"Jed, you can't go," Carey pulled at his arm.
"They want me, not you. I have to go," he pulled away.
The two were hiding behind the bar of a local tavern. Percy Montgomery and his cultists had chased them back to town. Carey had only wanted a closer look at the man, was it her brother? She didn't get that look but when he rushed through the crowd to free her, she knew it was him. She couldn't help but look in his eyes and wonder what he had seen to make him stay.
"No, we're in this together," Carey assured him.
"So what? We just hide in here and hope nobody comes?"
"No, we wait for the lawman and his posse to show up," Carey didn't like waiting for anyone, but she would.
"You can not run from god boy. Do you know the story of Jonah and the whale," Montgomery shouted to the quickly emptying streets. "God called Jonah, and Jonah ignored him. Refused to go do as God said. God sent a fish to swallow and torment Jonah. But, Jonah did what he was told," a pause as Montgomery began to send men into the buildings. "Now, I don't know why you rode off with some harlot. But, I'm going to torment you, and bring you back to God, where you belong."
Carey and Jedediah had long since found a back exit to the bar before the cultists could make it inside. They watched from the streets as people ran in fear. The lawman finally arrived, but he didn't bring a posse with him. He walked close to speak to Montgomery, hopefully sort things out. Jedediah looked away, and shielded Carey's now adult eyes, as he did when they were children.
"I can't see," Carey tried to pry her brother's arm from her face.
"You don't want to see."
"Yes, I do."
She stopped struggling as the she heard the man's scream. The lawman had been murdered in cold blood, stabbed in his heart by Percy Montgomery who had no fear of repercussions. Jedediah knew what Carey didn't. Montgomery was a man obsessed, and would do anything to reach his goals.
"I'm sorry about this," Jedidiah said.
"You haven't done anything," Carey said refusing his apology.
"For this," Jedediah tossed Carey to the side and snatched his gun from her belt.
"NO," she screamed as he walked out into the open.
"There you are my boy," Percy stretched his arms out, bloody knife still in his hands.
Jedediah didn't mix words with Montgomery, and why should he? He knew what Montgomery was capable of. Jedediah pulled the gun from behind him and shot Montgomery between the eyes. Jedediah could always shoot. He just needed something, or someone, he wanted to protect. When the time arose, he knew where to aim.
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Didn't expect this to be a series.
