Jeb lifted his head slightly. They're moving toward the stable for the first time since the siege began. I smiled. Let them, three crouched figures, Gus Pike, Ned Briggs, and Roy Mills, moved through the brush, convinced the smoke had hidden them from view. They used the growing fire to conceal each step as they tried to circle behind the cabin.
I waited five more paces, then three. Gus reached the stable door. Jeb closed his hand around the crude detonator. Now the explosion shook the valley. Earth, timber, and stone erupted high above the roof.
The stable vanished inside a rolling cloud of fire, and dust powerful enough to rattle the cabin's foundation. The floor trembled beneath my boots. When the smoke began to clear, two bodies lay motionless among the shattered beams. The third man was trying desperately to crawl away, leaving a dark trail across the dirt. Jeb slowly lowered his hand.
They won't try circling us that way again. But Silus Crow still had more riders, and he was still thinking. The burning arrows stopped falling. The gunfire ceased as well. Silence returned for only a few seconds.
I knew that kind of pause too well. It did not mean they were retreating. It meant they were changing their plan. Get ready, I murmured. I never finished the warning.
Three men, Buck Hail, Zeb Shaw, and Cal Dre, charged straight toward the front porch. They made no attempt to find cover. They'd relying entirely on speed. Buck raised a shotgun. Nia fired.
The bullet struck him squarely in the chest, dropping him before his boot reached the first step. Zeb kept coming. He pulled the trigger. Buckshot tore through the door and sent wooden splinters flying across the cabin. Before Zeb could reload, Jeb leaned halfway through a side window.
His revolver thundered twice. Zeb spun sideways and collapsed onto his knees. Cal reached the porch. I heard him hammering the butt of his pistol against the reinforced door. I ran toward the entrance.
As the wood began to buckle, I opened a narrow gap between the oak braces and fired through it. Cal fell backward without making a sound. I closed the opening immediately. Then I drew a deep breath. Only then did I notice that both my hands were covered in gunpowder.
Nia remained at the window, watching the smoke outside. Her breathing was still steady. Her gaze never wavered. It was difficult to believe that only one day earlier she had been bound across railroad tracks, waiting for death to reach her. I no longer saw a hunted woman.
I saw a warrior. From somewhere outside came the sound of slow applause. One clap, then another, then a third. Silus Crow finally stepped from behind the rocks. He walked calmly among the bodies of his own riders without once turning his head to acknowledge them.