The Red Rider Read online

  Traveling back down the road south, she calculated in her mind how long the money she'd earned would last her. If she didn't find another settlement willing to pay her to solve a werewolf problem before it ran out, she might have to take on a different job like bodyguarding again. She hoped it didn't come to that. She had even once accepted a gig as an assassin, only to protect her target at the cost of serious injury when she found him undeserving of death. At least he'd paid her generously after.

  Back near the pass into Leviatha's valley, she saw a sad-faced man driving a cart away from it. In the back, a child she took to be his daughter cradled a pale woman covered with blankets. Though she could have been sick or hurt for any number of reasons, an inexplicable sense of dread made Red ask the driver, "What happened to her?"

  "She was-" he started, but stopped as he seemed to take in her appearance.

  "A wolf hurt her," the child said.

  Red's sinking feeling grew, and she stepped around to the back of the cart. "A wolf with four legs, or two?" The girl made a walking motion with her fingers, and Red asked, "Where was she attacked?"

  She pointed back towards the valley. "Home." And Leviatha had been so confident in assuring there were no werewolves to be found in her dominion...

  "We're taking her to a doctor in the north," the father said, speaking quickly with fear and desperation. "We heard they have medicine that can cure her."

  She looked closer. Underneath the blankets, she could see ropes that had been tied around the woman, and when she returned her gaze to the man, she noticed fresh nicks and bruises as from a scuffle on his face. So she had already turned. "Has she bitten you?"

  "No," he replied, sounding truthful.

  Honestly, it impressed her that he'd been able to subdue his wife without being infected himself. Red took a deep breath. She jumped up on the cart, covered the child's eyes with one hand, and with the other drew a knife and cut the woman's throat.

  Her husband gaped, then his face twisted with rage. "Gods, what did you..?!"

  "Don't look," she said to the girl, and moved the blankets over her mother's face before uncovering her eyes. She heard her begin sniffing, fought back the urge to join her. "It was too late. You would have slipped up eventually and she would've killed you and your daughter. Or killed you and turned her, which might be worse."

  He drew a big meat-cutting knife and faced her. "And? What gives you the right..."

  She looked sadly, but calmly into his eyes and shook her head. "Don't. You have no chance. Honor your wife's memory by raising her daughter well."

  "After you're dead!" he screamed, and lunged. She blocked his knife with one of hers, then her hard punch dropped him. He hit the horse's back, bounced off and flopped onto the ground.

  "Daddy! Daddy!" the little girl wailed, pummeling Red's thigh with punches she ignored. "Is he dead?"

  "No, just sleeping." She hopped off the cart, lifted the unconscious man and set him back on the vehicle. She wouldn't want him to be run over if the horse decided on its own to start walking again. "Sorry about your mom."

  "Sorry isn't good enough! When I grow up, I'm going to find you and kill you!"

  Red admired the courage and determination of this family, even if they bore her ill will. She hoped their resilience would allow them to live good lives from here on. "You can try," she said softly, "if I'm still alive then." And she strode away, to visit the valley once more.

  #

  Entering the mining town, she asked if Leviatha was around, but apparently she had returned to her home of Castle Leviathan to the north and east. Her questioning of the residents revealed none of them knew of any recent werewolf incidents. Maybe what happened to that woman had been the first, and gone unreported by her husband. She also asked if a family consisting of a couple and young daughter had recently departed by cart, and found that none seemed to have. Red decided to seek out Leviatha. The ruler of the area might know more than most.

  The trip through the inner valley proved it more hospitable than the dusty fringe where the mining town was, with more albeit sparse and weedy vegetation holding down the dirt. She soon neared the plateau where Castle Leviathan stood. The fortress was huge and beautiful, with smooth gray walls and sturdy yet elegantly rounded towers that loomed high above the meager village which surrounded it. Red supposed the dingy houses probably sheltered the families of those who worked in the castle, and few others. She traversed the steep trail up the plateau and walked into town. Not many people were outside, the few there glancing briefly at her before returning to their work. She headed for the castle, at the door of which stood a pair of spear-wielding guards. She recognized one man as being among the two bullying the couple before.

  "It's you!" he said, recognizing her too.

  "It's me. And?"

  "N-nothing." He backed up a couple steps.

  "What is your business here?" the other guard asked, either clueless about what had gone on between them or choosing not to acknowledge it.

  "I came to see Leviatha. Is she home?"

  "She's here, but I am not sure if she's busy."

  "I'll see," the man who'd met her said hastily, and hurried inside. She grinned at his obvious fear.

  A short time later, Leviatha poked her head out a window high above. "Red Rider! Did you miss me? I didn't expect to see you back here so soon."

  "It seems you have an animal problem you might not be aware of!" she shouted back. "Can I come in?"

  "Sure, take the first stairway up and go left. I'll be waiting for you."

  She did as told. The interior walls were unpainted giving them a stark feel but otherwise well decorated, with many loosely hung tapestries blowing in the wind from the windows. She climbed the first steep, spiraling stair she saw, hoping it was the right one. Making it onto the second floor in the fork of a hallway, she turned left, but saw several doors along the walls and wasn't sure what Leviatha had meant. Turn left and walk all the way down the hall, or go into one of the doors on the left? She decided it was probably the former and walked on.

  Passing a door, she felt silent movement behind her and spun. A huge hand closed around her throat halfway through her turn and slammed her against the wall. She pulled at the attached forearm but failed to budge it one bit, kicked it twice and still didn't move it. Leviatha's expressionless face loomed above her, and she couldn't breathe... Red reached for a knife, but before she could pull it Leviatha twisted right and released her, flinging her through the air. Her body did a full flip, but she just managed to land in a crouch on her feet. She turned to face the giant noblewoman, gripping her hilts in preparation to draw, but then spotted the smile on her face.

  "Easy, small one. I figure since we met in a fight, it would be good to greet you with a test of your skills."

  That, or she was acting like a bully showing off her strength. Didn't really matter, though. Red noticed just now that Leviatha wore a dress. She looked surprisingly feminine with her large hips, though her arms, shoulders and chest completely filled out the top of her dress as expected. Her breasts weren't very big for her size, but considering her size, they were big enough. What stood out most about her garment itself was that much of the front had been cut out, exposing half a dozen puckered scars from arrows in her ribcage and abdomen.

  "Nice war trophies. Did they hurt?"

  "Heh, a little. Anyway, let's go inside and drink some."

  The giantess led her down the hall. Red caught the guard she'd embarrassed peeking at them from behind a corner, and he scurried away when they made eye contact. The women entered an opulent bedroom with a huge silk-curtained bed in the center, various weapons mounted on the walls, and an adjoined balcony. On one wall hung a painting of... a very tall woman pincushioned with arrows but still strong, leaving bodies in her wake as she drove soldiers fleeing before her. Red shook her head at her host's vanity.

  A small keg rested on the drawer along with two clean cups. Leviatha filled both, took one and stepped out on
to the balcony. Assuming she was to follow, Red grabbed the other before doing so. "Do you have family?" she asked while the giantess drank delicately from her cup. She had a taste herself. Pure spirits? Quickly, she swallowed it down. "You say you're of House Leviathan, so I was wondering if that's just you."

  "My parents are alive and we keep in touch, but they don't approve of my path. So they wouldn't live here. My sister takes their side. My brother, though, he stands with me. I'd introduce you, but he's not around at the moment. What about your family?"

  "I have a sister. My father lives as far as I know, but..." She wondered if the noble's kin were as large as her to suit the name of House Leviathan, but decided to leave it to the imagination for now. "So you know, there might be a werewolf or a few on your land now."

  "Really." Red explained what had happened, and Leviatha said, "So you murdered one of my citizens? I'll have to put you under arrest."

  "What?!"

  The big woman waved a hand up and down in a gesture to be calm. "I kid, I kid. If you're sure she was a werewolf, I retroactively grant you permission to do it. But are you sure they came from here? You did only say the child pointed back at the valley, not that the father confirmed where they were from. Maybe she was mistaken." She drained the last of her cup and looked questioningly at Red as if asking why she didn't keep up.

  Though she didn't like the concentration of alcohol in her drink, she forced herself to take a long sip and ignored Leviatha's smirk at her crinkled up face. "It's possible I suppose. We could check if they came back."

  "All right. I'll find out if the people this happened to are from here, and if so, I'll have my men take care of the wolf. Or failing that, I will."

  She frowned. "You don't want my help?"

  "I don't need it. I dealt with werewolves before, remember?"

  "You said you've fought them. Have you hunted them, though?"

  "I'll be fine. A stupid werewolf or two will hardly challenge me." She reached over and grasped the cup in Red's hand. After a moment of halfheartedly attempting to hold onto it, she gave it up. "If you don't want your drink, I'll have it as well."

  "It's overly harsh." She watched Leviatha empty her cup down her throat. "I really should help you catch this wolf. I wouldn't feel right leaving one around when I know it's there."

  Leaning somewhat heavily on the balcony with the effects of drink, Leviatha sighed. "You shouldn't worry about me not dealing properly with the werewolves. After my last encounter with them, I took it upon myself to learn more."

  "Do you know how to keep yourself from changing if you get bit?"

  "Eat some silver, right? But before you turn."

  It wasn't such uncommon knowledge, but most people wouldn't have been able to recall it offhand. "Yeah. You might get a little sick since you didn't undergo the silver-storing ritual like me, but you'll live."

  Leviatha studied her silvery-veined face. "Why did you do that to yourself, anyway? Is it really worth looking like that to not get a little sick?"

  "I fight werewolves full time. Considering how often I've been bit, eating that much silver might make me a lot sick."

  "Makes sense. So what's the most foes you've killed in one battle, or day?"

  She smiled bashfully. "I mostly just fight wolves. I don't think I could come close to matching up to you in number of kills at a time."

  "Well, what fight do you tell people about when you need to sound impressive?"

  They chatted a little longer sharing battle stories, which Red figured Leviatha did largely to brag about her own. Leaving the castle, she decided to do an investigation of her own. The big woman might not want her help, but she doubted she would do anything about her sticking around. She asked folks if a family like the one she'd met had left recently and about werewolf sightings, but the only answers she got were negative. Since she had already tried the same questions in the first town, that left the final one in the north of the valley.

  The journey there went much the same as the one from mining town to castle. This town had similar house design to the first but was a little bigger, and less dusty given that light forest surrounded it. People answered her questions in the same ways they had at the other places. But they did so more nervously, sometimes hesitating, and she sensed they were hiding something. She tried to coax the truth out of them, to no avail. Why would they do this with their own safety on the line?

  Eventually, after another resident turned hastily away after her first question, she was approached by a chubby middle-aged woman. "You want to know the truth about us and werewolves?"

  "That would be nice, yeah."

  "The truth is, people have been going missing for months with strong hints at the cause being werewolves. We're not supposed to talk about it, but since the last girl who got bitten was my good friend, I thought I should tell somebody. You saw her? How is she?"

  After a moment's deliberation, she told the truth. "She's dead."

  "I thought she might be." She hung her head. "Alas, that the young should go before the old..."

  She scowled. "Neither the young nor old should die, at the hands of werewolves. Who says you're not supposed to talk, Leviatha? Why?!"

  "Yes, she's the one who demands our silence. As for why, rumor has it that someone pays her to turn a blind eye to werewolves."

  The idea baffled Red. Who would pay to protect man-eating beasts? But what angered her more was that a well off ruler let her subjects suffer and die just to line her coffers with some more coin. She squeezed the hilts of her blades. "Is that so? Then let's see if she can turn a blind eye to me."

  Chapter 4

  "Leviatha!" Red spat, storming across the lobby. The guards had moved to impede her upon seeing her irate demeanor, but Leviatha told them to let her pass. "You lied to me."

  The noblewoman standing before the back stair regarded her impassively. "I told you you should leave."

  "So you could freely sell away your people's safety for money?" She continued to advance.

  Leviatha raised a big hand palm out, the other holding onto her great sword. "You don't understand. I'm not doing this for the reason you think I am. I hate werewolves just like you, and I have a plan. The werewolf king wishes to make a great feast for his people during a full moon, and seeks a place to hold it where the authorities will not interfere. But he won't trust me and my men to stay out of the way unless I prove it by letting his subjects run amok for a while. Then when the bulk of them come, I'll slaughter them all."

  Red blinked. "Werewolf king?"

  "Self-styled, I presume. But I figure he must have a fair following to declare himself such."

  "You said you hate werewolves? Why?"

  She turned away, as if to hide a teary eye. "That time I faced them before, they killed a man I secretly loved. He died not even knowing I... anyway, so even though I killed the ones that did it, I've 'secretly' been hoping for a chance to pay their kind back further."

  That made Red feel somewhat more sympathetic. But still, "What gives you the right to throw people's lives away for the sake of your own vengeance?!"

  "I'm not killing anyone. They still have the chance to protect themselves."

  "You're their ruler. You should defend them."

  Facing her again, Leviatha spread her arms. "You think there aren't rulers who do worse to their subjects than not protect them? Why take it upon yourself to trouble me? Do you think I'm the worst noble even on this side of the country?"

  "Maybe not. But you're the one standing in front of me." She drew her knives. "Stop this or I'll stop you."

  The giant woman threw back her head and laughed. "I expected you to say something like that. So predictable. This makes an easy excuse for you to challenge me again as your warrior pride demands, doesn't it? But what makes you think you'll have any better of a chance than before? Last time sure went well for you."

  "You're wearing a dress," Red breathed, eyes narrowed. "That makes you more vulnerable."

  "And fast
er!" Leviatha said, dashing forward. Red ducked her sweeping sword, jumped back from the lower backswing, and sidestepped a thrust. She darted in with a slash, but Leviatha blocked. Her other blade came up. Leviatha shoved with the sword against her first knife, making her stumble away and her swing miss by far.

  "You fight mainly with power, me with quickness," she said as much to reassure herself as to Leviatha. "A battle without armor favors me."

  "Yeah? It sure has so far."

  Red bared her teeth and rushed, but stopped at the edge of Leviatha's sword reach. Not expecting her to do so, Leviatha had already started to swing. Red leaned back to just avoid the tip, hooked it with a knife and wrenched it sideways. She stepped in, slashing the back of Leviatha's hand on the way in, then her tricep. She cursed and threw a big backhand. Red ducked, cut Leviatha's thigh with both blades at once. The giantess staggered, and hope grew in her head. Maybe she could win...

  Leviatha's elbow plowed into her temple. Like last time she saw a white explosion, and the world became a blur with no sound. Red felt herself soaring, spinning through the air like she had become weightless. Her body slammed against the ground, bounced, and everything swam. She tried to push herself up. Then the pain hit. Searing fire shot through her skull, which a moment ago had just been heavy, and it felt fit to split apart.

  "Beat me in a fight, will you?" Leviatha taunted. She kicked Red in the ribs, hurling her several feet again. She heard bones crack, clutched her side and coughed. Leviatha nudged her with a foot, rolling her to her back. "You're weak. Takes more than you to do it."

  "Fight's not... over yet!" She rolled towards Leviatha though there was no room between them, confusing her for a brief instant, and sliced up to bloody her shin. The giant backed off and she stumbled to her feet. She lunged with a stab that got parried, spun around Leviatha's return chop and threw one of her knives into a huge shoulder. Risky relinquishing one of her weapons, but she'd chance it in order to score quick damage. Leviatha grabbed at the hilt, and seeing an opportunity Red pounced. Her other knife flashed up at her opponent's throat.