Page 57 of Deadwood
He unfolded his arms, stepping off the porch to approach Billie and the other man.
“Want me to scare them away?” Billie muttered, dropping his smile.
Bowen shook his head, facing me. He didn’t spare Paxon a glance. “What’s the problem here?”
I swallowed and attempted to hold my chin higher. If he was going to look to me for an explanation, I couldn’t cower.
But before I could answer, Paxon spoke up. “Bandits ambushed us.”
Bowen lazily moved his gaze to Paxon. “I asked the lady.”
Paxon’s jaw clenched as he held his tongue. Bowen looked at me again, raising a brow as if to say,Go on.
“We were attacked,” I answered.
His eyes trailed down the sullied dress that clung to my body. His perusing gaze paused when he reached my ankle peeking out from the torn fabric, the one I was currently trying to keep some weight off of.
“My people need rest before we can continue on our journey back to Amosite,” I added hurriedly.
Bowen looked me in the eyes again before regarding the guards behind me for the first time. The silence gnawed at me, and I worried he’d turn us away.
“You can stay until your guards are ready to move, but once they’re able to travel, you’re gone.” His penetrating gaze fell back on me. “Is that clear?”
I nodded. “Yes. Thank you. We won’t overstay our welcome.”
He didn’t acknowledge what I said as he left us standing there. I watched his back move under his shirt as he went, disappearing into a building and leaving us with the two men.
“Follow me,” Billie said, turning to head deeper into the town.
We did, the eyes of every passerby following us as we moved, and I wondered if this truly was the better choice than risking our lives in the desert overnight.
Only time would tell.
CHAPTER 19
We were brought to a spot on the edge of town and given tents to set up on our own. The spot seemed like it might have been an old section of housing or businesses, but had been torn down—in quite a messy manner, might I add. The old cobblestone foundations still stood, but the buildings had been decimated. Piles of boards littered the dirt, nails and old pieces of metal thrown in with the rest.
It’d taken us hours to set up the tents, given the state of our group. An elderly woman had stopped by with a few medical supplies after the tents were secured, not uttering a word when she dropped them off.
No one had checked in on us since, but I guessed that was a blessing. By the looks of the townspeople we’d glimpsed, I didn’t want to get on their bad side and draw more attention to our group; though I was certain we’d already failed the latter. We’d walked into town, full of injuries—there was no way we had managed to be discreet with how battered we were.
“Do you need help with that?” Lander asked after having just removed the remnants of an arrow from one of the guard’s legs.
“Please,” I replied from where I sat by the fire, stretching my leg toward him. The flames cracked and popped as they licked at the air, sending plumes of smoke all around. This time, I was thankful for it covering up the lingering scent of blood and sweat.
I’d been fumbling with the cloth for a while now, having a hard time wrapping it tight to hold my ankle in place. As long as I couldn’t bend it, I hoped it would heal enough for me to make it back to Amosite. If they had healing vials in this town, they didn’t offer them willingly, but there’d been a pain-reducing tea in the supply bag the woman had dropped off. I’d drunk a cup so far, and the warm, herb-flavored liquid had eased some of the swelling.
Lander crouched in front of me, unwrapping the cloth to start from scratch. Paxon had disappeared into one of the tents, likely already asleep and not worrying himself with the state of the guards.
I looked away, trying to distract myself. “Can I ask you something?”
He nodded as his blood-caked fingers worked the cloth around my swollen ankle. “Of course.”
“Did you see what happened when the bandits ambushed us?”
He was silent a moment, focusing on the wrap. “We were…attacked?” His answer was left open-ended, like he couldn’t figure out why I might be asking such an obvious question.
I chewed the inside of my cheek, debating if I should clarify. Maybe I’d only imagined the dragon. “Not that, necessarily. More like a beast kind of…stepped in.”
