Sam Barone: Eskkar & Bracca

He and Bracca relaxed against the outside wall of Iltani’s hut, while she finished her chores and prepared her children for sleep. Her calmness kept the others under control, and even the wide-eyed children seemed to understand that tonight was not the evening to annoy their elders. When she finished, she joined the two companions.

“Well, we’re ready enough,” Eskkar said to her. “A few more things to go over in the morning, but we should have time.”

Takcanar and his men wouldn’t be arriving at first light. For all any of them knew, he might not show up until noon.

“Then Tiba and I will make our preparations,” Iltani said.

She called Tiba away from her children, and the two women went off into the darkness. They were gone for some time. By the time they returned, night had settled over the farm and the children and the old woman had taken to their beds.

Iltani, her hair wet from her bath in the stream, wore only a blanket wrapped around her body. She hung her dress, still damp from being washed, on a peg outside the hut. She went into the hut for a few moments, and when Iltani reappeared, she held a second blanket in her arm.

“Come with me, Eskkar.”

He lifted his gaze, unsure for a moment what she intended. But she held out her hand, the unmistakable gesture of every woman asking a man to her bed. For a moment, he stared at her, but she met his eyes, and the hand remained outstretched.

Rising to his feet, he followed her into the darkness, away from huts, the people, and the animals. Holding her hand, they moved past the fields and climbed a grassy hillock. She spread the blanket she carried on the ground, then knelt down. Iltani lifted her gaze, and loosened the damp blanket from her body.

“Join with me, Eskkar. I’ve always wished that you could have taken me. I had to cry in secret when you rode away, otherwise they would have beaten me. Three days later, I was given to my Ulman, to be his second wife. He was a good enough man, but I always wished I could have gone with you.”

He knelt facing her, and put his hands on her bare shoulders. Her warm flesh sent a sensation of pleasure through him, and he felt himself growing hard. “You don’t have to do this, Iltani.”

“Tonight may be the last night of my life, of your life. If I let this chance slip away, when will I ever get another?”

“Bracca and I are doing this for the horses, Iltani. As soon as we get them, we’ll be on our way.”

“I know. No farm will ever hold you. You’ve grown tall and strong, and you must find your own path. It is too late for me, Eskkar. I need to stay here, to raise my children. But I will pray to the gods that someday you find happiness.” She sighed. “Now there should be no more talk. Take me, Eskkar. Let me close my eyes, and be the girl you saved from the bandits many years ago.”

Still holding her shoulders, he leaned closer and kissed her lips, her hair, her cheeks. “I have always regretted not sharing the pleasures of the gods with you, Iltani. Many nights, I've seen your face in my dreams.”

She put her arms around his neck, but he brushed them away, and pulled his tunic up over his head. Her hands reached out to grasp his manhood, already erect, and he pushed her down on the blanket.

Iltani buried her face in his shoulder. “I told Tiba to go to your friend, and pleasure him.”

Eskkar pushed her legs apart and moved over her. What might happen to Bracca meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was that Iltani wanted him, and he wanted her. Then he slid inside her. She moaned in pleasure and pulled him tight against her body.

Their bodies hungered for each other, and the first time was hurried, almost desperate. But the second time lasted far longer, with deeper and more intense pleasure. Satisfied, Eskkar lay back on the blanket. But Iltani had had other ideas. The love making went on, until both were exhausted.

They slept in the field, holding each other close and covered by the thin blanket. Well before dawn, Iltani woke him with a kiss, then disappeared, running back to her family. By the time he dressed and returned to the huts, the first light of morning sent a pink haze into the eastern sky, promising another warm day.

Bracca, wearing his sword, waited for him. A cooking fire already burned, warming a dented copper pot that held fresh water from the stream. Iltani had started ministering to her children, at least the older ones who had awakened.

“Sleep well, friend Eskkar?”

“Well enough.” In truth, Eskkar hadn’t gotten as much sleep as he wanted.

“Tiba came to me,” Bracca said, “but farm girls know little about pleasing a man. Still, she did her best.”

Eskkar ignored the comments. “Are we ready?”

“We soon will be. Let’s eat first. We may not get another chance.”

Midmorning had almost arrived, when Iltani saw the horsemen crest the low hills about a mile away. “They’re coming, Eskkar.”

He nodded, and stepped back inside the smallest hut, out of sight from anyone approaching. Bracca took his position in the second hut. Takcanar’s approach, coming from the east, would follow the path of the stream without having to cross it. That meant they would first pass Eskkar’s hutch, then Bracca’s. Iltani and Tiba stood outside the largest structure, and Zuma remained concealed inside.

Iltani had sent the old man and woman, and all the children, to the top of a rocky hillock more than a mile away. If things went wrong at the farm house, they would try to escape to the north, where they might find some help.

Now Iltani and Tiba stood beside the cooking fire, waiting for Takcanar’s arrival. Both had washed their faces and combed their hair, and done all the little things women do to make themselves more attractive. They were to be the bait that brought the riders close to the main house.

The approaching men had seen the smoke from the fire, so they would know that people remained at the farm. When they saw the women, alone and helpless, thoughts of taking them would be on their minds. With no men in sight, it would be reasonable to assume that Zuma and the others had fled, abandoning the women to their fate.

And since Katha’s sons would expect to be the first to enjoy the women, with luck they would dismount from their horses right in front of Iltani’s hut.

Through a tiny hole that he’d gouged out in the wall, Eskkar watched the little troop as it splashed across an irrigation ditch and then followed the stream. An older man with a white beard, just past the prime of life, led the way on a chestnut stallion. Three others rode behind him, and even at a distance, Eskkar could see the family resemblance. Young and strong, arrogance stamped on every face.

Father and sons all wore swords at their waists. But carrying a sword didn’t make a man a fighter. That required years of practice and the willingness to risk your life. Even killing a few unarmed and untrained farmers didn’t count for much.

Iltani’s farm had likely been promised to one of Katha’s sons, and the family would be eager to take possession, to increase their clan’s wealth. Behind the riders, Takcanar strode along, accompanied by four of his men. Eskkar had expected ten or eleven men, but obviously one or two had remained behind, to guard Katha’s farm. Nevertheless, nine men would have to be killed or driven off. Eskkar saw that two of Takcanar’s men carried bows strung over their chests.

From where Bracca had taken his position, he couldn’t see the riders. Eskkar held up his hands, and gave the count, so that Bracca would know they had nine men to deal with.

Eskkar wiped the sweat from his brow, and rubbed his palms hard against his tunic. His breathing quickened, and he forced himself to take long, deep breaths.