Chapter 13
"This thing wants to jump right out of my hand," Sarah complained. Raising the gun, she took the Weaver stance Aaron had shown her and fired once more.
The board she aimed at remained still. Despite paying close attention, Aaron did not know where the bullet actually hit. For all he knew, it and all the others she had fired were heading in the general direction of the moon since he saw no sign that she had even hit the hill her target sat on.
"It's a powerful weapon but perhaps not a very accurate one." Cathy smiled as she watched Sarah's frustration. "I don't think it's good for anything unless you happen to be within a few feet."
Wordlessly Aaron took the .38 snub nose revolver from Sarah and casually fired it one-handed. A board jumped and fell into the weeds. He fired the gun's last bullet, and a gouge tore across the face of the fallen board. Sarah scowled, and he winked at her. The years he had spent practicing with handguns sometimes paid off. There weren't many weapons a one-handed cripple could wield effectively, so he had spent thousands of hours perfecting his technique.
"Sure it's easy if you use Talent," Sarah complained haughtily.
Cathy swished through the weeds to set the fallen board back up. "There is a hole almost exactly through the center," she called helpfully. Sarah scowled.
Aaron held up a finger. "You jerked the trigger instead of squeezing." Another finger. "You flinched in anticipation of the noise and the recoil." A third finger joined the other two. "You closed your eyes."
He waved the three fingers in front of her face. "Three strikes you're out. How do you expect to hit anything with a method like that? As I recall, you would have whacked my silly hide off if I handled a sword the way you do this revolver."
"You did handle a sword this badly, and I did whack your hide off, and what do you mean by three strikes?" Sarah laughed. "Unfortunately for you, the only way to pay me back in kind is for you to shoot me with that thing. I'm telling you right now, if you shoot me I won't play kissy face with you anymore."
"Can I try it?" Cathy asked, breathing a tad heavily from her trip up the hill and back. "I listened to everything you told her."
"Sure." Aaron quickly punched out the spent brass and inserted new cartridges. "Now be careful." He handed her the gun. "Don't ever point it at somebody unless you mean to shoot them, and don't expect much because a short barreled gun isn't the most accurate weapon."
Smiling reassuringly, Cathy walked to the designated firing line and took her stance. Pulling back the hammer, she aimed carefully and squeezed the trigger.
The board remained exactly and perfectly still. Once again, Aaron had no idea where the bullet went. Holding the revolver in her left hand, Cathy shook her right in the air.
"This does jump a bit. It needs a firm grip." She grabbed the gun with her right hand again. Taking her stance, she brought her left hand forward, grabbed her right wrist, and fired off four quick shots.
The board tipped over. Cathy squealed and jumped excitedly while Sarah looked disgusted. Aaron quickly grabbed the waving gun from Cathy's hand. For one moment he had looked straight down the barrel. Now that was an uncomfortable feeling.
"There is still one shot left," he admonished her.
"I'm sorry." She looked appropriately contrite. Then she brightened. "But I hit it."
"I don't believe this," Sarah groused. "I fired that thing at least fifty times, and I hit nothing but squat."
"The noise doesn't bother me." Cathy pulled back her hair to show a bit of rag stuffed in her ear.
"I should have thought of that," Aaron admitted. "Earplugs are standard practice on the other side." Sarah elbowed him in the ribs, making Aaron wonder if he should have second thoughts about this romance thing. So far it had not done much except give him bruises on his ribs. Come to think of it, most of his relationship with Sarah had involved her beating up on him. Maybe there was a little sadist in her and more than a little masochist in him. The gods knew self- flagellation had become his favorite sport.
"Thanks a lot," Sarah said wryly. "But truth to tell, I still have no liking for this weapon. It doesn't have any real weight to it. Not like a sword anyway."
"I thought you might not like it for exactly that reason," Aaron told her. "Cathy gets the revolver. I brought you something else you might want to try."
He went back to the wagon Cathy had driven for them. Reaching into the back, he pulled out a shotgun and a box of shells.
"This is a Winchester Model Twelve pump shotgun. These shells are double-ought buckshot. That just means that there are several large pellets in each casing. Let me show you how to hold a shotgun."
He showed her how to stand, taught her a proper mount and then spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to load the thing. Fortunately, he knew a lot about firing shotguns. Unfortunately, he had never actually fired one. The safety threw him for half a moment. It was not a button behind the trigger like he had expected. It was actually a lever.
"I never shot this," he explained, red faced. "I only had one good arm, and these things definitely require two. Now be sure to keep it good and tight to your shoulder."
"Wait!" Cathy rushed up to brush Sarah's hair aside and shoved small bits of rag into her ears. "That should help some."
Sarah raised the Winchester, flipped off the safety, and pulled the trigger.
The board leaped into the air with a twist.
After setting the shotgun aside, Sarah gingerly rubbed her shoulder and grinned broadly. "Now this I like.
Within the next hour they ran out of ammunition, and Aaron admitted that the ladies knew enough for this day. Both of them could hit a target if it was relatively close and not moving, though Sarah's target did not need to be as close as Cathy's. The next time they practiced he would have to move the targets back and talk to them about lead and drop, though he supposed Sarah really did not need that particular lecture. Her lessons as a warrior and archer would have covered those topics. Besides, the lesson would be easy to teach her if she did need it. He had a lot of birdshot, and there were a powerful amount of birds available. However, he was not sure what he would do about Cathy.
It was fortunate they ran out of ammunition because the sun had gone down, and it was a forty minute drive back to town. There was no way he could have convinced them to leave if he still had ammo left. They absolutely loved their new toys.
It was so late when they finally started back that Sarah had to light the hand lanterns so they could see the road. He was afraid the beast pulling the wagon would bolt or quit or something but the mule plodded sedately on with Cathy's prompting, and damned if he could understand how she managed to control it.
Worthing, the stable hand, greeted them when they returned the rental.
"Ho, Mister Turner and to both you fine ladies. I was getting worried with you out so late. The Mistress Bade, she told me she rented you a good solid mule, but we know how you are with creatures, sir." He quickly began unhooking the mule from the wagon. "I'll give her a rubdown and a good feed before I leave, good sir. The Mistresses, they'll be getting impatient about now what with having dinner ready, but they can wait a bit longer."
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so late, Mister Worthing" Cathy apologized. "I'm afraid it was my fault. Can I pay you a little for your wasted time?"
"Oh no, no." Worthing waved a dismissive hand. "The Mistress Bade, she already seen to that. Mister Worthing, she said to me, 'We owe that man for saving our business. She says to me that Mister Turner has really put this place back on its feet."
Sarah and Cathy looked at Aaron. Aaron shrugged. He had no idea what the man was talking about.
"What did he do?" Sarah finally asked.
"Why, who would a thought of it," Worthing exclaimed. "Those hunters of his brought in more out country horses than I've ever seen. At least four mares a day between them and those horses ready for more if I may say so, excusing your lady's pardon."
"The Master Smith," he continued. "
He said Mister Turner wanted to put them up for stud. He said Mister Turner thought the Manor had held these bloodlines close for too long, and it was time to let them loose in the world. Why, it's a miracle how much money they bring in. Three gold a mare it is, and two of those three for the Mistress." He shook his head in wonder. "It brings in more than half our profit, it does. The Mistress, she's been talking about making Mister Turner a partner in the stable with those horses as his stake. She figures that way Mister Turner won't take the horses away."
"If she would like to do that," Aaron told the man, "you can tell her that I am hesitantly agreeable to the idea. Mistress Townsend will be my representative in the negotiations. She has full power to commit me to any deal she feels is just. I'll be out of town for a few days but I promise to stand behind any deal she makes." Damn. Maybe those horses would pay off the Manor's bill after all. He had wondered what Jorrin had done with them since he had never been presented with a bill for their care.
Sarah mock glared at him. "Thanks a lot. Don't blame me if you lose your cute little behind."
Aaron pointed a steady finger. "Hey, you are the one who wanted to become a team. Well, Cathy is doing her share with the store. She practically runs it herself. In fact, she will be running it by herself while I am gone. Now you can do your share and figure out what those horses are good for."
Sarah chuckled. "I think the good smith figured that out some time ago. All I promise is to do my best."
Quietly laughing, Worthing led the mule away. "I'll tell the Mistress," he called back.
"And where do you think you're going for a few days?" Cathy asked pointedly while they walked down the boardwalk toward the store. "I don't recall you mentioning a trip."
"Yes, tell." Though her voice was quiet, Sarah's face showed that she would brook no waffling on his part.
Apparently, there seemed to be more than one drawback to a steady relationship, Aaron reflected. It had been a while since he had been expected to report his whereabouts to anyone on a regular basis. True, there were his reports to Field, but those did not count since most of what he told Field were lies.
"I'm going to the other side, to Jefferson." Aaron spoke with his most appeasing voice. "I need to find out more about what is going on, what the plans are, and if there's been any success in the Militia's attempts to make new travelers or if they are going to be successful building a traveling machine. Besides, I need to steal ammo for your guns. I only have a few thousand rounds for each of them."
"Please do," Cathy murmured. She looped her arm through his and pressed close. "I wouldn't want Baby to go hungry."
Sarah was not put off. "Home is here. With us. If you want things from the other side you can just go someplace else besides that compound." Her stride was stiff. Danger sign.
Cathy's hanging on his arm was very distracting. Aaron had no doubt she knew this. They were double teaming him, each one using the method that worked best for her. He had to admit that the effort was very well coordinated even though it had not been planned. On the other hand, at the moment they were teamed against him. That was not something he wanted to encourage.
"I can't go anyplace else," he explained. "I've tried. The complex is the only place I can cross to."
"You walked into town," Cathy observed. "Now you arrive in your cellar, but you did walk into town that first time." She snuggled her cheek into his arm. Aaron straightened his back so he was almost her height. Cathy was very good at this.
"You did walk into town the first time." Sarah's stance had not softened. "I saw you. You were dusty and tired. It looked as if you had come from far away."
"It was a half day walk," Aaron admitted. "It surprised me that I made it because I could never manage to walk more than half an hour on the other side. For some reason I don't understand, when I change worlds my body changes too. It becomes whole when I am on this side and crippled on the other."
"So why is it you can arrive in different locations here but can only go to one place there?"
"I don't know," Aaron admitted. "I just can. A picture comes into my mind of someplace over here and that's where I go." He paused. "Except that first time. I did a blind jump then. Helmet and I traveled at the same time because theory said I would be pulled along with him, but something went wrong, so I came here instead of winding up somewhere in Chin. Helmet thinks our abilities interfered with each other."
"So," Sarah said triumphantly, "the first time you traveled blind, but after that you were only able to go to places you knew. Has it occurred to you that the only place you really know over there is the compound? Maybe what you need to do is to get away from there and find someplace else."
Cathy's head lifted. Her steps slowed, stopped, and her hold on his arm halted him. "How obvious. Yes, Aaron, find a new place. Get out of there. They must know your limits. After all, they have another traveler so they must know you can only go somewhere you are familiar with. That's why they kept you in the complex and didn't let you go anyplace else. They wanted you to have nowhere else to go."
"Oh." Aaron felt stupid. He had done this for nineteen months, had lived in Last Chance permanently for fourteen of those months, and in all that time he had refused to question many of the expected limits. These two, when learning of his limitations, had possibly discovered a way around one of them in a few moments.
Sarah reached out and took his other hand. "Okay, go back, but only this last time. I'll make you regret it if you ever go into that compound again." She squeezed his hand hard for emphasis.
Cathy kissed his shoulder. "I'll help her," she said gently.