Cold-Blooded Ringers by Julian M. Coleman

Author:Julian M. Coleman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction about twins, new release books 2021, new release African American books, black women books, black authors, African American urban fantasy, fiction series, fiction fantasy contemporary
Publisher: Julian M. Coleman
Published: 2021-09-27T00:00:00+00:00

13. Sumbitch

Sara

She was the lone pedestrian on the flat but rocky trail. The sun was setting, and without its heat, the temperature dropped. Sara didn’t feel the cold.

Rusty fingers of orange and gold scraped the horizon. Yet, it was the stars flickering in the encroaching blackness, more than the broken trail, that assured she was on the right path.

The expanse offered no cover for natives, banditos, or other riffraff. At least the abundant solitude was better than the alternative of suffering in an oppressive town.

She followed Violet’s advice when she reached the fork and took the left path. By the moonlight, she stooped and examined a set of hoofprints. She knew the heavy u-shape of his Midnight’s shoes. This was another horse, and the deeper indentation meant he had a heavy rider. The prints weren’t fresh, and the shoe direction told her horse and rider had headed for town.

Maybe Tom Carlson had gone out for his gambling and whoring? Maybe Midnight was at the ranch?

She quickened her pace. The knife in her right boot and the gun hanging low on her right hip added to her hopefulness and her feelings of invincibility. Anticipation fluttered in her chest when she finally saw the ramshackle collection of single-story structures.

Since the landscape didn’t offer a tree or bush, there was no point in hiding. The brisk wind chilled the sweat on her skin.

She rolled her eyes backward and mentally called out to him. Midnight, I’m here.

She sensed and saw nothing from him. There was only blackness. Naturally, he could die. But he was as protected from death’s grip, same as she. He would come back to life. Couldn't he?

The preacher in Darkie Town had said coming back to life after death was a resurrection. Still, she never wanted Midnight to die, ever. And she had never tested the magic woven into his mane.

She crept alongside the larger of the two buildings and heard the alarming clamor of barking dogs. She was desperate. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ignored the flagrant warning. She crept faster to the main structure.

Candlelight ebbed from the windows. Inside, she heard the homey conversation between a woman and a boy and a girl.

Suddenly the dogs, a pair of mongrels, growled at her feet.

Too late, she also heard the click of a rifle hammer, and cold iron pressed behind her ear, forcing her to stare straight ahead. She caught a whiff of dirt, sweat, and cow shit.

“Git back!” A gruff voice demanded. The dogs whined and retreated, then fled into the darkness.

In a quick, one-two action, the barrel moved from behind her ear to her back.

Sara raised her hands and was prodded toward a smaller building.

Suddenly, the big house’s door opened, and a woman, hidden in the shadows, appeared on the porch. A voice, soaked with concern, asked, “What’s going on out there? Henry? Earl? Is that you, Tom?”

“It’s just me, Miss Winnie, Henry. Everything fine. Dogs found a rabbit. That’s all.”

“Oh, okay. I hope you have a good night.”

“Thank you, Missus.

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