As he flew through the air he had enough presence of mind to hit the dusty street in a roll and come up with his pistols raised. Shaniah stood in front of the door to the saloon, a long knife in her hand. It was dripping with blood that was now pooling at her feet.
Hollister kept the Colts leveled at her.
“If you go in there now, you’ll die,” she said.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance. Again. I’m going to have to ask you to step aside, though. There’s a young boy who has gotten separated from our party and I need to collect him,” Hollister said.
Shaniah snorted. “You mean the little idiot that ran out of your jail in the middle of the night, with the town full of Archaics?”
“Archaics?”
“I’m not sure what you might call them. Vampires, perhaps, which would be a close description but not entirely accurate. The boy is already dead.”
“Oh. Well. That changes everything. Thanks so much for letting me know. I’ll just mosey on elsewhere then.”
Though she had been chasing Malachi for several years now, she always made an effort to keep her distance from humans. The human language was rich in nuance and subtlety, and she could not be sure if the man named Hollister was serious.
“Good. Now since I have saved your life, it would be easier if you returned to your jail. Wait until morning, when it will be safer for you to venture to your train.”
“Sorry, I can’t do that. I need to find the kid.”
“I told you, he’s already dead,” she said, puzzled at why he would doubt her.
“So you said,” he stood slowly, the pistols maintaining their aim at the center of her chest.
“I don’t understand… If he’s dead…”
“I’m afraid I can’t just take your word for it. I’m going to have to find it out for myself. Now, I appreciate what you’ve done here and in Torson City. You probably saved our hides with those Utes. But I need to find Billy,” he said.
“If you go into the saloon you will die,” she said.
“Then I guess today is my day for it,” he said. “Now, kindly step aside.” He took a step toward her, holding the guns steady. In reality he was squeezing the handles so hard he wasn’t sure he’d be able to fire them even if he wanted to. She didn’t move, and he was sorry for that as he didn’t know what his next tactic would be. His only hope was that she wouldn’t try to use the big knife on him.
“There are four Archaics inside this saloon. They are waiting for you to come in. You’ve killed two Archaics tonight. That is far more than any single human has done in centuries. You’re too late to save the boy. He has already been fed upon. Walk in this door and you will die. I cannot make it more simple than that.” She watched his face expectantly, waiting and wondering what he would do next.
“I’m still going after the kid,” he said. “Maybe I can save him.”
“He cannot be saved. You can only die,” she said.
He was only a few feet away from her now, and even in the soft moonlight he could see the lines of her face. She was stunning. He knew he needed to focus, but his mind was all jangled up, trying to figure out why she was here. Why she had saved him twice and what her endgame was.
There was nothing else to discuss. He moved to his left to go around her and enter the saloon.
If he had to, he would shoot her.