Keeper of the Books (Keeper of the Books, Book 1)

by Jason D. Morrow

  Nate was afraid it was going to get around to this. But he didn’t need to tell these people anything, and he especially didn’t need to tell them the truth.

  “I was a bounty hunter,” Nate said. “I was chasing after a man called Tyler Montgomery.”

  “So, how did you come across this book?” Rachel chimed in.

  Nate could feel his cheeks burning. Rachel knew he was cornered and she pressed him to her delight. But Nate wasn’t intimidated by her. She didn’t know anything about it and she had no evidence to dispute him. All Nate had to do was keep his story straight.

  “Tyler Montgomery was the man with the book. He opened it first and I went in after him.”

  “Along with your brother?” Alban asked with a cocked eyebrow.

  “That’s right,” Nate said without hesitation. “He went just before me.” He shook his head. “I’m more worried about finding him than I am about finding Tyler Montgomery, but I suspect he might know how to get back home. So, I might let him live if he tells us how to leave this place.”

  This made the others shift uncomfortably.

  “You’re allowed to deal out justice then?” Alban asked. “What has this Tyler Montgomery done to break the law?”

  “A lot of things,” Nate said. “He’s a thief and murderer. He deserves to hang whether I collect the bounty or not.”

  Truth was, Nate actually felt this way about Montgomery. The man had cheated him out of money and into this puzzle that was Galamore. Sure, the act of going into the book might have saved Nate’s life, but he had no doubt that this was Tyler’s intention all along. The man didn’t care about paying Nate. He cared about entering the book. He wanted to be in Galamore for some reason.

  This land with gray elves and Sentinels and various magic things was all a bit too much for Nate. He felt like he was constantly in a bad dream and that he might never wake from it.

  Nate made it clear that he didn’t want to talk to them about his life outside of the book any longer. His head was swimming and he was afraid he might say something stupid and give away the fact that he was the outlaw, not Tyler Montgomery.

  Nate wondered if he was alone here in Galamore. He had no indication that Joe was even here. He had seen Joe go into the book, but that didn’t mean his little brother was still alive.

  For all Nate knew, Joe, Tyler, Amos, Levi, and that sheriff from Penrod were all here in different places, searching for each other. Of course, then there was Ralph and Stew. Where were they in all this?

  Nate knew he was going to have a headache in the morning, but right now it was worth it to him. As sleep overtook him and quiet voices of his traveling companions muffled into nothingness, Nate wondered if Tyler Montgomery had known all this was going to happen when he hired Nate for this job. He wondered what the man had been planning, or if he was just crazy.

  These were Nate’s thoughts as he drifted to sleep.

  Nate

  Spring, 1882 A.D.

  Nathaniel Cole was on all fours puking his guts out over the side of the porch in front of the Wild Dog Saloon in El Paso, Texas. As his dinner spilled out onto the dusty ground, he became angry with himself. He could usually hold his liquor just fine, but tonight he had had too much. Far too much. He was glad Joe wasn’t anywhere around to scold him. In fact, he was in El Paso to get away from his little brother—to get away from the entire gang. Every now and then he needed the respite.

  Some respite, he thought.

  He could hear a few men in the saloon laughing at him, making puking noises and shoving fingers down their throats as if it were some grand insult. Nate had lost a good bit of money in a game of poker, but at least he didn’t owe anything. Coming to El Paso to gamble with the inability to pay debts could end in a deadly shootout. Though some looked forward to such an interaction, Nate wanted to avoid it. At least tonight. He had come to drink and gamble, not to kill.

  He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and rested his shoulder against a post. A pony tried to nibble at his hat, but he pushed at the animal’s nose. “Get away,” he said too quietly. The bile in his throat and nose burned. It was nothing a glass of milk couldn’t cure, but he wasn’t about to walk back into the saloon and order a glass of milk. No one here knew him, that was good, but he wasn’t here to gain a reputation either. There were a few people who would know who he was if he properly introduced himself, surely. His bounty was so high that he was surprised that there wasn’t at least one wanted poster of him in the town. There might have been one at the sheriff’s office, but the types in the Wild Dog Saloon probably didn’t make it a habit to walk by the sheriff’s office, though a few of them had probably been forced in there a few times.

  Nate decided to get to his feet before he was locked up for public drunkenness. His head swam and he stumbled, catching himself before falling forward. He held out a hand to steady himself and shut his eyes to keep his vision from swimming. But despite his state, he was acutely aware of someone calling out his name from a few feet behind him.

  “Nathaniel Cole,” the voice said again.

  It was never a good thing for someone to call out his name in a place like El Paso. It could only mean trouble.

  Nate spun around, doing his best to keep his balance. He squinted through the darkness to try and make out the man’s face, but the night sky was unforgiving to his drunken eyes. He could see a tall man with a top hat and long coat with two men on either side of him, but he couldn’t get a clear glimpse of their features. This was bad. For all he knew, it could be a federal marshal. How could he have been so stupid? He should have never come to El Paso. It was too dangerous. Now someone was coming to collect the bounty and Nate was too drunk to stop him.

  “What do you want?” Nate slurred defiantly. He reached for his pistol, but left it holstered.

  The man held up a hand. “No need for weapons, Mr. Cole. I just wish to talk with you. Care to join me for a drink?”

  “Do I look like I want another drink?” Nate started to turn away from him and head back to his hotel room, but the man took a few steps forward.

  “Mr. Cole, please. I have a job for you.”

  “Will you stop yelling my name all over the place?” Nate almost yelled. “If you know anything about me, I’m more inclined to shoot you than talk to you.”

  “Now, we both know that’s not true, Mr. Cole. You aren’t a murderer. A killer, maybe, but no murderer.”

  Nate squinted at him. “What did you say your name was?”

  “I didn’t,” the man said. “Why don’t you come with me to the tavern down the street. I have a booth waiting.”

  Nate considered him for a moment. What did this man want? How had he known Nate was in El Paso? Nate had been careful enough to go by a different name. He guessed there could have been someone that recognized him and sent this man word of Nate’s arrival. If that was the case then he needed to be more careful.

  Nate didn’t say anything as he walked with the man and his two guards. He was trying to clear his head and let the fogginess subside. He knew that if he started asking too many questions, he would forget most of the answers he was told. The man led them to a place simply called The Tavern. Nate was starting to feel sick again at the thought of having more to drink. He just needed some water and a bed to sleep in.

  The man’s two guards waited outside The Tavern while Nate followed the man inside. The room was darker than the saloon and it seemed more tame. Nate tried to stand up straight so as not to give the appearance that he was drunk, but he knew he did a rotten job of it. But it didn’t seem to matter to most within The Tavern. Many sat talking to each other, barely giving Nate and the man any notice. Once they were in their own private booth, Nate took off his hat and rested his face in his palms, elbows on the table in front of him.

  “You’ve seen better evenings,” the man across from him said.

  Nate dropped his hands and stared at the man. He could see his features much more clearly now. His hair fell straight under hi
s top hat. His handlebar mustache was trimmed neatly on his face, resting above a smiling mouth. His eyes seemed kind and patient, though he looked to be a man of importance. The way he dressed, he almost seemed like a politician.

  “I’ve had worse evenings,” Nate said.

  The man nodded. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, extending a hand across the table. “My name is Tyler Montgomery. Former prospector and treasure hunter.”

  Nate ignored his hand. “Former?”

  Montgomery swallowed and nodded, setting his hand down on the table. “Well, I suppose I’ve given up most endeavors. I’ve made a small fortune digging for gold in California, but there are a few items out there I’m still interested in finding.”

  “Good for you.” Nate didn’t really mean to sound sarcastic, but it came across that way. Still, Montgomery took the comment with grace and smiled.

  “There are some treasures that are worth far more than gold,” Montgomery said.

  “Diamonds?” Nate asked.

  Montgomery smiled and shook his head. “No, my friend. I want you to steal something far greater.”

  “You don’t look like the type of man that requires my services,” Nate said.

  “Oh, but I do,” he said. “It is something that I am unable to obtain for myself. That’s why I found you.”

  “You know me by reputation?” Nate asked.

  “You’re a man that can get things,” he answered. “You have a high price on your head, so it might be more difficult for you to succeed.”

  “I’ve got a team. I can get done what you need to get done, but I require a high price. First, I need to know what you want me to do.”

  “There is a safety deposit box at a bank in Penrod. You’ve been there?”

  Nate had been there. He had robbed the bank before. One of his hideouts was just a few miles from it.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard of it.”

  “Good.” Montgomery reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a small envelope. “Inside are the details of the operation—the safety deposit box number, what I’m willing to pay, where to meet me when you are finished with the job.”

  “What am I supposed to steal?” Nate asked.

  “Does it matter?” Montgomery asked.

  “Only if it’s something that should require great care. I don’t want to get to the safety deposit box to find out that I’m stealing a piece of glassware.”

  “I assure you,” Montgomery said with a smile, “this object is durable. It isn’t delicate. I will be able to explain why it’s so valuable when we meet again.”

  Nate shook his head. “I don’t want to know. I don’t care. I’m in it for the money, not the story.”

  A dark grin formed at the edges of Montgomery’s mouth. “Interesting choice of words, Mr. Cole.”

  Tyler Montgomery stared at him while Nate studied the contents of the envelope. The job seemed easy enough. Nate thought he had read it wrong when he saw how much Montgomery was willing to pay, but he was sure to keep a straight face about it.

  “If you’re willing to accept the job,” Montgomery said, “I have half the cash ready for you in a bag with my two guards outside.”

  “That’s an awful lot of money to be carrying around a place like this,” Nate said.

  “I’m sure you will be fine.”

  “I’m sure I will.”

  A long moment passed between them. Finally, Montgomery spoke. “Tell me, Mr. Cole, why do you live the life you live?”

  Nate didn’t like the question. He didn’t like getting personal with his clients. But Tyler Montgomery seemed different than anyone Nate had worked with before. He seemed…friendly, which was an odd thing for someone who wanted something illegal done. What Tyler Montgomery was proposing was enough to get them both strung up.

  Nate hesitated with an answer. Perhaps it was because he didn’t know it. There was a lot of personal baggage that came along with that question and he wasn’t about to get into all that with Tyler Montgomery.

  “Some men were born to be lawmen, Mr. Montgomery. Some men were born to be outlaws. I was born to be an outlaw.”

  “I don’t think any part of your statement is true, Mr. Cole. You see, I know a lot about the people I work with. It’s in my nature to get to know them. It helps me trust them.”

  “What do you know about me?”

  “I know that your father and your mother are dead. I know you were engaged to be married about ten years ago to a woman named Abigail Stephens, and that it was vengeance that got you started on this path to begin with.”

  Despite Montgomery’s calm speech and friendly tone, this subject made Nate feel angry. He especially didn’t like people to talk about Abby. Not at all. He felt flush. Though it had been nearly a decade since she had been killed, the subject still pained him beyond belief. It was a fresh wound that would never truly heal.

  “If you want me to take on this job for you, Mr. Montgomery, I’d advise you to change the subject.”

  “Why didn’t you seek the law?” Montgomery asked.

  Nate’s teeth ground together. “If you want me to take on this job for you, Mr. Montgomery, I’d advise you to change the subject,” he said a little louder this time.

  “What if I told you that you could escape this life forever and live a different one?”

  “Would it bring Abby back?” Nate asked, narrowing his eyes.

  Montgomery breathed in deeply and shook his head. “No.”

  “Then I don’t care.”

  “I can offer you more than money, Mr. Cole. I can offer you a new life.”

  “Then why do you need me to rob a bank?”

  “Once you see what’s in the safety deposit box, you will understand.”

  “You fail to realize that I don’t care to understand,” Nate said. He stood from the booth, his head swimming wildly. “I’ll get you your item on the date specified in your document. And you better have the other half of my money. Because if you don’t, I don’t care how nice you seem, or how much you know about me, I’ll shoot you between the eyes.”

  Nate took the envelope and walked out. The guards met him at the end of the walkway and produced a bag full of money. The sight was almost enough to sober him up. Nate looked back once to see Tyler Montgomery staring at him from the entrance of The Tavern. Nate held firm to the bag and tipped his hat in Montgomery’s direction.

  The man had hired the best. Whatever was in that safety deposit box, Nate was going to get it for him. After all, Tyler Montgomery had paid a handsome sum. With this much money, Nate thought he might retire from this outlaw business.

  He wondered where he would end up.

  Levi

  Autumn, 903 A.O.M.

  Levi kept his eyes fixed ahead on the city in front of him as it crept closer to them, the cart going at a lazy pace. Sometimes it was difficult for Levi to be patient, especially when he had to rely on other people. It wasn’t entirely necessary that he rely on Vincent, however. The petty thief could have just pointed him in the direction of the city and Levi would have found it easily enough. But having the man with him saved him some time, and he didn’t know how much of it he had left. If it so happened that Nathaniel Cole and his brother had been placed anywhere near Levi, then they couldn’t have gone too far. And if they aimed to gather any information for themselves, they would have headed for the nearest city as well.

  Levi didn’t fully understand where he was, nor did he care to. He figured, though secretly, that he needed to talk to the nearest law enforcement and quickly. Since Nate was an outlaw, Levi thought that maybe the lawmen here might have heard of him, though that was unlikely. Things were different here. He couldn’t really place his finger on it, but things were different.

  Besides, a sheriff or deputy might be able to help him get started on his trek to find the Cole brothers. Levi would be able to get maps and locations. Maybe more supplies and food. There might even be rumors about strange appearances similar to Levi’s. Whatever
the case, he thought it best to start with the lawmen. In his experience, they liked bounty hunters well enough. None had ever given Levi too much trouble over the years. There were some who thought bounty hunters were just lawmen who were in it for the money and looked upon them with distaste. Levi didn’t disagree with them. However, in the case of Nathaniel Cole, Levi Thompson would kill the man for free and with a smile on his face.

  Vincent picked at his teeth as they rode along, making a sucking noise every couple of seconds. The man liked to talk. Boy, did he like to talk. He told Levi every detail about every little robbery he’d ever done. All of it petty little things that would never catch the attention of a bounty hunter. Levi resisted the urge to tell him that he’d caught plenty of men who were thieves and murderers. He’d seen countless hangings of people just like Vincent. Some places would put a man like him behind bars for a little while. Other places had no use for men like him and were more than willing to put a permanent end to his endeavors by use of a rope.

  But men like him tended to brag. Levi never could understand the thinking behind bragging outlaws. He couldn’t say how many men he’d put away on account of them having a big mouth. Bragging meant talking. Talking meant spreading information. The more people an outlaw bragged to, the higher chance Levi would have of coming across somebody willing to give him up.

  Oftentimes they would want something in return for the information, and Levi would give it to them depending on what it was—usually money. If the target was high profile enough, Levi would pay. People who could be bought usually had no idea how much their information was worth, and so often pitched an amount so low that Levi would have to keep from smiling. But no matter the amount, whether a dollar or a hundred dollars, Levi would always shake his head and say it was too much. He would start to leave and the informant would come chasing after him, lowering the amount by half almost every time. Levi would stall, shrug, and maybe start to walk away again after the appearance of careful consideration. He could usually count on getting the information he needed for about seventy-five percent less than the informant priced at the start. But if that person refused to go down in price, Levi wasn’t willing to give in. He didn’t like the feeling of being had, and if he paid full price, the informant had him. Levi would always find a different way.