Keeper of the Books (Keeper of the Books, Book 1) by Jason D. Morrow Page B

out.
    Nate did as he was told, holding his hands up in the air. He swallowed hard as the rider came up on him, pistol in hand and pointed directly at Nate’s head. His eyes darted in every direction. He couldn’t see Marum anywhere.  
    Devlin was wearing the same red uniform as the other Rangers and Crimson Army soldiers in Tel Haven. Nate could now see that the metal emblem on the hat was an image of two crossing sabers.  
    Devlin wore a thick beard on his face, almost too scraggly compared to the other Rangers Nate had seen. He jumped off his horse and stood about ten feet from Nate in the small clearing. The man’s eyes were wide and he looked more nervous than he should have been.  
    “Where’s the gray elf?” Devlin spat. “Where is she?”
    Nate shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Devlin cursed. “Don’t give me that! I saw you in the city. I was a witness at the execution. You were right next to her. Where is she?”
    “I’m not who you think I am, Mister.”
    Devlin grimaced at Nate, holding his gun in one hand and scratching his beard with the other. “I have a mind to put a bullet in you,” he said. “In fact, that’s what I’m supposed to do if I see you.”
    Nate shook his head. “Then what are you waiting for?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, if you’re supposed to shoot me on sight, then why haven’t you done it already?”
    “It ain’t your place to question me,” Devlin answered.  
    Nate could tell this wasn’t one of the more seasoned veterans of the president’s army, but that wouldn’t matter if Marum had left Nate for dead.
    “I will ask you one more time,” Devlin said, “where is the gray elf?”
    The answer came behind Devlin. Nate spoke no words, and neither did Marum. Instead, she let Nate’s pistol do the talking.  
    The subtle click back of the hammer was loud enough to make Devlin freeze in place.
    Nate had no idea how Marum had been so stealthy, yet here she was not fifteen feet from Nate, pointing the pistol at the back of Devlin’s head.  
    “You might want to consider dropping your gun,” Nate said to the Ranger.
    Devlin’s eyes went even wider than they were before and his gun started shaking as nervousness crept into his hands. He didn’t even look behind him before letting his pistol fall helplessly to the dirt.  
    Nate looked past Marum and nodded. “Check the saddle for some rope.”
    “You’re gonna hang me?”
    “Shut up,” Nate said as he bent down and grabbed Devlin’s pistol. Then, he pulled Devlin’s saber from the sheath at his belt and tossed it to the ground a few feet away.
    There was no rope in the saddlebags so Nate took the reins off the horse and tied Devlin’s hands together with it. He then tied the reins to a small tree where the man would be stuck long enough for them to get away with his horse.
    “People like you are dangerous,” Devlin said to both Nathaniel and Marum. “Ya’ll know where Droman, your brother, is. You were working for him. And you refused to give him up to us.”
    “Would you give up your kin for execution?” Marum asked. “Would it matter what they had done?”
    Devlin turned away. “Ya’ll are just going to leave me out here like this? Tied to a tree? I’ll be eaten alive.”
    “You’ll be fine,” Nate said. “Just start rubbing the leather against the tree and eventually you’ll break away from it. It ain’t too far of a walk from here to Tel Haven. And you’ve got your saber to fight off anything as you walk.”
    Devlin nodded, grateful that the two hadn’t killed him. Nate had never met a man who seemed more out of place.  
    Marum got on the horse first, claiming she could steer it without the reins. Nate got on behind. He handed her Devlin’s pistol. In the side of Devlin’s saddle was a rifle, and Nate pulled it out and studied it. It was nicer than his own. Probably the nicest-looking rifle he’d ever seen.  
    As they rode onward, Nate