The Curse of Billy the Kid: Untold Legends Volume One

by Tamsin L. Silver

  She sniffed the air. “That smells of truth, warrior of Scáthach. Tell me, what help is it you seek?”

  “His shoulder was punctured by a single werewolf tooth in battle when it fell upon him in death. We are approachin’ the first full moon after the event. I have no idea if he’ll change, but I want to stop him from losin’ his soul.” When she said nothing, I added, “He’s a good and noble man. He doesn’t deserve this.”

  “You speak of it as if it’s a curse.”

  “It is!”

  “It’s a gift, warrior child. He will live for a thousand years, see things others only dream of. He will save lives and build a world where magic lives and breathes. It is a glorious chance to be extraordinary, and you want to rob him of that?”

  “He has asked me to put a silver bullet in his head. I am not the one who wants to rob him of anythin’. He does not want to become a demon for Scáthach...a pawn in her game.”

  “All must sacrifice who they are until they earn it back. He will, in time, regain his mind and will.”

  This caught my attention, and my hand moved away from my gun. “What? Demons are not prone to lettin’ go of their human host.”

  She held her snakelike vines in place for a moment, but then lowered her arms, the thorny plants going back to a harmless position. “Demons. You think they are demons? Who told you that? Wait, let me guess, you’re one of those Regulators, aren’t you?”

  “Only recently inducted.”

  “Oh, they must be so excited to have a warrior of Scáthach on their team. Be very careful, Henry, for they will try to use you for their own gain.”

  “I thought that was to regulate the supernatural in this country and send them back to Ireland.”

  She laughed. “That depends on which generation of Regulator you ask. The new leader of the Regulators in England is a bloodthirsty man who desires nothing more than to eradicate all the supernatural from the Earth. His predecessor was a man with heart, who only wished to remove those who were tainted and hurt others. Some believe he was killed by the man who now heads the organization, but proving it will be most impossible.”

  “Why?”

  “But that is not why you are here. You wish to know about the lycanthrope. How the taint of blood carries the gift of sharing mind and body with the elegant creature of the wolf. If your friend was punctured deep enough to bleed, he is infected, there is little to do about that. However, if you kill the one who bit him―”

  “I already did,” I said.

  “Well, look at you, little warrior. Tell me, is that life force still in your soul chamber?”

  “No, it was used to save my life from a bullet to the chest.”

  She tapped her finger to her lips and then, waving her arms up and out, she said, “Sherlathada.”

  The vines began to move again, this time spreading to make an opening high and wide enough for us all, including Colonel, to walk through. Without a word, Zahara entered and disappeared into the mountain. With no other choice, I did the same. Once we were all the way in, the vines closed behind us, enveloping us in the black.

  Unsure which way to go, I called out, “Zahara?”

  “Luminaire,” she said somewhere in the distance, and suddenly the path, wide enough to drive a wagon through, was easy to see.

  Bending down to get a better look, I realized that the small road was lined on both sides with small pieces of the stone used for bahvah-lamps, and they are what illuminated the way. But that wasn’t all. Flowers and plants I’d never seen before began to come alive in every color of the rainbow, shining in the darkness. One would bloom and then the one next to it would as well, and then the next, traveling quickly until the cavern in which I stood became a garden of light.

  “Holy Mary, mother of God...” I said.

  “No, just me,” I heard Zahara say, now far from me.

  Cautiously, I led Colonel along the path, asking, “You sure you still like her?”

  He whinnied and began to prance, pulling me faster down the trail. “Okay, if you say so.”

  It didn’t take long to find Zahara. She stood in an enormous cavern lit by a large fire in the center, surrounded by pine trees.

  “Are we inside the mountain?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  Tilting my head back, I gazed in wonder to the colors of the setting sun that illuminated the top of the cavern. “Are you sure?”

  A laugh, lighter than the one she’d had before, bubbled out of her. “Yes. That’s just magic. Come further into the light, warrior of Scáthach. Eat, drink, be nourished, and let’s talk of magic, yours, mine, and your friend’s.”

  She stepped to the fire and ladled out something into a stone bowl, and I couldn’t help but stare. She looked different, younger and more vibrant. The gray streaks in her hair were gold, like her eyes, and she now wore a dress made of draped, deep red fabric.

  “That’s a change,” I said.

  “Here you see my spirit self...how I am on the inside.” She turned to face me, and she looked surprised. “Why, young warrior of Scáthach, is that your true spirit? I have to admit, even I am impressed.”

  I looked down at myself to see a man clad in leather and chainmail armor. My arms and legs were stronger looking than I was used to, and as she approached me, I noted I was taller as well. “This is different.”

  “The true spirit is something no one can hide from me in here...and if you had come to do harm, it would show. Instead, it is your heart I see. I will help you as best I can. Come, sit by the fire, and I will tell you of the lore that now surrounds your friend who you hold in such high esteem that you would die for him.”

  “I never said I would―”

  “You don’t have to say things here for me to know them. Come, sit, eat with me and drink some wine. I will teach you what you need to know to disconnect your friend from Scáthach’s will.”

  It was the morning on the fourteenth when she led me out of the Forest of True Spirit, her name for it, not mine. Stepping out into the real world, the air felt harsh on my flesh, and I again looked like myself, as did she.

  “Now that we are in the world where your soul chamber is yours to wield, I do ask for payment.”

  “And I keep my word. Hold out your hands.”

  I had forgotten while inside the magical forest, but her hands appeared older than she did, twisted and knobby with arthritis that I’d seen on women in their late years of life. I took her hands in mine and smiled at her. Holding eye contact, I focused the energy of those in my soul chamber and sent that power into her hands, sacrificing two chances of saving myself from death. This was my payment to her for what I’d learned.

  I had the option to split one life between her hands, but she’d given me more than I could have asked for. The swelling and twisted look of the joints went down completely, and she wiggled her fingers like a piano player excited to touch the keys.

  Tears filled her eyes, and she leaned forward to kiss my cheek. “You gave more than promised. Did you think I would not notice? Your friend is a lucky man.”

  “I don’t know how long that will last,” I told her.

  “I guess we’ll see soon enough.”

  This reminded me of a thought I’d had as I’d fallen asleep the night previous. “Tell me, could my power to heal help my friend’s wound?”

  She shook her head. “No. And do not try it. Your magic kills the wolf, but not the infection. If you try, you’ll kill him. His only chance is if you do as we discussed. Checks and balances, remember?”

  “I do.”

  She patted my hand. “Good luck, Henry. I wish you all the best. If you are ever in need of me again, you know where I’ll be.”

  “How do I find this place again?”

  “Once you’ve been inside the Forest of True Spirit, it will always show itself to you. No one else can see this place though, not without a talisman of mine.”

  “The key Dasan gave me,” I said with understanding.

  S
he nodded. “Yes.”

  I smiled and tipped my hat to her. “If you need me, you send me a letter. Find Ben Ellis in Lincoln. He will deliver it.”

  “Good to know. Travel safe, young warrior.”

  I put my hat back on and mounted Colonel, who whinnied at her.

  “Oh, I could never forget you, handsome.” Zahara kissed Colonel’s nose and palmed an apple to him out of nowhere.

  He munched and swished his tail, making noises at her that made me roll my eyes. “We’ll be back, ya big lug. Come on, we gotta go. We only have a day to find what we need.”

  “The man I mentioned should be able to help you. Just give my name.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  Getting Colonel to leave her was difficult, but soon he trotted out of her orchard, and we headed to get all our supplies. Dick and I were in for a rough couple of nights in the desert, but if I did this right, he wouldn’t owe Scáthach a moment of his life. If I failed, his soul would vanish, and he could end up killing me.

  It was a risk I was willing to take.

  By the time I returned to Brewer’s ranch, it was late in the morning of the fifteenth, and I found him lying in bed in such a miserable state that he didn’t even move when I came into the room. On the floor lay a packed bag, and next to his bed lay an empty bottle of the colloidal silver.

  “Jesus, Dick! How did you use the whole thing in a matter of three days?”

  He muttered something, and I couldn’t hear him as well as before, which was a result of sacrificing two of the souls in my chamber, I was certain. I stepped closer, and he repeated himself.

  “Did you just say you drank it?” I asked, more astonished that he could get it down than shocked that he tried.

  Dick hummed what appeared to be a positive confirmation as his reply, and I sat on the end of his bed. “And how do you feel about that decision, Mr. Brewer?”

  “Muck-oo,” was what I heard, but I knew what he meant to say.

  Laughing, I said, “Bet you feel like utter shit, partner. I’m shocked you didn’t vomit it up.”

  “Ah-must,” he muttered.

  “Almost? Not surprisin’ since you just poisoned yourself. Look, it’s almost ten in the mornin’, and we need to get movin’. Can you stand?”

  “Mather lot,” was what came out of his mouth.

  I sighed. “But you’re going to, even if I have to pull you out of there. You have until I’ve packed up the wagon.”

  With that, I went into his kitchen, grabbed his Dutch oven, filled it with whatever food he had, grabbing his packed bag, and opened the door. He groaned when light spilled in.

  “Werewolf, not vampire, stop with the theatrics!” I said before shutting the door.

  I sang as I loaded the items into the covered wagon I’d borrowed from someone dumb enough to leave it unattended. I’d return it when we were done, and I’d already sent the horses back. Colonel had followed beside us the whole way, and the moment I unhitched them, he whinnied, they replied, and off they went, back the way we came.

  With Dick moaning inside with the regret of those who drink too much alcohol, I hooked up Colonel and Mattie to pull the wagon. Then I tossed four two-string hay bales into the very back, leaving an opening at center in case Dick needed to crawl in and pass out for the ride. I collected two more bales to set in once he laid down to hide him and all the other items I’d brought with me from town.

  Heading back into the ranch, I noticed a crow perched above the door, the black of his feathers gleaming in the sun. I tilted my head to look at him, and he mirrored my movement as the wind gently blew his feathers, exposing a base color of white instead of gray. This told me my first assumption was incorrect.

  “Well hello there, Chihuahua Raven,” I said. “I’ve not seen one of you in a while.”

  He flapped his wings at me, and I couldn’t help but smile. My mother had loved birds and taught me the difference between the types of crows and ravens, and how to tell them apart. This one was a beauty. Now that I looked more carefully I saw he, or she, was bigger than a crow but not as large as a regular raven, with a black and slightly curved beak the size of a crow’s bill, hence my earlier mistake.

  “Hello there, scavenger of the desert, are you guardin’ the door or can I go get him?”

  The raven tapped his feet like a clog-dancer while making a quark-quark sound, which isn’t as throaty as a regular raven, yet not as harsh as the caw of the crow.

  With a chuckle, I ducked through the doorway and went down the steps into the ranch, where I found Dick hadn’t moved an inch. “Great. You’re still not up. Good thing I have two souls in the well to give me extra strength.” I pulled the covers down, happy to find him in pants, and squatted down to ease the big man’s arm over my shoulder. Holding it in place with one hand, I put my other one around his waist.

  “On the count of three, help me out, okay?”

  “Weave me ah-wone,” he said.

  “I’d laugh if I wasn’t damn sure that’d solidify your decision to not help me at all. Now...one, two, three!”

  I pulled him up, and with a little bit of assistance from him, I got him on his feet. “We just need to get you to the wagon and you can lie down.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Come on, out the door we go. Man, you’re heavy. How is such a fit man so heavy? And hot. You’re burning up.”

  We went up the steps and through the door. As the sunshine hit his face, he doubled over, taking me down, too. Pivoting around, I kept Dick from face-planting into the dirt.

  I squatted in front of him, a hand on each shoulder to hold him up. “You okay? What is it?”

  “Mooo,” he said, and I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, until he vomited the colloidal silver all over my boots.

  I stared down as his stomach contents emptied yet again. “Excellent. Just excellent.”

  Dick sat down on the ground. “I told you to move.”

  “Oh, is that what you said? Because I heard you moo like a cow and then you threw up all over my boots.”

  He looked up at me. “I feel better now though.”

  “Muck-oo!” I said and stomped off to the creek that ran in front of his home to clean myself off. I wasn’t there more than thirty seconds when he came walking toward me with a bucket and a towel. “I don’t need that.”

  “I do. I think I’ve been in that bed for two days straight.”

  “Oh, by all means, do wash,” I said, and stepping out and over to him, taking the bucket.

  “How’s the temperature today?”

  I grinned, filling the bucket. “It’s rather warm for this time of year, actually.”

  He nodded, and I set the bucket down, walking away. Not moments later, I heard him dump the water over himself and scream like a little girl.

  I turned about to see his backside, buck-naked by the creek, his hair soaked.

  I grinned, hooking my thumbs on my belt. “How’s the water?”

  “You’re so dead,” he said, his voice low and mad.

  I burst out laughing as the raven from earlier flew overhead, its cry almost sounding like it chuckled at us as well. “Now we’re even!”

  He flipped me off, making me laugh harder. “Hurry up there. We don’t have all day for you to frolic in the creek.” I smiled and headed for the wagon as he cursed me out.

  I’d just finished putting in the last two bales of hay along the back of the wagon bed when he came walking up, towel wrapped around his waist.

  “You can wear that, but I’m not to blame if your, what did Tunstall call them, twig and berries, get chaffed.”

  Now Brewer smiled. “Yeah, that’s what he said that time. We all must’ve laughed for half an hour.” After a short pause of reflective silence, he added, “I’ve got a change of clothes set out inside. I’ll be right out.”

  He was fast about it, and we were on our way. The sun was warm, but he’d thrown on a spring jacket over his regular attire.

  �
��Cold?” I asked.

  “Shut up.”

  But then we both started to laugh, and my hopes for my plan squeezed my heart. I had to make this work, for both our sakes.

  14

  Being Followed

  We’d traveled about a third of the way to our destination as the sun began to set. There was nothing for miles, but I pulled the wagon off the road and around the side of the mountain that had a good number of shrubs at its base. By putting the back end of the wagon toward the mountain, it would make for only one real entrance and a quicker hook up and getaway if needed.

  Dick detached the horses and began to give them a good rub down while I made a fire and emptied two cans of soup into the Dutch oven pot. While that heated, I pulled a bale of hay out and fed the horses. Once they were settled, he and I sat down, using the wheels of the wagon as back rests, the fire at our feet between us. Tearing into the smoked jerky I’d brought, I ladled soup into bowls.

  “Why are you doin’ this?” Dick asked once food was done and we were sitting by the fire.

  “I’d want someone to do it for me, I suppose. You’re a good man, Dick, and a great friend. You and George gave me work when I first got to town and helped me get in with Tunstall. I’ve never been able to thank you for that.”

  Dick huffed a laugh. “Yeah, we got you involved in more than you bargained for.”

  “Oh, I was already cursed by that woman before I ever met up with you all.”

  “I meant the war, Billy. John’s death. All of this.”

  “I know, but it was my choice to stay, just like it was yours. I coulda left back when it started to get tight. But John trusted me to be one of his main gunmen. That’s a big thing to me. He gave me a family and friends, a sense of belongin’ and unity. That’s not somethin’ an orphan takes lightly, Dick. We just don’t.”

  He was silent, and I sat there listening to the insects and the other wildlife making noises around us as I thought about my mother. Would she be proud of me or would she be disappointed of where I’d ended up? God only knew.