The Beast and The Brain.

The camp soon came into view and it didn’t take long for the other men in the camp to realize their comrades hadn’t come back alone. Many of them tried to argue with the axe man but he always shoved them aside and continued towards a nicer looking hut that was place further away from the river.

I kept my hand rested on the hilt of my sword, better to be safe than sorry. Even though J seemed to think we were in no immediate danger I wasn’t so sure. The men had a violent feel about them. The man with the axe disappeared into the hut after he told us to wait outside. After a minute he reappeared and held the bear fur to one side, “He’ll see you now.” J nodded her head and walked into the hut, I tried to follow but the man held out his hand and stopped me.

J turned around, “He goes where I go.” The look in her eyes told him there was no room for argument, so he allowed me to pass. As soon I was inside the bear skin fell into place. My eyes only took a second to adjust to the dim light. There was a hole in the ceiling to allow the smoke from the fire in the middle of the room to escape. Furs and antlers decorated the walls and at the other end a large man only wearing pants sat on a chair full of furs. There was a half naked girl sitting of too his right. She looked just as wild as the men. I kept my eyes on the man.

“I just about cut my man’s throat for lying when he told me who was here to see me.” The man’s voice was deep and smooth like a strong mountain river.

J grinned easily, “I think you might have been doing all of us a favor if you had. He wants to take your place someday and he smells awfully bad.”

The man threw his head back and laughed, “You’re powers don’t scare me J, that man has wanted my seat and woman for some time, but he knows his place.” He reached over and poked the woman that sat next to him and she giggled. I frowned and looked away.

“What’s the matter boy? Does that make you uncomfortable?” I looked back at the man, but said nothing.

“Forgive me, this is my bodyguard. He doesn’t say much, but he’s good with a blade among other things. He’s a bit simple minded, and old fashioned…if you get my meaning.”

The man grunted, “Very well, I’m going to cut right to the chase. What are you doing here? My man said you had business with me, but I haven’t heard news from the north for years. I thought maybe I had been forgotten.”

“I do have business, I need passage up river. I’m headed north and if you have complaints for our leader I will take them with me. Don’t forget Gerard, you swore your oath like everyone else, if he hasn’t contacted you then he must have good reason.”

“Maybe he’s scared.” The man grumbled unhappily.

J took a few steps towards him, her eyes’ flashed with anger, “What was that?”

The man stood up and faced J, “I don’t fear your powers, I told you that already. Try using them on me, you know they won’t work.” J’s jaw flexed and she stepped down, and I found myself surprised. J never backed down from a fight.

“You may not fear my powers Gerard, but there are power that you do fear.” J looked at me from the corner of her eyes and I knew what she wanted me to do. I stepped in front of her and released just enough power to changed my eyes, teeth, and talons. Gerard stepped back quickly and looked at J, “I can still kill you.”

“Not fast enough.” J assured him, “By the time you had me drained you’d be dead five times over.”

The man clenched his fists, “So this is what I get for swearing my oaths? I don’t hear news from the north and suddenly they are at my door demanding passage up river. You expect me to risk my ship and crew in unsettled waters because you ask for it? I’m not a dog to be called upon.”

J smiled coolly, “If the north needs you to be a dog then you’ll be a dog, however.” J
reached to her belt, “I never said I wasn’t willing to pay you for your troubles.” She held up her purse and Gerard features instantly became less hostile.

“I think we might be able to work something out.”

“I should think so.”

~ ~ ~ ~

In the end J and Gerard took an hour to negotiate terms. J agreed to pay with gold if the men would take her to a certain spot up river. Gerard didn’t want to go too far north and J didn’t want to be left too far south. But they managed to meet on middle ground and we were shown to a small hut where we would stay until the boat was ready to launch.

After the shouts around camp became louder and J confirmed there was no one listening in on our conversation, I finally spoke. “For the love of God please tell me what is going on!”

“Not so loud!” J waved her hand and listened, but there was no one around.

“I’ve been playing dumb bodyguard for hours J, I need some answers. Who are these people and what the heck is that tattoo below your collar bone?”

J collapsed onto a bed of furs and closed her eyes, “I guarantee those two questions are going to lead to more questions.”

“You think so?”

J opened her eyes and looked pointedly at me, “I do.”

“Well you better start talking; I assume we have a few hours before the boat is ready to go anywhere, so you have some time.” I sat down across the hut where there were more furs piled up.

J let out a sigh, “These men work for the group I told you about, well they don’t really work for them, there more like loose allies.”

“What does that have to do with you?”

J sat up, pulled off her cloak, then unlaced the top of her tunic and pulled it aside to reveal the tattoo. For a moment I stared then I blink and looked away embarrassed. It was a symbol of a sword with the tip in a snakes mouth. “What is that symbol?”

“You don’t remember? It’s the same symbol that was on the swords of the bounty hunters that came after me…came after you. It is the symbol of the cult, and I was once one the highest ranking members of that group. I told you I wasn’t always this way Asher. I did terrible things, killed innocent people, and it took me a long time to realize what I was. And when I finally did, I ran away. They’ve been after me since. Luckily these men don’t get regular updates, otherwise they would have thrown sacks over our heads and tossed us below deck.”

I blew out a breath of air, “That’s why they called you my lady?” J nodded, “So do all these men have special abilities that I should know about?”

“That’s the reason they aren’t truly apart of the cult. They may share some of the same beliefs, but most of them are plain humans. There are only a couple that we really have to worry about. Gerard’s right hand man, the one that had the axe today, he has the ability draw you into trance if you’re caught off guard. That’s why I didn’t want you to speak today, he can’t effect me but had you simply spoken out he could have caught your mind in a web. Trust me, it’s not a position you want to get yourself into. There is one other man here that has a small healing ability, and then there’s Gerard.”

J took a deep breath, “He’s someone you need to fear, you especially. His power is like Grace’s, only the total opposite. Instead of restoring life and giving energy, he takes it away. When he meets a person he can link to them, then he can drain them of life. He can do it slow, or fast. Like the old man’s wife back on the farm, she laughed at him, then over the course of that week he took whatever energy she had until her body shut down.”

“Sick bastard.” I shook my head.

“That’s not the worst part. He just doesn’t drain people, he takes there energy. He adds strength to himself every time he drains a person; Gerard is about ninety years old.”

My mouth fell open, “He looks forty.”

J nodded her head, “I know, he can’t live forever, but he can prolong his life by taking others. “

“Why doesn’t he like Beasts, back in the hut you made me show off, why?” It’s not that I minded showing him what I was, I just needed to know what was going through J’s head. J needed to be more up front about her plans.

“Well, as you well know my ability has to do with the mind, many abilities do. But if I tried, or anyone else tried, to use their powers against Gerard, they would be linking to him automatically, and he could grab onto that link and drain the power out of them. But with a power like yours, you only change yourself; you don’t use your power on the mind, just the physical. He fears Beasts because they are the only ones that have ever come close to killing him. But you have to be extra careful, he can still link with you and try to drain your power, back in the hut I was helping you guard your mind from him, and now that he knows who he’s dealing with we shouldn’t have too many problems. He thinks your apart of the cult, he doesn’t want that kind of trouble.”

I collapsed onto the furs and closed my eyes, “J, sometimes I feel like you’re more trouble than I realize.”

There was a moment of silence and I thought maybe she had fallen asleep, the furs were surprising comfortable, “Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if certain things never happened to me. Where would I live? Would I be married already? Would I have kids? When I was a little girl I saw myself living in that pathetic old town, marrying a gentlemen, and settling down. What happened to those dreams? The only thing that I think and dream about is surviving, but what does it matter if I don’t have plans for the future? Will I live like this until my bones grow so old and weak that I won’t be able to ride anymore?” I opened my eyes and rolled onto my side. J was laying on her back staring at the ceiling of the hut. I watched her lips move as she reveled something deeper about herself.

“I’ve never told anyone this before Asher…but I’m tired. I’m tired of running. I’m tired of out-thinking the enemy. I just want to be able to fall asleep at night and not have to worry about someone carrying me off. I found a piece of land many years ago, and I promised myself that when all of this is over I’d build a home there. But now I have doubts that that day will ever come.”

I realized that I was probably the only person that J trusted enough to share secrets with. I knew she could wipe my mind, but she chose not to. She wanted, needed to share her secrets because she had been burdened with them her entire life, without anyone to lean on. I pushed myself off the furs and crawled over to J and I sat down next to her, “What are you doing?” She pushed herself onto an elbow.

I looked her in the eyes, “I don’t know what help I can be to you J. But I’m your partner, so I’ll stick with you, no matter where you go.” It might have been my imagination but it was as if my powers were working without my permission, and without using energy. But I could feel J’s emotions; well there was a hint of them at least. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have gone near J, for fear that she might paralyze me. But somehow I felt that she was vulnerable, like her defenses were weak, that she needed comfort. I scooted closer and put my arm around her shoulders, and to my relief, she let me. After a moment her head rested on my shoulder and we remained silent for some time. My heart pounded against my chest, it felt right having her so close.

Eventually J fell asleep, but I continued to hold her, and I couldn’t get over how perfect it felt to hold and protect her. I was ecstatic that J had needed comfort, and that I was the one to give it. I kept my hearing sensitive to what was going out outside, men were packing and running around trying to get the ship ready as quickly as possible. No one, it seemed, cared about J and I. Hours dragged by and J continued to sleep in my arms, then I heard a commotion outside and I stirred J from her sleep. “Someone’s coming.” I whispered to her when she finally woke up.

She nodded her head and I moved off to the side. The skin that hung in the doorway moved to the side and Gerard’s right hand man entered. “Captain wants you to load up your horses and get settled on board, we’ll be headed out shortly.”

J bowed her head, “We’ll be out in just a moment.” He grunted and left. J turned to me, “I know it’s hard, but please continue to keep your mouth shut. It will simply be easier if they think you’re just a dumb body guard. If you wish we can communicate through our thoughts, that way you won’t go completely insane with questions.” J stood up and pulled her cloak on. I was a little disappointed that she didn’t bring up the fact that she had fallen asleep in my arms, but then again J wasn’t one for reliving her downfalls, she had too much pride. So I simply accepted the fact that J and I had a very confusing partner-friendship-relationship that I wanted to develop into something more.