DISCLAIMER: The main characters in this story do not belong to me. Ezra and Maude belong to MGM and Trilogy Entertainment. The concept of immortality belongs to Rysher: Panzer/Davis. I am not profiting off this story.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's not betaed, but it's not long either.
Crossover with Highlander. This is part 4. Previous parts were The Bankrobber and the Kid, The Conwoman and the Child and The Child and the Cardgame. I'm still writing more stories in this universe, a minimum of five with different POVs and different lengths. Still, it's open for any of Ezra's ages under the age I'm currently at.
RATING: some cursing and some Highlander-type violence
COMMENTS: This story is my answer to why Maude is always leaving Ezra with relatives.
Maude hastened her pace, dragging Ezra along with her. Her eyes searched the street, looking for the immortal she could feel. This was the third time in two days she had felt him. It was now a certainty that she was being stalked.
It had been a while since she had fought an immortal. Lately she used any means necessary to avoid a battle of swords. Partly because the latest women's dress-sense was not conducive to extensive movement. But mostly because she didn't want to leave Ezra unprotected and alone. Still, she had killed two immortals in the five years she had spent with the child so far. Both had been accidental encounters.
Unfortunately it didn't seem likely that this immortal was going to disappear any time soon. An immortal that would rather stalk an opponent than challenge him or her openly was never a good sign. It suggested a lack of fair play. There was no guarantee that the challenger would obey the rules of the Game, if he didn't stick to convention in the first place.
Not that the conwoman was all that strict on observing the rules herself. She had noticed early on, that it was always wise to keep an advantage. It was a rule she had since applied in numerous different situations. But for immortal combat it meant that nowadays she carried a gun, the same way she used to carry several throwing knives on her person in the time before guns had become small enough to easily conceal.
The high-pitched humming in her nerves ebbed away. Apparently the hunter was not yet ready to take her on. That was too bad for him, but Maude had absolutely no intention of waiting until the man was ready. She had begun making preparations to leave town yesterday, but had delayed the actual leaving until she knew for sure that the two brushes had not been a coincidence.
And with this latest near miss she had given up on wishful thinking.
Immediately upon arrival at the hotel, she set events in motion to get her and Ezra out of town as soon as possible. First things first.
"Ezra, go to our room and get the suitcases. We will be leaving within the hour."
Ezra looked as if he wanted to say something, but Maude was not in the mood for dallying and apparently he could read that in her face. He changed the words at the last second.
"Yes, Mother."
Maude nodded briskly and set out to obtain the carriage she had hired. The plan was to ride to the train station and buy three separate sets of tickets. Let's leave the malignant bastard guessing as to where they were going.
The immortal woman spent quite some time instructing the stable- hands, since she was certainly not riding to the train station in the dirt-filled, flea-ridden carriage they presented to her. It was anyone's guess what ignorant peasant had ridden it last, but it certainly wouldn't do for a woman of her class.
Therefore it took her over thirty minutes to start questioning Ezra's absence. The boy wasn't usually that slow. Maude and Ezra had left other places in a hurry over the years, when some unfortunate fool had felt slighted by her machinations. Maude abhorred leaving her winnings behind in such instances and she had been delighted to note that Ezra was becoming quite good at sneaking in and out of their hotel-rooms without being seen. Only the fact that Maude felt thievery was below their standards kept her from using the boy's God- given talents for that particular purpose.
In any case Ezra should have been back by now. Suddenly cold fear gripped her. What if the boy had run into the miscreant responsible for their hasty departure? Maude briskly told the stable-hands to finish their preparations and hurried towards their room.
Once inside her fears were confirmed. Her suitcase lay open on the bed, and there was no sign of Ezra in the immediate vicinity. What was there, was an ominous looking note.
Maude told herself firmly that there was no sense in hesitating to read it. If the worst had happened as seemed to be the case here, she would rather be prepared for it.
Maude Simpson,
Run, and I'll kill the boy. Meet me five alleys behind the hotel.
No signature. She still didn't know who she was dealing with. Maude briefly considered her chances. They weren't very good. She had never dealt with a hostage situation before, but it was bound to distract her from the fight.
And there was another problem. There was no guarantee that Ezra was even still alive. After all, he was pre-immortal and therefore a prize on his own. She gambled that the hunter would rather have two heads than one, but she couldn't be sure. Still, if there was even the slightest chance that Ezra was still amongst the living, she had to meet this challenger head on. And at least she had more time to prepare now.
Maude grabbed into her suitcase and started changing into something a bit more battle-worthy. Let's see, she still had that set of stableboy's clothing somewhere from that time she had snared that rich Mr. Kinsley who loved his twenty horses so much.
Fifteen minutes later she was standing in the alley mentioned in the note.
And so was her challenger. Maude assessed him quickly. He had a foot in height on her, but his build was rather slender. Most male immortals were stronger than she was, and this one would not be an exception. The problem arose from the fact that she usually relied on her speed, but judging from his build this man was also fast.
While part of her was calculating odds and not getting very positive results, Maude's swiftly darting eyes sought for any sign of Ezra. There was none.
"The boy's in the cellar of the building on your right." The man grinned. "He was supposed to be just insurance. I didn't count on him being pre-immortal though. I bet he'll make a nice second course."
The conwoman knew the other immortal was trying to goad her into making a mistake in anger. She had pulled off much better cons in her day, so she was certainly not going to fall for this pathetic attempt. Ezra was either dead or alive, there was nothing she could do about that right now, and it would only distract her.
"Do I get a name to go with this challenge, sir?" She asked coolly, with a perfect poker face.
The man raised an eyebrow. "You're one cold bitch, aren't you? It's Anthony Tremain."
And with that he attacked.
It didn't take more than five minutes to tell Maude she had been right in her assessment. Anthony was as fast as she was and he had a longer reach and stronger arms. This battle was going to be very difficult to win if she played by the rules. But why should she? The man had no right to drag Ezra into this.
They locked swords again, and she kicked out with one leg. He stumbled backward and she followed through with a slash to the neck. Anthony shifted sideways and her sword sliced into his left shoulder. Unfortunately that was not his sword arm, but it would still hinder him.
But instead of protecting his wounded side as she expected, the immortal charged her and this time it was Maude who had to move backwards rapidly. Luck was not on her side today, as she stepped into a bit of uneven road and twisted her left ankle. She lost her balance and fell.
Anthony's sword hit hers and they both watched her blade spin away, the sun glinting off the metal. Then the immortal turned back to her, an evil grin crossing his face as he put his sword to Maude's neck.
"Don't worry. Your brat will join you soon enough." He taunted.
Anthony raised his sword for the final swing…
And dropped it as he looked with wide eyes down on the woman who had just shot him through the heart with the derringer she had hidden in the shirt she was wearing.
Maude narrowed her eyes at him in contempt.
"You shouldn't have touched my son!"
The immortal fell down like a log.
The conwoman didn't dawdle. She quickly fetched her sword and beheaded the miscreant before he had the chance to revive. The quickening was short but intense. Apparently Anthony Tremain hadn't been all that old, but he had taken a lot of heads.
Afterwards Maude pulled the body out of immediate sight. It didn't matter to her if the law found him. She would be long gone by nightfall.
That done, she finally came to the task she dreaded most. She had to find Ezra. Judging from what the bastard had said to her, the odds were good that he was still alive. But it was that small chance that he had lied that made her afraid of what she would find. After all, Ezra's abduction had no purpose but to get Maude to fight. There was no good reason to keep him alive until after she died.
With a heavy heart Maude entered the basement.
"Ezra?" She called.
A clanging sound caught her attention, and she rushed towards the corner it originated from. She laughed in relief as she found Ezra sitting alive and well behind some boxes. His hands were bound together with shackles and he had a cloth in his mouth.
"Well, I see I'll have to teach you how to get out of these." She smiled with tears in her eyes as she knelt to release him. As soon as he was free, Ezra burrowed into her arms, crying. Maude comforted him with soft shushing sounds for the first time since Cory had left him in her care, as he babbled incoherently about what had happened.
Finally Ezra pulled back and stared at her with teary green eyes and a bewildered look on his face.
"Mother, what are you wearing?"
Later that night Maude stared out the train window. Ezra was peacefully asleep leaning against her, apparently unwilling to let go just yet. The immortal's thoughts were troubled as she watched the landscape pass her by swiftly.
She had always known there was a certain risk to raising a pre- immortal, but the point had never been driven home before. The fact that she travelled from city to city greatly increased the chances that she would meet other challengers, other hunters who wouldn't hesitate to use Ezra against her. She couldn't allow a repeat of the recent events until the boy was old enough to be able to defend himself properly. There was only one choice really.
"Ezra, dear. I think it's time you visited your Aunt Esther." She stated softly to herself.
She would tell him in the morning.
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