《Reality Shattered - Children of Atlantis Book 2》Goldwater - New Mexico - 1880 - Boothill
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Helen and Hazel were both sleeping when they appeared in the dusty western style graveyard with Enid. Wherever they were it was arid and dry. Enid shook herself and collapsed into her Sarah body. Hazel was the first to wake up. She was very confused when she found herself laying in front of wooden headstone. Enid glanced down at her.
“Good morning sleepy head.”
“Mom! I didn’t get to say goodbye to Miles.”
“You and I both know you broke up with him and you were crashing with Helen on Sauroid prime in the light sider city.”
Hazel stood up and dusted herself off.
“Not using your…well normal face Mom?”
Enid shook her head. Enid nudged Helen roughly with her foot. Helen stirred and stood up. Without missing a beat Enid continued.
“I decided to stick with this one until the end. Too much confusion using my original face. Alright let’s figure out where we are.”
Helen seemed less perturbed by being dragged from Sauroid prime to here and looked around at the tombstones.
“Are those tombstones made of wood? When are we? Where are we?”
Enid nodded and looked down at one and pointed.
“Well, there you go, that was easy.”
Helen crouched and traced the painted letters with her finger.
“What does it say mother?”
“In Memory of Clifton Rook, Born, Feb 20th, 1856, died June 5th, 1879. Shot dead by Rip Grimes, Tombstone, Arizona.”
“Where is that mother?”
“We’re in North America, southern united states near the Mexican border. Tombstone looks newish. I’d say late 1879, early 1880.”
Hazel jumped up and down a bit excited.
“Like the movie Tombstone! So, we get guns now, like out in the open guns!”
“Yes, we can use guns. But I’m not letting Helen near one until she practices some.”
Enid rolled her eyes as Hazel celebrated.
“Alright holo-webs on, set them for cowboy.”
The three put on their necklaces and tapped them. Each was suddenly covered in a duster and leather chaps and jeans and simple grey cotton shirts. Hazel held out her hand.
“Gun please mom.”
“Why would you think I’d have a nineteenth century firearm?”
“Because you lived through this time, right?”
Enid nodded.
“Yea, but I didn’t use guns until the twentieth century.”
“What are going to do if someone wants to have a gunfight mom? We’re in the old west!”
“Contrary to the movies you watched, people don’t randomly get into gunfights. There is usually something behind it. And as sexist as it is, they are not likely to even start a fighting with a woman.”
“I give you five minutes before you start a bar brawl mom.”
Enid shook her head at Hazel and then glanced up at the moon then the trio moved down from Boot hill and saw the Saloon was still lit up and had horses in front of it. There were a couple of other businesses open. It looked too big to be Tombstone.
“Saloon looks open. Those are probably brothels. I don’t think we’re in Tombstone though, it looks a bit big.”
“Why would a demon be here?”
“Strife? Cause chaos? They seem to be drawn to points in history with a lot of violence. I really don’t know. All I know is that my angelic ass dropped us here and I directed the energy at the closest demonic incursion. Let’s go get a drink girls.”
Hazel nodded.
“Beer keeps getting better as we go forward.”
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“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, they probably basically have whiskey.”
The trio jumped down the hill in four big jumps and landed at the bottom. Enid let Hazel enter first. Her impressive height and build would be the most intimidating. The entrance barely caused a batted eyelash from anyone present because everyone was focused on two men with guns drawn at a table with a card game in progress.
“You’re a cheater George Boyle.”
“You’re just a sore loser Thompson!”
“You’re both gonna end up with bullets in you if you don’t sit down and put your guns away.”
A man appeared behind the trio of women both guns drawn pointing at the pair.
“Sheriff this man’s a cheater, I aught to shoot him in the face.”
“You wanna fight this out you take outside of my town, otherwise put your iron away and sit your asses down. I’m giving you a three count before I send you both to Boothill.”
The two men slowly put their guns away staring each other down and sat down. The sheriff holstered his guns. He looked to the Enid, Hazel and Helen.
“I hope you three aren’t here to cause trouble.”
Enid looked up at him.
“No Sheriff, just a drink.”
He tipped his hat.
“Sorry for the disturbance payday weekend miners get a bit rowdy.”
Enid nodded the trio walked to the bar. Enid reached into her pocket which was actually her pack and pulled out a few bills. About fifty dollars’ worth of appropriate currency.
“I don’t have any more than this, didn’t spend a lot of time in the US until the 20th century. I have some gold I’m going to go win some more.”
Enid motioned to the table.
“Mother, they seem pretty dangerous. Especially with those ‘guns’.”
Helen said the last word with some difficulty. She didn’t quite understand what they did exactly.
“What would you call me then?”
“I think what she is saying is they have guns, and we don’t”
“Get a drink and relax. I got this.”
Enid pulled out twelve Aztec coins and walked to the table where the poker game was going on and slammed them down.
“I’m pretty sure one of them is worth more than your entire pot, I’ll see you one for the amount of your stake. And a chance to join the game.”
The man in the richest looking cloths perked up. Enid grabbed eleven of the coins and put them in her pack and held up one to him.
“That’s Aztec gold!”
“I don’t know what kind of gold it is; I just know I have a bunch of it, and no hard currency. I should have asked for cash.”
“Well, darlin, I will take care of you. Our stake is one-hundred and fifty dollars darlin, I will pay you that for one of those coins.”
Enid flipped the coin to him, and he caught it and he pulled out a hundred and fifty dollars from his pot. She pulled in a chair. She played several hands, she won a few, lost a lot. After selling another coin it was her and three men left, the accused cheater was gone along with his accuser. The rich man who she came to understand was the mine owner’s son, and was named Gabriel Kennedy, a miner and a cowboy of dubious moral quality, and Enid. She had played desperate. Hazel and Helen were watching from a distance. Hazel looked concerned. Helen wasn’t, probably because she could read Enid who was basically playing the idiot so she could get everything eventually. Enid was a bit surprised the pair had been left alone. The sheriff had sat down beside them he hadn’t said a word, but he watched Enid carefully after she flashed the gold. She could tell he was suspicious of someone with so much money. Enid folded another hand and was down to the last of her stake. She had enough for one more hand and it was her turn to deal. Which meant it was her turn to cheat she altered time and rearranged the deck. She dealt four good hands, hers was the best she had four aces. Gabriel had a full house Kings high, if he could get a queen. Another had a flush and another had a straight. The miner pushed a big bet in, enough the cowboy would have to go all in. Gabriel took a card and he raised the stake creating a side pot. Enid looked down at her empty pile of chips.
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“It’s okay little lady, I’ll let you add one of those coins to make up the difference.”
Enid pulled out a coin and flipped it onto the pile.
“How high are you willing to go Mr. Kennedy?”
“I’ll match any bet you make.”
Enid pulled out all of her coins and put them in the pile. He raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t have enough to match that, but here.”
He pushed all his money and the three coins he had purchased from her. Then wrote a promissory note for seven hundred dollars. Enid nodded. Everyone was out of money at this point so they put down their cards. The game had drawn the attention of the remaining patrons. There was a lot of money on the line. There were whistles at the hands everyone had. Gabriel had this look of victory on his face and then Enid put down her hand and she watched his face fall. Enid reached for the pots and the cowboy grabbed her arm.
“That there is a one in a million hand I say you cheated.”
“Let go of my hand before I break yours, sir.”
He squeezed tightly. Enid did a quick pull down of her wrist and grabbed him on top of his wrist and slammed it into the table causing it to bend upwards at a bad angle. He screamed and fell to the floor clutching his wrist.
“Do either of you want to contest this hand?”
They shook their heads and Enid gathered her winnings she took fifty dollars and a coin and put it in front of the miner and did the same with the addition of the promissory note for Gabrial. She dropped a one-dollar bill on the writhing cowboy who wouldn’t be shooting her anytime soon and nodded to them.
“Buy yourself a drink, dull the pain.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Smith.”
Enid put the coins and the cash in her pack. She turned to move towards Hazel and Helen. She felt a hand on her arm, and she looked back it was Gabriel.
“Mr. Kennedy, I prefer not to be touched by unfamiliar men.”
She glanced down at the cowboy who was in tears with a broken wrist. He snapped his hand back and held out the promissory note and the cash and the coin.
“You won this; I am a man of my word.”
Enid turned to him.
“I’ll not leave good men destitute because of bad luck.”
“Noble sentiment, but I pay my debts. What is your name ma’am?”
“Sarah.”
“Is that a scotsman’s accent I hear.”
“You have a good ear.”
“I will pay you what I owe you.”
“That’s up to you sir, I consider the matter closed.”
She turned and walked to the bar and put twenty dollars on the bar.
“Round for the house. My luck is theirs.”
The bartender nodded and started pouring drinks. Enid nodded to those who raised their glasses to her. Hazel shrugged.
“You surprised me it was more like two hours before you caused a fight.”
Enid smirked elbowed Hazel who laughed. The sheriff looked down the bar at the women who were speaking in a foreign tongue. He was looking intently at Enid who raised her glass to him and downed the shot. He did the same then he approached them.
“You girls aren’t from around these parts, are you?”
Helen laughed and spoke; She was having trouble with the words she was hearing so she didn’t make much sense. The sheriff looked at her in confusion.
“Sorry Sheriff, my daughter is still learning English, she grew up speaking Gaelic.”
He nodded. Hazel spoke, her accent was less pronounced she had spent time learning English.
“I think my sister was trying to say you’re some kind of genius if you can figure that out. She’s kind of dumb.”
Helen glared at Hazel.
“Girls, behave, you’re making a bad impression.”
Enid looked to the Sheriff.
“Sorry you know sisters.”
He laughed.
“I do believe I do, I have two daughters myself. They do get crazy angry at each other sometimes. Now, Ms. Sarah, I had the understanding you were coming here for a drink, and to not cause trouble.”
He pointed at the man who had been propped up by a wall and had one of the saloon ladies looking at his wrist she would give Enid a dirty look now and again.
“That man, proves different.”
“Are ladies not allowed to protect themselves from men in this town?”
The sheriff looked Enid up and down.
“They are, and I’m glad you didn’t draw iron. But that is Clayton Stone, he’s got a crew and you just made them enemies. I don’t think you can protect yourself from them.”
“They would be the dumbest group of criminals on this side of the Rio Grande.”
“You should be concerned Ms. Sarah, they are a dangerous lot.”
“Well, if they want to die, I will make their wish come true.”
He shook his head.
“What brings you to Goldwater?”
“We’re hunting for a bounty.”
“Do you have a poster? Warrant?”
“No, it’s not that kind of bounty, we’ll know it when we see it.”
“You’re making me nervous, Ms. Sarah. I don’t like having to shoot womenfolk. Goes against my grain.”
“Don’t worry Sheriff, though I know you will anyway, what we’re hunting isn’t a man, or woman. Is there a pastor in town?”
“We have a catholic church, Father Milo. And a chapel with Pastor Norman, I peg you lot for Catholics.”
Enid shook her head.
“That’s Ireland sheriff. But you’d be right, for two of us, the other is more or less her own thing.”
“I’ve never known at Catholic to gamble like that.”
“I said I was Catholic, I didn’t say I was a good Catholic, Sheriff.”
Enid raised another shot and chugged it. Enid stood up.
“Have fun girls. Be nice to the sheriff, and find a room and get some sleep hmm? Meet me at the church in the morning.”
Enid gave each thirty dollars. Before leaving the Saloon and wrapping herself in shadows in the darkness of the dusty streets. She found the catholic church and picked the lock into the Father’s home. He was sleeping. She shifted to her angelic form and touched him gently. He nearly fell out of his bed. He crossed himself and started speaking in Spanish his words were so hurried and muddled Enid could barely keep up. She spoke in Spanish.
“Be at peace father. I am the Archangel Seraph. I come to you with a warning. There is evil coming. My father has sent three women who will appear to be lost souls to fight it. Two will have hair of almost silver and the last will be brown. You are to aid them however they should need. Do you understand Father Milo?”
He crossed himself and nodded reaching out to touch Enid’s hand she let him. She pulled a feather from her wing and it turned from the black to the shimmering silver.
“I leave this as proof you did not dream me up. Now sleep father.”
Enid waved her hand over his face and he fell asleep. She forced herself back into her Sarah body and walked out. She sat down on the stairs of the church and waited. As dawn came and went Hazel and Helen joined her eventually.
“Wonder what day it is.”
“Sunday, dear.”
They waited for another half an hour, Hazel was throwing stones at the dirt in her boredom, the vampires were less animated. Father Milo came out in a rush and stopped when he saw them, he crossed himself. His English was heavily accented.
“Are you…here for the Lord?”
Enid stood up and nodded.
“I’m Sarah these are my daughters, Hazel and Helen, we’re here because we were sent here to hunt a demon that escaped hell. I know that sound-.”
“Say no more, I have been told of your coming. What can I do for you?”
“At the moment anything you could tell us about anything strange going on would help father.”
“I… the parishioners will be arriving soon for mass could we talk about this after Mass? I need to prepare. You will be attending, yes?”
“Yes of course Father.”
“Of course, you are, silly me. You were sent by the lord of course you are devout. Are you coming like that?”
“It’s the clothes we have father.”
“This won’t do… you will stand out.”
He looked at someone who was approaching.
“Come here boy!”
The fourteen-year-old boy with a shock of red hair approached.
“Father, what is it? I’m here early.”
“No, no Liam. I need you to go ask your mother to find three dresses, one is for a large girl and two smaller women please go hurry.”
Liam put his hat back on and looked at the three women his eyes lingering on Enid.
“Alright Father.”
“Go, go boy hurry!”
Liam said something under his breath and ran off.
“Father we don’t mean to cause trouble.”
“No, no, just you showing up looking like cowboy ruffians would, you would stand out, our church is kind of insular, they would never talk to you, but if you look normal, well, that will help. We will just tell them you were robbed and you had no cloths to attend service in.”
Enid looked at her daughters and shrugged.
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