Sword of Justice: book 3

Queen of Skye and Shadow series.

Chapter Two part 4

“You might want to stop at the brothel,” I said, watching Marlin pivot on his heel and walk backwards up the street, waggling his fingers at the kids as he went. “Middle of the day, it serves as a watering hole more than anything, and the kids look like they could use a bowl of soup.”

“Is it true?” the woman asked.

“Yes,” I said. “You won’t see a single adult rated show this time of day. The kids’ eyesight is safe.”

“No,” she said. “I mean about you.”

Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders as she tossed her head to use the breeze to move her hair off her face. “That you plan to rule the entire nation?”

I laughed without meaning to and she looked so insulted I bit down on my lip to stop it.

“From this little town? I’d have to be insane.”

The man gathered his family together and nudged them toward the building with a large painted sign that said: No holes barred. I grimaced as I noted the way the woman eyed it.

I was about to jump back into the front of my wagon when the man turned to face me.

“One more thing,” he said, pulling his hat from his head and holding it in front of his chest. He twirled it in a way that made me think of the way characters in the western stories I read might do when nervous.

“Is it happening here too? The woods, I mean.”

“What’s that?” I said.

He cast a glance past the town gate and beyond into the paths that ran to Old Denver, through an hour’s worth of forest and fields. I hadn’t been to the old library in a week or more and it unnerved me to think less than a few days had passed since my life had changed so much it was nearly unrecognizable.

“The trees,” he said. “The weeds. The stones.” He jerked his chin at his wife who collected the children hastily and made for the brothel. “You saw the mark on her face, my wife. You saw it right?”

I lifted my chin in anticipation of having to call out some sort of bullshit when he tried to lie over his abusive tendencies.

“I saw,” I said simply. If he wanted to thread a lie through a needle, let him try.

“The woods tried to kill us,” he said