Alexander Simon had been on the deserted isle for at least two years when the sails appeared on the horizon. The bonfire burned from the peak — Jade Peak, he called it, since it was covered in green foliage. So… Continue Reading
I had lost two apprentices in the last clash — seen it all before — the mangled mess of torn flesh and splintered wood; bloody stumps of blown off arms and legs cut through with shot. Cannon will do that… Continue Reading
We sat at the bar in Reno’s in downtown San Francisco. Do you think anyone will ever match it? Ice rattled in highball glasses and mixed with the exaltations of drinking men. Don’t you think that’s one record nobody will… Continue Reading
Garth Tanner spat a stream of tobacco in the general direction of a spittoon. He turned to face Kid Hart and rested his right hand on the ivory grips of his Colt. “Ah don’t like bein’ called a cheap gunman.… Continue Reading
York, 1589 The door to The White Rose tavern flew open. Burbage, the aspiring actor, hurried inside in a flurry of snow, his cloak pulled tightly about him. His eyes searched the dimly lit hostelry, seeking out his friend, the Moorish playwright… Continue Reading
The instant the Crawford gang entered the Farr Creek Savings Loan and interrupted his transaction at gun point, Bud Tucker knew the carnival fortuneteller was right; he was going to inherit young. Dicky Crawford, the gang’s leader, had vowed to the… Continue Reading
On hearing of the Japanese invasion at Simanggang in 1941, and remembering the scrabble for metal in the last war, Mathie hid every tool he owned behind panels in the roof of his home. This way he calculated he’d have… Continue Reading
A hush came over the saloon as Jebediah Hancock rose from his seat. He scowled at me across the card table. “You callin’ me a cheater, Sheriff?” “Looks like.” People scrambled away from nearby tables. “Take it back.” I smiled. “Nope.” He went… Continue Reading
“What are you doing here?” He glanced at me over his shoulder. His eyes were red, and the crow’s-feet at their corners made them look dry enough to crack. He hadn’t shaved; the stubble was harshly gray against the wind-frozen… Continue Reading
The world is pink and white. I can’t move, and hear nothing but echoing hurried footsteps and female laughter. A brusque voice of authority speaks in a shouted whisper: “Remember where you are!” Pain. Silence… …Female laughter, male laughter,… Continue Reading