The Shadow Trail (An Evan Ryder Weird Western)
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“You don’t want to cross these people Ryder.” Carter Maynes rode beside me as we passed under the sign at the edge of Burnett’s land and he was abnormally full of stern warnings this fine afternoon. It seemed he had done quite the bit of reading in the secret bunker the night before. “I mean, for God’s sake their roots run deep, to our nation’s founding even!”
Before responding, I rifled through a provision bag supplied by the enigmatic Mama Louise and pulled out a plump, red strawberry. “Let them come out of the shadows after me, I’ll welcome the meeting.” I bit the stem off the strawberry’s top and reached back over my head, releasing it to the tiny grasping fingers of Nina’s outstretched hands. The little wolf girl was strapped snug and comfortable in a leather pack on my back. Mama Louise had also tied the little one’s hair back in a finely crafted braid and her grandson had slipped me a child sized cotton bonnet upon our parting. Neither had informed the injured Joshua Burnett about the girl.
Carter whistled through his teeth. “Well, you have your family’s money to shield you I suppose.” I turned on him sharply before seeing the smile on his jolly face and realized he was speaking in jest. “But did you have to name her after your dead horse?”
I looked down at the old brown nag beneath me. I had bought her from the senior Burnett for the ride home. “It seemed right, old Nina was there at the beginning of all this.”
“Oh, and what exactly is-this?”
“I’m not quite sure yet Carter.” I squinted at an approaching dust cloud over the road ahead. “Do humor me and let’s leave the trail for a bit. Can we take the scenic route for a change?”
My superior shrugged his vast shoulders and followed me down through the clover bushes and out onto the plain. Nina was sleeping and we were well off the trail when the men in the dark coats rode furiously past. Carter hadn’t noticed them and I smiled as I felt little Nina’s legs kick on my back in the midst of what I hoped was a wondrous dream.
The W.E.r.d. Timeline
Modern Day
Dark Zenith
Dark Garden
Dark Heart (October 2013)
Early Twentieth Century
The Shadow Trail
The Shadow Town (August 2013)
Pre-History
The Savage Green
The Blood Red Horizon
The Cold Cerulean Sea (December 2013)