"This really necessary?" Ace asked. I had him hog-tied behind me on the saddle. Necessary? Maybe not. But if I'm honest, hearing his tone falling and rising with Timperina's rump had me smirking.

"You tell me," I said.

"Hey, far as I'm concerned, bygones are bygones. We had our spat all those years ago. It's over and finished now."

"Maybe for you."

He blew a raspberry. "Oh, please. You act like that Rosa's mama was the first girl we all took a liking to. You didn't care enough to pull your guns before then."

I didn't have an answer right away, and I hated him for that. He was right. Of course, he was. That's how Ace Ryker lived. He didn't talk unless he knew he was right because only the truth cuts to the core of men.

"I care now," I said.

"It don't work that way. We do what we do, but God never forgets."

"You'd be surprised." I chuckled, then elbowed him in the side. "Now shut up, unless you'd rather a ride back to Revelation."

He listened, at least for a little while. Timp took the long route, all the way around the ruptured quarry and through a patch of springs kicking up steam like locomotives. A geyser went off, the piping hot water sprinkling across Ace's cheek and luckily missing Timp.

"Would you mind!" he groaned.

"Sorry, friend," I said without a hint of repentance in my tone.

We made it out to the other side, into the vast badlands stretching south of Revelation Springs. The terrain was flat, dry, rocky, and full of cacti—the expected. But we had some miles to go until the flatness gave way to a series of red-colored rock formations that could be seen from far, far away in any direction. I'd always thought they were what gave Revelation Springs its appeal. Sculptures of nature spread far and wide apart like an art gallery for giants.

"What happened to you, Crowley?" Ace asked.

"I grew up," I said.

"That ain't an answer. We all grow up; that don't mean we change. You were a force of nature back then. You always knew when it was time to bail on a job, and I liked that about you, but if someone got on your bad side? Woo-wee, poor them.”

I always knew when to bail on a job…

I gritted my teeth, thinking about that poor Vanderbilt woman and her husband.

"The more things change—"

"The more they stay the same,” Ace finished for me. “I know. But you're different now. You're working with the law even. What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Guess I just finally saw their side of things," I said. "Found God and all that."

He laughed. "We were meant to meet again here. No question about it. But God? I don't know. Though I guess he taught me one lesson."

"And what's that?"

"When you got the chance, shoot your enemies in the head."

I grunted. It wasn't a bad lesson to learn, even though the head he was referring to belonged to me. But Ace never liked the quick kill. He wanted to enjoy it, revel in the fear of the schmuck under his gun.

"So, this is it for you?" Ace said. "A bounty hunter? From glory to glory, huh?"

I sighed. "Can't you stay quiet?"

"You have me staring down at dirt and a horse's ass. What else do you want me to do?"

“I'm no bounty hunter."

"You're going after a couple of outlaws with a hell of a price on their head. Am I missing the math here?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"Lincoln's hairy balls, it doesn't,” he said. One of my protégé's out on his own. C'mon, Crowley. It's just you, me, and the air out here. Who cares?"

"All right." I cleared my throat. He wanted the truth? Fine. "I'm a Black Badge."

I knew how that sounded. Mysterious and powerful. All the things Ace wished he could be.

"That some sort of Fed?" he asked. I could tell he was intrigued. No better way to get under his skin than to spark his jealous nature.

"That's all you get."

"Oh, you're a cruel, cruel man."

"Now it's my turn," I went on. "Twenty years south of the border. What the hell did you get up to there?"

"What if you told you that I found love?” Ace said with mock romanticism in his tone.

“I always thought you and Hiram were sweet on each other.”

He ignored me and continued. “That I popped out a couple of little ones. Got myself a farm and some fertile land."

"I'd say there's better odds of Timperina here growing wings and flying,” I said. “And then I'd ask why you're back here if you found that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

I wished I was facing the other way so I could laugh in his face. That was Ace’s way of getting back at me? I didn't care. I truly didn't. The world was a lesser place with him in it. And if he found love, it wouldn't have been honest. He would've been using her for something. To get inside on a score. Or maybe just to have power over someone smaller than him any time he wanted.

"Nobody down there like your girl, though," Ace remarked, after I stated quiet. He whistled, and a metaphorical razor blade drew up my spine at the sound. Maybe it wasn't the sound as much as the thought of him thinking about her like that.

"She’s not my girl," I said.

"Naw. I got a sense of those things. If you asked, she'd be whatever you want." He clicked his tongue. Saints and elders, did I loathe when he did that. "It is strange, though."

I didn't respond, but that didn't stop him from continuing.

"Rosa was a child when you turned on your own for her. You a cradle robber, Crowley? A bit young if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you," I growled. I didn't notice how hard my knees were squeezing Timp.

She took a bouncy stride that made Ace land hard on his gut and knocked the wind out of him. It seemed purposeful to me, at least I like to think so. I tussled her mane and thanked her for helping me maintain a cool head.

Ace wanted me to snap. If not to try and escape, then to protect these outlaws who maybe he was closer to than he was letting on and I'd been duped. And if not that, then simply because he could.

We continued along across the badlands. The rain that had been threatening for hours finally started up. Timp's ears twitched.

Those clouds above had an ominous look. Angry, if clouds could be described as living beings were. And as much as this dry land could probably do with a little precipitation, it was the last thing Revelation needed in its current state.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

* * *

Time passed far slower than I'd hoped, but Timp had to be careful in the dark. She didn't have sight like me, and one false step might've sent us all swimming in a hot spring. Would've been fine for me, but Ace—and more importantly, Timperina—wouldn't enjoy a dip like that.

The rain was coming down in buckets now, and judging by the way Ace was shaking, it was a few degrees shy of sleet. Which had me thinking we were on the right path to finding Otaktay.

Distant thunder rolled like a war drum.

"Crooowwwley," Ace said in a sing-song manner, reminded me of Shar’s beckoning in a way. He hadn't shut up for a minute either. "C'mon, lift me up. Let me get a drink at least."

"Just shut up and tell me which way," I said.

"Gonna be hard to remember anything with my throat so parched," Ace said.

I groaned but gave in. Pulling on Timp’s reins, I got her to stop. She snorted. The old girl hated the rain. I hopped down and undid the straps keeping Ace on his belly. Then, I yanked him upright so both of his bound ankles hung off one side of Timp's rump.

"You got five minutes," I told him.

He cracked his neck once in each direction, then opened his mouth to the sky.

"Damn, that's cold,” he said. “Mother Earth provides. Am I right, Crowley?"

"Where are they?" I asked after a minute or two.

"You said I had five. Got anything to eat? I'm so damn hungry I'd eat the Lamb of God without conscience."

"I don't eat. Time's up."

He bitched, but I straightened him out, got back up in front of him, and spurred Timperina along. We skirted along the side of a rock face banded with myriad shades of red. In the light, there were few sights like it. A sunset, eternally painted into the stone. But now, it was getting dark fast and our world was quickly becoming muted shades of blues and grays.

"How am I supposed to hold on with my hands bound like this?" Ace said.

"Not my problem," I replied.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?"

"Rich, coming from you. Now, tell me which way."

"Keep along this path. We got a bit to go, then it's a climb. Them Injuns are like damn mountain goats, aren't they?"

"Don't make me regret this, Ace."

"Never regret anything, Crowley. It's the only way to live free."

"None of us are free."

He sucked in through his teeth. "Old age sure made you depressing."

"When you've seen what I've seen,” I said, “you'd agree."

"Right. Tell me. I almost killed you, and you—what—stood at the Gates of Hell and saw all the machinations of the Great Beyond strewn before you, or some bullshit like that, right? Same garbage I’ve heard from all them greasers high on peyote."

I rolled my eyes. It's why it never really matters if I tell people what I do. Most just assume the hot sun baked my brains and made me lose my mind. People want to believe the world is simple. It's better off that way.

"Stop," Ace said as we passed through a valley. He pointed left at a cactus growing sideways from an outcrop. Looked like an overturned crucifix. "That way."

"You sure?" I asked.

"The bastards stabbed me in the back. I got no reason to lie."

I led Timperina up a narrow, natural path through an arched rock and along a ridge.

“So, why'd they really come to you?" I asked.

"Oh, now you want to talk?" he said.

"Answer or not. Doesn't change what I gotta do."

He waited a few seconds before starting. "The boy with them was a hell of a tracker. The woman, a hell of a killer. The man smart as a whip, for an Injun. We worked together on a few jobs down south, that's it. Last one, we robbed some Mexican General blind. That was a goddamn blast." He exhaled slowly as if basking in that memory. "Either way, they were good at what they did, and I'm… well… me. Give me a plan for a big old bank to hit and a cheery festival of sheep to ruin, I'm there."

"I'm sure that plan included them being at your side."

"No shit," he spat. "We rendezvoused where I'm taking you, got a plan together. I brought some of my crew. Bought the loyalty of others. Nobody told us there was a damn spin-gun in some shithole town in the middle of nowhere. Then, you know the rest. Here we are."

"Here we are."

Timp stopped again, and I stared at two diverging paths. To the right, a narrow and treacherous way up an incline into the peak of the rock formations. The other, continuing along the valley and dropping elevation.

"Which way?" I asked.

"Give me a second," he bristled.

"We may not have that."

"Well, I'd had a few drinks the first time. So spare me."

It was dark, and the rain made visibility difficult even for me. While a man unpracticed in the supernatural as Ace might not've noticed, I did. Something about the storm was off. All those dark clouds above weren't just passing across the plains. They were converging on a point. Slowly spiraling around each other.

A boom of thunder made Timp shuffle her hooves. I calmed her, but the rock was getting slippery.

"To the right," he said. "Yup. I remember. I almost took a tumble."

"Too bad." I swung my leg off and dismounted.

First, I went to Timp and held her face, staring right into her big, dark eyes. "You stay here, alright, girl?" She blew out her nose, then shook her head as I led her under an outcrop that would protect her from the rain. "If I need you, I'll whistle like always."

“Christ’s sake, Crowley, it's just a horse," Ace complained.

I moved forward, but just then, something caught my eye in one of the shiny, iron buckles on Timp's saddle. I always said that no matter what, Shar would find me. Her presence swirled like the clouds above.

"Root out the demon plaguing these lands," her voice split my mind. "Then all will be forgiven, Crowley. Never forget. You're one of God's Champions, not an outlaw."

All I could muster in response was a harrumph, though she twisted into a wisp anyway after nothing more than that lame pep talk. As usual, I would be forgiven, but not her. Never her for leading me into a mess of confusion like she had.

"Crowley, what—"

Before Ace could finish, I grabbed him by his boot with one hand and his shirt with the other, yanking him off the saddle as hard as I could. Half out of frustration with Shar, half because what he said about Timp plain pissed me off.

He slammed onto his side with a pained moan.

"Timperina’s more human than you'll ever be," I said. "Up."

I squeezed the rope binding Ace’s wrists and hoisted him to his feet.

"Well, then damn. Let me stay with her," he said.

I bent and cut the rope around his ankles so he'd be able to walk. Then I gave him a push toward the path.

"I can't climb that without my hands," he said.

"Learn."

Another push, and he had no choice but to try. I was behind him anyway, keeping an eye out and one hand on a peacemaker. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was leading me into a trap.

But why? All this just to take me out. Plus, for all he knew until a few hours ago, I was a dead man. For the first time, I suspected Lucifer might've put him up to it. A chance to get rid of a Hand of God.

Damn… Being around Ace again had me questioning everything. Even myself.

A few paces up, he slipped just like he'd feared and almost took a spill onto some sharp rocks. Probably would've split his skull open…

A man could dream.

But I caught him, yanked him plum, and nudged him along farther up the pass.

Reaching a landing, he cursed and fell to a knee.

I cleared the rest of the way in a single bound, joining him with both guns drawn and ready. But there was nothing to shoot. He rubbed a sore spot on his cheek and looked to the sky. Then he flinched.

"What in the world?" Ace said.

Hailstones started falling, big as bullets. They peppered the rock face all around us, clattering like a train over tracks. The swirling clouds were black and green above us like a twister was brewing. Lightning coruscated horizontally between them in wide arcs, contained up there instead of striking the ground.

"Crowley, that's it. You've gotta untie me," Ace said. For the first time, a bit of panic entered his tone. “This ain't safe.”

"Not a chance." I clutched the rope and forced him to walk.

"I can't lead you if one of those knocks me out!" One clacked off the rock inches away. He kicked back at my shin. My legs slid apart, and I lost grip enough for him to rip free and run.

I watched the fool high-step in a serpentine route, hailstones falling all around him. They were bigger now, some even as large as my fist.

I gave chase. He clambered up a pile of rocks from a slide long past, then jumped to the ledge above. Every move he made was desperate and clumsy. He moaned with effort as he dragged his body up using his bound hands and torso, looking like a fish out of water.

I caught him by the leg, but he shook to get free and rolled to safety. Seconds later, I was up there and found him hunched over with his back to a bit of sharp rocks, sawing away to get free.

"You done?" I asked. I had a Peacemaker out, but I didn't even bother aiming. Ace didn't bother to stop sawing either.

"Are you?" He nodded left, and I followed his vision.

We were atop a tall rock formation, coming to a point a short way to the east at a vista that overlooked the badlands and Revelation off on the horizon. The wind howled up here, and rain slashed sideways alongside the hail.

Silhouettes—human figures—stood at the other end, sheltered under an outcropping, seated by what looked like a small camp. Just a couple of tents and supplies by a fire pit that was already extinguished. One of the shadowy figures, however, was massive. And unless the World's Strongest Man had decided to take a stroll, I knew who it was.

"That's them," Ace said. "I led you here, just like I said. Now you let me go."

"Not until the job is done."

I moved to him, unbound his hands, and held him down as I tied him around the chest and arms to that very rock. Hail kept pattering all around him.

"You get off on torturing a man?" He pulled and twisted to get free, but I was damn good at tying knots.

"Learned from the best," I said.

"You made a deal!" A particularly large and sharp piece of hail hit him in the face, cutting a line from his temple to jawline. He winced and snarled. "Goddammit, Crowley!"

"A deal with the Devil…" I leaned in, right in his face, "… ain't worth the paper it's written on."

He chuckled like a maniac. "My men will come for me. They'll kill you dead this time."

"No one's coming for you, Ace. You forget: I was one of your men, and there's no way in hell any of us would've come."

Standing, I gave him one last look and walked away. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what I was gonna do with him yet. It felt wrong not to honor our arrangement, even if it was Ace Ryker. But it also felt equally wrong not to shoot him and roll him into a ditch.

Didn't matter yet. His barking was lost to the whipping winds as I approached my targets. Lightning flashed, striking a nearby formation and blowing chunks of rock apart. Thunder went off like a cannon at sea.

Here I was. Here they were. Maybe that reverend by in town was right and Armageddon had come at last.