eating the first creature’s tail.
The thought
Suddenly Jerry noticed the giant possessed blue eyes, and what little hair cowered about his ears definitely was not as dark as his skin. Coffee with lots of cream, he decided.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” Jerry asked, smiling through his pain.
“You’re very perceptive, Lieutenant. No, I’m not. But I have been here for a very long time. My question to both of you is: why did you bring war to our valley?”
“Accident, pure accident,” Jerry said. “This is where my shot-up plane crashed and my parachute brought me. Rudi, here”—he nodded his head—“fell down along with his tank, which had also been shot up. Nothing personal, but this is just where we landed. That okay with you?”
The giant considered the question. “No, it isn’t. But what can one do?”
“Are you both madmen?” Rudi asked in a low voice.
“Probably,” Jerry and the giant said in unison.
Jerry laughed. He hadn’t laughed for real since his orders had come through three weeks before. But this got to him; his laughter came from some place deep within him that had been pent up far too long. His headache eased.
The giant laughed with him, but a different cast had taken over his eyes and Jerry realized he was being measured for something and he hoped it wouldn’t hurt.
“I like the way you think,” the giant said. “What’s your name?”
“First Lieutenant Gerald S. Yamato, Republic of California Air Force. My comrade here is Sergeant Rudi Cermanivich, Imperial Russian Tank Corps. Who are you?”
The giant frowned. “Then I was correct when looking at your uniforms; you are enemies.”
“We were. I think Rudi may have shot me down. But we both seem to be out of the war and we might need each other.”
“But I heard shots, which is what attracted my attention.”
“There was much gunfire up on the road,” Rudi said, tossing his head back and then shuddering in pain.
“I heard that.” The giant’s frown deepened. “But I also heard rifle shots down here by the river.”
“We had yet to come to an understanding,” Jerry said. “But we did. So, who are you?”
“I am Pelagian, I rule this valley and all in it.”
“Where were you born?”
“In the Swedish Triumvate, Denmark, to be exact.”
“Your accent doesn’t sound European and you don’t look Swedish.”
“My father was Danish and my mother was French and Algerian. I spent nine years in the British merchant marine and decided to change careers.”
Jerry laughed again. “From sailor to king, right?”
Pelagian didn’t laugh. “Well, not quite that abrupt a change. I trapped for a decade before realizing my gift for uniting like-minded people.”
Jerry didn’t smile, even though he wanted to. A different cast clouded Pelagian’s eyes and his countenance precluded levity of a sudden.
“Like-minded people?”
“The people of this valley and the flats beyond were getting pushed about by the Cossacks as well as the
“You told Cossacks to go to hell?” Rudi said in a wondering tone. “Did they not try to kill you?”
“They did. I killed them instead. It seemed the only thing to do at the time.”
“What did the authorities do?” Jerry asked.
“They were the authorities. I was left alone for over a year.”
“So what happens now?” Jerry said, trying not to fidget. “Can we use your, uh, facilities?”
“First you must pledge your fealty to me.”
“Pledge my what?”
“You must accept me as your king.”
“Before I can take a piss?”
“If you try to run away I will kill you.”
“I believe you. I will not try to escape, I promise.”
“Magda, release him.”
The raven-haired beauty materialized beside him and deftly untied the knots.
Jerry tried not to stare, but he knew it would be easier for a moth to resist the flame than to not look at her. Her fingers flew over the shroud lines and suddenly he was free. She looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you,” he said. “Now please turn away.”
Magda gave him a puzzled look and Pelagian said something to her in Russian. She snickered and turned away.
Jerry moved two boulders away before voiding. Now he felt he could deal with anything, including the baron. He walked back to Rudi’s side.
“How are you feeling, sergeant?”
“I couldn’t hold my bladder in both hands at this point. I feel someone has dropped large bolts into my transmission while operating at high speed.”
“Bad, right?”
“Very bad.”
“What are you saying to your enemy?” Pelagian asked.
“He is severely injured. Is there a doctor in your valley?”
Pelagian moved over to them and looked at Rudi. He untied the shroud line so quickly that at first Jerry thought he cut it. Grabbing the sergeant’s blouse with both hands he calmly pulled it open, raining what few buttons remained among the rocks.
Rudi’s body featured heavy bruises, lumps where none should exist, dried blood from an unseen wound, and he smelled bad. Pelagian ran his hands over the wounded chest. Rudi sucked in his breath in pain and fear but said nothing.
Pelagian turned and shouted, “Bodecia, bring your bag.”
“Is he badly hurt, Father?” Magda asked at his side.
Father? Jerry thought. He studied Pelagian’s face and discerned the faint network of lines around his eyes. To be her father he would have to be nearing forty or forty-five. From six feet away the man could pass for thirty-five or even younger.
“He is in grave danger of leaving us for another realm, whether he wishes to or not.”
“Would like to stay a while,” Rudi said through a grisly smile. “If not too much bother.”
“You have been a soldier for a long time,” Pelagian said.
“Thirty-one years and never demoted. Have been sergeant for twenty-two years. Is as bad as I think?”
“My wife is the healer here, she will tell us.” He moved to the side and an older version of Magda stood there examining Rudi’s torso.
Jerry hadn’t seen her walk up. He felt positive she had just materialized on the spot. He looked at Magda, who had moved next to him.
“How did she do that?”
“Do what?” Magda’s words no longer carried the heavy Russian accent.
“Get in front of us without me seeing her.”
“You were looking at me, we could parade a wolf pack past and you wouldn’t notice.”
“I thought you said ‘small English’?”
“Do you give a potential enemy leverage?”
“Yes, my unmilitary lack of attention when you’re around.”
She laughed and her perfect teeth flashed in the sun.
