Page 6 of Red in Tooth and Claw

Troubled, I’d tossed and turned the rest of the night. Whether it was my lack of shut-eye, the possibly imagined noise, or the mysterious actions of the gunslinger, I spent the next two days on edge. Everyone and everything seemed suspicious to me. I kept my mouth shut, worked hard, and slept like my bunk was full of burrs. On my fifth night at the Settlement, exhaustion finally caught up with me, and I slept like the dead, only waking for morning prayer when Jesse shook me.

Though I’d been managing to make a ghost of myself, my luck finally ran out, and HisBen trapped me as I was stepping outside into the yard after prayer.

“Mr.Kelly.” He smiled at me. It wasn’t the kind of smile that reached his eyes. It was a weak thing that died before it even left his lips. His brown eyes glowed with something , but it wasn’t humor. His god, maybe, or his faith. Whatever it was, it made me uneasy.

“Yes, Your Benevolence.” I touched the edge of my hat out of respect. With men like HisBen, I’d learned to flatter. No amount was too much. Apply it with a shovel, not a trowel, bowing and scraping the whole time, and they ate it up like it was their given right to inhale the sweetest of ambrosias.

“How are you liking our Settlement?” His eyes flicked back and forth as he watched my face. For what, I had no idea.

“It’s a fair wondrous place, sir,” I said, and I meant it. I’d expected a hovel. Last night there’d been custard at dinner, with canned cherries. Everyone had everything they needed. Whatever the Settlement was, I couldn’t argue that it was thriving.

His grin widened as he took in his domain. “I appreciate the assessment, Mr.Kelly. You know, people mocked us when they heard our plans.” He shook his head as if to say, Those poor misbegotten fools, doubting the likes of me . “Others had tried and failed here, you see?”

I nodded, which was all it took for him to keep going.

His hands twitched before clenching into fists. “We didn’t build the palisades—they were here from an earlier attempt. People couldn’t tame the land. I will admit, at first, we struggled.” He leaned in close to me, like we were sharing a secret. Close enough that I could smell incense and the tang of sweat underneath. “But in the end, the doubters, the nonbelievers, were wrong. We persevered.”

He straightened, his face to the sky, his eyes closed. He spoke so softly, it felt almost like he was talking to himself. “I cannot blame them for their ignorance.”

HisBen blinked, coming back to himself. He shook out his clenched fists, smiling at me once again. “You see, Faolan, I had faith in my path, my God. I gave myself over to Him fully. That’s the key.”

“Yes, sir.” It was all I could do to keep my feet rooted where they were. I wanted out of this conversation more than anything. This must be how a rabbit feels when the hawk first pins it.

He patted my arm in a fatherly gesture. “Now those naysayers, they’ll know—put your faith in Him and you can accomplish anything.” He gazed out, puffed up with pride, at his dispersing congregation. “You have an opportunity here, Mr.Kelly. That’s what the Settlement really is—opportunity. The Shining God has extended His grace to all of us. Provided for us, for you. All He asks in return is you and your unwavering faith in exchange for His riches.”

“I understand, sir.” I wasn’t good enough of an actor to inject awe into my voice, so I went with gravity. I could fake gravity.

“It’s not too high a price, now, is it, for all the bounty we receive in return?”

It seemed mighty high to me, but as Dillard had the flushed cheeks and glowing eyes of the true believer, there was only one answer I could give to his question. “No, sir.”

His grin never wavered as he checked his pocket watch. It was a fine piece, engraved silver with gold inlays. “I fear I’m keeping you overlong, Mr.Kelly. I know you have your duties.” He snapped the watch shut, tucking it back into his pocket.

“I do, sir.” I tapped my hat, not quite taking a full step before he patted my arm again.

“Don’t be a stranger. I’m here for all of my children.”

I bared my teeth at him, hoping it would pass for a smile. “That is a comfort, Your Benevolence.”

He nodded, dropping his arm and stepping away, and I took the opening to hare off to the front gates.

I have found that whenever I’m particularly focused upon a goal, life will find a way to cough up an obstacle to put in my path. Today’s obstacle between me, my breakfast, and eventually the forest was Miss Honeywell.

I’d been avoiding Miss Honeywell. To be fair, I’d been avoiding any of the Settlement’s adults when I could, but especially Miss Honeywell.

“Mr.Kelly!” she trilled at me. Miss Honeywell’s voice lived up to her name, sweet and decadent upon the ear. I’d heard her sing a few times in the chapel, and she far outshone Stuckley, a fact that I was sure bothered him to no end.

I almost kept walking. Surely, if I pretended I didn’t hear— No. She would just raise her voice and draw more attention. I halted in my tracks, tipping back my hat but not taking it off. “Yes, Miss Honeywell?”

She dimpled at me. “I need a strapping young lad like yourself to haul something for me.”

Why she chose me, I couldn’t fathom, as I was neither strapping—at least compared to the other lads about—nor a lad at all, come to think of it. Not that she knew that. Jesse, Amos, even Zeke would have been a better choice. Several of the passing boys glared at me, obviously disliking that Miss Honeywell had singled me out instead of them. They were welcome to her.

“Of course, ma’am,” I said. “I’m at your service.”

This pleased her, earning me more dimples. Had I been a lad, or held romantic interests toward other women, I’m sure those dimples would have done me in. Miss Honeywell was as pretty as one of those little porcelain dolls I’d seen in the New Retienne mercantile on occasion.

But I’m not and I don’t, so they had very little impact on me beyond making me wonder what she needed so badly that she felt she had to sweeten the pot.

I followed her into the stairwell at the far end of the dining hall, and we climbed up to the second floor. I hadn’t been up on this floor as of yet, having no reason to. A few of the other lads hauled wood up here as part of their duties, and they seemed reluctant to part with that territory.

The hallway was dim, the only light filtering in through open doorways. I peeked into a few as we passed, and it was obvious to me that the upstairs tenants weren’t subject to any kind of bunk inspection like we were. A few were a right mess. Miss Moon would have never stood for such untidiness from us. As always, the adults got to live by another standard than us younger folk.

A thick rug ran down the middle of the floor, muffling our steps. I don’t think I’d ever stepped on a rug so plush. The hall ended with a final door, the grandest of the lot. The Benevolent Sun, one of the symbols of the Shining God, had been carved into it.

Miss Honeywell gave me a conspiratorial smile. “Mighty fine, isn’t it? That door leads to Gideon—I mean HisBen Dillard’s quarters.”

Of course it did. “A fine door for a fine man,” I offered. Now that we were up here, she didn’t seem in all that much of a hurry to fetch whatever it was that she wanted me to haul for her.

She grinned slyly at me. “You can peek in if you want. I won’t tell.”

She must have thought I’d stumbled off of Cartwright’s cart and hit my head twice on the way down if she thought I was going to fall for that trick. “No, thank you, ma’am.”

Her grin grew. “Are you sure? He won’t find out.”

I waited. I’d already answered her once and didn’t rightly feel like flapping my jaws for no good reason.

Miss Honeywell pouted. “You’re no fun. Alright, then.” She gave an airy wave of her hand, motioning for me to follow. Miss Honeywell opened the door to the left of HisBen’s quarters. She paused, looking back at the door across the hall from hers. “That one belongs to Stuckley.” She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t go in there if you paid me up front.”

It was obvious she wanted me to ask why not, and I almost didn’t—I have an innate dislike to being pushed into anything. Contrary like a cat, Pops used to say. But while I wanted nothing to do with Miss Honeywell, I didn’t want to make an enemy of her, either. She seemed the vengeful type.

“Oh?” I waited in the hallway, since she hadn’t moved out of her own doorway yet.

“He spends a lot of time in there, our Stuckley. Ruminating on the benevolence, or so he says. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing something less savory.”

I had no idea what she meant by that, and honestly, I didn’t want to think about Stuckley, savory ways or otherwise. Normally, I would keep my trap shut or offer a never-you-mind, but if I did that, I would be alienating Miss Honeywell. I had to play along a little. “Have you ever taken a peek?”

She made a big production out of looking this way and that down the hall. Once she saw no one was coming, she whispered, “I might have been a little curious, but you know he locks it?”

“No, ma’am.” If I were Stuckley, I’d lock my door, too.

“I don’t suppose…” She bit her lip.

Either she was amazingly transparent or she didn’t think me clever. I honestly couldn’t tell which. “Suppose what, ma’am?”

“You don’t know how to pick a lock, do you, Faolan?” She gave my shoulder a little pat. “I would be so appreciative.”

Now we were getting to the meat of things. As it happened, I could pick a lock or two, but I was not of a mind to share this knowledge with Miss Honeywell.

“I regret that I do not,” I said, pretending that I really did regret it.

She sighed like she was up on the penny stage. “Well, it never hurts to ask. I worry he’s going to lock himself in there one of these days, and then what are we going to do, chop down his door?” She fluttered her hands and finally stepped into her room. I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to wait on the threshold or follow her in—it felt odd entering her domain, just the two of us. She waved me inside without looking back, so I followed her but kept my eyes open, taking everything in.

Miss Honeywell’s room had a lot more to it than Miss Moon’s did, making me think Miss Honeywell had come from money before joining the Settlement. She had a bed and a vanity with a mirror. A hairbrush with an ivory handle rested on the vanity, along with several bottles of perfume and a jewelry box. Lace-edged pillows dotted the quilt. An ornate hope chest sat at the end of her bed, and one whole wall was covered with a tapestry done in bold colors—a sweet scene of a doe resting in a glade, trees and flowers all around it. I noticed a falcon in the branches of one of the trees, and I wondered what had drawn Miss Honeywell to this tapestry—the doe or the falcon?

“There’s a crate under the bed, Faolan,” Miss Honeywell said, her voice suddenly brisk and businesslike. “Fetch it, if you please.”

I did as she said, barely straining to pick it up.

She shooed me out of the room. “On you go. We’ve tarried long enough. Take that to the dining hall and set it off to the side. I’ll deal with it after breakfast.” And with that order, she dismissed me.

Relief surged through me with every step I took. It felt like I’d escaped or gotten away with something, and I couldn’t say rightly why.

I was still thinking about Miss Honeywell as I followed Jesse along our route. Mostly, I was thinking about those two silvers Mr.Clarke had given her back in New Retienne and what they might have been for. Payment for upkeep? Charitable donation? Bribe to get me out of town? I didn’t rightly know. Nothing about the situation or the Settlement itself made much sense, as far as I could see, but then, churchin’ never has to me.

“Empty,” Jesse huffed. He stood up from the trap, his jaw stiff.

“No need to get anxious. It’s just an off day,” I said. “It happens. I’m sure tomorrow will be better.”

“There are worse duties than trapping,” Jesse said, rubbing the back of his neck. “And there are worse partners than you. But if we keep coming back empty, we’ll get reassigned.” He sighed. “C’mon, then. Let’s head to the next trap.”

“Hey, Jesse, can I ask you something? How come you and Dai Lo don’t leave the Settlement?” That’s the problem with me. Sometimes questions fall right out of my mouth before I even realize I want to ask them.

“It ain’t that easy, leaving.” He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one knuckle. “I’ve been watching you, you know. Sneaking out of your bunk. Observing the guards.” He glanced back at me. “I’m not going to rat you out. I’ve done the same thing.”

“You have?”

He gave a sharp nod before waving at me to follow him along the trail. “When Dai Lo and I first got here, yeah. But there’s only one way out. There’s always a guard—”

“You could leg it now,” I said.

That earned me a glare. “And leave Dai behind?”

I shrugged.

His lip curled. “You’ve got no loyalty.”

“I do so,” I said hotly. “To those that earned it.”

He pushed a branch out of the way as he scowled at me. “Dai has earned mine. You know what would happen to her if I left?”

“What?”

“More work,” he said. “Harder work. Time in the Box.” Before I could ask, he moved on. “The thing is, I don’t know what they’ll do. But they won’t be kind, that’s for damn sure. Miss Moon, maybe, but the rest?”

I agreed with him but asked anyway. “What makes you so sure?”

Jesse lifted his straw hat so he could swipe at the sweat on his brow with his sleeve. “You know what my ma always said? Don’t pay attention to words. Pay attention to what people do . That’s how you get their measure. That’s how they show you who they are.”

“So what have they shown you?” I asked softly, not wanting to interrupt his chatter.

Jesse stopped, leaves crunching on the trail as he turned to me. “When I first got here, there was a girl named Ruth. Said she wasn’t orphaned like the rest of us. Claimed she was at the Settlement by mistake. Said she was out of there as soon as she got a letter from her grandfather. He had money, she said, loads of it, and she just knew he’d take her in.”

“You believed her?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But a few people told me that when she first arrived, her clothes were mighty fine, and she didn’t know how to do lots of chores because she’d grown up with servants.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “She used to complain to all and sundry about the dragonfly brooch they confiscated when she first got here. Said it had real emeralds in it.”

I gave a low whistle. “Bet she made a right fuss.”

“She did. No one argued with her, mind. Just clucked and said ‘poor grief-stricken lamb’ and such.” Jesse took a big breath, blowing it out his nostrils. “She kept insisting her grandfather would want her. If he didn’t show up himself, he’d surely send a letter. Only she never got any mail, and he never showed. She got tired of waiting, tried to escape.”

“What happened to her?” I asked.

“First time?” Jesse’s expression became stony. “She spent two days in the Box. HisBen says the rules are harsh because the forest is unsafe at night.”

I looked around at the forest we were currently in.

“I know,” Jesse said. “I’m not saying he’s wrong, but I’m not sure he’s right, either. Second time, she got four days in the Box, and when she got out, they took her shoes and her pocketknife, and gave her extra prayer time with Miss Honeywell and Stuckley.”

“What happened the third time?” Because somehow, I knew she’d tried again.

“She didn’t come back a third time.” His words fell like stones into my gut, sending a splash of a shiver up my spine.

I licked my lips. “Maybe she made it?”

“Maybe she did,” Jesse said, but I could tell he didn’t believe it. “Maybe a city girl who didn’t know how to peel a potato made it in these woods. Maybe she was able to hide her trail so well that Davens and Harris couldn’t track her. She could be back in her grandfather’s fine home, sipping her tea out of a porcelain cup, every finger covered in gold rings, for all I know.” He scowled at me. “But that’s the thing, Faolan. I don’t know what happened to her. ”

“And you don’t want to find out.” My words had an edge to them, like I’d been honing them on Miss Lita’s whetstone.

“No, I do not. I don’t even care if that makes me a coward. I only care if it keeps me and Dai Lo alive.” He gestured to the woods with one hand. “Run if you want. I can’t stop you. Shoot, Faolan, I wouldn’t blame you. I don’t want to be here, either.”

I examined him, the jut of his jaw, the set of his shoulders. I didn’t think Jesse was a coward. No, sir. What he was, was clever. “You don’t like the odds.”

He shook his head. “I do not. Not enough to gamble my life and Dai’s. I came into a little money last month when I hit my majority. Not a lot, mind, but enough to get us started.” He frowned at me. “I didn’t tell anyone, so if you gab, I’ll know it’s you.”

“Understood.”

He adjusted the strap of his rifle, ready to get moving again. “Dai Lo hits her majority in six weeks. The minute she does, we’ll take our leave proper. Say goodbye with a handshake and a tip of the hat. Once we’re both legally adults, they can’t keep us here.”

He started along the trail again. “Until then, I won’t give them leave to find fault, which means we’re not going to come back empty-handed today.”

Jesse’s declaration aside, our luck didn’t improve as the day moved on.

“This one’s empty, too,” Jesse said, straightening in disgust. Jesse had leather gloves that fit, so he went about resetting the snare without leaving a scent. If it smelled like us, no critter would come near it. We were more than halfway through our rounds and, so far, had nothing to show for it.

“Maybe they’ll understand,” I said, though after his story earlier, I wasn’t too sure about that. “They might change our route if this one is empty.” I leaned against a tree, sipping from my canteen. Clouds had rolled in, cutting off a lot of the sunlight, giving the forest a hazy quality. It wasn’t quite warm enough to shed my jacket, but in a few weeks it might be.

“Not sure I want to find out,” Jesse grumbled.

He frowned down at me. We weren’t exactly friendly, but he trusted me enough to confide in me, and a new partner wasn’t a prospect I wanted to entertain. With my luck, I’d be paired with Amos.

I capped my canteen, thinking. “What if we went off route?”

Jesse knuckled his glasses back into place, his expression thoughtful. Jesse was a thinking kind of fella. He didn’t rush into things. If it had just been me, I would already be tromping into the undergrowth.

“That could work.” He edged off the trail, peering deeper into the woods. “Maybe if we push through, we can find another deer path or something.” He brushed away a twig that was hitting his neck before looking back at me. “We don’t say a word to anyone.”

I pretended to lock my lips and throw the key behind me.

He snorted. “Alright. Let’s see if we can find another trail.”

I tucked my canteen away and followed him into the trees. We were careful to keep track of where we were going, leaving subtle markers like piles of stones. I had a good sense of direction, but Jesse’s was better.

It wasn’t long before we found another animal trail. We paused to set up a spring trap—I had some extra line in the bag I carried. Jesse used my line to tie the snare. While he did that, I worked on the spring pole and the forked stake we’d need, using my folding knife to cut down the wood to meet our specifications. Once the trap was set, we packed up our gear and moved farther along the trail, of a mind to set up one more snare.

Jesse squinted at the deer path. “How far do you think we’ve gone?”

“Not entirely sure,” I said honestly. “Why?”

“Assuming this trail keeps heading northeast, I’m pretty sure we’ll end up in Rover territory. If that’s the case, we’ll need to double back.” He eyed the canopy. “I reckon from one of the taller trees, I can take a gander and see where this trail goes.”

“You want me to go up?” I asked.

“Naw,” Jesse said, setting his rifle against the trunk. “Won’t take me but a minute.” Then he scrambled up the branches, disappearing into the tree.

I waited at the bottom, listening to the occasional scrape and crackle, and then the noises stopped. After a few minutes, I eased the pack off my shoulders. Might as well rest while I could. My eyes were closed and my head tipped back, so I was real quiet-like. Too quiet, apparently. I heard a rustle in the undergrowth close to my feet and looked down. The beady eyes of a skunk stared back at me, no more than a yard away.

Skunks were tricky eating. They were a trifle bony. Rabbit was better, and you didn’t have to deal with the scent glands. They also couldn’t make you stink to the skies.

Slow as I could, I reached for the rifle that Jesse had left leaning against the tree next to me. My hand was just closing around the barrel when several things happened at once.

First, Jesse fell out of the tree. In retrospect, I should have let him know about the skunk, but I didn’t think of it, and I sorely regretted that. Luckily for Jesse, I broke his fall. We crashed to the earth as one, my breath knocked out of me. Jesse yelped.

Which, second, aggravated the skunk. Jesse must have spotted it, because he rolled off me and scampered away. All I could do was close my eyes and mouth as the skunk sprayed me right in the face.

I was grateful I managed that much, to be honest.

If you’ve ever smelled a rotten egg, you’ve got a good idea what a skunk’s spray smells like. It’s worse, though. So much worse, and I was drenched in it. I scrambled up, using the sleeve of my jacket to wipe my face as best I could. It wasn’t like the jacket didn’t already reek beyond redemption—it had received a good soaking as well.

I rinsed my face with the canteen. It wouldn’t help with the stench, but it would hopefully keep the stuff out of my mouth and eyes. Despite my efforts, my eyes burned, same as my nostrils, making the former water and the latter run. I will admit that I had to lean over and retch, sadly losing any ghosts of my fine breakfast.

My canteen was empty now, so I couldn’t even rinse my mouth. This day had gone wretched from the start of it. There are some mornings where I think my day would be best spent not leaving the warm nest of my quilt, and today was one of them.

I spit on the ground, attempting to clear my mouth. It didn’t help.

When I’d recovered, I snagged the pack and the rifle and went after Jesse. I found my partner a few minutes later sprawled out on the ground clutching his leg. In his hasty—though understandable and, dare I say, enviable—retreat, he’d tripped on a root and crashed down, injuring his ankle.

I placed the bag and our rifle on the ground and dropped down to his level.

“Good gracious, you stink.” Jesse pushed these words through gritted teeth, his eyes watering at the stench.

“The skunk and I were getting along fine before you butted in,” I said, reaching for his ankle. “No one would fault me for leaving you here to be picked over by wild beasts.” I began carefully unlacing his boot, then changed my mind. Best leave it for now. “What happened?”

Jesse choked on a laugh. “I leaned out to get a better look at a squirrel and lost my grip.”

I paused, my hands on his ankle. “A squirrel?”

His ears turned red, just at the tops. “I wanted to sketch it later.”

I snorted. “A fine pair we make.” I pressed my hand gently against his ankle, and he grimaced. “Bad?”

He nodded, hissing air through his teeth.

“Think it’s broken?”

He shrugged. “Help me up. We’ll see if I can put weight on it.”

It didn’t take long to figure out that he couldn’t, and we almost toppled back to the earth, but I got him leaned up against the trunk of a birch just in time. I took stock of us again and shook my head.

We were a right mess.

I stank something fierce, Jesse couldn’t put weight on his left foot, and we were a goodly way from the Settlement. We’d also gone off trail, so it would take anyone looking for us time to find us, if they managed.

Nothing doing. We’d have to muddle through. I had Jesse lean against the tree while I found us a couple of good branches.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting us some walking sticks.” I handed one to Jesse, then slung the pack and rifle onto my back. That done, I put one arm around his back and had him put one on my shoulders. We started walking.

“This is ridiculous,” Jesse gritted.

“At least you’re upright,” I growled. “You got a better idea?” We shuffled forward a few steps.

“Yeah, to go back in time and never listen to your fool idea,” Jesse said, jerking me to the side as he hobbled forward. “This is hopeless. I’ve seen snails move faster.”

“Stop fighting me.” Sweat dripped down my brow, and I couldn’t do anything about it as we lurched down the trail. Moving as one involved a certain amount of joint coordination that we couldn’t seem to muster. “If we ever try to do a three-legged sack race, we’ll lose.”

“Why are you so short?” he ground out through clenched teeth. “They don’t grow people proper where you’re from?”

“I’m perfectly sized, you giant.” The sweat slid farther down my face, wafting the scent of skunk even stronger into my nose. I gagged. Which made him gag.

“You need to eat more,” Jesse said, turning his head to the side to breathe air that didn’t reek. “Or wear bigger boots, Snack.”

“Now listen here, you big galoot—”

We set off bickering, our words pouring over each other’s, both of us irritated and miserable.

Which is exactly how the Rover party found us.