Peacemaker (9780698140820) by K. A. Stewart Page B

metal pipes extending from its sides, clearly the housing for the pump that drew water for the entire community. People came and went in the dusty lanes, going about the daily tasks of running a large cattle ranch. Caleb recognized only a few of them from town; the rest were obviously permanent residents of the A-bar-W. Transports were scattered all over, everything from fleet one-person rides to massive haulers twice as tall and broad as the one Caleb rode. It was easy to pick out the smithy, a line of partially dismantled constructs ringing a forge of glowing blue coals.
    A small pack of bluetick coonhounds came boiling into the yard from their kennels with sharp baying cries until Warner spoke a single word, then they nearly tripped on themselves to fawn over him. Warner was clearly king of his own domain out here.
    Shepherded by a severe-looking man with pince-nez eyeglasses perched at the end of his long beak, a passel of children paused to let the wagon by. The schoolmaster, if Caleb had to guess, and the majority of Hope’s children. They ranged in age from nearly seven to twelve, which stood to reason since older children would be helping with family businesses during the day. To a one, they kept their eyes turned down,oddly subdued for children so young. Caleb turned in his seat to watch them until they rounded a building out of his line of sight.
    Allen Anderson and his wife were waiting on the house steps when Caleb brought the wagon to a halt in front of them. The woman’s eyes lit up seeing the load of their belongings the party had managed to salvage. “Oh, thank you, Abel!”
    Warner dismounted to receive a hug from Mrs. Anderson, patting her back soothingly. “It’s the least I could do, Lily. We got as much as we could haul, thanks to Agent Marcus’s mount.”
    That earned Caleb a teary hug and kiss on the cheek, too. “Bless you, Agent Marcus. Just . . . bless you. You and that furry angel with antlers.”
    He couldn’t help but chuckle. Ernst as an angel? “Is he still with the children?”
    She shook her head, patting loose tendrils of hair back into place to compose herself. “He left as we arrived here. I assumed he’d gone to you. Is he all right?”
    â€œI’m sure he is. He often goes wherever his whim takes him.” Inwardly, Caleb regretted the lack of his familiar. He could have used Ernst’s eyes and ears here. He reached out along the connection that bound him to the creature and felt distance between them. Ernst had returned to Hope, he’d wager, and he let the bond go without summoning him. If Ernst didn’t want to be here, Caleb wasn’t going to push without reason.
    Lunch was to be served on the veranda, in the meager bit of coolness the shade offered. Above them, a large fan creaked back and forth, powered by arcane pulses from the touch of the servant standing unobtrusively against the wall.
    Their vantage overlooked a large man-made pond which, Warner assured him, held the area’s best catfish. “Around dusk, you can watch the eagles swoop over the water and snatch up the fish that come to the surface. Magnificent.”
    â€œIt’s a wonder that the drought hasn’t turned it into a baked mud hole like the rest of the prairie.”
    â€œWell, it’s a mite smaller than it once was; that’s true. But I believe the spring beneath it is strong enough to survive this summer, and when the rains return, it will be back to its former glory.”
    While the meal was being prepared, Warner and the other men lounged in chairs, smoking and generally exchanging small talk. Caleb lit his own cigarillo with the whispered word
brand
and savored the sweet smoke as it curled over his tongue. He felt the moment Warner’s gaze sharpened on him, and inwardly cursed, knowing that the man had caught his use of childish command words.
    â€œSo, tell us a bit about yourself, Agent Marcus.