James Axler – Demons of Eden

The big man turned to Autry and spoke quickly in Lakota. Autry’s face registered surprise. “Says he knows of all of you,” he told them. “Claims his chief met you, and that you’re mighty warriors.”

Ryan and J.B. had met a number of tribesmen during their years with Trader. “Who’s his chief?” J.B. asked.

Autry asked Little Mountain the question. After the Sioux had replied, he translated, “Yutan-kin-Mahipiya. Never heard of him.”

Little Mountain’s eyes shone with agitation. He spun on one deerskin-shod heel and made for the door. Autry called after him in Lakota, but the man either didn’t hear him or didn’t care to respond.

“I told him to watch out for the Cadre,” Autry explained. “Guess he’s not worried.”

“Maybe he’s not,” Mildred said, “but I am. Will the Cadre bottle up the pass? Are they that vengeful?”

Autry shrugged. “Hatchet Jack has that reputation. All of you are free to enjoy our hospitality for as long as you care to do so. I’ll find you comfortable quarters.”

Ryan wasn’t sure if the calm the man exhibited in the face of the Cadre’s presence was admirable, foolish or forced. “What’s the population of Amicus?” he asked.

“It shifts with the seasons. We’re at our most crowded when the buffalo hunters follow the herds, but it’s too early for that. Right at the moment, we probably have a hundred permanent residents.”

“Out of that number, how many are of fighting age?”

Autry frowned. “Hard to say. My best guess would be around thirty, maybe forty.”

“And blasters,” J.B. put in. “How many in town and what type?”

“What’s the point of these questions?” Autry demanded impatiently.

“The point,” Ryan answered, “is that a pack of blood-drunk coldhearts is camping outside your burg. I’m not sure of their arsenal, but they have at least one gren launcher. If it comes down to a face-off, we need to know what you can throw against them.”

“Muzzle loaders, primarily,” Autry admitted. “Old man Hasslich is our gunsmith, makes gunpowder, bullets and so forth. He may know if there are more advanced blasters in town. Personally I was never interested enough to make an inventory.”

“If I were you,” J.B. said grimly, “I’d get interested quick.”

Autry paused for a moment, then asked, “Do you think they’ll attack us to get at you?”

Micah snorted out a derisive laugh. “Hell, yes, if Hatchet Jack has a mind that these folks owe him a blood debt!”

Jak’s eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “How come you know about him?”

Micah looked over at Autry, who cleared his throat uncomfortably. He said, “For a few years, the Cadre used Amicus as a sort of winter camp. They behaved pretty well while they were here, but one day they raided the wrong Cheyenne village. The warriors tracked them down, waited in ambush outside the pass and chilled damn near half of them. Hatchet Jack blamed me for not warning him, for setting him up.”

“And were you innocent of blame?” Doc inquired.

Autry sighed and shook his head. “No. It was politics, you see. Amicus relies too heavily on the goodwill of the Cheyenne. If we alienated them, we would have alienated the Sioux, the Arapaho and the Crow, as well. Not only would the trade with them have ended, they would’ve razed the town to make it useless to the Cadre as a base. I had no choice but to cooperate with the ambush.”

J.B. smiled without mirth. “Sounds like the Red Cadre owes Amicus more of a blood debt than us.”

“Too true. And Hatchet Jack may use you six as the reason he needs to finally collect. Two debts collected for the price of one.”

“Unless,” Krysty said, “you made a preemptive strike, as long as they’re so handy.”

Autry wagged his head in a vehement, vigorous negative. “That’s not our way. Not our way at all. Amicus came together ten years ago as an experiment in communal, cooperative living. If we start chilling people we disagree with, we’ll be no different than any other frontier ville.”

“Admirable ideals, Mr. Autry,” Doc said. “However, judging by what you just told us, more honored in the breach. You allowed the local Indian tribes to solve your pirate problem.”