Hunted

“Are we getting close?” Kali asked softly,aware of men nearby.

The claims were long and narrow, each with asmall piece of waterfront, so numerous camps were visible along theshoreline. Cedar and Kali had already passed through severalwithout the prospectors noticing.

“Yes,” Cedar said.

Campfires burned at intermittent spots, mostnear the water. Men’s voices rose and fell in conversations andsometimes song. Drink gave some of the voices a boisterous slur.Kali doubted there were many women out here, if any, and she wasglad to have Cedar at her side.

She tapped a pocket where she carried twosmoke nuts. Her Winchester, fastened to her packsack, was withineasy reach as well. She trusted Cedar still had her two vials offlash gold flakes; they were not weapons but, given time, theycould be made into useful tools.

Kali picked out a familiar voice, fortunatelynot singing.

“That’s him,” she murmured to Cedar, whowalked quietly, even with no light to brighten the trail. Shereached out to brush his arm now and then to make sure he was stillthere.

Sebastian sat with five other men around afire pit. All had the bearded, grizzled appearance of veterans, andmore than one sported a scar on his face. A fellow with a greasybeard dangling halfway down his chest scratched beneath an eyepatch with the stumpy nub of a half-missing finger. Rifles andshotguns leaned against logs or rocks, no more than an arm’s lengthfrom their owners.

Rectangular shadows behind the men delineatedtents. The claim farther up the bank from Sebastian’s lay dark, itsprospectors either gone to sleep or perhaps into town, but a fireburned at the one diagonally across the river, the one thatsupposedly belonged to Cudgel’s crony. Nobody sat around it, thougha tent and the beginnings of a log cabin rose near the flames.

“Doesn’t look very active,” Kali said.

“Your old beau?” Cedar asked. “Well, he has aflask of whiskey in his hand. That slows a man down.”

“I meant the camp we’re here to spy on.”

“Ah. I’ll sneak over tonight if I can find away across the river. Let’s get settled in here first. Those menlook rougher than I expected based on my initial encounter withyour Sebastian.”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop calling himmy this-or-that,” Kali said. “And just because he’s a dandydoesn’t mean he’s not a fine flannel-mouth. I’m sure he talkedthese fellows into helping with promises of riches, and theybelieved him. As for their roughness, Sebastian probably pickedthem for that. It’s dangerous up here, and you’re like to have yourclaim jumped if anything shiny comes out of it.”

“Understood.”

When they were within a dozen meters of thefire, Kali called out, not wanting to surprise anyone with twitchyreflexes. “Sebastian?”

Sebastian bolted to his feet, eyes largerthan Francis Barton’s prize nuggets. “Kali?”

“Yes.”

Despite Sebastian’s acknowledgement, the manbeside him grabbed his shotgun. He raised it to his shoulder andKali tensed, ready to throw herself to the ground. A riflethundered a foot away from her ear. The shotgun flew from itsowner’s hands. Cursing, the man flung himself behind a log even asthe rest of Sebastian’s cronies lunged for their weapons.

Cedar fired two more times.

“Sebastian!” Kali ducked and scrambled behinda stump. She found her own rifle, but she did not want to fire, notif this was a misunderstanding. “What’re you-”

“Stop!” Sebastian called. “Everyone stopgrabbing for your firearms.”

None of his men had managed to fire a shot,not with Cedar preempting them, but they had all found cover, andirritated snarls came from behind the rocks and logs.

“I invited her up here,” Sebastianwent on. “She’s the one I told you about. Albeit, I wasn’texpecting her so soon.”

A twinge of irritation ran through Kali. Whyhad he expected her at all? Did he truly think his offer thatirresistible? If not for Cedar, she would not have taken a singlestep in Sebastian’s direction.

A shadow moved at her elbow, Cedar joiningher behind the stump.

“Have I mentioned how much I’m enjoying theenhanced chambering speed your modifications have granted myWinchester?” he asked while Sebastian calmed down his men.

“Not since Thursday. Do you think that onewas going to shoot me?” Kali asked, already unimpressed withSebastian’s comrades.

“If I thought that, I would have shot hischest, not his firearm.”

“Ah, so that was merely a warning for anambiguous action.”

“Precisely.”

“Kali?” Sebastian called. “Who’s withyou?”

“Cedar,” she said. “The, uh, fellow you metat my workshop.”

“He wasn’t invited,” Sebastian said.

“He’s willing to work too. Why turn down anextra hand? He’ll take a cut of my share. No need to pay him.”

“That so?” Cedar murmured.

She elbowed him.

“He willing to take a cut of your rationstoo?” Sebastian asked. “Because we don’t have enough to feedsomeone that big.”

“We brought our own food,” Kali said.

“You didn’t even bring a blanket,” Cedarwhispered.

“Sshh.” She could see nothing of his featuresin the dark, but sensed his humor was tickled by the situation. Ormaybe gun-slinging put him in a good mood.

“Come in,” Sebastian said. “We’ll work outthe details in the morning. It’s late. Long past when respectablefolk ride up on a camp.”

“Yes…we were delayed.”

Kali stood and walked toward the fire, armsspread to show she had no weapons in hand. She supposed thecourteous thing to do would be to mention that a dangerous womanmight be about and that Kali’s presence could bring danger to theentire camp.

“Getting sexed up, probably,” Sebastianmuttered to the man at his side who snorted and nodded.

Kali narrowed her eyes and reconsidered thelevel of courtesy she would show the man. Such as, maybe shewould warn him if she saw a grenade plummeting toward his head.

Cedar did not stray from her side as sheapproached, and she admitted a smug satisfaction at having himlooming there. She knew Sebastian would not be jealous-that wouldhave required him to have had an actual interest in her-but atleast Cedar’s presence proved she was not so undesirable as hebelieved. Except, she reminded herself, Cedar was not her beau andshe had lied to Sebastian. Her smugness faded.

“You arrived sooner than I expected,”Sebastian told Kali. “The steam equipment isn’t here yet. We’ll bebringing it up on a raft from Dawson soon.”

“That’s fine. We can help with the sluice boxor whatever you have set up so far.” Kali glanced around. Thoughshe and Cedar had passed numerous claims with such equipment, shehad not noticed any on Sebastian’s land. Maybe she had missed it inthe darkness.

“Good. We have lots to set up,” Sebastiansaid. “We’ve barely got the tents pitched.”

“Is there room for us in one?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he said in a tone that assured hewas not. “They’re already claimed. You can bed down over there.” Hesmiled and pointed to rocky ground near the fire.

“Thanks,” Kali said, glad the air did notsmell of rain.

The men watched Cedar as he moved fartheraway from the fire than Sebastian had indicated. He ignored them.Well, Kali doubted that, but he acted as if he was ignoringthem. The way nobody introduced themselves struck her as odd, butthe gunfire greeting had probably set the men on edge. Thus far,the night did not hint of future friendships, so she hoped Cedarcould complete his business with John Wilder within a day ortwo.

She laid down her gear and, under the guiseof performing her nightly ablutions, checked the two smoke