by M Ennenbach
Josiah and Teddy sat huddled together at one of the faro tables, Josiah whispering and Teddy nodding while knocking back red eye as fast as he poured them. At this rate, he would stumble out back to puke his guts out before the fat red sun finished setting.
“So Bradley, how did that outlaw treat you before she took off?” Kenzie asked loudly, an evil grin on her face as she did. “Seems to me there was an awful lot of yelling going on up there.”
Bradley maintained his composure though he managed to blush and look green in the gills at the same time. “A gentleman doesn’t share what happens between he and a lady in the bedroom.”
“Well she sure as shit weren’t no lady and you damned well ain’t no gentleman! Spill it, old man!” Tara shouted. Even Amber stopped pouting and leaned forward to hear the tale.
Marie set her rag on the table and watched with a grin like the cat that stole the canary. “Did she paint yer picture?”
Bradley tried to look above such talk and nearly managed. “Twasn’t my picture she painted.” Everyone cackled and hooted at him. “And I agree, she most certainly wasn’t a lady. I’m still trying to get all the paint off.”
“She must have needed a fine point brush if she painted down there,” Kenzie said to more laughter.
“It isn’t about the brush, it’s the brush strokes,” he quipped back.
Kenzie opened her mouth for a rebuttal when the door to the bar crashed open. Every face turned and stared slack-jawed as Mary Jo yelled, “Someone fetch the sawbones! I got an injured man out here!”
Kenzie pointed to Bella and she nodded and fled through the open door and down the street. “Bradley, you and Marie see about getting the man upstairs.”
They both stood and hurried outside. Mary Jo followed and used her long blade to cut the ropes. As she did, Chris slid from the horse’s back and Bradley grunted as he barely stopped him from hitting the ground. Marie grabbed his legs and they made their way back inside. Chris’s head lolled to the side and he let out a fevered moan.
Kenzie watched in concern as they struggled to get him up the stairs and into one of the vacant rooms. “What happened to him?”
Mary Jo shrugged. “Found him half dead yesterday. Snake bite on his hand, I reckon. Something clawed his face up good.”
“Coyote or wolf?”
“Ain’t never seen one like that. Looks more like a bear but ain’t none of them in these here parts.”
Kenzie nodded. “He looks familiar. Tara or Amber, either of you know him?” They both shook their heads. “How about you, Josiah?”
Josiah turned with a start and bleary eyes. “Whassat?”
“Damn drunk. I asked if you recognized the poor bastard we just hauled in. Looks near death. Maybe you can sober up enough to administer last rites if necessary? Not to disturb your drinking at all.”
“Listen here, you heathen!” he shouted. Then he saw all the angry stares and quickly shut his mouth. Teddy watched and poured himself an extra large glass of red eye.
He was saved further embarrassment as the door opened and Cody came rushing in. Not far behind him were Mikhail and Karl. Cody took the stairs two at a time. Karl followed him while Mikhail stopped and nodded to Mary Jo.
“Ma’am.”
“I was just telling them. We stumbled on his body a day’s hard ride to the South. Thought he was dead. Snake bit hand and clawed up face. I took one of the coach’s horses and made due haste here.”
“Anyone know the man?”
Kenzie shook her head. “Not so far as we could tell. The good preacher was just about to head upstairs and see if he can do anything to help. Isn’t that right, Josiah?”
Josiah finished his drink and nodded. “Yes sir, sheriff. I’m headed that way now.” He stumbled a bit as he took a few shaky steps. Mikhail followed him up the stairs.
Mary Jo looked at Bradley and winked. He made a point of turning away as his face flared up red.
***
Cody examined Chris and shook his head. “I fear the arm is lost to the elbow. The swelling and necrosis have gone too far. He was of sound enough mind at some point to tie his belt off at his forearm.”
Karl nodded. “Those claw marks on his face concern me. They fester but seem far too fresh.”
Cody reached into his bag and pulled out a tongue depressor and ran it along one of the four ragged wounds. A thick discharge oozed out of the wound. He frowned at it and sniffed. “It carries the scent of death.”
Karl frowned and retrieved a metal vial from his pocket and took a sample. “This is unusual indeed.”
Josiah entered the room with Mikhail right behind him. Josiah’s eyes grew big. “That’s Chris. He is one of the cattlemen from Texas.”
Mikhail frowned. “A cattleman alone in the middle of nowhere? That don’t add up. Has he spoke?” Cody and Karl shook their heads.
“He said someone was headed to Duncan. That he killed everyone. He ain’t spoke since.” Mary Jo stood in the doorway. “He didn’t say who was killed nor who did the killin’. Hell’s bells, it probably weren’t nothin’ but the fever talkin’. I heard ya say he is a cattleman. There weren’t hide nor hair of steer around that I saw. Just him layin’ on the ground near dead. Poor bastard. Them city slickers would have left him fer dead. Ain’t right.”
“You seen any tracks? Any sign of a struggle? Smell anything unusual? Like rotten eggs, perhaps. Or see any sign of frost on the plants?” Karl asked quietly.
“I reckon I’da told ya if’n any weird shit like that had happened. It’s a snake bite. Makes a person see some strange things. Once my pal got bit and spent three days in a fever talking to his dead pa.”
Cody nodded. “Delirium can occur with a high enough fever. Now I need one of you to stay with me and assist me in the procedure. The quicker his arm is removed, the more likely his chances of survival.”
Josiah stepped forward on wobbly legs and knelt next to the bed. “Our Father, I ask that you give comfort to this lamb. I beseech the Holy Spirit to protect this man. His sacred covenant with you is unbreakable, even in the face of death.”
Chris’s eyes snapped open and he turned his head weakly towards Josiah. “It was the devil, father. The devil came for me . . . ” And with that he spoke his last. A wheezing rattle escaped his chest and he moved no more.
Cody put two fingers onto his throat and shook his head sadly. “He is gone.”
Karl stared at the corpse with a frown. Mikhail and Mary Jo made the sign of the cross as Josiah mumbled a prayer of guidance for his soul to reach heaven.
“Well shit. I guess I didn’t make it in time at all. I need a whiskey and a hard fucking from a tall bartender before I hit the saddle again.” With that, Mary Jo left the room.
Mikhail looked at Karl. “The Devil?”
Karl shook his head. “None of the signs. No. I fear this man just got bit as the good doctor said. Though it is most peculiar. Most peculiar indeed.”
Cody shrugged. “You gentleman mind helping me get him downstairs? I’d like to examine his body as soon as possible before rigor mortis sets in.”
Josiah stood and looked at Cody. “This man is a good Christian. Don’t go desecrating his corpse to further your godless science. He will get a proper funeral. Teddy and I will take care of him.”
Cody looked disappointed but shrugged. It wasn’t worth the fight. “Well, would you two gentlemen care for a few glasses of whiskey? I’ve developed a thirst.”
Karl looked at Mikhail. “Whiskey sounds good to me.”
Mikhail looked at him and cocked his head. “You okay?”
Karl stared off into space for a long silent moment. “Been a strange week. Ever since that stranger came through town I’ve felt like something is brewing.”
“The guy looking for Dust?”
“James Dee.”
“Think he did that?” Mikhail pointed into the room.”
“No. He is a different kind of devil. He would not have left Chris alive. It’s most
likely nothing. Just something feels off.”
“Maybe you’re just nervous about your day with Tracey tomorrow night.”
Karl smiled. “Maybe that’s it. It has been a while.”
“Let’s get that drink.”
***
One drink led to quite a few drinks. The solemn day began to unwind as the moon rose over Duncan. Mikhail and Karl sat at the bar with a bottle of Kenzie’s best reserves.
“No summoning demons in my establishment, Mr. Beck.” She gave him a slight smile.
“He was trying to protect you. Karl is a hero. And my wife is quite happy to have made his acquaintance. Says he is a proper gentleman.”
Karl snorted. “Your lovely wife is an angel. Yet somehow misguided on this point.”
Amber could not take her eyes off of the strange Mr. Beck. He was intelligent, yet seemed so down to earth with a hint of mystery that got her excited in ways the cattlemen did not. She couldn’t recall the last time she wanted a man, not his coin or drink. But to be taken by one freely. Tara looked across the room and saw the hunger in her eyes. She raised an eyebrow at her and nodded, encouraging her. Amber met her gaze and smiled. She stood and smoothed her skirt, awash with nervousness. “I trust the sheriff’s wife. She is a very good judge of character.”
Karl looked at her in surprise. “Jia-Li is wise indeed. Even if her taste in men seems suspect.” Mikhail and Kenzie roared with laughter.
Amber joined them at the bar and Brad poured her a glass of wine. She swirled it gently in the cup and took a sip to wet her lips. Then she leaned forward and placed her wine sweet lips upon Karl’s. A roar filled the room as he sat stunned.
No one noticed the small cry of alarm from behind them as Tracey stood in shock. She turned and ran from the doorway with tears welling in the corner of her eyes. She fled too soon to see Karl gently push Amber away. In her haste to escape, she never heard his admonishments. All she saw was the man she had thought perhaps, just maybe, could be the one to unlock the chains she had wrapped so tightly around her heart all those years ago.
She ran back to her shop and slammed the lock closed. She turned away from the street and stood with her back against the closed sign. Two days ago, she made the choice to stop taking Laudanum. To let her head clear and her heart heal. She felt like a damn fool. Crying over a stranger that would leave town in a few days and never think of her again.
“Hope is poison,” she muttered through ragged breathing.
She walked to the shelf and grabbed a fresh bottle of her only need. She ran her trembling lips across the glass straw, felt the numbness soak into her sorrow. It slowly faded. A dull throb now. She dipped it back into the bottle and let it run down the back of her throat. She didn’t need anyone or anything. She had proven it to herself many times over. Loneliness was freedom. She embraced it.
“It’s all shit. All of it. Happy endings are for stories. For fools and poets.” She heard the slur in her voice. Felt her legs grow weary and she just let herself slide down the door to sit on the floor. Her mind was fuzzy.
Then she heard a noise upstairs The wind outside had picked up and she couldn’t remember if she shut the window this morning. She found it hard to remember this morning. All she could see was Amber kissing Karl as the room went wild.
“Could have kissed me that way. A cheap harlot is his style, is she? I hope he gets the drip from her. Serves them both right.”
She pushed herself off the floor and made her way unsteadily to the stairs, the bottle clutched in her hand. Her eyes were unfocused and she missed the bottom step twice before finally finding it.
“Damned things keep moving.” She laughed at her own joke and gripped the wall firmly as she made her way up. The curtain fluttered in the wind and her modest book collection lay scattered on the floor. She kicked the books under the bed before collapsing on top of it herself.
“Here is to not needing anyone. Especially not you, Karl Beck, with your scars and pretty eyes.” She let two fat drops of Laudanum land on her tongue and smiled blearily at the ceiling. The room smelled terrible and she guessed it was a skunk that had crept in. The how and why a skunk would scale the side of the building didn’t matter to her much in this state. It was an answer to a problem she couldn’t focus on. One that made as much sense as anything. Like Karl leading her on the last week.
A scrabbling sound from under the bed caught her attention. She lit the lantern on the counter, it only took three tries, a feat she felt oddly proud of and called, “Back out the window, varmint. I don’t have the will nor capacity to deal with you.”
The scrabbling grew louder and she leaned over the edge to see what had gotten into her room. Her head seemed far too heavy and she found herself in a pile on the floor. She laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. A long belly laugh that tinged on the edge of insane. Then she turned her head to look beneath the bed itself.
Two black eyes stared out of a gray face with a rictus grin. She blinked in confusion, thinking it would simply vanish.
“Who are you?” she asked what she was sure was a figment of her imagination.
The black eyes blinked, they seemed darker than the shadows cast as the breeze made the lantern flame dance on the windowsill above. “You’re not really there are you, Mr. Monster? You’re just a shadow and I’m too sleepy to play with you.”
She got to her knees with an effort. A small snort escaped her as she realized she may have gone overboard with her numbing of her mind. Slowly she stood up and fell spellbound staring at the flame in the lantern. Something grabbed her foot and she tried to kick it away. It tightened its grip like a steel band and she found herself pulled back down onto her back with a tremendous thump. The breath left her with a loud whoosh. She turned and stared down her body at the gray hand on her ankle and tried to feebly fight back.
“Coooooooome untoooooooo meeeeeeeee.”
A startled yelp came out of her mouth as she felt herself slide under the bed. She found herself face to face with monster under the bed and opened her mouth to scream as it drove its fist into her side. She found herself unable to finish the scream as blood filled her lung. It’s dark smile was the last thing she saw as a mouth filled with jagged teeth came across the floor and sank into her soft flesh.
***
Hasse Ola let out a scream of pain and crumbled into a heap on the floor of the small building. River leapt to his feet and ran to him as his body began convulsing. His muscles rippled under his skin and his eyes rolled back in his head as he thrashed about. River looked frantically about the room and grabbed the ledger in which he recorded the taxes and tore the cover off.
He went to shove the leather into Hasse’s mouth but froze as he heard the young man speak for the first time in their three years together. His back arched and with a painful scream, “Wiiiiiiiiiiindeeeeeegoooooo!”
He stared in fright at his companion. Then scooped him off of the ground with a grunt and ran outside. The town of Duncan sat quietly in front of him as he placed Hasse Ola over the horse’s back and leapt astride himself. Without a second look, he rode off to where the tribes had gathered, praying to the spirits it wasn’t already too late.
12
Duncan
Karl woke with a pounding headache and a mouth that felt packed with cotton. He looked around, unable to get his bearings. The sour smell of liquor wafted into his nose and he felt his stomach lurch. He had passed out in Kenzie’s. Or, basically, had before stumbling upstairs and barely getting his boots off. He covered his eyes with his arm to block the sun that felt like knives going from his eyes into his brain. He remembered a good portion of the evening. Or enough bits and pieces to wonder at the foolhardy attempt to drink all of the whiskey in the bar. And dancing, or at least spinning round and round between with the ladies. His face flushed as the memory of Amber kissing him long and hard came back. Her rushing off and eventually coming back down. He was sure they had talked it over.
Mikhail was in just as b
ad a shape. He had an image of Jia-Li staring disappointedly at them as they sat by the piano singing off key and far too loudly. She seemed less than courteous as she escorted him from the building. He pitied him if he woke in the same state. Karl was sure Jia-Li would be making a racket in the quaint little home this morning.
“Mr. Beck, are you among the living?” Kenzie called from downstairs. “If you are so inclined, you are welcome to join us for the morning meal.”
“I am not dead yet, even though I may slightly wish I were, madam. I shall be down as soon as I regain use of my limbs. Thank you.”
“You seemed to have lost the control of your limbs last night. You are the single worst dancer I ever did see. Rivaled only by your singing voice,” Tara called up.
He smiled, which somehow sent a fresh wave of pain through his system. He wanted to curl up in a ball for the rest of the day. And then he sat with a start as he remembered his date with Tracey this evening. His nausea was replaced with a hammering heart. He still ached, but adrenaline surged and he was able to get his boots on and head downstairs.
“He lives!” Bradley shouted sending stars at the edge of his vision.
“Looks as if he wishes he didn’t,” Amber added.
The smell of sizzling bacon set his mouth to watering as his stomach did uncertain somersaults. They laid at a veritable feast compared to the simple oats he had been eating at the sheriff’s office every morning. He sat down gingerly as Kenzie scooped eggs and bacon and a medley of veggies onto a plate for him.
“I thank you kindly, ma’am, not just for the meal but the evenings libations and fun as well.”
She smiled. “We may have gotten off on the wrong foot earlier. But Mikhail and Jia-Li like you, and it was truly an unfortunate misunderstanding. None of us knew demon hunting was a real profession. Seems only fair.”
“So, you write, I recall you telling me about that last night.”
She blushed. Bradley spoke up, “Best damn storyteller I’ve ever heard.”
Kenzie smiled and patted Bradley’s cheek. She opened her mouth to speak when the door to the bar slammed open. Everyone turned and saw Mikhail standing there looking like death worked over.
