Trees, stones, and mountain fauna passed by as the Dodge sedan sped yet again up the Blue Ridge Trail.

  Cal looked up to Louey. “So, you knew my Pa right?”

  “I did, yeah. Me and him rode together a little while.” Louey nodded. He had gathered himself fully. A veteran Six-Gun was a master of his emotional state, Louey was no different.

  “That’s how come you recognized me? I look like him?”

  “Spitting image, kiddo” Louey chuckled. “You could be his body double, if you were a bit older.”

  “What was he like?” Cal bounced in the seat a bit, still fidgety.

  “I’d say he’s all guts and brains. He would charge head-on at a problem like there was no tomorrow, while also figuring out how to solve it in real time. Billy was focused on becoming a stronger Six-Gun, honing his prowess, and taking down bigger threats. But at the end of the day, I knew Billy wanted to help those who couldn’t help themselves. He would laugh at the heroic types, call them cow punchers, but Billy felt the same way. He wanted to protect people. He was and is a good man.”

  “So he is still around?” Cal was a little giddy at the thought of meeting his Pa again.

  “Yeah, far as I’m aware. Nobody ever said he died. He had to go on some expedition a while back, up in the Great White North.”

  “Whoa!” Cal was tickled at the idea of his Pa standing on icebergs and studying the snowy lands. “You think he’s back by now? Maybe at the Smoky Mountain Sanctuary?”

  Louey shook his head and laughed, “Oh I don’t know, kiddo, maybe. I would have heard from some of the others I think. They know I’m coming. Shit, if he was there and knew I was coming he probably would have come out to meet us.”

  Louey and Cal sat in silence as the dodge slugged along the mountain road over the Blue Ridge Trail. Thick pine forests gave way to grassy hills and slopes, with the ancient stone jutting through ever so often. Cal was engrossed in the serenity of the mountains, still in a Resolute state. He found himself becoming dizzy and light-headed. Holding his head, he groaned.

  “Oh, Louey… can we stop?” He shut his eyes tightly.

  Louey chuckled, knowing exactly what the problem was. “You overdid it, kid. You can’t stay Resolute for too long yet. Come out of it. We ain’t stopping so you’ll just have to deal.”

  “Why does it hurt?” Cal gasped. The throbbing pain made him feel as if he’d fallen from his spot on the tree back home.

  “Resolve is a special kind of magic. It comes from the brain, unlike most kinds of magics we know about. It can actually hurt your brain if you exhaust yourself. You’ll start a brain bleed, kiddo. No good.”

  “So, am I gonna be ok?” Cal was becoming concerned.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The driver continued up the road without a word while they spoke in the back seat. They had a way to go before hitting the Sanctuary.

  “Yeah, here.” Louey reached into the satchel he kept on his left hip, pulling out a paper-wrapped candy. It looked like chewing gum from the store. “Chew on this. Don’t swallow it please.”

  “Gum?”

  “Yeah, it’s a special Six-Gun gum. One of the kinds we have. It’s got stuff in it that can help mend your brain.” Louey passed a piece of it over.

  Cal took it hesitantly. He opened the wrapper and stared at the little glob of pink gum. It looked like ordinary chewing gum from the store, the Double Bubble, only it didn’t have the same shape. He popped the gum in his mouth and began chewing.

  “Mmmm…” He hummed, delighted at the taste, “It tastes sweet!”

  “Strawberry. My favorite flavor.” Louey grinned, “The Raspberry they make is horrible.”

  “The Six-Guns make this?” Calvin spoke whilst chewing.

  “Yeah we make a lot of things like this. Tools, to help us take down things stronger than we are. They are alchemical, they contain natural items that have magical properties when combined just right. The witches help too. You’ll see when we get to the Sanctuary.”

  “Aren’t witches bad guys?” Cal could already feel the pain in his head start to dissipate.

  “No, no, not all witches are bad, not at all.” The Six-Gun shook his head, “Matter of fact, almost all witches in America are nature-keepers, so to speak. And they work very closely with us Six-Guns to keep the supernatural elements of the world from hurting people.”

  “Do you know any witches?”

  “Of course I do, what kind of question is that?”

  “Just askin’…” Cal crossed his arms.

  Louey obliged him after a moment, “Most Six-Guns work alongside what we call a Partner Witch, from one of the Covens here in America. You will learn about those in class at the Sanctuary. The Partner Witches follow us around and help with any magical threats we might bump into. They also heal the Earth from whatever we manage to kill. Monsters like Wendigos do a lot of damage to the world around them. A lot of the time we are there to back them up, not the other way around.”

  “Are they friendly?”

  “Ain’t you done asking questions, boy?”

  “Ok. Sorry.”

  Louey laughed a bit again, “Yeah they’re very friendly. The Six-Guns do a lot for them and vice versa. Sometimes we are very close. Witches’ magic comes from their heart. Their hearts are beautiful, wild, and free. Like a summer storm. If you are extra sweet to your partner witch, she will treat you very well.”

  “You have a Partner Witch?”

  “Madeline.” He nodded. “But I wanna emphasize that we don’t HAVE Partner Witches. If anything, they have us.” He let out a chuckle.

  Cal looked to him, a question obviously on his mind. Louey could tell what he wanted to ask.

  “Madeline is busy right now, that’s why she didn’t come with me to Florida. She is tending to Green Coven business. They’re at the Smoky Mountain Sanctuary. I have to take you to meet her anyhow, on account of that mark you got. I don’t know if the higher-ups at the Sanctuary are gonna want you there yet.”

  “But- “

  “Ah!” Louey cut him off, “You let me worry about that, Cal.”

  Cal stared out the window, deflated. The trees and boulders continued to go by. At this point the eleven-year-old had reached a critical amount of time sitting in the car. Their conversation and his chewing gum was the only thing keeping the boredom at bay.

  “Am I gonna have a Partner Witch?” Cal continued chewing the gum, “I don’t talk to a lot of girls.”

  “When you get older, you will be taken to ask for a pact of partnership. A witch from the Coven will approach, accepting the pact. Then you and the witch will work together. This is how we do it at the Smoky Mountain Sanctuary, since we are basically on the same grounds as the Green Coven. I think it’s the same with the other Sanctuaries, though they got to go farther. A lot of them come here for Green witches.

  Cal scratched his nose, “I never heard of a cowboy and a witch working together. Aren’t they old and ghoulish?”

  Louey had to laugh a little harder. He had decided that this part of the conversation would definitely not make its way back to Madeline, if he could help it.

  “Oh boy.” He recovered himself, “You’ll learn kid. You will learn…”