Keep each other safe and never stop fighting.
—NATHANIEL EMBRY
Led by Em O’Brien, the Lost Causes followed a long and wandering trail through the many valleys and rises of the Rocky Mountains. They rode for weeks, fishing and gathering roots and nuts, living off hardtack when other food was scarce. They told stories and laughed. At other times, they were silent and content to stare at the clouds and the peaceful sky. Along the way, they greeted scouts from various tribes and travelers who shared news of the world.
During the nights, Duck often had trouble sleeping. When she did finally doze off, her dreams sounded troubled, full of ghosts. Along their journey, Keech listened to her speak about Sainte Genevieve and her parents and more often about Nat. One afternoon while resting their horses near a lazy river, Keech mentioned her brother’s courage in the town of Wisdom, and Duck began to sob. “Nathaniel wouldn’t want me to cry, but I can’t help it,” she said.
Keech put his arm around the girl. “You cry as much as you want to. We’re family now, Duck. All of us are connected, like the links of the Key. We support one another, and that won’t ever change.”
“Like the links of the Key,” Duck echoed, wiping her eyes.
Two months passed. Quinn and Achilles formed a tight hunting partnership, often scouting ahead of the travelers in the morning and returning with freshly caught meat around suppertime. Over campfire meals, Quinn would regale the company with his dreams of taking his aunt Ruth to the Free State of Massachusetts. “After everything she’s done for me, I’ll get her there. Maybe Auntie can run that sewing shop I told y’all about, and I could go to school and study music.” He rubbed absently at his throat. “A few weeks’ rest has done my voice a ton of wonders. I’m ready to start singing again.”
“You’ll be the finest singer in all of Boston. Just be careful not to turn invisible in front of your audience,” Keech joked.
For much of the journey, Strong Heart rode in silence. After Keech’s discussion with Enoch, she had reclaimed the Fang of Barachiel and swore to keep the dagger safe again. Thoughts of her departed brother and her life as a Protector kept her somber, but Strong Heart’s face brightened whenever she told stories of her home and her people in southern Kansas. One day she asked if Keech ever felt a kinship to the Osage, having grown up so differently, and Keech realized that after Bad Whiskey’s attack, he had never been given time to sit and think about such matters. “I’ve missed a great deal of possibilities,” he said. “But I gained others with the life Pa Abner gave me. I can’t go back and change things, but I can make sure to respect where my true father came from.”
Strong Heart nodded and said she understood.
Keech and Sam took to wearing their deputy stars on their breast pockets. They persuaded Duck to wear hers as well. They told stories about Sheriff Turner, and Sam bragged about the lawman’s keen judgment on the long trail to find Keech. When the conversation turned one evening to all the harrowing events in Kansas, Keech finally told Sam the full story of how he’d lost his old friend Felix to Big Ben and the Marsh Bane. After that tale, Keech never spoke of the Big Snake again.
When the company finally emerged from the Rockies into Nebraska Territory, O’Brien offered each of the Lost Causes a tender embrace. This was the place where they would part ways.
“Keep headin’ southeast and you’ll run into Kansas in no time,” she said.
“Will you be taking Achilles?” Quinn asked.
O’Brien gave the old hound a scratch behind the ear, then gently pushed the animal toward Quinn. “No sir. He ain’t my dog and never was. He traveled with Milos. But I suspect he fancies a new partner. Ain’t that right, pup?”
Achilles yapped excitedly, licked the woman’s face, then scurried closer to his new companion. Beaming with unmistakable joy, Quinn said, “Much obliged for your help, Miss O’Brien.”
The trail-hardened toughness of O’Brien’s face softened, and the woman’s lips trembled. But then just as quickly, the Enforcer snarled and said, “I done told you tadpoles a thousand times. I ain’t no ‘Miss.’”
Then, tipping her hat, Em O’Brien rode away.
One bright morning a few weeks later, the Lost Causes crested a hill in Kansas Territory and spotted the town of Wisdom. Though much of the settlement had been destroyed, new buildings had been erected along Main Street. A new chapel was under construction, and the Big Snake’s ramshackle log wall had been torn down.
The young riders galloped into town and asked for Ruth. They found her supervising a medical tent, where she cared for the sick and the wounded still recovering after their journey from Skeleton Peak. Quinn dashed to the woman, yelling her name, and they tumbled into each other’s arms.
“I never worried one second,” Ruth said as she covered Quinn with kisses. “Every night I prayed for your safety and fell asleep with a warm surety in my heart that you were alive.”
“I’m alive because of you,” Quinn told the woman.
That same afternoon, Quinn and his aunt prepared to leave Wisdom for good. They suspected their journey north would be nearly as perilous as their passage from Tennessee, so Quinn loaded Lightnin’ and Ruth’s horse with enough provisions to keep them on the move for several days. With Duck’s help, they studied maps and planned the routes they hoped would take them on the safest path to Massachusetts.
“I will leave for my home today as well,” Strong Heart said. “I miss my people, and I know my uncle, Wah-hu Sah-kee, is waiting for me.”
Quinn reached for Strong Heart’s hand, but instead of taking it, she embraced him for a full minute. “Weh-wee-nah, Quinn Revels. The world is cruel and cannot see the person I see. But I will never forget you. I will never look away.”
Resting his forehead upon her shoulder, Quinn said, “I see you, too, Strong Heart. Thank you for saving my life. Weh-wee-nah.”
Smiling tenderly at her trailmates, Duck said, “Somewhere, Strong Heart, our brothers are watching. And they’re proud.”
Strong Heart pondered the girl’s words. “I believe this, too, Duck Embry. When I face the eastern sun tomorrow, I will tell my brother what you’ve done. I will tell him you are ee-koh-wah. Our friend.”
Keech looked deeply at each of his companions, taking in their faces, memorizing their smiles, their tears, their laughter. He said to them, “You should know that you’re all my family. I used to love the heroes Pa told stories about—Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett—but now I know the real ones. And I’m proud to stand by you.”
With all their goodbyes spoken, the Lost Causes parted ways.
Before riding out of Wisdom, Strong Heart shouted the same words she had spoken to the Lost Causes after departing Bonfire Crossing. “Wah-Shkan!” she called with a strong voice.
Do your best, never quit, and be fearless.
Not long after, Keech, Sam, and Duck left Wisdom and started east.