Jerusalem Man 01 - Wolf in Shadow Read Online Free PDF Page A

father's sheep and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.'
    Shannow rode down the hill and reined in ahead of the riders. They spread across the trail; two of them, Miles and Pope, were carrying crossbows cocked and ready. Shannow's hands swept up and smoke and flame thundered from the right-hand pistol. Pope flew from the saddle. The left-hand pistol fired a fraction of a second later and Miles pitched to the ground, the lower half of his face blown away.
    'Step down, Bard,' said Shannow, both pistols leveled at the giant's face. Slowly the man dismounted. 'On your knees and on your belly.' The giant obeyed. 'Now eat grass like the mule you are.'
    Bard's head shot up. ‘The Hell. . . ' The left-hand pistol bucked in Shannow's hand and Bard's right ear disappeared in a bloody spray. The big man screamed and ducked his head to the ground, tearing at the grass with his teeth. The other two men sat motionless, their hands well away from their weapons.
    Shannow watched them closely, then transferred his gaze to the two corpses.
    Then he spoke: 'And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he rose against me I caught him by the beard and slew him.'
    The two riders glanced at one another and said nothing. The Jerusalem Man was known to be insane, and neither of them had any wish to join their comrades, living or dead, upon the grass.
    Shannow edged his horse towards them and they avoided his eyes, for his face was set and his fury touched them.
    'You will put those your friends upon their horses, and you will take them to a place of burial.
    You will not, at any time, cross my path, for I will cut you down as deadwood from the Tree of Life. Go collect your dead.'
    He swung his horse, offering them his back, but neither man considered attacking him. They dismounted swiftly and bundled the corpses across the saddles of the horses standing quietly by.
    Shannow rode alongside Bard, whose mouth was green and who was vomiting upon the grass.
    'Stand and face me, Man of Gath.' Bard struggled to his feet and met Shannow's gaze. A cold dread settled on him as he saw the eyes and the fanatic gleam. He lowered his head and froze as he heard the click of a pistol hammer. His eyes flickered up and he saw with relief that Shannow had uncocked the weapons and returned them to their scabbards.
    'My anger is gone, Bard. You may live today.'
    The giant was close enough to pluck Shannow from the saddle and tear him apart bare-handed, but he could not, even though he recognized the opportunity. His shoulders sagged. Shannow nodded knowingly, and shame burned in Bard's heart.
    Eric groaned and stirred on Bard's horse nearby.

    And Shannow lifted him from the saddle and took him home.

    Donna Taybard sat with Eric for over an hour. The boy was shaken by his ordeal. He had awakened to see Jon Shannow and two corpses, and the smell of death was in the air. The giant Bard had been shaking with fear and Shannow had looked an infinitely more menacing figure than Eric could have imagined. He had ridden home behind Shannow, his hands resting on the gun hilts as they jutted from their scabbards. All the way home Eric could see the two bodies, one with half a face missing, the other lying face-down with a huge ragged hole in his back where shards of bone had torn through his shirt.
    Now he lay in bed, the after-shock making him sleepy. His mother stroked his brow and whispered soothing, loving words.
    'Why did they kill Father?'
    'I don't know, Eric,' lied Donna. 'They are evil men.'
    'Mr Fletcher always seemed so nice.'
    'I know. Sleep now; I'll be just outside.'
    'Mother!'
    'Yes, Eric?'
    'Mr Shannow frightens me. I heard the men talking and they said he was insane - that he has killed more men than the plague. They said he pretends to be a Christ-person, but that all the real Christ-people shun him.'
    'But he brought you home, Eric, and we still have our house.'
    'Don't leave me alone,