all hurried outside, Adrian grabbing a gun from the table. Outside in the farmyard, twilight was falling. The sound of energy guns discharging was clear and plain in the quiet. Out on the heathered moor, the animals were running confusedly this way and that. Far away, someone was screaming. Diana Daker moved to stand close beside her husband, who was hugging his gun to his chest like a talisman.
'My boys,' said Adrian Daker. 'My poor boys…'
David Deathstalker and Kit SummerIsle, those two most dangerous men, lay sleeping on the floor of the Heart's Ease tavern. Some kind souls had draped their cloaks over them like blankets, but they hadn't stirred enough to notice. The Deathstalker was murmuring quietly and grinding his teeth in his sleep, perhaps disturbed by some dream. The SummerIsle slept peacefully, his face as unconcerned as an innocent child's. Which would no doubt have amused him greatly, had he known. Sitting not far away at a long wooden table, nursing almost empty mugs of ale, two good-looking young women studied the sleeping men with good-natured tolerance. They were Alice Daker and Jenny Marsh, girlfriends of the slumbering swains.
Alice was a tall and slender redhead with a magnificent bosom. Or, as David liked to say, a balcony you could do Shakespeare from. She had a wide smile, dancing eyes, and enough patience to put up with the Deathstalker's sense of humor, which could be somewhat basic on occasion. She was wearing the very best silks, enough jewelry to open her own shop, and the very latest in fashion and makeup, all courtesy of the Deathstalker. She was a good listener, an indefatigable dancer, and knew all the words to the best drinking songs, especially the dirty ones.
Her friend Jenny was tall, ghostly pale, and raven-haired, with sharp features and a sharper tongue. She had a slender, almost boyish figure, and enough nervous energy to run a small city. She also wore the very best in fashion and its expensive accessories, courtesy of the SummerIsle. She smiled often, laughed rarely, and was forever alert and watchful for the main chance. Which for the moment seemed to be Kit SummerIsle.
It was early in the morning, almost three a.m. The end of another long evening of drinking, carousing, and generally having as much fun as a body can stand. Since the Deathstalker was paying, they hadn't lacked for friends to join them in their festivities, but one by one drink or exhuastion had claimed the revelers, and they staggered out of the tavern doors in the general direction of home. The tavern owner finally gave up about two a.m., locked the place up, and went to his bed, leaving the remaining revelers to take care of themselves. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and also, it wasn't as if he had to worry about them cleaning out the till. Eventually even David's and Kit's hardened constitutions had given up the ghost and demanded sleep. So rather than make the long journey home, puking over the side of the flyer and arguing over directions, they just crashed out on the floor and went to sleep. Alice and Jenny, having paced their drinking through long experience, were now in that happy and contemplative stage of drunkenness where lying down and going to sleep involved too much effort. And so they sat and talked quietly together over the last of the booze, perhaps a little more openly than they otherwise might have.
'God, I'm hungry,' said Alice. 'Do you suppose there's any food left behind the bar?'
'If there is, I wouldn't touch it,' said Jenny. 'I don't know what he puts in his meat pies, but you never see any rats around here. His bread rolls bounce, his soup has things floating in it, and his bar snacks are the kind of things that start wars. I think he breeds them in dark corners, when no one's looking.'
'His ale's good. And his wine. And his brandy.'
'Should be, for the prices he charges.'
'What do you care?' said Alice, grinning. 'None of this is coming out of our pockets.'
'True,' said Jenny. 'Very true. I suppose the boys do have their uses.'
They looked over at the sleeping pair. Alice fondly. Jenny entirely unmoved. Kit farted in his sleep. Neither of the girls flinched.
'He's all right, is David,' said Alice finally. 'He's good-looking, considerate when he thinks of it, and rich as hell. And he's always there for me. He isn't always going on about the local elections, or the rebellion, as though they meant anything in a backwater dump like this. He isn't all work and duty and politics. He's good times, and laughs, and a bit of fun now and again. Why can't the local boys be like that?'
'Peasants,' said Jenny dismissively. 'They don't appreciate us. Never have. None of them can see past the next lambing, or the next harvest. They don't care about style, or sophistication, or any of the things that really matter. And none of them know how to treat a girl like a lady. God, I hate this place! I want out of here, out of this dump, this town, and off this whole stinking planet. Kit's taking me to Golgotha. He doesn't know it yet, but he is. He's my ticket out of here.'
'I don't know how you can stand to be near him,' said Alice. 'I mean, he's David's friend, so he must have some good in him somewhere, but I swear, sometimes I look at him and I just go all gooseflesh. He's trouble. Dangerous. They say he killed a lot of men in the Arena.'
'So did David,' said Jenny. She drank the last of her ale and slammed the mug down on the table. 'God, I'd love to go to the Arena! See men fight and die for my pleasure. Right there, in the flesh, not on the screen. And Kit's not so bad, really. He's generous enough, and he doesn't make any demands on me. A bit kinky in bed, but then, he's an aristocrat. Not that I mind. I could teach him a thing or two.'
'Kinky?' said Alice, grinning. 'What do you mean?'
Jenny grinned back at her. 'Well, let's just say Kit's always glad to see the back of me.'
'Jenny!' Alice tried to look shocked, but couldn't hold it. They giggled together, shooting glances at the boys to make sure they were still safely asleep.
'What about David?' said Jenny, eventually. 'Any little… likes or dislikes?'
'Not really,' said Alice. 'I don't think he's had much experience with girls, to be honest. He can go all shy at the strangest moments. But I think he cares for me. I mean, really cares for me. The dear.'
'Kit doesn't,' said Jenny. 'For which I am decidedly grateful. Emotions would only complicate our relationship. I'm out for what I can get from him, and he knows it. We have good times, good sex, and no demands either way. I don't think Kit would know what to do with love, or even affection, anyway. Probably just confuse him.'
'He's very close to David,' said Alice, frowning slightly. 'As much as David likes me, even loves me sometimes, there's a closeness between him and Kit that I can't even touch. It's like… neither of them ever really had a friend before. Still, I'm the one David really cares for. I'm the one he's going to marry. Even if he doesn't know it yet.'
Jenny looked at her sharply. 'Marriage? Forget it, girl. Forget it. A peasant girl and a Lord, the head of his Family? That kind of thing only ever happens in bad soaps on the holoscreen. We're not marriage material, Alice. We're good-time girls, with all that implies. Out for a few laughs and whatever goodies we can pick up along the way. Aristos might party with girls like us, but they never marry us. They only breed with their own kind.'
'Well, all right, maybe not marry, exactly,' said Alice. 'But I could be his mistress. Concubine. Whatever the polite word is these days. Aristos marry for politics or Clan-breeding reasons, not for love. It's all to do with alliances and advantages and preserving bloodlines. Never love. Some other woman might have his name, but I'd still have his heart.'
'Even if he isn't that good in bed?'
'I could teach him,' said Alice.
'Does that mean I'm not really your little stud muffin?' said David.
The girls looked round sharply to see David sitting up on one elbow and looking at them blearily.
'How long have you been awake?' said Alice sternly.
'Long enough,' said David. 'Very revealing, what girls talk about when they think no one's listening.'
'What about Kit?' said Jenny. 'Is he still asleep?'
'Who can sleep with all this talking going on?' said the SummerIsle, sitting up and running his fingers through his tangled hair. He smacked his lips a few times and grimaced. 'I swear every night something crawls into my mouth and dies. I need another drink.'
'No you don't,' said Jenny sternly. 'Go back to sleep and sleep off what you've had first.'
'Do you really care for me?' said David, looking at Alice somewhat owlishly.
'Yes,' said Alice, smiling. 'Haven't I said so often enough?'
'I need to hear it,' said David. 'I'm really very insecure.'
'All men want to be loved,' said Jenny. 'It's a very profitable weakness.'
'I don't,' said Kit. 'Wouldn't know what to do with love if I had it.'
'Yes, but you're weird,' said David.
The two boys grinned at each other, threw aside the cloaks covering them, and got somewhat stiffly to their
