Breath of the Feathered Serpent (17 page)

“Yes. Yes, I hear you,” Elijah said.

Adam stood and faced Mecatl. “When I shoot, it’s going to alert Carter. I’ll position myself at the top of the stairs and keep them away as long as possible. You get Abe and Elijah out of here.”

“Mitch and my guards will help them,” Mecatl said. “I will be at the end of this hallway to give you cover when you run. Quetzalcoatl is with us. We’ll get out, too. But I refuse to let you stay alone.”

Mecatl held out his hand, and Adam clasped it firmly and nodded. “Fine. Get into position.” He waited for Mecatl to get back to Mitch. As he shot out the lock, he heard shots from the saloon. He urged Abe and Elijah down the hallway to the others and then crept forward to the stairs.

No one was heading his way.

He eased himself down a few stairs and saw that they led to the floor that held the saloon girls’ rooms. No one was around, no girls and no punters. Frowning, he edged along the hallway until he could look over the banister into the saloon itself.

It was empty apart from a few men. Carter stood with his hands held high, and a couple of men lay dead or wounded on the floor nearby. Stone faced him, his face dark and twisted into a humorless smile. He was flanked by two other men, whose guns were also pointed at Carter.

Adam holstered his gun and flattened himself against the wall to listen. As he did, he played with the ring on his finger, twisting the blue stone.
No wonder no one reacted to my shot. It was drowned out in the gunfire.

Stone’s voice, harsh and cold, drew Adam’s attention.

“I warned you to keep out of my business, Carter.”

“Look. Look, I’m rich. I’ll pay you. Just don’t kill me.” Carter’s voice dripped with fear. It was the sound of a man staring death in the eye.

Adam twisted the ring again as Stone’s laughter rang out. He glanced down. The stone had actually unscrewed. There was a tiny scrap of cloth inside. Adam licked his lips. He quickly refastened the stone into place, excitement sizzling along his veins.

“Rich? Not in the least. You have a huge overdraft. If the bank calls it in, you’re broke. I told you messing in my affairs would buy you a coffin. Looks like someone else will have to pay for it.”

Stone’s harsh voice forced Adam’s attention back to the events unfolding in the saloon.

“Please. I have hostages upstairs. Take them. Just don’t kill me.”

“Sorry, Carter, you’re just not a man to be trusted. I’ll take your hostages anyway. While I’m happy enough for the statue to stay hidden for now, ultimately, I want it. It’s on that ranch somewhere. Damn your doubling-crossing bastard of a man.”

Stone’s voice became guttural, and he shot Carter several times, firing into his body even as he fell.

With a grimace, Adam turned and ran. Stone was a cold-blooded killer, more dangerous than he’d first thought. He waved at Mecatl as he caught sight of his friend. Mecatl ran ahead of him and out onto the roof. He headed for the stairs, but Adam shouted to him.

“Jump across to the next building. Put some space between us and here before heading into the street.”

Mecatl didn’t challenge Adam, just jumped from the saloon onto the store and kept running. Once on the street, Adam caught up with his friend.

“Stone killed Carter in cold blood. The statue is on the ranch, and I think I have something to tell us where. We need all the men alert. Stone’s coming, and he’s going to be the biggest threat we’ve faced.”

“My men are your men. They will die to protect the Breath of Quetzalcoatl,” Mecatl said. “Everyone is waiting at the edge of town. Hurry.”

Adam grinned to see the Aztecs had a couple of extra horses. He didn’t know or care where they were from. It was better than doubling up given that they needed speed. He hesitated long enough to kiss Elijah and then mounted Cinnamon.

“Back to Silver S, men,” he said. “As hard and fast as you can. Let’s ride.”

Once back at the ranch, everyone gathered together in the Silver S ranch house. Mecatl had an arm around Ellen, just as Mitch did Abe. Elijah was so close to Adam that it seemed as if they shared the same space, which suited him just fine. He didn’t want his lover far from him.

The anticipation was so thick in the air that Adam was sure he could smell it. Everyone’s eyes followed his movements. He removed the ring and then the stone.

It wasn’t solid as it appeared. It was little more than a thin, blue dome which meant there was a hollow space behind it. Adam pulled out a tiny scrap of silk and opened it.

There was a crude image of the house, what had to be the well, and a rock with a downward pointing arrow and a number.

“Well I’ll be goddamned,” Madison said. “I’ve been to the bottom of that well, but I didn’t think to check the walls.”

“He’s telling us how many rocks to count down to find the hiding place. No wonder we couldn’t find it. He must have planned this in advance.” Adam looked around at his friends.

“He didn’t trust Carter or Stone. He probably thought this would save his life, but Stone is ruthless.” Madison shook his head. “Tomorrow we can recover the statue.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next morning at sunrise, Adam went to the well. Only Mecatl and Elijah were with him. If anyone was watching, there was no way to disguise what they were doing. All they could hope for, if the statue was there, was time enough to bring it up and ride out.

They had six horses ready to ride out if they found the statue. Adam had happily agreed that Madison would accompany Mecatl back to Xipil’s province. He’d spend the time with Elijah before he had to bid his farewells. All they needed now was to find the statue.

“I’m ready to be lowered, Adam,” Elijah said.

He was the slightest of all the men. To her annoyance, Ellen’s offer had been vetoed by Mecatl. Adam tugged on the rope around Elijah’s waist before he and Mecatl lowered him over the edge. The Aztec’s eyes glittered. His excitement and anticipation were almost palpable.

“You all right, Elijah?” Adam called out.

“Yes. A lot of the rocks here are uneven. He probably just climbed down. Wait! I have it, Adam. One of the stones is loose. I’m pulling it free.”

A heavy splash rose from the well, which Adam guessed was the stone being dropped.

“I have it. It’s in a muslin bag, and it’s heavy. Pull me up.”

Adam helped an elated Elijah out of the well. “Into the house quickly,” he said.

The men from the Lazy E were sent to patrol the ranch, while the Aztec warriors were brought in as the bag was set on the table. Suspense was thick in the air. Although William had shown him and Madison an artist’s impression of the statue, no other image existed, and Adam was eager to see it for himself.

Adam stared as Mecatl opened the bag, and a collective gasp rose into the air. Mecatl removed the statue from the bag as the Jaguar Warriors dropped down onto one knee. Adam stared at the statue. He’d never seen anything like it.

The statue stood on a plinth that looked like it should slot into something else. A snake made of solid gold coiled upwards. However, instead of scales, feathers had been etched along the full length of its body. A little below its head, wings of turquoise were set into the statue. Two red eyes gleamed at him, and Adam guessed they were rubies. The snake’s mouth was open, and behind four fangs, two top and bottom, was a rounded blue stone.

Mecatl touched the stone reverently. “Behold the Breath of Quetzalcoatl,” he said. His voice was loud in the silence that had descended on the room. “If we leave today, we should still have a day to spare before our king hosts the emperor.”

He’d barely finished speaking when a shot rang out, shattering a window and sending everyone in the room to the ground. One of the Jaguar Warriors grunted as he fell, the bullet hitting him high in the shoulder. Weapons were quickly drawn, and everyone headed to a window to defend the house.

Madison tapped the shoulders of a couple of the Lazy E ranch hands. “Give us some cover,” he said and headed to the door. “We can’t let ourselves be trapped in here.”

Adam watched as his friend and the other men ran from the house, firing wildly. A barrage of gunfire from the house provided cover, and Adam sighed with relief as Madison made it safely. He crawled over to Mecatl and indicated for the warrior to follow him.

“Look, we know it’s Stone, and he wants that statue. So here’s my thought. I’ll fill the bag with a sheet and hightail out of here. Stone can’t take the chance that I don’t have the statue. I’ll head east to the next nearest town. West will be too heavily guarded. Some of his men will have to come after me and reduce the numbers here.”

Mecatl nodded. “I have a better idea to make it twice as difficult.”

Adam listened to his friend and nodded. A couple of minutes later he, Mecatl, and two Jaguar Warriors ran to the stables under a hail of cover fire. Adam took a few seconds to tell Madison what they were doing as he mounted Cinnamon, and then the four men galloped out, jumping the fences to ride hard and fast away from the ranch.

Yells and shouts sounded around them. Adam risked a glance behind him and saw the ploy had worked. Some of Stone’s men were coming after them, reducing the number attacking the ranch house. He smiled at Mecatl, and then they peeled away from each other heading in different directions, each taking a warrior with them.

Adam headed towards the gulley that led to open ground and the next town, but a volley of gunfire alerted him to Stone having thought of this avenue of escape. Adam grimaced as the warrior fell from his horse. Then he gave a sigh of relief as the Aztec crawled into the rocks. Another round of gunfire forced Adam to dismount and scramble up into the rocks. He cursed. He was surrounded.

There was only one option left to him. Upwards. If he could climb up the rocks and across, he could either lose his pursuers or put himself in a position to pick them off. He started to clamber upwards, but gunfire sent rock shards zinging past his face and dust into his eyes.

With a yell, he lost his grip and fell. Landing heavily, the air left his lungs in a whoosh, and his vision grayed. By the time his head stopped ringing and he opened his eyes, he was looking down the barrels of pistols held by two hard-looking men.

When he was tied securely with his hands behind his back, one of the men caught Cinnamon and brought her over. Adam mounted with difficulty and had to content himself with being their prisoner. He could only hope Mecatl had fared better.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Adam was taken back toward the ranch by Stone’s man, the two shooters remaining behind in case of any other escapees. When he reached the rest of Stone’s men, Adam was pulled off his horse and shoved in front of Stone.

Stone’s eyes were gray, cold, and flat. A frisson of fear skittered down Adam’s spine as he looked into them, but he tilted his chin defiantly. “You may have me, but you still don’t have the statue,” he said.

“You didn’t have it. Neither did the Indian. So it’s still in the house.” Stone turned away from Adam. “Come here.”

Initially Adam couldn’t see who he commanded, but when he did, his blood ran cold.

An automaton marched stiffly forward, a semi-conscious Mecatl in its embrace. His friend’s back was against its chest, and the automaton’s arms wrapped around him, holding him off the ground. Adam winced as he saw a crude bandage high on Mecatl’s arm, and a trail of blood snaked down from the still-oozing wound.

Stone half-turned and smirked at Adam. “You come,” he said turning back.

A second automaton lumbered forward. Unlike some automatons Adam had seen, Stone’s were very basic models, man-shaped but without any refining features. Their movements were slow and jerky, but there was no doubting their strength.

Adam struggled in the grip of the men holding him, but they positioned him with his back to the robot. They kept their pistols pointed at him as they slashed his bonds. The machine was a good foot taller than him, easily putting it over seven feet. At Stone’s command, the automaton wrapped its arms around Adam, pinning his arms to his sides and lifting him into a near-crushing embrace against its chest.

Stone’s lips still curved upwards, but his eyes were devoid of emotion. “At my command, these automatons will crush you and the Indian to death, marshal. Your status means nothing when facing death, does it? Man or Federal Marshal, you’ll still die, unless the statue is given to me.”

“They won’t hand it over.” Adam gasped the words, the position and the tightness of the automaton’s grasp made breathing difficult.

“Then those in the house will watch you die. Then we’ll kill them all and take the statue anyway. As you saw, my automatons move slowly. If I’d got them here sooner, I’d have sent them to the house with explosives. I still can. Once you’re dead.”

“You won’t find it that easy,” Adam said, despite the dread that seeped into his veins. “They’re good fighting men.”

“One more full day and even the fastest rider won’t get to Xipil in time. They’ll all die for nothing, marshal, just like you. Even the boy who’s so enamored by you. You know, he even asked me, his dear uncle, how to woo you.”

Adam ground his teeth as fury gripped him. He knew Stone was goading him, and the man knew Adam’s weak spot, exploiting it ruthlessly.

“Walk and follow.” Stone voiced his command to the automation and led it toward the house. Adam knew he was now visible from the building. He hated the thought of Elijah witnessing his death. Of all the scenarios Adam had envisioned, being crushed in the arms of a mechanical man had never entered his mind.

“You in the house,” Stone shouted. “I have your marshal and the Indian as my prisoners. They didn’t have the statue, so I know it’s still in there. I’ll offer you a deal. Send one man out, not the other marshal, who will be a hostage along with the statue. Once I’m well away from here, I’ll release the hostage. If not, then you can watch your friends die inch by inch as my automatons crush them. I’m sure they’ll scream when their ribs snap and splinter.”

Adam struggled as Stone walked away to return a moment later with Mecatl. Stone then stood behind the solid, brass bodies of his machines, safe from any gunfire from the house or outbuildings. He waited another minute, and Adam felt the sweat from his brow run down his face.