He took the map, his eyes narrowing as he traced the ink lines with a calloused finger.
“This ridge here . . . that’s the Sierra Blight range. And that cross—”
Marisol finished for him. “Mount Grayback.”
“There’s an old silver mine up there,” Blaze said, nodding. “My pa worked it a season before it shut down.”
“A mine,” Graycloud furrowed his brows. “You think that’s where they’re headed?”
“I don’t think,” Blaze said. “I know.”
“But why a mine?” Marisol asked, frowning. “There’s no silver left. Place was abandoned years ago.”
Blaze folded the map, staring toward the distant peaks that loomed like jagged teeth on the horizon.
“Maybe it ain’t silver they’re after.”
He didn’t have to say anything else.
Marisol crossed her arms. “So, Wilder’s pullin’ back to higher ground. You think he’s hiding, or you think he’s waiting for us?”
“Could be both,” Blaze said. “Either way, that’s where this road leads.”
Graycloud stood, his silhouette stark against the reddening sky. “A mountain’s easy to defend. Hard to climb. He’ll see us coming long before we reach him.”
“Then we don’t go in blind,” Blaze replied.
Marisol gave a small, humorless laugh. “Ain’t like we ever had a choice, Buckeye. Every fight we’ve walked into lately has been blind.”
“That’s different,” Blaze said. “This one’ll end it.”
Graycloud tilted his head. “End it . . . or bury us.”
“Either works,” Blaze said.
Marisol stared at him for a long moment. “You mean that?”
“I mean I’m tired of running circles while men like Wilder and Kane make plans,” Blaze said. “That mine’s the heart of it. I can feel it.”
Graycloud squatted near the dead Rider again. “If Wilder’s gathering there, he won’t be alone. A dozen...maybe two dozen Riders.”
“And we’re three,” Marisol replied.
The silence stretched. The sun dipped lower, turning the sky a bruised purple.
Marisol finally spoke. “You think he’s expecting you?” she asked.
Blaze looked down at the body again. “He knows I’m coming. That’s why he’s fortifying. This map wasn’t for this man...It was for us to find.”
“You believe it’s bait?” Graycloud asked.
“Maybe,” Blaze said. “But even bait tells you where the trap’s set.”
“That’s a fine way to walk into a grave,” Marisol said, huffing.
Blaze looked at her. “You still with me?”
She hesitated, then slung her rifle over her shoulder.
