Wolves of the Calla

Jake lay looking at the sleeping boy, troubled. He liked Benny-his openness, his appetite for fun, his willingness to work hard when there were chores that needed doing. He liked Benny's yodeling laugh when something struck him funny, and the way they were evenly matched in so many things, and-

And until tonight, Jake had liked Benny's Da', too.

He tried to imagine how Benny would look at him when he found out that (a) his father was a traitor and (b) his friend had squealed on him. Jake thought he could bear anger. It was hurt that would be hard.

You think hurt's all it'll be? Simple hurt? You better think again. There aren't many props under Benny Slightman's world, and this is going to knock them all out from under him. Every single one.

Not my fault that his father's a spy and a traitor.

But it wasn't Benny's, either. If you asked Slightman, he'd probably say it wasn't even his fault, that he'd been forced into it. Jake guessed that was almost true. Completely true, if you looked at things with a father's eye. What was it that the Calla's twins made and the Wolves needed? Something in their brains, very likely. Some sort of enzyme or secretion not produced by singleton children; maybe the enzyme or secretion that created the supposed phenomenon of 'twin telepathy.' Whatever it was, they could take it from Benny Slightman, because Benny Slightman only looked like a singleton. Had his sister died? Well, that was tough titty, wasn't it? Very tough titty, especially for the father who loved the only one left. Who couldn't bear to let him go.

Suppose Roland kills him? How will Benny look at you then?

Once, in another life, Roland had promised to take care of Jake Chambers and then let him drop into the darkness. Jake had thought there could be no worse betrayal than that. Now he wasn't so sure. No, not so sure at all. These unhappy thoughts kept him awake for a long time. Finally, half an hour or so before the first hint of dawn touched the horizon, he fell into a thin and troubled sleep.

Chapter IV: The Pied Piper

ONE

'We are ka-tet,' said the gunslinger. 'We are one from many.' He saw Callahan's doubtful look-it was impossible to miss- and nodded. 'Yes, Pere, you're one of us. I don't know for how long, but I know it's so. And so do my friends.'

Jake nodded. So did Eddie and Susannah. They were in the Pavilion today; after hearing Jake's story, Roland no longer wanted to meet at the rectory-house, not even in the back yard. He thought it all too likely that Slightman or Andy- maybe even some other as yet unsuspected friend of the Wolves-had placed listening devices as well as cameras there. Overhead the sky was gray, threatening rain, but the weather remained remarkably warm for so late in the season. Some civic-minded ladies or gents had raked away the fallen leaves in a wide circle around the stage where Roland and his friends had introduced themselves not so long ago, and the grass beneath was as green as summer. There were folken flying kites, couples promenading hand in hand, two or three outdoor tradesmen keeping one eye out for customers and the other on the low-bellied clouds overhead. On the bandstand, the group of musicians who had played them into Calla Bryn Sturgis with such brio were practicing a few new tunes. On two or three occasions, townsfolk had started toward Roland and his friends, wanting to pass a little time, and each time it happened, Roland shook his head in an unsmiling way that turned them around in a hurry. The time for so-good-to-meet-you politics had passed. They were almost down to what Susannah called the real nitty-gritty.

Roland said, 'In four days comes the meeting, this time I think of the entire town, not just the men.'

'Damn well told it ought to be the whole town,' Susannah said. 'If you're counting on the ladies to throw the dish and make up for all the guns we don't have, I don't think it's too much to let em into the damn hall.'

'Won't be in the Gathering Hall, if it's everyone,' Callahan said. 'There won't be room enough. We'll light the torches and have it right out here.'

'And if it rains?' Eddie asked.

'If it rains, people will get wet,' Callahan said, and shrugged.

'Four days to the meeting and nine to the Wolves,' Roland said. 'This will very likely be our last chance to palaver as we are now-sitting down, with our heads clear-until this is over. We won't be here long, so let's make it count.' He held out his hands. Jake took one, Susannah the other. In a moment all five were joined in a little circle, hand to hand. 'Do we see each other?'

'See you very well,' Jake said.

'Very well, Roland,' said Eddie.

'Clear as day, sug,' Susannah agreed, smiling.

Oy, who was sniffing in the grass nearby, said nothing, but he did look around and tip a wink.

'Pere?' Roland asked.

'I see and hear you very well,' Callahan agreed with a small smile, 'and I'm glad to be included. So far, at least.'

TWO

Roland, Eddie, and Susannah had heard most of Jake's tale; Jake and Susannah had heard most of Roland's and Eddie's. Now Callahan got both- what he later called 'the double feature.' He listened with his eyes wide and his mouth frequently agape. He crossed himself when Jake told of hiding in the closet. To Eddie the Pere said, 'You didn't mean it about killing the wives and children, of course? That was just a bluff?'

Eddie looked up at the heavy sky, considering this with a faint smile. Then he looked back at Callahan. 'Roland tells me that for a guy who doesn't want to be called Father, you have taken some very Fatherly stands just lately.'

'If you're speaking about the idea of terminating your wife's pregnancy-'

Eddie raised a hand. 'Let's say I'm not speaking of any one thing in particular. It's just that we've got a job to do here, and we need you to help us do it. The last thing we need is to get sidetracked by a lot of your old Catholic blather. So let's just say yes, I was bluffing, and move on. Will that serve? Father?'

Eddie's smile had grown strained and exasperated. There were bright smudges of color on his cheekbones. Callahan considered the look of him with great care, and then nodded. 'Yes,' he said. 'You were bluffing. By all means let's leave it at that and move on.'

'Good,' Eddie said. He looked at Roland.

'The first question is for Susannah,' Roland said. 'It's a simple one: how are you feeling?'

'Just fine,' she replied.

'Say true?'

She nodded. 'Say true, say thankya.'

'No headaches here?' Roland rubbed above his left temple.

'No. And the jittery feelings I used to get just after sunset, just before dawn-have quit. And look at me!' She ran a hand down the swell of her breasts, to her waist, to her right hip. 'I've lost some of the fullness. Roland… I've read that sometimes animals in the wild-carnivores like wildcats, herbivores like deer and rabbits-reabsorb their babies if the conditions to have them are adverse. You don't suppose…' She trailed off, looking at him hopefully.

Roland wished he could have supported this charming idea, but he couldn't. And withholding the truth within the ka-tet was no longer an option. He shook his head. Susannah's face fell.

'She's been sleeping quietly, so far as I can tell,' Eddie said. 'No sign of Mia.'

'Rosalita says the same,' Callahan added.

'You got dat jane watchin me?' Susannah said in a suspiciously Detta-like tone. But she was smiling.

'Every now and then,' Callahan admitted.

'Let's leave the subject of Susannah's chap, if we may,' Roland said. 'We need to speak of the Wolves. Them and little else.'

'But Roland-' Eddie began.

Roland held up his hand. 'I know how many other matters there are. I know how pressing they are. I also know that if we become distracted, we're apt to die here in Calla Bryn Sturgis, and dead gunslingers can help no one. Nor do they go their course. Do you agree?' His eyes swept them. No one replied. Somewhere in the distance was the sound of many children singing. The sound was high and gleeful and innocent. Something about commala.

'There is one other bit of business that we must address,' Roland said. 'It involves you, Pere. And what's now called the Doorway Cave. Will you go through that door, and back to your country?'

'Are you kidding?' Callahan's eyes were bright. 'A chance to go back, even for a little while? You just say the word.'

Roland nodded. 'Later today, mayhap you and I will take a little pasear on up there, and I'll see you through the door. You know where the vacant lot is, don't you?'

'Sure. I must have been past it a thousand times, back in my other life.'

'And you understand about the zip code?' Eddie asked.