Page 24 of New Storm Rising
After a wonderful journey filled with vomit, I finally felt Mr Ambrose tap on my shoulder. Glancing up from the dusty road whizzing past the window, I saw it. The shadowy forms of houses in the distance were silhouetted against the sunrise. Small, wooden houses, with bushes scattered in between being bent here and there by the wind. Strange…why weren’t there any people around? Was this a ghost town?
Just then, I spotted a crooked wooden sign a dozen or so yards ahead.
Tomb Gloom[10]
Welcome to our cheerful little town!
Population:
Above ground – 346
Six feet under – 7477
Ah. So, not a ghost town.
Yet.
But then, where was everyone? Either they had decided to flee town, which, knowing that Mr Rikkard Ambrose was coming, might not be such a far stretch, or…
That was when I saw them. A big crowd, several hundred people, all gathered around a podium set up at the side of the road. There were several dignified-looking men gathered atop the platform, under a big banner that read “Welcome, Guests of Honour”.
“So…are they expecting us, Mr Ambrose, Sir?” I enquired.
He didn’t say anything in return. But to judge by the cold sparkle in his sea-coloured eyes, I had not guessed correctly. Before I got a chance to ask another question, the coach rolled to a stop in front of the podium, and one of the men, a fancy-dressed Hispanic fellow in his twenties, strode to the front with a swagger in his step.
“Welcome! Welcome, our most noble, royal guests and company! My heart is filled with joy, now sat you have finally graced sis little town wis your presence. Señor Maximo Emilio Reyes Espiridion Victor De La Fuente, Señor Francisco Enrico Ronaldo Damian De Ravera, my honoured friends, I, along with every single citizen of this town, am grateful from se bottom of my heart sat you have come all sis way from distant Spain in order to assist us in our troubles. And se troubles are severe indeed. Our families, who have been rightfully granted sis beautiful piece of country by se government, are slowly but surely being driven out by evil especulators and profiteers. We must estand fast, my friends! Together, we shall join hands and estand as an impenetrable bulwark against se greedy ambitions of the fiend that is Rikkard Ambro—”
Just then, the door of the coach swung open.
The young Hispanic man’s words ended in a croak, his jaw hitting the floor.
“You were saying, Señor Navarro?” Mr Rikkard Ambrose enquired.
“You!” Navarro hissed. “What areyoudoing here?”
I didn’t know how exactly, but I got a sudden feeling that Señor Claudio Navarro wasn’t very fond of my husband. Call it female intuition.
“Were you expecting someone else?” Mr Ambrose enquired, cocking his head.
A wicked grin spread across the young man’s face. “You could say sat! If you value your skin,maldito británico, you had better run back to where you came from. Who do you sink we’ve prepared sis feast for? We’re waiting for two most honourable guests. Honourable and powerful. Unless you want to suffer se consequences, slink back to England! The mighty personages sat are set to arrive are not men sat ordinary people can afford to challenge!”
Mr Ambrose raised his eyebrow about half a millimetre. “Indeed?”
Then he simply turned around and walked away.
I had to hand it to him. Mr Rikkard Ambrose knew how to make an exit.
There was just one problem…
“Hey! Wait for me!” I leapt out of the coach, ignoring the stares of the other passengers. Bloody man! Marching away and leaving me behind? “Let me get my luggage and—”
“Karim!” A snap of a finger and a flick of his hand was enough command. Before I could blink, Karim already had both of my big suitcases clutched under one arm.
“Hey! Give me those! I can carry them myself.”
Karim glanced at me, his eyes resting on my abdomen for a moment. “I decline. I am a man of valour, but I value my life too much for that.”
Then he turned away and marched after his employer.
