“I’ll try thinking dumb thoughts,” Blaze said. “That might help.”
Despite herself, she smiled. “You’re impossible.”
“Only mostly.”
They settled into silence again, watching the torches flicker below. The camp looked smaller from this distance, but Blaze could picture the men inside. They were probably loading rifles, stacking crates, and whispering about the kid who’d been chasing them.
“Marisol,” Blaze said after a moment, “if you get the chance, don’t shoot unless you have to. I’ll need them looking at me, not you.”
“Don’t tell me how to do my job,” she replied.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Graycloud’s voice came quietly. “When do you go?”
“At dawn,” Blaze said. “Before the light hits the ridge.”
Marisol studied his face. “You mean to walk right up the trail?”
“Like I belong there,” Blaze said. “Men don’t see what they ain’t looking for.”
She sighed, rubbing her temples. “You ever wonder if maybe you like gettin’ shot at?”
He smiled. “Keeps life interesting.”
She looked at him for a long moment. “If you don’t come out by sundown, I’m coming in after you.”
“Don’t,” Blaze said. “If I’m not out by then, it means I’m either dead or waiting for dark.”
“That’s not a promise I can keep,” she replied.
“I’m not asking you to,” he said softly. “But I’m hoping you will.”
Graycloud rose, his silhouette blending with the stone.
“The mountain sleeps lightly,” he said. “We should too.”
They made camp in the hollow of the ridge, far enough from sight but close enough to watch the mine.
Blaze couldn’t sleep. He lay on his back, staring at the faint stars between the cliffs. The wind sighed through the crags.
He thought of Rachel—her laugh and the way she’d hide her worry behind stubborn pride. He thought of their mother’s stories, of headless riders and spirits that punished liars. He wondered if those tales were truer than he’d once believed.
“Can’t sleep?” Marisol’s voice came from beside him, soft as the wind.
“Not much,” Blaze said.
She shifted closer, her tattered blanket rustling. “You’re thinkin’ too loud.”
He smiled faintly. “You can hear that?”
“Always could.”
He turned his head toward her. The moonlight caught her eyes, making them shine pale silver. “You’ll cover me tomorrow?”
“With every bullet I got,” she said.
