GLITTER GULCH

Chapter 36: Out of Kaos

Sage stood, hat in hand, as a soft breeze that blew across the porch rustled his golden hair. It was nice out here. Quiet. Peaceful. A man could get used to it. All the modern comforts but still practically sleeping under the stars. This would be a good place to set up. Live out the rest of his life. Well, here or on that hill he and Ryo had visited. Now that was nice. A wonderful, sweeping panorama of the land all around. Something like out of one of those Greek stories. Living like a god on Mount Olympus. Sipping on nectar and eating ambrosia...

"Hey, Sage."

The cowboy turned to see the Yankee, stretching like a satisfied cat, coming out of the house.

"Ro. Where's your better half?"

Rowan scratched his head and yawned. "Still gettin' ready. Takes him longer to get his hair done. Where's yours?"

"Checking on White Blaze."

"He okay?"

"Yeah. Ryo just wanted to check on him before we left." Sage toyed with the brim of his hat before setting it on the banister.

The Indian had been truly worried about his pet. Oh, wait. Companion. Not a pet. Ryo was fairly touchy about that subject. The massive tiger still wasn't quite up to snuff, so Ryo had told the animal to stay behind. The women and an enthusiastic Ulee had volunteered to keep an eye on the beast. Ryo was now petting the tiger and warning him to be good while they were away. Sage wondered what exactly Ryo would threaten the animal with. No more cattle to play with?

"You know, I thought that tiger was going to eat me the first time I saw him."

"Yeah. I know what you mean." Sage nodded. "I thought it was going to chew Ryo's arm off. Crazy Indian stuck his hand in his cage."

That brought back memories. Memories of when he'd first met Ryo. The withered headdress, the tired war paint, the saddest ice blue eyes he'd ever seen urging him to take the wooden toy arrow. At the time, he'd wondered why he'd done it, thinking perhaps he'd had some noble intention of saving the red man from his evil oppressor, even going so far as to knock the man out, perhaps even kill him. But now... Looking back, it wasn't noble intentions, but fate that brought them together, entwined their lives irrevocably, meshed them into one being with a purpose. A higher purpose. As much as Sage wanted to say it was all for love, he knew better. Fate had other things in mind when she threw them together. Although he did love Ryo with all his heart. With every inch of his being.

"Yo, Sage!"

Startled, the cowboy accidentally knocked his hat off the banister and into the dirt. "Huh? Oh, sorry."

"Got kinda lost on me for a minute there, pal."

He bent down to retrieve his hat, knocking the dust off the brim. "Yeah. Sorry. Just remembering. That's all."

"We did have a lot of fun on them cattle drives, didn't we?"

"What?" That caught him off-guard. He hadn't been thinking that at all. "Oh, yeah. It was fun while it lasted." Although it would have been a lot funner if he'd decided to let Ryo tie him up sooner.

Out of the blue Rowan said, "Thanks, Sage."

"What? What for?"

"Anubis told me what you did. Offerin' to buy him for me. Trying to save my honor."

Sage snorted. "Not much of that there to save."

The Yankee laughed and waved a hand in the air absently. "Yeah, well... Thanks. I know you don't like him and to do that for me must have taken a lot from you."

"Don't mention it." Seeing the blissful smile on Rowan's face was worth it all. He would go through all that again for his friend. "I'm sure you would have done the same thing, Ro. After all, that's what friends are for. Right?"

"Yeah. Best friends."

They stood side by side staring out at the coming sunset.

"I'm glad to know it's Ryo that I lost out to. He's a good man, Sage."

A wistful smile. "Yeah. The best."

"The other night when we... when we were interrupted, would you have let me-"

"Yep. Sure would have."

"You mean all the way?"

Sage wanted to laugh at the Yankee's expression but didn't. "Yep."

"Damn."

"Yep."

Another silence. This one filled with Rowan's silent bemoaning of his bad luck and Ryo's bad timing.

"What are the two of you looking so serious about?" Anubis wrapped an arm around Rowan's waist. "Nothing disturbing, I hope."

"Disturbing? No. Huh-uh. Not at all." Sage pushed off from the railing. "I'd better see what's keeping Ryo."

"What were you two talking about?"

Rowan turned in Anubis' arms. "How would you feel about a threesome? Or maybe even a foursome? Hell, an all out orgy?"

A forked eyebrow rose and a sly smile slid across the redhead's lips. "I might be persuaded."

Sage shifted uneasily in the saddle, his recent trysts with Ryo proving a little... uncomfortable while riding. Definitely not painful, but a pulsing reminder of where he'd prefer to be. Riding Lady Luck on his way to that damnable party at Judge Dais' was NOT at the top of his list of pleasurable things to do. Of course, he imagined it wasn't high on any of their lists. He'd noted the loving, passionate glances Rowan and Anubis shared as well as the physical 'evidence' on Cye's throat that the schoolteacher had tried to hide with a tight cravat. But the large purple bruise kept peeking out every time Cye turned his head. Kento took great delight in pointing it out when it happened, softly saying something that sounded like 'little fishy,' then Cye would blush appropriately and slap Kento on the arm, raising a few eyebrows and knowing glances.

Ryo rode up alongside Sage and said, "Glad you stayed, Cye."

"Thank you, Ryo. That means a lot to me."

"Yeah, well," Rowan said from the back of the wagon, "I for one knew you wouldn't leave. How could you pass up a hunk of meat like Kento?"

"Hey! I'm not a hunk of meat!" Kento huffed.

A soft voice from the back of the wagon replied, "From what I remember, you have quite a hunk of meat..."

Everyone's eyes turned to Anubis who raised a forked eyebrow.

Kento blushed and turned back to the reins.

The shocked looks struck a chord with Sage and he laughed out loud. It wasn't too long before the others joined in, uneasy tension being drained with the hearty laughter.

It was a soul cleansing.

Enough of one that Sage's thoughts shifted back to Ryo and how much he'd rather be flat on his back with the wild, untamed Indian on top of him. That black, silken hair tickling his skin, the hard unyielding muscles pressing against him, pinning him down...

He shifted in his saddle again.

God, he needed a kiss and a quick grope before they got to the Judge's.

"Hey, Ryo. Why don't we ride on ahead? Make sure there aren't any surprises up ahead."

"Sure." Unaware of Sage's plan, Ryo spurred Ember into action.

"Need us to take our time, Sage?"

The cowboy smiled and tipped his hat. "I'd be much obliged, Mr. Hardrock."

Kento winked. "Will do."

"Thanks." Lady Luck sped after Ember.

That stinking ascot was in the way. The one he'd tied AGAIN before they'd left because the Indian had been constantly worrying at it. Now, he just wanted it off Ryo's neck. Didn't matter where it went or if the other was even wearing it once they got to the party. Sage had quit caring about decorum. All he wanted was in Ryo's pants. A task that his hands were busy trying to accomplish as his mouth worked over Ryo's lips and neck. Tasting, licking, sucking. Whatever he could manage. The Indian tasted so good.

Sage was desperate. Needy. He knew it. He had Ryo pinned against a tree, the poor savage simply trying to breathe between hard, demanding kisses.

"Ah, Sage... No fair."

The cowboy's hand had finally found the prize it sought. He squeezed gently. "Oh, come on. It'll be real quick. We can be done before anyone else gets this far."

Ryo just grunted and kissed Sage a little bit harder.

Trying to keep one eye open just in case the others made better time than he thought they would, Sage's gaze kept being drawn to a small mound of scrub brush quite a few paces off that didn't seem... natural. He tried to ignore it. Knew he should have ignored it, but that wasn't working. Guilt starting fraying him at the edges. He knew what that was. He'd seen it this afternoon in one of his visions. Well, part of it anyway. He hadn't seen the cover-up.

This time, he should have just kept his eyes shut.

Gasping for air and pulling away from a stunned, blue-eyed blinking Indian, Sage managed to point toward the mound of brush. "I think we have company."

Ryo's disoriented gaze quickly sharpened and the man was off like a flash toward the oddly strewn scrub. Sage followed right behind him.

Branches and dirt were frantically swept away to reveal the body of Doc Kaos.

The old man was face down in the dirt, limbs askew. Blood had seeped across the doctor's back like a giant, irreverent mud stain on those pristine blue and white robes. A single gunshot had brought him down.

Sage swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. Foreseen events had been set in motion. There was no turning back now.

Even knowing Kaos had been expecting something like this didn't help his conscience any. He couldn't help but feel guilty looking down at old Doc Kaos' corpse, thinking there might have been something he could have done to prevent the old man's death. Thank god the eyes were closed. He didn't think he could handle the blank accusation he just knew would be there. He felt even guiltier at Ryo's muffled gasp and the sadness mingled with righteous fury that fed through their link.

Ryo wanted revenge.

The cowboy's heart twisted. Seeing Doc Kaos like this hurt. The old man had done nothing to anyone else. Hadn't been a threat, per se. So why had the old man been murdered? Why had he been dragged off to the side of the road and covered in brush?

He remembered that day he'd met Kaos. The apothecary shop with all its drawers and glass jars and their unidentifiable contents. The sharp pungent smells that met his nostrils when he'd first walked in and heard that bell jingle. The kind face that peered out from under that straw hat... and then the hardened, scarred face of the warrior he'd met on the battlefield after he'd taken the green glass marble from the old man's hands.

Clarity filled Sage's mind and his violet eyes widened.

The Doc had done this for them. He'd sacrificed himself so that one of them would live... There were and always would be two deaths...

Tears formed in violet eyes. Dammit, Old Man. Now someone would be left alone...

"They did this, didn't they, Sage?"

The cowboy simply nodded, his voice lost to grief.

"This is part of what's going to happen tonight, isn't it?" Tears of frustration and anger clung to dark eyelashes.

Another nod, regret and loss threatening to close Sage's throat.

"Kaos knew about this, didn't he?"

"Yes," the cowboy breathed.

"They why'd he do it, Sage?"

"I guess-" He had to clear his throat before he could continue. "I guess for the same reason we're doing it, Ryo." The cowboy licked his lips, tears dripping down his face, knowing there was nothing he could do for the old man. There was no healing a corpse. "I spoke with him this morning after Kento'd left. He came... to see me to make sure I understood."

"You mean to make sure we were prepared for all of this, right?"

Sage could still feel the anger burning off Ryo. "Right."

"Dammit! I don't want to. I don't want to face it. It's not fair!"

The cowboy bowed his head. He didn't want to either. Not really. Truth be told, he wanted to just ditch the party, drag Ryo into a dark corner somewhere, and fuck him senseless. That whole rut like rabbits to make yourself feel alive thing.

"But I guess we gotta do it." Ryo gingerly laid Kaos down on the ground, reverently placing the gnarled hands on the dead man's chest. "If we don't take these guys out, they'll just keep doing it. We gotta take them down, Sage."

The cowboy nodded.

"You guys done yet? What are you doing just standin' there? We got a party to go to." Rowan leapt from the back of the wagon as it slowed to a stop.

The others had arrived.

Voice cracking, Sage said softly, "It's Doc Kaos. He's been gunned down. Been here all day more than likely."

"Holy shit."

Kento secured the reins and all of them scrambled from the wagon to see for themselves, Anubis lagging a little bit behind.

Rowan was there first, kneeling next to the Doc, lightly touching the old man's face. "Who woulda done somethin' like this?"

Ryo and Sage exchanged looks, knowing full well Rowan was just talking out loud. He knew. They all did.

"He was such a nice man," Cye murmured. Tears already flooded the Englishman's eyes. "He said- He told me that I was his favorite."

Kento put an arm around the schoolteacher's shoulders. "We'll get whoever did this. Right, guys? I mean, we gotta find 'em and- and pound a few heads. Doc never did anything to anybody. We need to bring the son of a bitch who did this to justice. My justice." The mountain was grimly determined, his mouth in a firm line. The look unnerved Sage a little.

Silent assent from all six.

A jingling clang interrupted their silence. Anubis held the Doc's staff, the metal rings slowly settling into place, creating their own melodious dirge for the fallen man.

Sage blinked.

The staff looked natural with Anubis. As if they were meant to be together. As if it belonged to him. Sage also imagined for a fleeting moment that he could envision Anubis in the same guise in which he'd seen the young Doc Kaos. The blue and white robes. The large straw hat with a chin strap to keep it in place. Arms and legs wrapped to shield against sword strikes.

Anubis was one of them.

"We should bury him," the bartender offered.

Sage swallowed a sob as Ryo wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders.

Burial. That would be final.

"I think there are a couple of shovels in the wagon. I'll go get them." Kento went back to the wagon, head hung low, fists clenched tightly.

With Kento and Anubis digging, it went quickly. Rowan said a few words in the form of a eulogy as all of them stood around a simple wooden cross Cye had made from planks off the wagon.

Still shedding tears, Sage held tightly to Ryo, needing the comforting support, not really hearing Rowan's words. The only thing in his mind a constant litany of his own voice saying, he did this for us.

After the short ceremony and interment, they all solemnly piled back into the wagon, this time even Ryo and Sage as well, having tied Lady Luck and Ember to the back, none of them wanting to be alone.

There was not even a suggestion of forgetting the dinner party and going back home. It wasn't an option. Doc Kaos wouldn't have wanted them to and it... It just seemed... disrespectful.

After all, he'd given his life so that they might go...

The rest of the trip to Judge Dais' was solemn and quiet, the only sound the soft jingling of the metal rings of Doc Kaos' staff that Anubis still held in his hand.