Lovers in the Woods Read Free

and inexperienced. They try to find out about the occupants
who invade their territory and if you scream loud enough they’ll
fly away. The older ones know us and stay in Emerald Green or
Beechtree Pride. They don’t care about us as long as we keep a
distance. Entering their territory for more than a few hours
is…dangerous to say the least.” He shook his head. “And the Horlyns
are not the only ones you need to fear—and now you make me part of
it. Thanks a lot.”
    Rayenne looked
at him for a long time, as if his ability to speak in whole
sentences had surprised her. Then she nodded.
    “In the old
days it was risky, I agree. But you don’t know about the latest
technological developments, Saji. We will be protected, don’t
worry.”
    “Who’s worried?”
    Sajitar curried his mare, still shaking his
head, then fetched the saddle and added the small saddlebags, which
held water, food, clothes and some useful items to survive on a
long ride. Used to traveling a lot, he had come to take less and
less with him.
    Two men entered the stable, the first one
tall and broad, the first one, the other small and fat. They
checked the stable with dark skeptical eyes, taking up details in a
second. Their stance and bearing made clear they had not come to
claim their mounts. They looked displaced in their long dark brown
coats and grey buttoned-up shirts. Sajitar glanced at the polished
riding boots and his heartbeat sped up.
    Felberi saw them at the same moment and,
cursing, went for his high-pressure gun. Swiveling around, he fired
three shots in a row.
    “Get down, Ray!”
    The men cussed, ducked behind the stable
doors for protection and shot back the same instant.
    Rayenne cleared her gun to aim across the
stall door. The B-horse behind her reared, startled by the noise.
She was pushed against the wooden wall and screamed in
pain.
    The B-horses in the adjacent boxes went
wild, trampling the ground while they tried to break the doors.
Sajitar opened the stall door next to him and the animal jumped,
its eyes wide, hooves hitting the wall. Then in fear it bolted down
the small alley and fled into the street, hooves clacking on the
hardened sand.
    The two attackers forgot to
shoot and flattened against the wall. The fat man shouted. “Damned
beasts!”
    Felberi’s gun roared again and the tall
man went down screaming. His gun skittered across the floor and he
did not move anymore. The second attacker seized the moment,
raising his gun and shooting at head-height through the stable,
clearly not caring if he hit men or B-horses.
    Sajitar had seen it coming. He pulled
Rayenne down behind the dividing wall, shielding her with his body.
The air was thick with dust from the trampling animals and the
noise was deafening. Gasping for air, he coughed and prayed for a
gun to defend himself. The sound of stones and metal pieces hitting
the wall froze him. It was unfamiliar, more threatening than
anything he had heard so far. In the alley, Felberi shouted
something Sajitar couldn’t decipher. A scream followed. Rayenne
stood up to fire once more and stumbled backwards. The attacker was
right in front of her. She looked into the muzzle, frozen. For a
second, there was only the gun and the smile of the fat gangster
behind it.
    “That’s for my partner, you slut.”
    Sajitar kicked the door open and hit the
man’s chest. His gun fired at the ceiling as he fell and Rayenne
pulled the trigger, blowing the wooden bullet in his face. He went
down without a sound. The gun dropped and Ray was at his side to
make sure he would not try to grab it again.
    “Thanks.” Turning to Sajitar, Rayenne put up
the gun. Her eyes were wide with fear. She had seen death coming
and had been left untouched. She took a deep breath and winced at
the pain in her back. “You’re fast.”
    Sajitar nodded. He shivered and for a few
heartbeats his vision was blurred. “You’re welcome. Who the fuck
were they?”
    “We’ll find out. Felberi?” She stepped