If you have been following the Busted Gulch story here at the Storytellers Saloon then you know Ruechari has been selected for a special destiny...yet to be revealed. Having grown up in the KitKat Nation. Chief DamagedGoods was the only father she h...
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Billy was torn. Stay and make sure the undertaker buried Reaper six feet under or follow Rue who most likely has more trouble heading her way than even she realizes. On second thought the decision was quite easy.
He whistled for his horse and jumped into the saddle and rode out of town.
Billy knew something big was brewing. Evil has been running amuck. He has been excessively busy lately putting right the wrongs but until he had seen Ruechari ride into town he had just chalked it up to the changes in the world. Now he knew better.
With Shari gone and this girl being way too young to be her daughter that would explain everything. The west has been left without a Shaman and so is out of balance. Evil has been gaining ground. The dark man, Reaper was his name, was just a lackey, albeit a powerful one, but there was something even greater lurking.
If Billy was being honest with himself he felt the shift but wasn't all that worried until now.
He found her tracks. It would seem she was headed into the crystal caverns. At least he knew she was smart. A person who did not know those caves could get lost in them and never find their way out, but those caves were part of the Kittana Kittari lands and if she grew up with the tribe she would know them like one would their own backyard.
He was impressed by the how far she had gotten in such a short stretch of time, she must be on a pretty fast horse to cover so much ground.
He wandered in and out of the crystal caverns until after a few hours he finally came upon her. She was asleep. Odd for the middle of the afternoon but perhaps riding with someone who really doesn't need sleep, he kept her up and moving when she should have rested.
He undid his bedroll and blanket and took the latter and placed it over her. That's when he had seen the markings on her face. She really was the new Shari, the Shaman of the West, but she appeared so inept. She actually tried physically stopping Reaper from shooting him in the head.
Billy had to chuckle just thinking about it. However, her timing was perfect, as even though he had been waiting in the saloon for Reaper to show up, he wasn't exactly expecting him to just walk over and lift him forcibly out of his chair.
He used to people wanting to banter with him first, tell him how great they are and go on and on about what they were going to do to him first.
Reaper was not in a mood to play.
However, with Ruechari's distraction, Billy managed to pull out his own pistol and then it had been a standoff. True neither of them could really die but it still would have hurt a whole lot if he were shot in the head, which was why he had done it to Reaper at the shoot out on Main St.
He knew the only way he would slow Reaper down was to do as much damage as possible.
Hopefully, the undertaker had taken his advice and buried the Reaper deep.
Ruechari stirred and his thoughts were brought back to her. Well, her and that kiss. Okay, he knew he shamelessly exploited her powers for his own needs but that little power boost was what gave him an edge over Reaper in the gunfight, without it he may have lost, with it there was no chance of him losing.
She has an enormous amount of power within her but it was so obvious she doesn't know what to do with it and that can be a real problem.
If the big baddies out there get wind that she is not in the know they would be gunning for her. If she is killed before she has a chance to pass the gift to another then there would be no one left to keep evil from growing and taking over the entire West.
She appeared to be no older then he and the innocence in that kiss spoke volumes. She has been with no man and the chance of her passing her gift to a child, well that was most definitely not in the cards.
If she dies, evil would become so powerful that they could, in theory, amass an army and keep on moving, until the good guys would have nowhere to hide. Billy knew he could not let that happen. He had to protect her.
She stirred again and seemed restless. Not surprising. Billy could not imagine what she has been through. Especially being the riding partner of the dark man.
Her thrashing about became more violent and Billy moved over to grab hold of her. Try as he might he could not wake her. Whatever it was that had a hold on her was not letting her go.
Ruechari's mind was once again thrown into the past. She was among the KitKit Nation. She recognized the markings on the blankets and teepees, but none of the faces were familiar, except one.
"Boni, come here."
Ruechari felt once again that she traveled in someone else's footsteps. It was the Chief that called her over. He looked older, more worn and concerned.
She stood before him but she did not feel the love that Ruechari had always felt for the man she thought of as her father. Instead, there was restlessness, an extreme feeling of wanting to getaway.
He was frowning at her again. "Things are getting out of hand. We need to move the tribe again."
Ruechari felt the blame in his words like she was single-handedly responsible for every bad thing that happened in this world. Boni was sick of it. She wanted out.
"The Skinwalkers are killing off more than they need. There is not enough bison to get us through till next winter. My hand has been forced into trade."
The Chief motioned for someone to approach.
"The Apache want whiskey in order to supply us with food throughout the winter. This man can get it for us but in exchange for our liquor."
Just then Ruechari seen a familiar face although younger and without a beard, there was no denying the resemblance. Carob Bob came to stand behind her father. Ruechari felt a feeling of excitement course through Boni's veins.
