Damiynn
Fantasy Author
Chapter 1
I didn't really need my gun but I still pushed back the edge of my long knitted coat revealing the cross draw rig slung cavalry style on my left hip. My pistol's worn wooden grip glinted under the light of the street lamp. I hoped I wouldn’t need it, I knew the man who lived in the ramshackle house.
This side of Denver was not as rich as some parts of the large city, but it also wasn’t out on the frontier. Denver was not a backwater hole in the wall. Where he was, was supposed to be one of the calmer sections. It even had lights.
I didn’t want to have to listen to my boss chewing my ass out again about drawing my weapon around the good citizens when I didn't have to. His gruff speech suddenly filled my head.
“Discretion Marshal Mollon, this isn’t Dodge City or Deadwood. Denver is a modern city. It doesn’t require gunfights on the streets or magical duels at the slightest provocation. We are supposed to be civilized human beings. City folks like to hear or read about gunfights, not participate in them.”
Coughing slightly, I let the two hunkered down local lawmen who had drawn my attention from across the street know I was behind them. Their heads whipped about sharply at the sound but I saw them relax immediately when I they saw the silver star pinned to the outside of my coat. With a friendly gesture I thumbed back the brim of my hat.
“Gentlemen, can I help in any way, I know the man who lives there.”
The two local lawmen motioned me over. The older and more seasoned of the pair said, “Maybe Marshal. The man inside that house killed a man in a drunken brawl and cut four others within a few inches of their lives with a rune marked blade that won't let the wounds heal properly. All we want to do is bring him in for questioning.”
My eyes left the older man’s and moved to the younger one. Judging by the look of rage on his face and the death grip he had on the handle of his pistol, questioning looked like the last thing on his mind.
In as neutral tone a tone as I could manage, I said, “How about you let me take a try at talking to him, I know the man who lives there, we have a relationship that goes back several years. I might be able to get him to come out and surrender before your partner does something unlawful like filling him full of holes.”
The older lawman snapped his gaze around towards his partner and at seeing the gun in his fist, gave him a disapproving look. Shaking his head reproachfully, he said, “Whatever works Marshall, we just need to get to the bottom of this and find out what really happened.”
Nodding, I called out in a friendly tone, “Minor,” I paused for a moment hoping that he would recognize my voice. “This isn’t worth the fight you’re going to get if you keep this up. These lawmen out here don't have all the details yet about what happened and I would rather not see you ending up dead for something that might not have been your fault. How bout you toss out your weapon and surrender yourself into my custody. You can tell me your side of what happened and what you did? You know I will see that you are treated fairly.”
No sounds came forth from the old house. Unlike the others on this block which were well kept and neat, Minor's house looked like it had fallen into disrepair and had seen better days.
Just as I was about to call out again, a heavy clanking filled the air. It was followed by a rattle that sounded like someone tripping over a potbellied stove and had knocked something off it.
“Is that you M..Marshal Mollon?” called out a slurred voice near one of the broken window panes. “I should not have to go anywhere, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
I shook my head in exasperation, hearing his drunken words. I had warned Minor before that someday his drinking was going to get him into trouble and that he had to get a better handle on his grief.
“Them men’s in that saloon Marshal, they had it coming. They needed someone to shut their mouths, they were speaking bad to the ladies and the one I stopped was abusing a squaw in a way that he should not have been doing.”
Immediately, before I could stop it, I felt my temper flare up in a flash of heat and it spread throughout my body at Minor’s statement but I quickly squashed it. My personal feelings had no place here, not right now. As jovially as I could manage I turned to the two local lawmen. “He claims he did nothing wrong gentlemen and from what I just heard I am not sure if he did.”
The second lawman’s eyes glowed hotly and his fingers tightened even more around the grip of his pistol. I wondered if the man who had been killed or his companions were acquaintances of his.
“Who cares about a damn squaw and what happens to one of them. He killed a white man over a damned injun,” growled the second lawman angrily. “He did it with magic Marshal. Turned him to ash with an electrical glyph and now he’s refusing to lower his defenses so that we can arrest him. It ain’t right him defying the law that way or killing anyone over a damn injun.”
The first lawman, being the more observant of the pair had seen what his partner had not in the light from the overhead street lamp and gave him a rather pointed look of warning. Obviously, he had not looked too closely at me.
Coughing embarrassingly the older said rather pointedly, “And all of the witnesses said that he used that glyph in self-defense Officer Payton.” The second cop grunted, then seeing the look on his partner’s face he looked up into my face for the first time and a look of recognition filled his eyes. All of the blood fled his face as he realized who I was.
Something dangerous must have flickered in my eyes because he immediately skittered a few steps backwards and his hand dropped quickly and he holstered his pistol.
Most of the people in these parts knew me by sight. Everyone knew me by reputation and all who did knew I was a halfblood. Half irish and half souix. I also had a reputation that said that I was deadly with a gun or with magic. Folks said that I would go out of my way to protect Indians just as fast as whites.
The blood continued draining out of the second lawman’s face until he was white as a bedsheet. Seeing that I wasn’t going to shoot him, he slowly, almost deliberately and rather shakily slid his hand back away from the holster at his side. As he turned his face away from mine I saw that he swallowed noticeably.
Keeping a tight grip on my temper at the mention of a squaw being assaulted and it not meaning anything, I let out a long breath and counted to four. As my anger faded, I removed my hand from my gun, I didn’t even remember putting it there.
Focusing my attention again back towards the beaten down house I called out again, “Minor, one of these fine lawmen out here says you might be innocent, the other one, he says you aren’t and that people should be allowed to abuse women any way that they want to just because of their heritage. Why don’t I come on up there and we’ll talk about it, all gentlemanly like? We can determine together who is right and who is wrong.”
“I don’t know, Kailen, I mean Marshal..”
I turned again to the more sensible of the local lawmen. “You said you had witnesses?”
“Yes, Marshal and they said he did nothing wrong and that he was protecting that squaw and the other women from those men. A few said that he was provoked into defending himself by the five of them.”
Turning again to the beaten down house I shouted, “I believe we should, Minor. I need to hear your side of this. One officer here believes the witnesses. I want to be able to convince the second one before he shoots you or puts you in front of a magical killing squad. Don't shoot, I’m coming up.”
I didn't really need my gun but I still pushed back the edge of my long knitted coat revealing the cross draw rig slung cavalry style on my left hip. My pistol's worn wooden grip glinted under the light of the street lamp. I hoped I wouldn’t need it, I knew the man who lived in the ramshackle house.
This side of Denver was not as rich as some parts of the large city, but it also wasn’t out on the frontier. Denver was not a backwater hole in the wall. Where he was, was supposed to be one of the calmer sections. It even had lights.
I didn’t want to have to listen to my boss chewing my ass out again about drawing my weapon around the good citizens when I didn't have to. His gruff speech suddenly filled my head.
“Discretion Marshal Mollon, this isn’t Dodge City or Deadwood. Denver is a modern city. It doesn’t require gunfights on the streets or magical duels at the slightest provocation. We are supposed to be civilized human beings. City folks like to hear or read about gunfights, not participate in them.”
Coughing slightly, I let the two hunkered down local lawmen who had drawn my attention from across the street know I was behind them. Their heads whipped about sharply at the sound but I saw them relax immediately when I they saw the silver star pinned to the outside of my coat. With a friendly gesture I thumbed back the brim of my hat.
“Gentlemen, can I help in any way, I know the man who lives there.”
The two local lawmen motioned me over. The older and more seasoned of the pair said, “Maybe Marshal. The man inside that house killed a man in a drunken brawl and cut four others within a few inches of their lives with a rune marked blade that won't let the wounds heal properly. All we want to do is bring him in for questioning.”
My eyes left the older man’s and moved to the younger one. Judging by the look of rage on his face and the death grip he had on the handle of his pistol, questioning looked like the last thing on his mind.
In as neutral tone a tone as I could manage, I said, “How about you let me take a try at talking to him, I know the man who lives there, we have a relationship that goes back several years. I might be able to get him to come out and surrender before your partner does something unlawful like filling him full of holes.”
The older lawman snapped his gaze around towards his partner and at seeing the gun in his fist, gave him a disapproving look. Shaking his head reproachfully, he said, “Whatever works Marshall, we just need to get to the bottom of this and find out what really happened.”
Nodding, I called out in a friendly tone, “Minor,” I paused for a moment hoping that he would recognize my voice. “This isn’t worth the fight you’re going to get if you keep this up. These lawmen out here don't have all the details yet about what happened and I would rather not see you ending up dead for something that might not have been your fault. How bout you toss out your weapon and surrender yourself into my custody. You can tell me your side of what happened and what you did? You know I will see that you are treated fairly.”
No sounds came forth from the old house. Unlike the others on this block which were well kept and neat, Minor's house looked like it had fallen into disrepair and had seen better days.
Just as I was about to call out again, a heavy clanking filled the air. It was followed by a rattle that sounded like someone tripping over a potbellied stove and had knocked something off it.
“Is that you M..Marshal Mollon?” called out a slurred voice near one of the broken window panes. “I should not have to go anywhere, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
I shook my head in exasperation, hearing his drunken words. I had warned Minor before that someday his drinking was going to get him into trouble and that he had to get a better handle on his grief.
“Them men’s in that saloon Marshal, they had it coming. They needed someone to shut their mouths, they were speaking bad to the ladies and the one I stopped was abusing a squaw in a way that he should not have been doing.”
Immediately, before I could stop it, I felt my temper flare up in a flash of heat and it spread throughout my body at Minor’s statement but I quickly squashed it. My personal feelings had no place here, not right now. As jovially as I could manage I turned to the two local lawmen. “He claims he did nothing wrong gentlemen and from what I just heard I am not sure if he did.”
The second lawman’s eyes glowed hotly and his fingers tightened even more around the grip of his pistol. I wondered if the man who had been killed or his companions were acquaintances of his.
“Who cares about a damn squaw and what happens to one of them. He killed a white man over a damned injun,” growled the second lawman angrily. “He did it with magic Marshal. Turned him to ash with an electrical glyph and now he’s refusing to lower his defenses so that we can arrest him. It ain’t right him defying the law that way or killing anyone over a damn injun.”
The first lawman, being the more observant of the pair had seen what his partner had not in the light from the overhead street lamp and gave him a rather pointed look of warning. Obviously, he had not looked too closely at me.
Coughing embarrassingly the older said rather pointedly, “And all of the witnesses said that he used that glyph in self-defense Officer Payton.” The second cop grunted, then seeing the look on his partner’s face he looked up into my face for the first time and a look of recognition filled his eyes. All of the blood fled his face as he realized who I was.
Something dangerous must have flickered in my eyes because he immediately skittered a few steps backwards and his hand dropped quickly and he holstered his pistol.
Most of the people in these parts knew me by sight. Everyone knew me by reputation and all who did knew I was a halfblood. Half irish and half souix. I also had a reputation that said that I was deadly with a gun or with magic. Folks said that I would go out of my way to protect Indians just as fast as whites.
The blood continued draining out of the second lawman’s face until he was white as a bedsheet. Seeing that I wasn’t going to shoot him, he slowly, almost deliberately and rather shakily slid his hand back away from the holster at his side. As he turned his face away from mine I saw that he swallowed noticeably.
Keeping a tight grip on my temper at the mention of a squaw being assaulted and it not meaning anything, I let out a long breath and counted to four. As my anger faded, I removed my hand from my gun, I didn’t even remember putting it there.
Focusing my attention again back towards the beaten down house I called out again, “Minor, one of these fine lawmen out here says you might be innocent, the other one, he says you aren’t and that people should be allowed to abuse women any way that they want to just because of their heritage. Why don’t I come on up there and we’ll talk about it, all gentlemanly like? We can determine together who is right and who is wrong.”
“I don’t know, Kailen, I mean Marshal..”
I turned again to the more sensible of the local lawmen. “You said you had witnesses?”
“Yes, Marshal and they said he did nothing wrong and that he was protecting that squaw and the other women from those men. A few said that he was provoked into defending himself by the five of them.”
Turning again to the beaten down house I shouted, “I believe we should, Minor. I need to hear your side of this. One officer here believes the witnesses. I want to be able to convince the second one before he shoots you or puts you in front of a magical killing squad. Don't shoot, I’m coming up.”
