The Battle of Medicine Rocks by Aaron Rachel

Author:Aaron, Rachel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aaron/Bach
Published: 2023-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

~~~

“I swear, I don’t know how she did it!” Sheriff Brightman blubbered, bowing down until his forehead thumped against the thick pile of Volchitsa’s ornate rug. “She was flat broke not two days ago! I made sure—”

“Spare me your excuses,” Volchitsa snarled back, chewing on her pipe in her fury behind her desk. “I sent you in to give the final shove to an already bankrupt company, and now Josephine Price has the largest stash of crystal in the territory! Can you believe this?”

That question was directed at Apache Jake, who was leaning casually against the wall between two wolf heads, fiddling with his gun.

“Oh Lord,” Brightman hiccupped, pressing his skull harder into the floor. “Oh mercy, please don’t kill me!”

“That depends on you,” the She Wolf snapped. “Where did she get all that gold?”

The sheriff trembled. “I already told you I don’t know.”

“You must know something!” Volchitsa roared. “You were supposed to have men watching her building at all times. It had to come from somewhere! Did they do anything strange? Anything out of the ordinary?”

“That’s just the trouble, ma’am.” Brightman lifted his head just enough to wipe his brow. “The folks at Price Mining don’t do anything ordinary! That girl’s as bad as her uncle, always doing all kinda who knows what. According to my man on duty last night, she and her pet Indian spent the whole evening picking rocks up off the ground.”

Volchitsa arched a pale eyebrow. “Rocks?”

The sheriff wiped his brow again. “I know it sounds foolish, so I went to look for myself right this morning. Sure enough, there ain’t a rock small enough for a man to lift left anywhere around Price Mining.”

“Interesting,” Volchitsa said, tapping her pipe thoughtfully against her teeth. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know—”

“Not you,” she snapped, narrowing her eyes. “The smart one.”

Apache Jake chuckled. “I think it’s pretty obvious what’s gone down,” he said, pushing off the wall. “It was the sheriff’s own men who reported Miss Price’s visit to Dr. Pendleton’s office yesterday. I’d say our clever little business lady went and got herself a power. Probably something that involves rocks turning into gold, if I had to guess.”

That was enough to raise the She Wolf’s eyebrows. “Crystal can do that?”

“Wouldn’t be the strangest thing we’ve seen,” Jake said, sliding his revolver back into its well-worn holster. “And it certainly fits her luck. That girl’s been stumbling into surprise fortunes ever since she came to town.”

“It is most vexing,” Volchitsa agreed, tapping her sharp-nailed fingers on her desk. “If she truly can make gold from nothing, then it’s only a matter of time before she rebuilds Price Mining into something we can’t handle.”

“I’d say she’s already there,” Apache replied, fixing the She Wolf with a dark look. “She’s definitely not taking your offer of employment after this, so why don’t we let this go?”

“I’m not letting her go,” Volchitsa snapped. “Have you forgotten what Shandy discovered? One word from me, and—”

“Just ’cause you can win doesn’t mean you should fight,” the gunman said in a voice so calm it cut.

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