Chapter Twenty-four

 

Doc sat Sophia, spending a moment to rub her neck lightly, before taking his own seat. “Good morning.”

 

“Good morning, husband. Did our pretty lawyer wake you properly?” Ayla asked from the kitchen with a smirk.

 

Harrid groaned, and everyone else chuckled at his reaction.

 

“Don’t worry, Harrid. I’m not going into details,” Doc grinned. “She was just poking at you.”

 

“Mostly, your wives are mindful to not be too crass. Everyone, once in a while, delights in trying to make me uncomfortable,” Harrid grumbled.

 

“We’re sorry,” Sonya said. She poked Ayla in the side as she helped get breakfast together.

 

“Oww! Okay, okay. I’m sorry, Harrid. I was mostly just wanting to see Sophia turn the shade of red she turned,” Ayla said.

 

“Apology accepted,” Harrid said.

 

The front door opened, admitting Lia and Rosa. “Good. We’re not late for breakfast.”

 

“Go take a quick rinse. It’ll be a few minutes until we’re done,” Sonya said. “And no arguments. I’ve already disciplined Ayla today, and I will do the same to you, if needed.”

 

Lia’s eyebrow rose, but she laughed. “I’m almost tempted to see you try, but I will comply because I want to be cleaner. Come along, Weed. You are going to scrub me.”

 

“Yes, mistress,” Rosa said eagerly, her eyes glowing.

 

“Don’t take too long,” Ayla added. “It’ll get cold if you do.”

 

“Just cleaning,” Lia said.

 

“I’m glad we were able to help Calamity,” Sophia said after a moment of silence.

 

“You said her name in the courtroom, but I didn’t really catch it,” Doc said.

 

“Jina is the name she was born with,” Sophia said. “The church dubbed her Calamity, and she’s since accepted it as her name.”

 

“Calamity Jina…?” Doc’s lips twitched. “Close. Very close.”

 

“What’s close?” Harrid asked.

 

“Calamity Jane was a western shooter on Earth. There were a lot of conflicting accounts on the truth about her getting the nickname ‘Calamity.’ Everything I know said she was a tough woman. I think that applies to the Calamity here, too. Gods know she’s endured a lot.”

 

“She’ll have a chance at happiness again, hopefully,” Sonya said.

 

~*~*~

 

Lia made it out just after breakfast was on the table, and they enjoyed the peacefulness of a good meal together with family. When breakfast ended, Lia had news, and it wasn’t good.

 

“Because you all might be wondering,” Lia said somberly when she’d finished eating, “Calamity’s nest has been dead for well over ten years. From what Rosa learned from Mother, Calamity is the very last of her kind.”

 

“Fuck…” Doc sighed.

 

“She took the news… poorly last night,” Rosa said softly. “This morning, she had a new determination. Doc, she has pledged to come when you need her. She knows the church will move against you, and when they do, she wants to be there to help you.”

 

“I agreed that we would let her know,” Lia said. “Having another dedicated person who has your welfare as their primary concern is good for the family. Until then, she will stay in the area and help the clans and tribes.”

 

Doc took a deep breath. “I had so much hope for her. Damn the Darkness for what it’s done…”

 

Ayla touched his back. “You’ll make it regret trying to take over the world. We’ll help as much as we can.”

 

“There’s more, but not about Calamity,” Lia went on, still looking somber.

 

“The tribes?” Doc asked.

 

“Curled Horn had a problem,” Lia said. “Red Hawk tried to kill Raindrop when they went out on the last hunt. If not for the gifts…” She paused, looking into Doc’s eyes. “His first arrow took her high in the back. She went to mist while the next few flew through her. The rest of the tribe turned on him, even those he thought were his allies. She was able to heal herself when she came back to her body. By then, Red Hawk had killed two before he was cut down.”

 

“Dammit! I thought he’d try something against me or cause an issue with the dwarves, not go after her!” Doc spat.

 

“After we left, he approached her to court. He still thought himself the next tribal elder, and if he could marry Raindrop, it would cement that,” Lia explained. “She wanted nothing to do with him. He was their best warrior, but his attitude showed his true spirit. She rebuked him, saying that she would rather marry a preacher of Apoc than him. It took several people to pull him away, as he almost attacked her then. When the hunt came, he went to Gray Rabbit seeking forgiveness, asking Raindrop to lead the hunt to bless them in Mother’s eyes.”

 

“Fucking cock-nugget,” Doc sighed.

 

“Gray Rabbit thought he was sincere, hoping that the two would make amends over the hunt. That didn’t happen, and when the group came back, Gray Rabbit wept at how close he came to losing his daughter. The tribe was in shock when we arrived, but they welcomed us warmly. I spoke with Raindrop last night and got the story from her. She wished me to tell you that she will find a husband in the tribe or in the Duckwater tribe, as they are going to merge together. Her thanks to you is what she asked me to convey; she survived because you helped raise her to Shaman. She promises to lead the tribe with the wisdom you showed.”

 

Lowering his head, Doc exhaled slowly. “I pray to Luck she finds a man worthy of her.”

 

“Then she surely will,” Harrid said. “All those around you who believe have found joy in life. Calamity has experienced the worst, but even she has a path she believes in now. Maybe she’ll even find a man who she can accept.”

 

“All lamiae are female; they come from a union of males from other races. She might have a clutch before the end, which will give her the chance to be a new start for her kind,” Rosa said softly. “She was considering having a clutch soon, as she thinks you will not need her for a few years, at least. If she could leave her young with the tribes, she would be very happy. Raindrop promised me that she would speak to Calamity about it.”

 

Doc touched Rosa’s hair. “Thank you, Weed.”

 

“That leaves us with questions about our own path forward,” Sophia said. “Do we leave before the clans start arriving or not?”

 

“A big question…” Sonya said. “To stay invites trouble, but to leave might mean the clans get the brunt of it, instead.”

 

“I think we should move on,” Ayla added. “The preacher will have sent word that Calamity is free. It will draw attention from higher-ups in the church.”

 

“We should stay and make sure the clans arrive safely first,” Lia shook her head.

 

“I’m with Ayla,” Sophia said. “We have other work that needs to be done. The clans can handle any little troubles brought against them.”

 

“It would be good for them to see the shaman before the work begins, though,” Sonya said.

 

Doc looked between his wives, a sad smile crossing his lips. “I miss having Fiala here even more now. She would’ve broken this tie.” The others nodded in understanding. “We should stay for now, but be ready to leave quickly.”

 

“Rosa, any word on how long before any of the clans arrive?”

 

“A few days at least, Doc,” Rosa replied.

 

“Let’s stay at least long enough for the first group. We can leave right after that. This way, they can explain everything to the others. It won’t feel like we abandoned them.”

 

The others agreed with him— they started to gather dishes and begin to look at what else they could do for the day. They’d barely left the kitchen when a hard knock came on the door.

 

Harrid went to answer it, keeping a hand on his pistol, his shotgun beside the door. Peeking out, he frowned, glanced back at Doc, then opened it. “Sheriff?”

 

“Where’s your owner, dwarf?” the sheriff sneered.

 

“I am my own person!” Harrid snapped. “Doc’s inside, but I doubt he’ll speak with you.”

 

“I’m the law here, mole-man. Either get him out here or I will enter.”

 

Doc stepped up behind Harrid. “I don’t like the way you speak to my employee and friend. Get off my porch. I’ll step outside to speak with you.”

 

Sneering, the sheriff stepped off the porch. When he did, Harrid, then Doc, came outside, and Rosa slipped out behind him.

 

“What do you want?” Doc asked coldly.

 

“I’m here to ask you about your day yesterday. You see, we have three dead men, dead men who were caring for that snake you got off. Makes you look awfully suspicious that they died right before the trial. If they’d been there, it’s unlikely it would’ve been freed. Since you spoke to it, then left before the trial, I need to know where you went.”

 

“I came home, spoke to my wives, and then made it back to the courthouse. I did enter right after the preacher, after all. I don’t know these men you’re talking about.”

 

Eyes narrowing, the sheriff growled, “Your snake probably told you about them. Where is the bitch?! I’ll question the thing.”

 

“She was freed. I assume she left to get as far away from you and the preacher as she could. Why don’t you check the train station? Or the livery?”

 

“I know it was with you when you left my office.”

 

“She was, yes, but I haven’t seen her since last night. She said she was leaving. I’m not one to chain a woman up and drug her, so I have no idea where she might be now.”

 

“Chained up, hmm? Funny you should know about that.”

 

“Calamity told us she’d been kept chained and drugged into a haze. Not unusual at all. If you’d spoken to her like an actual person, she’d have told you the same.”

 

Spitting at Doc’s boots, the sheriff sneered. “I’ve got my eyes on you, Holyday. Preacher ain’t happy about you claiming a demon is a god, either.”

 

“You and he are men cut from the same bolt,” Doc shrugged. “Neither of you concern me. I’d suggest you look more into your own soul than question mine.”

 

Stepping back, the sheriff snorted. “Be seeing you, Holyday.”

 

Doc didn’t reply, just watched the bigot walk off. When the sheriff was out of earshot, he shook his head. “Dammit… I’d love to meet another sheriff like Wenn for once.”

 

“Would be nice,” Harrid agreed.

 

“He’s going to speak with the preacher. He was thinking of creating a mob.”

 

Doc closed his eyes, fists clenching in anger at the stupidity of people. “Tell everyone to pack up. If they’re going to move a mob against us, we can’t stay.”

 

“Yes, Voice,” Rosa said, going inside.

 

“We can make it out before they raise the ‘faithful’ against us,” Harrid said. “We’ll need to keep an eye out in case the radicals chase us.”

 

“Yeah…” Doc agreed. “Let’s get our things packed.”