Dancing with the Devil

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ance slipped back over the crumbled wall and took cover behind a post when he realized that Irish, Barnaby and seven other men had come outside.

"We've taken your potion, Irishmen, now we're gonna test our aim," one of the men stated as he pulled his revolver and nearly dropped it when he stumbled sideways.

Drunk. Ance realized each and every one of these men were dog drunk and flying high on Irish's elixir--all of them except Barnaby and Irish. Of course Irish hadn't sampled his own concoction and Barnaby had clearly thought better of it as well. Could Ance murder a bunch of men who were clearly out of their heads and would barely be able to fight back?

Hell yes he could and a bit easier than if they were sober.

"Ya want to test your aim, then?" Irish asked. He grabbed the hat off a man who's face was quickly becoming a nice shade of green. "I'll toss this hat up in the air and we'll see just how many times ya can hit it before it falls back to the dirt."

Ance watched Irish throw the hat followed by the man failing miserably to hit it. Ance remained out of sight and attempted to think of the best way to go about taking out these men. As he'd told Irish before, he wasn't much of a planner.. Ance tended to simply go in, guns blazing, and hope things went in his favor--he had learned he couldn't live that way any longer.

Ance now had a woman and child to think of.

Ance's planning was interrupted when one of the men, a skinny, dirty bastard named Gus, broke away from the distracted group of men all attempting to shoot the hat full of holes, and headed toward the back of the main building and toward the cellar doors.

He had a leering grin on his face and his tiny eyes kept darting to Barnaby who seemed unaware that the man had left and instead was watching the other men with amusement. Ance had a feeling he knew where Gus was going and why... Rage boiled within him.

Silently Ance slipped behind the man and followed him down the cellar steps and directly to the door of the room Audrey had been kept in. Gus adjusted his pecker in his pants and grinned as he reached for the door. Ance growled, pulled his knife and slid up behind him.

Gus stiffened when the blade pressed against his dirty neck. "She ain't here anymore," Ance stated, pressing his lips close to Gus's ear and keeping his voice at a low, angry growl.

"Wh...who aint?" Gus stammered, his hand reaching for his gun until Ance's knife tightened against his trembling throat and he thought better of it.

"The woman you came down here to see," Ance growled. "My woman."

"Y..your woman?" Gus feigned innocence as his voice raised several octaves. "I didn't know she was your woman.. Why I was just coming down here to free her, Ance. I swears that to ya."

Ance chuckled but there was not an ounce of good humor in the sound. "I'm sure." Without bothering to hear anything else Gus had to say, because Ance knew good and well what the bastard's true intentions had been in sneaking down to the cellars, Ance slid his knife across his throat and dropped his limp body to the ground as his blood pooled around him.

Now it was only Barnaby and six men left. Ance liked those damn odds.

He slipped back up the stairs and reached the top just in time to hear Barnaby call an end to the gunshots and target practice. "Where the hell is Cayhill?" he demanded. "I told the man to keep watch."

"Boss, I ain't seen Waylon neither," another man spoke up. "He never did show up for supper."

"Okay, Irishman, as entertaining as I've found your constant chatter and nonsense, I think you might be up to something." Barnaby's voice was angry and threatening.