The Way Of The Heron
By C. T. Creekmur
Prequel Three
Payback
Author's warning: This story depicts men performing sexual acts upon one another that immature people might find shocking. If graphic depictions of sex between men upsets you, or if you are under 21 years of age, then DO NOT READ THIS! - go read something else!
Please understand that this is a work of fantasy and fiction, set in a time when safe sex was unheard of. It is not intended to provoke or promote promiscuity or abandonment of common sense where sex is concerned. Especially in this day and age.
Though historical personages are mentioned, none of the principal characters are based on real individuals and any similarity to such is coincidental. This story is copyrighted (c) by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author.
Historical Note: This story happens in the border areas of northern California and southern Oregon in the summer of 1854.
And now, on with the story!
"Hey, Donk!" a voice called, echoing down the shadowy mineshaft.
Shane MacMann paused in his work as soon as those words reached him; he knew at once who had called to him. He leaned on his shovel beside a partly full ore car and peered down the tunnel, ill lit by a series of guttering candles. The semidark hid a frown on his heavily bearded face. Shane disliked the nickname Rob Knox had bestowed on him, as well as the short guy jokes and comments his mining partner constantly seemed to make at his expense.
'If only Rob wasn't so obnoxious,' Shane sighed mentally.
What made it worse was that Shane had fallen hard for the big man, just about as soon as he laid eyes on him. Rob was the closest thing to Shane's ideal of masculine beauty as Shane had ever come across. It had been only four months since he and Rob and their two other partners had met by chance in a saloon. The itinerant prospectors had talked shop over a bottle of whiskey and by the time it was empty, they had decided to pool their resources from necessity.
The great gold rush was all but over by then in California. Even for the people who had lived through those dramatic times, watching California go from a sleepy outpost of Mexico, little changed since the days of the antique Spanish empire, to full fledged US statehood, it was difficult to describe the unprecedented events to latecomers, even in the soberest language, without giving the narrative an air of incredibility. Only five years has passed, but in that time one culture had been swept away and another firmly planted in its place. And all the easily worked gold deposits were long gone as well.
So the four prospectors were quite pleased with their luck when they stumbled upon a fairly rich vein of silver ore not long after their initial meeting. The strike was located in the hills that defined the watershed between Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake. Developing the mine had proved more than enough to keep them together and busy.
Shane's thoughts strayed pleasantly as he reviewed his mental images of Rob. He contemplated Rob's muscular build, the arms a blacksmith would be proud of, the broad chest covered with a fleece of ebon fur that went on to cover most of the rest of the man, and the heavily hanging genitals. Shane could see Rob again clearly in his memory, magnificently naked in the creek that snaked past their camp, as he lathered himself with the homemade soap they had purchased from a local homesteader. With his black pelt slicked down and clinging to every masculine curve and muscular ridge of Rob's exceptional body, it was all Shane could do not to stare, let alone drool.
Shane was glad his current partners shared his penchant for regular bathing. Many of the men he had worked with since coming west seemed to think water was good only for working placer mines. But the frequent baths were a mixed blessing. While they provided Shane plenty of material for his private fantasies once he was alone in his blankets at night, they also provoked Rob's irritating jokes.
Shane was a head shorter than the big man, and his spare and wiry frame was covered with a thick growth of red body fur. His slight build also tended to make his cock, an overly generous gift of nature, look as if a mule's prong had been grafted onto him. Shane expected his partners to stare at it whenever he washed; he was used to getting that reaction from other guys. But after Rob got an eyeful of Shane naked, he started calling his partner 'donkey-boy', later shortening it to 'donk'. Shane had tried to ignore the nickname, but that just seemed to embolden Rob.
Shane hefted the shovel in his hands once more, putting another spadeful of the rich silver ore into the cart before he planted the tool in the loose gravel with more force than was necessary. His arms were the equal of any man's, he thought ruefully, he did every job Rob did, as well as he. But Rob could not seem to stop poking fun at him. Shane had stopped answering Rob back when he was so insulted, and the pair's other partners, Mike Gray and Tomas DeAmanto, sensing Shane's discomfort better than Rob seemed to, tried to keep the peace by warning Rob to back off.
"What's the little runt gonna do to me?" Rob scoffed after one such warning, not knowing Shane was close enough to overhear.
Shane heaved another inward sigh as he responded. "Yeah? Whatcha want, Rob?"
"Mike just got back from town," came the answer. Rob's big form seemed to fill the tunnel and he stooped a bit to clear the roof timbers. "He has news he wants us to hear."
"Okay."
Shane followed Rob out into the Northern California sunlight, admiring the roll of his partner's ass as he walked. He knew he would never get in there, like he wanted to. He chided himself again for falling for such a thoughtless boor as Rob. Shane would have been very surprised if he knew what Rob was thinking just then.
'Damn! Why did I use that stupid nickname again? Apologize, you fool, and tell Shane about that dream you had last night!'
Again, Rob thought about the weird dream. A stranger, an elderly Indian who introduced himself as Ikukua, had appeared to give Rob some personal advice, mostly about Shane. Recalling the eerie reality of that experience, Rob steeled himself to act on it and started to talk. When he paused for a response from Shane, nothing followed.
"Shane? Did you hear me?"
"Huh?" Shane responded, suddenly realizing Rob had been talking to him. He had been lost in thought about his seemingly hopeless attraction to Rob.
"You okay?" Rob asked.
"Sure, sure."
As he replied, Shane paused to pull a gayly colored bandanna from his rear pocket. He ran it across his face and forehead, wiping away the dust and sweat. He smoothed back the long, coppery hair that fell to his shoulders and readjusted his hat.
"What did you say, Rob?"
"I was sayin' I'm sorry about callin' you 'Donk'. I know it bothers you. It just sorta popped out back there."
"It... it's not a big deal." Shane managed, wondering at Rob's sudden stab at being sensitive.
"And I... ah... was tryin' to tell you about a dream I had, about you."
"A dream? About me?"
As he spoke, Shane's blue-gray eyes scanned the simple camp, just three tents erected around the firepit where the men cooked their meals. He spotted Mike and Tomas waiting there. Rob followed his partner's gaze. He sighed.
"I'll tell you about it later. Before we turn in, maybe."
"Why? Was it personal?"
"Yeah."
Despite his aroused curiosity, Shane was prevented from asking more as they reached the firepit. Tomas was seated there crosslegged, whittling on a thick stick, fashioning a new pickaxe handle. He was the least hairy of the four, a native Californian of mixed Spanish and Indian blood, but a scruff of black hair did cover his cheeks and chin. His long hair snaked down his back in a long queue, native fashion, to rest in a partial coil on the ground.
His partner Mike sat next to him. He had removed his hat, exposing his brilliant blonde hair. It was bound in a queue like Tomas', though it only reached as far as the man's shoulder blades. His fair, pale golden beard was full and hung over a foot below his chin. It quivered slightly as Mike talked quietly to Tomas, as was their wont. They seemed as close as brothers to Shane and he envied them for it.
'If only I could have a companion like that,' he mused. 'If only Rob could be that man. What I wouldn't give... '
"Well, we're here." Rob announced, cutting Shane's reverie short. "What's up?"
"Old man Anson has made a cash offer to buy us out," replied Mike.
"He did?" Shane started. It was no secret that Anson, the owner of a dozen mines in the area, was seeking to expand his holdings. It made sense, now that the rush was over and the easy pickings had been taken. What was left was a job for the newly organizing mining corporations, not itinerant prospectors like Shane and his partners.
"How much is he offerin'?" asked Rob. Mike answered. It was more than what the mine had yielded to them in the past four months.
"Damn!" hissed Shane. "Split four ways that's... "
"Enough for me!" Rob smiled.
"You lookin' for greener pastures?" asked Mike.
"Well, you gotta admit, this mine wasn't gonna produce enough to let us retire. Maybe we could go prospectin' further north, into Oregon maybe. See what's there. I hope you guys are with me." Rob punctuated his words by slapping Shane on the back, a display of good-naturedness that took the others by surprise. He had not been like that since the first days of their association.
Mike did not reply to Rob's unexpected suggestion, except to look at Tomas with raised eyebrows. Shane wondered if they felt as he did, that this was a chance to dissolve their partnership and say adios to Rob. Tomas spoke up.
"Are we agreed to sell, then?"
The others agreed and Mike was delagated to go back to town to iron out the details. As soon as Rob was busy elsewhere, Shane sought out Tomas. Tomas had just finished fitting the new handle to the head of the pickaxe. He flourished the tool and began speaking as Shane approached.
"Well, the pickaxe is ready, but it seems we have no claim to use it on, now."
"Will you and Mike go prospectin' for a new claim?"
"Yes. And we'd like to invite you to join us. You're a good partner. We three will get on well together, I think." As Tomas said that, his brilliant black eyes moved to meet and hold Shane's. "Much better, without Rob."
"So you wanna cut him loose?"
"Yes. No one can fault his work, but he is not a pleasant companion to just be with." Tomas sighed. "We, Mike and I, have never approved of the way he treated you, teased and spoke down to you."
"I know. And I'd like to keep workin' with you guys."
Tomas took a breath.
"There is something else you should know before you agree to stay with us, Shane. Mike and I are more than just partners in the work we follow. I love him, and he loves me. If this troubles you... "
"No," Shane began, smiling as he realized his suspicions had been correct, that the pair did share his nature, "it doesn't. I'm the same way, except that I don't have a pardner. I wish I had what you and Mike have."
Tomas reached out slowly and took Shane's faintly freckled hand. His dark fingers slipped around and caressed the crimson hairs that curled over Shane's digits slowly as he spoke.
"I thought you might be like us. But Mike was afraid it would make trouble if I was wrong, so we kept it to ourselves. We have encountered others who were friendly until they realized Mike and I were lovers. It is bad enough to be hated for loving one's own sex, but for some bigots the idea of a white man like Mike passively submitting to the 'lust' of a dirty redskin like me is unspeakable, a crime against his race!"
"Tomas! I don't think of you like that! You've been a good, hard workin' pardner, better than most others I've worked with!"
"I know that. Mike does too. And we are willing to share what we have with you, Shane. All you have to do is ask."
Shane's lips moved but no sound came out. Tomas looked into Shane's slate blue, pleading eyes. He read the need there and nodded.
"Come with me now, my brother. There is a private place in the woods nearby neither you nor Rob knows about, where Mike and I go to make love. Let me give you what you need."
"Tomas... it's been a while since I've done this... and some guys, well, they've said I was too big for them... "
"It'll be okay," Tomas soothed as he got up and began to lead Shane into the forest. He grinned over his shoulder at his partner. "We will go slowly, and use a lot of lube!"
Mike returned later that day with papers the partners all had to sign. Shane signed last and at Mike's request added the date, July 14, 1854. When that formality was done, Mike and Tomas paused to talk while Rob went back to the job he'd been doing. Once he was gone, Mike waved Shane over. He did not expect the big hug he got from Mike.
"Tomas told me the good news, buddy!" the blonde man enthused. "I'm glad we'll still be pards. And in more than just the work. I can't wait for my turn with you in the woods!"
Shane blushed. After the more than satisfying love he had shared with Tomas, he was looking forward to being with Mike as well. But he managed to say what was uppermost in his mind.
"What about Rob? How do we break it to him that we don't want him as a pardner anymore?"
"Leave that to me," grinned Mike in a thoroughly evil manner. His eyes, colored a deep shade of blue that Shane sometimes found hard to look into, seemed even more intense just then and Shane wondered.
"What you are planning is not wise, my brother." Tomas warned.
"Maybe not, but it is what that bastard deserves, after treatin' Shane so shabbily."
"What're you gonna do?"
"Just leave it to me, Shane." Mike glanced at Tomas. "Will you have those things ready I asked for?"
"Yes, though I still do not approve."
"Thanks, pard. You're the best!" Mike gave Tomas a quick kiss before getting on his horse and starting back to town.
That afternoon, after divvying up the money they had gotten for their claim, the four prepared to leave. They had agreed to be off the property by sundown the next day, but were planning to go much sooner; Rob thought they were leaving in the morning, but Shane and Tomas knew Mike had other ideas. After they had packed their belongings, the men gathered around the firepit to share a last, early supper together, with the summer sun still high in the sky.
Rob continued to be under the impression that the four were going to stick together and Shane wondered when Mike would undeceive him. When Shane went down to the stream to wash his plate and cup, Tomas followed and warned him in a low voice not to drink from the bottle Mike was going to pass around, only pretend to. Shane agreed, wondering where this would lead.
Shane followed Mike's lead and spread his blankets out near the fire, as if they planned to sleep out under the stars; Tomas and Rob did likewise. Stripping to his longjohns, Rob sat on a log and packed his pipe as the others also got comfortable. Shane could not help but eye the full crotch of Rob's longjohns hungrily as he laid his own clothes aside and took his place by the fire. Shane's own cock snaked prominently down one leg beneath his red flannel longjohns, hard to miss as he also filled his pipe for a smoke.
Very soon afterwards, Mike did produce a bottle of whiskey, pulled the cork and seemed to take a swig. He offered the bottle to Rob, who drank a generous mouthful, and passed it on to Shane. He chuckled as he did so.
"Careful, Do... er, Shane," Rob caught himself.
Shane noted the look on Rob's face. He was obviously sorry he had almost used that nickname again. Nevertheless, Shane took his pipe out of his mouth and blew smoke, guessing the gist of the joke Rob intended. He was not amused by it.
"Why? I suppose you think a little guy like me can't hold my liquor as well as you!"
"I didn't mean... " Rob flustered. Shane had been right about what Rob had thought and the big man kicked himself for falling into his old habit of flinging out 'playful' insults. That was just one of the things Ikukua had warned him about in his recent dream. "This is strong stuff... " he finished lamely.
"Well then, why don't you have my share of it?" Shane returned, handing back the bottle.
"Uh... thanks," Rob managed. The big man took another pull from the bottle before handing it to Tomas. As Tomas pretended to drink, Rob put a hand to his forehead.
"Damn! That stuff is strong! It has a kick like a mule!"
"Here," Mike said cheerfully, proffering the bottle. "Have another kick!"
"Don't mind if I do."
The bottle went around twice more before whatever Mike had spiked it with finally felled Rob. He gaped at his companions a couple of times, as if he were trying to speak, then fell off his log backward onto the grass. Mike jumped up at once and went to the big man.
"Out cold!" he laughed after a quick examination. "The powder that Chinese trader sold me worked just like he said it would!"
"What're you gonna do to him?" asked Shane.
"Well, I had intended to just wrap Rob up in his blankets and leave him here. By the time he woulda woken up, we'd have been long gone and he'd have no way of knowin' how to find us." Mike glanced at his lover. "But Tomas is worried some varmint will wander into camp and eat him after we go." Mike gave a little snort of laughter. "Bad luck for the varmint, I'd say. Rob'd probably poison him!"
"What do we do then?"
"Administer some payback. You with me Shane?"
Without waiting for an answer, Mike bent over Rob. He turned the big man so his head was towards the fire. Then he went to his saddlebags and pulled out a pair of scissors.
"Bring me the basin and that razor I bought, Tomas!"
"What are you doin'?" Shane exclaimed, watching wide-eyed as Mike started swiftly snipping the hair off Rob's head.
"I'm gonna shave this bastard bald, then tie him spread-eagle and shave the rest of him!" Mike laughed again as he took off a handful of hair. "Won't he be a pitiful sight then? Like a shorn sheep!"
"More like a shaved bear," Tomas added, putting the basin of water down and setting the razor and soap beside it. "And a damned angry one, when he wakes up!"
"Relax. We'll wait 'til he wakes up, tell him what we think of him, and be miles away by the time he manages to untie himself. And I at least plan to make sure this dense dope understands what a S.O.B. he was to Shane and that we don't want him around no more!"
"Mike?" Shane began. "Leave Rob his beard, okay?"
"Okay, Shane." Mike paused to stroke his own long beard. "I guess I'd miss this most of all if it was me in a fix like this."
"So would I," added Tomas with a smile.
After that, Shane and Tomas did not have to do much more than watch while Mike went back to work on Rob. Shane wondered if Mike had been trained as a barber, since he moved so quickly and surely with the soap and razor after clipping Rob's hair down to a rough stubble. Soon the big man's head shone white and clean in the firelight. Despite the alarming way his exposed ears stuck out, Shane still thought Rob looked handsome. Mike put down the razor and spoke.
"Gimme a hand here."
Shane and Tomas moved to help Mike as he began to strip the unconscious man's longjohns off in order to keep shaving. Tomas produced some odd wooden implements he had whittled at Mike's request, long, thick sticks with forks at each end. As each hand and foot were shaved, they were bound into one end of these sticks with ribbonlike lengths of soft, but tough leather until Rob's arms were stretched straight out with the stick behind his neck. His legs were forced as wide apart as they could go by the stick that separated his ankles.
Once Rob was firmly bound in this way, Mike attached a rope to the upper stick and rigged it so it could hang from a nearby tree limb. Rob's toes just touched the ground when Mike was done. Then he soaped the dense thatch of black chest hair and shaved it off, along with that growing on the arms and under them. Without the hair, all could see the thick slabs of pectoral muscles poised above the well defined six pack of abdominals, still impressive though relaxed in unconsciousness. Shane could not help but rub his hardening cock through his longjohns; he was liking this more and more. As Mike moved around to get the thick fuzz on Rob's back, he muttered distractedly.
"Damn! This might take hours! He's like a monkey!"
Despite Mike's prediction, the job went quicker than that. After finishing Rob's back, Mike did the lower half of the man, working up the legs and carefully shaving the tender buttcrack. He washed it slowly, obviously enjoying himself as he ran his fingers through the smooth, hairless vee. He grinned at his companions.
"I'm sorely tempted to bugger him. But if it's gonna be gone, Shane ought to be the one to do it."
"Me?" Shane managed as his cock jumped in his longjohns.
"Don't you wanna pay Rob back for all the abuse he's given you?"
Mike's suggestion sparked riotous thoughts in Shane's brain. Lust and the urge for vengeance battled against his better judgement. Shane had never taken another man against his will before, and knew for certain he would not want it done to him. But Rob, the object of his long-frustrated desires, was right there in front of him, naked and helpless, a temptation beyond Shane's powers of resistance...
All that flashed through Shane's mind in an instant before Rob shifted in his bonds and groaned plaintively. The evil grin Shane remembered returned to Mike's face. He pulled a bandanna from among Rob's clothes, rolled it up and shoved it into the bound man's mouth. Then he took another and tied it so Rob could not spit out the first one. Then, just as quickly, Mike rigged a second rope to hoist the bottom stick up so Rob's ass was at fuck level.
"You awake?" Mike asked as Rob's brown eyes opened and focused on him. They rolled as they took in their surroundings.
"Hhhaaaatt! Mmmuuphhheruukker!" Rob managed through the gag before he started to struggle against his bonds. It was apparent to everyone that he was helpless.
"Don't jerk around like that!" Mike warned, showing Rob the razor he held with one hand as he grasped the big man's well-soaped genitals with the other. "I've still got to shave your cock and balls!"
Shane could have sworn he saw beads of sweat form instantly on Rob's forehead as the big man looked wide-eyed down his nearly hairless body at the razor poised above his nuts. He shook his head emphatically and whimpered through the gag. Mike grinned.
"Don't worry, I'm good at this. Soon your beard will be the only hair you have left on you!"
Rob's whole body tensed as he felt the keen razor go to work. It moved determinedly over his most sensitive flesh, denuding his scrotum, his pubes and finally the shaft of his cock. To the surprise of the watching men, Rob's sex grew to its full length and began drooling precum as Mike worked. The clear cockhoney dripped, pooled in the big man's navel and eventually ran across his smooth shaven belly. As Shane watched the fluid run and drip to the ground, it was all he could do to control the urge to go and lick it off Rob's magnificent body.
When Mike was done, he soaped up the area one last time and washed it clean, leaving Rob's sex absolutely hairless and painfully erect. Then, slowly and teasingly, Mike allowed one finger to run along Rob's boner, as long and hard as a railroad spike, to see how the big man would react. Again Rob surprised his partners.
"Eessss Mmmuukk! Eessss!" the bound man managed, trying as best he could to rub his hard cock against Mike's hand.
"Oh, you want it, big guy?" Mike purred. He went into the supplies and scooped some lard out of a tin can before gripping the hard shaft and giving it a stroke. His hand slid easily and both it and Rob's cock glistened suddenly in the sunlight.
"Eessss!" Rob nodded. "Eessss!"
"Okay, but this'll be on my terms, big guy," he warned.
At the same time, Mike let his other greasy hand slip into the crack of Rob's ass. He slathered the hairless vale and the hot pucker at its center with pungent slickness as he began to jerk the bound man off. Little by little, Mike's fingers found their way inside Rob, who seemed too intent on letting Mike get him off to notice the invading digits, stretching and throughly lubing his innards. Before he let Rob cum though, Mike turned to grin at Shane.
"I think Rob's almost ready for you, Shane. You wanna fuck him?"
Shane did not answer. Glassy-eyed, he allowed his desire to pull him closer. His hard cock was clearly outlined in his longjohns, tenting the faded material. Rob's member was impressive, but Shane had him beat by several inches. Shane was far thicker, too. Rob had never seen Shane hard. He took one look at the lump Shane's ready weapon had produced and fear shone in his eyes.
"Nnnnnuuuummmpph!" Rob suddenly cried, shaking his head and bucking in his restraints. He only managed to swing a little from side to side.
"Ah, take it like a man!" Mike ordered as he yielded his place to Shane. "After all, 'What's the little runt gonna do to you'?"
Rob whimpered incoherently through his gag, shamed by having his own thoughtless words thrown back into his teeth. He looked really scared as Shane reached into the open front of his longjohns, exposing his own generous growth of red body fur, pulled his oversized cock out and laid its hot length on Rob's belly, alongside the captive's dick. Shane squeezed both of the rigid shafts together and started to stroke, lubing his schlong as he did so in preparation for what was to come.
"Yeah, Rob, you oughta be scared, after all the shit you've given me."
"Aaaannnnne, eeeeaas," Rob tried to respond. Shane cut him off.
"Now you're sorry for ridin' me, huh? Well, now it's my turn to ride you." Shane pulled back and planted his horsecock at Rob's backdoor. "I've been wantin' to do this a long time... "
"Aaaannnnne! Ooooouuuph!" Rob yelled through the gag as Shane popped his slick cockhead past the spasming sphincter.
Rob had expected to get raped in one fast, hurtful thrust. But despite his ominous words, Shane had no desire to hurt Rob and went in real slow. Once Rob realized Shane did not intend to ravage him, he relaxed, and Shane eased himself in, enjoying every moment as his long member inched its way inside the big man to the hilt.
Mike had greased Rob's innards well, so no harm was done, save to Rob's pride. Hung up like a side of beef and trussed so he could hardly move, all Rob could do was relax and take the deep, pounding thrusts Shane began to give him. A glance to the side showed Shane that his partners were thoroughly enjoying the show.
Mike was on his knees, swallowing Tomas' dark shaft, and obviously enjoying it. As he did so, he jacked himself, at least until Tomas murmured something to his lover. Then the pair lay down so Tomas could return the favor. As they began sucking each other, Shane turned his attention back to Rob.
Shane found himself glad that Rob did not look like he absolutely hated what was happening to him. It spurred him on until the rolling fire low in his thrusting loins threatened to detonate. He gripped the bound man's shoulders and leaned close to one ear as he hunched determinedly, feeling himself nearing the edge of ultimate sweetness.
"You sure are a good-lookin' man, Rob, even shaved bare. I wish you'd liked me a little more, enough not to be so insultin'... Oh well, I'll miss you anyway, even if the others won't... "
With that, Shane gasped and unloaded his nuts deep inside Rob. The captive moaned loudly through his gag and when Shane could focus his eyes again, he was surprised to see Rob had shot off too, his bare chest and belly covered with spatters of mancream that glistened in the afternoon sunlight. Tears also shone in Rob's eyes as he looked at Shane. Shane had not expected a reaction like that and might have ungagged Rob to question him. But as he pulled out, Mike came over and Shane noted that the man was fully dressed.
Having brought one another off, Mike and Tomas had readied themselves to go. Shane could see Tomas holding their horses. Shaking off the feeling that he was doing the wrong thing, Shane got dressed as Mike gave Rob the speech he had rehearsed. He told Rob their partnership was over and why, sparing no details of what his partners thought of him for his treatment of Shane as Mike unrigged the ropes and lowered Rob to the ground. Then he knelt to loosen the bonds that held Rob's left hand.
"There! With a little work you'll be free in no time. But we'll be long gone by then. And I'm warnin' you, don't follow us!"
As the others mounted their horses, Shane paused to look at Rob once more. He was working his left hand against the loose restraint, and it was giving. Shane fought the urge to say goodbye, chiding himself for still being sweet on Rob and turned his horse to follow Tomas and Mike. He half listened to their conversation as they rode, wondering if he would ever find a partner of his own half as good looking as Rob.
"So, where are we goin'?" asked Mike after they had left the camp far behind.
"North, into Oregon." Tomas answered.
"You heard of good diggin's up that way?"
"Yes, but there may be more than silver or gold there. We may find the heron men."
"But that's just a native myth!" Mike protested. "I love you, pard, but do I have to follow you on some wild goose chase? Or in this case, wild heron chase?"
"Heron men?" began Shane, distracted away from his reverie. "Who're they?"
Tomas began to explain, repeating the stories that circulated quietly throughout the Pacific northwest, about a mysterious Indian tribe who were protected by supernatural forces. The native myths about them were vague and confusing about where they might be found. Some stories spoke of an ancient adobe city perched on a ledge within a mysterious canyon. Other tales mentioned a lost valley hidden in a remote section of the Cascade Mountains. But that was not all. Shane's eyes widened as he heard the rest.
"They're like us?"
"All of them," Tomas went on. "All men who love men, who left the tribes of their birth to join together under the protection of spirits who favor men like them and us. And there are stories that say some white men have joined them as well. Let me tell you the tale of a Spaniard, Denys de Ulloa, who became a great chief of the heron men under the name Blue Badger."
Though Mike had heard Tomas' stories before, Shane listened in wonder to the saga of Blue Badger. This heron chief, who had come from a wealthy family of Spanish colonists, had a natural aptitude for magic and the supernatural. It was said he had been a mighty shaman, a master of great magickal skills. As Blue Badger grew in his understanding of the heron men's beliefs, his insights led him to uncover new ways of channeling the matchless energies evoked by the tribe's polyamorous lovemaking.
It was even rumored that he was on the verge of discovering the ultimate power of manlove, a force that could accomplish miraculous things! But, alas, death had taken Blue Badger before he could find the final piece of the puzzle. All knew the earth itself was influenced by the energy generated by the heron men's lovemaking, bringing forth the plants and animals they needed to survive in abundance. This influencing of the earth's energy/spirit/life force/whatever it was called, was the key, or so Blue Badger believed. No Elxa shaman since had solved the mystery he left for them.
But beyond the magic and the mysteries lay something thrilling to Shane. The revelation that there might actually be a place where men such as himself and Tomas and Mike could live openly and freely, as their man-loving selves, was incredible to him. Shane found himself eager to follow Tomas' lead and search for the legendary heron men.
They made a good ride while the summer sun's light slowly faded, following a trail that led to the northwest. It merged with another, larger one, and they turned onto it, traveling more nearly north. Not long afterwards, they passed a crudely lettered sign that welcomed them to Oregon territory. By then, the shadows lay long on the gravelly road.
"We will reach Upper Klamath Lake tomorrow," Tomas observed. "But we ought to find a place to camp tonight."
"Like over there?" pointed Mike.
His companions looked and saw a thin riband of smoke rising from among the trees in the distance. They quickly agreed among themselves to check it out. Whoever had made the fire would probably welcome them, as a larger group made for a safer camp.
They soon discovered a vague track leading off the main trail and followed it over a ridge and down into a small ravine. They spotted the fire which was the source of the smoke and rode slowly towards it. Tomas suspected it was not an Indian camp, for no native would have built such a conspicuous fire.
"Hello the camp!" Mike called.
"Who's there?" was the response. A white man showed himself, cautiously holding his rifle at the ready.
"Don't shoot! We're friendly!"
"Then you're welcome," he responded, watching as the three came closer. He was a man with dark hair and a beard, both grizzled with gray, apparently in his late-forties. "My name's Dan Epps." The others introduced themselves in return. "Make yourselves comfortable. My pardners went out huntin', but if they ain't back soon, I'm gonna settle for some jerky and a shot or three of whiskey!"
"Sounds good to me!" Mike returned merrily.
The trio moved to unsaddle their horses and hitch them alongside those of Dan and his fellow travelers. A rawhide rope had been strung up between two trees and the horses' leads were tied to the rope. Once the animals were taken care of, the prospectors and Dan moved to relax around the fire and began conversing like old friends.
After awhile Shane noticed that Tomas seemed on edge and wondered why. As far as he could see, Dan was proving to be a friendly sort, freely sharing what he knew about the trails north to the mines around the Upper Klamath Lake area. It turned out Dan had been a trapper in Oregon years before the coming of the wagon trains and knew the country between the Columbia River and the California border well.
"There you are!" Dan almost scolded as two others the same age as he came into camp a little later, a red headed white man and an Indian. The redhead, who also sported a grizzled beard, tossed a brace of gutted rabbits at Dan.
"We caught 'em, so you cook 'em!"
Dan picked the carcasses up with a disgusted look on his face. It was obvious he was not impressed by the hunters' prowess.
"I knew I shoulda gone huntin' instead of you!"
The redhead responded in French, and whatever he said, it did not sound very complementary. Dan just grinned at it and started cooking, setting the small carcasses up on forked sticks angled over the fire. The native squatted by the fire and spoke softly.
"And who are our guests?"
Again, introductions were made all around. The redhead was Yves Rebours and the native's name was Many Stars. Shane could not understand why Tomas seemed excited. He glanced at Mike, who appeared not to have noticed the state his partner was in. When Tomas went to get something from his saddlebags, Shane followed him.
"Is something wrong?" he whispered.
"No!" smiled Tomas. "Did you see what our hosts are wearing around their necks?"
"No, I didn't notice."
"They have pendants, with this sign engraved on them."
Tomas knelt and began to draw in the dust with his finger. Shane knelt too. He watched as a sinuous, curling glyph took shape.
"What is it?" Shane asked as his comrade finished. Tomas pointed at the mysterious symbol.
"It is the sign of the heron men."
"Oh! You mean those guys might be... "
"Yes, we are. We and our tribe are also known as the Elxa."
Tomas and Shane started and turned to see Many Stars standing over them. The native nodded at what Tomas had drawn and smiled.
"What do you know of us?"
"Tomas knows stories about you," Shane began, "but before today I had never heard of you."
"We would very much like to know more," added Tomas.
"The stories about Hunts-by-night, are they true?" Shane asked.
"Oh yes. I knew him well when I was a young man."
"So he's still around?"
"No, he left us over twenty years ago, but he promised to return someday." Many Stars gestured towards the others. "Come back to the fire, so we can all talk."
They followed Many Stars back to the others. Mike was more than a little astounded to learn their hosts were heron men, since he had pretty much thought Tomas was chasing shadows. For his part, Shane wondered aloud at their good fortune, chancing into meeting members of such a supposedly elusive and mythic group so soon after beginning to search for them. Dan and Yves chuckled softly while Many Stars smiled at Shane indulgently.
"We are not here by chance," the heron man murmured. "We were waiting for you."
"What?!"
"Our chief shaman, Ikukua, saw you coming to us in sacred dreams, given him by our tribal totems, spirits who protect men like us and show us men who are worthy of being brought into our brotherhood. You are such men. Ikukua sent us to guide you to him, so he could welcome you into our tribe." Then the native paused, looking a bit puzzled. "But Ikukua told us there would be four of you."
Tomas, Mike and Shane looked at each other with more than a little dismay.
"Rob?" Tomas puzzled. "But he never showed any interest in us or other men."
"But he never went with women either," Shane pointed out. "And there was something that happened in camp, something that made me wonder. I wanted to ungag him and ask him about it, but Mike didn't give me time."
"Ungag?" Yves asked, wide-eyed.
"What kinda games do you guys like to play together?" hooted Dan.
"Tell us what has happened," asked Many Stars.
The three prospectors took turns telling how they had met and about Rob's irritating behavior towards Shane. Shane refrained from mentioning the odd conversation he'd had with Rob that morning, when Rob tried to tell him about the dream he'd had concerning Shane, because Shane was distracted by a more than distressing thought. If the heron men had been waiting for all four of them, then that meant Rob was a man like Shane! Thoughts of lost opportunities suddenly haunted Shane. As the explanations progressed, the rabbits roasted to a turn and were distributed. The men were tossing the last scraps and bones on the fire as Mike finished the story.
" ...and we left him there. We rode until just before sunset, when we spotted the smoke of your fire and followed it here."
"This is unexpected," Many Stars murmured.
"I knew Mike's idea was bad," Tomas began, shaking his head. "Rob must have been hiding his true nature from us with macho bluster and crude humor. I have known many men who have acted so."
"We could go back... " Mike began. Shane interrupted him.
"Even if we could find him, he probably hates our guts now!" Shane spoke bitterly. He pulled his bandanna out and wiped his eyes. "Damn it to hell!"
"Shane? What is wrong, my brother?" Tomas asked, as startled as the others by Shane's words and actions.
"I liked Rob," he sniffed, "more than I wanted to admit because he was always ridin' me. If he'd only been more friendly to me, we might have... Oh hell!"
"Shane, Shane!" Tomas exclaimed, embracing his partner. "I did not know you felt like that! I would not have allowed Mike to do what he did if I had!"
"No," added Mike, shaken by Shane's revelation. "I wouldn't have done anything to Rob, if I'd known you liked him!"
"I know, but it's too late now." Shane mastered himself with an effort and got up. "I can't talk about this anymore, fellas. I'm turnin' in."
"May Mike and I join you later?"
"Sure." Shane managed a smile. "At least I still have you two."
"Yes, you do."
Tomas and Mike both kissed Shane before he left. Shane went to his pack and pulled out his bedroll. Spreading the blankets out on a grassy spot within sight of the fire, he laid down and tried to relax. He watched the others talking earnestly, their voices blending into a distant murmur that finally soothed him to sleep.
"Shane." A dulcet voice spoke out of the ebon void. "Shane MacMann."
"Huh... Tomas?"
Shane opened his eyes and saw bright sunshine. Wondering how he could have slept so long, the man sat up. It was then he realized something was wrong. His blankets, the horses, the camp, all were gone. He seemed alone and naked in the woods.
"Do not be afraid, Shane." The soothing voice sounded again. "You are safe here with me."
"Who's talkin' to me?" the prospector asked as he looked around himself.
Shane froze as he caught sight of an immense heron, taller than he, regarding the nude man with eyes that appeared to be balls of lavender flame, rolling and burning in its head. Despite the huge bird's formidable aspect, Shane did not feel threatened. But he did shake his head in a vain attempt to dispel what he was sure was a dream.
"You are indeed dreaming, Shane, but not in an ordinary way. In this sacred state, I can speak to you and show you many things. I am the chief of those spirits who have guided the heron men from their beginning. The Elxa have named me the Heron Spirit, but that is not important now," the magnificent bird informed the man. Shane wondered why he could seem to hear flutes playing when the Heron Spirit spoke. "What is important is that you do not fall into despair. You will have a another chance at happiness, Shane, if you want it."
"What do you mean?" Shane caught himself. "Are you talkin' about Rob?"
"Listen to your brothers, Many Stars, Dan and Yves. They have much to teach you." A breeze began to stir the leaves in the trees around Shane, then gusted, growing quickly into a wind. "Go back to them now, my brother."
"But... "
As Shane tried to form a question, the sudden wind swiftly freshened into a gale and blew leaves into his face. The sky grew dark and he heard someone crying out, as if in fear. It sounded distant at first, but rapidly grew louder.
Shane shielded his eyes against the flying dust and saw a sharp peaked mountain, spewing black ash and glowing lava. Then it changed and became a great black bear with wings of livid crimson flame. The supernatural beast turned its eyes towards Shane and the man saw they were pools of flaming magma, dripping molten tears that fell and solidified to form crystals that glittered like diamonds at its clawed feet. Shane gaped at this new apparition as the cries of fear, which he realized were not coming from the fantastic creature, continued.
"What are you? What's happenin'? Tell me... "
Shane started awake, and found himself sandwiched between Tomas and Mike. Mike was clutching at him in his sleep, whimpering softly. Shane put his arms around Mike, hugging him gently and tried to comfort him, but his friend continued to sound distressed, speaking disjoinedly as he dreamed.
"...please... I'm sorry... so sorry... it was just a joke... I didn't mean... I didn't know... don't make me watch anymore... it's so awful... please... please... "
"Mike," Shane shook the man lightly. "Mike, wake up. You're dreamin'."
"Oh God, Oh God!" Mike groaned as he opened his eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Tomas, roused by his bedmates.
"I think Mike had a nightmare."
"Oh no, no!" Shane felt Mike trembling in his arms as the man spoke. "It was a medicine dream!"
"A what?" asked Shane.
"After you turned in, Many Stars had us smoke a sacred pipe. He said we might dream and learn what the spirits of the Elxa wanted us to do." Tomas explained before turning to his partner. "What did you see?" He asked Mike, who was still trembling.
"It was terrible! A huge bear with burnin' eyes and wings of fire forced me to watch episodes from Rob's life. It made me sick. As a kid he had no mother, his father was a drunken bum who beat him and his older brothers, and they in turn used Rob for sex, forcin' him to service them. He finally ran away from home and fell in with a bad lot who were goin' west. Those guys raped Rob the first night and forced themselves on him all the way to California.
"When Rob was big enough to defend himself, he got away from those guys and started livin' on his own, though he didn't like bein' alone, because he was like us. He wanted friends he could be with as equals. Then he met us and liked us, you especially, Shane, but Rob had no experience lettin' guys know what he wanted in a friendly sort of way. His attempts all came out as bad jokes that we thought were abuse. So I went and... Oh, God! What did I do? I crushed him, humiliated him, after he'd worked so hard and did his best to get us to like him!"
"But you didn't rape him!" Shane breathed in shock. "I must've made Rob relive every degradation he'd ever suffered, every time he was helpless under some unfeelin' horny bastard who was just usin' his body to get off. And what's worse... he liked me, you say?"
"Yes."
Shane and Mike looked miserably at each other. Tomas hugged them both, trying to reassure them with the gesture.
"The heron men will know what to do. We'll tell them about Mike's dream in the morning. It sounds as if he saw Zoraxte... "
"Who?" asked Shane.
"He is another of the Elxa's totems, the spirit of their sacred mountain. Many Stars spoke of him after you turned in. He often appears as a winged bear and always leaves proof of his visits... " Tomas paused as if a thought had suddenly struck him. He sat up and ran a hand over the blankets that covered the trio.
"What are you lookin' for?" Mike asked.
"The proof... Ah!"
Tomas held something up, a small object that caught the light from the heron men's campfire. It glittered like a diamond. Shane and Mike felt about themselves as well and found more of the crystals, said by the Elxa to be the tears of Zoraxte, left wherever he appeared. After the tears had been gathered and set carefully aside, Tomas suggested they try to get some more sleep.
"I guess," Mike agreed, sounding as tired as he was upset.
"I need to find a tree," confessed Shane.
Leaving Mike and Tomas to cuddle up and relax back into sleep, Shane moved away, deeper into the woods that surrounded the camp. He decided to wait until morning before telling the others about his own dream of the Heron Spirit and Zoraxte. He thought less than optimistically about it as he stopped before a massive oak and freed his cock from his longjohns. As he relaxed and the soft hiss sounded of his piss flowing, Shane muttered distractedly to himself.
"How could I have a second chance with Rob now?" he sighed into the surrounding darkness as he shook his cock. "He must think I'm an absolute bastard, just another damned unfeelin' rapist he was forced to accommodate."
"I don't think that, Shane."
Shane jumped when he heard the whisper in the dark.
"Rob?" he breathed.
"Don't be afraid of me, Shane. I'd never hurt you. I just want to talk. But if you feel like Mike, I'll go and you'll never see me again."
"No, Rob, don't go," Shane said at once, reaching towards where he thought Rob was. Another hand found his, gave a warm squeeze, then tugged gently.
"Come over here, where we can sit."
A short walk took them to another clearing. A tiny fire, more coals than anything else, shed a pale reddish light over the camp Rob had covertly established near the heron men after defying Mike's warnings. As Shane's eyes adjusted, he saw Rob was in his longjohns as well. He sat on his blankets and pulled Shane down next to him. A muscular arm snaked around Shane's shoulder.
"Thank you for agreein' to listen to me, Shane. First off, lemme apologize... "
"If anyone has to apologize, it's me!" protested Shane. "My God, I raped you!"
"You didn't do anything I haven't been fantasizin' about ever since I met you. Truth be told, you're the handsomest guy I ever laid eyes on, Shane. I wish I'd told you that the first day we met." Rob paused. "I hope that doesn't bother you."
"Lord, no! I felt the same way about you, Rob, and that's the truth too. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to mess up our partnership... I was tired of prospectin' alone."
"I understand," Rob nodded. "I didn't want to be alone anymore myself. So I didn't say anything in case you guys weren't like me. I can't tell you how happy I am to find out we like the same things, Shane!"
"But," Shane wondered, "I thought you looked scared back there in our old camp, when I was fixin' to... "
"I'd never seen that tool of yours fully hard, Shane! I've only taken one like it before, and its owner was... well, he was a 'damned rapist', as you said. He didn't care whether I liked it or not, took me rough and left me feelin' sick and afraid he'd ripped me open inside. So, hell yeah I was scared." Rob paused and looked at Shane in a puzzled manner. "Why did you say that, Shane? How could you know I'd been abused like that?"
"It's sort of a long story, Rob, involvin' these guys we ran into, the heron men... "
"That's a myth!" exclaimed Rob.
"You've heard of them too?"
"Anyone who kicks around this country long enough, especially guys like us, will hear about them. The 'mysterious tribe' made up only of Indians who are 'that way'... You've met some of them?"
"Yes, the other men here."
"Well I'll be! But wait and tell me about it later. Gettin' back to what you did to me, I want you to know you weren't anything like that other guy, Shane. You were so gentle... " Rob's other arm came up and he hugged Shane to him as he spoke. Shane felt the big man shudder as his voice caught, betraying his emotions. "I never thought sex could feel so good, Shane. You went in slow, let me get used to it, then you were movin' inside me so smooth and powerful, I felt so full and so warm and so glad it was you doin' it to me, and then, I don't know how, but I came without touchin' myself. That's never happened to me before, Shane."
"But you were cryin' when I was done. Why?"
"Wouldn't you, if you were told the man who'd just made you feel better than you ever had in your whole life was leavin' and never comin' back? But what you said to me made me think maybe you didn't absolutely hate me, like Mike, so I followed your trail, hopin' I could speak to you again."
"Mike doesn't hate you. In fact, right now he's torn up inside about what he did to you, because of a medicine dream he had... "
"A what?"
"The heron men believe the spirits they honor talk to them sometimes, in special dreams."
Shane repeated what Mike had told him about his dream, or rather, nightmare. Rob nodded gravely, confirming the scenes Mike had glimpsed from Rob's own life. Then Shane described the dream he had experienced. Rob nodded again as he replied.
"That must have been what happened to me."
"When?"
"Do you remember the dream I had about you, the one I tried to tell you about?"
"Yeah."
"The night before, I had a dream that felt more real than any I'd ever experienced before. I found myself lyin' in our camp, but the camp was gone and I was naked and alone. I was wonderin' where you and the others were when another naked guy showed up and started talkin' with me. He was an Indian and he said his name was Ikukua... "
"That's the name of the heron men's shaman!" Shane gasped. "The others told us that earlier!"
"Huh! Well, Ikukua didn't identify himself to me as a heron man." Rob shook his head. "Anyway, he knew how I felt about you and told me if I wanted you for a lover I was goin' about it all wrong. Ikukua suggested I ought to be honest and just tell you about my feelin's, soon, 'cause there wasn't much time left. He said something important was about to happen."
"Old man Anson's offer to buy us out?"
"Or maybe your runnin' into the heron men. If the stories I've heard are even half true, I'd want to stay and learn more about them. If Mike will let me, that is."
"Believe me, Rob, Mike doesn't hate you. He just didn't like the way you treated me."
"The guys I've been around all my life were like that, relatin' by fightin' and insultin' each other. I thought you'd be the same as them, laugh and insult me back, but you ignored me, so I tried more insults. It was the only way I knew. Then I had that... "
"Medicine dream?" prompted Shane when Rob hesitated.
"Yeah," Rob nodded, "and Ikukua told me I was doin' all the wrong things. I wanted to tell you, but I always got so darned tongue tied whenever I tried to talk to you."
"Well, I'm listenin' now."
"Okay, well... I think I'm in love with you, Shane. How do you feel about me?"
"I think I feel the same."
Rob sighed and his arm hugged Shane closer.
"Would you... stay with me then? See if we can work it out?"
"Yes, Rob." Shane breathed, hugging the bigger man back.
"Er, what about Mike and Tomas?"
"Let's worry about them tomorrow."
"Okay. You want me to guide you back to your camp?"
"No." Shane relaxed against Rob and rested his head on the other's shoulder as his hands slipped inside Rob's longjohns and felt the smooth shaven, muscular flesh within. "I'd rather sleep with you, if you'll let me."
"God, I was so hopin' you'd say that!" Rob breathed in heartfelt relief as he lowered his lips to Shane's. Rob felt the intensely masculine sensation of another beard meshing with his own as they shared their first kiss. The first of many firsts that night...
Shane awoke near dawn with Rob spooned into his back. He just lay there, enjoying the memories of the past night as they slowly came back to him. Rob had proven to be a thoughtful and considerate lover, despite all his negative experiences. Miraculously, the cruelties of the past had not marred him and Rob still had hope that he could find a deep, gentle and abiding love with another man. And he hoped that man would be Shane.
Rob stirred and Shane stroked his arm. Both encircled him in a warm and intimate hug. A soft whisper blew like a tender caress across Shane's ear.
No more vague dreams, nor dull, aching desires; their time is done. The man I've waited for has come! My life begins anew, here, with the world in my arms...
"What was that?" Shane returned quietly, wondering. Had Rob sung to him, as the heron men were said to do when moved by love?
"I don't know." Rob wondered at himself as he paused to kiss the back of Shane's neck. "A prayer maybe? To those spirits who are supposed to follow the heron men around? I guess I still can't quite believe that you really are here in my arms."
Shane wanted to reassure Rob at once, but before he knew it the words came out as Rob's had, in a soft, easy cadence, prompted by an inner, peaceful feeling, mysterious, powerful and sweet.
Believe it, pardner, believe your eyes and arms. I'm here, right here, where I belong, here to stay...
"Pardner... " Rob's voice caught on the word for a moment. "I love you, pard... "
"I love you... "
Shane turned within the circle of his man's arms to face Rob. The pair's hard cocks bumped up against each other as they kissed. They fell easily into another bout of sex, growling and gasping out their desire for one another as passions rose until they broke forth in wave after wave of white, sticky manhoney.
Afterwards, they lay exhausted in each other's arms, watching the heavens above them. The dawn sky was a hollowed out pearl which brightened by slow degrees into a gorgeous azure, mottled by a few fleecy clouds rolling overhead. The muted calls of unseen birds going about their morning business added to the pair's relaxed mood, which was abruptly shattered by a jarring cry of another kind, reverberating through the woods.
"Shaaaaaane!"
Both men jumped in alarm, then laughed at each other. Donning his longjohns, Shane went back to the heron men's camp, leaving Rob to pack and prepare to join him. He found the others standing around the campfire looking worried, until Shane showed himself. When Dan caught sight of the impressive bulge running down one leg of Shane's longjohns, he visibly started and an itch very familiar to the man began to make itself known to him in his backside.
"Damn!" Dan muttered. "I've gotta get that studhorse into my blankets!"
"I hope you'll let me join in too!" Yves managed, laughing at his lover's distraction, but also intrigued by what he could see of Shane.
"Where the Sam Hill have you been all night?" demanded Mike.
"With Rob," Shane answered nonchalantly as he pulled on his pants and adjusted his suspenders. "What's for breakfast?" he went on in the same easy vein as he stepped into his boots. "Is that coffee I smell?"
Mike just gaped at him, like the others. But Tomas put aside his surprise first and spoke up next.
"Rob's not angry at us?"
"No. We talked it out. We're gonna be pardners now, he and I, see how it pans out. So if you still want me to stick with you and Mike, you'll have to put up with Rob, too."
"I can do that," Tomas agreed.
Before Mike could respond, Rob came out of the forest, leading his laden horse. Mike slumped a little in defeat. He went up to Rob and spoke, closing his eyes.
"Go ahead, Rob, punch me. I deserve it."
The others watched in mounting alarm as Rob reached out and took his time posing Mike's jaw in preparation for a devastating blow.
"You ready?" he growled.
"Yeah."
"Good!" Rob laughed as he bearhugged Mike. "Gotcha!"
"No, I'm serious!" he gasped in Rob's tight embrace. "I deserve to be punished for what I did to you."
"Well, I forgive you! Take it like a man!"
"Hell, Rob, I'd say you ought at least give Mike what you got!" Dan urged. "Truss him up, shave him bare and let us play with him awhile!"
"Well, I do still have the restraints... " Rob admitted when he saw Mike's eyes widen in alarm once he heard Dan's suggestion.
"Maybe I ought to borrow them," chuckled Yves, looking at his lover, "to use on you!"
"Aww! You're always makin' me promises you don't keep!"
"I take it you're the heron men Shane told me about," Rob said.
"Yes," Many Stars answered. "And now that we have all four of you, we can begin our journey to the home of our shaman, Ikukua. After we all have had something to eat, of course."
Many Stars gestured towards the fire as he spoke. The others began to take seats around it as Yves poured more coffee. Dan checked the pan of biscuits he was cooking.
"Is Ikukua's home far from here?" Tomas asked.
"Three days' travel, perhaps four. There is no reason to hurry." Many Stars responded.
"And maybe reason to dally someplace along the way for some play." winked Yves.
"Yeah. We could stop at that hot spring we found on our way here. It'd be a good place to try out those restraints!" Dan grinned meaningfully at Mike over the edge of his coffee cup as he spoke.
While the others chuckled at Mike's reaction to Dan's playful threat, Shane leaned closer to Rob.
"You do wanna go with us, don't you?" he asked quietly.
Rob reached over and stroked Shane's back lovingly as he answered.
"Of course, pard. I'd like to learn more about the heron men. But even if I didn't, I'd still come along. Anywhere you go, I go, from now on."
They kissed to seal the bargain.
THE END
of Payback
the 3rd prequel to the series
'The Way Of The Heron'
by C. T. Creekmur
Copyright (c) 2009 by Charles T. Creekmur
"All Rights Reserved"
submitted to www.nifty.org 1/8/2009