flaming jewels

onc't in the west (i): jewel

they drug us out fer the hangin' at dawn. jus' as the sky wuz turnin' pink.

we wuz curled up laik two cats inna cradle when the sheriff come a-clinkin' with his keys an' hauled us out from under the prison cot. i heard his grunt of disgust--he dint want ta touch us.

but the law has one looong arm an' a sheriff cain't neglect his duty, no matta' how vile. no matta' what manner a' strangeness he must address. an' it wuz this unfortunate sheriff's duty ta deal with us.

we wuz two angelpires restin' in each other's arms. two females locked in an unnatural embrace a-sleepin' laik the dead.

a' course, he dint know we wuz angelpires. jus' thought we wuz two queer gurls, two common thieves a-tryin' ta delay our judgment day by buryin' our heads in each other's arms.

not so a-tall.

i wuz goin' ta walk ta that gibbet proud as the devil hisself an' shake the hangman's hand b'fore they strung us up. an' my pardner'd be raight there, too. bless her heart.

we ain't afraid a' brutha death. hellll no.

we warn't sleepin' cuz we wuz afraid. we wuz sleepin' a' course, because it wuz dawn.

what's that ya say?

oh, well, y'see angelpires are laik vampires only they is half-angel n' half-vampire. yep. so we gener'ly die a brief death a-somethin' laik sleep durin' th' day an' we rise agin at night ta do our mischief. yep.

but see, bein' HALFBREEDS, that is, ANGELPIRES, it means we kin stand the light a' dawn or dusk without too much discomfort. it's hot, that's fer DAMN sure, but we kin handle the mornin' sun up until it clears the horizon. an' we kin take the evening sun onc't it touches the rim a' the desert.

yep, an angelpire is a strange creature.

bein' a 'BREED's a blessin' an' a curse. yessuh.

what's that?

oh well, i'm jewel th' seraph, also known as "smiley." and m'pardner's the lovely loa lightquencher.

why'm i tellin' you this story without movin' my lips or openin' my mouth? wellll, thass another tale t'be sure, but, i kin say that in _this_ world an' in _this_ time an' in _this_ place, i got WINGS but no WORDS.

'cause it's one or t'other.

WINGS or WORDS, y'know. thass the deal.

an' thass why i don't talk laik other folks. but loa lightquencher kin allus unnerstan' me. thass part a' the reason we's pardners in crime.

now, loa lightquencher, see, she got WINGS _an'_ WORDS only, she got more on the WORD end, so she does all the talkin'. she got some purdy WINGS but they's mostly fer show. heh...my sweet gal cain't fly any higher than a chicken with her slender WINGS. heh...i love ta watch her try an' fly...

mah WINGS is powerful in _this_ world in _this_ time in _this_ place so, i do the flyin' fer us both. thass part a' the reason we's pardners in crime.

she talks n' i fly.

an' we's pardners in crime about ta dance on the gibbet fer a fraction of our evil deeds.

yep. thass what i said. jes' a fraction. we done so much mischief i cain't even 'member what we wuz in fer this time. but sho' nuff the good folk a' this here good town done had their fill a' two queer gurls two wild angelpires an' we wuz a-gonna meet the maker to-day. hell, i hoped i'd see ol' gabriel blowin' his horn fer us an' that grand chariot a-sweepin' low for the lightquencher an' i--

but somehow i doubted whether angels or devils would attend our demise. prob'ly jus' be miz loa lightquencher an' i fryin' laik fatback in the skillet doin' a dance on th' end of a rope onc't the sun cleared the horizon...

well, ya play the hand yer dealt, as i allus say with my smile.

(what speakin' i do, i do with my smile. that's why they call me "smiley.")

so, there we wuz, bein' drug out ta th' gallows the townsfolk'd been buildin' all yestidday. we heard 'em a-poundin' an' a-knockin' an' a-laughin'...their words a-driftin' into our dreams a-makin' us pull closer together: "hey bobby lee we's a gonna have a HANGIN' to-morrow! yessuh! two young gals i hear tell..."

an' here the hour fate had planned fer us had arrived. the day slowly beginnin' an' the sun juuuuus' barely startin' ta rise. i figgered we had 'bout ten minutes b'fore the sun really started ta burn us.

the sheriff an' two deputies escorted us outta the prison an' acrost the road ta th' gallows. heh. i wondered iffen we'd be buried at the crossroads b'fore our bodies crisped up laik bacon.

prob'ly not. we wuz prob'ly a-gonna hang all day as a lesson. fer someone.

well, loa lightquencher an' i walked PROUD, our shoulders nearly touchin' (tho' she stands a few inches taller th'n me) an' our chins firm an' strong.

i lookt at her with a tear in mah eye. sure's hell some folks prob'ly thought i wuz cryin' 'cause mah death wuz near but it warn't so. she wuz jus' so goddamn fine.

loa lightquencher.

dressed head ta foot in dusty black leathers. a delicate pair a' moccasins an' finely tooled leggin's with fringe a' jes' a-wavin' in the mornin' air. laik a hunnert li'l WINGS on her legs. those strong straight legs. they'd taken away her colt 45s but you could tell from the way she walked from the set a' her hips that she wuz a gunslinger. yes'm. yes she wuz. she had a chambray shirt embroidered with black-on-black an' a sturdy leather vest that wuz dulled by the dust of our desert travels. she often wore black leather gloves but a' course, the deputy took those raight away an' gave 'em ta his wife. so, the lightquencher's long-fingered hands were bare an' pale. her hair wuz a dark an' glossy brown twisted up inna hunnnert tiny braids all over her haid. an' a-hangin' down one side a' her proud sharp-angled face wuz a single green feather.

thass my gal. my beautiful lightquencher.

an' me? i tipped mah dusty brown derby to the sheriff an' the deputies an' the hangman as we approached. i wuz all greys an' browns an' yellas. faded an' dusty. i kep' a few lucky cards in th' brim a' mah brown derby 'cause i'm a gambler not a gunslinger. but even mah cards had lost their color. jus' inky shadows on yella paper. mah shirt wuz old cream cotton an' m'vest wuz dirt brown. mah trousers had long since been reduced to a soft sort a grey an' even i couldn't 'member what color they'd been when i first stole 'em. mah boots blended in with whatever road i wuz travellin'. even mah skin wuz weathered an' faded.

the only bit a' color i had wuz my short coppery hair that i kep' under the derby. mah flamin' haid o' hair wuz my secret...jus' laik mah WINGS.

what?

oh well, angelpires a-course, gener'ly keep their WINGS hidden. tucked away. showin' yer WINGS jus' laik speakin' yer WORDS kin be an intimate thing. personal.

so, the lightquencher an' i wuz led up the steps ta where the hangman wuz a-waitin'. b'fore they slipped our necks in the nooses we embraced onc't more an' kissed each other on the lips but the sheriff dint look kindly on't, so we wuz roughly pulled apart an' readied fer our execution.

[go to part (ii)] [back to index]

jewel@gleeful.com
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