A Legend From The Shadows

Back Home, Finally

I still feel weak but I was ready to make the ride back home, I thought it would take two days, but with the new power, I made it within a night. I knew that she had been doing my contracts and still staying at the ranch, but I'm not sure if she will be there when I walk in the door. I opened the door and walked in, she was laying on my couch. I walked up and kissed her forehead, glad to see her again. I haven't known her long, but after what she did for me, I could at least keep her around. I decided it was time to go and finish my fence. 

Took me all day working at a steady pace to get it done, not that I couldn't go faster but I wanted to waste some time. I'd say it's about 8 she finally came walking down to see me. She ran up and gave me a hug saying that she wondered where I had been. I explained everything to her and told her about the ritual, I told her how big of a chance it was if I got caught and she promised to keep it a secret. 

Then the sky went dark and the devil showed up, he delivered a new contract as usual and left. It was a family this time, a couple and two kids. I know that I couldn't turn it down so I accepted. We rode out in the middle of the night since it was only a couple hour ride. This would be a good chance to test my abilities, instead of my single peacemaker, I have two now. I know that keeping the gun from the rider is a risk but he wouldn't need it again, and it isn't like riders have had more than one gun before. 

We had talked the whole ride down and decided we wouldn't walk in the house and shoot the children. I could feel the power growing inside me and had a new idea. When we arrived it was time to unleash a new power, this time the shadows took form and slaughtered everyone in the house in seconds. Their screams were loud enough to hear about 60 yards away. Then we seen a relative of the family in the distance who could hear the screams, he was apparently on his way to visit. He tried to run and a black flame emerged and engulfed him. The fire came from my body but I didn't fully control it. The darkness in me was growing and if I don't get control soon then it will take over. 

The new darkness kept calling to me. The shadow riders soul wanted to take over, he wanted to kill her and take her power. So I started running until I get control over it isn't safe around her. I can hear her yelling after me and I simply said back not to follow. The lore on the ritual mentioned that the host might lose control, then a page was missing. I need that page, or to find someone that knows how I can keep control over my power. 

My first stop will be the grave of the white rider, I'm about two hours from it. Hopefully, he had something buried with him that might help me. Stealing a shovel wasn't hard seeing as how the grave keeper had passed a while ago, so I just took the shovel and started digging as fast as I could. He was buried with a key. Great, a puzzle to fix things, and he might not have even kept it.