interested in returning to Themor. I do not belong there. I belong here.”

“I think so too. Mama used to cry a lot before you came. She thought we couldn’t hear her, but we could. I cried a lot too. We all did. It’s better now with you here.”

Shorn felt a swelling of emotion and couldn’t speak for a moment. “Thank you.”

Kit gave him a funny look. “For what?”

“For being you.” Shorn picked him up and swung him onto his shoulders. Kit howled with delight.

They arrived in Sweetwater. Hal and Otho were outside the front gate shoveling dirt into a small cart.

“It’s General Shorn!” Hal cried, giving a very poor version of a salute. Otho’s was even worse.

Shorn started to tell them he was no general but gave it up. They’d been calling him that since the defeat of the bandits. He’d already told them several times, and it did no good.

“What brings you to town?” Hal asked.

“Daisy is sick,” Kit said.

“Daisy?”

“She’s our cow.”

Otho chimed in. “Did you get them slavers, General?”

Shorn shot a look at Kit. Kit clamped his lips tightly and pointed at his mouth.

“I did not,” Shorn replied.

“Really?” Otho sounded terribly disappointed. “I was sure you would smash them all. It wouldn’t be hard for you.”

“You heard what Merks said. If he was attacked, the soldiers would come and burn Sweetwater.”

Otho made a dismissive sound. “Not likely. Not with you here to protect us. We’d do for them like we did for them bandits.”

Hal punched Otho in the arm. “You say the dumbest things. Bandits are one thing. What could we do against an army? Die, most likely.”

Otho punched him back. “You’re the dumb one. With General Shorn leading us, we could take on an army.”

They continued bickering. Shorn walked a little faster, hoping they would go away. He wanted to talk to Dale alone. He and Melda had decided that they could trust Dale with the knowledge of Moll’s whereabouts. They’d need extra supplies from him—like cloth to make clothing for Moll—and Dale was sharp, he’d suspect something. It was best to bring him in on it.

But Hal and Otho were not to be left behind so easily. They sped up as Shorn and Kit did.

“I miss Moll,” Otho said. “She was sweet on me, you know. We would have been very happy together.” He had a dreamy look on his face.

Hal spun on him angrily. “You really fell into a possum den as a child, didn’t you? She never so much as looked at your ugly face.” He put up one hand. “If anything, she was sweet on me. But she’s not really my type.”

“Not true! She only had eyes for me.”

“You look like a dog left out in the rain. Her eyes were hurting when she looked at you.”

Into a small gap in their argument, Kit said, “I don’t think she liked either of you.”

Hal looked down at him contemptuously. “What do you know?”

“I know lots of things because I listen. I heard her tell you to stop following her or get an arrow in your gut.”

Otho started laughing. “He told you! Yes, he did.”

Kit wasn’t done. He looked at Otho. “She said she wouldn’t touch you if you had a steak strapped to your back.”

Now it was Hal’s turn to laugh while Otho scowled. “Why are we listening to this child? He doesn’t know anything.” He stopped and crossed his arms. Hal stopped too. They could hear the two arguing as they made their escape.

“You have been listening,” Shorn said.

“It’s easy. Nobody pays attention to me. They don’t even see me.”

“Be careful about this. Eavesdropping can get you into trouble. Speaking what you heard even more. Do you understand?”

Kit thought about it. “I think so.”

Shorn glanced over his shoulder at the two. “You got rid of them, so this time it was good.”

They reached Dale’s store. There was one customer, a woman eying a bolt of cloth. Dale was sweeping. He looked up and smiled as they came in.

“Shorn and Kit, two of my favorite people. What can I do for you today?” He looked past them. “Just the two of you?”

“Melda had too much to do today. Our cow is sick. We came to ask your help.”

Dale scratched the bald spot on his head. “I haven’t owned a milk cow for years, but I’m happy to share what I know. What are her symptoms?”

“She won’t get up. She barely eats.”

Kit spoke up. “And her stomach looks really fat.”

Dale gave him a sharp look. “Fat?”

“She’s swole up like a tick.” He looked up at Shorn. “It was only a little bit when you were out there. But when Pol and I went back to look at her she was a lot bigger.”

“It sounds like she’s bloated,” Dale said. “She ate something that’s tied up in her guts and the gas is building up.”

“What do we do?” Kit asked.

Dale went to a shelf and took down a small bottle of oil. “Get this down her throat. Stand her up and walk her around if you can. That should loosen everything up and get the blockage past. But if her bloat’s too bad, you’ll have to deal with that first.”

“You mean Daisy has to fart?” Kit asked.

Dale chuckled. “That’s one way to put it.” His expression grew serious. “If the gas is worse, you need to let it out. You’ll have to cut a small hole in her side.”

Kit’s eyes grew very large. “We can’t cut a hole in Daisy.”

“Not even to save her life?”

“Tell me more of this,” Shorn said.

Dale explained the procedure as best he could. “Clean up the wound after and pack it with some lamb grease. You don’t want the rot to set in.”

“Will it help her?” Kit asked.

“I’ve seen cows on their feet in no time.”

“I will do this when I return,” Shorn said.

“Was there anything else?”

Shorn looked at the customer, then back at Dale. Dale nodded in understanding. “Wait around a bit. She looks at that cloth every day, but she never buys any. I know how to get her to leave.”

He walked over to her. “So, Mildred, how much of that will I be cutting for you today?”

Mildred got a startled look on her face. “Oh, no. I was only admiring it. It’s much too pricey for me.” With that, she clutched her bag to her and hurried out of the store.

“Follow me into the back.”

They followed Dale into the back of the store. There was a small desk with a lamp on it. Kegs and crates were stacked everywhere to the ceiling. Dried meats hung from the rafters.

Dale turned to him. “What is it?”

“I rescued Moll from the slavers. She is staying with us at the farm.”

Dale beamed instantly, the smile lighting up his lined face. “I can’t tell you how much that relieves me. I’ve been thinking about that poor girl so much since that day. Is she okay?”

Shorn thought about how she’d been acting since her rescue. “Mostly.” Dale frowned but didn’t ask for more information. “We want to keep it a secret in case the slavers return.”

“You’re right to do so. There’s too much chance someone will talk. Especially if some outsider shows up throwing coin around.”

“We wanted to tell you because we will need to buy some extra supplies, and we knew you’d get suspicious and figure it out.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

“No.”

Dale rubbed his chin, thinking. “I think we should tell Palas too.”

“Who’s that?”

“She’s a widow. She lives near the palisade on the west side. You might have seen her. She has long, white hear and wears a blue hat that’s mostly in pieces.”

Shorn didn’t remember seeing her, but Kit did.

“I know who she is. I know where she lives too.” At the look he got from Shorn, he said, “I told you. I listen. I get around.”

“Why do you want to tell her?” Shorn asked.

“Because Moll was living with her,” Kit said.

“He’s right.” Dale sat down at his desk and rubbed his knee like it was hurting him. “She took Moll in when Moll showed up in Sweetwater last year. She said Moll reminded her of her own dead daughter. I guess she got really attached to her because she’s been crying a lot. She even tried to hire Hal and Otho to go rescue her.”

“Those guys?” Kit said dismissively. “They couldn’t rescue a kitten.”

“That’s what I told her. But she’s desperate.” He looked up at Shorn. “Just as a kindness we need to let her know. Also, she has all of Moll’s things still. You’ll want to get those.”

“But if she is suddenly happy, some might figure it out,” Shorn said.

“I know she acts a little strange, but Palas is a smart woman. She won’t knock over the apple cart.”

“If you think it is a good idea, then I concur,” Shorn said. “I will go tell her.”

Dale was shaking his head. “If you go up to her door, people are going to talk. They might figure it out. We should meet her here. There’s nothing odd about her visiting my store.”

“I’ll go,” Kit offered.

“You could be seen,” Shorn said.

“I can sneak up to her back door with no one seeing.”

“We don’t need to do that,” Dale said. “I got some buttons in yesterday with the supply wagon. She’s been asking about them. You can go tell her they’ve come in. There’s nothing unusual about that.”

Kit was out the door almost before Dale was done speaking. Dale led Shorn back into the front room. “Let’s put some supplies together for you.” He headed for the shelves, but Shorn stopped him.

“We did not come in the wagon. And I do not think carrying a large bundle of supplies is wise.”

Dale nodded. “Yep. You’re right. I just wish there was more I could do for the girl. She’s had a rough go of it. She deserves better.”

It wasn’t long before the front door opened, and Kit and Palas entered. Palas was tall for a woman and towered over Dale. Her white hair spilled down her back almost to her waist. She wore a shapeless smock that was flecked with stains. Perched on her head was a blue hat with a tiny brim. At least, it had once been blue. It wasn’t much of a hat either.

Palas stopped and looked them over, her gaze lingering on Shorn. “Kit said you had my buttons in, but now I’m thinking you had another reason in mind.”

“Come into the back.” Dale led them into the back and closed the door. “You might want to sit down.”

“Sitting down means standing up and my knees hate that. Just say what it is you’ve got to say.”

Dale glanced at Shorn, who nodded.

“Moll is safe.”

“Oh, thank the gods,” Palas exclaimed and plopped down in the desk chair. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned to Shorn. “You did this, didn’t you? I prayed you would. I knew you were the only one who could do it. Thank you.”

Shorn inclined his head.

“I hope you killed them all, but I guess it’s best if you didn’t.”

“I killed none of them. But they believe the slaves were all killed.”

Her eyes widened. “How in the devil did you do that?”

“I’d like to know too,” Dale said.

“I heard them speak of a monster in the area. I made them believe it was me and that the slaves had been killed by the monster.”

Shorn finished his story. The others all looked at him. Then Kit said, “You’re the worst at telling stories, Shorn. You left out all the good parts.”

“It is true. I do not tell stories well.”

“You should let me tell it next time. Except I don’t really know what happened. You didn’t tell us.” Shorn had told a similar abbreviated version to them all at the farm.

“When we have time, I will.”

“I’d sure like to hear it sometime,” Dale said. “But for now, let’s stick to what’s important.”

“She’s staying at your farm?” Palas asked.

“She is. We don’t want others to know.”

“They won’t hear it from me. You’ll be wanting her things. Precious little, but it’s all she has. I wish I knew where her bow was. That’s what she’ll want the most.”

Kit piped up. “Lysa already fetched it for her. It’s when she decided to stay with us.”

“That’s good. How do I get the rest of her belongings to you?”

“You can bring them here to my store, and I’ll give them to Shorn and Melda next time they come to town.”

Palas spoke up. “Or I can toss the whole bundle on the trash heap. You could pick it up when you leave town.”

(If you're interested in reading more of Shorn's story from the time before this current one, go check out Wreckers Gate. It's book one of Immortality and Chaos, the series where we first meet Shorn. I will warn you that he doesn't appear until book 2, though!)