Chapter 4 - Books

Cole entered the yard of the Wilmington Ranch in the late afternoon the next day. Coming home to an empty house felt so endlessly lonely. The young hunter stood in the door frame for a few moments and missed Wade, Mike, and Bastian.

Sky tracked along the floorboards and around the table, missing the others too. Cole was nearly able to see them doing their usual everyday things. Wade would be in the kitchen area, making dinner. Mike would play around with some knives or even hang out in the yard or barn but was always aware of who came or left. The only one not so present had often been Bastian for he hid behind a book. But nothing was as usual, everything had changed in a few weeks and it would never be the same again.

Sam should be back from Canaan his horse was in the barn. He had wanted to ride to George to tell him what had happened. "Sam, are you at home?", Cole shouted. His shout was followed by a scratching noise from a chair on the upper level.

Sam answered him with a strange tone of excitement, "Cole, I'm upstairs, good you are back." Sam came down into the living room and took Cole in a short embrace. It clearly told him how glad Sam was not to be alone right now.

"What are you up to?" Cole asked.

Sam looked somehow ashamed. "I read Bastian's traveling notes. I had some time to think everything through and it makes me wonder what had caused the fever. I wanted to trace their last steps back."

Cole walked past Sam and over to the table to get himself something to drink. The cool water felt good to his throat. With the cup still in his hand, he pointed at Sam. "How did you come to this? Do you think something happened out there?" Cole sighed heavily, already feeling a lump forming in his throat. "God, why didn't we see how weird it was that they all were ill and that we did not get infected?" He brought a hand over his mouth and took a seat on the next chair. Closing his eyes, the urge to talk to his dad or uncle felt overwhelming. He needed advice. Cole wanted some assurance from the older hunters that they hadn't missed something that could have changed the situation."

Sam came closer, sensing Cole was on the edge. His friend knelt next to the chair, resting his hands on Cole's shoulders in comfort. "Hey Cole, it is okay, I'm here. I shouldn't have started going through Bastian's stuff, forgive me. I didn't want to make you feel guilty."

Cole brushed him off. "It is not your fault, I didn't mean it like that. It is good that at least you can think like a hunter. We have to focus on the facts - like a hunt. You know, Grey Feather wondered the same. He also told me to check if the fever in Canaan is really the same as the one the Triad had had. And he is absolutely right, we were so tied up in caring for them that we maybe had missed something. What if the fever had a supernatural source?" Cole stopped shortly and added with a whisper of despair, "What if we could have saved them?" He took a few husky breaths before he had his feeling under control again. "I need to know what happened to them out there. Will you help me?" Cole met Sam's supportive gaze.

"Of course, Cole. Whatever you want me to do, I will gladly help you," Sam offered.

Cole nodded and ran a hand over his eyes to keep himself from crying. He had to focus now or all the memories in this house would bring him down again. "Ok. Did you talk to George?"

"Yeah, I was with him yesterday. He was devastated. We didn't talk much about what had happened on their trip. But during the ride home I wondered why George had not been ill. That was the reason why I started researching."

"We should see him tomorrow morning. He'll need some friends now and we could use some advice. George lost his Brothers. I can't imagine losing one of you. He has to be in despair." Cole stayed silent for a moment. He hoped George wouldn't do something stupid in his grief. He had promised Mike he would look after him. It left him with an uneasy feeling but it was already getting dark. It was too late to pay him a visit today.

"Let's start with their journals, I think this should give us a first hint if they were after something."

Until late in the evening they sifted the travel notes. Sam reconstructed the past few weeks of their journey and wrote them down.

Cole was exhausted, the short night, the worry, and the fact that he couldn't sleep well had cost his body some strength. It didn't help that his eyes burned from reading in dim light. "I can't read anymore, my eyes already hurt." Sighing he closed Mike's book at his last entry. "So what do we have so far?"

Sam cleared his throat and read, "They first stopped in Fort William for some supplies then headed to the witch coven, after that to Liberty, where they separated. Mike and Bastian went to that salt and burn. It went uneventfully. Nothing unusual. Meanwhile, Wade did Guardian stuff in town. He met Graham Perry, was with Doc Baker, and was in the headquarters the rest of the time until the others came back. Everything went uneventfully that far. Then they rode back home, stopped at the coven, and met there with Harris. Harris left earlier because he had a quarrel with his mother. There is nothing more about it, only that Bastian noted that the demeanor of Maddalena was icy then. They had planned to ride straight home after breakfast the next day but had to stop in Fort William again because Bastian felt not good soon after they had left. They were in the store for supplies, I don't know why. Then they headed directly back to Canaan and home."

Cole got up frustrated and started pacing the room. "That doesn't bring us any further. Most of it we already did know."

"Ok, I'll get everything back in order. Go to bed you look tired. We can continue this tomorrow. Good night, buddy."

Cole flinched at the nickname Mike always used for one of them. There was one source he hadn't considered yet. The dark-haired hunter got up and left Sam sitting over the notes to head straight into Mike's room.

He took a moment to stand in the doorframe, inspecting the room. Sam had cleaned everything. It looked like his father could enter anytime soon to come home from a hunt. The only difference was his travel bag rested on the big wooden chest at the bed end, and the shelf with his favorite knives was not missing a single blade. Cole swallowed and approached the bed. With his mind full of emotions and memories, he took a seat and brushed carefully over the folded blue and green Campbell tartan.

Sky scurried into the room and laid down at Cole's feet, slightly whining.

The young man sniveled and tried like so often lately to keep himself from crying. "Hey girl, do I really want to read it?"

Sky woofed softly as an answer.

"Yeah, you are right, we need to know." He opened the drawer of the nightstand and pulled a book out.

Cole had been embarrassed when his father had seen him writing a personal diary not long after Carolyn. Mike had reassured him that it was a good thing then. He himself wrote down things that were on his mind from time to time in a diary. Cole felt not so weird anymore after that confession. He brushed over the green leather book. "I really hope that gives us some hints." Cole went through the well-filled pages and stopped at the last entry. Mike didn't note dates to his entries which made it more difficult to find the important passage. So Cole had to read more than he wanted to. Reading his father's private thoughts felt nearly like Mike was telling him about his trip.

Liberty:

We will travel back home today. I can't wait to see the boys again. Next time I'm gonna take Cole with me back to Liberty. James is working now in Lewis' office because he has retired from work. James was disappointed that I hadn't had Cole with me. Wade said we three will stay at the coven until George arrives. It's good to have them both with me. It's been a long time since we all traveled together.

Coven:

George was already at the coven, so we won't stay here for long.

What a pity, Rowena isn't at the coven anymore. I found out when we stopped by on our way to Liberty that she already left before winter. But I understand completely what made her turn her back on the witches. Clarissa had told me earlier that she had an argument with Maddalena because Rowena didn't want to share some of her knowledge. Everyone thinks she would just give her hard work for everyone's free use. But the time I shared with her had given me the opportunity to get to know the little redhead a bit.

I hope we leave soon, I heard George and his mother quarreling. Something about Malachi and joining the witch coven. I didn't hear more. But George often enough told me how disappointed his mother was that he had chosen the Brotherhood over the witches.

A fucking note! George left us a fucking note, that he left in the night to Fort William and wants to meet us at home. The fight with his mother must have gone even worse than I had thought. But I will get it out of him what went wrong. We will leave after breakfast too. The atmosphere here is icy.

Fort William:

We hadn't planned to stop here but Bastian doesn't feel good; he threw up half the way from the coven, so he went to see the doctor with Wade. George was still in the Fort; found him in the Saloon. He lost all his money again. One should think he had at least learned how to cheat right from his witch mother, huh? I paid him off for the promise to tell me what happened at the coven.

His mother was in a rage that George planned to make Malachi his predecessor as the Advisor. She wants her grandson to join the coven. Said his potential is wasted with us. She even told George that she had not planned it like that. Obviously, the old witch had handpicked George's wife Cathrine to breed a good little witch that turned out to be Malachi and she wanted her breed at her side.

God, this woman… I wonder if she even has feelings for her family…

The doctor ordered Bastian tea and soup. As if we didn't have enough tea with the witches.

Cole sighed and looked at Sky. "Well, at least this is a hint. I can't read anymore, girl. Let's hit the sack. He got up, taking the book together with the tartan with him, safely pressed at his chest like a treasure. Tomorrow was another day to read on. Daniel would stay at least a week with Shewa, so they had a little bit of time to find out more.

*** The Wild West Triad - prequel ***

Cole walked downstairs already smelling that Sam had made breakfast. He was starving. They didn't talk much until they had eaten. They cleaned the table and Cole took out Mike's diary. "I found this in Mike's room yesterday. We need to talk to George." Cole opened the book at the passage he had marked with a piece of paper and shoved it to Sam. I was too tired yesterday to read further than Fort William, but it explains why the 'atmosphere was icy' at the coven.

Sam took the book and studied the entry until 'Fort William'. The future Scholar looked up. "His handwriting isn't clean anymore, did you notice?"

Cole bent over the book and saw it too, he hadn't noticed it yesterday. "Go on, read it aloud," Cole told Sam.

"On the way:

I feel sick. Hope I didn't catch the same as Bastian. He is doing worse. We got him soup and Wade made some more tea. We decided to ride home as fast as possible. But when I look at him I'm not sure if we should have better stayed in Fort William.

Threw up after breakfast. Feeling a bit better now. In the afternoon we should reach Canaan. Wade seems still ok so far. Didn't tell him feel not alright too. Don't want him to worry about me too. Concerned about Bastian.

Canaan:

George and I unloaded at Ben's. Wade went to the doctor with Bastian again. The quack said he had eaten something wrong. I wanna go home."

Sam looked up at Cole who had listened silently brooding so far. "This is all - his last entry." Sam waited for a reaction from Cole but nothing came. So he went on with his thoughts. "Not only was his handwriting bad, but he also wrote shorter every sentence, at last only with notes. He must have felt awful over the whole ride from Fort William. Something had happened between the coven and there." Carefully Sam closed the book and shoved it back to Cole.

Cole got up, the diary treasured to his chest. "Let's ride, we have to check on George anyway. Then we see the doctor as well as Ben. I wonder what they 'unloaded'. When that doesn't bring light into the dark we travel to Fort William and the Coven."

He would keep his father's memories safe. He couldn't help but had to think of his mother's and Mike's love letters which Mike had kept for more than 20 years and occasionally read them. He understood his father now even better.

TBC