NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/alt/pub/clovens/17

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-30 | 5.3 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Debbie Taylor)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.cloven-shield
Subject: [C&R] The Desert Shadows
Date: 30 Dec 92 08:55:37
Organization: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
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Her eyes opened, worry and concern etched on her face.  Chalmers leaned over
the bed she was lying in.

There, there, Raven, I'm right here, it's over now, they're gone," Chalmers
spoke to her reasuringly.  He smiled, "Glad to have you back, Raven," his hand
brushed her cheek, "You gave me quite a fright."

"You're alright?  You're not hurt?" she asked, scanning his face and
body for signs of wounds.

"I'm fine, you're the one I've been worried about."

She sat up in bed, grimacing in pain as she moved, "I'll be fine since they
weren't trying to kill me,"  she reached for the carafe of water and a glass
that sat on the table beside the bed.  She took a long drink, "the after
effects of the poison are no worse than a hangover, but my leg hurts like
hell!"

"You've run into them before?

She nodded, rubbing her temples, "They're members of a secret society of
assassins and bounty hunters called `The Desert Shadows'."

One blond eyebrow rose in surprise.  Raven's homeland was several hundred
leagues south of here.  "Just what kind of trouble are you in, Raven?"

She sighed. "They are hunting me for the sake of a rich man's honor.  In my
culture a man's honor is everything and for the least slight against it a
person will be severly punished, maybe even killed ..."

"So who is this man and what did you do to him?"  Chalmers sat down beside her
on the bed.

She sighed, "It's kinda complicated ..." she paused collecting her thoughts,
"You see, I'm not like most of the women of my people.  They're demure,
subservient and obedient and they live under a man's rule all their lives,
first their father's then their husbands.  But I grew up on the streets, my
only family was the other urchins who roamed the city streets, surviving by
their wits alone.  Eventually I left the desert for adventure in the north.
Periodically I would travel back to my homeland, spend a few weeks there,
realize why I left in the first place and return to the north.  The last time
I returned, 10 months ago, I met a man named Zartan.  He was handsome, wealthy
and influential.  He was also the first man of my people who did not mind my
unorthodox lifestyle.  In fact he persued me because of it.  His hobby is
`collecting' exotic things from all over and Zartan decided to add me to his
collection.  At first, I was flattered.  I reveled in being pampered and cared
for.  He showered me with gifts: jewelry, fine clothes, the finest weapons, a
prized Arabian mare.  It was in his house that I found evidence that the city
of the Djinn was more than just a myth."

Again she grimaced in pain as she shifted to a more comfortable position. "But
I missed the exitement of the road, new places, new people, new challenges.  I
hadn't expected there to be any problem when I wanted to leave.  I was wrong.
We argued ... he struck me.  I left him with a scar on his right cheek," she
shrugged. "So he sent the Shadows to bring me back.  To appease his honor,
I'll be publicly flogged ... and possibly have my hand cut off as a thief
since when I left I took some of the jewelry he'd given me, my weapons and my
horse.  After `justice' has been served, then I'll be given back to him as his
property to do with as he wishes."

"But they're all dead, how are they going to follow you?"

"They'll find a way.  I guess they use magic or something," she shrugged.
"This wasn't the first group I've encountered and they seem to have finally
realized that I'm not going to go willingly ... that I'm not like any other
woman they've ever dealt with."

"If the Shadows have followed me this far, they won't quit, their honor is now
at stake, too," she continued, looking away from him so she wouldn't have to
see the look of relief in his eyes when she let him off the hook.  Gods, I'll
miss him ... I was beginning to get real used to having him around, but I have
to tell him everything, she thought.  Damn!  Why did the thrice damned
Shadowdogs have to show up now?  "They want me alive, but anyone traveling
with me will not be so lucky ... so I'll understand if you want to change your
mind about our plans."

"Your Shadows don't scare me," she looked back at him, "Nothing has changed
except that our plans will be delayed a day or two while you heal.  I'm not
going anywhere without you."  He leaned forward, kissing her gently, like she
was some fragile, delicate creature.  The kiss caught her completely off
guard.  She could not believe that such a simple kiss could affect her so.
The passion they had shared last night was nothing compared to what she felt
now.  Chalmers was so different from any other man she had ever known!  All
thoughts of hunger and pain completely disappeared as she pulled him close for
another kiss ...