Bodie 7

by Neil Hunter

  He allowed the slow-moving horse to get a few feet ahead. Took steps back from the rim of the slope before launching himself forward, powering into a run.

  Silverbuck reached the crest of the slope and hurled himself bodily into empty space, his leap taking him clear and then down at the rider.

  Bodie heard the rush of movement. It came from his left and above him. He twisted in the saddle, eyes searching, and saw the blur of someone sweeping down on him from the top of the slope.

  He had no chance to avoid Silverbuck as the breed came at him. Their bodies collided, Silverbuck slamming into Bodie’s back, the impact driving him from the saddle. The two men cleared the horse, twisting in a tangle as they hit the ground, rolling and breaking apart, each pulling himself to his feet.

  Bodie’s rifle slid from his grasp as he landed.

  They faced off, six feet apart, spitting out the sand that had got in their mouths. Ignoring the bruising aches resulting from the hard fall.

  Bodie saw the dark-featured face. The scars and the deformities that marked it. The glittering eyes blazing with barely contained fury. And he saw the ridged scar that crossed the exposed throat.

  It took him seconds to realize who he was facing.

  The man he had left for dead.

  Alive and ready to kill.

  Silverbuck.

  He pushed aside the fleeting sensation of surprise. Even shock because up until that moment he had never thought about the man since that day…

  ~*~

  …before Silverbuck could bring the knife back for a second cut Bodie, remembering he was still holding his Winchester, jabbed the hard butt of the stock against the side of Silverbuck’s face. Silverbuck grunted as the cheek bone cracked. Soft flesh split and blood welled from the ragged gash. Aware of the deadly knife the breed still held Bodie tossed his rifle aside and caught hold of Silverbuck’s wrist, forcing the glittering blade away from his body. He shoved the heel of his right hand hard up against the underside of Silverbuck’s jaw, pushing the breed’s head back. There was a moment of panic and then Silverbuck regained control of his emotions. His left fist hammered down across Bodie’s face. Bodie’s head rocked to one side, pain flaring in his jaw. Blood streamed from a torn lip. He released his pressure on Silverbuck’s jaw, drew his fist back, then clubbed the breed across the mouth. Silverbuck’s face twisted in a rictus of agony. He spat blood and broken teeth. Bodie hit him again, crushing Silverbuck’s nose. Blood squirted out in streams. Silverbuck wrenched himself away from Bodie, breaking the grip the man hunter had on his wrist. Letting himself roll Silverbuck came to his feet swiftly, thrusting the knife out before him, point uppermost. Yet before he even saw his adversary, Bodie was on him. He had come to his feet as the breed had rolled away. The toe of his boot lashed up and out, catching Silverbuck in the stomach. White-hot pain speared his body. He stumbled back fighting for breath, tears stinging his eyes as he tried to see Bodie. But there was no chance to see Bodie. The man hunter stepped in close, grasping Silverbuck’s knife wrist with one hand. Bodie’s other arm slid beneath Silverbuck’s limb, just above the elbow joint. Bodie put on the pressure, using Silverbuck’s own weight as a lever. He thrust down hard against the arm joint, heard Silverbuck gasp, and thrust again. The arm bone snapped with an audible crack, the bone piercing the flesh of the arm, blood spurting from the wound. Silverbuck gave a low groan and slumped to his knees, the knife slipping forgotten from his hand. Crouching, Bodie picked up the knife. He took hold of a handful of Silverbuck’s black hair and yanked the breed’s head back, pressing the tip of the knife against the taut throat.

  ‘Now listen to me, you half-breed son of a bitch.’ Bodie pressed on the knife so that the tip penetrated the flesh, letting a thin runnel of blood run down the breed’s throat and across his naked chest. ‘Don’t play games with me. All I want from you is the name of the bastard who set you on my trail. Start remembering fast, ’cause you ain’t got much time left.’

  Silverbuck tried to twist his body away from Bodie. All that happened was that the blade of the knife sliced into his throat. Just deep enough to make the blood flow steadily.

  ‘You keep wrigglin’ about like that and you’ll end up cutting your own throat,’ Bodie said coldly. ‘That would disappoint me somethin’ awful, Silverbuck, ’cause I want to do the cuttin’ myself.’

  “Go to hell, you bastard,’ Silverbuck hissed through clenched teeth. Sweat gleamed on his set, bronze face. He stared up at Bodie through eyes burning with hatred. ‘I don’t tell you a thing.’

  Bodie slammed his right knee up into Silverbuck’s face. He heard something crunch and as Silverbuck sagged back, blood gushed from his mouth. Silverbuck’s head dropped against his chest. Blood streamed down his naked torso, soaking his pants. Still angry, Bodie hit the breed again, his fist coming down like a club. The blow struck Silverbuck across the back of his neck and he flopped face down on the ground, jerking softly, like a landed fish. Bodie planted brutal knee in Silverbuck’s back, took hold of his hair again and yanked the breed’s head up off the ground. Dirt had ground itself into the open gashes, clung to the sticky blood. He hardly seemed aware of his surroundings. Bodie pressed the keen edge of the knife against the rigid line of his throat.

  ‘Who hired you, Silverbuck?’

  Silverbuck spat blood. He began to dribble pink froth. ‘Fuck, you, Bodie. You wan’ kill me? Then go ‘head.’

  Bodie rammed his knee down hard. He heard Silverbuck’s ribs crack. A low groan bubbled past the breed’s lips. ‘He must be payin’ you a lot, Silverbuck. You figure it’s worth it?’

  ‘I ain’t tellin’ you a damn thing, Bodie.

  Silverbuck’s voice rose to a shrill protest , and it didn’t stop until the blade of the knife in Bodie’s sliced its way across his throat, laying it open. Silverbuck kicked and jerked for a time. Only when he was still did Bodie let the breed’s head drop.

  He stood up, still holding the knife and gazed down at the bloody corpse. Turning away to pick up his rifle Bodie murmured, ‘Silverbuck, it seems like I’ve gone and cashed you in…’

  ~*~

  …‘I see you remember me, Bodie. Silverbuck. No ghost, Pinda Lickoyi.’

  The words from Silverbuck’s lips sounded coarse, a raspy sound just above a whisper. A whisper maybe, but still filled with the hate the breed carried for the man who had inflicted the injuries on Silverbuck.

  ‘Seems you’re hard man to kill,’ Bodie said.

  He saw the Colt in Silverbuck’s hand, aimed at him.

  ‘Your gun. Throw it away,’ Silverbuck said. ‘We finish this the Apache way. If you have the courage.’

  Bodie eased his Colt from the holster and cast it aside.

  Silverbuck did the same, then produced the thick bladed knife he carried.

  Bodie pulled his own blade and held it so Silverbuck could see it clearly.

  ‘You remember this?’ Bodie said. ‘I took it away from you last time we met. You want it back? Come and take it.’

  Silverbuck weaved a pattern with his own blade, taking a stance that indicated he was ready to fight, and they circled each other. Each of them watching and waiting for an opening, eyes searching for any sign the other was about to strike.

  Bodie’s horses had wandered away from the area. Unconcerned. Overhead the sun made its daily journey and around them the desert made its soft sound as the wind blew across the sand.

  Silverbuck lunged, the cold steel blade arcing in at Bodie’s body. Bodie pulled back, but not quite fast enough and the edge of Silverbuck’s knife cut through his shirt and sliced across his torso. The cut was not deep but it stung and Bodie gasped. A flicker of pleasure shone in Silverbuck’s eyes.

  First blood.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Bodie could feel blood streaming down his body. Soaking through his shirt. He pulled back, beyond Silverbuck’s reach, never taking his eyes off the man. The breed had a faint smile edging his lips. He leaned in towards Bodie, arms spread, t
he fingers of his left hand moving as he flexed it. His knife made a feint at Bodie. The man hunter ignored it. Silverbuck was attempting to get a reaction. So Bodie refused to be taunted.

  What he did instead was concentrate on Silverbuck’s eyes. Waiting for the breed to signal his next move. He made an involuntary check before he struck, his eyes sliding to the left in the instant before he did strike.

  Bodie was ready the next time he saw the warning and counter struck, weaving his body to one side and slashing with his own weapon. His blade cut across Silverbuck’s left forearm. Opening an inches long gash that went in deep. Blood swelled up from the wound, running free and dripping from the limb. Bodie kept up his attack, knife arcing left and right, cutting, slashing, opening a number of gashes that drove Silverbuck back a few feet.

  A ragged cry came from Silverbuck’s lips, still low and hoarse. He dug in his heels and stood his ground, using his own weapon to hit back at Bodie. The steel of their blades clashed as they stood their ground, neither man willing to concede an inch. Sunlight glanced off the knives as they cut and slashed at each other. Blades found flesh and blood flew from the naked steel.

  And then they were locked, each knife snagged at the hilt. Legs braced and feet digging in to prevent being pushed off balance.

  Silverbuck slammed his bunched left fist into Bodie’s face, feeling it split flesh. Bodie countered with a hard fist to Silverbuck’s ribs, drawing a ragged gasp from the breed.

  The stalemate maintained, they hammered at each other, each man attempting to break the knife hold. They were matched in strength and stubbornness. Muscles straining. Sweat gleamed on their faces. Bodie felt it mingling with the blood running down his own cheek, stinging wildly.

  Bodie changed his stance without warning, stepping in closer to Silverbuck and looping his free arm around Silverbuck’s neck. He kicked out with a booted foot, the heel cracking against Silverbuck’s ankle. The hard blow was enough to lift Silverbuck’s foot off the ground, leaving him briefly off balance. Still holding the breed close Bodie lifted and twisted. Silverbuck was spun to one side and Bodie kept up the momentum, turning Silverbuck in the air. The breed was lifted clear off the ground, but arched his body with a powerful turn and landed on his knees.

  Bodie followed through and as Silverbuck faced away from him he cut down at the breed’s exposed back, the knife opening twin slashes in Silverbuck’s flesh. Silverbuck grunted, falling forward and rolling clear before Bodie could strike again. He crabbed aside, on hands and knees, knowing Bodie would seek to maintain his attack, and as the man hunter drove in again Silverbuck stabbed upwards with his bladed. It cut into Bodie’s left thigh, sinking in a few inches, blood bursting from the severed flesh.

  Ignoring the pain from the deep cuts in his back Silverbuck gained his feet, turning quickly to face Bodie and thrust himself forward as the Pinda Lickoyi bent forward, blood pouring from the wound in his leg.

  A surge of hope rose in Silverbuck as he saw his enemy founder and he straightened his spine, unmindful of the hot blood streaming down his back.

  He saw his victory so close now. Bodie weakened by the bleeding wounds in his body. Silverbuck stepped forward, reaching out to take hold on Bodie’s hair.

  And that was when Bodie brought his blade up from his waist, sinking it into Silverbuck’s stomach. The force of the blow buried it to the hilt, cutting through flesh and muscle, deep into the breed’s body. Silverbuck felt the shock of the blow, the surge of white-hot agony that coursed through him.

  Bodie sawed the knife back and forth, opening the torso and spilling Silverbuck’s entrails in a wet surge. As Silverbuck sank to his knees, dropping his own knife and clutching his body to stop his disembowelment, Bodie stepped close, then snagged Silverbuck’s hair with his left hand and pulled the breed’s head back. He raised the bloody knife and when he cut Silverbuck’s throat this time he only stopped short of decapitating him.

  He stood over the breed’s shuddering body and didn’t move until he was sure Silverbuck was really dead.

  ‘If I had a goddam wooden stake I’d put it through your heart,’ he said. ‘Just to make sure you don’t come back for a third time.’

  Bodie looked down at the knife dangling from his bloody right hand. He wiped it against his shirt and pushed it into the sheath. He bent to pick up his Colt. The effort was too much and he dropped to his knees. Braced on his hands he let his head hang. He felt totally exhausted. His entire body a mass of pain. Blood was dripping from the cuts and slashes. Out the corner of his eye he could see Silverbuck’s equally bloody body sprawled in the sand.

  ‘Okay, you son of a bitch, let’s just see who gets up and walks away first.’

  The way he was feeling he wasn’t about to take bets on who that would be.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A couple of Papago trackers found Bodie later that day. They had been scouting the desert area looking for one of the remaining escapees from Yuma and came across Bodie leading his weary horse and the one carrying the bodies of Cagle and Benedict.

  They never found the escaped prisoner, but they knew Bodie and decided he was worth the effort of saving. They tended his wounds and did what they could before they rode him back across the desert to Yuma.

  It took the town doctor a half a day to deal with the wounds, and a couple of weeks’ rest, before Bodie was able to get up and about. He made no protest. He was, he admitted, bone weary and in no fit state to do anything. By the time he was able to get about and find out what was happening it was all over.

  Cagle and Benedict had been buried, and despite there being a fuss about the fact the stolen gold Cagle had hidden was not going to be recovered, Bodie picked up the bounty money that had been on offer. The first thing he did was seek out the two Indians who had found him and brought him out of the desert and pay them a portion of the reward. If they hadn’t shown up to help he would likely have ended up dead himself. He later found out there was a bounty on Walt Elkins and his partners. That suited Bodie. He had never been shy about collecting unexpected bounties.

  He stayed around Yuma for a couple of weeks, letting his body regain its strength. He was undecided where to go until the town marshal caught up with him one day and showed him a sheath of wanted flyers that had come in with the mail.

  ‘Figured there might be something to interest you,’ he said.

  Bodie thumbed through the wanted posters, picking out a few that showed promise. There were a couple from up north. The high country where the forests were green and cool and there wasn’t a desert in sight.

  He had outfitted himself earlier. Bought himself a fresh horse and decided the long ride would be good for his health. He selected the flyers he wanted and headed for his hotel to check out. When he rode out of Yuma a few hours later he didn’t even look back…

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