by Gary Jonas
“A penitent whore. Now there’s a pretty sight.” The Preacher laughed again. “I do hope you’re saying your prayers, my darlin’,” he called. “I cotton to the idea of your last breath being so futile. Boys!”
The miners cocked their guns.
“Wait!” Jack said. “Let me turn her.”
“Too late for that.”
“She’s still your best chance. And she’s my only chance.”
The Preacher grinned. “That little taste of humanity did it for you.”
“It was like Eden restored.”
The Preacher’s grin widened until Jack could count his tombstone teeth. “I like to see that sort of faith blooming in you, Jack. Seems my seed found purchase after all.” He crooked his index finger and tapped it against his lips. “Well, let’s just see what our whore thinks of this new bargain.” He motioned for Jack to walk with him, and whistled “Clementine” the whole way. Jack pulled his hat down and followed.
The snow crunched under their feet. Nancy looked up when they stopped in front of her. Her face was a mask of hatred. “You lying son of a bitch,” she spat at Jack.
He smiled down at her. “Gaffed like a faro box.”
And now for the winning card. I hope.
Jack tossed his Colt pistol to Nancy. She caught it as she stood up. In the last red-gold light, her hair shone like a halo around her head. She aimed at the Preacher and pulled the trigger.
Soiled dove or avenging angel, it didn’t matter. In Nancy’s hands, the blessed gun fired.
The Preacher’s boneyard smile caved in around the bullet. The rest of his body became ashes and dust that swirled through the air.
Nancy turned and shot two of the armed miners, while Jack charged and took down a third. Gemma held the fourth and Jack dispatched him, too. An arrow flew past him and another stuck in his shoulder. Nancy made quick work of the archers. Jade Silk Doll kicked herself free of the startled miners holding her. One stood still while the other tried to subdue her again. She threw snow in his face, grabbed her fan off the ground and slit his throat.
The other man blinked rapidly and looked around in shock. When he saw Jade, incoherent apologies tumbled out of his mouth. He turned to run. Jade opened her fan again, prepared to strike.
“No, Jade! Let ‘im go!” Nancy screamed.
The girl glanced at her. Jade’s face was streaked with blood and her eyes were dark. She turned back to the fleeing miner. Nancy tried to run to her but it was too late. The bloodstained fan bit into its final victim from behind. Jade lost her strength then and sank to her knees. When Nancy, Jack and Gemma got to her, Jade’s eyes were closed and her head was bowed.
“He was repentant,” Nancy placed her hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t have killed him, Jade.”
“That’s not my name. Trimpy just called me that. My real name died with my parents. I think Jade Silk Doll is dead now, too. Call me Lang Fengshan Wu.” She looked up at Nancy, then got to her feet and walked toward what was left of the cabin. Nancy watched her.
“It’s all right, Nance,” Gemma said softly. “This here’s the miner who shot Orela.”
Nancy regarded the dead miner. “It aint all right. Not ‘cause he died. But ‘cause of what killin’ him like that mighta just done to her.” Nancy glanced at Jack, then followed Lang’s footsteps back to the cabin.
***
Nancy and the ladies tended their wounds and slept. Jack kept watch, just in case. Roulette was back by morning. The women rounded up three other horses that day. The sun shone good and strong, and much of the snow melted. By nightfall, they were ready to continue their journey.
The stars sparkled over the snow. Gemma and Lang Fengshan Wu were already mounted and waiting, each on her own horse this time. Jack had asked Lang what her name meant, and she told him, “Wolf Fan Dance.”
Jack and Nancy stood in front of the cabin door. “There’s still plenty of danger out there,” Jack told her.
“I know it. I keep ruminatin’ over what Orela said. I don’t think I’ve seen the last of the Preacher.” Nancy looked towards the place where the Preacher had become nothing but ash and dust. “We’re safe from him for now, though the sooner we high tail it from here, the better.”
“I’d be happy to see you safely to the next rendezvous,” Jack said.
Nancy offered Jack her hand. “Marshal, I am much obliged for what you’ve done, but I think it best we part ways here and now. My other sisters may not act quite so kindly towards you as I do.”
“Now you’re just breaking my heart.” Jack smiled and shook Nancy’s hand.
“You know, I could dispatch that heavy heart for you before we depart, Marshal.”
“No. I’m not to be your victim, either.” Jack’s smile widened. “I think you just want to shoot me up again.”
Nancy gave him a genuine smile. “Well. Y’all are a thing of darkness and evil.” The smile faded from her eyes, replaced by something that might have been pity. “It’s your choice not to let me put you outta your misery.”
Nancy mounted her horse. “But you come followin’ after us, I say you’re askin’ for it. And I’ll be mor’n happy to oblige you, Sunny Jim, because I find you to be a fine fella in your own way. Y’all take care now.”
And off she rode with her sisters.
Jack mounted Roulette and turned his horse away from the direction the women rode. His packs were heavier than they’d been before he met them, but his heart felt lighter. He carried several canteens full of Lightning Touch vintage, each with a bit of sweet clover to keep them fresh. He shook his head. It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
But as Jack thought those words, he could swear he heard someone whistling “Clementine” low and soft and slow through the valley.
Acknowledgements
I want to say thanks first and formost to Gary Jonas for letting me muck around in his world for a while. This book wouldn’t exist without your encouragement and navigation through this crazy world of publishing. May we one day go to our own movie premieres.
Thanks to Paul Nettles for all the war fan fighting advice and the excellent pair of eyes. We will ride out the zombie apocalypse together, my Bestie!
Thanks to Owen Tierney for the weird coincidence with the ribs. Sorry about freaking you out. Again.
Thanks to Aaron Ritchey for the spicy Kung Po critiques.
Many thanks as always go to Sara Judson Brown – my Alpha Beta Reader Extraordinaire and an excellent writer herself. You are the other half of my writing brain, Soul Sister.
And thank you, Dear Reader, for taking a chance on me. I hope you enjoyed ridin’ with Jack and Dancehall.
Gary Jonas is the author of the Jonathan Shade fantasy series: Modern Sorcery, Acheron Highway, Dragon Gate, Anubis Nights and maybe more by the time you read this. He co-wrote the novel Pirates of the Outrigger Rift with Bill D. Allen. Gary’s first novel, One-Way Ticket to Midnight appeared way back in 2002, but you can grab it as an inexpensive ebook now. The best of his short fiction was collected in Quick Shots. Check www.garyjonas.net for updates and definitely sign up for his newsletter.
Glenn R. Sixbury has been writing and selling fiction and non-fiction for over twenty-five years. His fiction credits include science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, and children’s stories published in magazines and national/international hardcover and paperback anthologies. His first novel, Legacy, was released in hardback and trade paperback by Tor Publishing. Glenn teaches a regular class on writing fiction and he’s currently doing the final edits on a non-fiction book on writing called The Wonderful Writing Secrets of Oz that should be available for purchase by Fall, 2013.
Rebecca Hodgkins has a background in magazine journalism and graphic design. This is her first novella. She is at work on a novel about Nancy Dancehall and the Mission of St. Magdalene, and having a heck of a time deciding if This Dance, These Bones is cannon. She’s also at work on a Denver-based ghost story romance, and a nov
el about angels behaving badly.
Rebecca lives in Colorado with her husband and twin sons, a dumb-but-loveable Jack Russell Terrier named Sam, and a big, fluffy Norwegian Forest Cat.
Check rebeccahodgkins.com for updates on forthcoming novels and snippets from the exciting life and times of a writer!
Cover art by Robin Ludwig Design, Inc.
www.gobookcoverdesign.com
Copyright info:
Night Marshal: A Tale of the Undead West
Copyright © 2012 by Gary Jonas
Edited by Laura Anne Gilman
Night Marshal #2: High Plains Moon
Copyright © 2013 by Glenn R. Sixbury
Edited by Julia Mandala
Night Marshal #3: This Dance, These Bones
Copyright © 2013 by Rebecca Hodgkins
