Cowboys & Devils (Devil Aster Days Book 3) by Mitchell Olson Read Free Book Online Page A

craned his head to scan the horizon. Riding a horse along side the train was CJ the assassin holding a smoking gun, silhouetted by the setting sun. Aster cracked a smile.
    “You finish off Ulric!” CJ shouted , his horse working hard to keep up with the speeding train. “I’ll help the passengers!”
    Without wasting anymore time, Aster smiled and nodded to his friend. He brought out his wings and stepped over the edge of the train, gliding to the ground below and sprint ing. Ulric was still rolling on the ground several yards back, clutching his head in pain.
    Aster was on him in an instant, ready to end this meaningless fight once and for all.

Part Six: A Dance of Devils
     
    CJ didn’t know how he’d help the passengers. There was no way he could give them all a lift on his one horse. As he rode alongside the burning train, scared people called out to him to do something. Many started jumping, rolling to a painful and potentially fatal collision with the ground. His horse almost tripped as he trampled over one unfortunate man.
    Up ahead on the track CJ spotted what would be his only chance to save the people. A water tower used for refueling was just ahead about a mile or so down the track. It’d be one hell of a long shot, but it was his only shot. He did his best to target the thin ropes that held the waterspout up. He would have to hit both ropes to make the spout drop, spilling the tower’s water over the passing train.
    He held the gun up and pointed, squinting one eye shut with his finger stroking the trigger. With a subtle squeeze the gun went off. The bullet tore through the air faster than any human could see. Shards of the wooden water tower flew in all directions as the bullet collided with the tower’s spout .
    Master marksmen like CJ knew that the shot could be made easier by targeting the bigger spout instead of the thin ropes. If the situation weren’t so dire perhaps he would have challenged himself a little and taken the rope-shot instead. By shooting off the entire spout, water started gushing out just in time as the first burning cars rolled by.
    CJ let his horse rest a little as they slowed to a stop, watching the trainferno lose speed as it lurched through the water. Smoke and steam littered the evening sky like souls departing this world.
    I’ve done all I can here , thought CJ. The train (and the people) were doused in cold water and finally going slow enough that the men could jump off and assist others, particularly the women and children, in doing the same. I should go check on Aster , thought CJ as he commanded his horse to turn around.
    He took off back down the tracks. Behind him, the woman in white watched as he rode. She was the only person there who didn’t have a drop of water on her.
     
    CJ rode for a mile until he started catching quick flashes of fire in the near distance. He slowed his horse to a trot and drew his gun. He didn’t want to be caught off-guard by the thing named Ulric. His main objective was to provide support for Aster should he need it. Becoming a hindrance would be unacceptable.
    Staring into the dark ahead was no easy task. The sun was mostly set behind an enormous rock formation. The only light came from the fast but brilliant bursts of flame coming from…where exactly? He made his horse stop when he was about ten meters away from the action. There he sat and watched the most bizarre supernatural occurrence he’d ever seen.
    The two men were locked in mortal combat with each other. There were no weapons, no guns or knives or throwing cards, just their fists. Seeing the flames shoot off their bodies made it clear to CJ how the train started on fire. Apparently these men were even capable of conjuring flames somehow. It wasn’t the hardest thing he’d learned to accept in the last twenty-four hours.
    The devil’s duel could barely be seen. Somehow the creatures from Hell moved faster than human eyesight was capable of seeing. The only time they came