Chapter 7

The entrance to Liberty reflected the dying rays of the sun as Jack and Ebony drew near to their goal. Jack's plan was to spend one night in Liberty then leave the next day before Ebony found out he'd gone. The only problem was his distinct inability to wake early. He could always ask Ruby to wake him, but he didn't think she would appreciate having Ebony dumped on her so it might be better to keep his plan to himself. He was deep in these thoughts when he felt Ebony grab his arm and stop him.

"Can you hear that?" she asked.

"H-Hear what?" Jack replied, then stopped to listen more closely.

In the distance, they could just hear the sound of hoof beats and laughter. Jack recognised the voices.

"I-It's those guys I ran into here before," he cried, shoving Ebony towards the side of the road. "W-when I was here with Gel. Get out of sight. Quick!"

The two travellers dived behind the bushes that ran alongside the road and hoped they were thick enough to hide them. A few seconds later, they heard the three men ride round the corner of the road they had walked round only about five minutes ago: they were lucky they had not already been seen. Jack and Ebony waited as the three riders trotted past, exchanging crass jokes and raucous laughter and commenting on how Slade hadn't been seen or heard of for months and the township was theirs for the taking once more.

"Dammit!" Jack cursed once they were out of earshot.

"What's up? Who are they?"

"Th-the last time I was here, they saw me with Gel and took a liking to her. I-I don't know what they were planning to do with her, 'cause Lex and Slade saw them off before they got her, but neither of them are here now. Plus th-they're bound to put in more effort this time 'cos you're ..." Jack stopped, aware of the hole he was digging for himself, or possibly grave, "never mind, let's get going."

"I'm what?" Ebony frowned and grabbed Jack's sleeve, keeping him hidden next to her.

"I-It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does! I wanna know what you were gonna say!"

"I-I dunno! Let's get going before the last of the light goes!"

"No, Jack, tell me what you were gonna say! Because I'm what? Ebony, the madwoman who married a dead maniac?"

"I-I never said that!"

"A weakened warrior queen without any backup to protect her?" Ebony caught Jack off balance and knocked him backwards, pinning him down. "In case you hadn't noticed I don't need backup!"

"Yeah, 'cos Gel was so great at self-defence!"

"Well, what then?" Ebony settled herself with her arms folded on Jack's chest, they were almost nose to nose. "You're going nowhere until you tell me."

Jack sighed. He should have known it was too late to back out of that last sentence before he even started it, now he was really trapped!

"Because..." He began, grudgingly. "Because you're beautiful. You're a babe, hot, whatever! Can we go now?"

"You think I'm beautiful?" Ebony sounded shocked, but slightly amused, as if this were a new piece of information to store up for future use as emotional blackmail or whatever.

"H-Hey, d-don't get any ideas, remember I'm only comparing you to Gel!"

"Uh-huh."

"Th-the light's going, we should be at the saloon by now."

Ebony looked up at the sky then back down at Jack. The light was going. She would have plenty time to tease him about this in the saloon. She stood up and held out her hand to help him up.

"Okay, let's go," she said, with a cheerfulness that instilled the deepest fear in Jack.

"Th-thank you!" he muttered, dusting down his shirt.

When they arrived at the saloon, Ruby was cleaning the almost empty bar. She greeted them with the weary gratefulness of an unhappy child, visited at school. Her weariness faded, however, when she heard they were staying.

"So will that be two rooms or just one?" she asked, conspiratorially.

"Two!" Jack said, quickly, glancing sideways to see Ebony try to stifle a grin.

"Uh-huh?" Ruby gave them a look that said she thought there was something going on, wasn't sure what, but would try her best to find out, then turned and picked two keys off the board. "Rooms 27 and 29. Top floor, next door to each other, end of the corridor."

"Thanks," Jack replied, taking the key for room 29.

"Sleep well," Ruby cried as they climbed the stairs.

There were only ten rooms on each floor in the saloon. The first floor held rooms 10 to 19, the second housed rooms 20 to 29. All the even numbered rooms looked out onto the street, whereas all the odd numbered ones faced the large and surprisingly well kept vegetable garden that Ruby somehow found time to look after. Jack's room was at the top corner of the building and comprised an old dresser with a washbasin and jug on it, a cracked mirror, a rather dodgy looking single bed and an old wardrobe. There was also a door leading into the room next to Jack's: Ebony's room. Jack went over to the door and pushed the bolt across, locking it, then went back and did the same to the corridor door. Peace at last! Crumpling up on the bed, he drifted into a deep sleep.

Downstairs, Ebony sat at the bar, chatting to Ruby. She had deposited her things in her room then gone back down to see what news she could find out. As it turned out, Ruby already knew of the return of the three men who had passed them on the road. They were, according to Ruby, slavers. They would sell anything and anyone for a good enough price. They were always on the lookout for girls, more than guys, because they fetched a higher price. At least that was the only reason Ruby had heard of. It wasn't the only one she suspected.

Slade had brought her back from the city, after they left, then took off again the same day. She had no idea where he was now. Ebony picked up on the wistful tone in her voice and asked her if anything had happened between the two that she didn't know about. Ruby just laughed and asked the same about Ebony and Jack.

"No way!" Ebony replied. "I just needed to get out of the city, that's all. Jack was leaving, I followed him and persuaded him to take me with him."

"Indeed," Ruby laughed. "And exactly how did you manage that then?"

"The pity vote, I think. We had a bit of a ... an exchange of words on the matter. Some gang chased us. I hurt my ankle. Jack helped me out. He's a sucker for a damsel in distress."

"Ain't they all!"