Fortunately, Lily was between her and the group, and she made a dash for upstream. Earlier she had noticed idly that there was a small peninsula further up the creek. If she could get to it, she would have the high ground to better defend herself against the three to one odds. Fleeing galled her, but surviving was more important than pride. She let loose a couple of blasts from her six-shooters as she bolted away, dodging rocks here and there along the water's edge
"This time you'll not get away!" Cassandra heard a man with a thick, gravelly voice shout from behind her as a bullet whizzed past her shoulder as she ran. Her thoughts again turned to her youngest sister. If at worst she was wounded, at least she was being carried away from the ambush. With a final surge of speed, she scrambled up the small slope of the peninsula jutting out into the river and ducked behind some rocks and scrubs.
“El Segador! Reaper!” she shouted at the killer and his thugs, returning fire. She saw them all drop for cover and smiled grimly. At least I’m good at this stuff, she thought and unleashed a slug that clipped one of the bandit’s shoulders as he popped up to shoot at her. Cassandra ducked back down and heard bullets ricochet off the rock she was behind.
“I’ll see you dead, gringo! I did not follow you for hours waiting for the perfect moment to strike to allow you to escape this valley alive!” the Reaper shouted from his position behind a tree along the river bank. At least he had the courtesy to shout his death threats in English, she mused with gallows humor.
***
Downstream Catalina was desperately trying to swim towards the bank, so she could go back and help her sister. Her progress was slow, but her arms were well muscled from her daily swims as well as the years of working the cattle ranch. Finally, she found herself struggling through the shallows as the fast current kept wanting to knock her off her feet. A hand suddenly came down to help her out and gasping, she looked up and saw the masked face of another of El Segador's men. He snatched her up by her collar before she could avoid it and yanked her up on the dry bank, then leveled a rifle at her. She stayed on her hands and knees, with her head hung down, coughing while feigning shock and exhaustion.
Catalina used the time to consider her options. Her gun was lost to her the minute she hit the water. She still had her bullwhip secured to her waist, but she would never be able to unclip it in time to do anything with it. Her eyes darted around for anything that would make a weapon. A coil of rope lay by the man's feet. Was he planning to tie her up with it? She dismissed it as useless and looked for something else to aid her. In the end, it seemed the best bet was to try and turn the man's own weapon against him.
Fortunately, she could see the shadow of the man through her wet hair on the ground in front of her. She pretended to try to get to her feet and staggered back down. Catalina saw the shadow shift position, and she straightened, lunging forward, getting her hands on the Winchester's barrel he had turned to the side. Now all four hands rested at different places on the long gun.
Grunting he pushed and she allowed herself to go over backward. Catalina caught him in the stomach with a kick and summoned up what strength she had left after her waterlogged struggle and bolted forward to push him back. The bandit lost his footing on a pile of slippery rocks along the bank. He hit the ground hard and cried out, losing his grip on his weapon. Catalina pivoted and went for the rifle. As the man struggled to get up, she brought the butt of his gun down on his head, knocking him out.
“You won’t be needin' this, amigo,” she said slipping his Colt .45 out of his holster and putting it into her own. Clutching the rifle in her hands, she spun around and dashed back upstream to find her sister.
***
Cassandra was careful and methodical as she parsed her shots deliberately to keep the men suppressed below her. Because of the terrain, she didn't think any of them could flank her, not without being seen anyway. Still, between both guns and the spare ammunition she kept on her belt, keeping them at bay was coming with a cost. I am getting low on ammo, she thought and vowed to hold off until she had perfect kill shots.
As if on order, one of the men raised his head from behind a log he was hiding behind and fired. Cassandra snapped off a shot and cursed. She's been aiming for his forehead, but he had jerked his head to one side, and it only grazed the man's temple. She would have to content herself with having drawn blood. If he raised it again, she would make sure the next shot landed dead center between his eyes.
“Hold it, hold your fire, men! Hold your fire!” suddenly came the shouting, gravelly voice of El Segador.
To her surprise, the shooting stopped, and she crawled along the base of the boulder for about ten yards along a line of brush ringing the promontory, so she was in a different position. A few more shots rang out.
"I said, hold your fire, now!" the angry voice boomed, "I want you men to go back to the hideout, have your wounds tended to. I will handle this blonde bitch, she is mine, do you hear me, mine!" he shouted. "No one else gets the pleasure of killing her!"
Cassandra waited in shocked surprise as she heard movement. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps and the big man in a mask was on the move. Her eyes flitted towards a small hill that was nearby and very close. With a sinking feeling, she noticed it was higher. If he reached it, then he would have the advantage and pick her off. Angrily, she looked at the river flowing past the outcropping. Again, she would have to run from this man. She slipped her guns into her holsters and unbuckled it letting to the ground. She intended to come back for them after she had made her escape. She was turning, preparing to dive when suddenly she was knocked from her feet. As she smashed into the ground, she was infuriated. His move to go up the hill had been a feint, and he had charged up the grade while she was fooling with her gun belt.
Trying to recover, her fist flew up at him as he dropped down to his knees, his hands surely reaching for her throat. He could have shot her, she knew, but when a deranged person was totally enraged, they often liked to kill with their bare hands. In her career, she had seen this many times.
He whipped his head to one side quickly trying to avoid the punch, but not fast enough, as she caught him in the jaw. He went over onto his ass. Jumping to his feet, he drew a knife with a chuckle. The Reaper swung his blade, and she just barely managed to roll out of the way. Her eyes caught sight of her guns and holster lying in a heap, but they were just a hair too far away to reach, so she drew her own knife from her boot.
“I will take care of you with this, you hellion!” he bellowed, waving his knife. A gun is too easy. I shall enjoy slicing you from ear to ear!” the masked man finished growling.
“Big talk,” Cassandra responded bending into a crouch as they circled one another.
“Talk, eh? You will learn better,” the man said as he rushed. Cassandra ducked and sidestepped two swipes of the blade and then countered with swipes of her own. As good as Cassandra was with her guns, Honor Elizabeth was the knife fighter of the family. If she had just a fraction of her dusky sister’s skill with a blade, El Segador would be bleeding out at this very moment. The furious man was determined to see her dead, and his swings began to increase in ferocity. As the serrated edge of his blade swept towards her face, she grabbed the man’s wrist with her right hand, halting the swipe, but he struggled to carve her flesh. Now the knife hung near her neck growing closer and closer.
“You’re dead!”
“I don’t see an undertaker! Do you?!” she responded to his words through gritted teeth.
He was strong, and she had no choice but to drop her knife and use both hands to try and keep his blade from slicing her windpipe clean open.
“You will die as promised, hellion!” the man gasped.
For a fleeting moment, she realized under his exertions the man's voice wasn't as deep and as gravely as it had been. Pushing such thoughts aside, Cassandra focused on the ordeal she was having keeping the knife from her throat. As the blade drew closer, she saw a ring on the man's hand. It was like the
ring Juan wore except it was yellow and black! Damn, she thought, new information came at the strangest times. Tabling that thought she returned to her fight to stay alive knowing she wasn't going to be able to force his hand away. Still, her bag of tricks was far from empty.
She grinned up at him, and there was a moment of confusion as he saw her smile. She let her weight fall backward, dragging him with her. As she pulled him towards her that way, she kicked out and connected with his crotch. He jerked back shouting in pain while she rolled over, coming to her feet a few yards away from him.
Cassandra was shocked by how quickly El Segador recovered. As he drew his gun, her blood ran cold, and she cast about for another option. He stood, never moving his gun’s barrel from pointing at her chest.
“I should have just shot you in the first place and saved myself some time,” he said hoarsely. He was as winded as she was and that made her feel better. She stiffened, ready to try one last move. She would have to attempt rushing him, but she knew her odds were next to zero.
“Good night sweet bitch,” he said, his voice seemingly regaining its deepness as she held her breath preparing to lunge.
"Freeze you yellow belly, or I'll be fillin' you full of holes!" Cassandra heard her sister's voice shouting as an elation swept over her, and she allowed herself to breathe again. The combatants turned their heads towards the crest of the nearby hill, and there she was, looking like a drowned rat, pointing a Winchester directly down at El Segador. The terror of the valley gasped. At the same moment, they both saw a big man coming up behind Catalina screaming about payback. He had blood running down his face leaving Cassandra to proudly assume Cattie had caused the bloody wound.
El Segador was now swinging his gun in the direction of the hilltop. Cassandra leaped towards him terrified he was going to take out Catalina while she was distracted by the masked man. She was too late as gunfire crackled in the air. Her eyes flew wide expecting to see that El Segador’s shot had dropped her baby sister.
As her body collided with his, she saw the gunshot had struck the man bent on attacking Cattie hitting him square in the fac. The dead man’s body jerked backward slamming into Catalina knocking her to the ground as she lost her grip on the rifle. Cassandra rolled towards the edge, two seconds from falling off into the Rio Sangre when she caught herself. A shouting El Segador rolled down one side of the outcropping disappearing from view. By the time Cassandra had recovered, scrambling to her feet to retrieve her wayward gun belt, the madman had made his escape into the thicket along the river's edge. As there was nothing she could do about that, she raced down and then up the hill throwing her arms around Catalina hugging her sister tight.
“Hey, Cat, good timing girl,” Cassandra laughed, and Catalina returned it.
"Lucky for me, like I told Victor last night, I'm a good swimmer. Still, it took me a piece to get back here! Glad I wasn't late. Darn it all that El Segador got away!" she asked looking around.
"Yeah, but don’t worry, though. We'll get him.” They turned towards the body of the man that had a bullet plowed through his face.
“I cold-cocked him good when he pulled me out of the river and stole his gun. I thought he’d be out for a while. If I had more time, I woulda tied him up with the coil of rope he had with him, but I knew I had to hightail it back upstream to find you.”
Cassie’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but she said nothing as she knelt beside him. His face had been obliterated by the slug he had taken. She moved quickly and began stripping off the man’s clothes.
“What are you doin’?” Catalina said, rocking back on her heels in surprise.
“The mess his face is in, his own mother wouldn’t recognize him. Let’s see if there is anything on his body like scars or tattoos that could be used to identify him. If we know who he was, we might be able to find a line straight back to El Segador.”
Catalina nodded at her reasoning and she bent down and helped her sister. When all was said and done, the man’s nude body lay under the warm sun yielding nothing that could remotely be considered useful for identifying him.
“Well, that was for nothing,” Cassandra said ruefully as she straightened up, and Catalina followed suit gazing over at her.
"No point in hauling him back. No one's going to be able to recognize him. He’s vulture bait now." She looked over at Catalina. "You should try your hand at some gambling tonight, sister. You're lucky he accidentally hit his man instead of you," she pointed out, and Catalina chuckled maybe she would. Cassandra fell silent for a moment, and then laid a hand on Catalina's shoulder.
“We need to get back to Lily and Pretty Feet. I think I know how we can find out who The Reaper is!” Cassandra said, her hand falling away as she moved to reload her weapons. “Is there any place where we can find the histories, family flags, and information on the old houses of the valley?” she asked Catalina. Her sister thought about it as they went to gather their mounts.
“Yeah, Cass, there is. I remember an old mission we visited once. It’s bound to have all that information there. I’ll take us there. How’s that gonna help us find ol’ El Segador? she asked.
A strong suspicion had taken root when she had heard Catalina mention the man waiting downstream with the rope. It was the proverbial single thread that could unravel the entire tapestry and she knew she would have to share with Catalina but she doubted her vivacious sister was going to like it. As she looked at her grinning sister she decided it would wait a bit. “I’ll explain on the way,” she said as they neared their horses.
Catalina nodded and smacked her lips, “Hey now! You still got those sandwiches?”
The old Santa Angelica mission was an old clay building with arrow slits and thick old wooden doors. The area was quiet, peaceful, and Cassandra thought that was apt for a mission. They went in and introduced themselves to the priest. He was a nice, soft-spoken man. The balding, wrinkled man looked to be at least seventy years old, but he had spryness to his step as he led them to the archives and found the book they needed.
"I hope you can find what you want, young ladies. These histories are complete for every great family in the valley," the priest said in English for Cassandra's benefit before leaving the room to the women. They took their places at a fragile looking table in two chairs that groaned ominously under their weight. They both looked at each other. Usually, Catalina would have made a quip about their weight, but she was stone cold somber, and there was a reason for that. Cassandra began turning the pages as the women sat in silence until at last her eyes fell on what she had been looking for.
"I believe I found what we need. Look, Cat!" Cassandra said beckoning towards the page. Catalina leaned in close, looking over her shoulder. "Juan told me about the colors of the houses and he has a red and white ring for his house. Look here. It shows the other house colors. The masked man was wearing a black and yellow ring. Here is green and blue for the Suarez family, then Juan's red and white, a purple, white, and black right here for another family, and here we have black and yellow for Hernandez-Kelly!" she exclaimed, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Cat shake her head. The two sisters looked at each other, and another long silence ensued until finally, Catalina spoke.
“Listen, ya’ll know I would never second guess you …” she began.
“But that is exactly what you are going to do, isn’t it, Peppercorn?” Cassandra said evenly.
During the ride over to the old mission, Cassandra had shocked Catalina to the core when, after quite a bit of hemming and hawing which was quite unusual for Cassandra, she revealed her belief as to the identity of El Segador. Catalina’s first reaction had been anger when Cassandra had stated that her mother’s old friend and a man who had been very kind to her was likely the man behind it all … Señor Hernandez-Kelly…Victor.
Rightly so she had demanded to know just why Cassandra would suddenly think this could possibly be the case, and why would he be up to such nefarious activities. Cassandra had to admit that she didn’t
have a motive for him, but it was the ambush and Catalina’s role in it that was fueling her suspicions.
“What are you talkin’ about?” Catalina had blustered, unaccustomed to being angry with the sister she looked up to and loved.
“Think about it, Cat. El Segador himself told me they had been trailing us for hours, waiting for the right moment for him to strike. I believe his definition of the “right moment” for him was when he could accomplish getting rid of me and not hurting you. Our stop at the river apparently fit the bill.”
“I’m not followin’ this!” the strain her voice had been painful to both women.
"I get gunfire, and by your account, you get a gentle nudge into the river. A river where conveniently a man is waiting downstream with a coil of rope, not to tie you up but likely to throw to you and pull you to shore. Those strong arms of yours helping you get there on their own no doubt wasn't counted on."
Catalina had fallen silent and looked down. Steeling herself, she had looked up and over at Cassandra and had waited for her to continue as they trotted along.
“Think about the first attack after we got the wagon. El Segador knew we were coming and laid in wait. Looking back on it now, shots were being fired all around our wagon, but they didn’t hit us-”
“Which would make me very loco if I wasn’t happy about that!” Catalina had cut in.
“Yes, but I don’t think they were trying to hit us. I think they wanted to scare us into turning around and heading back to Arizona. You said Victor had been charming to you from the moment he met you back at Half Breed Haven, right? It makes sense he didn't want to hurt you after that, and I would guess just wanted to scare you away. We came anyway. This last ambush after you two bonded even more last night shows me he didn't want and real harm to come to you!"
The Reaper 0f The Rio Sangre: Special Edition HBH Version (Half Breed Haven Book 10) Page 17