Dust Chapter 13, PG-13

[librarian_7]

Dislcaimer: Josef=not mine. Moving on.

Dust

Chapter 13

Josef didn’t worry this time about being noiseless or careful, and his footfalls on the way up the rocks sent cascades of small stones tumbling down behind him. He heard one rock bounce off a horse’s rump, followed by the animal’s surprised squeal. He was almost to the top when he heard Sally call his name in a low desperate voice, and he sprang forward with a roar. He’d kill the fledgling, if he had to. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Weston was holding her, standing, their faces scant inches apart. She’d put both her hands up to his cheeks, not trying to push him away, but to keep his attention on her as she spoke softly and rapidly. In the struggle, she’d lost her bonnet, and her hair was hanging in disorder around her shoulders.

“Slade, listen to me. Slade. I know you’re in there. You don’t need to hurt me, Slade. I know you don’t want to hurt me.” She was trying to make her voice as calming as she could, trying to reach him with the repetition of his name, but there was a breathless quality to it.

Josef didn’t waste any time. Before Weston even realized he was there, he’d wrapped an arm around Slade’s throat, and was pulling him back, his other hand ready to dig punishing fingers into the healing hole in Weston’s left breast. Josef would spare time, later, to admire Sally’s fortitude in shooting Weston with her derringer. As well as her aim. Weston had already taken one bullet in the chest, the second so close to the first wound, even healed, had to have slowed him considerably. For now, though, Josef had other business to attend to.

“Remember what I told you about Mrs. Watkins, Weston?” he growled into Slade’s ear.

Slade struggled briefly, just enough to test the strength of the arms restraining him. Then he gave a slow, unwilling nod.

“Did you think I didn’t mean what I said?” Josef’s voice was insistent.

“I need…more blood.”

“There are at least two men below who aren’t dead yet. Drink your fill from them. But not Sally. Never Sally.”

Weston shook, and his pale eyes bored into Sally, but with an effort, he released her.

She faded back a few steps, looking around for her bonnet. “Slade, I—I’m sorry I shot you.”

Slade creased his eyebrows together, as though trying to make sense of her words. He brushed a hand up toward the fading wound. “It’s—I guess it’s all right.” A little of his old sardonic humor flashed across his features, and Sally had the feeling the old Slade was there somewhere inside. It cheered her, to think so. If Josef could be everything that he was, surely Slade could learn to control his thirst as well.

“Weston.” Josef’s voice was louder now, with an air of command that dragged the other man’s attention away from the woman. “Go back down and—finish what we started.”

He nodded, and turned to go. Josef thought, the monster I have created, is mine to control. For now.

When Weston was out of sight, Sally ran the few steps between them, and almost fell into Josef’s arms, trembling with the aftershocks of her experience.

“Mrs. Watkins—Sally—are you all right?” Josef asked.

She clung to him without speaking for awhile, and he could tell she was fighting the urge to break into hysteria. He wanted to tell her to let it all out. They could afford the luxury, now, of a few minutes for her to indulge in emotion, and God knew she’d earned the privilege. But Josef also knew she’d scorn the suggestion. Best to hold her, silently, and let her come to her own conclusions. If he’d been in a position to wager on it, he’d have bet she’d regain her composure without unseemly outbursts. A strong one, his Sally.

And that thought genuinely shocked him, insofar as he was capable of shock. Somewhere along the way, she’d become his Sally. And again he thought, for now.

“Sweetheart, if you need to cry, have a good cry.” Josef prided himself that in all his years, he had learned a little about women. And he knew the release of tears might be good for her.

As Sally ruthlessly damped down the tears that threatened to overwhelm her, she told herself she was being foolish. These past weeks, she’d found herself on the edge of tears for any reason, or no reason. After all, the crisis was past, wasn’t it? No need to cry now. With a final mental shake, she extricated herself from Josef’s arms, and went to pick up her bonnet. Somehow it was important to put herself back together, as properly as she could. “I’m not going to succumb to megrims and vapors now, Mr. Constantine.” Even if her voice betrayed her.

Josef’s mouth twitched in amusement. About as he’d expected. “It’s not a weakness, Sally. In your condition…it’s almost expected.”

Even in the darkness, he could see her face flame. “Mr. Constantine!” she protested. “I—I can’t speak about that. And no more should you.”

“I beg your pardon, my dear Mrs. Watkins.” They’d seen death and destruction, but she wouldn’t hear of him speaking of her delicate condition. Perhaps he would never understand women, after all.

Sally spent a minute tucking her hair carefully under her bonnet. When she turned back to Josef, he was smiling and extending one hand.

“You might want this,” he said, as she squinted to see what he held. “Your derringer.”

“Oh.” She curled her hand around it, the weight and shape now familiar to her. “It’s not much good, unloaded.”

“True. We’ll have to correct that.” He gave her a long, measuring look. “You must be exhausted.”

She laid a hand on her belly. “Hungry, too. But I reckon we’ve got things to tend to. More important things.”

Josef cocked his head to one side, as though listening to something in the distance that Sally couldn’t hear. “We can go down, now,” he said. “I wish I could spare you the sight, Sally. But I can’t.”

“Mr. Constantine.” Sally’s voice sharpened, falling back into formality. “I understand you and Mr. Weston did—whatever you did—to keep us safe.”

“You do me too much honor, Sally.”

She came closer, stumbling a little on an unheeded loose stone, and put a light hand on his arm, thinking of all she had seen of him. “I will not hear a word against you, Mr. Constantine. Not even from you.”

He bowed his head briefly, unwilling to meet her honest eyes. “We should go.”

Up here, the night sky held enough brightness to let her pick her way down, Josef close by to catch her if she slipped. She made only one misstep, when a rag of cloud obscured the crescent moon. Josef looked up at the heavens as he steadied her. He’d been too focused on other concerns to pay much attention to the weather, but he would remedy that now. He hadn’t spent enough time in this area to recognize the patterns, although he was well aware that almost everywhere, October meant “changeable.” Climate could be a formidable ally, or a worse enemy. And these faint wisps of cloud could be forerunners. Ah, well, nothing to be done. They had ground to cover, regardless.

Near the bottom of the incline, he stopped her. “Wait here.”

Weston rose from the shadows and started toward them, wiping the back of one hand across his freshly stained mouth. Josef tensed at Weston’s approach, moving slightly in front of Sally, but he could see that the fledgling had crested the first grip of the blood lust. His eyes no longer gleamed silver in the starlight, and when he spoke, there was no trace of extended fang.

“It’s done, Constantine,” he said.

“Good.” Josef paused. “We’ve got work to do here, and ground to cover.”

“We burying these bodies?”

Josef shook his head. “Animals don’t get rites.” Speaking briskly, he outlined what needed to be done before they mounted up to continue their flight, and in short order, Sally found herself seated in a bright patch, going through a pile of saddlebags. Josef had specified food and ammunition, and a clean shirt for Slade, if one could be found.

When Weston had questioned the need for ammunition and weapons, Josef gave him a patient look. “Fledglings,” he muttered, then more clearly, “It’s important for us to blend in, to look as normal as possible. Think like a human, Weston. You should still be able to do that. What would you have done in this situation, yesterday?”

“All right, all right. I get it.”

After the horses were all caught, Slade and Josef stripped the saddles and bridles from them, and sent them running into the night. The horses they’d ridden were as fresh as any of their pursuers’ mounts. Fresher, for having a few hours rest, and a good drink. Josef had Weston water the horses again, while he checked the bodies. With any luck, after they rode away, the scavengers would appear. Coyotes, through the night, and vultures after day came. It was unlikely the massacre would be discovered before their unwitting allies had covered all traces of the true cause of death. Not for the first time, Josef wondered if this might be the real reason vampires were considered brother to the wolf.

Soon enough, Josef was standing with a hand out to assist Sally in rising, while Slade waited behind him, the reins of two horses held loosely in his hand.

She sighed; getting up and down was becoming tedious, and she knew it would only be worse in the months to come. She smiled crookedly, realizing this was the first time in the past couple of days she’d been sure there would be months to come.

“Time we were on our way, Mrs. Watkins,” Josef said.

Sally gathered the pair of worn leather saddle bags she’d repacked with the meager food she’d found—a bit of jerky, some hardtack—and put her hand in Josef’s.

“Only two horses?” she asked.

“It’s better that you ride with me.” He gave her an almost impish grin, reminding her suddenly of her little brother Teddy. He’d died young, of the whooping cough, but before he got sick, he’d been the mischievous one, and she’d seen that smile a lot. “Let’s go.”

As he had earlier in the day, Josef cradled her before him, and while she tried to stay awake, the steady motion of the horse lulled her, and she dropped into an exhausted slumber.

While Sally slept, Josef rode next to Slade, talking quietly to him. He knew he couldn’t teach a fledgling everything in the course of a night; it had taken him years, to learn the whole of his capabilities.

What he wasn’t expecting, however, were Slade’s questions.

“What I’ve become,” Weston said, “does it make me evil? Did it make you evil?”

Josef shrugged, the corners of his mouth turning down. “No more than being born. Good, evil, it’s all about choices. Me, I try to do only the evil I’m forced into. Active evil takes effort, and gets in the way of business. And pleasure.”

Weston thought about that for several minutes, scanning the horizon ahead and the stars above. He corrected course, a little more westerly, before he answered. “We should be in Las Animas by dawn,” he said, and added, “So, you aren’t evil, just a horse’s ass.”

Josef barked a laugh. “Yeah. The horse’s ass who saved your bacon.”

“True.”

“And the horse’s ass who’s going to teach you to deal with—what you are now.”

Slade squinted off at the horizon again, before he looked carefully at the calm big man expertly handling the reins of his horse, and balancing the young woman sleeping before him. “And by the way, what exactly is that?”

“Do you know the word, vampire?”

“I’ve heard it. Thought it was nonsense.

“Still think so?” Josef reined his horse around a clump of sage, fragrant in the night.

“It’s going to take some getting used to.”

Josef nodded. “It does.” He paused. “Slade, I’m going to ask you to take a leap of faith, here. I know it goes against the grain, but if you’ll trust me, I think you’ll find out—things are going to be all right.

Weston pondered this, and Josef remained silent. No reason to crowd him, not now. At length, Weston shrugged. “Not like I’ve got a lot to lose. So start talking.”

The conversation ate the hours and miles, until in the gray of pre-dawn, they were riding down the main street of Las Animas. Slade thought vaguely, that by rights, after all they’d been through, there ought to be a parade to greet them, but there was nothing but an empty street and buildings full of sleeping humans. Even the saloons were dark.

[RangerCM]

A strong one, his Sally.

Awwwwww.

Great chapter. Just say how much I REALLY love Sally! One of the best OCs EVER!

[moonlight_vixen]

Great chapter! I know that Slade will be a fast learner, especially with Josef for a teacher!

A strong one, his Sally.

And that thought genuinely shocked him, insofar as he was capable of shock. Somewhere along the way, she’d become his Sally. And again he thought, for now.

I loved the emotion in these lines..

“So, you aren’t evil, just a horse’s ass.”

Josef barked a laugh. “Yeah. The horse’s ass who saved your bacon.”

“True.”

Even back then, the banter between these two was great!

[jenstc2003]

Love it!

[Lilly]

There's so much to love in this chapter, from the way Josef expertly deals with a ravenous fledgling, to Slade's coming to terms with his fate and the wonderful banter that's already developing between them.

Still, sometimes the simplest things hit you the hardest.

“I will not hear a word against you, Mr. Constantine. Not even from you.”

He bowed his head briefly, unwilling to meet her honest eyes. “We should go.”

This exchange -- and more specifically, Josef's response -- just made me stop and take a breath. I can see and hear this so clearly. You didn't have to tell me he spoke in a soft, low voice. I just knew. It's not the usual self-confident, snarky comeback that we might expect. It's a brief flash of vulnerability. And you've exposed it brilliantly. For how many people over the course of his life has Josef let down his guard? Sally has touched him and for just a moment, he let it show.

[LadyAilith]

I just love this story!

Sally is so strong, refusing to give into hysterics that would be perfectly acceptable given the situation. I do think that Josef was slightly surprised by her refusal to give in to tears. And Slade...he's gonna make a great vampire!

Thanks so much for yet another great chapter Lucky!

LadyAilith

[Penina Spinka]

I'm glad I turned on my computer once more before closing down for the holidays. Rosh HaShannah starts in 3 hours. This was beautiful. I was afraid you were going to skip Slade's and Josef's conversation as they rode. It was touching. I loved the line where Josef asked, regarding Slade's thinking vampires were nonsense, "Do you now?"
Great writing. I can so see this as a novel in print, as I can many of your stories. Bows to you.
Penina

[tucutecats]

I was so happy to see an update. thankyou. love
sally, love slade and love the story and of course last but not least my Joseph

[cassysj]

Sally is definitely his Sally. You'd be hard pressed to find a woman more strong or brave.

I love the banter between Slade and Josef. Meeting Slade as a human and then seeing his transition shows that becoming a vampire doesn't have to change the essence of what you are. You are stronger, more powerful but you can be yourself, just more so.

Loved it.

[MoonShadow]

Lucky,

Truly a delightful resolution to a very tenuous situation. Returning to the beginning of this story, reading through the entire work, demonstrates your mastery of timing. It's easy to read each delicious bite. However, the full depth of this story needs to be savored slowly. You have placed complex colors and undertones through out. Small phrases reveal beautifully thought out interwoven themes. Thank you, Lucky.


btw, I just happen to have the iPod playing;
Nuevo Mexico,Verano De Alegria/Summer Of Joy, Ballad 4 Santana, and several others, by Ottmar Liebert from his album, The Best Of Ottmar Liebert. Perfect background for the story!

[francis]

I’m so glad that I can read this immediately upon finding it.
Sally is great!!!

She’d put both her hands up to his cheeks, not trying to push him away, but to keep his attention on her as she spoke softly and rapidly.

Oh, this is exactly what Beth did in the motel. I can see now that maybe Josef was reminded of Sally when he saw Beth for the first time, or in FdL when she came to him to ask about Coraline.

“Slade, I—I’m sorry I shot you.”

Slade creased his eyebrows together, as though trying to make sense of her words.

Oh, Sally! You’re an extraordinary woman!

Somewhere along the way, she’d become his Sally. And again he thought, for now.

Josef knows better than to get attached to a human, but is willing to let it be for now. He’s already preparing himself for heartbreak, I guess.

“I will not hear a word against you, Mr. Constantine. Not even from you.”

Yes! Like Beth. „You’re not a monster.“

I like Weston, too. He has been put through the wringer, but he’s willing to be taught how to go on.

“So, you aren’t evil, just a horse’s ass.”

I guess Josef found a match.

This story is a masterpiece and should be printed.

[redwinter101]

This is wonderful, Lucky.

Sally continues to be amazing - so brave, so forthright and, in her own way, so very proper while still being able to understand the truth of what, and who, she sees in Josef.

Fabulous.

Red

[wpgrace]

Good, evil, it’s all about choices. Me, I try to do only the evil I’m forced into. Active evil takes effort, and gets in the way of business. And pleasure.”

Oh Lord I love these lines! Totally Josef.
Excellent update, Lucky... they make a good team.

[Phoenix]

Lucky, I adore Sally ... but I am never going to warm up to Slade.

[OnceBitTwiceShy]

I'm so glad to see you updated this! I think it is fascinating to picture Josef back in the wild west, how he adapted and survived.