Breath of the Feathered Serpent Read online

  “Dead?” Madison shouted and straightened up.

  “A while. Poisoned, I’d say.” Adam looked over at Madison. “Ugly way to go.”

  Madison came over and looked down. “Not accidental either,” Madison said as his holstered his gun and gazed at the body. “That’s not the result of water gone bad.”

  Adam straightened up and scrutinised the body once more. He’d jumped to the wrong conclusion with the positioning of the body. “Nope. You’re right. Seems like the Chief’s information was correct. Bit too coincidental a man would be poisoned in the very area where another man died when our trail went cold.” Noticing the man’s clenched fist, Adam crouched down and pried it open. The dead man held a ring with a distinctive blue stone in its center. Adam glanced up at Madison.

  “Worth reporting to the Chief,” Madison said. “The stone in the statue is blue. Maybe it’s some kinda code?”

  “I’ll just tuck it away safely...” The rest of Adam’s sentence was cut short when Madison interrupted.

  “Hello. Looks like we’re about to get some visitors.” Madison indicated several riders heading towards them. “Want to do your strong, silent act?” He pulled his pistol back out and held it loosely in his hand.

  “Sure. You talk. I’ll watch and listen.” Adam stood and turned slightly away from the approaching riders as he pressed one of the studs on his belt and activated a hidden switch. The copper stud dropped down, revealing a small compartment. Adam tucked the ring inside and pushed the stud back until it clicked into place.

  Keeping his gun ready and his hat pulled low, Adam lounged, apparently unconcerned, on a post just behind Madison. His sharp gaze picked out the sheriff’s badge. Interesting. Why would a sheriff bother riding all the way from town to an empty ranch?

  “Okay, boys. I’m Sheriff Jackson from Buzzard Hill. What’s happened here? Who’s he?”

  The sheriff looked middle age and lazy. A paunch stuck out like a shelf over his belt buckle. Adam didn’t see him as the type to leave his nice, comfy office unless forced. He’d share that observation with Madison later.

  “I’m Madison, and this is my cousin Adam. We’re just passing through, Sheriff, looking for some wrangling work. We heard there were a couple of ranches out here. Just our bad luck to hit the empty one first. Well, empty apart from him.” Madison indicated to the body with his foot.

  “You don’t know him?” Jackson asked, and his eyes narrowed.

  “Nope,” Madison replied. “If you’ve a mind to check, you’ll find two sweating horses over there. We only arrived a few minutes ago ourselves. We were looking for someone to see if we could rest here a while. He’s colder than the tits on a frigid witch.”

  Jackson grunted as he and one of his men checked over the body. He sent another one of his men to check on the horses. “Cold all right. Water must’ve been bad. You boys just got here?” Jackson peered at Madison and Adam in turn.

  “Yup,” Madison said.

  “Horses are like they said, Sheriff. They’re still cooling from a long ride.” The sheriff’s man sauntered back, taking his place with the others.

  Jackson nodded at his man and stared at Adam. “Your cousin doesn’t say much, does he?”

  “Nope.” Adam grumbled the word, barely glancing at the sheriff.

  “Well, if you’re drifters, I guess you boys’ll just keep on moving.” Jackson spoke to Madison, but his gaze was fixed on Adam. He dropped down onto one knee and patted the body, checking all the pockets. “You find anything here? To identify him?”

  “Not a thing,” Madison said, his voice a slow drawl. “And since there’s nothing here, we’ll probably just mosey into town. Maybe stay there for tonight. See the other ranches tomorrow.”

  “Nothing work wise at either of them,” Jackson said. “Better off if you keep on going.”

  “Well our funds are running low. So, we’ll try the ranches anyway. Maybe he worked for one of them.” Madison glanced down at the dead man. “They’ll be needing a new hand now, won’t they?”

  Adam smirked. It seemed Madison had hit a sore spot with the sheriff. One of the two remaining men still on their horses rode forward.

  “He’s not one of my men, so you needn’t bother coming to my ranch. As for the other one, they probably couldn’t afford you, even if they needed the help. My name’s Carter, Abel Carter. I own the biggest ranch around here, the Big A. Anyone else is just small potatoes and not worth wasting your time.”

  “You just let us be the judge of that.” Adam tilted his hat a fraction. He wanted to alert Madison that he felt something was off kilter with the sheriff and Carter and speaking up was a perfect way to do it. He glanced at his friend, who gave a barely perceptible nod. “We’ve nowhere else to be and haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “We could do with food and rest, Carter. Plus, we’re low on funds. Even a couple of weeks of work would mean a big difference to us. We’re not trouble, Sheriff.” Madison stepped forward a little. “We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Maybe you boys need a night in one of my cells to get the message...” The rest of Jackson’s words were cut off by a shout from one of his men.

  “Riders approaching.”

  Chapter Five

  Adam’s gaze fixed on the newcomers. There was something odd about them, and then he realized they both wore the same red and black checkered shirts and gray hats. One rider dismounted and came forward. Adam was glad most of his face was hidden by his hat. The rider was a woman, lean and athletic. It was only as she drew close that Adam saw the slight curves of her figure. Auburn hair tumbled from under her hat and curled down to her slim shoulders. She knelt down next to the body.

  “What happened to him?” she asked brusquely.

  “Seems the water in the trough is bad, ma’am,” Madison said, tipping his hat as he spoke.

  “My name is Ellen, not ma’am.” She glared at Madison as if daring him to say more.

  Adam smirked and then looked at the other rider who’d dismounted. To Adam’s surprise, it wasn’t another woman as he’d assumed. The young man had the same lean build and auburn hair as his sister, but as he came closer, the masculine angles of his face were clearly visible, as were the lush, full lips that made Adam lick his own, suddenly dry ones.

  He stared at the youth. In his time, Adam had bedded, or been bedded by, more men than he cared to count, let alone remember. He’d become jaded, and he knew it. But there was just something about this man that piqued his interest. Adam was quite certain that in a month, a year, or even a decade from now, if he lived that long, he would remember the plaid-shirted, beautiful young man.

  The stranger came to stand by his sister. “That’s Charlie. Or it was.” He looked from Madison to Adam and back again. “You fellers find him?”

  “That’s right, Mister...” Madison waited for a name.

  “Elijah. I’m Elijah.”

  “Did he discuss coming here with you?” Ellen asked, looking at Elijah. “I saw the two of you talking together.”

  “Nope. Not with me. He said he wanted to have a word with Uncle and see you about something. He never mentioned anything about riding out here.”

  Adam pursed his lips. It seemed to him that a whole heap of attention was focused on one dead cowpoke. But then again, not many ranch hands ended up dead from allegedly bad water on a supposedly deserted ranch. More surprisingly was the disappointment he felt realizing that Elijah might have been the last man to see Charlie alive. That made him a potential suspect.

  “Well if it’s all the same to you, Sheriff, Adam and me will be getting along and head into town. Maybe we’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Ellen. We’re short of funds right now and hoping to find some ranch work.” Madison tipped his hat to Ellen, who remained stone-faced.

  “Given we’ve lost Charlie, we could do with some help, Sis,” Elijah said.

  “Maybe. But the final say will be Uncle’s. Don’t forget that,” Ellen said. “Let’s go.
We need to let him know what’s happened. If you fellers are thinking of calling ‘round, make it before noon. Uncle likes to take a nap in the afternoon, and we never disturb him when he’s resting. I take it you’ll take care of the remains, Sheriff? Or maybe you will, Mr. Carter. Another one of your charitable acts.” Not waiting for a reply, Ellen headed toward her horse with Elijah a step behind.

  Walking towards their own horses, Adam watched the twins from the corner of his eye.

  “She’s a fiery one,” Madison muttered. “Must be the red hair. Pretty enough though.”

  “Yes, he was.” Adam realized his slip too late to censure it.

  “He? Well, I guess so. He catch your eye, buddy?” Madison asked, his lips curling upwards into a smirk.

  “Doesn’t matter if he did. How did that cowpoke get poisoned? What was he even doing here? Was Elijah the last to see him, and, if so, did he know Charlie was coming here or did he send him here? The kid’s a suspect, nothing more, Madison.”

  “Hmm, well maybe,” Madison said. “Let’s get into town. See what we can find out about the kids and their uncle. And Carter. Didn’t sound like Ellen thought too highly of him.”

  “Why was Carter there? This isn’t his ranch, and Charlie wasn’t his hand. And just what in the hell made them all come out here?” There were way too many questions left unanswered for Adam’s liking. “Any or all of them could be suspects,” he muttered as he swung up into his saddle. “I don’t trust that sheriff or Carter.”

  From on his horse, Adam glanced around quickly. Elijah and his sister were already headed back in the direction they’d come. One of the sheriff’s men rode as if chased by the hounds of hell in the direction of town, while Carter and Jackson stood close together talking. Adam was used to reading body language. Carter seemed mighty angry and the sheriff subdued. “Carter looks to have Jackson under his thumb.”

  “Sure does. If that’s true then there’ll be some gossip in town. Let’s pick somewhere to stay and hit the local saloon. A few whiskies should loosen some tongues.”

  As Madison urged his horse into a fast canter, Adam followed, and he struggled to push away the image of Elijah that his memory held onto with tenacity. Even if he wasn’t a suspect, there’s no way a gorgeous, young thing like that is going to be interested in a grizzled, jaded old man like me. He’ll be dreaming of pretty girls in bonnets and frills, with lots of little red-headed babies. Pull yourself together, man. It’s dangerous enough without you daydreaming of what will never be.

  Chapter Six

  “What in the hell...”

  Adam turned at Madison’s yell. A stage coach careened madly along the road. He couldn’t see the driver. With a volley of curses and a bellow of his own, Adam urged his horse into a full gallop. Madison was right behind him.

  Madison climbed into a crouch on his saddle then leapt from his horse onto the stage to take the reins. Adam urged his mount on and rode up beside the lead horses. While Madison pulled the reins, straining and yelling for the horses to stop, Adam grasped a handful of one horse’s bridle. He yanked hard, adding his own shouts to Madison’s.

  Even with both him and Madison pulling at the reins, the team was in such a frenzy they didn’t change speed. Adam fought with all his strength and still the horses refused to slow. He glanced back. The stage swung precariously from side to side. Anxiety ate at his resolve. If he failed stop the horses, the stage would inevitably topple. If it did, Madison, as well as whoever was inside, would be crushed and killed.

  He decided to make a risky maneuver. He wasn’t prepared to lose Madison to a runaway stage. With split-second timing and an agility that he knew his size belied, he leapt from his horse onto one of the lead horses.

  Grasping two handfuls of leather, Adam pulled back as hard as he could. He groaned with the effort. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He was sure his shoulders were going to wrench from their sockets. His strength was ebbing.

  A whoop from Madison alerted him to the slowing of the horses. Thank you, Lord.

  It took a few moments for the horses to come to a standstill. Adam slumped forward onto the horse’s neck as he heard another jubilant shout from Madison. Despite his exhaustion, his lips curled into a smile. He drew in a few deep breaths, and as he sat up, he rotated his shoulders gingerly.

  “We did it,” Madison yelled.

  “Sure did.” Adam eased from the horse and unhitched the team. The horses would need some time to recover.

  Adam looked over at Madison, who grinned and waved. Cinnamon and Spark, his and Madison’s horses, came trotting up. He patted Cinnamon’s neck and left her with the other horses. He joined his friend at the coach.

  A frightened driver peered up at him from where he lay at Madison’s feet. A trickle of blood ran from his temple down his cheek.

  “What happened?” Adam panted, trying to catch his breath.

  “Gunmen,” the driver said. “Outlaws I guess. Bullet grazed my arm. I fell down here, banged my head, and lost control of the team. I owe you, fellers. If the gunmen hadn’t got us, the stage would’ve toppled at some point...dead either way in my book.”

  “Us?” Madison asked.

  “Just got the one passenger. City boy. Best check he’s not hurt.” The driver groaned as he tried to move, and Madison pushed him back down gently.

  “I’ll check on him,” Adam said. He looked inside the stage. A lone, white-faced passenger stared back at him. “You’re okay. It’s over.” Adam spoke in the same low, soft tones as he would to a terrified animal. “Let’s get you out. Careful now.”

  At one time the blond who eased himself forward would have made Adam’s heart flip and his groin heat, but as handsome as this man was, he paled in comparison to Elijah. There was no mistaking the stranger for anything other than a city slicker. His suit was immaculate and well cut. Adam couldn’t imagine what would bring a city dweller way out to the middle of nowhere.

  “You...you saved us, sir. I...I owe you my life.” Even as he spoke, the blond’s knees buckled.

  Adam instinctively reached for him and guided him to sit on the stage’s steps. The stranger held him a little longer than necessary. Adam gazed into eyes as blue as a summer sky. He gave a quick smile and curt nod. “You just rest there a spell. You’ll be as good as gold in a minute or two.”

  Adam stepped away from him, acutely aware of the gaze that followed his every move. He headed to the front of the stage.

  Madison looked up from bandaging the driver’s head. “How’s the passenger?”

  “He’s fine. Just shook up. Probably find himself mighty bruised.” Adam looked at the driver. “Any idea why you were chased?” he asked the coachman.

  “None. I mean...I never carry anything valuable, and the youngster has been my only passenger since the last stage stop. He don’t have nothin’ of value. Just himself an’ a bag.”

  Adam returned to the recovering blond. “So where is it you’re headed Mister...?” Adam let his voice trail away.

  “Smithson. Abe Smithson, and who do I owe my life to?”

  “I’m Adam, and this is my cousin Madison. We’re just drifters looking for some work.”

  “Oh. Well that could be useful. There’s a ranch out here. Nothing big. The Silver S. It belonged to a cousin I didn’t even really know. I received several very good offers to buy it, and thought, if it’s so valuable, then I should come out and see it for myself. Maybe I could even make a go of running it.” Abe looked eagerly from Adam to Madison and back again.

  Madison caught Adam’s eye, and he inclined his head a fraction. “Well, as it happens your ranch isn’t too far from here, Mr. Smithson...” Madison’s words were cut short by an enthusiastic Abe.

  “Abe. Please call me Abe.”

  “Sure thing, Abe,” Madison said. “Now, your ranch probably isn’t what you’re expecting. It’s a reasonable size, but nothing big or fancy. Maybe its value is more related to its location.”

&nbs
p; Adam watched the younger man closely, but his expression remained guileless and excited. Adam muffled a sigh. Abe seemed to be an innocent caught up in a dangerous situation, but there was little they could do except keep an eye on him.

  “We hate to add to your distress, Abe, given the scare you’ve just had, but a man died on your property. Me and Madison found him. You’d best make it a priority to empty out your trough and check your well water.” Adam watched as the color, so recently returned to Abe’s cheeks, drained away once again. He stood at the ready should the young man start to fall, but Abe rallied.

  “A dead man. On my ranch. Empty my trough. You’re right, Madison. This isn’t how I expected things to be when I arrived.” Abe looked at Adam. “Could you at least show me which way to go? I guess I’ll be walking the rest of the way.”

  Adam glanced back at Madison who winced and jumped down from his perch on the coach. “Have you ever been out West, Abe?” he asked.

  Abe shook his head. “No. Born and raised out East. The West always sounded so...so incredibly exciting. I thought this was my chance for adventure. I guess I should have been more careful for what I wished.”

  “Let me warn you, Abe, this ranch is going to be a mess of hard work,” Adam said.

  “Maybe you could help?” Abe said softly and took a step closer to Adam. “I can pay.”

  The young man’s cologne, a soft, woody scent, tickled Adam’s nostrils. “Well, at least let us escort you into town, make sure you’re safe and settled. It’ll be far better if we hitch the horses back up and you ride into town with us. Stay in town a day. Me and my cousin could meet you out at the Silver S say, day after tomorrow?”

  “Thank you, Adam. I’d be really grateful.” Abe took another tiny step closer.

  Adam smiled and took a step back. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.

  Chapter Seven

  The stagecoach pulled up at a small hotel, and Adam waved goodbye to Abe, who pouted softly then picked up his bags and headed inside.