One man opened a crate.
Inside were rifles.
Another crate contained ammunition.
Naya whispered:
"They are preparing for war."
Corvin nodded.
Then a voice came from behind them.
"That's what they want you to believe."
Corvin spun.
A man stood with a rifle.
Naya moved faster.
She drew her bow.
The rifleman raised his weapon.
Corvin fired.
The rifleman fell.
Within seconds, gunfire erupted below.
Vance's men had spotted them.
Corvin and Naya ran.
Bullets struck stone.
They entered a narrow canyon.
A dozen riders followed.
Naya stopped.
"There."
She pointed toward a crack in the rocks.
They squeezed through.
The passage narrowed until the horses could no longer continue.
They abandoned the animals and climbed.
At the top they found a shallow cave.
Inside was a wooden chest.
Corvin opened it.
Documents.
Names.
Payments.
Army supply numbers.
Orders.
Letters signed by a territorial official.
Corvin's hands trembled.
"This is enough."
Naya looked at the papers.
"No."
She pointed deeper into the cave.
A second chest stood hidden behind a stone.
Corvin opened it.
Inside was a ledger.
The cover bore one name.
Harlan Vance.
They had found the empire's heart.
THE EMPIRE OF BLOOD
They returned to Cold Springs at night.
But someone had been there.
The cabin door was broken.
The corral gate hung open.
Three horses were missing.
Corvin entered slowly.
His belongings had been thrown everywhere.
His ledger was gone.
Naya found something beneath the table.
A dead man.
One of Vance's mercenaries.
He had been shot through the chest.
Corvin looked around.
"Who killed him?"
Naya shook her head.
"Not my people."
Then they heard footsteps.
A man stumbled through the doorway.
It was Elias Mercer, an old rancher from twenty miles east.
He was bleeding.
"Corvin."
Corvin caught him.
"Who did this?"
"Vance."
Elias coughed.
"They've taken the ranches."
"How many?"
"Six."
"Why?"
"They say Apache attacked."
Corvin's jaw tightened.
Elias grabbed his sleeve.
"They burned my barn."
"Who?"
"Men wearing Apache paint."
Naya's expression hardened.
"They are copying us."
Corvin nodded.
"They're creating evidence."
Elias whispered:
"Army column is coming."
Corvin looked toward Naya.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
The three men fell silent.
If the army arrived and saw armed Apache near Cold Springs, the result would be inevitable.
Blood.
Then retaliation.
Then war.
Corvin stood.
"We need to get to Oakhaven."
Elias stared at him.
"That's suicide."
"Probably."
Naya rose beside him.
"I will go."
Corvin looked at her.
"You don't have to."
She answered:
"You gave me water."
Corvin smiled faintly.
"That was yesterday."
"Some debts last longer."
They traveled through the night.
By sunrise they reached Oakhaven.
The town looked different from usual.
Men stood in the streets carrying rifles.
Storefronts were boarded.
People whispered about Apache raids.
Vance had already spread his story.
The town believed it.
Corvin and Naya entered through the back of the livery stable.
They found the town newspaper office.
The editor, Samuel Price, was terrified.
Corvin placed Vance's ledger on his desk.
"Read."
Price did.
His face changed.
Payments to government officials.
Weapons shipments.
Fake raids.
Names of ranchers marked for removal.
Price looked up.
"If I publish this, Vance will kill me."
Corvin nodded.
"Probably."
"And if I don't?"
"He kills more people."
Price stared at him.
Then slowly reached for his printing press.
"Give me an hour."
The newspaper hit the streets at noon.
By one o'clock, people were shouting.
By two, Vance's men were searching for Price.
By three, soldiers arrived.
And by sunset, Harlan Vance himself rode into town.
He was no longer smiling.
THE SHADOW TREATY
The confrontation occurred outside the courthouse.