Once they were far enough away, the three of them paused to take in the damage they had done. John would like to say it was a complete destruction of the enemy armor, but someone aboard the airship had managed to get it to the ground rather quickly. That left some intact suits on the ship, as well as a few on the ground that might have survived the much shorter fall.

On the plus side, the ship had been damaged in the hurried landing and the entire front looked to have been caved in. There were no fires though. A fire would have been ideal to completely eliminate the ship. Right now, it might be fixable given enough time. He just didn’t know enough about airships to say for certain.

“Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” Blackwood asked.

“If you think you’re seeing suits of armor that survived, then yes,” John replied sourly.

“Can we go back and pick them off?” Seline asked.

Did the young woman forget they had just survived one suicidal attempt at stopping Henseley’s forces? Somehow he doubted that to be the case. It was more likely that she was just trying to suggest something to not keep her mind off of what was going to happen when this army arrived outside Ember Creek.

“No,” he responded softly. “While they might be in disarray, they are still going to consolidate their forces around the ship. And with so many cannons on that ship, we’ll never get near it now that it’s on the ground. My guess is they will set up a camp, assess their losses, and move to hit the town in the morning. We won’t be able to do any more good out here, it's time to head back.”

John turned toward Ember Creek, the black line from the burning coal of the derailed train had tapered off into a thin wisp. It seemed like it had finally burned itself out. That attack had happened four or five days ago now. It was hard to believe only that much time had passed.

In only four days they had suffered multiple Harc’otti raids, a concentrated attack, a train derailment, the arrival of the airship, fought off multiple waves of walkers and foot soldiers, and managed to down that very same airship just shy of the city.

And yet all of that still hadn’t stopped Vernon Hensley or his plans if the activity around the ship was any indication.

John got on the back of Seline’s ostrich and the three rode toward town to see what had changed in the last few days and prepare for the final battle. Because what would come in the next day or so would certainly decide the fate of this quiet valley.

When they got within a few miles of Ember Creek, they were surprised to see the piles of dirt that seemed to ring the East side of the city.

Blackwood coughed out a laugh. “When I left some recommendations for Madam Cassandra, I didn’t expect her to go quite this far.”

“You recommended she build an earthen bulwark?” John asked in confusion as they slowed but kept moving toward the town. “That’s not going to stop the walkers.”

“True. But it was never meant to stop them. It was meant to give our people a covered position to fire from. If the woods weren’t crawling with Harc’otti, we could have turned that into a palisade. With the addition of the steam suits, we’ll need to rethink the defenses.”

A dozen possible ways to trip up horses and soldiers flitted through John’s mind, but he wasn’t sure how effective they would be against either the walkers or the armor. He was also hesitant to bring them up in front of Seline. Then again, this wasn’t the time to hold back any possible advantage, no matter how detestable they might be.

“Does the town have a supply of coal oil or creosote?” The Sheriff glanced at him and he could feel Seline stiffen at the question.

At least he wouldn’t need to explain what he had in mind for it.

“I’m sure it does,” Wyatt muttered. “You sure you wanna go down that route? Fire could get out of hand very quickly. I would know.” That last part was said so quietly it was almost lost in the breeze as they moved at a light trot.

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“Lighting it on fire will be the last resort. For now, just soaking the ground and this side of the dirt berms with the stuff will make it much harder for the walkers or the suits of armor to get across. We also need to dig small pits and cover them with burlap and a bit of dirt. Fit the smaller ones meant for a man with wooden spikes at the bottom. We need to reduce their numbers before they can reach the town.”

With each horrible suggestion, he could see Seline wince. John didn’t like suggesting setting these traps any more than she did, but he would do whatever it took to win. That was the difference between him and her. She had a line that she wouldn’t cross, and that line would get her killed one day if she wasn’t lucky.

As they rode into town, they passed quite a few people with expectant looks on their faces. John hadn’t missed the dead bodies piled up from the previous night’s raid. The Harc’otti had indeed attacked. And it didn’t appear that all the dead were from the Harc’otti. He could see a few bodies covered by white cloths.

“Sherrif, Deputy, John, you’re back!” Cassi hurried out from the Saloon as they approached.

Someone must have told her they had arrived.

The woman wasn’t smiling as she spotted them, but even so, her face fell. “Are you all ok?”

“We’re alive,” Wyatt stated as he stopped his ostrich and got off of it. “What happened? We saw the bodies.”

“Best you three come inside, I’ll have Ricardo get you a warm meal and we can discuss what happened.”

They found a quiet corner of the Saloon, which was easier said than done. Since it had been converted into the headquarters for the defense of the town, people came and went.

Cassi set four chairs around the small table and gestured to her bartender. The man nodded and left to get their food.

“Eat first or do you wanna know now?” she asked as she took the last seat.

“Might as well let us know now,” Blackwood sighed.

The older woman nodded. “A little after midnight, one of the sentries fell asleep. It didn’t take the Harc’otti long to find the weak point in the defenses. Three people died before the backup arrived and dealt with the warriors. The man was removed from the sentry detail, but I can’t even blame him. Everyone is running on empty. By day we build more defenses, and by night the Harc’otti never stop trying to get past them to kill more people. Please tell me you had more luck?”

“Some,” John spoke up for the first time. “We took down Vernon’s airship, so at least he won't have that. But they have half a dozen walkers still, and an unknown number of steam-powered armor. We have a day, two at most before they reach the town. I recommended a few solutions to the Sheriff on how to slow them down.”

“I see…” The Madam stated calmly. She sat primly in her chair, her hands set on her legs. Most people wouldn’t have noticed it, but John saw the quiver in her hands. He admired her for keeping it out of her voice. “…Tell me what you need to make happen and I’ll notify the people working on the barricades.”

John relayed what he had told the Sheriff and Deputy Seline. Cassi listened attentively and only paused him to ask for certain details.

By the time their food arrived, Cassi had already left to issue these new orders.

“Both bathing rooms will be ready for you after you finish your meal. Courtesy of Madam Cassandra,” Ricardo stated, bowing slightly before going back to his duties.

John dug into the warm stew and hard bread with gusto. Trail rations and beef jerky were fine in a pinch, but it was no way to live. And when you got to be his age, food was one of the few things he found joy in.

He was the first to finish, but he let Seline and Blackwood take the baths. Once they were gone, he found Cassi, speaking with a group of people.

“Do you have a few minutes?” he asked after she finished her conversation with the group.

“Um, sure. You want to make this a private conversation.”

He gave a slight nod.

They retired to her suite inside the Saloon.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked as soon as the door shut. “It's not really a good time for intimacy if that’s what you're after.” She said that last part jokingly.

John walked over to the woman and simply held her tight.

For a moment, she seemed stunned, before she quietly started to sob. After a bit, she raised her arms and returned the embrace. There were no words shared, they simply held each other until all their worries and fear drained away.

“Will we survive?” she asked, her words muffled as she had her face buried in his shoulder.

He wanted to lie to her, to tell her that it would be fine. But that would be a disservice to the woman who had taken on so much responsibility while they had left the town. He also didn’t want to be his usual blunt self.

“If we prepare, there’s a chance.”

She nodded and pulled away from him, her face and hair a mess. Cassi glanced over at a mirror and groaned. “I look like a mess.”

“You look as lovely as you always do,” John replied.

She gave a delicate snort. “If I don’t clean up and make myself presentable again, people are gonna start talking.”

John just shrugged at that.

“Oh,” she said quirking an eyebrow. “You don’t mind being labeled a fast shooter?”

In any other context, that might seem like a good title for him. But he understood her meaning. He cleared his throat. “I’ll let you clean up.”

She smiled. “Thank you for this.”