Showdown, TBOS R2 Part 3

The sheriff took Rupert to the mansion at the center of town, explaining along the way that a man named James had taken over the town a little under a week ago… but things had just gotten worse in town. No explanation, but he was sure it had something to do with James and his gang. Rupert had to agree as he saw deadly duels in the side streets, heard people yelling at each other in houses, and nearly tripped over a saloon brawl that had leaked onto the street.

Normally, the goblin would've said crazy gas – an old goblin prank – but that never got more violent than a friendly wrestling match in the mud. By the time they got to the mansion, Rupert was nearly out of breath, amazed that the old man hadn't even broken a sweat just before he drew his revolver and kicked in the front door.

All Hell broke loose then.

Shots were fired from inside, presumably by James' gang, and the sheriff fired back, ducking around the wall to reload. And Rupert didn't want to miss out on the fun. Setting a personal record for the number of times using Twenty Sparks in a minute, the goblin set off as many fountain sprays and firecrackers in front of the gang members as he could, hoping that they'd run away. He was also shouting for Luka, but it kind of came out wrong. The goblin needed water badly.

The gang members stood their ground, simply moving away from the fireworks, but it still worked in the sheriff's favor. In the chaos of sparks going everywhere, the sheriff got off two good shots, killing the two men who were standing on the atrium's balcony. Rupert couldn't even let out a horrified scream as their bodies flopped over like rag dolls.

"Nice trick," the sheriff shouted over the gunfire.

Rupert just nodded. He immediately stopped his rapid-fire of spells, leaving all the fighting to the old man. Two more lucky shots, though, and the gang were dead. The sheriff holstered his revolver and walked in. It took Rupert a few seconds to register that the fight was over… or the pounding that signaled that Luka was running inside the house.

That was all he needed, though. Rushing into the mansion, passing the sheriff as he did so, the goblin saw a familiar, white tree spirit dashing around the upper landing and down the stairs. "Luka!" Rupert shouted as he jumped and wrapped his arms around her neck. "I was worried. If you croaked, who would I hassle?"

True to form, she glared at him, which just made the goblin smile wider. "Nice rescue… a bit late, though."

"Whaddaya mean? I'm always on time." Rupert swung up into her branches, letting the familiarity calm his nerves. He never wanted to be in a firefight… ever.

"I mean that I wasn't in any danger. James just wanted to talk."

"What the lady says is true," a British voice floated from the top on the stairs.

At the mention of James, Rupert froze. At the entry of a new voice, he turned around. Behind Luka was a black-haired man who looked like a gentleman, but he knew better. "Luka… he's a bad guy."

Near the front door, the sheriff redrew his revolver. His words from the run to the mansion echoed in the goblin's head: "Someone needs to put that flea-ridden dog down. Might as well be me."

"What?" the tree spirit shook her horns so Rupert was looking her in the eye. "N-no. He's like us, Rupert. But he's stuck here. We have to-"

"You'll pay for what you've done, you Hell-spawn demon!"

Both Rupert and Luka looked at the sheriff as he raised his gun and pointed it at James. Before the goblin could say anything, Luka jumped between the two men, and the gun went off. Rupert yanked hard on one of her horns, forcing her to turn her head to one side… and the bullet merely clipped her ear instead of doing much worse. She cried out in pain, collapsing to the floor. The sheriff cursed and ran up the stairs, but the goblin didn't pay attention.

"You idiot!" Rupert hopped to the floor and took the tree spirit's head in his hands. "Don't do that! What were ya tryin' ta do?"

Luka whimpered. "I thought he wouldn't pull the trigger."

The goblin sighed heavily, taking off his scarf to wipe the amber, sap-like blood oozing from her ear. "I don't like fights."

"Neither do I. They make good stories, though."

Rupert didn't bother responding to that as the sheriff stalked back down the stairs, a string of profanities coming from his mouth. He looked over at the non-human duo and scowled. "Sneaky little rat disappeared. Just… disappeared. Dunno how, but I'll find him if it's the last thing I do on the face of this corrupt world."

"Lovely imagery, that," Rupert quipped sarcastically.

The sheriff scoffed. "Nothing that ain't true. I'll fetch a doctor. Lord, I hope he didn't bite the bullet."

As he left, Luka closed her eyes in shame. "I'm sorry, Rupert."

"For what?"

"Scaring you."

"Meh… just don't do it again."

"Let's not get into a gun-fight again."

"Amen to that."

* * * * *

Magpie slumped down in the leather chair of a hidden room. Just before the bullet would've hit him, the demon teleported away. He was just lucky that he'd landed somewhere out of sight… namely, in the secret passage that led to the room.

He rubbed his temples slowly, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Not only was he no closer to finding a way out of the stupid book, but he'd lost all the souls he'd gained. Magpie could see the darkness that was already consuming the sheriff; all he had to do was drive the man insane trying to find him. Also, the demon almost thought that he could get both Rupert and Luka's souls when they started arguing.

That hadn't worked out so well. Neither was driven by rage… merely lack of understanding of the other. That wasn't how one turned a soul from goodness.

Sinking further into his chair, Magpie tried to think about what to do next.