Hunter No More

Chapter Three

In the room he shared with his wife, Keith sat at the foot of the bed dreading his meeting with Josella.

"Are you going?" Anna asked quietly. She was lying behind him wrapped snugly in the duvet. They had finished dinner four hours previously and it was getting late.

"Yes," he said, turning to her. "I have to."

She reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. It was a warm hand, and it slid over to his neck and then beneath his shirt collar.

"No, you don't," she said.

He reached up and pressed his fingers against hers. "I need to. It's been three years and besides, she has access to all the planetary communications traffic. I'd like to know what's coming."

Anna nodded, but Keith noted her reluctance. She didn't want him to go.

"Don't worry, I'll come back."

She leaned in. "I don't like sharing you with her."

"Hey," he said. "You aren't sharing me with anyone. Josella and I are... connected, but not like you and I. It's different."

"I know."

"I wasn't always your husband," he said, taking hold of her hand. "But I am your husband now."

Anna closed her eyes. "Just go then, Kanton."

Keith flinched. "I'm not Kanton."

Anna shook her head. "No, it's Kanton that going out to visit her, just make sure it's Keith that comes back."

He nodded obediently. "I will always come back." He kissed her forehead. "So, what about your brother?"

"Oh," she buried her head in the pillows. "He's just with her to get at you. She's with him to get at you. It's all about you. You're very important."

"I'm flattered." He reached for the borrowed overcoat hanging on the back of a chair and pulled it on over his borrowed shirt. He didn't like being in Roger's debt.

"She makes things so complicated," Anna said wistfully.

He kissed her again. "Things are complicated," and headed for the doorway.

"Give Josella my regards," Anna called after him.

"I will."

"And tell her, if she hurts my brother I'll hunt her down and erase her from existence."

He turned around and grinned. "Erasure? Hmmm."

"From existence," Anna repeated slowly.

"Poor Josella," Keith said. "Good night, Anna." He walked outside, closing the door behind him.

Around him the house was silent, illuminated only by the dimmest of light globes. He stepped softly down the stairs and across the hall, allowing himself a final backward glance as he pulled open the front door and walked out into the night.

There was a chill wind blowing in from the sea as he walked down the hill. It never ceased to amaze him how this part of Borealis could be so hot during the day and yet so cold at night. He always found it difficult to adjust. Reaching the foot of the hill he turned left, leaving the road to walk across the stony dry shrub-land that ran parallel to the coast. It would take him an hour to reach that deserted beach on the north side of the island, just an hour, the darkness deepening like an all encompassing cloak as he left civilisation behind. It was not a problem, his enhanced vision warning him in advance of the local four-legged wildlife. Even if it hadn't, the strange animals parted before him, startled by his unexpected approach.