《Other West: Diablero》Chapter Nine
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Van, Teven and Juan Semos sat together, each man wounded, bound and laid out before the surviving, bloodied, and exhausted Comanche. The four warriors raised their weapons as three riders galloped onto the farm. Gasento men. Gunmen.
Van watched through blood-filled vision. The gunmen wore black and rode jet stallions, not a hint of brown or blue-gray in their coats.
Juan Semos coughed, the old mestizo stockman still held the arrows he'd pulled from his own body. Teven lay on the other side of the elder Semos, a broken arrow shaft still deep within his left knee and lower thigh. Van strained at his bindings, tight rawhide straps, that cut into his wrists.
The lead gunman, a thin and hawkish countenanced man spoke in Spanish. “How much for your prisoners?”
A disfigured and scarred Comanche, his right arm hanging loose and twisted at his side, answered. “We have no business with you.” His comrades placed themselves between the prisoners and gunmen. The warriors stood tense, their weapons raised, white ash arrows ready to fly. The Gasento thugs sat calm upon their dark mounts. Silent.
The Comanche shook his war hawk with his left hand. “Your kind are not welcome here.”
The dark Gasento thug laughed. He adjusted himself in his saddle. He flicked his hand around. “These are Gasento lands.” He waved his hand eastward. “Comancheria is far away. You sell slaves to Comancheros. That is us.”
The Comanche shook his head. “I do not see Gasentos.”
Teven looked at Van, “What are they saying?”
“No.” Juan Semos whispered.
Van shook two fingers at Juan Semos. “Not Gasentos? Why? Because they're ranch staff? Hired gunmen?”
Teven frowned. “I'm lost.”
“Look at these.” Juan Semos rolled onto his stomach and waved the broken arrows held in his bound hands.
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Teven grimaced. “It's clear those shootists want us. You want to use the arrows to fight?”
The gunmen and Comanche shouted in Spanish as Juan Semos explained himself. “These arrows are white ash. The farmers died days ago yet the Comanche waited. Why? To see if the farmers died.”
Teven glanced at Van. “Isn't that how they kill? Through torture? Captives left out in the sun and to the coyotes? Or to starve or die of thirst and the cruel whims of mother nature?”
Van clenched his jaw as his stomach dropped. He rubbed the flesh between his thumb and pointer finger with his other thumb and stared at Teven. “White ash is a sacred wood. Imbued with magic.”
Magic.
Teven slumped onto his back and groaned.
Van dropped his forehead to the blood-soaked soil. The strong scent of sage mixed with sweat and iron.
*
Day Long rode forward with foul curses on his tongue. “The hell, brethren, how'd you lot go about losin’ the big augers?”
Nathan put a hand up to the Seminole scout. “They're late returning from a nearby farm. We've driven the herd past where the farm lies beyond the hills and there's no sign of Teven, Van, or old Juan Semos.”
Christian arrived behind Day Long, as Nathan gestured to Marcos. “Christian and Marcos will continue to ride point, while you and I search the farm and more if needed.”
Marcos sat atop a gray gelding, beside Nathan, who was likewise riding; the chuck wagon now mastered by Hernan Semos.
Day Long steadied his mount. Everyone eased along at a canter.
“If we're just searching the farm, I don't see why…” Christian said.
Day Long interrupted the Har brother with a quick motion of his pointer finger from his eye to Christian Har. “Hush up now. We done spoke on this. Me an’ Silver Hair is decided. You're leadin’ the beeves til he an’ I return with or without yo brother, Van, and ol’ Juan.”
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Nathan gestured with both hands pumped in a calming motion. “Christian, if they're missing from the farm, Day Long and I will find signs of where they might be. There's Apache in these mountains. Maybe hostile, but you're as likely to come across Zuni…”
Day Long rode between Christian and Nathan. “You ain't helpin’, Drake. Lil Har, you do as we say. You can't come it. So hobble yo lip. Van will be back here feedin’ on his bee-sweetening before you know it.” Day Long swung around and pointed at Nathan. “Now let's get a wiggle on, Drake.”
*
Van rolled onto his shoulder. The Comanche warrior no longer yelled. All was silent, but for wind through the timber atop the nearby mesa. He strained to see and understood. A wolf, with a black stripe on one shoulder, approached. Both the Gasento gunmen and Comanche warriors watched the large predator in silence. The beast stopped between the two groups, glanced at the three prisoners behind the Comanche, and looked up at the lead warrior. Van eyed the white ash arrows nocked and aimed at the wolf by the braves before a piercing pain in his temples forced his eyes closed. With gritted teeth, he squinted at the animal he now knew to be the true threat.
The wolf raised its head to the warriors. Of a sudden, its jaws opened abnormally wide and peeled back with a sound like cracked knuckles. From within the creature's throat, a human face emerged. The beast contorted and stood on its rear legs as the body rippled and split to reveal a Spanish man wearing a wolf skin with a jagged scar down one shoulder and across the collarbone, his skin slick with blood.
Juan Semos spoke in a harsh whisper. “Diablero!”
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Almave
Welcome to AlmaVé. First thing you have to know is that it's a tragedy. Nope, not talking about my book yet. It's a tragedy that you're reading this instead of clicking on chapter 1. I did fail speech introductions after all. My story? Right that's what you're here for. My bad, try this: Lilia Hammond is reborn (cliché, but we all know we enjoy it when it's done for a purpose) as Syndra Sanmey. She was a graphic designer who hadn't caught her break yet. She was paralyzed for months before she was offered the opportunity to join a program that would allow her to-NOPE! not virtual reality. The doctors killed her and dumped her body. Tough. In her new world, Lilia has to fight herself to find out who she truly is. With the possibility to cast magic and a second chance at life, Lilia thinks she can really make something for herself. Her goal? Become the greatest artist the world had ever seen. The rub? World is a bit darker than anything she saw on earth. Thankfully, Lilia is getting quite familiar with the darkness inside her and her magic might just be the thing to save the-hey! wait it's not that kind of book. No saving the world. No hero syndrome. Just magic and blood and a bit of crafting. Yup. Fighting. Romance? Eh? What's that? The first arc is Lilia's shift from Earth to creating backstories for the three major characters. It's not funny and light. It's often dark and funny. Ah, I really should have gone through a punk-rock phase. Or goth. Would I look good with black hair? Hmm.. There are three MCs and they are Jackson, Daryl, and Lilia/Syndra. Daryl is currently kidnapped and Jackson just awakened his magic. I don't want to spoil (much) but soon things will be very fun to write. Hope to see you there! Leave a comment even if you're just stopping by so I can say hey! Chapters to be published twice weekly. Check tags before reading.
8 78Bells and Taxes
The territory of Palmetto, ragged and mean, was once the banishing lands for the kings of the Old World. In that sea of hills they exiled their enemies, their upstarts, the deposed tyrants and rebels who came too close. Ancient prisons emptied their depths into Palmetto. Persecuted tribes fled to the refuge of its hideaway valleys. After a century and some, the land of Palmetto had evolved into a patchwork of flimsy feudalism, cult compounds, and grift economies. The merchant princes, having built some gleam of stability, reached out to the Old World's new kings for help in raising the orderly sword of bureaucracy. The event known as the Papercut Revolution closed the First Era. The new dawn rose on The Directory, who took the yoke of power into their responsible hands and began to bring forth their Good Era.
8 205harry potter ; kihyun
"you look like harry potter"yoo kihyun just somehow meets a girl that tells him one of the weirdest things when they first meet.©hyukisk2018All Rights Reserved.
8 118Sky cotl/ sky children of the light art work
a random book filled with some of my art as well as others.
8 165CRYPTOGRAPHIA
blah blah blah....... -_____-
8 152ᴏɴᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ: ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ʜɪꜱ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇꜱ, ʟɪᴇꜱ ᴀ ᴛʀᴀɢɪᴄ ʟᴏᴠᴇ. [ᴍᴏɴᴇᴋʏ ᴅ. ʟᴜꜰꜰʏ]
𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 ℍ𝕚𝕤 𝕄𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕃𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝔸 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦. ꜱʏᴘɴᴏꜱɪꜱ .◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆❝ɪᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴜᴘᴘᴏꜱᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ, ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴏɴʟʏ ʜᴇ ᴋɴᴇᴡ. ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴋɪɴɢ, ʜɪꜱ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇꜱ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴘʟᴀʏᴇᴅ ɪɴ ꜰʀᴏɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ.... ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴏᴋᴀʏ, ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴᴀɢᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ʜᴇʀ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ.❞▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃☪🄰🅄🅃🄷🄾🅁 ➺ ᴅʀᴏᴡɴᴇᴅ_ɪɴ_ᴛʜᴇ_ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ☠ 🄾🄽🄴 🄿🄸🄴🄲🄴 ➺ ᴍᴏɴᴋᴇʏ ᴅ. ʟᴜꜰꜰʏ (🅢🅛🅞🅦 🅤🅟🅓🅐🅣🅔🅢)
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