by Austina Love
The riders gathered around her and Nagi remained to the front. They waited in the silence of dawn, for what, Shye didn’t know. She stroked her horse’s neck while letting her gaze peek around the herd. The warriors and their mounts appeared very real, not wraithlike in any way, which astonished her. A sense of awe filled her.
A very tall and strikingly handsome warrior nudged his way through the pack to her side. A long shiny black braid trailed down his bare back. He wore a breastplate made of bone, fringed leggings, and moccasins. His war bonnet bore the feathers of many colors, indicating his many accomplishments. His ebony eyes met hers. She felt hypnotized while gazing back at him. Streaks of war paint had been slashed across his high cheekbones. His body was pure muscle.
He nodded toward the building then pointed at the gate. “Go,” he said in a commanding voice. He pushed his rain stick into her hands. “The wasicu committed crimes against your people. You are the one who must avenge the spirit of the land.”
She gave the ancient piece a slow once over, awestruck that she actually held something so powerful in her hands. The cactus wood was smooth to touch except where the spines had been pushed inside—those points felt slightly prickly. Heat raced up her arm followed by an icy chill that began at her neck and traveled down her spine. She didn’t make a move to disobey. There sat her elders of long ago guiding her. With a soft cluck, she signaled her horse forward. The riders hung back as Shye continued toward the prison entrance on her spirited white stallion.
As she neared the gate, her focus honed in on a pickup truck, which she recognized as Pike’s. The unpleasant recollection of him forcing her into the truck and taking her to his hideout forced its way into her mind. She assumed the bastard had come to visit Mike Carter, the thieving banker who’d duped her unsuspecting parents into the sale of their farm. They didn’t seem to notice her approach so she rode forward until the truck was a mere few feet away. Pike was sitting in the driver’s seat as if waiting for something.
She found it mystifying that the neither the guards nor Pike seemed aware of her presence. She was close enough now to hear every word spoken between them. A few minutes passed before Carter walked into the clearing. Her mouth dropped open in utter shock. How can this be? The FBI arrested him for a long list of federal offenses, which should’ve kept him incarcerated for at least a couple decades. Pike stepped out of the vehicle and met Carter halfway across the yard. She listened closely.
“Thanks for showing up on time,” Carter said to Pike. They shook hands. “Gage was supposed to pick me up but he had business out of town.”
“Yeah…” Pike muttered with shifty eyes. “He should’ve left your ass in jail after the trouble you caused. I had another errand to take care of today. You and Gage are slowing me down.”
“He and I go back a long way. Besides, I didn’t do those robberies and it was my money that launched our business.”
“How’d he manage to spring you anyway?”
“Gage is a sharp lawyer. You might do well to keep him on your side just in case you screw up.”
“I don’t make mistakes,” Pike growled. “And I cover my tracks.”
Carter sneered. “Yeah…see how well you cover them when someone blindsides you then vanishes into thin air.”
“You’re talking about the Indian woman, aren’t you?”
“Yeah…the little trickster found a way to frame me. I didn’t rob my own bank.”
“Trickster?” An ominous expression flashed across Pike’s face. “That is what the Native American’s call shifters.”
Shye began to worry that Pike would begin piecing together details. The two men exchanged curious looks and she sensed him honing in on her secret gift.
I can’t believe that fat little weasel is out of jail and worse, Gage had obviously used some tricks to manipulate the law. Rage welled inside. Her stomach muscles tightened, as did her grip around the rain stick. This is why the riders brought me here.
Shye’s horse reared up when the two men headed toward the pickup. Instinctively she knew what to do. Carter had owned the land first and initiated the violation against her people. As if she’d slipped back in time, she heard her Lakota ancestors speak to her mind. She’d had been chosen to avenge the wrong, and Carter had been deemed guilty by the riders.
Coldness settled into her soul. With one hand clutching the stick and the other solidly entwined in the horse’s mane, she leaned forward and gave a soft whistle. Immediately the steed bolted across the short distance separating her and Carter. His head shot up as if suddenly aware of her presence and horror filled his beady eyes.
Pike took one look at her, then began running full speed to his pickup. Shye zeroed in on the banker as he tried to run. Before he even got close to the truck, Pike had sped away leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. From the corner of her eye she saw the riders take chase but knew her target was straight ahead.
Raising her rain stick, she swooped down on Carter with ease. He was no match for the powerful mass of muscle and speed carrying her. She clung to the horse’s back with her thighs while shifting her weight slightly to the side and making a wide swing with the stick. Instantly upon contact with the rain stick, Carter’s body turned to dust. The stallion swung around and Shye gasped at what she saw.
Carter’s guilty soul arose from the ashes and reformed into a shadowy form. He stared back at her with hollow eyes. Her horse stopped suddenly and waited as if standing guard. Seconds later another steed—huge and magnificent with a glistening red coat and shining eyes—galloped up from behind her then halted beside the shell of a man who stood horror-stricken.
She must have blinked because in the next moment the banker’s wraithlike soul was astride the sorrel stallion riding on its back behind the Rain Rider. The warrior guiding the impressive horse cried out triumphantly before racing off into the distance. Shye blinked a couple times and gave a light shake of her head. Her heart pounded in her ears from the adrenaline rush. The entire experience had been both exhilarating and mind-blowing.
With a gentle touch, she stroked the horse’s neck, then in the next moment, he turned again and his hooves devoured the ground as they raced to catch up with the herd. Her spirit rejoiced. Compelled by a force never before felt she raised the rain stick overhead and released an ecstatic whoop. She didn’t understand the new feelings deluging her soul, but didn’t care to analyze them. With the help of the Rain Riders she’d just taken out enemy number one.
* * * *
Pike had the pedal stomped to the floor. His truck pitched and bounced over the rocky terrain. In his panic he had driven off the main road into some desert land with the herd of horses closing in from behind. He knew they wanted his soul just as they’d taken Aiden’s, and now probably Carter’s. His mind was reeling over Shye’s appearance with the riders. What the hell is she? He had known since their first encounter that something supernatural surrounded her but never imagined this. Is she real? A ghost?
Glancing in his rearview mirror he noticed that the cloud of dust chasing him had begun to settle. He focused to his front and saw the highway coming back into view. Pushing his pickup for all its worth he hit solid pavement at last after lurching over a small knoll then landing with a loud crunch. The truck teetered and fishtailed while bobbing up and down. He hoped the drive train and frame remained intact long enough to get him back into town. Had he expected to be running for his life he’d have taken one of his better vehicles to retrieve Carter.
What a waste of time, he fumed. Drove all the way out there only to lose the prick to a herd of ghost horses and almost lost my life in the process. I should’ve been taking the damn rain stick to auction. He barreled down the interstate as fast as his truck would go, less worried about a speeding ticket than the things chasing him. Another look behind and he realized he’d outrun the riders, or perhaps they’d been satisfied with one soul for now. He’d managed another escape from these ghostly beings that had sprung from nowhere. They must b
e after the relic.
He wondered if returning the rain stick to the site would make a difference at this point or if it was too late. Will the riders keep on coming now that they’d been unearthed? If so, how can they be stopped? Are they looking for the relic or are they hunting the man who’d dug it up? Nothing had ever rattled him like this. Dealing with criminals and cops was all the same—everyone had their price. But this—nothing had ever struck fear into him until now.
His truck came to a screeching halt in front of Gage’s office, sending a cloud of dust into the air. He leapt out and blew through the door. La was sitting at her desk polishing her fingernails.
“Where the hell is Gage?”
“Well hello to you too.” She looked up with a half frown, seemingly undisturbed by his frantic entrance.
“He should be back by now. Where is he?”
La shrugged. “I don’t know. Said he had business out of town and left me here to take calls. What’s with you? Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.” She rubbernecked behind him. “Where’s Carter? Weren’t you supposed to pick him up?”
“Something went wrong. Carter is…gone.”
“Gone?” La tucked a few strands of bleach blonde hair behind one ear and cocked her head. “As in…dead?”
Pike gave a short nod. “We encountered something out there like I’ve never seen.”
“Where’s the body? Aren’t you worried the law will pin his death on you?”
“There’s no body. He’s just…gone…Rain Riders,” he muttered in disbelief.
“Are you on drugs?”
“Just get Gage on the phone, will ya?” He growled.
“Fine.” She gingerly picked up the receiver and in painfully slow motion pecked out the number on her keypad. “It’s ringing.” She sighed and drummed the fingers of one hand on her desk. “I got his voicemail. Do you want me to leave a message?”
“No.”
La hung up the phone. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon. He’s been gone all morning.”
“Yeah…I’m headed out to the farm. Tell him to find me when he gets back.”
She nodded and lifted quizzical brows but said no more.
Pike dismissed her blasé attitude and stomped out of the office. But before leaving the porch he did a quick back and forth look around town. The riders had set him on edge. After hastily walking to his truck then hopping in, he keyed the engine and headed out of town. Every couple of minutes he checked his mirrors for anything suspicious approaching from behind.
Chapter Five
“Crazy weather out there,” Remle muttered while staring out the window. “Looks like something nasty moving in.”
Gage fidgeted in the hardwood chair. “How long do you think you can hold me here before someone notices I’m missing?”
Trip laughed. “Seems they’d have come by now if they cared. Face it, you’ve been hung out to dry.”
“My phone was ringing…someone is looking for me.”
“Not very hard.” Trip held up the cell phone. “They didn’t even leave a message.”
“What do I have to do to get out of here?” Gage’s forehead beaded with sweat.
“Give us the information we need and return the farm to Shye. Then we might consider letting you walk out of here after the deal goes down.” Trip gave him a hard stare and spoke with brutal determination. “I finally have Draven in my crosshairs. I’m not backing down.”
“I can’t do all that from here! The deed is locked in my office.”
Trip flipped open the cell phone. “Make a call. Have your secretary fax the necessary papers. Don’t even think about dropping a clue that anything is out of order.”
“Then what?” Anger mixed with fear hung on his voice.
“You’ll sign the farm back over to Shye and give us the time and location of the next big drop. The longer it takes me to track Draven, the longer you’ll be our guest.”
“Do you realize what you’re asking me to do? Those men are stone-cold-killers. If they get wind that I’ve rolled over on them, I’ll be next on their list.”
“Like my brother?” Trip felt his muscles twitch and his finger tighten on the trigger.
“Look, I’m sorry about Ty, but I had nothing to do with that. Pike does what he wants without asking permission. I had no idea he killed your brother until Carter hired him to go after Shye.”
“Why don’t I believe you? You’ve been part of this circle all along.”
“The drug part, yeah. I didn’t know there would be killing. I didn’t even know who you were until Shye returned home. She refused to back down so Carter called Pike in to catch her.”
“What the hell did you expect when you hooked up with this group?”
“Easy money.” Gage shrugged then sighed. “But then you rolled into town and somehow managed to hook up with Shye. That’s when I heard the talk about Pike giving your brother an overdose. By then it was too late for me to get out.” He looked up with narrowed eyes and tight lips. “You don’t simply walk away from these guys.”
“You’ll have to overlook my lack of sympathy.” Trip shoved the phone close to his face. “Make the call.”
“Hard to dial with my hands tied,” came Gage’s snide remark.
Remle poked his back with the double barrel shotgun. “Don’t be an ass. Give us the number then be smart and tell your secretary what to do. Remember, no tricks or you’ll soon take lessons behind different kinds of bars.”
He stammered out the number to his office and watched as Trip keyed them into the unit then placed the phone on speaker.
“Gage Korben, Attorney at Law,” a woman answered.
“La, I need you to fax me some documents,” Gage told her.
“Gage, where are you? Pike was in here acting strangely. He’s looking for you and he didn’t bring Carter back.”
Trip saw Gage flinch as if he wanted to tell La to shut up, so he gave him a sharp warning nod.
Sweat trickled down Gage’s temples as he continued. “Did something go wrong?”
“He said Carter is dead but he seemed really out of it. I think he was high. He muttered rain riders or something.”
Gage’s face paled yet he kept his cool. “He’s just edgy over a recent discovery on the farm. Don’t worry about it. Go into the vault and fax me a copy of the title insurance for the farm and a sale contract.”
“Don’t tell me this thing is changing hands again.” La openly sighed into the receiver.
“Afraid so. Now that Carter is out of jail he wants it back and I really don’t have time to keep up with his insanity.”
“I just told you that Carter is dead. Weren’t you listening?”
Gage took a deep breath. “Who are you going to believe? Me or Pike? The man is crazier than Carter. Just do what I said okay? I want to take care of business so I can finish up for the day.”
“Ohhh…so that’s why you went out of town on business and sent Pike on a wild goose chase,” she chirped. “You didn’t want Pike to know about the switchback.”
Gage faked a laugh. “You catch on quickly, La. Would you be a doll and fax the proper paperwork so I can be done with this thing once and for all?”
“Of course. Give me a fax number.”
Trip held a piece of paper up to his face with the number scribbled on it. Gage repeated the numbers with impressive calm in his voice.
“Got it,” La said. “I’ll send these right away.”
“Thanks, you’re a sweetheart. See you soon.”
“Okay…muah!” she returned then ended the call.
“How sweet…she even sent you a kiss. Got something going on with the secretary?” Trip smirked. “That wasn’t so hard now was it? I’m impressed with how naturally lying comes to you…trick of the trade?”
Gage scowled in silence.
Remle walked over to his desk and waited for the fax. A few minutes later the printer kicked in and papers began coming through.
Trip untied Gage but kept
a gun to his back.
“For an old hillbilly you have a pretty modern setup here.” Gage wrinkled his brow. “I’m almost glad to be rid of the damned place after all this,” Gage grumbled while signing the documents. “This farm has been nothing but a pain in the ass.”
Trip took the documents and looked them over, then filled in Shye’s name where required while Remle tied Gage back to the chair. Once everything looked in order he handed them to Remle who locked them in a fire-safe.
“Shye will be ecstatic when she returns,” Trip said with a satisfied grin. “Now just one more chore for you and we’ll try to forget your involvement.”
“By the way,” Remle added. “I heard your secretary mention the Rain Riders. Certainly you’ve heard of them.” He shot Gage an expectant look.
An uneasy expression shadowed Gage’s face. “Yeah…another reason I’m not overly distressed about giving the land back to Shye…Pike and his damned rain stick.”
“Rain stick?” Remle’s brows shot up.
“Yeah…he and his crew found it on the farm, but I wouldn’t have any part of it.”
“I can’t believe you got that slime bag banker out of jail. Do you have any ethics at all?” Trip shook his head in disdain.
“He was actually innocent this time and you know it. We all know who was robbing the bank, but nobody knows how she framed Carter. He isn’t too bright but nobody is stupid enough to rob their own bank then launch a grenade into it in broad daylight.”
“I have no idea who you’re referring to.” Trip turned away to hide a smug grin.
“Yeah right and like you didn’t love being her getaway driver after she pulled the jobs. That woman belongs to me and once she sees I’ve signed her land back over, I’ll be the hero. Shye will finally realize how much I love her. She’ll forgive my previous involvement and thank me for undoing Carter’s dirty work.”
“If that’s what you need to tell yourself to get this done then so be it.” Trip kept his back toward him.