According to my understanding, the time passed between the robbery in Saint Denis and getting back to America took about three weeks, so that's why Lilly is further along in her pregnancy. Just an fyi. So, anyway, review, fav, follow, and thanks for reading!

Chapter 54: The Blind Man

It was the next day and Lilly woke up with Arthur sitting next to her. He was looking at her with a grin. "What? Somethin' on my face?" she asked him.

"No. Just...I was watchin' you sleep," he replied. "You look peaceful when you sleep."

"Heh. Riiight."

A chuckle made his chest bounce and he kissed her. "This beard really does get in the way, don't it?"

"Yes, but I could get used to it."

"Ha! How so?"

"Well, you're used to my honeypot hair, aren't ya?"

A loud cackle escaped Arthur's lips and he kissed her again. "I love your honeypot hair. Now," he slapped her butt softly. "I am gonna go get Javier with Dutch."

Lilly sat up with a groan. "You need me to come with?"

Arthur pushed her back down. "No. You rest. You've done a lot of work since we got stranded here."

"This is true, but I'd like to come with you just the same."

Arthur scoffed and shook his head, then put a hand to her belly. "Tá tú torrach. Ní mór duit scíth a ligean. Déan amhlaidh dom le do thoil." [You are pregnant. You must relax. Please do so for me.]

Lilly huffed at him. Arthur had a good point. She should be relaxing because she was pregnant, but she hated not doing anything. "But I still need to go huntin'."

"Nope, Hosea's got that covered."

Lilly looked around. "He's gone already?"

"Yes. Now would you please just take a bit of the day off?"

Lilly rolled her eyes and puffed out a deep breath. "Oh fine..." she growled and laid back down. "I could use some more shut eye, I guess."

Arthur kissed her forehead, then her stomach. "Good. I'll be back soon." He got up and addressed the men. "Let her sleep a bit before you all head to that old fort on the cape."

They all agreed. Lilly rolled over on her side and yawned. She really was tired. She kept her dark eyes on Arthur as he left the camp, then she shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Lilly awoke to Sean shaking her a little "Lilly, wake up."

"Mmm?" she yawned, sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What's goin' on?"

"We're ready to go."

"Oh, okay." Lilly groaned as she got up and rubbed her back. "God, that cot is horrible to sleep on. I miss my bed."

They all gathered up their things and made the journey to Cinco Torres to meet up with Hercule. When they got there, Lilly saw Dutch but not Arthur. "Hey, where's Arthur?"

"He's on the way," replied Dutch.

"You guys get Javier?"

"Yes."

"Good." Lilly went and sat down on a box, scratching Brian and James behind the ears. "So, should we get started?"

"Alright. Now," Dutch turned to Hercule, "we did what you asked.

"It's like I said," Hercule began. "Fussar knows who you are and knows the prices on your heads, including hers. It's a big problem."

"I see," Dutch said.

Lilly blinked a few times. "Wait, I still have a price on my head? We killed Bronte, what the fuck!"

"Don't forget about your dear old Uncle Levi," Arthur said as he walked in. "Remember the Pinkertons said he put one back on?"

Lilly sighed. "Oh yeah, now I remember."

That all seemed so long ago. Lilly was having a hard time remembering things these days. She didn't know if it was her pregnancy making her forgetful or just events being so overwhelmingly stressful that she just couldn't keep up, or both. Either way, she was stressed and each day she felt more of her will being crushed by strain. Not that she was showing it, but now that she was thinking of it, Lilly was so perturbed that she may break in half.

"Anyway, if we can silence Fussar, then I can help you escape before anyone has time to get here from America. That way, we all get what we want," Hercule explained casually.

"We want to get the boat you promised us," Dutch spoke in frustration.

"And you will. But you have found yourself in the middle of a war, my friend. Fussar has called in the navy from Cuba. There's no way a boat could leave right now."

"Hercule, Hercule, s'il vous plaît! Vif, vif!" a man said as he came in. [Please! Come, come!]

"Come, follow me." Hercule and the rest of the group got up, then they followed him outside. "So now we have a real problem. This must be the boat he called in from Cuba."

"That's a god damn warship," Bill said.

"Yep. Certainly looks like it," Hosea agreed resentfully.

The ship was shooting cannons near them and the building shook. "You kinda have to hand it to this feller," Micah commented, sounding impressed.

"So I guess great minds think alike," Dutch said.

"So what now?" Arthur asked.

"We fight or we run," replied Hercule.

"Any of you feel like runnin'?" asked Dutch loudly. When there was no answer, Dutch spoke again. "So what do we do?"

Lilly sighed. "Well, you boys could take care of the ground troops, I'll go take care of that ship."

Hercule looked at her in confusion. "You? That is a navy warship! How are you going to-"

Light enveloped Lilly and when it disappeared, Adair was standing in her place.

Hercule backed away from Adair as she walked to the edge. "Gentlemen, I am about to do something you may find unbelievable."

Sean giggled. "Oh, as if you could surprise any of us anymore."

"What is going on?" Hercule demanded.

Dutch let out a deep chuckle. "Hercule, this is Adair. She is a goddess of war, hunting, and death."

Adair took a step up and stretched out her back. Bones crunched and punctured through the skin of her back and the men took a couple steps back. Large and red feathered wings grew and unfurled from her shoulder blades and Adair gave them a flap, a satisfied groan escaping her lips. "I haven't done that in years!"

"Okay, I stand corrected," Sean said. "That is unbelievable."

"How did you do that?!" Lenny exclaimed.

"My mother is a shapeshifter. Her gifts were passed down to me," Adair explained, as if this was all normal for everyone.

"I'll be damned."

More cannon balls shook the fort and Adair looked at everyone. "What are you waiting for? Let us begin."

Adair jumped from the ledge and with another flap of her wings, she ascended into the air towards the ocean.

Arthur started laughing. "My wife is just full of surprises, ain't she?" Suddenly he began coughing and hacking. He covered his mouth and turned away from people.

"You alright Arthur?" Dutch asked him. Arthur stopped and looked at his hands. There was some blood on them. "Arthur, are you okay?" Dutch asked again.

Arthur quickly wiped his hands on his pants, then wiped his mouth and beard before turning around. "I'm fine. Sorry. I think a bug got down my throat."

Adair landed on the ship, surprising quite a bit of the crew. Her wings crunched and grew smaller, furling into her back. People stared at her in shock.

"Say, "BOO!" Lilly said in Adair's head.

"What?" Adair asked, a confused look on her face.

"Just do it! And look scary!"

Adair sighed. "BOO!" her voice clapped, her arms outstretched and her teeth bared. The men went running and some even jumped off the ship. Lilly giggled into a fit in Adair's head.

"That was fuckin' hilarious!"

Adair nodded in approval. "This pleases me."

"Me too!"

Adair balled up a fist and started punching holes into the ship. "What purpose are we trying to accomplish here, my vessel?"

"Blow up the ship."

"How do you propose we do that?" Another hole was created and Adair began pulling the metal up.

"Find the engine room and sabotage it."

"What is an engine room?"

"As ucht Dé, I'll do it!" Adair shifted back into Lilly and she jumped down the huge hole in the ship, landing on a metallic catwalk. "Now, where is that engine room?"

"I'm gonna need your help, my friend," Hercule said to Arthur who was shooting down Fussar's men with a scoped rolling block rifle.

"Sure," Arthur replied. He reloaded and went to the cannon that was merely sitting there not being used. Arthur and Hercule started to push. "Damn, this is heavy."

Arthur grunted and groamed as they pushed the cannon to the ledge. "Damn, there's a whole lot more of them turnin' up!" Bill yelled.

"This don't look good, fellers! Micah shouted.

Suddenly the warship began exploding. Arthur could see Adair jump from the ship and fly back to them. She made a bee line for the beach and landed, tearing into the crowd of men as Brian and James joined her. Hercule looked at the ship and smiled. "A goddess of war, hunting and death, huh?" he asked Arthur.

"Yes," Arthur replied with pride in his voice. "There's more than one in Ireland, apparently." Arthur, the other men, Adair, Brian and James attacked with no mercy. The battle was fought long and hard, but soon there were no enemies left and Arthur saw Adair change back into Lilly. He ran down to her on the beach and twirled her around in his arms. "You were amazin', baby girl!" He looked down at the boys. "So were you, fellers!"

Lilly laughed. "Shush, Adair did most of the work on that ship."

"How'd you get the ship to explode?"

"I uh...kinda sabotaged the engine room. Mostly by beatin' the livin' shite out of everythin'."

Arthur kissed her and laughed. "You are brilliant, woman!"

Lilly smiled and looked down at his shirt. "Hey, you got blood on your shirt. Are you injured?"

Arthur grasped the cloth and frowned. "Oh, uh, that ain't my blood, darlin'." Arthur looked into her eyes. She didn't seem to suspect anything and Arthur was hoping it was just a one time thing.

"That was quite some shootin', boys!" Dutch exclaimed proudly.

"Thank you," said Hercule.

"What now?"

"Oh, they'll be back," Hercule said as he shook Dutch's hand, "but I found a boat for you and he should be arriving on the dock anytime now."

"Great. Micah, Lenny, go meet with the captain. If he's amenable and discrete, tell him we'll be ready to set sail soon. Bill, Sean, come help me collect poor old Javier. Rest of you, meet us at the boat. Hercule, it was a great pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Lilly shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "I think I need another nap."

Arthur walked with Lilly cradled in his arms towards the boat with Brian and James at his side. Lilly felt very tired after shifting, and she usually was that way after Adair left. Hosea and Sean came running. "Is she okay?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, she's just tired," Arthur said. "She gets like that whenever, well, you know..."

"Adair?" Hosea asked.

"Yeah."

Lilly grumbled. "Arthur, I really need...hey, Javier!" she said as she spotted him and waved. "Qué bueno verte, amigo." [Good to see you, friend!]

Javier laughed. "Y tu, amiga." [You too, friend!]

Arthur neared Javier and sighed. "Glad to have you back, Javier," Arthur said.

"Thanks. I thought I was dead for sure," Javier responded.

"Boys, we got a real problem," Micah said as he and Lenny walked down the hill towards the group. "Nice Mr. Fussar don't want us goin' nowhere. He knows just who we are, if he can keep us here for a few more days, well..."

"And what about the captain of the ship here?" Dutch asked Micah.

"They got him tied up," Lenny replied. "There were guards everywhere."

"Yeah, and got us surrounded with gun positions so when we try to sail out, he's gonna blow holes in us," Micah explained.

"This fella is really beginnin' to try my patience," Dutch said in frustration.

"And he ain't even had you tortured yet," Arthur pointed out.

"Heh, I like the man's style," Micah said with a hissy snicker. "He's thorough, nasty and viiindictive. However, in this instance, I don't see we got any alternative but we go and free our friendly captain and," Micah pulled out some dynamite, "destroy the artillery."

"For once, I agree with you."

"Hercule?" Dutch inquired.

"Oh, I'll fight Alberto Fussar everyday I can."

"Alright. Bill, you're gonna guard Javier on the ship here. Hosea, you stay with Lilly. She's obviously worn out from the fight."

Lilly groaned. "Da, I can still-"

"Oh Lilly, we already been through this. You need to rest," Arthur said. "If shiftin' is strainin' you, it might be strainin' the babies, too." Arthur started walking on the boat with Hosea, Brian and James in tow. "Just let me get her settled, Dutch, then we'll go!"

"Alright, Arthur!"

Arthur got below deck and found a small bedroom for Lilly to sleep in. He laid her down on the bed and covered her up, kissing her softly. "Take a nap. We'll be back before you know it."

"Okay," Lilly said. "Stubborn mule."

"Ha! Difficult bitch."

"Arsehole," she giggled.

"Trollop." He kissed her again with a smile. "Sleep."

Arthur left them both and Hosea found a chair to sit in as the boys laid down near his feet and the bed. "So, you ready to go back home?"

"Obviously," Lilly replied with a groan.

"Good. Hey, can Adair hear me in there?"

Lilly blinked a few times. "I dunno. I can talk to her when she's out, but she-"

"Yes, I can hear your Athair, Lilly," said Adair in her head.

"Oh. Yep. She's listenin'."

Hosea laughed and put a hand on Lilly's. "I wanted to thank you for savin' my life, Adair. Both of you, thank you."

"Aww, Da," Lilly said as she sat up and hugged the man.

"You're welcome," Adair said.

"She says you're welcome."

Trees. A cave in the snow. A woman's hands going into the ground and the grass dying. Arthur coughing and hacking as he falls off his horse. A buck on the plains. Shady Belle abandoned. Horses running. Leviticus Cornwall being shot. Brutus and Mr. Pierce being torn apart by Brian and James. Bonds. Eagle Flies and Rains Fall in their home of Wapiti. A nun. The camp by a cave. Fire. A rat scurrying about in camp. A snake whispering in Dutch's ear.

Lilly opened her eyes and sat up. Brian and James were looking at her as if they were concerned. She swung her legs over the bed and groaned, holding her head in her hands. Why was she still getting visions about Arthur being sick? Was he going to get sick regardless of what she could do to stop it? Lilly had no idea. And what about her other visions? She went over them in her head. Lilly assumed they were going to move camp somewhere, but where exactly that was, she had no clue. Who was the woman killing the land? Would Leviticus, Brutus and Joseph Pierce truly meet their fates? She hoped so. They all tried to kill her. Well, they did kill her but she didn't stay dead. And the rat. Who was the god damn rat? She wish she knew. And that snake...what was that about? Lilly realized it was day time and the boat was moving, so she got up from the bed and walked out of the cabin with the boys. They climbed up the stairs and Lilly saw the men talking near the front of the ship.

"...slip ashore, one by one, and find out what's what," Dutch was saying.

"And we don't cut and run now? Head back to Blackwater," Micah insisted.

"Why do you keep insistin' on goin' back there?" Hosea snapped. "We'd be worse off goin' there than back to Lemoyne."

Lilly tilted her head to one side. "What about Lemoyne?"

The men all looked at her. "Your "Da" thinks we should be goin' back to Lemoyne," Bill said.

Lilly's lips parted and her head jerked to the side. "Well shit, Da. That's a great plan," she said sarcastically. "Why, oh why, are we goin' back to that godforsaken, inbred breedin', moonshine makin', family feudin', sorry cesspool of a feckin' state filled with all sorts of Bronte's, Cornwall's, and other rich and filthy degenerates?"

The choice of words brought out guffaws and snickers from the men. "Because the last thing they'll be thinkin' is for us to turn up," explained Dutch.

"We been on the run for a while now, and it feels like," a frustrated sigh escaped from Arthur, "like our luck has turned, you know? And it ain't turnin' back. We had a good run of it, I guess."

"We ain't even played our hand yet!" Dutch exclaimed. "We just need to put more money in our pockets, make our escape. Broke, alone, they're gonna pick us off, one by one, and you know it!"

"Maybe."

"Not. Maybe. We need to split up, keep a low profile, try to track down the rest. But...carefully. See if they sent any mail. Arthur, you check Shady Belle. We'll find each other eventually, we always do."

"And then what?" Javier asked Dutch.

"Then we meet up, we gather the family, we get some money and get the hell outta there. That's the plan."

"We all acting crazy, and that...that's not what I thought we were gonna be doin' here," Javier said.

Dutch stood up. "We have been in a bad way! Listen...I will kill for my family. Any of you wanna judge me for that, that's fine, but that is who I am. Anyone disagree?" No one spoke up. "Anyone?" When there was no reply, Dutch walked off.

Lilly sighed and looked at Arthur and Hosea. "Arthur? Athair? A word, please?" Lilly escorted the two men below deck to her cabin and shut the door behind Brian and James. "We still got a rat to worry about. I think that's why our luck has changed. That rat, whoever they are, ain't just gunnin' for me. I think we know that now."

"Agreed," Hosea said, sitting down. Arthur leaned on the wall and crossed his arms as Lilly sat on the bed. "Any idea who it might be?"

Arthur sighed. "Well, Dutch implied it might be John or Abigail."

"When did he imply that?"

"The cave in Guarma, before he killed our guide in cold blood."

Lilly's jaw dropped. "He what?"

"Are you serious?" Hosea asked as he leaned forward.

Arthur took in a deep breath with a nod. "Yup," he exhaled. "Said she was gonna betray us because he "knows some Spanish" and she had "a look in her eye"."

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," Lilly said in shock. "But why would he think it was Abigail or John?"

"Abigail apparently got away and John was only arrested."

"Yeah but...oh, right. Remember that rant he went on about Micah bein' the only...oh."

"Oh? What's "oh"?"

Lilly got up and started pacing. "Have you guys noticed that ever since Micah showed up, Da's been actin' a bit strange?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Why?" Hosea inquired of her.

"When I was sleepin', I had visions. There was a snake, and he was talking to Da."

"A snake?" Arthur raised his eyebrows. "A snake's been talkin' to Dutch?"

Lilly shook her head. "No, I think it's symbolic. I had a vision about a rat in camp, too. That's gotta be symbolic as well."

Arthur scratched the back of his head. "You know, it's funny you mention this snake."

"Why?"

"There's this blind man that begs for money over by the Heartlands, and I give him money whenever I run into him. And every time he does, he kinda...gives me some cryptic line about things. One time he said somethin' about "your father is seduced by the one with the forked tongue." So...I think that's the same thing.

Lilly gaped at Arthur. "You never mentioned this blind man before. I have visions and you didn't think to tell me about another person with...abilities?"

"I'm sorry, darlin'. I didn't think much of his fortunes until now."

Lilly looked at Hosea. "You got a map?"

Dutch told everyone to depart the ship one by one. Lilly needed two life boats to get Brian and James ashore along with her. It was night when she got off in Annesburg with some money and paid for a ride to Valentine. The drive wasn't that long but when she got to Valentine, the sun was coming up. She managed to purchase a morgan from the stable owner. She headed south with the boys and followed the directions on the map to find the blind man. And when she saw him in the distance, she thanked the Lord above.

"Money for the blind?" he said, waving his cup about. "Money for the...oh, who are you? You're one who also tells fortunes, yes?"

Lilly laughed and gave him a dollar. "Not so much that, sir. I was wondering about you. My husband, he-"

"Yes, your husband. He comes here from time to time and fills my cup. He is not who he thinks he is."

Lilly laughed again. "Yes, he does think rather poorly of himself. Thinks he's just a big, dumb brute, but I know better."

"That you do, fellow prophet."

Lilly rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "Prophet, huh? I guess that makes sense."

"You seek answers, and answers I can give. What is your question?"

"I dreamed about a rat in my camp and a snake whisperin' things in my father's ear. What can you tell me about that?"

"Your husband cannot hope, but you can, for you have been down that dark path that your father travels. Take off the head of the snake, for the rat and snake are one, and your father may return to the light."

Lilly nodded, her expression one of impressed revelation. "Ah, so the rat and the snake are one person. Anythin' else?"

"The rest you will find in time. Trust in The Morrigan."

"Thank you, sir. You've given me a lot to think on." She gave him another dollar and almost climbed onto her horse when the man spoke abruptly.

"Your husband, Arthur," the man said abruptly. "He cannot keep his promise."

Lilly stopped. "What do you mean?"

"He is already sick."