Pritchard wasn’t sure what to make of what Bina said. She was older than him by a few years and obviously extremely intelligent, as well as breathtakingly beautiful. How could this mysterious woman, who lived between two worlds, know he was not Joe Atherton, but instead Samuel Pritchard? And how could she possibly guess how many men he had killed?”

“Assuming you’re right,” Pritchard said, “how do I get rid of this ‘shadow’ you say is bird-dogging me?”

“There is only one way to dispel the curse. You must return to the place where the shadow befell you and conquer the demon who cursed you. Only then can the shadow be lifted and your spirit again walk free.”

“What if I can’t go back?” Pritchard said. “What if by going back, I would endanger those I love?”

“Do you not think the shadow knows you cannot return to the one place where it can be defeated?” Bina asked. “This is another of the reasons you were chosen.”

Pritchard didn’t know what to say. He held the magnificent woman in his arms and tried to absorb the significance of her words. Part of him presumed what she’d told him was superstitious nonsense. But another part, a part gnawing at the back of his mind, couldn’t help but harbor the suspicion that what she’d said was true. Bina’s statement about who he really was and the shadow that clung to him, in concert with the passion they had just shared, left him doubtful and confused.

Bina suddenly stood up and began to re-braid her hair. Pritchard thought her nude body, in the dim light of the New Mexico moon filtering through the stable’s windows, was also a mystical vision.

“I must go,” she said, as she finished dressing. “I still have much to do in the infirmary. Tomorrow you, and I, and your shadow will stand together in battle.”

“Now that you’ve told me what my shadow means,” Pritchard said, “I’m not sure I want it along.”

“Your shadow is not always bad medicine,” Bina said. “Tomorrow we will use it to protect the people of Magdalena, and vanquish an even greater evil spirit.”

“If you say so,” he said.

“Sleep now, Man-Who-Calls-Himself-Joe,” she said. She knelt and kissed him. “Rest, and ready your spirit for the coming fight.”

Pritchard propped himself up on his elbows. “You didn’t tell me how your vision ended.”

She stood back up, smiled at him, and belted on her pistol.

“Good night, Ranger Joe,” was all Bina said as she left the stable.

Chapter 44

Chapter 44