“Here we go,” Mutt said, putting the letter down again. “Jist lay it out plain for me, Maude,” he muttered, “say it, and be done with it.” It was hard for Mutt to get a decent breath. He steeled himself as if he were diving into a gun battle, and kept reading.
… but it will be worth it in the long run. I’ve missed you, and I want you to tell me everything you’ve been doing and tell me all your truths you’ve found. I look forward to sharing mine with you, face-to-face. There is no one in this world I’d rather do that with.
You are right that words can be so powerful, and so clumsy. The right ones unlock secrets, make us not feel so alone, so isolated, in our own skins. They can free long-locked-away pains, and give birth to fragile hopes. They can strengthen and renew love, and honor those who have departed.
I’ve discovered that when I have been at sea, my hands on the wheel of my ship, turning into the storm, dark clouds, lightning, salt air caressing me, sea-spray kissing my lips, I feel more like me than I ever have, except when I’m with you. You free me, Mutt, and you let me be free, to succeed, to fail, just to be. I hope that makes some kind of sense to you, and that you know how precious that makes you to me.
Tell Gillian I’ll be back in time to help with the baby. I’d be honored to midwife if she wants me as such. Tell Jon and Jim and everyone that I have missed them all terribly. I’ve missed you the most, Mutt. When I think of home now, having lost and won them, where it is, what it means to me, I don’t see Golgotha, I don’t see Grande Folly, or the deck of my ship, I see faces. Isaiah, my father, Constance and you, Mutt.
Keep yourself safe. If you can’t do that, then keep yourself alive. You are my home, Mutt, and I cannot wait to come home again.
My most cherished thoughts,
Maude
Mutt looked about, and then read the whole letter again. He stood up. He kissed the letter, wiped it off and tucked it in his pocket like it was made of gold. He sat back down on the stoop and watched Golgotha pass in front of him.
“Mutt! Hey, Mutt!” It was Jim Negrey. The sandy-haired boy, hell, almost a man, now—he turned seventeen in a few months—ran up to his fellow deputy. Mutt couldn’t help but notice Jim had grown pert near a foot seemingly overnight. “Mutt, we got a situation brewing!”
“Oh,” Mutt said. “That’s nice.”
Jim stopped. He decided to try again, “You remember when we all busted up the Mulroney Gang a spell back? Well, Pony Bob Haslam just rode into town, his stagecoach all shot up to jessie, full of bullet holes, but not one dang bullet to go with them. He’s talking about how it was Frank Mulroney and his crew, deader than an old man’s britches, said they were riding on fire-breathing hell horses, no less. Mr. Haslam said they chased his stage all night and then at dawn they rode into … dang it, Mutt! Are you even listening to me?”
“Yeah,” Mutt said. “Something about a dead guy’s britches being on fire, or something.”
Jim leaned forward and sniffed Mutt’s face. “You got a snootful?”
“Never touch the stuff anymore,” Mutt said. “Found something way better. Okay, pardner, sorry. Got a little distracted there. I’m back on the job, let’s get a move on!”
The two deputies headed down Main Street, moving through Golgotha’s busy sidewalks. Undead bandits, demonic stallions, whatever came their way had best watch themselves today, Mutt thought. Maude was coming home and not all the wild horses in Hell would keep him from her.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank Stacy Hill and Greg Cox. I consider them Maude Stapleton’s “parents” as much as myself. It was their direction that first introduced me to Maude and the Daughters of Lilith and made the Golgotha series so much more than it would have been without them.
My most sincere thanks to everyone who has read the books, suggested the books to friends and reached out to me with such kind words of encouragement. I hope you enjoy this one and the ones yet to come. Thank you so very, very much!
My appreciation to Wes Wilson, the curator of archiving at DePauw University, for his invaluable insight and research into Arabella Mansfield’s history.
As always, thank you to my tireless cadre of beta readers: Susan Lystlund, Faye Jeffries, David Lystlund and Tara Hall.
To the late Leslie Barger, who had an influence on Maude’s creation and was a strong advocate of Maude and Mutt. I wish you could have read this one; I’d have liked to know what you thought. You are missed, and loved.
Thank you to the aforementioned Editor Supreme of this dimension, Greg Cox, the amazing Patty Garcia and the ever-vigilant Desirae Friesen of Tor, for all their efforts during my trips inside my skull and out into the world.
To my children, Jon, Emily and Stephanie, with all my love. I’m so lucky to be your dad.
Finally, to the memory of my mother and my grandmother, the strongest women I have ever known. You were both heroes and you both changed the world, healed it and left it a better place.
Books by R. S. Belcher
The Six-Gun Tarot
The Shotgun Arcana
Nightwise
The Brotherhood of the Wheel
The Queen of Swords
The Night Dahlia (forthcoming)
About the Author
R. S. BELCHER is the acclaimed author of The Six-Gun Tarot, The Shotgun Arcana, Nightwise, and The Brotherhood of the Wheel. A former newspaper and magazine editor, he lives in Salem, Virginia. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
1. The Devil (Reversed)
2. The Queen of Swords
3. The High Priestess
4. The Three of Cups
5. The Eight of Cups
6. The Moon
7. The Three of Pentacles
8. The Magician
9. The Five of Swords
10. The Ace of Wands
11. The Two of Cups (Reversed)
12. The Seven of Swords
13. The Seven of Wands
14. The High Priestess (Reversed)
15. The Seven of Pentacles (Reversed)
16. The Sun
17. The Four of Cups
18. The Chariot
19. The Four of Pentacles
20. The Hermit
21. The Emperor (Reversed)
22. The Heirophant
23. The Five of Wands
24. Death
25. The Fool (Reversed)
26. The Empress
27. The Emperor
28. The Chariot
29. The Queen of Swords (Reversed)
30. The Six of Cups
31. The Ten of Cups
32. Judgment
33. The Magician (Reversed)
34. The Fool
35. The Hierophant (Reversed)
36. The Devil
37. The Queen of Cups
38. The World
Acknowledgments
Books by R. S. Belcher
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE QUEEN OF SWORDS
Copyright © 2017 by Rod Belcher
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Raymond Swanland
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark
of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-9009-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7653-9011-0 (ebook)
eISBN 9780765390110
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: June 2017
The Queen of Swords Page 43