Gods of Gor Preview

A quick update note to assure you all that I’ve been working hard on the new Emma book, and of course I understand it can be frustrating having to wait for the finished piece. Mind you, if you’ve been waiting for the sixth Game of Thrones book, then a short delay from me pales into insignificance in comparison! And George Martin doesn’t even have my excuse that I have a day job! 

 

So, anyway, I thought I’d post some pages from the work in progress, since you’ve all been so patient. You’ll eventually see it released with pretty pictures by Chloe, but in the meantime, here are thirteen pages from chapter four. The first three chapters have seen Brinn, Tijani, and their gaggle of kajirae sailing down the Nyoka river, into the dark rain forest interior east of Schendi, in search of the distant trading post and Emma’s Earth sister, Bea. The kajirae have been bickering throughout. But here is some intrepid river action!

 

Chapter Four: The Barge

 

“River pirates,” said Brinn as he gazed to the left of our canoe. 

 

“It seems so,” remarked Tijani. We had paused paddling for the moment while the men assessed the situation. I wasn’t too concerned, as the pirates were already engaged in looting and securing their ill-gotten prizes and would be unlikely to jump back into their pirogues and chase after us.

 

“I suppose we have now paddled enough distance up the Nyoka that the security afforded by the might of Schendi can no longer reach this far.”

 

“It would seem so,” agreed Tijani. “From now on we need to be on guard and keep our blades close at hand.”

 

“I am always on guard,” remarked Brinn. “And my blade is never far from reach.”

 

“When we camp we will have to ensure additional security.”

 

“Indeed.” Brinn actually seemed pleased by the idea. For him this was now less of a genteel canoeing holiday and more of a dangerous incursion into savage lands. Why did that make him happy…

 

“Observe the barge,” remarked Tijani as he leaned forward. “It obviously fled in panic and ran aground.” The flat bottomed barge had veered left and had struck a sandbank under the surface of the water. An experienced river captain would not have permitted his vessel to run aground, but then I suppose when river pirates are in hot pursuit, you are forced to take chances. The captain had obviously tried to reach the shore where his passengers might hide themselves in the thick tree line. Pirates rarely wish to plunge deep into the forested interior, where their advantage can be squandered. They are also nervous to leave their pirogues unattended for too long.

 

“Help me!” The cry was from a woman on the barge and it was directed at us.

 

“She is making a stand,” remarked Tijani. He reached for a water bottle and took a sip. “I admire that. Do you not, friend Brinn?”

 

Brinn merely grunted in a reluctant manner. He seemed uninterested.

 

The woman stood now beside a stack of boxes piled high on the centre of the barge. Her back was to the boxes and she waved a knife at the semi-circle of men who threatened her. Close by, three black slave girls had already submitted and were kneeling on the deck of the barge with their foreheads pressed to the planks. A man was working his way between them, securing each one with a linked coffle chain. A couple of bodies accounted for the men who had been steering the barge and who had put up a fight of some kind when escape had proved impossible. 

 

“Help me!” the woman cried again. She waved her arms to attract our attention. A few of the pirates looked round, assessed our canoe for what it was, no doubt identified that Brinn and Tijani were both fighters, and gave us warning looks to keep away. They outnumbered us seven to two. It would be foolish for us to intervene.

 

“Have you given any thought to what we might cook for supper tonight?” enquired Tijani as he watched the commotion on the distant barge.

 

“Not really,” replied Brinn. 

 

There was a scream as one of the men reached for the sarong of the woman with her back to the stack of boxes. She slashed at the offending hand, but the man had only been toying with her, and he whipped it back quickly enough. The men obviously saw this as a game. They taunted her, though I couldn’t make out their words.

 

“Help me!” screamed the woman again. 

 

“You seem unconcerned, friend Brinn,” said Tijani.

 

Brinn shrugged. “It is not my concern. We should get moving.” He eyed the flow of the river and how it weaved out of sight in a few hundred yards. 

 

“But still, she is a free woman appealing to us for help.”

 

“She is unlikely to remain free for long,” remarked Brinn. “And there are seven of the men, and only two of us.”

 

“It is not like you to be afraid of unbalanced odds?”

 

“I am not afraid,” said Brinn. “I am simply not interested in the woman’s fate.”

 

“Please!” screamed the woman, again. She slashed around herself in a futile fashion with her knife. The men of course could easily overwhelm her any time they grew bored of this. That moment would come soon enough, but for now they jabbed and poked with sticks, laughing as she jumped from side to side. Her sudden, hasty movements were loosening her sarong, which as garments go, isn’t known for its structural integrity. “Help me!”

 

“I would like to see her land a blow,” remarked Tijani. “That would be good.”

 

“It would not go well for her if she did. Better she tires herself without drawing blood and then they move in and strip and bind her.”

 

“A shame though,” said Tijani. “She has spirit.”

 

Sitting in the canoe, I felt Brinn’s hand playing with my hair. I leaned back into him as I continued to observe the incident on the flat barge. The woman had nowhere to flee. Even if she leapt into the water, she would face a swim to the left bank that might take her several minutes. The river pirates almost certainly had bows. They could kill her long before she reached the bank, if they chose not to swim after her. 

 

Bows in the tropical rain forest have a shorter range than similar weapons from central Gor. They are typically effective within a range of 21 metres and have a lighter pull than the infamous long bow. The arrows are much longer, usually iron tipped, and carried as a bundle rather than in a quiver.

 

Some arrows are poison tipped, but those are time consuming and labour intensive to make as the poisonous roots and vines have to be gathered and then crushed up to turn them into a pulpy juice that can be used to coat the arrow tips. Contrary to popular belief, poison tipped arrows are mostly designed to kill animals, not men, and even then the poison takes effect gradually. If you were shot by an arrow in the rain forest, you’d be just as scared of infection setting in from an ordinary arrow, with all its dirt and germs on the iron head, as if it was poisoned. 

 

I watched as a man seized the woman’s sarong, where the fabric was tucked tightly over the swell of her breasts, while she was fending off the approach of another man. Before she could do anything about it, the man tore the sarong loose so that the fabric now fell away from her breasts. A cheer broke out among the river pirates. This, they thought, was good sport. 

 

The woman screamed, tried desperately to hold her sarong fabric in place with her left hand while she slashed wildly with the knife in her right. 

 

I knew her, of course. We all did. She was Taleisha – the fierce, haughty and rude woman who had almost provoked Brinn into a fight he would have lost, back in the river village we had visited, several days ago. The woman who was betrothed in free companionship to Jafari of the Kuumu tribes. A woman, who it seems, had run into trouble on her ceremonial barge of free companionship as it sailed down river. 

 

Brinn had not appreciated her sharp tongue and insults at the time. 

 

“Gentlemen!” Tijani’s raised voice carried over the stretch of water between our canoe and the stranded barge. 

 

“What are you doing?” enquired Brinn. 

 

“Making casual conversation before lunch,” replied Tijani with a smile.

 

“Well, don’t. I have no wish to fight those men.” Brinn’s hands continued to play with my hair, though his right now strayed down along my belly to nestle its fingers in the neat trim of pubic hair between my legs. I gasped and snuggled into his embrace. 

 

“Gentlemen! A moment of your time!” shouted Tijani again.

 

“What do you want?” came a gruff voice from the left side of the river. The men had paused in their play. Now they glared at our canoe, warning us with their expressions to move on.

 

“I am curious. Please indulge my curiosity. Which of you, would you say, is the most dangerous fighter?” shouted Tijani. “Who should I be scared of the most?” 

 

It was a strange question, and obviously a mild challenge of sorts. As Brinn sighed and fidgeted on his canoe seat, I saw a powerful black pirate stand up straight on the flat barge and thump his chest with enormous hammer like fists.

 

“I am Karnute the strangler! I can crush the life from a man’s throat in seconds with my fingers. You will never have faced a man as dangerous as I!”

 

“Thank you.” Tijani suddenly raised a loaded crossbow without warning from the base of the canoe, and shot Karnute through the chest. He fell back with a scream. “I was thinking we might have a pot roast tonight,” added Tijani after a moment of reflection, to Brinn. “For our supper, that is.” 

 

“That wasn’t very honourable,” remarked Brinn, ignoring any talk of food.

 

“Honourable?” There was an incredulous tone to Tijani’s voice. “Friend Brinn, they are river pirates!” 

 

“A fair point, I suppose,” admitted Brinn. 

 

There was pandemonium and fury now amongst the remaining six river pirates. They had just seen the strongest of their group murdered at long range. 

 

“You do realise they will have bows of their own?” remarked Brinn as he reluctantly reached for his large round shield and slung it over his left arm. The shield was large, but there was no way it could protect all of us from a hail of arrows. 

 

“But of course,” said Tijani as he passed me the crossbow. “Reload, kajira. And quickly please. I don’t want to see you pouting at your reflection in the water, or combing your hair.” He began to manoeuvre the canoe with his paddle, directing the girls to match his strokes. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. He seemed intent on positioning the canoe at a certain point in the river flow. 

 

The crossbow was heavy in my hands. It operated on a windlass wheel crank that enabled me to wind back the string in stages, rather than by one extreme pull which might have been beyond me. I placed my right foot in the stirrup fixed to the front of the weapon and then, stabilising it against the floor of the canoe, began to turn the crank to wind back the bow string. In doing this, I was a sitting target for the hunting bows of the river pirates, but Brinn placed his shield in front of my body, facing the barge. Mina, Saffron and Chloe had already crouched down, making themselves as small as possible as the remaining men on the barge ran to their dugout canoes to retrieve their bows. 

 

“We will have words about this later,” remarked Brinn. He was angry, though in a calm and rational way, because his mind was focussed now on fighting and survival. The kajirae were still vulnerable even though they crouched below the gunwales. Arrows would fly up into the air and then arc downwards, meaning the gunwales wouldn’t provide much in the way of cover. 

 

The first of the men found their bows and notched long arrows to the strings. They drew back and let loose in the direction of our canoe. 

 

I crouched as low as I could behind Brinn’s shield, pausing in winding back the bow string to ensure I wasn’t exposed in any way. But I needn’t have worried. The arrows fell short, landing harmlessly in the water, ten to twenty yards away from where we sat.

 

“I thought so,” said Tijani with a grin. “Those bows are out of range. Emma, I told you to load my crossbow.” His voice was suddenly harsh and I recognised it as a sign that I was in trouble. 

 

“I’m sorry, Master. I didn’t know the arrows would fall short.”

 

“Even if we were in range, I gave you an order. You’re a kajira. You don’t question orders. Do as I say.”

 

I hurried back to winding the wheel crank, trying to make up lost time. My failure to trust Tijani might mean the loss of a precious shot.

 

Meanwhile, the river pirates had worked out that they were too far away to return fire, and so now they scrambled into their dug out pirogues, three men to each one, leaving the woman alone on the barge. Her sarong was badly torn, but she did her best to hold it against her skin as the pirates began to paddle furiously towards our canoe. 

 

“Any time you’re ready, Emma,” said Tijani, his voice reflecting a growing tension. He was still keenly intent on maintaining a certain position in the river as the pirogues closed upon us. I turned the stiff wheel again and again, seeing the crossbow string finally snap into place. With fumbling hands I slotted another iron tipped quarrel into the groove and handed the weapon to Tijani.

 

“I’m sorry, Master. I won’t doubt you again.” 

 

Tijani said nothing. He simply raised the weapon, took sight on one of the men in the second pirogue and shot him through the chest as he paddled. Instantly he pressed the crossbow back into my sweaty hands.

 

“Quickly, now, Emma.”

 

Again I pushed back with my body weight against the stirrup, forcing the prod of the weapon against the canoe boards as I began to turn the crank shaft wheel again. The mechanism was stiff but turned as I pressed hard against the handle.

 

By now the pirates had reached a comfortable range and they paused their paddling.

 

“Kajirae, get in the water,” snarled Brinn. “The side facing the right bank. Cling to the gunwale of the canoe. Emma – stay with the crossbow.” He presented the shield in front of me as Chloe, Mina and Saffron clambered over the side of the canoe, away from the, now stationary, pirogues. A second volley of arrows flew across the water. Brinn caught two on his great shield. The iron heads hammered hard into the metal. Two more arrows struck the wood of the canoe, while the fifth fell into the water. 

 

“Close,” said Tijani. “Their third volley will be better.”

 

I was choking with fear as I desperately wound the superior crossbow weapon into the locking position. It took me another ten seconds from the time of the second volley. The pirates had again seized their paddles and closed the distance some more, to guarantee accurate shots with their third attempt. 

 

“This is your fault,” snarled Brinn at Tijani, as he regarded the pirogues slowing down, and as the pirates discarded paddles for bows again. 

 

“Crossbow, Emma!” snarled Tijani. “Where is the crossbow?!”

 

I cranked the last turn and reached for another iron tipped quarrel. I was breathing hard, terrified for I knew that any moment would see another volley of arrows flying towards us. And these ones would hit someone. Brinn would protect me, but he and Tijani would be vulnerable. I slipped the third quarrel in place and thrust the weapon to Tijani who wasted no time in raising and aiming it. I heard the thrum of bow strings before Tijani was ready, but then his bow fired too. 

 

I threw myself at Brinn, forcing him to move the shield to partially protect himself as well as me. An arrow smacked hard against where I’d been seated. Another arrow struck the shield with the sound of an iron sling shot. I lost track of the other arrows as I burrowed myself against Brinn’s chest. 

 

And then I heard a loud grunt from Brinn, and I knew it could only mean one thing. An arrow had hit him. 

 

I felt a rising sense of nausea. I had no idea whether Tijani had scored another shot, but I knew the pirates could simply take their time and pick us off now, volley after volley. Brinn’s shield arm had gone slack, and as I looked at him I saw an arrow shaft in his left shoulder, above the shield rim. His face was flushed with pain, but he did his best to keep the shield in front of me, at the expense of his own safety.

 

“I love you,” I blubbered, as realisation dawned that we might all be about to die. 

 

I suddenly felt Brinn seize hold of me and throw me into the river on the right hand side of the canoe, where the other girls clutched with their hands on the gunwale. “Swim for the river bank,” he said. It was unlikely that the pirates would fire at us in the water while Brinn and Tijani remained alive and defiant in the canoe. 

 

I had tears in my eyes as well as river water as I swam with powerful breast strokes away from the canoe. Mina was quickly beside me, but Chloe remained behind, trying to coax Saffron’s fingers from the gunwale. Something was wrong, and I paused to tread water to see what it was. To my astonishment, Saffron was refusing to abandon Tijani. 

 

“Saffron!” I shouted. “You can’t help him!”

 

Chloe was struggling with the girl, and each time she managed to prise a hand away from the canoe, Saffron’s other hand would grip the gunwale tightly again. 

 

But I could also see that one of the dugout pirogues only held a single man. Tijani’s final shot with the crossbow had been as accurate as the other two. And now I also saw that our canoe was drifting with the river flow. In fact it had been ever since we had stopped paddling. We were being pushed back the way we had come. And the dugout pirogues were now drifting further away from us. I couldn’t understand this at first, but then I saw the difference between a river and the sea. The river had rocks and deposits of silt breaking the surface, affecting the current. With the pirogues on one side of a silt bank, the current there was dragging the dug outs in a diagonal direction towards the left bank, while we correspondingly drifted at a right angle towards the right bank, as we all drifted methodically down river. Tijani had calculated the effect of the silt on our vessels, and how they might drift without paddle power, and he had gambled that the optimum range for their bows could therefore not be maintained indefinitely without furious paddling on their part to hold position, during which time they couldn’t fire their bows. Whereas he could fire his…

 

My heart sank as I realised I had not reloaded the crossbow. If I had still been in the canoe, I might even now be winding the crank shaft in place for a fourth quarrel. 

 

There was some shouting as Saffron kicked at Chloe, forcing her back along the side of the canoe. And then Saffron pulled herself up out of the water, using the central weight of the men to hold the canoe stable as she fell forwards over the gunwale. 

 

“Master,” she sobbed. 

 

“Load my crossbow,” said Tijani as he had by now picked up the paddle and accelerated the drifting canoe further out of range of the short bows. The crossbow range was far wider and more accurate. All we had to do was keep the range distant and it would be we who could pick off our enemies while their arrows floundered. 

 

Saffron thrust her small foot into the stirrup and put all her strength into turning the crank handle repeatedly, while Mina and I continued to tread water, drifting with the current close to the canoe. 

 

“We could still swim for the far bank, Emma,” said Mina. “We could escape. Come with me.”

 

“No fucking way.” I seized hold of her right wrist and saw the fury in her eyes as she struggled to free it. Unfortunately for Mina, her superior strength didn’t count for much in the water, as she had nothing to brace herself against 

 

The pirates were shouting now, especially the lone man in the single dugout who was having to paddle harder than the other pirogue. They were beginning to understand the drift of the current, and how they couldn’t hold position and fire at the same time. Nevertheless, one man in the first pirogue was able to loose arrows that flew towards us, but Brinn was doing an admirable job of stopping the single shots with his broad shield. The iron heads drummed hard into the outer surface. 

 

“Let me go!” swore Mina as she tried to break my grip. In response I pulled us both under the surface and let my body sink. I’m a superb swimmer and my lung capacity is possibly even better than Brinn’s. If Mina wanted to put up a fight, she would soon find out which one of us was at risk of drowning before the other. 

 

And yes, under the murky surface of the river, Mina began to struggle helplessly, for she hadn’t had time to really saturate her lungs with oxygen the way I had. Panic registered in her eyes and I tapped her brand to remind her what she was. Only when she nodded frantically did I let us both surface.

 

Mina was coughing and spluttering, all the fight gone from her as I cradled her head against my shoulder and trod water to match the direction of the canoe. Chloe caught sight of me and nodded with a smile as she saw I had prevented Mina from escaping to the river bank. She swam towards me with clean strokes of her arms.

 

“Well done, Emma.”

 

“Please don’t tell the men. Mina would be punished horribly.”

 

“I have to tell the men,” said Chloe. “Mina tried to escape.”

 

“Please, Chloe. She is still new to her collar. You know her upbringing. She was the Ubara of the Black Coast. Of course she was going to make an escape attempt when the opportunity presented itself. Let me talk to her. Please. Please.”

 

“You care about her, don’t you?” said Chloe as she trod water next to me.

 

I nodded. “She was good to me on the Larl. I can’t really complain. I… I suppose I owe her. After Simon took me from Brinn, my life could have been a living hell. It wasn’t, really, and I have Mina to thank for that. She was often kind, in her own way. Please, Chloe?”

 

“Okay. So long as the men don’t ask me a direct question. But this will be her only chance. If there is a next time…” the warning hung heavy in the air.

 

“There won’t be a next time. I promise.”

 

“If there is a next time, and the men find out, you and I will be punished too for giving her this chance. You know that?”

 

I nodded. 

 

Mina’s distraction meant I had lost track of the battle. By the time I swam back to the side of the canoe and lifted myself up over the gunwale, the fighting was done. The remaining river pirates had succumbed to the inevitable and, fearing further casualties from Tijani’s slow but reliable crossbow, had allowed the river current to carry them away from both us and the stricken barge. They had paid a heavy price for this encounter and sensibly they chose not to make it worse. 

 

The first thing I saw as I hauled my dripping wet body into the canoe was Saffron tending to Brinn’s wound. Tijani had dug the arrow point out of Brinn’s shoulder and left Saffron to sterilise and bind it, which she was doing as I moved to join them.

 

“Poor Master,” she cooed over Brinn. “You are being very brave.”

 

“It is nothing,” said Brinn, as Saffron’s soft hands wiped his brow. 

 

“Oh no, wonderful Master. You were shot and then you had an arrow head dug from your flesh without a sound. I am so impressed by your strength.”

 

There was a smug, self-satisfied grin on Brinn’s face as he accepted the compliment.

 

“Thank you, Saffron. I’ll take over now,” I said as I crouched next to them, warning her with a gaze that could turn most slaves to stone.

 

“Please don’t crowd the Master, Emma. He’s in a fragile state.” Saffron somehow managed to keep herself between me and Brinn.

 

The smile I gave her was strained, through clenched teeth. “No, really, I’ll take over now.” 

 

“Leave her be, Emma,” said Brinn. “She’s doing fine.” 

 

I glanced down at his groin and saw the unmistakeable sign of an erection through the tunic as Saffron caressed him. Saffron’s left hand slipped over the visible bulge, as if to hide it. There was a short sigh from Brinn’s lips. 

 

“He’s injured in the shoulder,” I hissed softly at her. “You know where the shoulder is, don’t you?”

 

The canoe suddenly lurched sideways as Mina now hauled herself on board. She was still recovering from her underwater ordeal and couldn’t look me in the eyes. No doubt she was rightly afraid that I might report her escape attempt. Let her stew on that for a while, before I put her out of her misery. Chloe then climbed on board next, helped up by Tijani.

 

“Pick up your paddles,” said Tijani to all of us, except, I suppose, Saffron. “Head towards the stranded barge.”

 

I had little choice but to obey, though I glanced back at the look of bliss on Brinn’s face. Although Saffron was still cleaning his shoulder wound with her right hand, her left was lightly stroking the hidden lump under his tunic with her fingers.

 

“How does that feel, Master?” she asked, softly.

 

“Very good,” said Brinn, his mind no doubt not thinking of the shoulder wound. “I think this is definitely helping.” 

 

And so the three of us paddled from left to right, until we reached the barge which was tilted at a low angle, wedged hard on the sandbank.

 

“Lady, are you hurt?” enquired Tijani as he jumped onto the deck. The Lady Taleisha stood there, still clutching her torn sarong about her body. Instead of looking grateful, she looked angry.

 

“You took your time!” she snarled. “I was calling to you for several ehn!”

 

“Forgive me, gracious Lady,” said Tijani with a slight bow. “I was formulating a strategy.”

 

“While I was suffering my sarong being torn away! It is not good enough!”

 

As I jumped on to the deck of the barge I could see that the men had slashed the fabric apart. What the Lady now held before her body was a small piece of the garment that concealed the front of her body only. It wasn’t much bigger than the piece of fabric we wore folded about our hips.

 

“Your barge is stranded,” said Tijani, changing the subject.

 

“The idiot of a Captain drove it onto this sandbank,” said the Lady. “It is just as well he died for his foolishness.”

 

“Indeed,” said Tijani as he rubbed his chin. “And yet, I suppose he was trying to save you from the pirates.”

 

“I’m not interested in his motives. I’ve lost my personal luggage!” Aside from the heavy crates at the centre of the barge, the lighter boxes had slid into the water when the barge had struck the sandbank and tilted itself at an angle. I watched as Tijani opened a crate and ran his hand through some grain. 

 

“At least you have your life and your freedom,” remarked Tijani as he couldn’t help but gaze at her bare legs. The material was only wide enough to cover her main body. 

 

“I suppose.” Taleisha sniffed and regarded the scene of carnage. “I thank you for that. Now, on to more practical matters. I will of course commandeer your canoe. You will place it and yourselves at my disposal and you will paddle my hand maidens and myself back to my village.”

 

“There is hardly room for you all in the canoe,” began Tijani. “And anyway, we are…”

 

“Well, you will simply have to give up your slaves. Leave them here on this stricken barge, and someone will come along in good time. Despite their low value and slutty bodies, a passing barge captain will no doubt be happy to make a few copper tarsk bits selling them as kettle slaves.”

 

Tijani rubbed his chin in thought again. “An interesting suggestion, but I am rather fond of my slaves, as is Brinn. I think we prefer to keep them.”

 

“Very well. If you must be so selfish. I will accept the loss of my own girls’ purchase prices. Simply convey me back down stream to my village. If we hurry we can be there in a day or two.” 

 

“Alas, Lady, we will not be returning to your village for a week at least. Our own reason for being on the Nyoka means we are paddling up river to a frontier trading post. Perhaps the village of your companion to be is on the way?”

 

“I cannot arrive there like this! Half-naked, in a canoe, with no luggage, like some peasant girl! I am a rare prize! I am Taleisha! You will simply have to abandon your plans. There really is no alternative.” 

 

“What is going on, Tijani!” shouted Brinn from the recess of the canoe. “Why are we still here? You’ve saved the ungrateful woman’s life. Can we now move on, please?”

 

Tijani shrugged. “My friend has a point. We did risk our lives to…”

 

“As you are supposed to, if I am in danger. I am Taleisha!” Her spine was ramrod straight again as she lifted her chin in a superior fashion that as an aloof image was spoilt only by the scantiness of the material she clutched to her upper body. No free woman can command complete respect and authority when she is desperate to cover her modesty. “Kindly discard some of your excess baggage. I will require plenty of space about me in your canoe. I do not like to be crowded!”

 

“I think I shall bid you a heartfelt farewell, Lady,” remarked Tijani as his patience finally expired. “As you so rightly observed earlier, it is only a matter of time before another barge captain hoves into view. Amuse yourself in the meantime.” He gave her another polite bow.

 

“Where are you going!” Her voice was angry now mas she stamped her foot. “You can’t leave me here!” 

 

Tijani walked back to the edge of the barge and hopped over into our canoe, jostling it in the water line with the sudden weight of his body. “You are coming back!” cried Taleisha! “This is not funny! You will come back now! You will!” 

 

“At last,” sighed Brinn. “I was beginning to think I’d never hear the last of her voice.” As he spoke, Brinn enjoyed the further ministrations of a tender and caring Saffron. “I will lie here for a time, Tijani. I must gather my strength while your kajira soothes my wounds.”

 

“Yes, let me soothe your wounds, wonderful Master,” said Saffron as she fussed over him. 

 

“Where are you going!” screamed Taleisha as Tijani pushed the canoe away from the barge with his paddle. “Come back this instant!” She ran to the edge of the barge and stopped just short of the murky river water. 

 

Without any instruction to stop, we continued paddling. Occasionally Tijani gazed back at the sight of the woman growing more frantic as she called out to us. We were many, many pasangs from any settlement, and the settlements that she might eventually find, if she swam to a river bank, wouldn’t necessarily respect her status and position the way Tijani did.  

 

“Please! Don’t leave me here!” she screamed. Now Tijani raised his flat hand in a signal for the kajirae to stop paddling. He gazed back at the woman. There was now a distance of twenty yards between the barge and the canoe.

 

“You were ungrateful and rude, Taleisha,” he called out.

 

“I was! I am sorry! Please don’t leave me here!”

 

“Why are you even interested in this spiteful woman,” muttered Brinn. The tender ministration of Saffron’s soft hands had him in a more pleasant mood than he might otherwise have been in. He wasn’t for example, threatening to kill Taleisha if she didn’t shut up. 

 

“I don’t know, friend Brinn,” replied Tijani. “It is one of the great mysteries of life, I suppose.” 

 

“Please! I beg you!” she cried. I think she feared how a passing river barge Captain might treat her. “Come back!”

 

“We are going to a frontier trading post, “ said Tijani.

 

“Please take me to the trading post!”

 

“Can you swim?” Tijani steadied the canoe where it sat in the water. 

 

“A little,” said Taleisha. She gazed at the water, not wishing to enter it. 

 

“If you can reach this canoe, you can come aboard.”

 

“I am Taleisha! Return the canoe to this barge!”

 

“Farewell, free woman,” remarked Tijani as he turned his back.

 

“Can we go now?” Muttered Brinn. Anything else he was about to say was silenced by a deep sigh of contentment. I fumed as I saw Saffron stroke his loins again.