Bulletproof Witch Page 26

  “Somehow I doubt that. Wouldn’t have stopped Lucius from doing everything the way he has. I think I took out my frustration in that regard on you more than I ought to. Anyway, I’m sorry about the whole mess. If you say you’re a boy, then who am I to disagree?”

  William didn’t respond, but Temperance saw the ghost of a smile play across his face. The next moment it disappeared. “There is one more thing we must discuss.”

  “Only one? I can count at least three on my own list. Most of them can wait, though.”

  “This one cannot.” He shifted in the saddle and looked away. “I am sixteen now.”

  “You are.”

  “When Lucius finds us again, he will not hesitate to turn me. If . . . if we are overwhelmed, I want you to promise—”

  “That won’t happen,” Temperance said, her voice more forceful than she felt.

  “—I want you to promise that you will end me before he has the chance.”

  “I won’t let it come to that.” Temperance caught the boy’s gaze and held it. “We are going to find my grandpa’s cabin, and we are going to end this.”

  “Thank you, Temperance. Shall we continue on?”

  “For a little bit, at least. I’m about fit to fall from the saddle, but I want a few more miles between us and the Gunpowder Gang first.”

  They continued north, the plains growing green and lush from spring rains. Temperance kept looking for landmarks from trips through here earlier in the week, but so far nothing was as she remembered. Of course, it had been night when she set out after William last time, so of course the landscape wouldn’t look the same. Still, at least a familiar rock or two would be a welcome sight.

  She had just begun to look for somewhere to shelter for a few hours’ rest when she spotted the smoke. It was a distant line on the horizon ahead of them, its color a stark black against the otherwise eggshell-blue of the sky. She pointed it out to William.

  “Should we investigate?” the boy asked. “What if it is more trouble?”

  “Pretty sure the Three have handed out all the trouble we need for the foreseeable future. Besides, it’s right along our path. Unless we want to take the time to go around it, we’ll be there soon enough, anyway.”

  ‘Soon enough’ proved to be almost another hour of riding. They crested a small hill and finally saw what was causing the smoke. Temperance looked down at the sight and wished they had detoured after all.

  The twisted and blackened remains of a farmhouse were spread out below, the grass all around it charred to nothing. In the distance, another building still smoldered, black smoke pouring off it and polluting the sky.

  “Is that—?” William asked.

  “Yep. The Dunpeal farm, or at least it was.”

  “Do you think . . . .”

  “What, that it was Lucius? Maybe indirectly. Wouldn’t surprise me if he sent some men while the others were collecting us. Or could have been Whittaker himself that gave orders. Gods know I gave him enough reason to want revenge.” Temperance spat. There was a fire in her belly now, but it was sputtering for lack of somewhere to point it. “This is another one of my mistakes. I should have tried to get word to them, or sent them to stay with a neighbor for a while. My grandpa never would have tolerated this kind of sloppiness.”

  They rode down the slope and approached the farmhouse. Near what had been the Dunpeal’s front door, Temperance spotted the remains of a corpse half-buried under ash and blackened timber. It was impossible to tell if it was a member of the Dunpeal family or whoever attacked them, as the fire had stripped away all identifying features, leaving little more than bones and a few scraps of flesh.

  William glanced down from his horse and shivered. “It makes me feel terrible, thinking that the Dunpeal family are lucky if it was only bandits that did this. Better death than to be enthralled to one such as Lucius.”

  “Hey now, we don’t know for certain they’re dead. Chances are their dogs gave warning enough for them to flee, or at least put up a fight. Might be Richard set the fires as a lesson and then fled.” Temperance could hear the lie in her words, and had little doubt the boy missed it either. She turned her horse and started out north again.

  Once the smell of burning farmhouse faded, they took shelter in a small pine motte. Despite his insistence that he wasn’t tired, Temperance claimed the first watch. She spent the next several hours staring at waving grass stalks, the only sound that of the occasional breeze and the constant drone of William’s snores.

  At last Temperance roused the boy and sought her own blankets. It felt as if she had just closed her eyes when a rough shake woke her again. Temperance bolted upright, hand reaching for her revolver, only to remember she had given it to William while he stood guard. She stared at him, blinking sleep from her eyes, and asked, “What is it? Nightfall already?”

  William shook his head. “There is someone out there.”

  “What? Did the Gunpowder Gang catch up with us already?”

  “I do not think so. I only see one man.” He motioned towards the trees. Temperance approached and peeked out between the prickly needles.

  Across the field stood a lone figure. He didn’t make any attempt to approach, just continued to stare in their direction.

  Temperance drew back. Taking the revolver from William she considered her options. The gun only had three bullets in it, an auspicious number to be sure, but little use in a shootout. She could spare one to use on the man, but who was to say a half-dozen others weren’t waiting on the other side of the hill?

  What am I doing? She shook her head. Trying to go up against even one man right now would be foolish. Every part of her hurt so bad she could barely mount her horse, let alone hold her own in a fight. More importantly, she didn’t have her jacket to rely on anymore. There was a very real chance that the next time someone shot at her, she would end up on the wrong side of the dirt.

  “So? Is it a thrall?” William asked.

  “Probably. Looks like he’s just keeping an eye on our position. Might be Lucius sent one ahead of the rest using that last horse of theirs.” Temperance cursed herself for not thinking to take all the animals when they fled. “I could try to sneak up on him, but something tells me he knows we’re here already. Best if we just get moving again.”

  The ground rose around them as the sun declined. The hills turned leafy at first, then opened up as the trees changed to more pines and fir. Temperance guessed the mountains were still a day away, perhaps more, but it felt as if they had arrived at the foothills already.

  “Where does this cabin lie, exactly?” William asked as they stopped at a stream to drink, the light from the twin moons reflecting upon the burbling waters.

  “Not entirely sure. I had a map, but it showed a pass coming from the east. From this direction, I’m going as much by feel as anything. Still, I know we need to look for a rock shaped like a bird that will show us the way. If we’re lucky, we should spot it sometime before tomorrow night.”

  Temperance left unsaid what would happen if they were unlucky.

  Daybreak found them out upon a shelf of open land, little more than broken rocks all the same gray tone. Even the sky had clouded over in the last few hours, leaving the world above as bleak as the land they found below.

  “We’ll camp here,” Temperance said when they arrived in no particular spot. There was nowhere to shelter that she could find, nowhere to seek a break from the chill wind. Still, if anyone tried sneaking up on them, then at least they would have plenty of warning. She turned to William. “You want first watch, or me?”

  “I will take it. You hardly had more than a few minutes yesterday.”

  “Alright, but don’t let me sleep for more than an hour or two. We need to get moving again soon as we can.” Temperance found the smoothest place she could among the rubble and lay down. At that moment she could have used a cactus for a pillow and still slept a week without trouble.

  * * *

  “Temperance!”
<
br />   Bolting upright, Temperance stared around bleary-eyed. Her mind was still one foot in another dream of red skies and black suns, so it took her a moment before she managed to focus on her surroundings. Then the real world asserted itself, and terror clamped icy fingers on her throat.

  William lay on his back a short way down the slope, a dark shape atop of him. The boy kicked his legs and flailed at his attacker, and Temperance caught the glint of a knife as they rolled amid the rocks.

  “Hold on!” She half-slid down the hillside, small stones flying before her like a cresting wave. William gave an incomprehensible cry as the knife sliced into his arm, the attacker immediately pulling it back for another strike. Lifting it over his head, he drove it down towards William’s chest.

  Temperance slammed into the figure’s back, sending him tumbling down the rest of the slope. Her own momentum carried her over William and down the slope herself, stones ripping through the fabric of her shirt to slice at her skin. The world spun in a circle as she rolled, lances of agony running through her with each turn.

  The spinning came to an abrupt stop at the bottom, and Temperance lay there, staring at the featureless sky, panting for breath. She turned her head and saw the attacker’s knife lying between two stones just a short distance away.

  Is anything broken? Nothing feels broken. She prodded herself in a few places, then tried to sit up. A sharp pain in her leg almost doubled her over. She could see blood leaking through the last strip of bandage that William had placed on her gunshot wound.

  The man who had attacked them let out a growl. He climbed to his feet and stumbled towards the knife. Temperance cursed as she rolled onto her stomach. She half-crawled, half-slithered towards it, fighting a sudden heaving in her guts that threatened to return what sparse food she had eaten in the past day.

  Their attacker reached the weapon first, fingers closing upon it. He turned to snarl at her, his face caked in ash and grime and several dark streaks that looked like dried blood. Temperance didn’t slow down, but simply barreled into the man again, arms gripping his waist, slamming his back into the rocks. They landed hard, the wind going out of her in a rush.

  Pain screamed through every fiber of her being. Temperance grabbed at the attacker’s wrists, trying to seize the knife or at least force it from his grip. Together the two of them struggled back and forth, the knife swinging dangerously between them as they rolled over the sharp rocks.

  Temperance had both of her hands wrapped around the man’s wrists now, and it took all of her strength just to keep them from plunging the knife into her heart. They rolled again, and she found herself pinned beneath, knife slowing closing the gap between them. She pushed back with all her might and fury, but her attacker was a man grown and clearly no stranger to hard labor. Muscles in her arms strained to their limits, but still the knife came closer.

  The knife reached her shirt, and Temperance felt the blade cut through the fabric and into the flesh beneath. More pain coursed through her, although it was merely a new color in the palette of agony that had become her waking life. She growled out a curse, and the knife sank deeper. Another inch would see her end.

  Why the Hell didn’t I make more of those needles? If I somehow survive this, I’m weaving a couple dozen of them into my skirt!

  Survival, however, did not seem a likely prospect. She stared at their attacker and saw only hate reflected back. With a last scream, Temperance squeezed his wrists and tried to shove him away.

  The attacker’s eyes suddenly went wide. He slumped to one side, his whole body limp now, the knife clattering among the rocks, leaving a red stain of blood in its wake.

  Temperance shoved the man off her and sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. The pain in her chest was all-consuming now, and it took a considerable amount of effort to keep herself conscious. Black shadows crept along the edge of her vision, whispering to relax and give in now that the fight was over.

  One of the shadows coalesced into a shape, blocking out the gray sky above. William studied her, his expression full of concern. “Temperance! He did not hurt you too badly, did he?”

  “He did, but I’ll survive. Probably.” Temperance squeezed her eyes shut and sat up. The shadows swam over her entire vision for a moment, but then receded. “What happened?”

  “I hit him with my hammer. It took me a moment to dig it from my bag, I am sorry I did not get here sooner.”

  “Why didn’t you just shoot him?”

  William’s face paled. “The gun! I forgot I even had it! Oh, Temperance, I am so sorry!”

  “Nevermind, worked out better this way. At least we still have three bullets.” She glanced over at the attacker, lying facedown among the rocks. There was a smear of blood on the back of his neck, but he wasn’t dead: his chest still showed a slight rise and fall, as if he were only slumbering peacefully.

  She turned back to William. “Help get me bandaged up, and then we’ll see about getting a few answers from our friend here.”

  The boy scurried away and rooted around in his bag. Temperance looked on, and then back at their attacker. She frowned. “I’m probably going to regret asking this, but how did he get the drop on you? There wasn’t so much as a dang tree between here and the next mountain.”

  William paused, then went back to digging in his bag. He didn’t look up. “I, ah, may have lost track of time, with the sun being hidden and all. And it was so quiet too, I just . . . closed my eyes for a moment, I think? Then that man was standing over me growling and waving that knife.”

  “You fell asleep?”

  “I think so.” William hung his head. “I am sorry! All of this mess is my fault. I should have just stayed in Isterial.”

  “Now, don’t say that. You can’t blame yourself for another’s actions, and anyway, all this running and hiding takes a toll on everyone. I’m not going to hold your feet to the fire over it.”

  “Thank you, Temperance.” William smiled in relief.

  “Don’t mention it. Now, if you could see about patching me up? Getting tired of using my shirt to hold my blood in here.”

  After her more serious wounds were cleaned and wrapped, Temperance used some rope from her saddle to tie the stranger’s hands behind his back. Rolling him over, she gave him a kick to the gut. “Wake-up time. You still alive down there?”

  Two eyes opened and fixed on Temperance’s own. The hate from before filled them in a flash, and the man sat upright, a snarl escaping his lips. Temperance kicked him back down.

  “None of that, now. You tell us what we want to know and maybe you get to walk off this mountain alive. Did Lucius send you?”

  The man growled and tugged at his bonds, but didn’t try to sit up again. “I came of my own accord, Miss Whiteoak. The frozen fires of Hell couldn’t have kept me from you.”

  Temperance stiffened at the use of her last name. She was square certain that neither Richard Whittaker nor his men had known about that, and it would have meant less than nothing to Lucius. She squinted down at her captive. “Who are you?”

  “Don’t you remember me? How can you forget, after the hospitality my family and I showed you and the boy over there? Invited you into our home, broke bread, gave you supplies. Why, I practically treated you like my own daughter.” The man cut off and bit at his lip. A small sob burst from between them.

  “Daughter?” Temperance’s eyes went wide, and behind her William let out a gasp. “Benjamin? Mister Dunpeal? You’re alive?”

  “I sure am, no thanks to you and all your damn troubles. If I had known what I do now, I would have let my dogs tear you both to pieces the moment I set eyes on you.”

  “What happened out there on your farm? Was it the Gunpowder Gang?”

  Benjamin shook his head, and something else clouded the hate showing in his eyes. Sadness, or perhaps something deeper. “It was my daughter, Clarabelle. Night after you took off, she stole my gun and attacked us all during supper. My poor wife died before she even knew what was ha
ppening. Sam and Edwin managed to wrestle it away from her, but they knocked over a lantern and—” He paused as another sob wracked his chest. “—In minutes the whole place was on fire. I managed to pull Clarabelle out, but smoke got to my boys before I could save them.”

  He hung his head, tears rolling from his cheeks. Temperance’s breath had caught in her throat, and she took an involuntary step back. Her shoulder bumped into William.

  “Where is she now?” the boy asked.

  “Dead.” The word was almost inaudible through Benjamin’s cries. He took a deep breath. “I took her to the barn, tried to get her to calm down. She kept begging me to put her down like a rabid dog, kept saying she could still hear that voice in her head telling her what to do. She tried attacking me, taking my knife. That knife.”

  He nodded to where his knife hung on Temperance’s hip. She reached down and withdrew it, staring at the blade without seeing it. Benjamin continued, “After she finally bled out, I went out of my mind. Next thing I knew, I was several hills away and my barn was burning behind me. I wandered around for days before I was finally brave enough to return home. Then what do I find, but you two poking around in the ashes without a care in the world. All I’ve wanted since that moment is to bury my knife in your hearts. Same as . . . same as . . . .”

  He burst into tears again. Temperance watched him, guilt curdling in her gut. If she had only made sure that Lucius was dead . . . no. There was enough she was to blame for already. She wouldn’t add this burden to the pile as well.

  “Mister Dunpeal, I’m sorry for what happened to your family, but there was nothing any of us could have done.” William started to speak, but Temperance put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. “The monster that did this, Lucius, is still out there drawing breath. Until I manage to make an end of him, this is going to keep happening. Hell, the situation is only going to get worse if he isn’t stopped soon. If you really want to avenge your family, you’ll help us, not try and kill us.”

  “I wouldn’t help you if the Three themselves demanded it! That monster wouldn’t have had any interest in me and my own if you two hadn’t come along. So you best end me here and now, because otherwise I promise that I’ll see you in the dirt, one way or another.”