Breath of the Feathered Serpent (3 page)

“What’s the name of this town?” Adam asked.

“Buzzard Hill,” William said.

“Sounds delightful,” Madison said, with a snort.

“So what’s our cover?” Adam asked.

“No time to do anything that would need much background. So a couple of drifters looking for work will have to do.” William smirked along with Adam as Madison’s face fell.

“That uninhabited ranch is probably the best place for us to start then,” Adam said. “As drifters, we’re not aware that it’s empty. We can check the place over and then head into town.”

Adam laughed as Madison grimaced. The cover suited him down to the ground, but Madison was far more fastidious. He hated living rough. “You’ll need to muss up that fancy hair of yours and grow some stubble, Madison.” Adam laughed louder as Madison glowered at him.

“Yeah and you don’t need to do anything. You fit the bill just as you are,” Madison muttered.

“Sure do,” Adam said. “When do you want us riding out, Chief?”

“Next day or so. Come to the ranches over the mountain. By the time you get there you’ll be a bit weather beaten. It’ll help you fit your roles better. Keep in touch, boys, and keep your wits about you. This isn’t just about a priceless gold statue.” William came from behind his desk and shook their hands in turn. “Good luck, boys.”

“Just another day at the office,” Adam said as he led the way out.

Chapter Three

Madison rode on Adam’s left as the horses carefully climbed their way through the mountains toward the ranches that were the initial focus of their investigation.
Breath of Quetzalcoatl. Nice story, and a good way to deter would-be thieves. Until the statue was stolen
. “Hey, Madison, an ice cold beer would be good about now,” he said.

“Sure would. I didn’t realize how difficult this mountain trail was going to prove. It’s taken us a whole day longer than I thought.” Madison wiped his brow with his neckerchief.

“Yeah. The map for this was a little misleading. Still, we should be at the unoccupied ranch by early afternoon, gives us time to poke around a bit.” Adam reined in his horse and reached for his canteen. He gave it a shake. The hollow sound confirmed how little water was left. “How’s your canteen?” He turned to look at Madison as the other man shook his.

“Some, but not much. Should be able to refill it once we reach the ranch. There was a well on the property.” Madison scrunched up his face. “Although if I remember rightly, there’s a river down there. That’d be better.”

Adam grunted. If the place was unoccupied, the well wouldn’t have been used for a while, and left untouched meant anything might have fallen in it and died. However, his body protested the thought of riding into town just to get a drink. Replacing his canteen, he took a deep breath and readied himself to keep going, his thirst temporarily abating. If Madison was right, they’d find water aplenty within a couple of hours.

He urged his horse on. Cinnamon was his favorite mare, good-natured, sure-footed, and fast when she needed to be. He petted her neck as they continued picking their way along the trail. The sooner they got off the mountains and onto some flat ground, the happier he’d be. “Let’s keep going. Not worth stopping up here.”

They continued to ride and kept talk to a minimum. At points, the track narrowed to barely one horse width, slowing them down even more. Adam made sure to keep his frustration to himself. This was an isolated part of the state. Maps were sketchy for areas like this. At least there’d been something to follow.

Finally, the trail descended and widened. A steam appeared from a waterfall halfway up the mountain, and while Adam and Madison filled their canteens, the horses drank and nibbled at grass. Adam grinned and slapped Madison’s back.

“Good to see your mood has improved.” Madison winked at him. “You were getting more ornery than a mule, my friend.”

“I hate the closed-in feeling up in mountains like that,” Adam replied. “You get to feeling they’re trying to crush you.” His eyes followed the flow of water. “Looks like the stream becomes a river farther down. You were right, my friend. I can see it in the distance. Good grazing land, too. Nice and green.”

“Yep. The two occupied ranches deal in cattle. Seems like there’s plenty of good land for the herds.” Madison wiped his face and finger-combed his hair, which already looked like it hadn’t seen a barber in weeks rather than days.

Adam ran a hand though his own thick, dark hair which he never cut shorter than just above shoulder-length. Despite regular trips to the barber, his hair always appeared untamed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d worn it short like Madison preferred. Then he rubbed his chin. His stubble was obvious, where Madison’s was barely visible. That much was the advantage of being dark rather than blond when they wanted to look like drifters.

“I’ll be glad when we find somewhere to settle so I can shave this off,” Madison said, copying Adam and rubbing his hand over his chin. “I hate stubble. Hate beards even more.”

“That because the ladies love your pretty, clean-shaven face.” Adam laughed as he slapped his friend on the back. “I’m more the dark and silent, rough and ready type.”

“I see the way the men look at you,” Madison said. “Some look envious, others...well we know about those.”

Adam nodded. It wasn’t exactly illegal for two men to seek companionship, so long as they did it behind closed doors. Things were a lot easier these days if you lived in one of the big cities, but he was far from one of those. Out here, he was likely to end up in a jail cell, or risk a beating, if his true preference for a bedmate was known.

Fortunately, there were codes men like him followed and visual clues to guide him. Plus, given that they were on a mission, there would be no time for indulging, unless a seduction was necessary of course.
Another reason Madison and I make such a good team. It’s rare I have to charm the ladies. Thankfully.

“Yep.” Adam squeezed Madison’s shoulder. His friend hadn’t cared about Adam’s preference from day one. It was a good feeling to know your partner had your back one hundred percent. “Come on. Let’s find us a place that’ll take in a couple of drifters so you can get yourself all prettied up.”

Madison joined in Adam’s laughter as they mounted their horses. Adam continued to grin as they rode forward.

Chapter Four

The ranch came into view. Even knowing it was deserted, it was a welcome sight for Adam. Although a seasoned rider, his body ached, and he was more than ready to get off his horse and rest. There was no rush once they reached it. They could poke around the ranch, sleep indoors for the first time in a few nights, and then head into town the next day.

Buzzard Hill hardly sounded the most welcoming of towns, given its name, but he’d heard worse. He and Madison would make it known they were looking for wrangling work before heading out to the occupied ranches. He licked his lips.
A beer would be good, too.

They passed through a dilapidated gate and rode into the ranch proper. Dismounting, Adam stretched his aching muscles and bones while Madison tethered both horses to a rail next to a stable that looked in as bad of repair as the main house.

“Don’t think we’re gonna find much here,” Adam said as Madison came up alongside him.

“I’ll check the house and stable if you want to look around the rest of the property. Stretch your weary bones a spell.” Madison winked and grinned.

Adam glowered at Madison, but that only earned a hearty laugh from his friend. “Any more sass like that and I’ll whup your skinny ass, whippersnapper.” Adam dropped his voice to a deep, throaty rumble.

Madison laughed louder as he headed for the house, and Adam turned toward the corral still smiling. He found nothing out of place there, but as he rounded towards the back of the house, he saw...something. He squinted, trying to see more clearly. There was a dark shape lying on the ground by the water trough, and it piqued his instincts.

He approached cautiously, gun in hand. As soon as he recognized what it was, he yelled for Madison. As his friend came running from the house, Adam continued to advance.

It was a man lying beside the trough. He was curled into a partial ball and unmoving, but Adam knew better than to take any chances.

“Hey. Mister. Mister, you all right?” It was a stupid question, but Adam wanted to see if the shout elicited any response. It didn’t. He glanced over at Madison who circled from the other direction, keeping low, his gun in his hand.

Dropping to his haunches, Adam reached out with his gun and nudged the body. Nothing happened. No sound or movement. He got a little closer and rolled the man over. He grimaced at the distorted features and looked accusingly at the water trough.

His immediate thought was how grateful he was that they had come through the mountains and filled up on water at the stream. If they’d come across the desert, they might have been keen to drink the same tainted water that had killed the unknown man.

“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.