Lord of Order by Brett Riley (the reading list book TXT) 📕

McClure joined him, ready to move. First chance I get, she said.

They stepped outside, Ford going first, followed by Bandit and then McClure, who eased the door closed. The night air washed over them like a tepid shower.

Four men rushed them, two from each side of the building. One man in each pair held a lantern high above his head. On their shoulders, the burlap sacks they had used to hide the glow. Each man carried sidearms. The two without lanterns had already skinned theirs and pointed them at Ford and McClure.

Bandit barked at the men, loud and rapid-fire, standing between them and McClure. Easy, boy, she said. Stay.

You should hide your horse better next time, the tallest man said.

One of the lantern carriers, a fat man wearing an eye patch, grinned. And look who it is. Mister Chief Hunter hisself, plus some kid, meetin in secret and sneakin about. Looks like we got two more Troublers, boys. Just like that skunk, Troy.

Hatless and bearing his lantern at eye level, the third Crusader shook his head. You can’t trust anybody these days. Why are you sneaking around in the dark with a kid and a dog, Ford? Does your heathenism extend to perversion?

The gunman to Ford’s left said nothing. His eyes were shadowed, his breathing calm.

He’s the dangerous one. The others are just blowhards.

Me and this girl are old friends, Ford said. Where and when we talk ain’t your business.

Mister Tall sneered. Envoy Royster might feel differently. Cuff em.

Ain’t you a daisy, McClure said, winking at Mister Tall.

You’re makin a big mistake, Ford said.

Mister Tall just laughed. Eye Patch and Hatless moved forward, while Mister Tall and Mister Silent kept watch.

Y’all were warned, McClure said.

The child drew her gun and shot Hatless twice in the head. Her third shot destroyed the lantern before Hatless’s body hit the ground.

Mister Tall and Mister Silent opened fire as Ford dove sideways, drawing in the air. He hit the ground and rolled into a crouch and shot Mister Tall in the shoulder. The man cried out and fell. Eye Patch dropped his lamp and fumbled with his pistol, muttering, Oh Lord oh Lord oh Lord until Ford shot him in the throat. He fell to his knees, gurgling and clawing at the wound. McClure ran across the yard as Mister Silent tracked her and took aim. He opened fire, but McClure dove for cover behind Eye Patch. The bullet took Eye Patch in the back, and he fell onto McClure, who fired as she went down, knocking off Mister Silent’s hat.

A shape thundered by in the dark. Rachel galloped down the road, dragging the limb to which Ford had hitched her, and disappeared into the night. Damnation! I was afraid of that, Ford thought.

Mister Tall sat up and shot at Ford, who evaded in a semicircle as the bullets whined past. A line of heat on his right shoulder blade—a graze. Pay attention. Rachel can take care of herself. He returned fire and hit Mister Tall in the mouth. Teeth, blood, brains, and bone exploded from the back of the Crusader’s skull. He fell and lay still.

McClure struggled to get out from under Eye Patch as Mister Silent stood over her and cocked his gun. Say hello to the devil for me, the Crusader said. You Troubler piece of—

Bandit sailed through the air, hitting Silent in the chest. Silent’s gun went flying. It hit the ground and went off, blowing a hole in the archive’s wall. Bandit landed on top of Mister Silent and sunk his teeth deep into the man’s throat and shook his head back and forth. The man gurgled and tried to scream and beat at Bandit’s head. Ford got to his feet and stood over them. McClure shoved Eye Patch’s body away and joined him. By then, Mister Silent’s feet were beating a weak tattoo on the ground, his hands falling away as Bandit ripped out his arteries and a chunk of his esophagus.

Once the Crusader stopped flopping, McClure, Ford, and Bandit stood around the body, panting. Then the girl knelt and hugged the Rottweiler. The dog’s tail thumped the ground. Gore dripped from his jaws.

Good boy, she said.

We better get outta here before the rest of the Crusade comes down on our heads, Ford wheezed. Will y’all be okay alone? McClure gave him a look. Sorry, he said. Hey, you heard anything from Gabe? Or about him?

No, McClure said, breathing hard. But I’m keepin my ear to the ground.

Let me know when there’s news. Take care.

But the girl and her dog were already fading into the shadows, and for all his skill and experience, Ford could not even hear them.

He set off in the direction Rachel had run. If the Lord was with him, she would not have gone far.

The next day, Ford woke to pounding on his door. He sat up and rubbed sleep from his eyes. Outside, only darkness, not even the gray light before dawn. No birds sang. No crickets or frogs babbled. He reached for the glass of water he had left on the nightstand and drank, using the sheet to towel off his sweat.

I hope I live to see cool again.

The pounding continued.

He picked yesterday’s shirt and trousers off the floor, pulling them on as he moved out of the bedroom and down the hall, through the den, to the door. When he opened it, LaShanda Long stood there, six-guns holstered. Behind her, two stone-faced outlanders carried shotguns, bandoliers crisscrossing their chests. Their horses were hitched to his post. The animals, like the men, were stolid and quiet, just shapes in the dark.

Howdy, Ford said. Did I forget an appointment?

Long turned to the Crusaders. I’ll be out in a bit.

They saluted her. She strode past Ford. He closed the door and followed her and lit one of his lamps.

Water? he asked.

No. We ain’t got much time.

He gestured toward the door. Who were they?

She shrugged. Folks I’m supposed to lead. They all look