Free Breath of the Feathered Serpent by Pelaam Page A

a distance and remain hidden from view. After a while, the two men stopped, and so did Adam.
    He dismounted and scrambled onto a rock formation to get a better view. He put his goggles back on and watched. His view of the two men wasn’t good. They remained partially hidden by rocks, but he had a clear view of the third man who rode up and joined them.
    “Carter! Just what in the hell is going on here?” Adam murmured under his breath. He wished he was able to read lips. He’d at least be able to see what Carter was saying. The expression on the rancher’s face suggested he was angry. He didn’t stay long, heading back the way he’d come, and the other men headed up into the mountains.
    Adam pocketed his goggles and ran down to his horse. He leapt astride and headed after the two cowboys, even more eager to discover who they were and their ultimate destination. He kept a good distance back, not wanting his quarry to discover him. Whenever he caught a glimpse of the men, they seemed unconcerned whether anyone was following.
    “Just what’s it all about, girl?” he murmured and patted his horse’s neck. “There was no one else around on the ranch to see them leave. One guy enters and leaves through the window, and another I didn’t see go into the house comes out the front door. I guess he could’ve arrived while Madison and me were heading up into the hills. When are the pieces going to start to fit together?”
    He had to take a more tortuous trail up into the mountain so that he could look down into what opened up into a large canyon. By the time he got back into a position to see them, both men had vanished. Adam cursed his luck. He pulled on the reins and cursed softly. The volley of cuss words didn’t magically make the men reappear.
    He edged his horse forward and downward, hoping to get back onto a wider trail and perhaps find some tracks showing where they may have gone. He remembered the mountains had a few tattered and tumbledown shacks where travelers could rest. Unless they were leaving the area altogether, he could only assume they were headed for one of these.
    A flash of color caught his eye, and he stopped quickly. He yanked out his goggles and tried to focus. The newcomer wasn’t one of the cowboys. Neither of them had worn red. At first glance, hidden in the rocks down in the canyon, Adam couldn’t tell whether he was looking at a man or woman. The only thing of which he was sure was he hadn’t seen them before. Only part of a shoulder and long black hair with few feathers woven into it was visible.
    That made Adam frown, and he peered harder. There weren’t any local tribes or reservations in this area, so what would an Indian be doing down there? A shot made him duck instinctively, even though it was down in the canyon, ricocheting close to the man or woman in red. Shifting his position enabled Adam to fleetingly get a better view. The stranger was a man, but Adam couldn’t see why he didn’t return fire.
    Dismounting, he took off his goggles and pulled out his gun. He checked it briefly, and then he crept forward, keeping close to the rocks for cover, wanting to see who was shooting.
    Adam inched forward. The shooter was well hidden. He couldn’t tell if it was one of the two cowboys. Another shot rang out, sending slivers of rock into the air, and the dark-haired man huddled even tighter behind the rocks. Adam realized the man’s problem. His gun laid a couple of feet away from where he was crouched. Doubtless he dropped it when he dove for cover. To attempt to retrieve it would leave him vulnerable to the sniper.
    A third shot rang out, and Adam returned fire, aiming at the flash he’d seen. The stranger turned quickly, a look of shock on his face. Adam waited several moments, but no more bullets came their way.
    The stranger moved slow, easing his cramped body, but not even the movement, which made him vulnerable, drew any fire. Adam felt certain the shooter had gone. He wished he