Shadow's Stand (9 page)

“You coming?”

“Not in any way that I could’ve been enjoying,” he muttered, angling his body in.

“What?”

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

The cave widened three feet from the opening and was much bigger than he’d anticipated. At some point someone had hollowed out a larger area, bracing the sides with timbers. Three tunnels angled out from what he could see of the larger room. From somewhere beyond the darkness, he could hear rushing water. Rather than dank, the air was fresh. More than one opening, then? The thought of an escape route helped with the closed-in feeling.

Fei stood in the center of the big chamber, braiding her hair. Against the wall, he saw dark outlines of leather sacks and leather bags. No doubt supplies and bedding. It made sense that she’d stock the cave. It took time to dig gold. Hell, he looked around at the shoring. It’d taken time to do this.

The scratch of sulfur against rock broke the silence. Glass rattled against metal as she lit a lantern. The dim interior took on a golden glow. Picking up the lantern, she held it high and turned back toward him.

“This is my claim.”

Even with the lantern shedding light to the corners, there was nothing to inspire the pride in her voice.

“It’s well hidden.” The flat, gray rock absorbed the light. No flecks of gold shimmered and glowed. Darkening timbers vertically lined the walls and blended with the dirt around. “How did you find it?”

“I followed my father. He built it.”

He studied an unsupported opening. “Did he finish it?”

“No.”

Wonderful. His skin crawled with unease. “Then why did you come here?”

“I needed a place to hide.”

“From what?”

She shrugged. “Many things.”

He let the subject go for the time being.

“You found the gold here?”

She shook her head and pointed to an opening at the far end. “Farther back, by the waterfall.”

“Show me.”

Hefting the lantern, she led the way. Shadows wavered with the flickering flame. The walls seemed to waver with them. Shadow hated caves. The sound of the waterfall got louder, amplifying as the cavern grew in expanse. He was a little disappointed to see it was only about ten feet high. The stream curved away from the falls, widening until there was only a narrow shelf to the right side. Fei stopped at the shelf.

“Here.”

This time, when she lifted the lantern, he was impressed. Below the shallow surface, gold nuggets glimmered amidst the common rock. It was a king’s ransom, conveniently lying just below the surface, ready to be plucked. A fortune for which men would hunt and kill. And Fei sat on it all.

He picked up a nugget. It had the heft of gold. “You had it assayed?”

“Yes. It’s gold.”

“Did anyone see you bring it in?”

“Yes, but the rock I brought in was small and I pretended disappointment.”

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. But the assayer knew the truth. And men had killed for less than the hope of more. With Fei’s father gone so much, Fei would be an easy target. Son of a bitch. Sooner or later they would come for her. The hilt of Shadow’s knife slid into his grip with the easy welcome of a trusted friend. And when they showed, he’d be waiting. But he didn’t want Fei anywhere around, which meant the sooner he got on erasing their back trail, the better.

Catching Fei’s chin in his other hand, Shadow brought her gaze to his.

“Stay here and stay out of trouble.”

CHAPTER FIVE

F
EI
WAS
OUT
OF
THE
CAVE
and into trouble within three hours. Not because she wanted to be but because Culbart’s ranch was only an hour from the claim. And Culbart had Lin. With Shadow expecting to be gone for several hours, she had time to check on her cousin and get back before he returned. Very carefully, she sneaked around the back of Culbart’s barn. Inside, a horse whinnied. From the bunkhouse on the far side came the sound of men’s voices.

Stay here and stay out of trouble.

She could do neither. Her cousin was being held hostage here. Bartered away by her father in a moment of madness two weeks ago. She’d only had time to slip Lin some supplies during her last visit before Culbart had returned home. Those supplies would be running out. She hoped Lin had followed the instructions. She hoped she was all right. She hoped she remembered their signal. Reaching into her pocket, she fingered the small vial. Without the elixir, Lin’s virtue was lost.

At the back right corner of the barn was an apple tree beneath which was a stack of wood and a broken ax. Hugging the shadows, holding her breath as if that alone could contain all noise, Fei crept toward the pile. By the time she reached the ax, her skin was crawling in dread. At any moment she expected to hear a warning shout, to feel a hand descend upon her shoulder. Releasing her breath slowly, she carefully turned the ax blade to the right. Hopefully, Lin would see the signal and manage to make it out to the barn. But that was only if Lin was watching for her, and the chances of that happening in the next few minutes were slim, which meant Fei had to find a hiding place. She’d only been to the ranch once, so she only knew of one place. Hopefully, it would be available today.

Counting down the barn-siding boards, she tested the tenth one. During the busy spring and summer months the Culbarts didn’t waste effort on repairs, for which she was grateful. She pulled it back and slipped inside, reaching back to grab her pack before gently letting the board ease back into place. The ancestors were still smiling upon her. The horse stall was empty. Huddling in the darkest corner, she piled the hay up around her. Mice scurried out of the corner. She swallowed back a scream and forced herself to stay because, quite simply, there was no other place to hide. Too many men came in and out of the equipment room. Too many men crept into the hayloft for napping and other things.

Picking a piece of straw out of her hair, Fei breathed slowly, controlling the urge to search for another hiding place. She hated the sneaking. She hated her father for putting her in such a position. She hated the man who thought her cousin was something to be bought or sold. But mostly, she hated her inability to do anything about it right now.

She had tried talking to Culbart. He’d laughed her off the ranch. The only other way to bring Lin home was to buy her freedom. The only way to do that was to get the gold. A lot of it. Soon she would have that, but in the meantime Lin had to be protected. Clutching the elixir like a talisman, Fei settled in to wait.

The minutes passed slowly. People came and went. Every time the door opened, every time she heard a voice, she imagined somebody was going to discover her in the tiny stall and she’d be caught.

Stay here and stay out of trouble.

She wished she could’ve done that. She wished she could have trusted Shadow with this, but she couldn’t risk him storming onto the Culbart ranch and getting her cousin killed. Lin was all she had left.

Minutes stretched to hours. Night fell. The temperature dropped and a chill nipped at her skin. Slumping down deeper into the hay, Fei tried not to think of everything that might possibly be crawling in it. She worried about the little mare, Jewel, that Shadow had given her. She hoped nobody found her. She worried that Shadow had returned.

Moonlight crept through the slats, illuminating the dark interior, lifting a bit of her fear. The door creaked. She heard footsteps so light that they were almost inaudible. Someone crept down the alley between the stalls. Hay rustled as the footsteps came closer. The door to the stall scraped open. Fei stopped breathing altogether

“Fei?” Lin whispered.

Kneeling, Fei pushed the straw off her shoulders. “I’m here.”

Lin rushed to her side, dropped down and wrapped her arms around her.

“You came.”

“I told you I would. What’s wrong?” Fei asked when Lin started to sob.

Lin cried harder and shook her head.

“Tell me.”

“I need to leave now.”

“We can’t. I don’t have the gold yet.”

“You don’t understand. He doesn’t care about that anymore. He blames me.”

“For what?”

Lin wiped at her face. Even streaked with tears, Lin was beautiful with classically proportioned features, stunning large deep, brown slanted eyes and a perfectly pale complexion that always made Fei jealous. “Because he’s not a man.”

“Did he find out you were dosing him with the elixir?”

She shook her head vehemently. “He would kill me if he knew that.”

“Then why does he—”

Lin cut her off. “He says I’m a bad omen.” She waved her hands. “Bad luck. He says he will give me to the men.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

Lin shook her head again. “He would. He is a crazy man. You have to take me with you this time.”

“I can’t.” They had no place to go and no money to get there. “We have to stay with the plan. If I take you now, Culbart will just ride to town. Father isn’t protected.
We
aren’t protected.” Shadow flashed into her mind, but she dismissed him. Against Culbart one man was the same as none. “We have nothing. If we go now, we will die.”

Lin grabbed Fei’s arms, her eyes wild. “I don’t care. I will not survive such a rape and he will not be stalled any longer.”

Fei closed her eyes and tried to think. She believed Lin, but she also knew her own words to be true. “We just need a little longer,” she whispered, feeling the weight of obligations she wasn’t equipped to deal with. They needed more time.

A shout came from the house.

Lin froze and whispered, “Oh, my God, they know I’m gone.”

Fei’s heart dropped to her stomach.

“You’re sure he won’t be delayed any longer?”

“Yes.”

There was no choice, then. There was only one thing to do. “Did you bring your things?” she asked.

“There’s nothing here I want.”

Fei could understand that. “We need to move fast. Take off those petticoats. You must run.”

Lin looked at her and without a word unbuttoned the skirt and stepped out of everything except her pantaloons. “I can run.”

It was a measure of how terrified her shy, modest cousin was that she could stand there almost naked without a qualm.

“Good.”

“Let’s go, then.”

They made their way to the loose board and Fei lifted it. She motioned her cousin ahead. Lin stepped out and immediately pressed her back against the side of the barn. Fei followed, doing the same. A quick check revealed no Culbart men in sight. Another positive sign?

The moon was just peaking, flooding the open areas with light. Not a cloud to provide cover. There was no hope for it. They would have to rely on speed. “Stick to the shadows on the other side of the fence, but run straight toward the tree line. Don’t stop, no matter what. Even if they shoot, keep running.”

Lin bit her lip and nodded.

“When you get to the trees, look for two fallen side by side. There’s a narrow path to the right. Step carefully there, stay on the path, but when it widens to a meadow, run as fast as you can straight down the middle then through the woods on the other side. There’s another meadow. You’ll find a brown horse there. Her name is Jewel. Wait for me with her.”

“What will you be doing?”

Hopefully, everything right. Fei reached into her pack and pulled out two sticks of dynamite. “Slowing them down.”

Lin gasped and cringed. “Fei!”

“It’s the only way.”

“Do you know how to use that?”

“Father taught me.”

Lin sidled away, her gaze locked on the explosives. “How well?”

“Good enough that I can slow them down. Now, are you ready?”

Lin nodded.

“If anyone comes who’s not me, get on that horse and ride.”

“Home?”

“No.” Culbart’s men would look for her there first. “You can never go there again. Just go east or west.”

“What will I tell your father?”

Her father.
Fei wanted to scream as she realized what her death would mean for her father. Would he be trapped by his fears in that cellar forever? Would he be freed by a moment of lucidity? Closing her eyes she took a breath. Either way, she would not risk Lin. If Fei died she could not send Lin back to the man who might just hand her over to Culbart again.

Ancestors, give me strength.

She took a breath and whispered, “If I do not come back, tell your father to come for his brother. He is in the cellar beneath the barn.”

“Fei! In the cellar?”

Fei opened her eyes, facing the censure in Lin’s. “You know he is not well.”

“But to put him in a hole in the ground…”

Guilt clawed at her stomach. She felt the dragon’s breath on the back of her neck. “I could not risk him getting out, others seeing how he is.” She shook her head. “I had no choice… I could not leave you where you were, could not leave that wrong undone.”

Lin caught her arm and squeezed. In her eyes Fei saw understanding blend with the shock. “I did not mean to sound ungrateful, but you must understand, I cannot leave
you.
”

Fei forced a smile past her fear. “If anyone gets to you, then leaving me no longer matters. I will already be with our ancestors.”

“No, Fei…”

Fei checked the length of the fuses. “It’s just a possibility. And not a big one. Father taught me well, but this dynamite is a little old.”

Old dynamite was unstable.

“Then leave it and come with me,” Lin ordered.

She shook her head just as another shout came from the house. Giving Lin a push, she hissed, “Run!”

B
Y
THE
TIME
S
HADOW
FOUND
the little mare, his heart was in his throat and he was as pissed as all get out. He’d told the damn woman to stay in the cave and not get into trouble, but from the looks of things, she was already in over her head. The mare whickered as he approached. He patted her neck.