Renegades And Revenge: Daughters 0f HBH (Half Breed Haven Book 8)

by A. M. Van Dorn

  Her boots were inundated, and the water was rising as her sisters gave another mighty tug yanking her free from the water as the monstrous deluge roared below her. A shot from Cafferty's gun grazed her holster. With one hand on the rope, she used the other to pull free one of her Colt. 45's and let fly a single shot. Cafferty's chest exploded in a spray of crimson a split second before the crushing flood of water reached him, and he disappeared into the watery maelstrom in a splash of red liquid.

  As she rose higher towards the branch, the rope was looped over she observed Jeffries's mad scramble up the rock sides of the gully. To her amazement, he had actually managed to latch onto a tree root at the very top of the gully and was seconds away from pulling himself out and into the strip of forest that rose from the v-like rock formation that separated the higher gully from the ravine where their buckboard rested. Jefferies luck ran out as the cascade of water of the rapidly draining pond jumped the banks of either side of the gully and carried away the screaming outlaw into the tidal surge. The entire gorge was now a roaring waterfall and unseen by Cassie beneath the water inside the torrent Jeffries's head slammed into a boulder underneath the water snapping his neck instantly.

  Cassandra reached out and latched onto the branch and pulled herself into the tree. Below her she could hear Catalina shouting that the while the tree they were using was elevated enough not to be affected by the rising water that had jumped the bank on their side as well, there was still danger to be had. The edge of the gully below the tree was rapidly eroding and collapsing into the surging waters. Wasting no time, she began scaling the tree downwards, going as fast as she could, dropping a couple of branches at a time until at last she was reunited with Honor and Cattie.

  Above Lijuan stood at the edge of where the dam and the totem rock once stood and with her hands cupped to the sides of her mouth she was shouting down at them as loud as she could.

  “Get the hell up here now! Move! Now!”

  The trio turned to run towards up the sloping rise to get back up to the edge of the rapidly draining pond. Above them, the tree that had served them so well began to sway as the earth beneath it holding its mighty roots in place for decades started to fall away in the crazy turbulence of water that only minutes ago had been a gently flowing stream. They had just taken a few steps when one of the roots burst through the ground as the tree began teetering. Honor's foot caught on one, and she went flying face first into the ground with a yelp.

  Cassandra and Catalina spun around in unison, each with alarm in their eyes as behind them, the piece of ground Honor was laying on was sliding way accompanied by geysers of water shooting in the air. Catalina launched herself into action by unclipping her bullwhip from her waist and snaking it out, allowing Honor to seize a deathlike grip on it. With Cattie’s well-developed muscles in her arms having felt no fatigue even after pulling Cassie up earlier, she easily yanked Honor Elizabeth to safety as the earth she was on was swept away in a fury.

  “Gratitude!” Honor managed to pant out as she struggled to her feet and the trio dashed up to the waiting Lijuan. Behind them their ears caught the sound of a hellacious crashing noise as the tree finished topping over, its length spanning from one side of the gully to the other but most of it free from the water. The Wildes only allowed themselves a quick look at it before they turned their attention to the pond.

  Cassandra was standing tall with a knowing grin on her face as what she had hoped for when she came up with the plan continued to unfold, despite the totem rock nearly derailing the entire plan when it had momentarily faltered. Only later with her eyes as wide as saucers would she hear Lijuan's tale about throwing her hammer in anger at the smaller bolder and the extraordinary occurrence that had followed.

  Now in the final part of her plan, the pond was draining so rapidly the receding waters had now exposed a shoreline previously under water. If they stayed close to where the water's edge had previously been where it had been the rockiest, as opposed to the muddier it got further from shore, they should be able to run to the far side of the diminishing pond easily. There they would find the trail that Jim had told Cassie made a circuitous route down the mountain but would indeed lead to Clayton's Hollow. They paused only long enough for Lijuan to scoop up her hammer and they set out at a dead run around the curvature of the vanishing pond.

  CHAPTER 12

  Standing close to the edge of the cabin door the trio of men had witnessed the chaos unfold in stark silence. They had watched the black wall of water rife with mud, logs, and men crash its way out from the gully in its headlong charge towards the abyss that lay beyond the edge of the cliff, claiming the bodies of the Stevens Brothers and the just mounted stakes as well.

  Stalking Wolf watched silently as the head of the only one of his warriors who had not drowned or been crushed outright in the rocky gully when the clever women had found a way to decimate his forces, bobbed above the raging column of water. Daring Fox was as brave a man as he had ever met, in fact, he had been one of his fellow Chiricahua who had left their tribe to join forces with the Omegas years earlier when their own tribe had sued for peace to end tribal warfare in the region. This peace was to be one brokered by the hated pony soldiers at Fort McCallister. Among that group had been a young lieutenant named Dutch Wilde. Stalking Wolf's encounter with Wilde had not ended as it should have with the man's head split in two under his tomahawk. Instead, he had suffered humiliation at the hands of Wilde. Joining Black Hawk had been almost preordained by the Great Spirit as the leader of the Omegas also shared a hatred for the Wildes.

  A lowering of his eyes was the only emotion Stalking Wolf displayed as the screaming Daring Fox rocketed out into the void with the rest of the water. His friends was not a warrior's death but one without honor and would be another tally to add to the score against the Wilde family. He continued to remain silent as the scope of the water increased way beyond the riverbed until it was less than a foot away from where they stood near the cabin.

  He looked up at the twin gulley's and saw how water was cascading down from the higher one into, the lower one, lifting the buckboard and its tethered cargo of dead horses up, and it began floating in their direction. Behind him, he heard a shout from Swift Elk, and he turned to see DeVries dash around the side of the cabin. Stalking Wolf shouted for Swift Elk to do nothing as he yanked his prized weapon from his rawhide belt.

  Years ago, when he had won a massive victory for the Omegas Black Hawk bestowed upon him a wooden club carved from the hardwood of a mesquite tree. With pride, Black Hawk had told him that it wasn't just any club but one that had been given by his father to his brother Red Hawk who had died in battle. Red Hawk, the brother that Stalking Wolf knew had left behind the woman that Black Hawk had long coveted, a widow who after burying her grief had done the unthinkable. After taking up with the proud warrior, who had been raising her daughter, his own niece, she had spurned him…for a white man…one William Henry Wilde. Worse yet she had borne the white eyes the child Blue River, brother to these accursed women and Stalking Wolf's hated enemy Dutch Wilde.

  As a freshly mounted DeVries emerged from the side of the cabin urging his horse into a full gallop hoping to make the trail they had taken through the woods to reach the isolated cabin, Stalking Wolf, not to be hurried carefully aimed and with perfect timing honed from years of battle threw the club. End over end it spun through the air until the bulbous, round head of the war club struck DeVries squarely in the back.

  If the club hadn't handily knocked the wind out of him, his toppling from the horse and landing flat on his back surely had. DeVries lay there, his head cocked to one side and watched at an odd angle as Swift Elk corralled his horse and Stalking Wolf strode over to him with a slow, deliberate pace, scooping up his war club along the way that now swung at his side.

  Oh, god no! Not here, not like this!

  DeVries fought to regain his breath and make a feeble attempt to stand when Stalking Wolf reached him. With glassy eyes DeVries
looked up, expecting the Omega to raise the club and smash his head in like some rotten pumpkin. As if on cue, the red man did indeed raise the club high. DeVries closed his eyes, the only sound he could hear was the roar of the Wilde manufactured waterfall as the deluge plunged down the thousand-foot drop to the bottom of the cliff.

  When nothing happened, and death hadn't arrived, slowly he opened one eye and then the other to see Stalking Wolf still standing over him, the club no longer raised and now he was joined by Swift Elk at his side. They began speaking in the incomprehensible language that belonged to these strange, terrifying people that roamed the continent long before the Vikings or Christopher Columbus had ever made landfall. Swift Elk was nodding solemnly and there even seemed to be a hint of sadness on his face. Quickly that was replaced by a look of pure hatred as he reached down and grabbed the front of DeVries coat.

  A second later he found himself being yanked to his feet by the strong brave. Still, the man said nothing as Stalking Wolf laid a hand on the man's shoulder and gave a final nod before disappearing around to where the horses were mounted. A few minutes later, slowly the Omega leader rode around the corner with the horses of the all the dead men tied behind his horse and brought his convoy to a stop. He watched, as did Swift Elk and DeVries as the buckboard floated past the cabin, its cargo bed full of supplies and travel bags belonging to the four sisters. In an instant, lead the way by the dead team of horses, it disappeared into the void beyond the edge of the waterfall. A few seconds later the concussive sound of shattering and buckling wood as it splintered into bits far below reached the men's ears.

  Saying nothing more Stalking Wolf circled his horse around and reached into a bag and retrieved one of the Wilde sister's pistols he had had been gifted earlier and handed it to Swift Elk. Then kicking the sides of his horse, he began moving again and disappeared around the back of the cabin, up the slope into the forest, guiding the horses in the only direction that wasn't cut off from either a thousand-foot drop or the churning river of water.

  Slowly, DeVries looked at the last Indian from the party of Omegas. His breath had come back to him, but his body still quaked at what was to come. He had no idea what it would be, but he did know for sure that it would be nothing good.

  “What…what are you going to do with me?” he managed to stammer, eying the pistol nervously.

  “We ride white man.” Swift Elk said without emotion as he shoved the gun into his belt.

  “Where?”

  “To our deaths.”

  CHAPTER 13

  As they trudged along the winding trail heading down Topaz, the four women kept up a good pace. They doubted they were being followed as they had eliminated most of their enemies but putting as much distance between them and any Omegas that might have remained was the safest bet.

  Suddenly they found themselves surprised to see a horse standing in the middle of the trail. It had been the same one they had heard earlier and the one that had first alerted Cassie that something was up at the getaway cabin. Apparently, it had been wandering aimlessly through the woods until it had happened upon this trail. Without saying a word to the others, Honor Elizabeth strode over to the horse, grabbed the saddle horn, stuck one foot in a stirrup and swung her other leg over the animal until she was sitting pretty in the saddle, her dress flowing over her legs.

  “Oh, so I see. Not even a debate as to which one of us gets to ride back to town!” Lijuan sniggered, her hands on her hips with her chin thrust out.

  “Now stop it Lannie. I have a use for this horse, thank you very much!” the mocha colored beauty said shaking her head and as always setting her delicate ringlets of black hair bouncing. A look of understanding came over Cassandra’s face as Honor looked at her, almost as if she was silently asking for Cassie’s okay to do what she needed to do. Cassandra nodded at her and smiled.

  “Go get her!” and as soon as she said that Lijuan smiled as well, leaving Catalina puzzled as to what was going down.

  “Someone wanna clue this cowgirl into what’s goin’ on? Get who?” the words hadn’t even left her mouth before she realized what they were talking about. At this very moment a treacherous woman, one who they had welcomed into their home was bound for Alamieda intent on robbing Cedar Ledge blind, unaware its occupants were still very much alive. “Elanie!” she exclaimed.

  “Elanie.” Her trio of sisters said in harmony.

  Honor Elizabeth paced the horse around in a circle before she leaned down towards the others to ask them if they wanted to her to stop in town and see if the sheriff and the townspeople would send some folks up with horses, so they wouldn’t have to walk all the way down the mountain.

  Lijuan employed the two ticks her family had grown so familiar with over the years as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I’m not sure how much help we are liable to get from that sheriff and the town load of bumpkins he presides over. That bitch with the Undertaker would probably just say I told you so for coming up here!”

  Catalina’s shoulders sagged somewhat as she nodded, “I think Lijuan might be right about that. Even though we tried to help them some of them might be holdin’ a grudge.”

  Lijuan's face lit up, and she turned to Cassie. "Actually, your new "friend" he'd probably help us? You did manage to get him sweet on you during that eternity you spent inside his gun shop while you left the rest of us cooling our heels on the main street. You were going to sneak off at some point and see him after all."

  Cassie gave her a looked that almost spelled out the words fuck you Lijuan before breaking into laughter. "Honor, yes go find Sampson at the gun store. Lijuan’s right, he’ll help.” She turned back to Lijuan, “And for the record, there was going to be no sneaking out to go lay with him. I would have told all three of you to your faces I was going to ride that stallion!”

  The four sisters dissolved into laughter. It was a good feeling, a relief from all the tension from earlier when they faced the real possibility of at long last not only being roundly defeated but facing torture and death from their family’s oldest and deadliest foes. When finally, their giggles had died away Honor drew the horse close to Catalina.

  “Thank you again my little Cattie for saving me back there. Those strong arms of yours come in handy from time to time.”

  “Weren’t’ nothin’ to pull you up. As for my arms, you know I’ve been ropin’ steers since I was eight years old. Does wonders for them. If I can rope hundreds of pounds of rearin’ beef yankin’ you up was nothin’!”

  "I assuredly do not think I like being lumped in with one of your Herefords but, I do sincerely thank you!" Honor finished with a warm smile for her youngest sister, and with that, she turned the horse.

  "Come on, Sesame, was it? We've got a long ride!" she said and galloped away down the trail. There was a score to be settled, and as Elanie was her employee, she was going to be the one to settle it.

  ***

  Upon Honor's request after arriving in Clayton's Hollow, Sampson had come through for the Wilde sisters. He and his sister, who co-owned the gun shop left to them by their late father, rounded up three spare horses and lead them up the trail until they eventually met up with the three exhausted women from Alamieda.

  On the ride down Cassie and Sampson were in the lead, riding side by side, behind them also side by side were Catalina and the fetching young, blond haired, blue eyed beauty that was Sarah Stone. Lijuan brought up the rear and rode in silence as she listened to the conversations going on in front of her. Both of her sisters were relaying to the Stone siblings the events of the day. The difference was Cassandra was laying it all out in matter of fact terms reflecting her calm, cool-headed nature that made her the natural leader of the daring quartet of sisters.

  Catalina though, to Lijuan’s amusement, was throwing around as much hyperbole as she could about the peril the four of them had faced earlier. Given everything that happened right down to wiping out their enemies by Cassie’s suggestion to use nature against them by break
ing the dam she thought the story hardly needed any overemphasis, but she knew Cattie was in full flirtation mode.

  Her sister, like all of them, enjoyed the company of men but she always preferred the fairer sex. The young Mexican beauty, Lijuan knew, loved the challenge of the seduction in a world that forbid such escapades, wrongly writing it off as a form of mental illness when it was far from it. Cattie liked what Cattie liked, and she went for it just like all the sisters did. Long ago they had made their pact to seize life and all it had to offer and not wind up like all their mothers who had died young and never got to have the full lives they had deserved.

  Still, Lijuan had to marvel how Catalina was rarely unsuccessful at her seductions of the women of the West. She had Sarah eating out her hand by playing up how it had been black powder from the Stone’s very own gun store that had allowed them to end their enemies. She could see Catalina was making Sarah feel almost as if she were part of the story. The gunpowder was only there of course because Lijuan had bought it as a gift for their brother.

  David! She thought wistfully, never able to bring herself to use the nickname he had given to himself as a child. How she worried about him. It was true that she and her sisters faced danger more often than not, but David was a captain in the U.S. Army, a man who put his life on the line every day…and yet at the end of the day whose arms did he return to?

  Bright Feather, niece to the leader of these bloodthirsty renegades…Black Hawk himself. Worse than that Black Hawk had even raised her for a period following the death of Red Hawk. The future leader of the Omegas had become the new mate of Bright Feathers mother.... until that fateful day when she had met Whip. The fallout from that distant day was being felt even now with everything that had happened today, and her thoughts circled back to Bright Feather, thinking again how her early life had been so entwined with their foe.