Duck shifted to flank the Ranger, while Strong Heart unsheathed a knife. Scrambling to his feet, Keech assumed a fighter’s stance, clenched his hands into fists, and prepared to spring.
Quinn was the only one still and calm. “Everyone, stand down. We can handle this peaceful.” He turned his attention to the man at the door. “Hello, Ranger Doyle.”
“Mr. Revels.” Doyle tipped his hat. “Happy to see you, my friend.”
Climbing to her boots, O’Brien rubbed her backside. “You bruised my rump, Red.”
“Sorry, Em. I didn’t fancy you popping off at me with that rifle.” Doyle shifted his gaze to take in the entire cabin. “I didn’t come to hurt anyone, but I won’t abide you kids’ getting frisky. Listen to Mr. Revels, and keep your heads. Let me inside, and we can talk.”
“After you abandoned the mission?” Duck snarled. “And stole the Fang of Barachiel?”
The Ranger made a small huffing sound, as if he found Duck’s words amusing. “I never abandoned my mission, kid. My daughter is the reason I’m out here.”
“You don’t care about anybody but yourself,” Duck shot back.
Doyle’s lips pressed into a rigid line. “Have you seen my boy on the trail? Has John Wesley shown himself?”
“Not a sign,” Keech said. “John’s long gone. Not that you’d care.”
“I see.” Doyle shook his head, and shimmery tears formed in his eyes. The Ranger lowered his gaze, as though wanting to hide his grief, then took a long breath. When he glanced back up, his eyes were clear again. “How ’bout we all have a sit-down, and you can tell me what you’re up to.”
In his ever-calming voice, Quinn explained, “O’Brien here was just giving us a history lesson. She showed us a vision of everything that happened back in forty-five.”
Doyle frowned at his old Enforcer partner. “What did you show them?”
“What they needed to see,” O’Brien said.
“They need schoolbooks and daily chores.”
Brushing grit off her trousers, O’Brien said, “They need to know the truth.”
Keech’s fists tightened so hard he heard a knuckle pop. “Why are you here? Why ain’t you chasing after Coward and the Char Stone?”
Doyle scratched at his long beard, which had grown all the way to his Adam’s apple. “Tracking that devil’s no easy feat. He’s clever at disguising his trail. After I parted ways with your gang, I rode back toward Wisdom to pick up his direction. I got close enough to spot him one day. Your friend Cutter was with him. Did y’all know?”
“Of course we knew,” Duck said.
“How long did you follow them?” Strong Heart asked.
“Half a day. I’m an expert tracker, but Coward can confound his trail like no other. I suspect he sniffed me out. They vanished from sight, and his trail went cold.”
“That fella sure gives me the creeps,” Quinn said.
“Eventually I fell in behind you four,” Doyle continued. “Caught sight of you just outside the Suffering Bluffs. Saw you were being hunted.”
Understanding washed over Duck’s face. “It was you back down in the pass, running those twisters across the ridge. You started the avalanche.”
Doyle smiled. “Those snows didn’t just happen to tumble at the perfect time. I saved you. If it weren’t for me, Black Charlie would be laughing over your bones.” On this he peered at O’Brien. “Did you tell them about the Weavers? About Lost Tucker?”
“In the vision O’Brien showed us, I saw Weavers,” Keech said. “But I never saw a Lost Tucker. Who is that?”
“Black Charlie’s boss, who commands Rose’s largest army,” Doyle answered, then gave O’Brien a concerned look. “They’re still oblivious to the dangers waiting out there.”
“I tried to tell ’em. They won’t listen to sense,” O’Brien said.
“Enough!” Strong Heart snarled. She gripped her knife as though ready to throw it at the slightest twitch from the Ranger. “I am sorry your daughter died, Red Jeffreys, but you betrayed our trust. Return the Fang. The elders entrusted it to the Lost Causes to carry, not you.”
“Hand over the amulet shards while you’re at it,” Duck said. “They belong to us.”
The Ranger’s trail-worn face wrenched into a scowl. “Wrong, kid. One of those belonged to me. I took Rowdy Bennett’s, true enough, but Mr. Blackwood here stole the one I’d been carrying for years. And the Fang never belonged to the elders.” He turned to Strong Heart. “The elders are good people, but the Enforcers protected the Fang first. We built the bonfire, and we hid the relic there.”
“You used the Osage to bury your sins,” Strong Heart railed.
“Everybody, stay calm,” Quinn pleaded. “No need to set off no tempers.”
Strong Heart advanced toward Doyle with her blade. “Give me the Fang.”
Lifting a gloved finger, Doyle made a rapid circling gesture. “Not today. I’m in no mood to scuffle.” A thrumming pocket of wind swooped around the cabin. The wind spun around Strong Heart, driving her blade down and holding her in place.
Doyle returned his attention to O’Brien. “Em, I need you to lead me to the Key.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” O’Brien growled, “but I never found a way in.”
Still blocking the doorway, Doyle peered at the maps on the walls, as if taking in all of O’Brien’s failed attempts. “I will find it, Em. I will save my daughter.”
Through the open front door, movement outside the cabin caught Keech’s eye. Saint Peter, the Kelpie, strolled up toward the porch. The black stallion made no sound, and his hooves made no impressions in the snow. After Big Ben’s attack on Bonfire Crossing, the Kelpie had saved Keech’s life, taking on a human form and hauling him out of the ocean. The wondrous sight of the shape-shifter distracted Keech—till he spotted the knapsack that held the bones of Eliza, Doyle’s dead daughter.
“Return her bones to the earth,” O’Brien said, sadness cracking her voice. She held out a hand, an offer of peace. “I’m sorry about Eliza, but what you seek is damnation. We saw what the Char Stone did to Rose. Yer daughter can’t be saved, but you still can.”
Doyle shook his head. “I’m sorry you refuse to help. I reckon I should leave,” the Ranger said. “But first I need to collect the two shards you and Milos carried. Hand ’em over. Now.”
No sooner did the Ranger speak the words than Achilles growled, stepping back and baring his fangs. A jangle sounded from the pouch tied to his neck.
Realization dawned on Keech again.
Pa Abner had said there were five broken shards of the amulet. Keech had lost his piece to Coward, and Doyle had stolen Duck’s. The Ranger also carried his own, but that meant two other silver pieces were unaccounted for. Find the shards, Keech, and unite them, Pa had said before dying. The fragments had been scattered, but it stood to reason they could be gathered back together and used to stop the Reverend.
Locking eyes with Duck, Keech pointed at Achilles. The dog. He knew he could trust Duck to recognize what he wanted. The girl didn’t disappoint.
She sprinted toward the growling mutt and reached for the small pouch around his neck.
Doyle flicked his finger. “Stop right there!”
The heavy gust restraining Strong Heart shifted across the room, scooping Duck right off her feet. The girl tumbled sideways and crashed into the wall, a grunt escaping her lips.
“Duck!” Quinn shouted.
Strong Heart lunged, her knife flashing in the cabin’s flamelight, but with a jerk of Doyle’s hand, the knife spun out of her grip. The girl flew with it. She landed beside Duck, bellowing in pain.
Keech’s anger flashed like a wildfire, and his vision dimmed at the edges. All he could see now was Doyle blocking the doorway. Nothing else. A particular phrase from the journal returned to Keech’s mind: the invocation to stop attacks without bloodshed. Doyle’s own warning came with it—I fear the slightest misspoken sound could prove fatal to my target.
Pointing at Doyle’s chest, Keech muttered, “M’gah-ge-hye’thn!” The syllables raked over his tongue and scalded his throat like boiling water. A pulse of terrible force erupted from Keech’s fingertips, leaving his skin feeling charred.
Raw power ripped apart the threshold and shredded the cabin’s walls, filling the air with timber shards. The hammerblow sent Doyle tumbling across the porch, end over end, and dumped him into the snowy meadow. A terrible shriek accompanied the blast, and Keech saw that the energy had thrown O’Brien to the ground. Across the cabin, his trailmates appeared rattled.
Shaking the stupor out of his head, Keech hurried outside, hopping over demolished logs to get to Doyle.
The Ranger lolled on his back, disoriented. Moans escaped his bloodied lips, and one of his wrists lay bent at an awkward angle. He was still alive, but he’d taken the brunt of the Black Verse. Fear that he’d gone a step too far flooded Keech’s heart. He tried to shake off the uncertainty and called out to the man, “You brought this on yourself!”
Doyle simply groaned on the ground.
His fingertips smoldering, Keech stooped and opened the man’s coat. The two amulet shards Doyle had taken were tied on separate cords around his neck. Keech yanked them loose. After stuffing the charms into his pocket, he patted down the stunned Ranger. Sheathed on Doyle’s belt was the mystical bone dagger, the Fang of Barachiel. Keech pulled the blade free.
Doyle tried to sit up. “No, Keech. I need them.”
Keech pushed the Ranger back into the snow. “Stay down.”
Dark movement startled Keech’s vision, and as he turned, he saw Saint Peter stomping toward him. Keech stumbled back in surprise. “Saint Peter, it’s me!” he shouted, but the Kelpie pounded forward. A powerful hoof hammered down, but Keech rolled sideways in the snow, then pivoted to gain his feet. “I’m Keech, your friend! You saved my life, remember?”
No sign of anger burned in the creature’s emerald eyes. Saint Peter wasn’t trying to hurt him; he was trying to scare him. The Kelpie was protecting Doyle.
“I won’t hurt him again,” Keech said, backing away. “You have my word.” As he hurried back to the devastated cabin, he slid the Fang into his belt.
Inside, Quinn and Strong Heart were kneeling beside O’Brien, who lay on her back, her hands clutched over her stomach. Blood stained her shirt a dark purple. When she noticed Keech, she muttered, “You little fool.”
Duck gazed around at the ruined cabin, half-stunned. “Keech, what did you do?”
Keech had never expected the Black Verse to explode the entire wall. He only wanted to stop Doyle, not hurt anyone else. O’Brien had just been too close. He didn’t know how to explain everything he was feeling, so he said, “It wasn’t my fault.”
“Those words you spoke,” Quinn murmured. “They sounded sick.”
“You’re meddling with things you should leave alone,” Strong Heart scolded.
Keech stood his ground. “I did what I had to do. And it worked. I got the relic back.”
O’Brien sat up, grimacing in pain. “You tapped the Prime, you fool! You’ve called the Reverend down upon us!”
Keech frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you realize? The dark magic acts like a beacon. I’ve managed to keep this place hid for a decade, but now we’re wide open. They’ll be comin’! You ain’t got a lot of time. Get to yer horses and ride.”