Jerusalem Man 01 - Wolf in Shadow Read Free Page B

be a barbecue, and I have made some cakes.'
    ‘Thank you, I will.'
    'But, Mr Shannow, please do not wear your guns. This is still, in the main, a peaceful community.'
    'As you wish. Is Eric still sleeping?'
    'No, he is in the long meadow gathering wood for the fire. And then he must milk the cows.'
    'Do you have any trouble with wolves or lions?'
    'No, the Committee shot the last lion during the winter and the wolves have moved to the high country. They sometimes forage in winter, but they are not a great problem.'
    'Life here seems . . . settled,' he said, rising and brushing the hair from his shirt.

    'It has been - it certainly was when my father was Prester. But now there is Fletcher; we will not call him Prester, and I know that does not sit well with him.'
    'You said last night that your husband was dead. Is that a fear or a reality?'
    She stood in the doorway, her hand on the frame. 'I have a talent, Mr Shannow, for seeing faraway things. I had it as child and it has not deserted me. As we speak, I can see Eric in the far meadow. He has stopped gathering wood and has climbed a tall pine; he is pretending to be a great hunter. Yes, Mr Shannow, my husband is dead. He was killed by Fletcher and there were three with him: the big man, Bard, and two others whose names I do not know. Tomas's body lies in an arroyo, hastily buried.'
    'Fletcher desires your lands?'
    'And me. He is a man used to obtaining his desires.'
    'Perhaps he will be good for you.'
    Her eyes blazed. 'You think I will suffer myself to be taken by my husband's killer?'
    Shannow shrugged. The world is a hard place, Donna. I have seen settlements where women are not allowed to pair-bond with a single man, where they are communal property. And it is not strange in other areas for men to kill for what they want. What a man can take and hold, he owns.'
    'Not in Rivervale, sir,' she told him. 'Not yet, at least.'
    'Good luck, Donna. I hope you find a man willing to stand against this Fletcher. If not I hope he is, as I said, good for you.'
    She moved back into the house without a word.
    Some time later the boy Eric came into view, towing a small hand-cart loaded with dead wood.
    He was a slim boy, his hair so fair it seemed white. His face was set and serious, his eyes sad and knowing.
    He walked past Shannow without speaking and the man wandered to the paddock where the steeldust gelding trotted to him, nuzzling his hand. There was grass in the pen, but Shannow would have liked to give him grain. The beast could run for miles without effort, but fed on grain he could run for ever. Five years ago Shannow had won 2, 000 Barta coins in three races, but the gelding was too old now for such ventures. Shannow returned to his saddlebags and removed the oilskin gun-pouch.
    Pulling the left-hand pistol from its scabbard, he tapped out the barrel pin and released the cylinder, placing it carefully on the porch beside him. Then he ran an oiled cloth through the barrel and cleaned dust from the trigger mechanism. The pistol was nine inches long and weighed several pounds, but Shannow had long since ceased to notice the weight. He checked the cylinder for dust and then slipped it back into place, pressing home the wedge bar and replacing the weapon in its scabbard. The right-hand pistol was two inches shorter and brass-mounted with butt plates of polished ivory, unlike the dark apple-wood of the longer weapon. Despite the difference in barrel length it was this weapon that fired true, the other kicking to the left and unreliable at anything but close quarters. Shannow cleaned the pistol lovingly and looked up to see Eric watching him closely, his eyes fixed on the gun.
    'Will you shoot it?' asked the boy.

    ‘There is nothing to shoot at,' said Shannow.
    'Does it make a loud noise?'
    'Yes - and the smoke smells like the Devil, Have you never heard a gun fire?'
    'Once when the Prester shot a lion - but I was only five. Mr Fletcher has a pistol, and several of the Committee