Keeper of the Books (Keeper of the Books, Book 1) (38 page)

Where he was from, it had been no secret about what had happened to Levi’s family, though there had been plenty of speculation. To some, it showed the coldness of Nathaniel Cole—that he was a man not to be messed with. Others surmised that the act had been an accident, just as it was. But it was no accident that Nate had gone to Scruff’s house with murder in his heart. And if he had been in the same spot again, he couldn’t say he wouldn’t have gone and killed the man again. Scruff had killed Abigail. He’d killed Nate’s mother. He’d destroyed a family. Nate had repaid in full.
 

When he thought about it that way, the guilt seemed to dissipate. But his mind would always go back to the wife and children of Levi Thompson and the pit in his stomach would grow larger and larger. The ghosts of their memory would haunt Nathaniel until the day he died. Which might even be today.

“The clouds seem awfully gray,” Alban said, looking up through the branches toward the sky. “Wouldn’t mind to get a little rain. Might slow them down.”

“Are we even sure they are after us?” Rachel said. “Cara freely admits that the future she sees isn’t always correct.” It was a hopeful sentiment, one that all of them would be happy with if it were true. But the fact remained, there was no way to know.

“You know,” Nate said, looking at Marum who now rode next to Alban on Devlin’s horse. “It might not be such a bad idea if Marum and I got out of here.”

Alban’s eyes darkened as his eyebrows lowered and shadowed them. “What do you mean?”

“She and I can ride off into the woods and head for the border,” Nate said. “We can meet on the other side. If Levi and whoever he’s with overtakes us, and she and I are here, there will be a firefight. But if they catch up to you and Rachel and we ain’t anywhere to be found, they won’t hurt you. You can feed them some story about visiting family in the south.”

It was clear Alban didn’t like the idea, but the simple fact remained: they were moving too slowly. He looked toward Marum. “What do you think about it?”

“It all depends on the skills of the trackers pursuing us,” Marum answered. “If they are good, then they already know that this horse was traveling along beside you. If they are really good, they will notice when the horse went off course. It’s not a foolproof plan.”

“Neither is trying to fight them off from the wagon,” Nate said.
 

“I agree with Nathaniel,” Rachel said.

He looked at her sharply and her face was serious.
 

“If they’ve been following after us all this time,” she continued, “then we’re looking at meeting them before noon. Splitting off at least gives us a chance. Staying together puts us in a fight.”

Nate looked back at Alban who made no effort to disguise his displeasure with the suggestion. But finally, he nodded and agreed. “Can’t say I like splitting up, but we aren’t that far from the border. I’d hate to be in a scuffle so close to the edge.”

“Then it’s settled,” Marum said.

Alban pulled up on the reins and they slowed to a stop. He sighed and stared straight ahead, looking almost defeated.
 

“We can cut through the woods and be at the border quickly enough,” Marum said. “We will wait for the two of you there.”

Alban nodded, not saying anything as Nate got out of the cart. He walked around to the back to lend a hand to Rachel. She took his hand and dropped to the ground, stumbling just so that Nate had to catch her. She pulled away from him quickly, her cheeks turning red. Nate then offered a hand to help her into the front of the wagon, but she ignored it and pulled herself up without him. Nate took no offense and smiled at her as he walked to the other side to meet Marum.

“If you think this is a bad idea,” Nate said looking at Alban, “please express it.”

“No,” Alban said as he bit his lower lip. “This is the best plan. As much as I don’t like it, you’re right.” He shrugged. “If they don’t catch up to us, no harm done. If they do, there’s a better chance of avoiding a fight.”

Nate turned and Marum helped him up onto the horse. He didn’t much like sharing a saddle, nor being the one behind, but he swallowed his pride, telling himself they were almost finished with all this. He’d spent the last decade on the run and this was just another smart escape.
 

He reached for the edge of his hat and tipped it toward Rachel and Alban. “We’ll see you soon,” he said.
 

Alban nodded at them and Rachel forced a smile. Nate could tell they were nervous. That, or he was projecting his own feelings onto them. He hoped this would be the last time he had to be on the run. For some reason, he knew it wouldn’t be.
 

Autumn, 903 A.O.M.

Nathaniel Cole was running scared. Levi didn’t know how he knew it, somehow he could feel it, smell it even. Devlin had confirmed what Levi already knew: that they were hot on Nate’s trail. The exact time was unknown—an hour, two hours, maybe just a few minutes until they caught up. According to Ranger Gibbons, they were so close to the edge of Tel Haven Forest that if they didn’t catch them soon they’d be lost. Levi sure wasn’t going to let that happen.

Their horses showed no sign of wearing out as they trotted along. Sometimes, when the road was flat and clear, the four of them would be in an all out sprint. When the road curved or seemed uneven, they slowed to a steady trot. Regardless, there was no way the wagon they pursued was traveling at such a speed.

All of this was confirmed when they eventually saw a wagon a few hundred yards in front of them. Sheriff Strand had been the first to spot it, and the moment he called it out, the riders drew their pistols and charged ahead.
 

But as they moved in closer, it was apparent that there were only two figures on the wagon and there was no horse riding alongside it. Strand yelled this out to the group in observation, but no one cared to acknowledge him. All they cared about was getting to that wagon.

In less than a minute, they reached it. The four of them surrounded the cart, making the old man’s horse halt in the middle of the road. Gibbons and Levi stopped their horses in front of the wagon while Strand and Devlin parked on either side.
 

The first thing Levi noticed was that the man and woman in the cart didn’t have any sort of surprise etched on their faces. If they were normal travelers there might have been some expression of bewilderment, or even anger. But these two stared at the four as if unsurprised by their coming.

“Alban Lang,” Gibbons said loudly. He sat straight on his horse, giving himself a commanding height over the two in the wagon. “A little far from home, aren’t you?”

“A little far from your cushy office, aren’t you, Ranger Gibbons?”

Gibbons’ eyes narrowed at the man. “Where’s the gray elf?”

“What in the world are you blabbing about?” Alban demanded.

“Why are you so far from home?” Gibbons nearly shouted.

“The business my daughter and I have is none of yours,” Alban said. “I am free to travel these lands as I please. Or has our president taken away those freedoms as well?”

“I know they came to your house, Alban. I know they’ve been traveling with you the last couple of days. I had a visit with your friend, Cara. She told us everything.”

Levi watched Alban closely and saw the man swallow when Gibbons said the words. This man was as guilty as sin, but they didn’t have time to draw out the conversation. They needed answers and quick.
 

“Look here!” Devlin shouted. He leaned in toward the wagon on Rachel’s side and reached for something near her feet. He pulled out a rifle and held it up in the air. “This is mine! Marum and Nathaniel took it from me the other day.” He rubbed at the barrel as if to check it for any nicks or scratches.

Gibbons and Levi then turned back to Alban who looked down at his own feet. “What an interesting development,” Gibbons said.
 

“You won’t ever catch ’em,” Alban said. “We split off a day ago. Thought it was best.”

“That ain’t true neither,” Devlin said. He pulled his horse to the front of the wagon next to Gibbons. “I tried to say something earlier, but we was moving too fast. There were tracks that moved off the road less than a mile back. We’re hot on their trail. They split off just a few minutes ago. Somebody can catch ’em.”

Gibbons looked down for a moment and rubbed at his thick mustache. Finally, he nodded. “All right, Devlin you follow the trail you saw. Levi, Strand, and I will take the road. The border is close, but I doubt they’re planning to go too far without their friends here.”

“Why do you say that?” Strand asked.
 

“Because Alban here was still headed for the edge of the woods,” Gibbons answered. “If they were splitting away entirely, I’d imagine he would have turned back around to go home.”

Levi watched Devlin who was ghostly white. He didn’t want to take the trail because he knew he might have to face the gray elf and Nate again alone. He tried to determine for himself which direction would get him to Nate the quickest, but he couldn’t figure it.
 

“I don’t know their loyalties when it comes to these two,” Levi spoke up, nodding at the old man and girl, “but I say we tie ’em up and make a lot of noise.”

“What do you mean?” Gibbons asked.

“I mean, I don’t imagine the gray elf would travel with these two if they weren’t friends,” Levi explained. “They ain’t far. If we shoot our guns in the air and make it sound like there’s a firefight going on, they might just come running back to us.”

Gibbons smiled, probably for the first time since Levi had met him. It was as good a plan as any and the lead Ranger knew it. Finally, Gibbons agreed. He held the man and girl at gunpoint while Levi and Strand tied them up with rope and gagged them with handkerchiefs. Finally, the two of them were laid up in the back of the cart and the four pursuers schemed about what to do next.

“You go on,” Gibbons said, nodding at Devlin. “The three of us will make some noise.”

“Actually,” Levi said, “I wouldn’t mind going with Devlin.” Devlin seemed pleased by this, but Levi wasn’t doing it for him. He just figured he had a better chance of catching up with Nate that way.

Gibbons agreed with the idea. Devlin reluctantly set his rifle back into the front of the wagon—considering one of his arms was in a sling only a pistol would do.

“Ya’ll can use it if you need,” Devlin said, “but don’t hurt it.”

No one seemed to be listening when he said this, and Levi hurried him along.
 

The two were off and Strand and Gibbons stayed behind. They shot and shot until they emptied their pistols, then they reloaded and emptied them again. They made sure they shot sporadically from two different locations, so it would sound like there were two sides fighting. They needed to make Nate and Marum think there was a bloody battle raging. If there was any heart in them at all, they would come rushing back. Levi didn’t expect compassion from Nate, but he also knew the outlaw was as lost as he was out here. He would rather take a chance and help his friends than be stranded all alone in a wild frontier he didn’t know. Either way, Devlin and Levi would be able to follow them. And if the gray elf and Nathaniel went back for their friends, Levi could take them out from behind.

At least, this was the gamble Levi decided to take.
   

Autumn, 903 A.O.M.

Nate swore when he heard the shots echo through the forest. Marum pulled up on the reins and the horse jerked upward and nearly knocked Nate off the back.
 

“We have to help them,” Marum said.

“I think it’s a trap,” Nate said. His gut told him that Levi had something to do with the gunshots. Why would they attack a man and woman so viciously? Surely Rachel and Alban hadn’t been the first to fire.

“Even so,” Marum said, “we can’t just leave them to be captured.”

“Why not?” Nate asked. “If they catch us, we’re as good as dead. Rachel and Alban, on the other hand, won’t be killed.”

“They will hang just like us,” Marum said. “That I know. It was a good idea to try and split up, but I should have thought it through. All we did was make them bait.”

“If we hadn’t run off, those gunshots you heard would have been a real gunfight and we might all be dead already,” Nate said.
 

“We don’t know it wasn’t a real gunfight,” Marum came back.

Nate swore again. He felt the conflict within him: to run or to help his friends. If they went back, it would be four against two, and at least three of those they’d faced were highly skilled fighters. It went against everything in him to turn back. An outlaw only survived by avoiding the kind of conflict Marum wanted to charge right into.

“No,” Nate said, shaking his head. “I can’t do it. I ain’t falling into a trap. We go back, we’ll all be dead.”

“Then get off the horse,” Marum snapped.

“What?”

“Get off the horse! I’m going after them with or without you.”

Nate reluctantly climbed off the side of the horse, anger coursing through his veins.

“Sometimes there are more important things than running,” Marum said. “Those people stuck their necks out for us. Now, we’ve got a chance to pay them back.”

She hesitated for only a second as she stared at Nate with her sharp purple eyes, almost as if to give him one last chance to go with her. But Nate stood firm, and Marum shook her head in disappointment, then sprinted away through the forest toward the road.

Nate hadn’t quite expected to be on foot by this point, but it no longer mattered. He had to keep heading south until he reached the border. Then, and only then, would he be free from Levi and the other men. At least, he thought so. He didn’t know the land beyond the edge of Tel Haven Forest. He didn’t know how difficult or easy it would be to lose them once he got out of there. But once the others caught Marum, the only one that’d be after Nate was Levi, and he didn’t know the land any more than Nate did. The man would be just as lost. Nate was confident that he could at least lose the bounty hunter in this strange land. Then, he could continue his journey of finding Joe and figuring out a way to get out of this place.