Page 18

Chapter Thirteen

T he next morning, just as the sun was beginning to appear in the sky, Zeke secured his bedroll to his horse.

Maybe Blaze trusted Faye, but he still wasn’t sure about her.

A woman, being the weaker sex, ought to need a little protecting.

It was odd that Faye was too adept at handling a gun and a knife.

It made him think that Wilson had trained her so she could work with him.

After all, who would suspect a woman of foul play?

But, he supposed if it turned out that Faye was a threat, Blaze would be able to deal with it.

Blaze could deal with anything. As quick as Faye was, she wasn’t a match for Blaze.

She came close, though. And that was why Zeke felt it best to wake up before she did.

Faye had decided to join them outside while they slept.

He wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to do that.

Perhaps she didn’t fully trust them any more than he trusted her.

Whatever the reason, her eyes were closed at the moment, and she had a blanket tucked up around herself to keep warm.

That meant he didn’t have to be on his guard.

Since he had some time to himself, he retrieved his canteen and a couple of newspapers.

Then he went to a spot where he could get comfortable on the ground.

Yes, he’d read through these already, but it never hurt to go over articles again, especially when they were heading into an area known for encounters with the Red Ghost. But, before he turned his attention to the papers, he thought he’d take time to enjoy the sunrise.

People who slept past a sunrise missed out on the most beautiful part of the day, and that was a real shame.

Come to think of it, Blaze not giving Bernadette that necklace was a shame, too.

With a shake of his head, he took a drink of water from the canteen and watched as the sun came up over the horizon.

No matter the day or time of year, sunrises never failed to satisfy.

He’d seen a couple of paintings where an artist tried to capture the true glory of a sunrise, but they all failed.

No one could properly display this kind of beauty.

One had to see the original in order to fully appreciate it, and the amazing thing about sunrises was that they were never the same.

Once there was enough light to read, he picked up the first newspaper on the stack and went to the article on the front page.

“Red Ghost Terrorizes Sheep.” This one took place just a few miles east of Quartzsite.

A rancher was sleeping when he heard a disturbance.

His dog was barking, and the sheep were bleating.

He grabbed his gun and ran out of the house.

He narrowly missed being charged by a large red creature that was red with blood.

He dropped the gun and ran back into his house until daybreak.

When he woke up the next morning, half of his flock was dead, and the ground was covered with blood.

He pulled out another newspaper, but he had to turn to the second page to find the article he was looking for.

The first page had an article about some special local election in Prescott, and the second article was about how the area was drier than it had been in previous years.

Zeke’s gaze went to the article he was searching for.

“Man Missing for Month Saw Red Ghost.” The local man of Prescott claimed he had been on his way southwest when he got caught in a dust storm.

Out of the storm came a fierce beast bellowing and roaring at him.

The man said he barely made it away from the beast alive, and based on the description he gave the reporter, the newspaper editor concluded the beast had to be the Red Ghost. Unfortunately, it didn’t go into detail about what the Red Ghost looked like because there wasn’t enough space in the article.

But then, Zeke supposed the editor of the paper figured everyone in the area knew what the monster looked like.

The third paper had two articles about the Red Ghost. One was about a ten-year-old girl spotting the Red Ghost a mile from her family’s home when she was getting water from the well.

This one did go into detail about how the monster looked.

It was a good seven feet with glowing red eyes.

It had reddish-brown fur that was glistening with something wet on it.

It ran across the desert on all four legs like a horse.

It had a horn sticking up in the middle of its back, and there was a man riding it.

The man had a sword in his hand and was yelling for death.

She didn’t get a close look at the man, though.

She only got a good look at the Red Ghost, and given how frightening that was, Zeke figured she did a good job of conjuring up the memory later when the reporter came to interview her.

If Blaze thought this thing was a simple camel just going through Arizona, he was mistaken.

There was no way a single camel could create this much destruction.

The second article was about the Red Ghost ramming through a couple’s home, but Zeke only read the first sentence when he heard someone moving in the camp.

He set the paper down and looked over at the group.

Bernadette was going to the outhouse. He made sure Faye was still sleeping before he turned his attention back to the paper.

Zeke finished the article, noting that the couple reported a slightly different account of the Red Ghost’s appearance.

They described it as being larger than a horse and stronger than a bull.

They did mention that something in the shape of a man was on its back, but they didn’t get a close enough look to see if the thing was human.

They also said it looked red in the glow of their fireplace.

“We ran as soon as it barged through our home. We’re just glad to still be alive,” the man told the reporter.

The wife didn’t have anything to add to that statement.

Zeke had to admit the girl’s account was far more fantastical than the couple’s. He wasn’t sure which one to believe. Was it more like an animal than a monster? The only way to know was to see the thing himself. But did he really want to do that?

“You’re always up before everyone else.”

He jerked and turned in time to see Bernadette sitting next to him.

How was it that he hadn’t heard her approach?

He glanced over at the camp and saw that the others were still asleep.

The last thing he wanted was for Blaze to realize how quickly he’d put his guard down.

It was important he had a hand in apprehending Lee and Wilson.

No one back home would credit him for getting Bower and his gang.

All the glory for that went to Blaze. He needed to succeed this time.

Then when his uncle made him sheriff one day, the town would accept it.

“I thought you read all of those papers already,” Bernadette continued as she spread her skirt out in front of her on the ground so that her legs were properly covered.

Zeke had caught a glimpse of her calf but tried not to think about it. She was for Blaze. He had to keep that in mind.

“Do you think one of those articles will change if you read it enough?” she asked.

Amused at the teasing tone in her voice, he grinned. “It would be fun if it did, wouldn’t it?”

“If a paper could do that, it would be fun to read.”

“You don’t enjoy reading the newspaper?” he asked.

She shook her head. “They’re boring. I prefer to read a book.

And not the books about things that have really happened or about famous people’s lives.

Those are the kinds of books my brother likes to read.

I prefer to read about people and events that could never happen.

I like to use my imagination. My favorite book is Alice in Wonderland . Have you read it?”

“No. I didn’t even know such a book existed. What is it about?”

“A girl named Alice chases a rabbit down through a hole until she ends up in an enchanted place where she can grow really big or get really small and where animals can talk. All sorts of strange things happen to her.”

He was surprised she wasn’t interested in reading the newspapers to find out about the Red Ghost since she enjoyed fanciful works.

Instead of voicing the thought, he said, “I like to read newspapers because I want to know what’s happening in Arizona so I can help keep it safe.

I will admit that the Red Ghost tickles the imagination.

Not in a good way, of course. No one wants to see people and animals die or get injured from something roaming in the desert.

However, if I were to write a book, I’d use the Red Ghost somewhere in the course of the story. ”

“What would this thing do?” she asked.

“It would go around creating mayhem like this one does, but I’d make it more of a monster.

Maybe it would be something out of a myth.

When I was a child, my ma had this book of myths with these unusual creatures like centaurs and mermaids.

There would always be some hero who had to save innocent people from them. I would write something like that.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Those stories sound like something I’d enjoy. Do you write?”

“Heck no. I don’t have the time. I have made up some stories, and have told them to a few kids in town. I don’t scare them with any of them though. Their parents wouldn’t like that.”

“Would you scare your own kids with your stories?”