Fate & Fortune: Stallion Ridge #6 Read online

  “This is it!” Celestine’s voice bounced off the walls of the car as he pounded on the door. “Up, up! Stretch out your bones, take a piss and greet the new town, my friends!”

  Victor rubbed the sleep from his eyes and rolled free from his hammock. The ride had been long, and he was ready to stretch his legs and hopefully his wings. His car wasn’t one of the larger living quarters, only large enough for a case of props and a trunk of clothing, but it suited him just fine. He was only in the car to sleep and occasionally bring home a partner for the night, but otherwise he wasn’t the type to be cooped up long.

  Victor tossed his well-worn black jacket and hat on and tucked his cards into his pocket as he pushed the car door open and stepped outside. The early morning sun was warm against his skin, and the cool breeze smelled of browning leaves. Coffee and food were top priority, but exploring the town and learning about their soon-to-be paying customers was a close second.

  His fellow entertainers and crew were slowly disembarking from their own cars, greeting the sleepy morning town with yawns and growling bellies.

  “Ah!” Aggie took a long, deep breath before exhaling in a mighty, content sigh. Of all the towns they had visited over the past months, this was the one she had been waiting for. “We’ve finally arrived!”

  Victor nodded, angling his head up to look at her. When Aggie was in her Centaur form, she was almost a full person taller than he was. His sightline came to about her stone-hard stomach that she boasted could take a cannon blast. She adjusted the Kadah that she wore around her waist. The thick cloth wrap of red-and-black stripes seemed much straighter than she typically wore it.

  “Did you braid your tail?” Victor caught sight of the black braid swishing over her well brushed, inky coat. Aggie crossed her large arms over her chest and shrugged.

  “I’m not about to meet the sheriff looking ruffled.”

  “Of course not,” Victor agreed, unable to hide the teasing grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your tail braided before.”

  Aggie huffed through her nose in a very horselike fashion and scuffed at the earth with her front hoof. Victor gave her a wink and a friendly pat on her side.

  “You look nice, Aggie. I’m just giving you shit.”

  “Keep it up and I’ll toss you over the building.”

  Since Victor had seen her perform such a feat before, he mimed sealing his lips and didn’t say another word.

  They had heard plenty of Stallion Ridge from their travels: the sleepy town with legends of famous shootouts, hot springs, a valiant Centaur sheriff, and an openness for the shifted folk.

  Unlike most of the rumors that circulate about towns, Stallion Ridge seemed to be at least somewhat true to the tales. It had been quite some time since Victor saw so many openly shifted people outside of small villages. It hardly seemed to be a place capable of bandit shoot-outs, especially when the sheriff in question was not even six foot tall.

  The shorter man was all smiles, and the sheriff badge pinned to his vest gleamed in the sunlight despite its scrapes and scuffs. Victor saw the dry dirt on the sheriff’s boots, the wear in his hat and the signs of a man forged from work as well as humor. It was easy to underestimate him, but the sheriff’s gun wasn’t new and sure as hell wasn’t unused.

  Beside the sheriff were two other men, one shifter and one human. The shifter was clad in all black and had the green eyes of a big cat. Victor couldn’t smell as well as some other shifters could, but the way the man in black moved was too poised to be human. The other man was grinning at the train, curious and intrigued, with a twinkle of mischief in his whiskey-colored eyes.

  “Welcome to Stallion Ridge.” The sheriff held his hand out to Celestine, who took it with a bend at his waist. “We’ve never had a travelling circus come through before.”

  “He’s not Centaur,” Aggie growled, her shoulders sagging. “He’s just human.”

  “Maybe there’s another sheriff we haven’t met yet,” Victor whispered, watching Celestine pour on the charm.

  “Thank you kindly for the warm welcome, my good sir! Ah, but we are not a circus.” Celestine shook the man’s hand while gesturing towards the train with the other hand. “We don’t force animals to do tricks. All of our performers are shifters and humans.”

  “That’s great to hear.” The sheriff’s eyes brightened. “Are you in charge here, Mister…?”

  “Celestine Rupert Bronzequill, at your service.” Celestine gave a little flourish to his bow. “And you must be the Centaur sheriff we’ve heard so much about?”

  The man with the whiskey eyes laughed like Celestine had said the funniest joke he’d ever heard. The sheriff, true to his good-natured laugh lines, rolled his eyes with a smile and gave his deputy a playful shove.

  “Not that damn funny, Jesse. You don’t think I could pass as a Centaur?”

  “No,” Aggie called, unamused. “You can’t.”

  “Ouch,” the sheriff said around a laugh. “But fair enough. You’re right, miss. I’m not Centaur. I’m Mack, but the sheriff before me was Calhoun Klelbor. He’s the mayor of the town now.”

  Aggie’s eyes widened. “Your mayor is Centaur?”

  “That’s right.” Mack smirked, clearly proud. “I’m sure you’ll meet him soon enough. In the meantime, these are my deputies, Gunner and Jesse Woodlock.”

  Jesse touched the brim of his hat in a greeting, while Gunner just gave a nod.

  “How many people do you have on this train?” Gunner swept his eyes over the cars that were slowly being unpacked.

  “Twenty total. We have all kinds of attractions, performers, games, and so on. It’s quite the show,” Celestine boasted. “Your town will be amazed and delighted, I can guarantee.”

  “I have no doubt.” Mack’s smile faded just a hair. “I’m sure this outfit is professional and won’t cause any unnecessary grief to anyone in town. Last thing we want to do is have you all pack up before you get to amaze and delight us.”

  “You have my absolute word, sheriff. My carnival is top notch.” Celestine pivoted on his heels, flashing his smile as he gestured Victor and Aggie over. “These here are just two of my stars. Agatha’s strength knows no equal. She performs marvelous feats of power and agility during the main show.”

  Aggie placed one hand on her hip, the other flexing to display the mighty boulder of muscle in her arm.

  “I juggle cannonballs for fun. Want to see how far I can throw you?” She grinned at Jesse, who mirrored her flirty grin.

  “Ma’am, if I wasn’t already dating a Centaur man, you might have me changing teams.”

  Aggie laughed, slapping Jesse on the back and nearly knocking him over.

  Guess the man has a type. Victor suppressed a laugh as he bit his lip.

  Celestine wagged his finger at Aggie in a dramatic and playful manner. “Now, now, Aggie. Be gentle with the audience.” He turned and presented Victor with a wave of his hand. “Victor here is a guide through the psychic world and master of the games. He can peer through the veil of reality, read your thoughts, and…” He paused for effect before adding in a hushed whisper, “See your future.”

  Victor snorted and tipped his hat, pulling his playing cards out of his jacket pocket.

  “Well, I gotta see that.” Mack crossed his arms.

  “I don’t think anyone wants to read your mind, Mack,” Jesse teased. “It’s gotta be mostly wood carving and coffee-induced sex daydreams about rock deities.”

  “Hey, I think about other things,” Mack argued in jesting offense. “Nothing comes to mind immediately, but there’s other things.”

  “Like yours wouldn’t be Centaur sex and poker?” Gunner cocked his brow Jesse’s direction.

  Jesse clicked his tongue. “I ain’t claiming to be a saint.”

  “Well, we all know that Gunner—” Mack started, but Jesse slashed through the air in a quick motion.

  “Nope. No discussing Gunner’s mind as it pertains to my brother. I don’t need to vomit
in front of our guests.” Jesse shuddered.

  “I won’t reach that far into anyone’s mind, I promise.” Victor shuffled his cards, flipping them in an arc from one hand to the other. “Your secrets are safe with me.”

  The small paper cards were well worn and fit into his hands like they were made just for him. He knew their weight, their smooth corners, and the loud flutter they made when he was bending them to his will. They flashed their worn black-and-red colors as he made a show of shuffling them in dazzling ways.

  “You gonna ask me to pick a card, any card?” Mack said, mimicking the age old, classic card trick everyone knew. Victor shook his head.

  “I want you to think of a card,” Victor explained. “Visualize it in your mind and don’t speak it out loud.”

  Mack titled his head to the side, gave it a thought, and then nodded. “Alright.”

  Victor shuffled the cards as he studied Mack’s face. He was a good-looking man, aged by bumps in a hard life that hadn’t seemed to fray his humor. The twinkle in his hazel eyes told Victor almost as much as Mack’s posture and laugh lines did.

  “How long you been in love, Sheriff?”

  Mack grinned. “Am I that obvious?”

  “It’s written all over your heart,” Victor lied. “He wasn’t someone you fell in love with right away, was he?”

  “Faster than I thought possible, that’s for sure.” Mack chuckled.

  Victor gave him a knowing nod, having no idea how fast or slow Mack had fallen for whoever it was he was in love with. “Ah, but you fought it at first. Falling that fast scared you.”

  Mack raised his eyebrows, impressed with the assessment.

  That part was always easy. People always told you what they were thinking, whether they realized it or not. Victor couldn’t peek into someone’s mind, per se, but he had been playing the game long enough to fake it pretty well.

  Victor finished shuffling and plucked the card from the deck.

  King of hearts, for the lovestruck fool.

  Mack barked a laugh and slapped his hands together. “That’s pretty good!”

  Victor gave his little bow, turning his attention towards the unamused deputy in black.

  “How about a magic trick, deputy? Gunner, right?”

  Gunner gave an apathetic shrug. “Sure.”

  Fanning out the cards in front of him, Victor gave the deputy his best smile. “Pick a card.”

  Sharp, green eyes scanned over the cards in front of him, his movements bored as he picked out a card.

  “Look at your card, show your fellow men of the law, and put it back without showing me.” Victor held the cards in place as Gunner showed Mack and Jesse the card, sticking it back into the deck. After the card was tucked away, Victor shuffled the cards with one hand, then the other, and then flipped them around in a display of dexterity and skill he made look as easy as drawing breath. To add a little flare to the mood, he hummed an old bar tune with a melody most knew and pushed a card to the surface.

  Victor plucked the card from the deck, looked it over with a scowl, and shook his head.

  “No, that’s not right.” He tried again, pulling another wrong card. “How strange.” Another couple of pulls, all incorrect, before he finally nodded towards the bored deputy. “Deputy, I don’t think your card is in this deck. Would you mind checking your back pocket?”

  Gunner’s bored expression turned curious as he reached behind him and pulled the card from his back pocket.

  “Heaven and hell!” Mack reared back like Gunner pulled a snake from his pocket, crashing into Jesse, who was laughing.

  “That’s amazing!” Jesse shouted.

  Gunner blinked and nodded. “Not bad.”

  Victor tipped his hat, smirking at a trick well done, and took the card back before tucking them away. “I hope to see you all at the show. Make sure you bring your friends.”

  “Hell, I’ll be there opening night!” The sheriff grinned. “When do you plan on doing your first show?”

  “If all goes well, in a couple days,” Celestine said, tilting his head towards the train. “We have tents, props, and games to set up. While we’re getting the show ready, I’m sure the entertainers wouldn’t mind doing some street sideshows for tips.”

  “Not at all,” Victor agreed, since it was their normal routine. “We’ll likely be out tonight meeting the town and showing off.”

  “Bring your mayor,” Aggie said to Mack, who gave her a wink and salute.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll make sure he finds you.”

  “It was lovely meeting you, gentlemen!” Celestine shook their hands again before the sheriff and deputy departed. Turning with a proud smile, Celestine gave them a wink, his amber eyes sparkling. “Good show, you two. It’s always a good sign when the lawmen are laughing when we arrive.”

  “Much better than shooting,” Victor agreed.

  Aggie snorted a laugh. “That time was pretty fun.”

  “Aggie, you brilliant slab of strength, we have different ideas of fun.” Celestine sounded almost worried, but the affection in his voice drowned it out. “Stretch, get some food, and let’s get to work! We have much to do!”

  Chapter Two

  There wasn’t much left of the deer when Sky landed near the corpse.

  Seeing a half-eaten deer wasn’t out of the ordinary, but it was the tracks near the body that troubled Sky. Wolves didn’t leave tracks that deep with their claws, and a bear would have been alone. The animal had clearly been ripped apart by a pack, but the snapped bones and torn flesh hinted at something much bigger. Sky swept his eyes over the area before kneeling to examine the deep gouges in the dirt.

  Four pronounced claws and a smaller one closer to the palm. The scratches lined up with where the deer had been slashed and gutted before being eaten. There were multiple animals there, multiple claw marks slashed in the dirt during the frenzy. Mixed in with the razor slashes was something that made a spike of fear dance up Sky’s spine.

  Hoofprints.

  Sky took to the air right away, not lingering near a fresh corpse in case the animals came back again.

  It hadn’t been a pack. It was a herd.

  The deep, heavy hoofprints scattered out from the body before forming back together as a unit. Sky followed the tracks across the plain and into a thick wooded area that swallowed any trace from an aerial view. There was no way Sky was suicidal enough to track them on foot.

  Sky gave the area one more pass, searching for any traces of their migration direction before changing course to Stallion Ridge. The area was still very far from town, but he wasn’t gambling on the safety of any unsuspecting folk that happened to wander that direction to hunt.

  The early afternoon sun was warm on his back as he landed just outside of town. Folding his wings to his back, he walked into the bustling town as they hurried along in their daily lives. Most of the town was used to seeing him and barely gave him a glance, but the Native Skinchanger had been a bit of a spectacle during the earlier months. Humans and shifters alike didn’t know much about the people they chased away with their colonization, other than they were people that lived between both worlds.

  Sky knew all too well that even the polite ones viewed him as an outsider.

  Mack and Cody were leaving the sheriff’s office, discussing the plans for the day as Sky made his way to the building.

  “Mack,” Sky got his attention as he waited by the steps and was greeted with a smile.

  “Hey, Sky. Everything alright?”

  Sky adjusted his bow that was slung across his back and shook his head. “I found Tech’ta tracks northeast of here. It’s a good sized herd, maybe about fifteen strong.”

  “Tech’ta? I’m not familiar with that,” Mack confessed, his brows creasing.

  “They’re like carnivorous horses,” Cody said with a shiver. “I ain’t ever seen them in real life, but I know they’re meaner than spit and can rip a grown cow into pieces.”

  “I’m sorry.” Mack tu
rned to Cody, his eyebrows now reaching towards his hairline. “Did you say carnivorous horses?” He moved his eyes between Sky and Cody. “Are you fucking with me?”

  “No,” Sky said simply. “I don’t know what you call them, but Tech’ta aren’t something to joke about.”

  “We call them Nightmares,” Cody added.

  “I stand corrected,” Sky added dryly.

  “These are horses that eat meat? How…” Mack trailed off, baffled.

  “I haven’t seen them in the area before, but the tracks are unmistakable. They’re extremely territorial and will attack if someone goes near it,” Sky explained.

  Mack took his hat off and rubbed his short, sandy blond hair as he exhaled through his nose. “Alright. How do we drive them back or chase them off?”

  Sky shook his head. “I don’t know. I have some ideas, but it will take some time. You need to keep the citizens away from that area until I get a better idea of what we’re dealing with. No one on the ground is safe.”

  “Isn’t the northeast where Cal said they were going to be looking to build some new homes soon?” Cody’s blue eyes widened towards the sighing sheriff.

  “Well, they sure as hell can’t if there’s demon horses roaming around. Sky.” Mack put his hat back on his head and turned his attention back to Sky. “Can you go warn Cal about the Nightmares before he goes trotting out there?”

  Sky gave a nod. “Will you warn the other deputies?”

  “That’s what I’m gonna do now,” Mack answered as he hopped down the steps. “Cody, you find Jesse and Abigail. I’ll chase down Gunner.”

  “Yes, sir!” Cody hurried off towards his horse as Sky left to find Cal. Normally, the proud Centaur would be out in the fields scouting for danger or making his way around town to speak with the locals. Since he was elected mayor, he was rarely doing either. It was sad to see the warrior stuck behind a desk or getting shuffled into bureaucratic meetings. Cal had swapped his sidearm for paperwork and a pen.

  Cal was in his Centaur form when Sky found him, clearly getting ready for a long run. The dusty white hat he always wore was fixed to his head, while his long mane of dark hair was held back in a knot behind his skull. His cloth Kadah of blue and white was slung over his waist and tied in a lazy knot, and a rifle was strapped to his back.