"Somebody's comin', Sister Ash!" the boy cried, breathless, his bright-painted crutch all but skidding out from beneath him in his haste.
"Maybe it's Mr. God," Meggie chimed in. "Told him t' come an' make you stop cryin'."
"It's not his horse, goosey," Shevonne sniffed. "It couldn't be—"
But in spite of the girl's words, Ashleen ran to where the trail split the clusters of trees. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she squinted against the rays of the sun, trying to focus upon the figure just visible on the strip of road.
The roan coat of the horse blurred before her eyes, but there were no familiar splashes of white upon the animal and the man astride it rode with none of Garret's pantherlike ease.
Ashleen swiped her hand across her eyes as the rider plunged through a pool of shadow. Horror jolted through her. She had seen that face in nightmares.
Garvey. Merciful God, it was Cain Garvey. His brother couldn't be far behind.
Ash wheeled, feeling as if she were going to be sick as she screamed at the children. “Renny, get the gun! The rest of you hide! For the love of God—"
For an instant the lot of them stood as if rooted to the ground, then, spurred by the raw terror in her voice, they sprang into motion. Shevonne caught up Meggie's hand, the berry pails crashing to the ground, spilling. Liam dashed toward the stand of trees a few paces behind the girls, while Renny darted toward the cabin door.
Ashleen scooped up the hoe, the only weapon she had to buy the children time. She had thought she understood the depths of horror, but at that instant Meggie screamed, Liam sobbed.
She whirled to see something spring out of the brush, dull-eyed, slavering, a giant beast that only remotely resembled a man. His arms were locked about Meggie, the child seeming so fragile, so delicate in his crushing grasp, it seemed that she would shatter.
"Don't hurt her! Let her go!" Shevonne's and Liam's shrieks tore at Ashleen's heart, the two of them pounding on the mountain of a man with their small fists, their blows as ineffectual against Eli Garvey as the batting of a butterfly's wings.
At the same instant Renny veered from his path toward the cabin and flung himself at Eli.
Ashleen charged toward Garvey as well, the hoe in her hand, desperation sluicing through her. As if startled, the big man flung out one arm, his eyes confused as one huge fist clipped Renny in the temple. Ashleen cried out as the boy fell, his head slamming against the hard ground with a sickening thud.
There was an impossible sound of something like regret from Garvey, his slack mouth gaping wide as he stared at the boy.
Still. Renny lay there so still, his face deathly pale as a trickle of blood rolled down his temple.
Ash shrieked, turning on Eli like a mother lion, raging, terrified. There was a thundering behind her, as if the earth itself shook with her fury. Dust swirled in choking waves, with massive equine haunches and blade-sharp hooves slashing inches from Ash's side. A shot rang out, shattering the children's shrieks, tearing a scream from Ashleen's throat. She felt a cruel hand knot in the fall of her hair, yanking her head back against a bony shoulder. The hoe flew from her grasp, leaving her defenseless, more vulnerable than she'd ever been in her life.
Her cheek pressed against the beard-stubbled face of her captor, and she felt the hard ridge of Cain Garvey's scar.
"Shut up, all of you," he hissed, pressing the hot barrel of his pistol against Ashleen's temple, "or the next bullet blasts a hole clear through yer ma's face."
Ashleen's heart wrenched as the little ones' sobs subsided into whimpers. Shevonne had dashed over to where Renny had fallen, dropping to her knees by his side, while Liam fell back from Eli's huge bulk and Meggie went still in the big man's arms.
"Don't shoot her. Pl-please, mister, don't—" Liam begged, scooting away from the Garveys, his face streaked with tears.
"Well, whether we do or whether we don't don't depend on me none, boy," Cain sneered. "That all depends on the man she's been entertainin' these weeks past a-tween her thighs."
Ashleen tried not to retch. "G-Garret's not here," she choked out, trying to think of some way, any way to protect the terrified children. "He rode out days ago. Looking for you."
"Shoulda stayed put. Woulda found us, hey, Eli?" Cain sneered. "But then, how do we know MacQuade ain't waitin' for you in some mudhole somewheres, sweet thing? His pants on fire, an' his hands all hot—"
"Cain." Eli's voice was wavery, his face oddly stricken. "The boy—he—I hurt him."
"He got in the way, dammit. Took a bump on the head. It's nothin', Eli! You done good. He woulda just done somethin' stupid, an' we woulda had t' kill him."
A shudder went through the big man, his eyes still fixed on the boy's crumpled frame. Ash struggled against Cain Garvey's grasp, desperate to get to Renny, but the outlaw held her pinned, helpless. She could only be grateful Shevonne was holding the boy, his head pillowed on her lap, her eyes fiercely protective despite her fear.
"Don't stand there like a half-wit, Eli!" Cain snapped. "We gotta find MacQuade. Get the gold. Damn it—"
"He... he's breathin'... the boy's breathin', Cain."
Cain cursed, low, savage. "Now, if this lady wants him t' keep on breathin', she'd best tell us where MacQuade's holed up."
