Only 06 - Winter Fire

cat—on his belly. Using the insides of his feet, his elbows, and the sheer power of his body, he wriggled forward.
    Never once did he raise his head above the level of the brush and rubble surrounding him. His dusty clothes and skin blended perfectly with the landscape.
    Sarah had to squint to be certain that it was Case shewas watching, rather than shadows cast by wind-stirred brush.
    No wonder he’s such a good hunter , she thought. He can sneak close enough to reach out and grab the game by the throat .
    Case vanished.
    A chill went over her. She blinked and blinked again. She saw nothing.
    He was gone as completely as a flame blown out.
    At that instant she understood with chilling certainty how he had survived the night when three attackers hadn’t.
    Yet despite his unnerving skill on the stalk, he had come very close to dying out there in the night. Some of the men he was stalking were as expert as he was.
    Sweat gathered coldly in the small of her back. Part of her fear was for Case. Part of it was for herself. She didn’t like the idea of a shadow creeping up on her and killing her before she even had a chance to scream.
    Very slowly she inched the six-gun up along her side until she could sight over its barrel. The gun was too heavy for her to hold in place for long. Blindly she felt around for pieces of stone. When she had enough, she built a small mound for the barrel of the pistol to rest on. Sighting over it, she watched the land.
    And she waited.
    A rifle shot split the silence. Instantly there was return fire from the direction in which Case had vanished. Bullets screamed off rock and ricocheted through the narrow canyon.
    Even as Sarah flinched, she lined up the barrel of the six-gun with the lower part of the canyon and prayed that Case wasn’t hurt.
    The sound of a running horse came up the canyon. The stone walls of the canyon caused each hoofbeat to echo and reecho, overlapping the sounds, making it impossible for her to be certain where the horse was.
    Abruptly Case’s head and rifle showed for an instant over the brush. He fired, levered in another bullet, fired and levered and fired again. The bullets were so closely spaced they sounded like a single burst of thunder.
    The sound of the running horse slowed and then faded into silence.
    Bullets screamed from a different direction.
    She waited, but Case didn’t return the fire.
    It was the same as the night the raiders had attacked. Waiting and listening with her heart beating like a captive bird and terror lying cold in her belly.
    Is he hurt? she thought fearfully.
    Lying there waiting and worrying and wondering was against her nature. She itched to go out and check on Case. There was no Conner to sit on her and make her endure not knowing.
    Yet she didn’t move.
    She had given Case her word that she would stay where she was.
    He wouldn’t be expecting to find her crawling around out there. If he was alive, she didn’t want to distract him. If he was dead, she didn’t want to give away her position. If he was hurt…
    The thought was unbearable.
    Holding the six-gun steady, she bit her lip and prayed that Case would come back to her.
    After a time, a hawk called softly.
    Lips trembling, she gave an answering whistle.
    Moments later Case snaked through the brush and into the shelter of the pillars. He was sweaty, dirty, and scratched.
    The rifle he held was clean and ready to fire.
    â€œHow many?” Sarah asked very quietly.
    â€œThree.”
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œTwo of them are coming up the canyon,” he said.
    â€œWhere’s the third?”
    â€œOn his way to hell.”
    She made a low sound.
    â€œDon’t feel bad for him,” Case said quietly. “When I got him, he was shooting holes in your jacket as fast as he could.”
    Suddenly her mouth was very dry. “Did he think it was me?”
    â€œHe didn’t care whether it was you, me, or Conner.”
    The thought of her brother being murdered between one heartbeat and the next changed Sarah’s expression.
    â€œI hope the raider enjoys hell,” she said in a low voice.
    â€œI hope he doesn’t.”
    The cool finality of Case’s tone sent another chill over her.
    â€œNow what?” she whispered.
    â€œWe wait.”
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œWhatever comes,” he said.
    â€œWhat if Ute or Conner heard the shots? Sometimes sound carries for a long way in these