Flight to the Fort (Pistols and Pyramids, Episode 2) by Jim Johnson

Release date: November 20, 2015

Subgenre: Weird western

About Flight to the Fort: 

The Scales Are Out of Balance
Tjety, an exiled Ranger of Mayat, and Ruia, a young fisherman’s daughter, team up to guide the survivors of a bandit attack through the dangerous and rugged Kekhmet frontier. Can they reach the safety of Fort Sekhmet before foul cultists and their horrible mummified creatures can capture them?

Flight to the Fort is the second episode in PISTOLS AND PYRAMIDS, an all-new monthly series best described as an ancient Egyptian-themed weird western with magic. And mummies. Lots of mummies.

Excerpt:

 

The man in dark robes sat astride his black mare, holding the reins in one hand, with his other hand cocked on the pommel of his sheathed blade. His headcloth was looped around his mouth and neck. He offered an open-handed greeting and then lifted his hand to remove the folds of the headcloth from his face, revealing a white-toothed smile creasing a deeply tanned face. He had a thin black mustache and a regal, hooked nose.

"Well met, Ranger of the south."

Tjety kept his pistol aimed somewhere around the man’s chest. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t shoot you dead right here and now.”

The man’s smile never wavered as he held his horse still in front of Tjety. “Despite recent events,” he glanced at the two bodies to either side of him, “I have no quarrel with you. My House and your order have never encountered each other. Until now, anyway.”

Tjety frowned. “You know my order but I don’t know shit about yours.”

The man smiled as he tucked loose folds of fabric back into his headcloth. "My house name would mean nothing to you, Ranger. We are neither Kekhmet nor Hesso. But as a form of introduction, my name is Zezago, Deshi of the House of Gintenka.”

“Nice title, but it means fuck-all to me.” Tjety’s gun hand started to shake. “Why are you here?”

"Reasons well beyond your understanding."

Tjety's frown deepened. "All I know is your men sow destruction and discontent. You destroyed a village and caused many unnecessary deaths." He licked his lips, uncertain how much longer he could hold up his gun. "I expect you're also responsible for the creation of those monstrous, unliving...things."

The smile on the man's face had broadened at each point, which made Tjety quail inside. The man flexed his hands, then after a moment staring at him, dismounted.

"I accept responsibility for all those things, and many more you can’t possibly know." He stepped to the left of his horse and rested a hand on his sword's pommel again.

A bright flash from the man’s ba told Tjety that the man had some skill with hekau, almost certainly stronger than his own. Tjety reached out and took hold of Heker’s reins, and slowly started to sidestep toward the tree line. Zezago kept smiling and sidestepped as well, toward the river, countering Tjety’s movements.

"What would you do, knowing that I am responsible for all those deaths?"

Tjety heard the mocking tone in the man's voice, and knew that this would not end well. In a burst of movement, he raised his pistol and fired his last two rounds.

Amazon

About Jim Johnson:

 Jim Johnson is the author of the Pistols and Pyramids series as well as other prose fiction series currently under development. He has written sundry other pieces of fiction, including several stories published in the Star Trek universe, and has freelanced for pen and paper roleplaying game companies, including Decipher and White Wolf. Please visit www.SCRIBEINETI.com for more information on Jim and his interests and writing.

Jim lives in historic Alexandria, VA with his wife, newborn son, and several crazy cats.

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