The Road to Port Haven - Page 109/110

'Just tell me what happened, at the very end.'

'There's not much to tell,' he told her. 'You were found on the floor, unconscious . . . there was a dead man laying on top of you.'

'And?'

He looked uncomfortable, but she persisted.

'What is it? What aren't you telling me?'

'When they found you . . . there was an empty revolver in your hands, and a dozen men laying dead on the floor. There was one other revolver laying by the door. Like yours, it was empty- it seemed to have been dropped in haste.'

Kara frowned. 'I don't remember . . . anything.'

'Good! Now go back to sleep. We're going back home first thing in the morning.'

'I'm sorry . . . for bringing all this-'

'Don't,' he said quietly, placing the back of his hand against her cheek. 'The people of Isla Fiero are better for having vanquished Evil and Tyranny. They are proud and they are free, and you, however inadvertantly, provided them with an opportunity to prove themselves yet again-'

'But all those people- dead . . .'

'We lost only a handful-'

'What?'

'This is Isla Fiero, after all,' he told her. 'At least, to our enemies. To us it is Port Haven and a place of peace and freedom, but to those who would try to take it from us- beware.'

'I'll settle for a quiet life at the Casa,' she murmured, drifting off once more. 'And dirt between my toes, and a nice cool glass of lemonade . . .'