The Emperor's Bride

by Caylen McQueen

  “Maybe? Oh puh-lease! You must know Jun's smitten with you too! It's as obvious as the sunlight is bright.” Carol stole another swig of Josiah's whiskey. This time, she didn't even bother to pour it, she drank it straight from the bottle. As the fiery liquid seared its way down her throat, Carol hissed and winced. Because Josiah wanted some too, he signaled a barmaid and ordered a second bottle.

  Several minutes later, when they were halfway through their second card game, Carol started to sing, “Jo-siiiii-ah Cole. Jo-siiiiiiii-ah Cole. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was an a-hole.”

  “Then I'm glad you know better,” Josiah added with a chuckle.

  As their game continued, Carol found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. And because her high level of intoxication had turned her into a sleepy companion, Josiah opted to quit after their second game.

  “You should head up to your room, Carol,” Josiah suggested. “Go to bed. Pass out. Sleep this off.”

  “But I don't want toooo...” a drunken Carol whined. “Do I have to?”

  “No. But you should. Come on.” Josiah rose from his chair and offered her a hand. “I'll take you back to your room.”

  “Ohhh alright.” As she took his hand, Carol snorted disagreeably. He pulled her from her chair, offered her a steadying shoulder, and practically carried her from the saloon.

  “Josiaaaaaaah Cole!” She was singing again, much to his dismay. “Josiaaaaaaaaah Cole. That man is a rogue and my heart... he stole.”

  Josiah raised an eyebrow. “Really?” He tried not to smile, but since he was teetering on the edge of sobriety himself, his amused expression was difficult to suppress.

  “Well, not my heart!” Carol corrected herself, slurring slightly. “But annnnnnnny of the many many girls who like you should take that song and sing it for themselves!”

  “I don't think that'll happen.”

  “Why not? My song's a hit! A hit, I say!” When they reached the door to Carol's room, she hiccuped loudly. “Well... I guess this'iz where we part ways, Jos... Jos-uh.” As drunk as she was, she could barely pronounce his name.

  “I guess it is.” He found the key in the pocket of Carol's ridiculous trousers and opened the door for her. “Goodnight, Miss Cassady.”

  All of a sudden, Carol grabbed his head and kissed him. Hard. Her tongue even flicked out to caress his lower lip. Their kiss lasted so long, it left him breathless. And because he was the one who was sober—or slightly sober, at least—he felt guilty for letting it happen.

  When her mouth finally departed, Carol sighed dreamily.

  And then, miraculously, she seemed to sober up a bit.

  “Yeah, that can't happen again,” she said. “Like... never ever again.”

  “Nope,” Josiah agreed. “Never.”

  And with that, they turned their backs to each other and fled in opposite directions.

  Twenty Four

  “Glug glug glug, you little son of a bitch,” the outlaw sassed as he shoved the husband's head underwater. “How's that muddy water taste, huh? Pretty tasty, I reckon?”

  When newlyweds Wylie and Samantha Clare decided to climb down to the bottom of the gorge, the last thing they expected was to be accosted by bandits. And because they barely had a penny to their names, the villains needed to reward themselves in other ways. Wylie and Samantha were going to keep them entertained.

  “Please!” Samantha screamed as her husband's face was shoved deeper into the murky cesspool. “Please... he can't breathe! You'll kill him!”

  The outlaw, who held the husband by his hair, pulled his face from the water and gave him a moment to gasp for breath. As soon as his lungs were full with fresh air, Wylie's face went back into the filthy water.

  “Stop!” Tears soaked the young woman's cheeks as she begged for mercy. There was a rifle near her feet, but with seven well-armed ruffians surrounding them, she didn't stand a chance, even if she reached the gun. “Please stop hurting him! Please please please please please!” In desperation, the plea flew from her lips at least a dozen times.

  “Aw'ight... don't panic, girl... maybe I'll stop,” the outlaws' leader suddenly sounded amenable. As he pulled the gasping husband's head out of the water, he said, “How's about a deal? I won't drown the boy if you let us have our way with you.” With his free hand—the one he wasn't using to drown her husband—he motioned toward the rest of his mates. “All of us.”

  “No!” Wylie croaked through a fit of coughing. “Samantha, don't! Don't even think about it! Don't even--”

  When Wylie's head went back into the water, immediately silencing him, all seven thieves roared with laughter.

  “What do you say, girl?” the head bandit propositioned her as her husband flailed and choked. “Will you let us have some fun with you in exchange for your man's life?”

  After a few brief seconds of hesitation, Samantha answered solemnly, “Yes...”

  “Good.” The leader lifted Wylie's head from the water and shoved him to a crony, who bound his wrists and ankles. “I'd hate to rape you, after all. If I can get you to spread your legs willingly, that'd be better for everyone.”

  “She's pregnant!” Wylie screamed through his sob. His outburst earned him a smack in the head from the butt of a rifle.

  The bandit leader snickered at the husband's desperate declaration. “A warm hole is a warm hole, boy. Do you think I give a damn if she's pregnant?” Turning to one of his accomplices, he said, “Artie, make sure he's tied up real tight. We don't want him slipping out of those ropes while we're having our fun. Oh, and make sure he watches. It's always more fun when the husband's looking on.”

  “Got it, boss.”

  As the teenaged Artie tightened the husband's bonds, the bandits' boss grabbed Samantha's hair and shoved her face-down over an immense bolder. He kicked her feet part, pulled up her dress, and said in a low voice, “Let's both try to enjoy this, darling.”

  * * *

  On the road to Santo Feo, the mood was quiet, if not a bit somber. The hazy desert sun baked them, especially Gwen, who didn't have a hat. The back of her neck was red and roasted.

  Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Nicky Gunn who eventually broke the silence. “Why's everyone so quiet? It's like all of you caught a bad mood bug, and it's making me depressed. Especially Gwen. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so moody.”

  “Well... I've got sunburn,” Gwen said as she squinted against a random beam of light. In truth, she was upset that Josiah never came to her room. She didn't know how to make him interested—or if it was even possible. Fortunately for Gwen, they would be leaving Jun at Santo Feo, which meant she would have one less rival. The sheriff's daughter was consumed by her quest for the heart of Josiah Cole.

  “All of you can be moody if you want... but I'm in a good mood.” Nicky slipped a hand into the pocket of his breeches and jingled the coins within. Nicky loved money. Unbeknownst to his companions, he had recently acquired a lot of it. Not to mention, Jun was riding on Buckles with Nicky, which meant she had to wrap her arms around him. Her close proximity contributed to his glowing mood and expansive smile.

  Gwen was riding with Flynn, while Carol and Josiah had separate horses. Carol was nursing an immense hangover, so she was quieter than usual, but when she glanced in Flynn's direction, she gasped and shouted, “Nooooo!”

  When Flynn realized her reaction was caused by him, his eyebrows raised, but he didn't say a word.

  “Flynn, no!” Carol squealed, pointing at the white stick in his mouth. “I knew Nicky smoked... and I knew Josiah smoked... but I didn't think you did! I'm so disappointed in you!”

  Shaking his head, Flynn removed the stick from his mouth and showed her it was a lollipop. In an instant, the worry lines on Carol's face were smoothed by relief.

  “Thank god. It's such a nasty habit. No offense, Nicky... and Josiah, I guess.” Carol suddenly clasped a hand to her heart. “ And awwwww... how adorable are you for sucking on a lollipop? Hey, you don't happe
n to have any more of those, do you?”

  Flynn pulled a strawberry lollipop from the pocket of his vest, rode a bit closer to Carol, and passed it to her.

  “Gosh, you are such a cutie, Flynn, I swear.” Carol unwrapped the lolly and stuck it in the corner of her mouth. “I don't understand why more women aren't throwing themselves at the younger Cole. I mean, Josiah's fine and all, but--”

  “What about me?” Nicky interrupted. “Don't I deserve more female fans?”

  “Uhhhhh...” Carol was trying to think of something nice to say to him, but nothing came to mind. She was saved by the sound of an avian screech, as well as a scream from Gwen.

  “What was that?” Gwen gasped.

  It was Josiah who replied, as calmly as possible, “An eagle.”

  “It is going to eat us?” Gwen chewed her nails as she considered the possibility. “Do they usually attack people?”

  “Sometimes... if they're real hungry,” Nicky teased her. “To be honest, Gwen, it'd probably be attracted to you first. You've got that red hair. As soon as it sees that color, it'll swoop down and--”

  “I don't have red hair!” Gwen protested. “It's auburn. Or mahogany! There's a huge difference between red and mahogany!”

  “Yeah. Whatever, girl.” Nicky suddenly threw back his head and whined, “God, I wish I had some ice cream!”

  A few minutes later, they reached Dead Man's Gorge, where Josiah announced it was time to take a rest. In truth, he went a little out of his way to get there, since it seemed like a good spot to do some sightseeing. The gorge was a scene of dazzling beauty. It was a huge cavity in the middle of the desert plains, with a river at its bottom and a backdrop of russet mountains behind it.

  As he dismounted his horse, Josiah's eyes briefly met Carol's. Both of them quickly glanced away, because both of them were still thinking about—and regretting—the previous night's kiss. Carol was trying to convince herself it never happened.

  Josiah slipped his hands in his pockets as he stared into the great ravine. Behind him, he heard an unmistakable clink of coins, so he turned around to inspect the noise.

  Nicky Gunn was sitting on the ground with a huge bag of coins on his lap. He counted them without a care in the world, as if he didn't think the mountain of money would be an unusual sight to behold.

  “Nicky...” Josiah was almost afraid to ask. “Where did you get that money?”

  A smug grin snaked across Nicky's lips, which had been dried by his time in the desert. “I guess you were going to find out eventually, so I might as well tell you. I think you'll be proud of me.” Nicky got up, smacked the dust from his breeches, and stood beside Josiah. “I stole it back from the Hershalls.”

  Josiah's face went blank. “You what?”

  “I stole it,” Nicky repeated. “From the Hershalls. I went back to that damn hotel of theirs and nicked it. They never saw it coming.”

  “Nicky!” Josiah dragged both of his hands through his sunlit blond hair. “Nicky... are you stupid? Didn't you learn anything the first time? Why would you repeat the same mistake?”

  “Because it ain't a mistake!” Nicky defended himself. “That money should've always been mine. Damn, Jo, why are you so afraid of the Hershalls? If they catch up to us... so what? We take them down. But I honestly don't think they'd be able to track me down a second time. They're good, but they're not that good.”

  “You're an idiot, Nicky. I swear. Such a goddamn idiot...” Josiah's head was shaking with dismay. “When this comes back to bite you in the ass, and I'm sure it will, don't expect me to save you a second time.”

  “Yeah... I agree with Josiah,” Gwen quietly spoke up. “That was a pretty moronic thing to do, Nicky.”

  “Hey, no one asked you!” Nicky sputtered at her. “Besides, you'd agree with anything Josiah said. He's got you wrapped around his finger, girl. If he said ladies had balls and men had tits, you'd probably agree with that too. So... you'll have to forgive me if I don't take your opinion seriously, Gwen.”

  “You don't have to be rude!” Gwen pouted. “Ugh... you make me wish I never left Gravestone!”

  “No one's making you stay here, sweetie,” Nicky fired back at her. “If you want to turn right back around, you're more than welcome to--”

  Nicky's comeback was silenced by the sound of a distant scream. He exchanged nervous glances with Flynn, who simply shrugged.

  “Uhhh... Josiah?” It was Carol who spoke. She was standing on the edge of the gorge with a monocular on her eyes and a cone-shaped device on her ear. “I think you'll want to see this. And hear it.”

  “What's this?” Josiah asked as she shoved the cone into his hands.

  “I call it a mechamplifier. It'll let you hear what's going on down there.”

  Josiah raised the monocular, as well as Carol's listening device. There were nearly a dozen people at the bottom of the gorge, and only one of them was a woman. She was bent over a boulder, screaming and sobbing, as a large man took her from behind.

  “I'm sorry, Sam, I'm so sorry!” screamed a hog-tied man in mud-soaked clothes. “I love you! No matter what, I still love you!”

  Flynn silently snatched the monocular from his brother's hand and observed the scene for himself.

  “I, uh... I don't think this requires an explanation...” a wincing Carol said. “So, what do you think we should do?”

  “I don't know.” As he deliberated, Josiah gave his bearded chin a few brisk strokes. “We'll obviously need some sort of plan. I'm not sure we should go marching down there with our guns blazing. We don't really know the situation, so--”

  “I think the situation's pretty cut and dry, Jojo,” Carol said. “That woman's clearly being raped. I think we should... uh... uhhh...”

  Carol was distracted by Flynn, who shoved the monocular into Carol's hands, returned to his horse, and collected his sniper rifle. Without a word to anyone, he got down on his stomach at the gorge's edge and took aim. A few seconds later, the woman's rapist had a hole in his head.

  “Well, it looks like my brother's decided for us,” Josiah said as he hurried back to his horse. “I'm going to look for a way down there. Nicky... are you coming?”

  “I sure am.” Nicky mounted Buckles a bit less suavely than his companion, but no one seemed to notice. “If I take a couple of these bastards down, maybe you'll forgive me for taking back my money.”

  By the time Josiah and Nicky mounted their steeds, Flynn had already reloaded his rifle and taken out a second target. When the second man went down, the bandits in the gorge were in a state of panic, and they scattered behind cover.

  “Can I come?” Carol asked Josiah. “Please? Pretty please?”

  “No, Carol. You stay with the girls.” To Gwen and Jun, he added, “And you two, stay with my brother. Stay out of range, and don't leave his company.”

  Before Carol could whine her way into his posse, Josiah turned his horse down a steep path to the gorge's bottom. Nicky followed, though Buckles seemed a bit reluctant to tackle the rocky trail. Flynn was back on his feet, racing along the gorge's edge. The men tried to fire back at him, but he was too far above them for any of their shots to hit. No one could touch him. Flynn reloaded his rifle as he ran, and when one of the bandits' heads came into view, he stopped, lifted his rifle and peered down the scope. Seconds later, Flynn's third victim fell face-first into the shallow river.

  Sticking close to the edge of the gorge, Flynn changed positions again, reloaded his rifle with lightning fast efficiency, and waited. When one of the bandits popped out of cover to aim at him, Flynn took him down before he had a chance to fire. Flynn's shot was clean and precise, right through the center of the head.

  By the time Josiah reached the bottom of the gorge, four of the seven bandits had been put down by his brother. Josiah leapt from his horse and charged through the shallow water. Raising two revolvers at once, he fired both at the same time. He shot one man in the head, and another in the chest—three times. Nicky arrived late an
d fired too, but his shot missed. He hoped no one would notice.

  There was only one man left, and because he couldn't take them all on, he decided to plead for his life. He got down on his knees in front of Josiah and begged, “Please don't kill me! Please please please! I'm not at fault! They was the ones who talked me into this! I didn't want to do this! I never wanted to! I didn't--”

  Flynn fired from above, putting an end to the man's plea. When the last villain was down, Nicky offered a handkerchief to the sobbing wife, while Josiah cut the husband free from the ropes that held him.

  Satisfied with his performance, Flynn shouldered his sniper rifle and strutted back to his horse. As his eyes briefly flickered over Jun's panicked face, his lips dipped into a frown. He thought she looked a bit intimidated by him.

  Carol, on the other hand, was impressed. Josiah was good, but she had never seen him do anything quite like that. Maybe the little brother was deadlier after all?

  When she realized Flynn still had a lollipop in his mouth, Carol's smirk expanded across her face.

  “Adorable and deadly,” she whispered to herself. “That's quite a combination.”

  Twenty Five

  They rode into Santo Feo around noon the next day. One of West Columbigo's more notable cities, Santo Feo was a bustling mining town populated by many of Shuchun Jun's countrymen. The majority of them worked in the mines, except for Jun's uncle, who owned and operated the city's largest general store, Weng's. When she entered Santo Feo, her uncle's store was naturally her first destination.

  Jun's group scattered when they reached the city. Josiah and Flynn headed for the saloon, while Carol and Gwen embarked on a highly anticipated shopping trip—after all, Santo Feo was known for its variety of stores. Before parting ways, they agreed on a time and place to meet with Jun. When she was done visiting her uncle, they planned to reunite. Only Nicky insisted on staying with her.

  “I can't leave you alone, Jun,” Nicky said as he chased her across the dirt road, narrowly avoiding a collision with a honking motocarriage. “It's dangerous to be by yourself, don't you think? Someone's got to keep an eye on you.”