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Cover Art by Electrikitty
Shadow brought his horse to a halt on a cliff overlooking the heartlands. A small livestock town lay in the distance – wooden buildings clapped together on muddy streets, surrounded by endless green hills.
He rolled his shoulders, absently caressing his horse’s neck. Her ears twitched, and a rare smile flickered on his face. Then he gathered the reins in his hand and sat back in the saddle, taking a pair of binoculars out of his saddle bag. The sun was sinking below the horizon, outlining the grimy lenses with an orange glow. He adjusted the focus. The townspeople came into view, like dolls scattered across a miniature diorama.
He put the binoculars away. His smile was already long gone.
His travels had taken him all across the country. He’d fought with outlaws in the snowy wastelands to the north. He’d crossed paths with the farmers who lived on the plains. He’d been caught in the civilised crossfire of feuding plantation-owning families. He’d come toe-to-toe with the slick city folk in the south and been ambushed by the “night folk” who lived in the swamps outside the city’s pristine streets and mansions. He’d gotten into skirmishes with inbred cannibals in the mountains. He’d even spent time with people in the sandy red deserts that lay across the border.
But no matter how many people he met, they were still all the same. There was something in them … something twisted. He lowered his hat to shield his eyes from the sun’s fading rays and looked down at himself. He felt a strange twinge. He might like to think otherwise, but maybe, when he was looking at the people in the world around him, he was merely looking at reflections of himself. Maybe there was something in him. Something twisted.
He heard a rustle of rope and leather. He shifted his weight in the saddle, not even deigning to look back. His quarry began to writhe on the back of his horse, bound in rope.
‘… You mangy vermin.’ The tied-up man spat on the ground. ‘You wretch.’
Shadow raised his eyebrows slightly and slipped the binoculars back into the saddlebag.
‘I’m going to kill you, you greasy rat –‘
Shadow turned, hefting his six-shooter in his hand, and whipped the man across the head with it. He slumped over the back of the horse and fell silent, unconscious. With a soft whistle and a nudge of his heels, Shadow’s horse headed down the cliffside road to the town below.
There was something to be said for the entertainment that his targets provided, he supposed. They begged, wheedled, lied and shed tears all in turn … and all in vain. He would ride in silence, speaking only when something warranted a scathing response. The novelty always wore off eventually, and the sharp crack of his gun against their head would ring out across the roads that he travelled.
The grass began to thin out, and his ears pricked up as he rode his horse past the train station and the livestock auction yards. He wasn’t expecting trouble, but he would be a fool not to look out for it. But the townsfolk milling around the main street looked civil, and the people who were armed kept their weapons holstered by their sides.
Shadow gathered his reins in one hand and dismounted, tying them tightly around a hitching post outside the jailhouse. He hauled his quarry down from the horse, drawing startled glances from the men smoking nearby as he hauled his bounty through the door and threw the man headlong onto the wooden floorboards.
‘… You got a name, partner?’
Shadow turned towards the desk beside the door, casting a wary glance at the person who had spoken.
The sheriff was sitting with his booted feet up on the desk and his arms crossed behind his head. He made no move to get up. A golden star glimmered on his hat, and his fur was bluer than the sky itself.
Shadow took a weathered piece of paper and opened it, slapping it down on the desk. ‘You got my 20 dollars?’
‘Good lord.’ The sheriff took his feet down from the desk and picked up the poster, comparing the faded illustration to the face of the trussed-up man lying between them. ‘Is it illegal to ask someone their name now?’
‘You’re the sheriff. You tell me.’
‘Heh.’ The sheriff’s green eyes glimmered with mirth. ‘You’re a character. You work quick, too. You took that poster down before I could even say howdy, and you’re back within the same day. Tell me a little about yourself.’
Shadow said nothing. He began to tap one foot on the ground.
The unconscious man came to, and his eyes widened when he saw the sheriff’s face. He squirmed and thrashed and even attempted to bite Shadow’s booted foot. ‘Once I get out of here, I’m going to hunt you both down and –‘
Shadow drew his foot back to kick the man in the ribs, only to see that the sheriff was loosely holding a pistol, aiming it at the hogtied man and staring at him with a blank expression on his face. ‘Easy there, partner. Don’t go getting worked up, now.’
‘That goes for you too, “sheriff” —‘
Shadow blinked, and the man was lying face down in a locked cell. The sheriff walked back to his desk, spinning an iron key ring on his finger. ‘Now … where were we?’
Shadow turned to the bulletin board and examined the posters, but he wasn’t reading a single word. His mind was racing. He hadn’t seen the sheriff draw his gun, nor had he seen him move the bounty to the cell. He was fast, disturbingly so. Maybe even as fast as Shadow himself.
‘You were paying me.’ Shadow steeled himself and turned back to the desk. ‘Sometime today, if you don’t mind.’
‘All right, simmer down.’ The sheriff flipped open a battered metal cash box. He was looking at Shadow, barely glancing at the bills. He spun a pencil in his fingers and tapped it against a ledger. ‘Who am I making this out to?’
Shadow slipped his hands into his pockets. On a whim, he said, ‘Throw in another fiver, and I’ll give you a name.’ The sheriff handed over the bills, and Shadow flipped through them. Twenty-five dollars. He gritted his teeth, wondering who the hell would hand over five dollars just to learn someone’s name. ‘… Sombra.’
‘What?’
‘That’s my name. Sombra.’
The sheriff chuckled. ‘No, it ain’t.’
Shadow stiffened. ‘Excuse me?’
‘You can’t be tellin’ me that’s your name with that thick Transatlantic accent. Come on now.’
‘I said I’d give you a name. I never said it would be mine.’
The sheriff’s eyebrows shot up. Then he laughed. ‘Damn. I should have hit the poker tables at the saloon instead. At least I’d have a shot at getting some of that back.’
‘Hmph.’ Shadow loomed back up at the bulletin board, surveying the names and faces of the wanted men and women who had a price on their heads.
‘Might as well throw darts at this point.’ The sheriff put his feet back up on the desk and yawned. ‘Not a lot of variety. Murderers. Thieves. Cattle thieves. ’
Shadow saw a dark, jagged silhouette on one of the posters. The list of accompanying crimes was so long that the font got smaller at the bottom of the page, and the reward had several zeroes on the end. The page was weathered, as though it had hung in the office for a long time.
‘You gonna go for that one? The reward’s nothing to sneeze at.’
Shadow averted his gaze. ‘I don’t care about the money. I only want a challenge.’ His eyes landed on another poster. ‘Why doesn’t this one have a picture?’
‘Hm? Oh. That one.’ The sheriff yawned again. ‘One too many men been going missing at the moment. The good people of Green Hill think that a black widow has been spinning her web in the saloon across the street.’
‘… Here? In this town? You’re the sheriff, aren’t you? Why don’t you do something about it?’
‘Eh, I don’t reckon I will.’ The sheriff grinned. ‘I just keep an eye on things. Why should I run around when there are bounty hunters crawlin’ out of the woodwork to do my job for me?’
Shadow narrowed his eyes. ‘This is your town, isn’t it? Do you even care what goes on here?’
‘I only care about making sure that people are free to live their lives.’ The sheriff glanced at the cell and shrugged. ‘Even if that means some of them are free to make choices that land them in the slammer.’ He grinned and plucked the golden star from the band of his hat, holding it out to Shadow. ‘It’s just a star. Doesn’t matter who wears it.’
Shadow stiffened and stepped back. ‘You only have the luxury of saying that because someone like you is already wearing that damn star.’ He pulled down the faceless poster and stuffed it into his pocket. ‘Well? Have you learned anything about what’s going on over there? Or have you been too busy napping at your desk?’
‘Oh, I’ve learned a few things.’ The sheriff smirked. ‘But you’ve gotta work for that reward – and if I knew enough, then I would have made an arrest already.’
‘Listen here –‘
‘The night ain’t getting any younger, partner.’ He nodded towards the saloon across the street. The windows glowed brightly in the gathering darkness, and the double doors were constantly swinging on their hinges as people came and went.
Shadow gave him a reluctant nod, turned on his heel and strode out the door.
‘Don’t be a stranger!’
‘… Hmph.’
Shadow glanced at his horse’s reins, checking the knots, then he clattered down the steps and into the muddy street, dodging wooden carts and passersby. He spared another look over his shoulder, staring at the sheriff’s office as he walked up the worn wooden steps of the saloon’s entrance. He couldn’t fathom how or why a town full of humans had agreed to let a creature like himself maintain law and order on their behalf. Regardless of how it had come about, he could only assume that the sheriff was simply too fast for anyone to take away his badge.
Shadow exhaled and pushed open the saloon’s swing doors. The din was deafening. A game of poker was in full swing at a round table, and the constant clinking of glasses made his ears twitch. A drunken fool was banging out ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine’ on an untuned piano in the corner.
His fingers twitched, and he was tempted to fire a warning shot in the air just to have a moment of silence. He exhaled and stepped into the fray, making his way past the drunken revellers and saloon girls to the bar counter on the other side of the room.
‘Hey there, sugar!’ He caught a glimpse of white hair as he climbed up on a barstool, only to realise that it wasn’t hair – it was fur, and the woman behind the counter wasn’t human. She was a bat. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and her mouth formed a perfect “o”. Her eyelids were crimson, her dress was vermillion, and her lips were as red as sin. She gave him a delighted smirk and leaned on the bar, lacing her fingers together and resting her hands on top of a small paper menu. ‘What can I do for you? A hot bath? A room? Someone to share the room with –’
Shadow gave her a scathing glare and tossed a fifty-cent piece onto the counter. ‘A whiskey.’
She pounced on the coin like a cat diving for a mouse. ‘Coming right up.’ She poured a glass with an expert twist of her wrist, not taking her eyes off him for a moment. ‘Are we celebrating or mourning?’
He stared back, narrowing his eyes. ‘Neither.’
She slid the glass across the bar, and he took it up, downing it in one. He rested one arm on the counter and dangled the empty glass in his fingertips. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d found this many of his kind in such a small town. In some places, humans hunted people like him for sport. His grip tightened on the glass.
‘Something on your mind, sugar?’ She leaned forward, all but spilling out of her dress and across the bar counter, like gin on polished wood. ‘Who am I talking to, anyhow?’
Shadow cleared his throat and fixed his eyes firmly on her face. ’Sombra.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Sure, doll. You can call me Rouge.’
He took one look at her rouged cheeks and scoffed. ‘Of course your name is “Rouge”.’ The wanted poster he’d taken from the sheriff’s office was already burning a hole in his pocket. There were plenty of saloon girls plying their trade all around him, but none of them had caught his eye. This woman, however, seemed like a person of interest. ‘What’s someone like you doing in a place like this?’
‘Oh?’ Rouge’s eyes sparkled. ‘Are you gonna take me away from all this, handsome? Have you got a yearnin’ to settle down with someone?’
He set the glass down with a sharp clink and pushed it back toward her, tossing another fifty-cent piece onto the bar. ‘No.’
‘You look like you could do with some lovin’ …’
‘I could do with another whiskey.’
She sighed and poured him another glass. ‘Humour me, would you? It’s rare to cross paths with someone who isn’t a cowboy or a farmer in these parts, let alone someone who isn’t human.’
‘It’s also rare to find someone who looks more suited to the life of a showgirl tending a bar in a livestock town.’
Rouge leaned across the bar, watching his throat move as he downed his second shot. He nearly choked, and she gave him a winsome smile. ‘You want me to put on a show for you, huh?’
Shadow coughed and spluttered, turning away to regain his composure. ‘I want nothing of the sort.’
‘You’ll get a show either way, sweetheart.’ She sighed and poured herself a glass, raising it to no one in particular. ‘It’s only a matter of time.’
As if on cue, a fight broke out at the poker table. The table was upturned, cards were scattered everywhere, and a chair smashed against the wall. Shadow turned on his stool to keep an eye on the brawl as more and more people started throwing punches and throwing pieces of furniture. ‘Aren’t you going to do something about this?’
‘What about you? You’re a big, strong man, aren’t ya? You got a gun … don’t ya?’
He wrinkled his nose at Rouge. ‘Everyone in this damn saloon has a gun –’
Someone got hurled through a window and out into the street, and he heard the sounds of wood splintering and glass breaking. Many of the saloon’s customers spilt out into the street, and the racket only grew louder.
Rouge groaned and said, ‘That’s the second time in as many weeks!’
‘Maybe you need to cut off some of your customers sooner.’
‘Nah. Gotta squeeze ‘em for all they’re worth while they’re still alive.’
‘Still alive?’ Shadow looked back through the broken window. The two men who had started the fistfight were standing in the street with their guns drawn, and a crowd of onlookers surrounded them. Shadow said nothing, but he began to tap his finger on the counter.
Rouge gave him an inquiring look. ‘Well? Are you gonna be the man of the hour and interfere?’
‘If two drunken fools want to kill each other over a game of cards, that’s none of my business. Your town has a sheriff, doesn’t it?’
‘Oh, him?’ Rouge heaved another sigh, and her chest rose and fell far more dramatically than it had any right to. ‘Big Blue is as fickle as the wind. You might as well flip a coin to predict whether he’ll meddle in someone’s business.’
Shadow stared out the window, and he saw the sheriff leaning on the railing outside the jailhouse, looking on with an unreadable expression. He turned back to Rouge. ‘Aren’t duels illegal in these parts?’
‘Ain’t no one enforcing the laws that strictly, sugar, even in places run by those uptight policemen.’ She raised her eyebrows and ran a finger down the stitching on his vest. ‘There are opportunities everywhere. You just have to know where to look and hope that the law won’t look in the same direction.’
Two gunshots rang out behind them, but he didn’t hear the sound of bodies hitting the dirt. He turned and saw the sheriff holding two bullets in his fingertips. He laughed heartily and grabbed both men by their shirt collars, hauling them off to the jailhouse. Shadow glanced at Rouge. ’Why are you telling me all this?’
She sat on the bar counter, daintily crossing one leg over the other. As the revellers trickled back into the bar, he heard the soft whispers of the saloon girls as they began to ply their trade once again. Rouge arched an eyebrow and smiled. ‘Because I think that you and I are of like mind –’
The sound of thundering hooves washed down the street like floodwaters, and Rouge’s ears twitched suddenly. Shadow tensed and looked over his shoulder. Dark, shadowy figures drew to a halt outside the saloon. He heard the sounds of boots hitting the ground and reins being lashed to wooden posts. The saloon’s doors swung open, and Shadow caught a glimpse of a tall man in uniform. He had greying hair, mismatched eyes, and the badge of the Pinkerton detective agency gleamed on his chest.
For an instant, it felt like time had stopped. Then Shadow turned back to the bar and picked up the paper menu. Tremors ran up and down his arm, and Rouge’s gaze snapped to his hand. His voice was quiet when he spoke, but even he couldn’t hide the strain underlying it. ‘How much are your services?’
‘It’s all on the menu, sweetheart. 50 cents for a bath. Two dollars for a room –‘
‘How much for someone to share the room with?’
Rouge froze. An incredulous smile flashed across her face. ‘Oh, so you do want company.’
Shadow heard the sound of shoes clicking on the wooden floorboards, and he gave her a desperate look. ‘I want you to get me out of here. Whatever you normally charge, I’ll pay you twice as much.’
Rouge tilted her head to one side, glancing between Shadow and the Pinkerton agent shouldering his way through the crowd. Her eyes widened, and her expression hardened. ’Three times.’
‘Done.’
Rouge shrugged elegantly and took his hand, leading him down the length of the bar and to the swing door behind it. ‘Well, since you asked so nicely, sugar … I’m all yours.’
Before he could even reply, she had led him into the shadows and down a hallway. The back door of the saloon was open, but before he could even taste the cold night air, she had pulled him into one of the adjoining rooms and swiftly shut the door behind them.
‘What are you doing?’ he hissed. ‘The door was right there –’
Rouge shushed him with a finger to his lips and yanked the curtains shut. ‘Those Pinkertons are going to fan out through this town like a pack of hunting dogs. He’s not going to give up until he finds you.’
‘He?’
Rouge stiffened and crossed her arms. ‘… Abraham Tower. The captain and leader of the Pinkertons.’
‘You know him?’
Rouge’s wings twitched. ‘I know of him.’ She narrowed her eyes, and her lazy drawl had become as sharp as a blade. ‘More importantly, I want to know what you’ve done to run afoul of the largest private investigation and security firm in the United Federation.’
‘None of your business.’
‘You made it my business when you asked me to hide you from the law.’
Shadow grunted non-commitally. ‘The less you know, the better.’
Rouge’s ears pricked up, and she listened to the footfalls around and above them. The wooden floorboards creaked. ‘Hm. Sit down, sugar.’
‘I’m fine –‘
She placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sink onto the bed. ‘Sit.’ Then she flitted behind a changing screen, throwing her dress over the top of it a moment later. Her skin glimmered like gold through the cracks between the screen, and Shadow abruptly turned his head away.
‘I said I wanted your protection, not your –’
‘Hush! These walls aren’t paper-thin, but these jackasses have sharp ears. Either tell me sweet nothings, or tell me nothing at all.’
Shadow took off his hat, digging his claws into the brim, and fell silent. He placed the hat on the bed.
Rouge appeared from behind the changing screen, and she cast a sharp glance at the shadows that broke up the light seeping under their door. She was clad in a white nightgown adorned with lace, and the garment swirled above the floor, revealing a sliver of her ankles. Her fur was freshly tousled.
Shadow looked away. ‘Didn’t you hear what I just said?’
‘This is what my protection looks like.’ She folded her arms, which were no longer hidden beneath the sleeves of her red dress. ‘I need you to look more … dishevelled.’
‘Come again?’
There was a sharp rap on the door, and the two of them froze. Then Rouge popped open a handful of Shadow’s shirt buttons, yanked his shoes off, and all but threw him against the pillows. Then she padded over to the door and opened it a small amount, giving the person on the other side a sweet smile. ‘Good evening, sir.’
Shadow heard the rustle of paper, and he glanced at the door. He could see the captain’s mismatched eyes and a sliver of a familiar wanted poster. ‘Are you the proprietress of this establishment?’
‘The one and only. What can I do for you?’
‘Have you seen this individual?’
Rouge took the poster and examined it. ‘Did you let your grandchild make a charcoal rubbing on this?’ She ignored the man’s offended protest and held the poster up to the light, admiring it. ‘Still … That’s a strong silhouette. If he were around these parts, I would have sunk my claws into him already.’ She jerked a thumb towards the bed with an air of disgust. ‘I had to make do with him instead.’
The captain glanced through the doorway, only to abruptly avert his eyes the moment that he caught a glimpse of Shadow lying on the bed. ‘Ma’am, this person of interest is a murderer. He’s wanted for federal crimes.’
‘Really? I could have done with some excitement, but regrettably … I haven’t crossed paths with him.’
‘Are you certain?’
Rouge yawned and gave him a dismissive wave. ‘You and your lackeys are welcome to ask the other girls about their clientele. Perhaps one of them has seen your mystery man recently. Now, if you’ll excuse me …’ She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward, giving him a grin. ‘I have to get back to work.’
The captain made a disgusted noise. His footsteps echoed as he strode off and climbed the flight of stairs to the second floor of the saloon, no doubt looking for other people to question.
Rouge closed the door with a quiet click and locked it. Her shoulders slumped for a moment, then she padded back over to the bed and sat beside Shadow. ‘Phew. Maybe I should have negotiated a higher price.’
Shadow grimaced and raised himself up on one elbow. ‘You can stop that.’
‘Stop what?’ She looked down at him, and her eyes shone like opals. Her lace collar framed her neck like foamy waves on a golden shore.
He shifted uncomfortably. ‘That.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I only wanted you to give me shelter. I have no need of your other … talents.’
‘Oh? Are you certain?’
‘Quite.’ He sat up and removed a worn leather wallet from his waistcoat. ‘How much do I owe you?’
‘I don’t want your money.’
Shadow’s fingers twitched. ‘I didn’t take you for the generous type.’
‘I’m not. I don’t want your money. I want you to help me escape this town.’
Shadow gazed at her, and he could feel the lines of the wanted poster beneath his waistcoat.
‘Killed one too many men recently?’
Rouge gave him a cunning smile, and she didn’t bat an eye. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’ She reached beneath the bed and pulled out a lockbox, opening it. It was filled with shards of gemstones and scraps of gold. A large emerald lay in the heart of the treasure trove, and her voice was quiet when she spoke. ‘At any rate, I stole one too many gems recently. The rich bastard I took this from hired the Pinkertons to track me down … and you’ve inadvertently led the good gentlemen to my doorstep.’
Shadow gazed at the emerald. He felt a strange tug on his heart, as though the jewel were whispering to him. ‘The fact that you can’t keep your hands to yourself isn’t my problem. Why shouldn’t I just turn you in to the Pinkertons instead? If you’re a jewel thief, there must be a handsome reward out for you.’
‘Because you don’t care about the money. You just want a challenge. Otherwise, you’d be chasing shadows, not hunting down black widows.’
Shadow fell silent. The saloon was opposite the jailhouse, and he knew she had sharp eyes. She had likely watched him leave the sheriff’s office and make a beeline for her saloon. ‘This isn’t just a challenge. It’s a risk. It’s already going to be difficult to escape this place on my own, let alone bring someone else with me. Why should I help you?’
‘Because I want to get out of here just as much as you do. If you let me come along for the ride, then I’ll have a vested interest in making your escape a success. Besides …’ She rested her head on Shadow’s shoulder. ‘You seem like you’ve been by your lonesome for a while. Don’t you want some company?’
‘No. I work alone. If I wanted to join a gang, I would have done so already.’
‘What a shame.’ She glanced at his arm. He could see her lust for riches as plain as day, reflected in the solid, glimmering crimson ring on his wrist. ‘You’d make a good enforcer.’
‘If being in a gang is such a good thing, then why don’t you practice what you preach?’
Rouge snapped the lid of the lockbox shut. ‘You might not care about money, but I don’t want to give anyone else a cut of my takings.’
‘Hmph.’ Shadow watched her in silence, and the candlelight played on her face. There was a chance that she could still be the black widow, but it was a slim one. It was likely that she was just a jewel thief who had run afoul of some rich men, and the two of them had met beneath some ill-fated stars.
He could still see the glow of the emerald when he closed his eyes. Whoever this woman was, she clearly knew how to make a getaway. She couldn’t have survived this long otherwise. He opened the curtains a crack and looked out the window, checking that his horse was still securely tied up outside the saloon.
‘We’ll take my horse. Bring only what you can carry. We leave at dawn.’
‘But –’
‘No buts, or I’ll leave you here to fend for yourself. I owe you my aid for giving me shelter. I don’t owe you my patience.’
Rouge looked at the armoire and stacked trunks in the corner of the room, and her wings drooped. ‘Fine.’ She got up and knelt beside the armoire, sifting through the drawers and dropping items into a leather satchel. She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Do you have supplies?’
‘It doesn’t matter –‘
‘It does. I’m not talking about canned goods. What about ammunition?’
Shadow looked down at his bandolier, and his heart sank. He’d used a lot of bullets to bring in his last bounty, and his guns were beginning to show signs of disrepair.
Rouge pressed her lips together. She hung a burgundy dress and a leather satchel on a coatstand by the door. ‘The gun shop opens early. I can slip in on our way out.’
He took a vial of gun oil and a rag from his own bag and set about maintaining his pistols. ‘We’re supposed to be making a clean exit.’
‘There’s nothing clean about this town.’ Rouge took the lockbox up and crammed it into her bag. ‘Once the Pinkertons run themselves ragged searching the area tonight, they’ll continue questioning people tomorrow. We have no guarantee that we can make it out without attracting attention. You left your horse outside the sheriff’s office, for heaven’s sake.’
‘Fine.’ He took a bullet from his bandolier and passed it to her. ‘I don’t care if you buy or steal them – get some of these on our way out, and don’t get caught.’
‘Caught? Me? I might as well be part of the furniture, sweetheart – you’re the outsider in these parts.’
Shadow growled under his breath and lay back on the pillows, tapping one foot against the mattress. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like any of it. He preferred to work alone for good reason. People were liabilities. People could be twisted and cruel.
He closed his eyes, and his chest fell as he exhaled.
Then the bedframe creaked, and Rouge climbed into bed with him, pulling the threadbare covers up to their shoulders. He lay in silence for a moment, stiffer than a board. ‘For the last time, I do not want –’
‘Oh, hush.’ Rouge nestled into him and closed her eyes. ‘I want to get some shut-eye before we risk our necks tomorrow, and this is my room. I’m not about to go and have a parlay with some Pinkertons just so I can find somewhere else to sleep.’
He looked down at her. Her curls fell in loose waves against his shoulder. He didn’t need to sleep, but his very bones felt tired after riding all this way. Even if he was merely going to lie here and keep watch, he didn’t want to lie on the floorboards.
Rouge’s fingers crept across his chest, resting on the gold star pinned to his waistcoat. ‘Were you the law or somethin’ in another life, sugar?’
‘No. It was a gift.’ His chest tightened. The girl who had given the emblem to him had loved the stars. And just like a star, she had burned bright and hot and fast.
Rouge’s attention drifted back to the red, crystalline rings on his wrists. ‘Were these also gifts?’
‘Yes.’ They had been crafted from the broken shards of a meteorite … the same meteorite he had been “born” from. They were a parting gift from a mad scientist who had been the closest thing he would ever have to a father.
‘If you die tomorrow, can I have them?’
‘… I can’t die.’
Rouge laughed. ‘You’re funny, too. Ain’t you the whole package?’
He hesitated and asked, ‘If you die tomorrow, can I have that emerald?’
‘If I die, I’ll haunt you for making a complete hash of things. You’re supposed to be getting me out of here.’ Rouge closed her eyes, and her hand still lay on her chest. ‘But sure. It’s not like I’d be able to stop you from looting my corpse.’
The harsh footfalls of the Pinkertons began to fade as the men left the saloon and tromped down the boardwalks, knocking on doors and speaking to drunken customers returning to their homes.
Rouge’s ear brushed against his cheek, and his mind went blank. The facts of his circumstances snapped together like the pieces of a jigsaw. He had bedded a saloon girl in order to evade the law. His face began to burn. Just because it was common practice to take women through the swing door behind a bar didn’t mean he was accustomed to it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d let someone touch him.
No, he did remember. Maria had hugged him farewell, and a moment later, a bullet hole had bloomed on her chest like a rose.
He lay in silence, listening to Rouge’s breathing. He couldn’t tell if she was asleep.
Whenever he got into a fight or an argument with someone, he always heard the same sentiments. A woman’s touch would fix you right up, you know. He shot the people who said it more often than not. They’d usually done something else to merit being shot in the first place, anyway.
But sometimes he would lie against his horse’s side, staring into the glow of a crude campfire, and wonder if they were right. His wounds ran so deep, and he’d done so much harm … yet all the men and Bible-thumping preachers he’d crossed paths with were convinced that a feminine influence could “fix” him and everyone else like him.
He closed his eyes. Rouge might not be able to fix the twisted part of him, but … he was gradually understanding what those people had been trying to get at. There was a softness to her, a warmth that made his heartbeat steady and his breathing more even. It wasn’t salvation or sanctification … but it was a comfort.
He felt a strange ache in his chest. Even if it weren’t for his own reservations, there were reasons why he denied himself that comfort. His life wasn’t an easy one – constantly fleeing from one side of the country to the other, raising hell and surviving by the skin of his teeth. One person had already been shot and killed because of him. Maybe a woman’s companionship would make his life a little sweeter, but he’d be damned if he allowed the same fate to befall another person that he cared about.
With a heavy heart, he turned onto his side and wrapped both arms around Rouge, eliciting a soft, startled noise. ‘I thought you didn’t want my services, handsome.’
‘It’s a precaution. I don’t want you to slip away and turn me in while I’m sleeping. The bounty on my head could buy you a lot of jewels.’ His grip tightened. ‘It could buy you your freedom.’
Rouge didn’t respond right away. Then she turned in his arms, and the lace at her neck mingled with the white fur at his throat. Her wings curved around them, sheltering them from the moonlight. ‘I’ve already got my ticket out of here.’ She gave him a smirk. ‘But you tell yourself whatever you need to tell yourself, sugar.’
He glared at her, but his heart wasn’t in it. The clinking of glasses faded away, and the piano music died down.
Maria had loved to play pretend. She’d said that they would travel to the stars one day. She’d said that they would move south and live in a big house in the city, and that, one day, she wouldn’t be sick anymore. It had all been a fantasy, as foolish as the fantasy he was indulging in by holding Rouge in his arms.
Was it so wrong to play pretend? His eyes flickered shut for a moment, and the crimson glitter on Rouge’s eyelids was burned into his retinas.
Was it so wrong to wish that things were different?
He lay in silence, listening as the townspeople gradually made their way to their homes, watching through the crack in the curtains. He saw glimmers of the Pinkertons’ badges in the streets below. A ray of moonlight made its way across Rouge’s room as the minutes and hours ticked past. He even caught a glimpse of Captain Tower standing in the street, scanning the boardwalks for any signs of movement.
Shadow rested one hand on the pistol at his side and tightened his grip. Rouge had been right. Attempting to leave in the middle of the night would have been suicide.
The Pinkertons began to return from the outskirts of town, and tiny fires glowed in the distance as they made camp. There would have to be a window of opportunity – a moment where one day of searching ended and the next began.
Rouge turned over, clinging to his arm in her sleep. He fought the urge to shake her off. He couldn’t make sense of her. She seemed to be skilled and resourceful, but mere hours ago, someone had held his wanted poster up to her face. She was out of her mind. She was sharing a bed with a murderer, though neither of them wanted to admit it.
The sky began to turn a strange shade of blue. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but a new day was threatening to break forth. He eased himself upright and quietly shook Rouge’s shoulder. Her eyes were already open, and she stared at the pillows for a moment. Then she swiftly got up and flitted behind the changing screen, pulling on her dress and coat so quickly that he could tell that she had done this many times before.
Shadow drew the curtains tightly shut and put his hat back on. ‘Are you ready?’
Rouge stepped out from behind the screen before he could finish his sentence. ‘I should be asking you that, sugar.’ For a brief instant, her enchanting facade dropped, and her voice was measured. ‘The gunsmith’s shop is next to the saloon. We’re taking the back entrance to get out of here. You’re going to lie low while I get your precious bullets, then we’re going to cross the street, get your horse and hope to God that the sheriff or the Pinkertons don’t notice us until it’s too late.’
Shadow’s brow creased, but he said nothing. The reality was that it was likely someone would notice them despite their best efforts. Their timing would still come down to luck.
Rouge leaned forward and grinned. ‘What’s the matter? Getting cold feet?’
Shadow glared at her and put a hand on the doorknob, turning it as quietly as he could. ‘I don’t like leaving things to chance.’
‘You could always kill everyone in this town and flee the country.’ Rouge’s expression was blank, and her voice was flat. She pulled her satchel strap over her head. ‘You’ve already killed a lot of people, haven’t you?’
Shadow said nothing. He turned the doorknob, and the two of them slipped out of the room. The saloon’s hallway was deserted, as was the bar at the front of the establishment. The two of them glanced at each other. Then they snuck out the back door and closed it behind them.
He followed Rouge to the back of the gunsmith’s shop and took cover behind a fence, watching her as she slipped between the two buildings and darted inside. The bell above the door rang, echoing in the quiet, and his fur stood on end. He could hear the indiscernible murmurs of her sweet-talking the gunsmith. He took a shallow breath, shaking out his hand and flexing his fingers.
He couldn’t die, even if he took a hundred bullets. But she was a different story. For all her strength, she was still … fragile.
The bell above the door rang again, and he heard a crisp flutter of wings. She rounded the fence corner and passed him a cardboard box of bullets. She was holding a carbine repeater in her hands.
He did a double-take and nearly dropped the box of ammunition. ‘What is that?’
She flicked open another ammo box and began loading the carbine. ‘A little something for the road.’
‘I don’t need another gun –‘
She threw the strap of the rifle over his head and forced the other box of ammunition into his hand. ‘You’ll thank me later.’
Shadow gritted his teeth and began to slide bullets into the well-worn leather straps on his bandolier. Rouge’s ears twitched, and her gaze darted around. She had better hearing than him, no doubt. The town was waking up, and the sun was about to crest the horizon.
He stuffed the boxes of leftover ammunition into his satchel and grabbed Rouge’s wrist. They walked down the alleyway and crossed the boardwalk. The faint clicks of their shoes on the wooden boards sounded like gunshots in his ears. The windows of the shops and houses were illuminating one by one, and a bell rang, echoing from the old church on the hill.
As they crossed the muddy street, Shadow risked glancing towards the outskirts of the town. He caught a glimpse of the commander’s silhouette passing between the tents of the Pinkertons’ impromptu camp, and his heart began to pound.
His grip on Rouge’s arm tightened, and he strode over to his horse. She mounted with a sweep of her wings, and he stood in the horse’s shadow as he untied the reins. The door of the sheriff’s office was open, but no lights shone through the windows. He worked the knots with shaking fingers, wishing that he hadn’t been so thorough –
‘Going somewhere?’
He looked up and saw himself reflected in a pair of emerald green eyes. He nearly drew his gun and shot the sheriff then and there, but all that came of his knee-jerk reaction was a twitch of his fingers.
Shadow cleared his throat, and the reins finally came loose. ‘My business here is done.’
‘Then why is that poster still in your pocket?’ The sheriff raised his eyebrows slightly. ‘I thought you were looking for a challenge.’
Shadow kept his head down and withdrew the poster, handing it back. ‘I couldn’t find any leads. Whoever your black widow is, I think she’s long gone.’
The sheriff took the poster and glanced up. ‘Looks like you found something else.’
‘Hey there, handsome,’ Rouge said.
The sheriff answered without missing a beat. ‘Hey there, gorgeous.’ He folded his arms over the wooden railing and glanced between her and the returned wanted poster. ‘When’s the wedding?’
‘We thought we might elope. Can’t have my customers realise that I’m spoken for. It’s bad for business. You know how it is … Sonic.’
Shadow didn’t dare say anything, but his heart felt like it was going to smash out of his chest. He had to trust that Rouge knew what she was doing. He had no other choice.
‘Well, congratulations.’ Sonic sighed and said, ‘Can’t say as I’m too pleased, though. Losing our saloon’s proprietress and a promising new bounty hunter in one day. Shame.’
‘A real shame,’ Shadow muttered. He mounted his horse in one smooth motion, and Rouge’s hands held his waist. At any moment, he was expecting Sonic to draw his gun and shoot him or his horse. The sheriff wasn’t dumb; he knew that much. Shadow’s arrival had been followed by the Pinkerton’s arrival. Sonic had likely even been questioned by Captain Tower about their interactions.
‘Well, good luck to you.’ Sonic looked down the street, towards the camp, and he tensed. ‘You’re going to need it.’
Dread trickled down Shadow’s spine, and a covert glance revealed the commander’s approaching figure.
Shadow whistled softly, and his horse pivoted, dancing and fretting as they turned toward the road that led out of town.
‘You there! Halt!’
Shadow swore under his breath. If it had just been him, he would have taken the risk and bolted. But Rouge was sitting behind him, and she wasn’t immune to bullets. Their timing had come down to luck … and the odds had not been in their favour.
The commander strode over and grabbed hold of Shadow’s reins, forcing him to come to a standstill. For the first time, Shadow saw the man’s face clearly. He had mismatched eyes that glinted in the light of the rising sun, and his face was lined and weatherbeaten from years of hardship.
‘Where are you heading to?’ the captain demanded.
‘I don’t have to answer that.’
The captain’s grip tightened. ‘My name is Abraham Tower, the captain and leader of the Pinkertons. It would be in your best interest to answer that and any other questions that I might have for you.’
Rouge leaned forward slightly. ‘Calm down, mister. It’s too early for this –‘
‘Be quiet. You had dealings with him last night. For all I know, you’re also implicated in this.’
Shadow narrowed his eyes. ‘Implicated in what? You have no evidence that I committed any crimes, nor do you have any reasonable grounds for suspicion. Go and bother someone else.’
He felt the gunstrap tighten against his chest as Rouge took hold of the carbine, and he gave her wrist a warning squeeze.
The captain was silent for a moment. He unfolded a wanted poster and stared at it. Countless footsteps filled the air as the rest of the Pinkertons slowly approached, and Shadow’s horse began to dance and fret. The poster was the same one that Shadow had seen in the sheriff’s office and in the captain’s hands last night. The paper was crinkled and torn, as though it had been folded and refolded countless times.
‘Very well.’ The captain turned towards the jailhouse and pointed towards Sonic. The sun finally rose and shone through the poster, illuminating the similarities between the silhouette on the paper and the person leaning against the wooden railing. ‘He looks similar enough. Apprehend him for questioning. Shoot him if he resists.’
Sonic’s eyes widened. ‘Settle down, boys –’
Every member of the Pinkertons stopped in the street and drew their guns, and Shadow looked on in horror.
Sonic gritted his teeth and said, ‘Damn, you must be desperate for an arrest, eh?’ The clicks of hammers being pulled back sounded like a pocketwatch being wound. Sonic raised his hands, but he drew one foot back, and the captain’s eyes darted downwards. ‘It’s almost like you’re chasing shadows –‘
‘Stop!’ Shadow turned his horse and pulled his reins free of Abraham’s grip, putting himself between Rouge and the Pinkertons. ‘I’m the one you want.’ Venom dripped from his voice, and he drew his gun in a flash. ‘I’m the one who killed your parents and the professor and that little girl and slaughtered that whole town and killed countless others. Are you happy now … Abraham?’
The captain froze, and panicked shouts rose from his subordinates. A strange fire lit his eyes. ‘I won’t be happy until I’ve made you pay for what you’ve done –‘
A shot rang out, and the captain’s gun flew from his hand. Blood spattered the mud, and he staggered back, cursing.
‘Rouge?’ Shadow asked, staring at the gunsmoke drifting from Sonic’s pistol. ‘Give me the emerald. Now.’
‘In case you hadn’t realised, I’m still alive, sugar –‘
‘Do it, or we’re both as good as dead.’
He heard a frantic rattling as Rouge wrestled with the lockbox, and he shielded her from the captain’s view as best he could.
Abraham came to his senses and snatched his gun from the dirt with his uninjured hand. He rounded on Sonic and said, ‘You bastard! You’re interfering with an investigation!’
‘You’re interfering with the law,’ Sonic countered. ‘You’re private investigators, but you’re attempting to unlawfully detain private citizens.’
Abraham stared at him in disbelief. ‘Don’t you see any cause for suspicion here –’
‘This is my town.’ Sonic narrowed his eyes. ‘All I see is a bunch of troublemakers and two people who are free to leave.’
Rouge pressed the emerald into Shadow’s hand, and his fingers tightened on it. Its power soaked into his hands and gloves like freshly spilt blood, and a combination of words that he’d never heard or spoken before left his lips.
‘Chaos Control.’
The world turned golden, and time stopped as though someone had smashed a pocketwatch against the ground. An ear-piercing ticking filled his ears, growing faster and faster. He pressed the emerald back into Rouge’s hands and raised the carbine to his shoulder, firing off shot after shot as fast as the gun’s mechanisms would let him, aiming at the Pinkertons standing in the distance. The bullets fought against time itself, slowly passing through the air. Once the seventh shot was fired, he snapped the reins and spurred his horse. Time resumed, bodies hit the dirt, and his horse bolted, streaking down the main street.
If Abraham was shocked at the sight of half his men being downed in the blink of an eye, he came to his senses in an instant, because it was only a second later that Shadow heard him roar, ‘Get back here!’
A gunshot rang out, swiftly followed by another. Shadow glanced over his shoulder and saw Sonic cross the street in a flash, throwing himself out of the line of fire as the Pinkertons that were still standing began to fire on him. He had a pistol in each hand, and he looked overjoyed. ‘Finally! Let’s get this party started!’
Shadow turned his attention back to the dirt road flying beneath his horse’s hooves. A piercing train whistle rang out, and his gaze snapped to the locomotive barrelling towards the train station that lay across the road out of town.
‘You’re not going to make it, sugar –‘
Shadow heard the sound of hooves behind them, and he glanced back. He caught a glimpse of the commander rounding the corner on his own horse, and he inhaled sharply. A bullet whizzed past his ear, and he closed his hand around the emerald clutched in his fingers.
‘We don’t have a choice. Hold on –‘
Time stopped again, and the train froze in place, granting them precious seconds to clear the tracks and land on the other side. Time resumed, and a piercing whistle blast deafened them both.
‘We can’t stop,’ he said. ‘That’s only going to buy us a minute at most –‘
A shadow swept over them, and he looked up to see the captain’s horse clear one of the low cargo platform cars. The horse stumbled and fell, but Abraham reached out and whipped Shadow across the head with his pistol at the last moment, sending Shadow crashing to the ground.
Shadow lay in a daze, staring at the commander’s injured horse as it thrashed and writhed a few feet away. He felt a pair of shaking hands close around his throat, and he began to gasp for breath. The emerald wasn’t within reach, nor were his guns. The sun was blinding him. He could barely see.
’Sombra!’ Rouge screamed. His horse reared, panicking as she struggled to control it.
He’d never gotten to tell her his real name, had he? He chuckled weakly and raised one hand, slightly motioning her away.
Run. Get out of here. Take my horse and go.
He began to resist, sinking his claws into Abraham’s arms. He had always tried to keep his promises. He’d gotten her out of town, and she could make a run for it while he and the sheriff kept the Pinkertons occupied. He would disappear again, and she would assume that he had been killed at their hands and move on with her life. He’d even kept his promises to Maria, continuing to protect the world that she had loved, in his own twisted way – one bounty poster at a time.
His vision darkened. Maybe he was about to find out if he could actually die –
A sharp crack rang out, and the commander’s head snapped to one side. He collapsed on top of Shadow. Blood poured from a gash on his temple. Rouge stood over him, holding the bloodied emerald in one hand. Her chest was heaving.
‘Sombra?’
‘It’s Shadow.’
She stared at him in bewilderment. ‘What?’
The rattle of the departing train filled his ears, and the sight of her filled his vision. ‘My name is Shadow.’
‘A-And you called yourself Sombra? How original.’ She helped him roll the captain’s body off his own, and she hauled him to his feet with shaking hands. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I can’t die.’
Her jaw slackened, and his words finally sank in. She glanced at the captain. ‘And he won’t rest until he’s killed you, I’m afraid.’
‘You may have killed him just now.’
‘I’ve killed a lot of men. Ones like him don’t go down that easily.’
They both stared at each other. Then Shadow looked away at the unbroken horizon in the far distance. ‘You should go. I kept my promise. Use your wings and get yourself on that train. Head south. Get far away from here –’
‘Come with me.’ She held out a hand, but he recoiled.
‘I can’t ask that of you.’
‘I’m the one who’s asking.’ The train was getting further and further away, and her hand began to tremble. ‘Come on, sugar.’
‘It’s not an easy life.’
‘It’d be better with company.’
‘You just heard me say I’ve killed a whole town.’
‘Plenty of men say they’ve killed a whole town.’ She gave him a knowing look. ‘Ain’t always true.’
Shadow froze. ‘I-I don’t know whether it’s true or not. I lost my memories. I might be the man on that wanted poster.’
Rouge toed Abraham’s unconscious body. ‘Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. But he believes it’s true with his whole heart, so you can’t say here any longer.’
Shadow gritted his teeth. Then he mounted his horse and pulled her up behind him. He closed his hand over the emerald in her grip, and time ground to a halt as he spurred his horse, riding at full tilt to catch up to the train in the distance. He could hear the gears ratcheting and the cogs grinding. The metaphorical pocket watch was about to break. With one final burst, they leapt onto one of the platform cars with a clatter of hooves. Time resumed, and the wind ruffled their fur as the train began to cross the bridge over the canyon outside of town.
Shadow slumped forward in the saddle, and the emerald disappeared into Rouge’s lockbox. ‘You’re pure magic, you know that?’ she whispered.
‘I’m not,’ he said wearily. ‘But that rock of yours is.’
‘Then maybe I’ll let you borrow it every now and then.’ She wrapped her arms around his waist, spreading her dainty hands across his chest and letting out a faint purr of satisfaction.
Shadow stared down at her gloved fingertips. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I told you that you needed some lovin’, didn’t I?’
He blinked several times. He should prise her hands from his waist. He should let her go. He really should, but …
He relented, allowing her to hold him. He looked down. Below them were a series of riverbeds that had been stripped of their riches during a gold rush that had happened decades ago. ’… You’re making a mistake.’
‘All that glitters ain’t gold.’
His chest tightens. ‘You’re happy to settle for fool’s gold, then?’
‘The expression means that you can be deceived by appearances, sugar. But you’re not fooling me. There’s something good in you.’ She hugged him tighter. ‘I can feel it.’
He swallowed a lump in his throat and squeezed her hand. Then he cast his eyes to the horizon. The biggest city to the south glimmered like a jewel in the distance. He’d been there before, and he knew its streets well.
It was the kind of place where people could disappear. It was the kind of place where you could make a new life for yourself. And it was the kind of place you could settle down with someone.
The End
