The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories (7 page)

Jonas had just walked past the next-to-last wagon when a heavy paw fell on his shoulder. He was not accustomed to looking up at anyone, but he had to raise his muzzle when he turned in order to meet the eyes of a large, muscular wolf guard.

“
Looking for something?”

“
A friend,” Jonas said.

“
Right. Clear off.”

Jonas twisted away from the guard’s hold. “Really, he’s supposed to leave today and I lost track of him…” He trailed off, realizing how improbable it sounded.

The wolf stared down at him. “I suppose you wouldn’t mind waiting with me and the other guards over at the guard house to see if any of the drivers recognizes you.”

“
No, not at all.”

That surprised the guard. “Really?”

“
Sure. I’ll help out if there’s anything I can do.”

“
I’m sure you’d like that. No, we’re appointed by the King himself and you’re not. So there’d be nothing for you to do but stand there all day.”

“
That’s fine.” Jonas started to walk towards the guard house.

“
Hey.” The guard hurried to catch up with him. “Look, you can’t just stand at the guard house.”

“
You told me I could.”

“
I thought you were a thief!”

“
Well, I’m not a thief.” Jonas folded his arms. “Will you help me find my friend?”

The wolf looked at the guard house, then back at Jonas, his nose twitching. Jonas suspected that for the first time, the wolf was really taking his measure, and he leaned forward politely to return the scrutiny. The wolf was one of the largest he’d ever seen, and his scent was rough but clean. And also, Jonas noted, not the least bit aroused. He was sure the wolf could sense even the mild appreciation Jonas felt for his sturdy form and soft brown pelt.

“
All right.” The wolf stepped in front of him and gruffly motioned him forward. “But only this one day.”

“
That’s fine.” Jonas nodded and fell in behind the guard.

He watched the guards pull the gates open and check the contents of the wagons cursorily before waving the merchants through. The first fifteen wagons passed, and four more after that, none carrying the fox. He remained in the shade of the guardhouse as the sun rose, and it was just when he was starting to feel the warmth of the day that a small wagon rattled up to the gate with a long, lanky fox at the reins.

“
Property?” the badger guard asked as the wolf went around back to sniff at the wagon.

“
Wooden weapons, and some leather,” the fox said, and then blinked. “Jonas?”

Jonas smiled, stretching, and walked towards the wagon. He put his paws up on the riding board. The wagon was shabbier than he would’ve thought, and a little smaller, but he only looked at the fox holding the reins. “Hi, Alexan.”

“
Come to see me off?”

Jonas fidgeted. Here was the part that he had always imagined would go smoothly, and now his tongue felt two sizes too large for his muzzle. “I was hoping, er…I mean, I want to go with you.”

The words hung there between them, as the wolf came back and nodded to the badger. The badger waved Alexan through. “Go ahead. Safe passage to you.”

Alexan appeared not to have heard. “Back with me? And do what?”

“
Well…” Conscious of the stares of the two guards, who were now watching him and listening, Jonas said, “You said you wished I could come with you. So now I can.”

The guards turned to look at Alexan. He flicked his ears, and said steadily, “Don’t you have responsibilities?”

“
I’m giving them up.”

In the silence that followed, the wolf said to the badger in a loud whisper, “Five coppers says he takes him.”

“
You’re on,” the badger whispered back. Jonas ignored them and just looked up at Alexan’s thoughtful muzzle.

Finally, the fox extended a paw down to him. “Come on aboard, then. We’ll figure it out.”

Jonas was up on the board in a second. He smiled at Alexan and waved down to the guards. “So long. Thanks.”

The wolf grinned at him, but the badger looked cross and just waved the wagon through. Jonas saw him reach for his purse as they rumbled by.

Alexan stayed quiet as the wagon clattered down the road, so Jonas didn’t break the silence. Houses of wood rather than stone crowded both sides of the road, newer buildings put up quickly and inhabited, by the look of it, by poorer people than lived inside the city walls. Jonas saw naked cubs chasing each other through the narrow spaces between the houses, and once a pair of wolf cubs darted in front of the mounts pulling the wagon. Alexan didn’t seem to notice, and his mounts barely snorted, stepping placidly around the scampering forms. The cubs vanished behind a row of hanging linen clothes, carefully patched, and Jonas heard squeals and giggles as a linen shirt was dragged down to fall atop the two cubs.

“
Someone’s going to get switched for that,” he said, looking back as the wagon moved on. The shirt was no longer moving, but it was definitely filthy. A small muzzle peeked out from under it, looking around, and then ducked back under.

“
Mmm.” Alexan kept staring forward.

Jonas sighed. “I thought you’d be happy to see me. You said you wished I could come with you.”

“
Did I?” Jonas felt his heart sink, but the fox turned to him a moment later and smiled. “I guess I did. It’s just a little surprising, that’s all. It’ll be good to have your company on the trip back.”

Jonas smiled in return. “How long a trip is it?”

“
Two weeks or so.” He paused and glanced at Jonas’s shirt. “Through the mountains it can get kind of cold.”

“
We’ll have to cuddle up together for warmth.” Jonas touched the fox’s leg tentatively. “No charge, now.”

Alexan flicked an ear and grinned, but the grin faded quickly. “Don’t you have an apprenticeship or some kind of contract?”

Jonas stared straight ahead at the road. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“
Who does?” Jonas didn’t answer, but Alexan persisted. “I just want to make sure that there’s not a policeman waiting for me next spring.”

“
I said, don’t worry about it,” Jonas said.

“
If you don’t tell me, you can just step down right here.” Alexan spoke quietly, but his tone was deadly serious.

Jonas laid his ears back. This wasn’t at all what he’d envisioned. Pike’s warning echoed in his ears, and for a brief moment, he thought he would step down and let Alexan go on his way. But he looked around at the poor housing, envisioned himself in one of the rickety houses, and sat back against the board. “My father got a payment from Tally when he sent me there. If I didn’t last seven years, he had to give part of it back. And I wasn’t allowed to go to any other establishments. Not that I’d want to.”

“
How long had you been there?”

“
Three years.”

“
Mmm.” The fox stroked his muzzle. “Does your father keep track of you? Is he likely to come after me for money?”

“
I haven’t talked to him since he sent me there.”

“
All right.” Alexan flicked his ears. “I don’t expect there will be a problem with you working in Ferrenis. Contracts don’t hold much weight across that border.”

“
Work? I thought I could just…”

Alexan looked at him. “Just live with me? I’m not that successful yet. I don’t know if I can feed us both.”

“
I thought you said you were doing well.”

“
I
hope
to be doing well.” Alexan patted Jonas. “But I like the idea of having you all to myself. If I can make it work, I will.”

Heartened by that, Jonas brought his ears up and smiled. The houses were thinning out, and the countryside ahead of them was mostly farmland. As they crested a small hill, Jonas could see the range of mountains in the distance. “We have to cross that?”

“
Aye. The pass should be okay for another few weeks. I’m cutting it a bit close. I had some negotiations to wrap up.” He glanced at the cougar. “So why didn’t you work last night?”

“
I was working.” Jonas told Alexan the whole story, adding only a little bit here and there to make the fox feel more sorry for him.

“
I didn’t know they beat you when a client complained.” Alexan looked sideways at Jonas. “You were really thinking about me?”

Jonas nodded. “I was thinking about you all week.”

Alexan’s tail twitched. “Does it still hurt?”

“
Hurt? No, I’m here now…” It took Jonas a second to realize what Alexan meant. “Oh. No, I got used to it. The bruises fade pretty quickly.”

“
That’s good. You’re a tough one.”

Jonas smiled and leaned back, breathing a little more easily. “I’m just glad to be here. Thanks for letting me come along.”

Alexan patted his leg again. “You’ll have plenty of time to thank me.” He winked, and Jonas smiled, looking up at the sky as they left the last of the city behind them.

They stayed that night in a small inn. Two other wagons, both driven by farmers, had joined them in an informal caravan. After dinner with the farmers and their wives, they retired early to their small room.

Jonas had thought that Alexan’s feral intensity in bed might have come from going a week between trysts, but apparently the cause was deeper, because the previous night’s activity hadn’t mellowed him at all. Once he’d barked and snarled out his climax, though, he panted and licked Jonas’s ear. Then, tied to Jonas, he turned with some difficulty, setting the cougar on his back while he knelt between Jonas’s legs and proceeded to apply his muzzle. Compared to Pike or Sasha, or even some of Jonas’s more experienced clients, he wasn’t very good, but Jonas was aroused enough that it didn’t take him long to finish.

Alexan looked down at him and licked his muzzle, smiling. “So now you can enjoy it too.” He slipped out of Jonas and pulled the cougar into a hug.

“
Mmm. I did.” Jonas smiled and held the fox against him, and drifted into a warm, happy sleep.

They kept company with the farmers for the next few days. The elder farmer, a raccoon, left the road first, followed the next day by the younger couple. The husband, a rugged-looking rat, had told them he and his wife were settling out on the fringe of civilization, where there was a lot of land. Jonas and Alexan waved as the rats’ wagon turned down a narrow lane, leaving them alone on the road.

Several wagons bound for Divalia passed them going the other way, and from the drivers they gathered that the pass was still navigable, but that there were bandits about. Only one wagon had been attacked, but many had seen them.

“
I’m glad I’ve got you with me,” Alexan said to Jonas after a bobcat had painted a vivid picture of the bloodthirsty bandit leader he’d spotted. “Even if it is unlikely that he saw him that close.”

“
There don’t seem to be many attacks,” Jonas said, and Alexan shook his head.

“
I’ve never been bothered. But I’m still glad to have you with me.”

That was the first night they did not have an inn or a farmhouse to sleep in. The mountain loomed ahead of them, snow-covered peaks rising above the dark mounds of the nearer hills, and they stopped just on the eastern side of one of the hills, sheltered from the wind. Alexan brought out some cured meat and they shared it, sitting in the grass on the side of the hill while the mounts grazed, tethered, below them. Jonas had his arm around the fox and his eyes on the stars twinkling above them. The air was chilly, but his fur was warm enough, and Alexan didn’t seem to be complaining either.

When they’d finished, they lay back on the grass. Jonas turned towards Alexan, and they kissed under the stars and then made love slowly as the mounts watched through sleepy eyes. Perhaps Alexan was affected by the stars and the romantic moments, or perhaps it was simply that he was unused to having Jonas more than once a week; whatever the reason, he was gentler than usual. He insisted on being on top still, but this time he slid a paw under Jonas, and they came within a minute of each other.

Lying on the grass, panting, Alexan moved his hips and said, “I love this. Being locked inside you, feeling your body under me…”

“
Mmm-hm.” Jonas’s eyes were closed. He couldn’t remember when he’d felt this happy. He wound his tail around Alexan’s leg and inhaled the scent of the grass and earth in the crisp, cool air. The fox’s weight atop him was warm and comfortable, and after a while, the soft sound of his even breathing lulled Jonas to sleep.