A
LOVE REBORNA
LOVE REBORN
Cody came running out of the bunkhouse at the sound of Lou's voice. When he got outside, he found Lou standing with Lily. "What is it?"
"We need to go to town."
Cody groaned. "Now?"
Lou turned towards him. "Yes, now."
"But Lou…" Cody whined.
"Look, we're almost out of feed, and we have a bunch of stuff that Rachel wasn't able to pick up last time she went in." Lou was careful to avoid mentioning Devon's name in front of Lily. Ever since Buck took off out of the bunkhouse with Devon, Lily had been a wreck. Lou and Rachel had finally gotten her to calm down, and Lou wasn't about to get her upset again.
"Why can't Jimmy go?" As soon as the words escaped his lips, Cody knew he was in trouble.
Lou's eyes hardened and she glared at him. "Jimmy ain't here, that's why. Would it kill you to do some chores?"
Cody sighed. "Alright, alright, lemme go saddle my horse."
Twenty minutes later Cody, Lou and Lily arrived in town, Lou and Cody on their horses, Lily on the buckboard. Cody helped Lily off the wagon while Lou tethered their horses. They were just about to walk into the general store when they heard a loud commotion coming from the town hall. The three of them looked at each other and ran over to see what was going on.
"I tell ya, it's the witch's fault!"
"There wasn't no trouble 'round here before she showed up!"
"I just lost two horses today!"
"Yeah, and I swung by her place earlier and anyone wanna take a guess at what I found? The healthiest horses and cows this side of the Missouri!"
Cody glanced at Lou and Lily. "Looks like we got here just in time."
Lou nodded. She wasn't happy with Devon for what she was doing to Buck and Lily, but she also believed that the girl wasn't responsible for the farmer's livestock dying. She pushed her way into the middle of the crowd, but stopped short when she saw that the gallows had been assembled in the middle of the street with a sign "KILL THE WITCH" in front of it.
"We're gonna go and find this witch and make her wish she hadn't ever stepped foot in Sweetwater!" Thompkin's voice boomed throughout the crowd.
Lou turned around and motioned for Cody and Lily.
"Oh my God!" Lily exclaimed when she saw the gallows. "They're planning to kill her!"
"What are we going to do?" Cody asked, worry furrowing his brows.
Lou took a deep breath. "We're going to go back to the way station, get Teaspoon and get him back here! He'll know what to do!"
Lily shook her head. "You two go. I'll wait here for you." When Lou started to protest she continued. "I'll just slow you down with the buckboard. Now go on! And hurry!"
Lou looked unconvinced, but hugged her friend. "Be careful. We'll be back as soon as we can!"
Back at Devon's, Jimmy was poking around in her garden. "Hey, what's this for?"
Devon looked up from where she was picking some last minute herbs before sunset. "I add that to my feed."
"Your feed?"
Devon nodded. "Yes, why?"
Jimmy looked thoughtful. "Devon, do you buy your feed from Thompkins?"
Devon shook her head. "No, I've always grown my own, and then I add these herbs to them so that they keep better. Why?"
A look of realization crossed Jimmy's face. "We need to get back to Teaspoon."
Devon looked puzzled. "Why? It's almost dark, can't this wait until morning?"
Jimmy shook his head. "No, I think I discovered the reason why your cattle is so healthy, and everyone else's is dying."
"You mean the herbs that I add in?" Devon cocked her head to the side and grinned at Jimmy. "I already told you, these aren't 'magical' herbs."
Jimmy sighed. "No no no…. not the herbs! The feed itself!"
Devon's eyes widened. "The feed that-"
Jimmy nodded. "That you grow. Come on! We gotta get back to the way station and let Teaspoon know! I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!"
Noah whistled to himself as he filled the water troughs. He heard a commotion coming from the barn, so he put the bucket down and went to investigate. One of the mares was whinnying and rearing, and looked very disturbed. When Noah looked further he saw the cause of the disturbance. There, lying on the ground, was Jacob, one of their newest fillies. Noah maneuvered his way over to Jacob, but it didn't matter. He was dead.
Noah sighed to himself. "So, it's affecting us now. I'd better go get Teaspoon." Noah stood and was about to walk away when he noticed a particularly foul odor coming from the corner of the barn. As he walked closer, the smell intensified. Noah lifted a bale of hay and discovered another one underneath it, rotting away.
"Aw man!" Noah jumped back as he covered his mouth with his hands. He quickly put the other bale back on top of it and ran out of the barn. "Teaspoon! Teaspoooooooon!"
Back in town the riot was growing more intense by the minute. More and more people were joining in, and they now had lit torches in their hands. A few men were on horseback with hoods over their heads. There were chants of "Kill the witch! Burn the witch!" Lily hid in the shadows observing, praying that the other riders got back there soon. Suddenly she felt a hand clasp over her mouth, and hands pull her arms behind her back, where they were quickly tied.
"Lookie what I got here!" a man with foul breath muttered in her ear. The man shoved her forward into the crowd, finally taking his hand from her mouth. "Hey Thompkins! Lookie what I found lurking over there!"
Lily screamed and the man slapped her hard across her face. "Shut up you Injun!"
Thompkins walked over to her. "Well well, if it ain't the half-breed's little girlfriend."
Lily glared at him, blood dripping from the cut on her lip. "What do you want from me?"
Thompkins' eyes hardened. "Men, I think we may have found the witch's accomplice!"
Lily's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"
Thompkins walked over to her and violently turned her around for everyone to see. "Seems that she only arrived in town a few weeks ago. Around the same time that all our cattle and horse began turning up dead. Makes sense that she would be the one helpin' out the witch!"
"No!" Lily screamed again. "You're wrong!"
Thompkins gave a deep laugh. "Oh no, you're the one who's wrong missy. You were wrong to come here, and you were wrong to mess with us! And now you're going to pay."
Lily's face paled. "Wh-what are you talking about?"
Thompkin's eyes gleamed. "String her up boys!"
Prologue ~ Chapter
1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3
~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter
6 ~ Chapter 7 ~ Chapter 8
~ Chapter 9
~ Chapter 10 ~ Chapter 11 ~
Chapter 12
