The Devil's Backbone

Chapter 18: Scarlet Retribution

        The night was cool, but not cold. It was starry out and the moon was waning away into nothing. The  wind caressed Violet's fair skin as she stood out on the balcony of Shanssey's Saloon and watched the sky. The embers of dusk were still glowing faintly on the horizon, quickly growing more and more dim until the last pinpricks of sunlight were extinguished by the night. 

        The tiny pearls of light millions of miles away in the sky reflected softly in her glassy eyes. She took a drag from her cigarette and let the smoke out with a long sigh. Doc was downstairs playing poker and drinking as he always was. It wasn't good for him, not at all... Violet had been thinking up a plan to get him to stop this toxic lifestyle that he'd grown so accustomed to but he was as hard headed as she was and not easily swayed by words. 

        There was a tiny metallic click behind her. It was soft and would have gone unheard by most but Violet was quite attuned to the sounds around her, especially when she had the suspicious feeling that someone was out for her blood. 

        Violet whirled around and pointed one of her pistols at the offending figure in the darkness. The woman who had been behind her seemed to be shocked that Violet was that fast. 

        "Oh my dear, who do you think taught Doc?" She gave her pistol a twirl and smirked at the woman. 

        "Well you won't be around much longer to cloud his mind." Came that same familiar voice with the slight Hungarian lilt to it. Kate stepped out into the dim light with her gun drawn as well. Her red hair was up in pincurls and she was wearing a showy scarlet dress. 

        "Why don't you put that gun down before you get hurt?" Violet's eyes were glued to Kate, forsaken to all other possible distractions including the loud guffaws of the men downstairs. 

        "This ends tonight." She heard Kate whisper before her gun was kicked from her hands. Violet quickly wrestled Kate's own gun away as well. Kate struck Violet hard, sending her to the ground. Violet let out a guttural grunt as the whind was knocked out of her from a sharp kick to her side. 

        Violet tried to reach for the gun that was a few feet away from her but Kate kicked it away. Violet quickly used her feet to sweep Kate down and took the chance to get up herself. Kate grabbed Violet by her bodice and Violet grabbed Kate by her hair, trying to send her over the edge of the balcony. 

        Consequently the railing broke and both women fell down to the dirt road in front of the saloon. Violet had her hands wrapped tightly around Kate's neck with a wild look in her eyes. 

        "You can't have him... You won't..." She seethed through gritted teeth. Kate struggled and clawed against Violet's hold for a moment or two because her strength began to wane and Kate's hands fell away. She went limp, no longer breathing and without a pulse. 

        Violet watched the light leave Kate's eyes and wiped the blood from her mouth. Violet's hands fell to her sides as she straddled the body, looking down at it. People gathered around her. A few women gasped in shock and there was some hushed murmuring. 

        She felt a pair of firm hands grab her up and hold her close. She knew it was Doc by the scent of tobacco mixed with alcohol and a light hint of the cologne he'd been using. Violet looked around at all the people, coming to her senses somewhat. 

        "It was in self defense. She tried to shoot me!" Violet shouted out at the crowd. In the end, she knew that no action would be taken against her considering this woman was just a common harlot with little to no standing in the town. Nobody cared about her death and therefore nobody would do anything about it. That was how things ran in the west. Laws were trivial.

        Sure, Violet had seen many people die but not by her hand... never by her hand. She'd seen Doc kill many a time but had never pulled the trigger herself. Who was she to end a life? All Violet wanted was for Kate to stop her pining over Doc. 

        The world seemed to blur around her as Doc led her back to the hotel room, leaving the body and all the people in the crowd behind her. She was bloodied and bruised. A large purple patch was forming on her cheekbone and her nose was bleeding. None of her teeth had been knocked out but she was bleeding from having bitten her tongue. 

        Doc sat Violet down on the bed and wet a washcloth in the washbasin and wrung it out. He gently pressed it against her face to clean the blood and dirt from her. She winced slightly at the stinging sensation. 

        "I couldn't..." Violet whispered. Doc's hand lowered from her face. 

        "Pardon? ...Couldn't what, Violet?" He asked with concern in his voice.

        "I couldn't let her take you from me..." A few tears streamed down her face as she sat there. Doc watched her for a moment before laughing a little bit. He took her hand in his and ran his thumb over her bloodied knuckles. 

        "I don't believe I'm goin' anywhere, darlin'. Not for a long time."