As much as I wanted to watch what came next—as if I could do anything to help—I knew better than to cross boundaries. Perhaps Mukwooru might have begun to accept me, but that was it. I was just something more than taibo. That was never clearer than now.

  So, I sat outside my yurt, Timperina at my side, waiting for the sun to duck below the hills. Wasn’t like I had a ton to complain about concerning where they’d stuck me. As far as waiting rooms go, this was nice. Even came complete with a wooden rocking chair—something that belonged more on the porch of a saloon than here in the Garden. Maybe they had it built just for me. Was a fine thought, at least.

  I stared off into the distance beneath a full moon, where I knew the whole tribe would soon be gathered around a single unconscious woman whom they all barely knew. No kinder folk in all the world, I’d wager.

  Weird thing about mystical ceremonies is they never seem to happen during daylight. I reckon it’s because, oftentimes, those who partake are shielding their secrets from the rabble. There’s also magic in moonlight. Werewolves roam. Vampires hunt. It’s just the way of things.

  I paced for a bit, then kept myself busy brushing Timp and sorting her out with proper food and water. Problem was, that didn’t take very long. Next, I examined the new hunting knife one of Mutt’s people had been gracious enough to gift me. I sharpened it—though it needed no such care. Dusted it with some silver from Timp’s powder—one of those things I never allowed myself to run out of. When the edge was honed enough to slice tanned leather, I melted down the rest of the silver and crafted myself more bullets. While those hardened, I disassembled and cleaned all my guns. Then did it again.

  Busy work, really. Every outlaw worth his salt knows the first key to survival is being well armed and keeping your arms well. And there was no doubt I was an outlaw to certain parties.

  The Garden was a-flurry with those hard at work preparing, gathering herbs, and roasting red meat. Those without their hands to the grindstone, so to speak, had theirs filled with drinks in the area around Huupi Sokobi. Seemed more like a feast than healing rites to me, but what did I know? If meeting Wendigo taught me anything, it was that after all these years on this earth, I didn’t know my ass from my elbow.

  Nobody watched me outright, but I could tell eyes were on me, making sure the taibo kept his peepers where they belonged. Even Mutt left me high and dry. I got a nod and a sheepish grin, and then, he was off.

  By the time night arrived and drums started banging, I’d run out of chores. I had enough silver bullets to last months if I didn’t wind up fighting an entire brood of something awful, and no idea where I’d store them all. Of all Heaven’s gifts to Hands of God, I’d have taken a bottomless satchel over them all. And so, I simply sat, staring off toward the tall, flowered branches of Huupi Sokobi illuminated by moon-and-torchlight.

  “You not invited either?”

  My head snapped toward the unexpected voice. Someone had gotten right up on me, I was so lost in thought, and their identity caught me even more by surprise.

  “Ahusaka,” I practically whispered. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  The last time I’d seen the boy was at the top of a plateau a few miles from Revelation. You don’t just forget an encounter like that.

  Though he wore clothes fitting for someone living here in paradise, I knew beneath those threads was a bird tattoo covering the whole of his back, representing the mythical creature called Piasa. These weren’t his people, and when I’d sent him here after fighting his surrogate parents and saving Revelation Springs, I worried how he’d be received. It was nice to know my fears were unfounded.

  He wore his hair long, and it swooped over his eyes, making him appear like a bride on her wedding day. Though if the obscured vision bothered him, he didn’t show it. He was clever, and I’d even say special, with the ability to control other beings. A mind-drifter. Only one I’d ever met.

  When I rushed Rosa here, before embarking upon the journey to procure that flower, I’d asked after Ahusaka. Having not seen him around, my perturbations were compounded, thinking maybe he’d chosen a different path and that someday, he and I might cross streams again to a bitter end.

  I’d been told he was out on the prairie, and a damn good hunter, using the eyes of a hawk to suss out game while the warriors did the killing. I also knew from firsthand experience he was an incredible marksman with a rifle, though I don’t expect he’d ever pick up arms again—not after what he’d been through.

  “Ahusaka,” I said again, louder this time as recognition flooded through me. He stepped nearer, and Timperina snorted. “Back, girl, he’s a friend.” I clasped his forearm. “Good to see you, kid. But hell, you ain’t much of a kid anymore, are you? Look at you, all grown up and thriving. This place don’t look too bad on you.”

  He looked down at himself with something like pride in his features.

  “It is thanks to you, Mr. James,” he said. “You gave me new life.”

  “You call me James or Crowley. None of that mister nonsense, got it?”

  Ahusaka nodded.

  “Heard you’ve been out hunting?”

  “It is nice for my gift to be used for good.” I could tell he immediately regretted saying it. Probably thought he’d soiled the name of his parents, Otaktay and Dyna. He cleared his throat and changed the subject. “I heard about your friend. The lady. I am sorry for her misfortune. And yours by extension.”

  “Well, life is more unicorn shit than sunshine and rainbows, but I don’t have to tell you that. What else they have you doing around here?”

  He looked toward Mukwooru’s medicine lodge. “When I am not out hunting, I have been assigned duties assisting Mukwooru.”

  I stared at him a long while, trying desperately to find even the hint of that young man I’d last seen. It wasn’t there. He was full of smiles and joy, and I was damn happy to see it.

  It was good to hear him talking about Mutt’s people like that. I knew a thing or two about finding camaraderie with people who didn’t share blood…

  * * *

  Too many years back to remember, my shoulder slammed into a man wearing a navy-blue jacket heavy enough to shock him into obscenities. He turned to shout at me, hand raised as if to slap me down.

  “I’m sorry!” I said, recoiling. “Must have tripped on a stray stone.”

  I pointed behind me at a place on the dirt street where I knew there was just such an object. We were in Coal City, after all, the biggest city within half-a-day’s travel to where I grew up in Granger’s Outlook. The streets were so overrun with miners and people visiting on their way farther west that no matter where you looked, something was out of place.

  The man brushed himself off like I was a bag of dirt that had just exploded on him. “Mind your step, boy. Next time, you might happen across someone less charitable.”

  I nodded. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

  The man continued on his way, and before he could look twice, I ducked between the butcher’s shop and a pub called The Poached Pig. Once safely shrouded in the darkness of the alleyway, I pulled my hand from my pocket and counted three bucks.

  “Damn,” I swore.

  I’d thought for sure I’d picked a good mark on that one. And while three bucks was three bucks, it wasn’t enough. Davey wouldn’t be far, and I was sure he’d come back with something too.

  This was how we spent our days. We’d been doing it for months—finishing up our chores at the church with Father Osgood, then heading into the city to hopefully make enough money to get the fuck out of this dead-end town.

  I’d have to choose my next target more wisely.

  I stuck my head back out, making sure the fellow in the navy-blue jacket hadn’t returned to find his missing greenbacks. If luck went my way, he’d just assume he’d forgotten he spent them on a good glass of whiskey.

  That was when I saw him. Couldn’t miss him, really. Sandy blond hair fell past his shoulders, and he wore a long patchwork coat as if he’d stitched together a dozen or more. Something about him called out to me with opportunity.

  I’d never seen him before, but that wasn’t uncommon in Coal City. Drifters were frequent enough.

  As he passed, I slipped from cover and fell into step behind him. I was just a few paces from the spot where I’d just encountered the man in blue when I made my move. However, before my hand could slip into his pocket, I felt a pull on my shoulder.

  “Whatcha doin’, kid?”

  I was forcibly spun around to face someone a bit older than me, and thick like a bull around the shoulders.

  “Is walking a crime now?” I said, trying to act tougher than I felt.

  “Hey, Ace,” the guy said, dragging me in and turning me so my back pressed against his chest.

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  The man in the patchwork coat turned around.

  I saw the writing on the wall. This was a gang leader, and I’d just stepped in a pile of his shit by accident.

  I had to think fast, and oftentimes, fast thinking doesn’t result in smart thoughts.

  I stomped down hard on my captor’s boot. When his grip on me loosened enough, I drove an elbow into his gut, then spun and popped him in the jaw with a closed fist.

  There’s an old saying, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

  In this case, that wasn’t true at all. He took the hit like a love tap. Glaring at me, he returned a giant fist of his own. I ducked and punched him in the ribcage. Was like hitting steel. The big guy grabbed me by the back of the coat and slammed his knee into my face. I felt my nose explode, warm blood covering my cheeks.

  When he let me go, I landed face first on the dirt path. In my mind, I scrambled to get up. In reality, my limbs wouldn’t heed my brain’s commands.

  A boot flipped me onto my back, and I found myself staring up at who I would later learn to be Ace Ryker. At that moment, he was nothing more than someone ready to kill me.

  “Don’t,” I said through what felt like shattered teeth.

  Ace leered down at me with that patented grin of his. And no, I didn’t use that word wrong. The way he looked at me was lustful, like he found some kind of sick pleasure in what he was about to do. He grabbed me by the collar and hefted me to my feet. If he hadn’t held me upright, my legs would have given out.

  “Well, well,” Ace said. “What’s this?”

  “He was gearin’ up to steal from you,” the big guy said. “I saw him.”

  “Steal? From me?” Ace glared at me. “That takes some big balls. You got big balls?” He reached down and grabbed a handful of my crotch and squeezed. I didn’t give him the benefit of letting him see me squirm.

  “Ask your mother,” I growled.

  That made him laugh. He punched me hard across the jaw, laughing while he did it. He let go, then stuck his hand in my pocket and pulled out the three dollar bills. “Doesn’t look like you’re very good at this.”

  “I do just fine,” I said.

  “From what I just saw, you’re a better fighter than a thief. I’ve never seen anyone give Colby a wallop like that.” Colby started to protest, but Ace held up a hand. “Now, now, I didn’t say he hurt you. There’s only enough room in the Scuttlers for my ego. Check yours at the door.”

  Colby snarled and took a step back.

  “You know what we do to thieves?” Ace asked me.

  “Screw you,” I said.

  Ace laughed again, and soon, Colby joined in. “Kid really does have a pair on him. What do you think, Cole?”

  “Me?” For the size of him, Colby looked like a scared deer. That was a look I’d gotten used to over the years. Ace just had a way of spilling the piss from your bladder with a simple question.

  “No, the fuckin’ wall,” Ace snapped. “Fuckin’ idiot. Yeah, you. What do we do with him?”

  Colby looked around the crowded street. Some people had stopped to stare while others made believe nothing was happening for their own good.

  “Well, we can’t just kill him in the middle of the street,” Colby said.

  “Kill him? Jesus, we ain’t animals, Cole. I’ll tell you what, kid. You like fighting, huh? Ever heard of mutual combat?”

  I nodded. Long as two men agree, they could beat the shit out of each other in public and no lawman could say a word or step in to stop it. No one dies, there’s no harm done.

  “Think you could take Colby here in a fair fight?” He spun me around to face the big man. “No weapons. No tricks. Just good old-fashioned fisticuffs. You do that, and instead of sending you to meet the Lord, I’ll let you serve the next best thing here on Earth. Me.”

  I scoffed, and he slapped me on my back.

  “Don’t look a fuckin’ gift horse in the mouth,” he said. “I’m giving you a chance. Take it or don’t.”

  Colby took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders.

  To be honest, the idea of leaving this place behind and joining a gang was compelling. It’d just been me and Davey for so long…

  Before I could answer, Ace shoved me forward. I stumbled toward Colby. He looked like he was about to throw a punch, so I bent at the hip and drove a shoulder into his midsection. Together, we staggered backward. I heard his spine collide with a post in front of the General Store.

  A few people screamed, and I heard their boots pattering off in a run.

  “Mutual combat, everyone!” Ace shouted. “Mutual combat! They’re just settling a score.” He laughed something maniacal.

  Two fists like anvils hammered against my back, and the blow sent me to my knees.

  Goddamn, it hurt.

  But if I didn’t get back up, I’d be dead. I took advantage of my position and brought my forearm hard against the side of Colby’s knee. There came a snap and a deep groan. He screamed and tried to lift me, except without both legs intact, he couldn’t do it. So, instead, he head-butted me. My broken and bloody nose turned into a fountain, spraying crimson everywhere.

  Dizzy, I took a few steps back. Colby tried to follow, and wound up dragging his left leg.

  “Shit, this is entertaining,” Ace said behind me.

  I worried for a second he was gonna join in, but I couldn’t let my attention split.

  Colby reached for me with both arms, and suddenly, it didn’t matter that I’d messed up his leg. He squeezed with so much raw power that I felt like every bone in my body was about to turn to powder. And with all the blood rushing to my brain, it came out in spurts.

  Blackness started to encroach around my vision. I felt myself slipping away. Then, I heard a loud roar, and the constriction around my chest let up. I fell to the ground and could only hear the fight going on around me.

  When my vision finally cleared, I wiped the blood from my eyes and turned to see Big Davey and Colby fighting like demons. Colby connected with Davey’s chin, but if it affected Davey at all, he didn’t show it. Ace’s man went to throw another punch, and Davey stepped aside, leaving Colby’s momentum to take him forward and onto his injured leg.

  Big Davey gave me a look and a wink, then jumped and came down with all his weight on Colby’s leg. What was left of his knee shattered under the impact and he fell to the street in agony. Wasting no time, Davey leaped onto his back and pressed the bastard’s face against the dirt. Then, he pulled his head back by the hair, and slammed it forward, once… twice.

  “Enough!” Ace shouted. “You’ll fuckin’ kill him. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.”

  He grabbed Davey from behind and pulled him back. Davey was so filled with rage that he turned on Ace and nearly struck him. But Ace raised his hand, LeMat revolver aimed at Davey’s heart.

  “You do that, and I’ll shoot you dead right here.”

  Davey stopped.

  Without looking, Ace said, “Cole, you alive?”

  A groan reverberated from the dirt.

  “Now, who the hell are you?” Ace asked Davey.

  I rose. “You said no guns.”

  Quick as a whip, Ace brought the revolver around and whacked me in the face with it, then had it back on Davey before I could register the blow. “And I said it was supposed to be a one-on-one fight. I make the fuckin’ rules. You’d best remember that. Both of you.”

  “Who is this guy?” Davey asked me.

  “A mark gone bad,” I admitted.

  Ace shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, kid. This was your best mistake. Luckiest day of your fuckin’ lives.”

  Davey and I looked at each other.

  “Now, what’s your name?” Ace asked me.

  “Crowley. James Crowley. And this here is Big Davey.”

  “Apt name, indeed.” Ace looked us over. “Well, James Crowley, that was a fine showing. You’ll be welcome in our little pack of Scuttlers, and don’t you dare say no.”

  * * *

  I did not say no. And I hadn’t thought about Big Davey in a bit. Absentmindedly, my hand fell to my holster. He and I purchased matching Peacemakers back in the day. When he died having my back against Ace, I knew he’d want me to have his.

  “She says the okchaya na pakanli will help?” Ahusaka asked, stirring me back to the present.

  I smiled faintly, and cleared my throat and the sadness that was stuck there. “She’s got a prayer, I’d reckon. Rosa’s being cared for, and I’ve got faith.”

  Faith… I absently ensured my crucifix necklace remained buried beneath my collar. I wasn’t even sure who or what I had faith in. People, I guess. People like Davey. Before I’d been resurrected as a Hand of God, I didn’t put too much stock in miracles. Maybe even less now that Shar proved to be the pile of holy shit I always expected she was.

  “The Great Spirit will watch over her,” Ahusaka assured, looking upward.

  I nodded. “Here’s hoping.”

  A strange cacophony of chanting, humming, and barking echoed across the way. Fire burned brighter and seven pillars of smoke rose in perfect intervals around the tree. The ceremony had begun.

  “You’re missing the ceremony,” I said.

  His features darkened. “I am not permitted. I am not skinwalker.”

  “Welcome to the crew.”

  My joke didn’t land. He didn’t seem to be taking the news lightly.

  “Buck up, kid,” I said. “You’ve got a home. People that need you. Safety. So what if they don’t let you play with a full deck? At least you got cards.”

  “You do not understand.”

  “Trust me, I do.”

  He shook his head. “I will never belong.”

  I stood and met him eye to eye. “Belonging is for the birds. First time I ever felt I did, I wound up turning on my boss and my crew, all to save that woman they’re chanting for right now. Turned out I didn’t belong at all, not deep down.”

  “Did he deserve it?”

  I thought back to that first meeting. I was so desperate to belong I didn’t even consider how poorly I’d be treated if Ace was that willing to toss one of his own into a fight like that. Colby and I never saw eye-to-eye after that day. It was a fence I’d always meant to mend, and never had the time to.

  “Did he—Well, sure he did. Ace Ryker was a rotten piece of shit.”

  Anger glinted in Ahusaka’s eyes. “I know that name.”

  “Oh, right, yeah.” I’d almost forgotten how Ace got himself mixed up with the mind-drifter and the yeti and everything that went down in Revelation. Ace never could stay away from trouble.

  “But that isn’t the point,” I said. “Point is… Not all of us are born into the family we want. All you got is yourself, kid. Then you pick up a few stragglers that stick along the way.”

  “Like her.” He gestured toward the ceremony.

  “Sure.” Timp blew out air. I laughed and gave her a pat. “And Timperina here, of course.”

  Ahusaka tried to run his fingers through her mane, but she craned her head away. I guess she remembered what had gone down when Ahusaka wasn’t seeing reason. As if he needed any more rejection.

  I shot Timp a sidelong glare—she wasn’t feeling generous.

  “Ignore her,” I said. “She’s just jealous she missed out on all the action back in the mountains.” She stomped her front hooves. “Keep it up and I’ll braid your mane.”

  She quickly gave Ahusaka a face full of wet, nosey affection. That drew a real laugh out of me. Sometimes, I wondered just how much of what I said she truly understood.

  She hated being braided. Years back, a wealthy rancher family had been losing livestock to a chupacabra. I had to go underground, so Timp stayed behind and, well, the daughter fancied herself a princess, and figured her new horse friend should look like one too.

  Ahusaka backed away, surprised. He wiped his cheek. “I am envious.”

  “Nothing here to envy, trust me. Just too long a life and more regrets than I can count.” I blew a raspberry. “Look at me, sounding like a damn priest, talking your ear off.”

  “You are nervous for your family,” he replied. “I understand.”

  All at once, I came crashing back to reality, my gaze returning to those pretty boughs under which Rosa’s life hung in the balance. Family. A cute word. A loaded word. But when I’d chosen her over the White Throne and cast my lots, I guess it suited well enough.

  “Say, you can’t hop into her mind and let me know what they’re doing, can you?”

  He blinked. “I can… try. I have not before, but for you—”

  I waved a dismissive hand. “I’m joking, kid. Even if you could, she’d eat you alive.” Last person to try and control her mind was Ace Ryker with his cursed instrument and that didn’t go so well for him.

  “She is a cannibal?”

  That made me bark. “Just an expression.”

  He rose to his full height before me and bowed his head. “If the okchaya na pakanli fails, I will try.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” I took his hand and shook. “Now, go tidy up Mukwooru’s place while they’re busy. Make them know they need you, and this will feel like a proper home soon enough.”

  He bowed his head again, then gave Timp a timid pat on the snout before hurrying off. Once he was gone, she whinnied.

  “Oh, be quiet, you old crab,” I said. “He’s trying.”

  She knocked into me with her rump.

  “He’ll be better off trying to fit in here than I had at his age.”

  Mutt and his tribe were nicer folk than the Scuttlers, that was for sure. Just trying to get by and survive, minding their own business. Almost made me feel bad for bringing my business to them.

  The distant chanting became something else—a trilling of the tongue, loud and continuous until it morphed into a dog’s howl.

  Timp sidled up right next to me. I couldn’t feel her, so I didn’t notice until her mane blocked some of my view. I hooked my arm around her front leg, and we stayed there, listening to the skinwalkers. Waiting. Like family.