Logan felt his heart pounding. He stared listlessly for a moment, processing the terrible mistake he had made. For as ruthless and cruel as he had been to his past students, whom he had all flunked, Old Man Crickett was way crueler. Logan began to dissociate, the world falling away from him as he looked inward. To instantly destroy the innocent minds of these Six-Guns, Logan could hardly understand it. But it wasn’t Crickett’s fault, not really, Crickett was a relic of a man who had seen countless Six-Guns meet their end. He could not be expected to regard the lives of others so highly. To Logan, it was his own fault. He had passed the boys, he had given in to their desire to train for the exam, knowing full well they weren’t ready. He had made the decision to take them up the mountain to see this giant of Resolve, this man who’s understanding of nature and himself had made him something greater than human such that the boundaries between his flesh and the world around him were irrelevant. Logan would have to bury these boys with their pistols, as he had buried many of his friends in his younger days. No matter how hard he was on them, preparing them for this terrible path they were on, he couldn’t give them the guidance necessary to survive. He simply couldn’t cut it as a teacher. Logan’s heart sank with the familiar sensation of grief.

  A grin grew across the old sage’s face as he quieted his Resolve. “Well… That’s that, then.”

  His words tore through Logan’s deteriorating spirit. Still dissociated, he could only interpret the statement with malice. That was it, there would be no gloating over killing the boys. That was unacceptable.

  Those were his boys.

  Logan’s hand went to his pistol. His vision returned, focused on the sage, and he almost resolved to clear leather.

  Almost.

  The sage turned his head a little, regarding him with curiosity. Standing further on next to the horses were his three students. Each one had thrown up their own Resolve Stalls in time to protect them from the lethal wave. Elise, having interpreted the grave danger her partner was in, had pressed her hand to John’s back. Her face was determined, a scowl across her lips. She was feeding him her energy to strengthen his Stall and repair any damage to his magical capillaries. Mavis had similar instincts and was glued to Buster.

  Calvin had thrown his stall up in time as well. There was no partner witch to help him, he stood alone. His right hand was in front of him, the Rite of Release made with his fingers. His left hand was at his hip, ready to draw his pistol. His Stall had taken a beating, and a trickle of blood ran from his ear. From the look in his eyes, glowing green, Logan could tell he hadn’t suffered any real damage. That determination on his face reminded Logan of what he himself had told the boy. He was a survivor. Standing by himself, hands readied for Six-Gun combat, Calvin Baird looked the part.

  Logan gathered himself with startling speed, standing up straight and reaching for the flask in his coat. He had taken his hand off of his pistol. He hid his shaky breathing by tipping his flask and gulping down some whisky from within.

  The sage’s eyes trailed over them for a long moment, then he cleared his throat to speak. “My name is Elias Crickett. I am the sage of this mountain, and I’m a lifelong student of Resolve. What you youngins just felt was a fraction of the Resolve I have cultivated through meditation and Inner Alchemy. With time and study, you too will have that power.”

  Crickett reached into his breast pocket, a long centipede crawling up his sleeve. He withdrew a card, it was chipped and stained brown. A nine of Spades was still visible through the grime.

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

  “What are your names?” He asked, his smile sunny and bright.

  Calvin found the shift utterly jarring. With his stall up, he contemplated if the threat to his life had really passed. He had just barely saved himself, going on instincts alone.

  “Doesn’t matter” Logan butt in, stepping towards Kilgore, “We’re done here. You tried to kill my students, we’re done.” He continued to drink from the flask.

  Crickett slid his card back into his pocket, smirking slyly at the Bootknife. “Oh come now, it wasn’t out of nowhere. I gave you a hint when you first arrived. They obviously picked up on it.”

  Calvin blinked, lowering his Resolve Stall. Processing this, he had come to accept a truth about the sage in front of him. There were no accidents. His age had not made him sloppy, just the opposite. He was deliberate and deceptive. Though Crickett had just attacked him and his friends, Calvin couldn’t help but feel respect for the measured intentions of a master.

  He looked to John and Elise, seeing them still huddled together. He was sure John was strong enough to handle all that on his own too, but Elise had protected him anyway. That was what the pacts meant, Calvin knew, she had promised to help him and vice versa. A sharp feeling of envy swelled up in Cal’s chest. Elise was so cool, so funny, so pretty, and obviously very caring. John didn’t know how good he had it. He turned to Buster. His instincts hadn’t failed him either and Mavis had diligently assisted him.

  Boys and girls were working closely together on both sides of him. Calvin wished it wasn’t like this, the feelings of inadequacy were coming back. He shoved them down again, keeping his composure. Calvin was becoming quite good at locking his feelings away where nobody could see them. It was better that way, he thought. He had just proven that he didn’t need any witches. He was a survivor, he would have to handle himself.

  “My name is Calvin James Baird. That’s John Calhoun, and Elise. Over there is Buster Haime and Mavis. We want you to teach us Resolve.” Calvin stood firm. A smile had crawled across his face, exuding quiet confidence and covering the shame.

  Logan stared at him, gripping his saddle horn. Now, the boy had his father’s look. Now, he was Baird’s kid for real. Those eyes, that damned cocky grin, Logan couldn’t forget it. He had seen Baird completely surrounded by other members of the Posse, all poised to kill him, and yet he wore that same smile. He looked amused in the face of certain death, as if taunting the universe to test him. There were others who found this unshakable confidence endearing. Logan had always found it aggravating. Looking at Calvin now, he could see the grin was more subtle. Calvin was an orphan, abandoned by his father, thrown into this horrible world, given a prickly teacher and rejected by the Coven where others made pacts. He had had to struggle just as hard as anyone, regardless of his heritage. Through all that, he still managed a smile. Logan’s face softened as he came to the realization only now that the confident, irritating look on Billy Baird’s face was a mask for shame and horror. An unbroken demeanor was defiance against a world that wanted him to be broken. It was true with the older Baird, always surrounded by enemies, and it was true with Calvin.

  Crickett smirked, “Hell, I love that attitude from youngins like you!” He turned to Logan, “We are gonna have to really hustle to get these boys ready by October, ya know?”

  The old man of the mountain could see right through Calvin, just like Logan did. He found the act amusing. Through his Resolve, he could read Calvin Baird like a book. Nothing particularly special peaked his interest, he had seen many youngins just like him. Though, the odd energy on his Resolve was a little curious. It stank of the Old Ones. Crickett had heard from travelers that there was a cursed boy at the Sanctuary, and he had a lot of time to contemplate the effects of such a curse on the boy’s Resolve. As he looked over Calvin’s Resolve again, he could see that the Yellow magic had not eroded him. He decided it wasn’t that interesting after all, at least not yet.

  Logan nodded, slow to reply, “I think we can do it, if we split up the work. I’ll teach them the Viper, as much as I can in a few months. You teach them basic Resolve. Sound like a plan?”

  Calvin could tell that the old man was getting excited, watching Crickett stretch his arms out and roll his shoulders.

  “Yippee-yi-o!” Crickett leveled his gaze on them again. “I can’t wait to start!”