Blood & Dust (Lonesome Ridge Book 2) Read Online Free

I hear it’s beautiful out there. California seems like the perfect place to start our new kingdom, don’t you think?”
    Jeremiah cocked his head to the side and tapped his chin. “Hmm, yeah, I reckon you might be right. Less crowded, far away from the long arm o’ the law back east, but lotsa land and lotsa potential.” He rolled over and climbed to his feet before following her out of the grove. “Wagon trains still head out that way, too. Lots of ‘em. My pa use ta talk about how he was thinkin’ a joinin’ one back when he was a youngun. I guess these fellas, the Donners or somethin’, they came through a town pa was visitin’, talkin’ bout their plans and such. Pa said it was mighty temptin’, but he decided to stay where he was. Good thing, too. We heard rumor that those folks didn’t fair so well. Gone an’ ate each other or somethin’.” He frowned a moment before grinning at Charity. “Sounds like our kinda people.”
    She gave him a small grin in return. They reached the edge of the trees and stopped to look across the plain laid out before them. The sun was hovering just below the horizon, low enough to keep from burning them, but still bright enough to give them plenty of light. Not that they needed it. They seemed to see nearly as well at night as they did during the day.
    “We’d have to cross the mountains,” Jeremiah said as he glanced sideways at her. “Might be difficult. Could be real dangerous. Could take awhile, too.”
    Charity smiled at him. “My darling Jeremiah, we’re already dead. We have all the time in the world.”
    He grinned back at her. “That we do, my dear Charity. That we do.”
    The other undead began shuffling out of the grove behind them to join the pair.
    “I wish we could have saved more,” Charity sighed as she looked at the ragged group around her. The few undead from the house they hit after were all women, something Charity was less than thrilled about.
    “Only one woulda been worth savin’ was that guy missin’ both ‘is legs.”
    Charity just shrugged. They had already argued about it enough. The man had been smart, like her and Jeremiah, sure enough. But his legs were crushed beyond use. However, despite his handicap, he was trying to direct the undead from his position, and they were starting to listen. Charity argued that he would slow them down, that he would become a liability. Jeremiah suspected that the truth might be a bit different, more selfish. The man without the legs had been smart. He would have been an asset, at least to begin with. But he also could have challenged her and made any others with a modicum of intelligence question her. She tolerated him, Jeremiah, and she didn’t seem to mind the blood-thirsty native woman they had been teamed up with before, but he couldn’t see her getting along well with too many others that might question her leadership or make her look less than pristine in front of the other undead, not that most of them cared anyway. They just wanted a meal and to hurt someone. But Charity was dead set on creating herself a little kingdom of the creatures, and Jeremiah wasn’t sure exactly what kind of undead that would allow. He was beginning to suspect it might be more like a cattle ranch than a kingdom. Jeremiah had no desire to be top dog and Charity knew that. That’s why they got along so well. She lead, he followed, and it worked for both of them. But could she handle anyone who made her question her motives, or second guess her decisions? Only time would tell.
    “Ready?” Charity nudged him in the ribs and bobbed her head toward the horizon.
    He gave her a toothy brown grin and bowed at the waist. “Lead the way, my queen.”
    Her own grin was white and perfect, despite the constant intake of blood. She tipped her head slightly as she squared her shoulders and strode out of the trees with her entourage in tow.
    “Callyfernya won’t know what hit ‘em,” Jeremiah mumbled as he followed