Cowpoke Sorcery

Muhayer Alowais

Description

Cowboys, magic, and murder. Roger Anderson is a member of the most notorious gang in the West. As he’s growing increasingly tiresome and conflicted with his life as an outlaw, he’s confronted with the death of his sister. Likely killed by another member of the gang that he has dedicated his life to. To uncover this mystery, he’s tasked with studying wizardry and facing powers from worlds far beyond his reach. With everything crumbling around him, Roger is pushed further and further to explore thoughts that lingered in the depths of his mind. What does it mean to be righteous? What does it mean to be free? What does it mean to have purpose? His friends and family are to aid him in his quest. Antonio Rodríguez, his best friend: shy, insecure, and could never hurt a fly. Leroy Anderson, his adoptive brother: known as the king of the west to the rest of the world. He’s harsh and cool, but monotone and never has his emotions exposed to anyone. Faisal, an older, wiser member of the gang: puts in the most effort to solve the case, but his temper can get in the way at times. Ann Clarence, a bull-headed bounty hunter: doesn’t seem to care about much of anything. She goes with the flow and helps where she can. And then there are 13 other colourful members of the Anderson Gang. Sadly, none of whom he can trust anymore.

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789948806042
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Cowpoke Sorcery
Muhayer Alowais
Austin Macauley Publishers
2023-01-31
Cowpoke Sorcery About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgement Prologue: The Ring (Roger Anderson) Chapter 1: Outlaws (Roger Anderson) Chapter 2: What You’re Supposed to Do (Antonio Rodríguez) Chapter 3: Delusional (Roger Anderson) Chapter 4: Magic Man (Roger Anderson) Chapter 5: Interrogation (Roger Anderson) Chapter 6: Awakenings Chapter 7: There’s A Dog in This Chapter (Roger Anderson) Chapter 8: Tree (Roger Anderson) Chapter 9: The Train (Roger Anderson) Chapter 10: Meeting (Roger Anderson) Chapter 11: Flames 3 years ago (María Rodríguez) Chapter 12: Plantation Massacre (Roger Anderson) Chapter 13: Graveyard (Roger Anderson) Chapter 14: Chapter 15: Antonio the Bounty Hunter (Antonio Rodríguez) Chapter 16: New Camp (Antonio Rodríguez) Chapter 17: The Truth (Roger Anderson) Chapter 18: Who Killed Stanley? Chapter 19: Fight (Roger Anderson) Chapter 20: The Flaming Spear 2 Years Ago (Roger Anderson) Chapter 21: Can’t Rest (Leroy Anderson) Chapter 22: Freedom and Future (Roger Anderson) Chapter 23: That is Enough (Roger Anderson) Chapter 24: Loyalty 1 year ago (Leroy Anderson) Chapter 25: Wake Up (Antonio Rodríguez) Chapter 26: Shadow Magic 2 Years Ago (Faisal) Chapter 27: Delusion (Antonio Rodríguez) Chapter 28: Victory at last (Leroy Anderson) Chapter 29: Goodbye to The Anderson Gang (Antonio Rodríguez) Finale Chapter: The Shadow Mage Cowboy Epilogue: Aftermath Epilogue 2: The Beary Scary Tyrant Epilogue 3: How Many Epilogues Are There?
About the Author
Muhayer Alowais is a young author from the United Arab Emirates. His love for writing started from a young age, he started writing short stories and manuscripts for plays ever since he could remember. This passion helped put together this book, which was inspired by his infatuation with cowboys and the endless possibilities of magic.
His Twitter is @MuhayerAlowais
Dedication
For Bob,
I don’t know a Bob, yet. But if you’re out there buddy, this book is dedicated to you.
Copyright Information ©
Muhayer Alowais 2023
The right of Muhayer Alowais to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with Federal Law No. (7) of UAE, Year 2002, Concerning Copyrights and Neighboring Rights.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to legal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The age group that matches the content of the books has been classified according to the age classification system issued by the Ministry of Culture and Youth.
ISBN – 9789948806035– (Paperback)
ISBN – 9789948806042 – (E-Book)
Application Number: MC-10-01-1153746
Age Classification: 13+
First Published 2023
AUSTIN MACAULEY PUBLISHERS FZE
Sharjah Publishing City
P.O Box [519201]
Sharjah, UAE
www.austinmacauley.ae
[phone]
Acknowledgement
I want to thank my friends and family for their endless support and enthusiasm.
And Mircea Nicula, who was responsible for the amazing illustration on the cover.
Prologue

The Ring (Roger Anderson)
I shove the sickly old man against the fencing and punch him four more times. Blood gushes out of his mouth, staining my jacket.
“You know what you owe!” I stomp my leg, sinking it deeper into the snow.
“You said this wasn’t due until next month!” He weeps.
“That was a misunderstanding,” I say.
“What was there to misunderstand?”
I twist his collar. “Stop complicating this. You either cough up the money or let me ravish your house.”
As he wipes the blood trickling down his chin, I spot an attracting glimmer on his ring finger.
I grab his arm and tug it toward me. “How about I take this ring?”
Antonio Rodríguez pulls my shoulder back. He eyes me with a deep frown. It was his usual signal that he’d use to let me know I’m crossing a line.
“Roger, this isn’t how we do things.” He raises an eyebrow.
Antonio always frustrates me with his morals. But he’s my best friend, so I tend to listen to him, anyway.
I was about to drop the man’s arm and steal something less meaningful. Before I could do that, Leroy Anderson, my adoptive brother, shoves Antonio’s hand off my shoulder.
“You darn Hispanics are so weak it’s almost adorable,” Leroy sighs.
“Maybe it’s just you white men that are too cruel,” Antonio mumbles, taking a step back.
“What was that?” Leroy says. Even though he never raises his voice, he still sounds threatening.
“Nothing.” Antonio sweats.
“This old sack of trash knew what he was getting himself into,” Leroy nods toward the ring.
Should I listen to Antonio or Leroy? I ask that question far too often, even when they’re not with me.
Leroy pressures me with his heavy breathing. Antonio scratches his elbow.
I grimace and pluck the ring off his finger. It required more force than I was expecting.
The old man screams. I let go of him as tears stream down his bright red cheeks. It seems he was struggling to breathe.
Without a care in the world, Leroy takes off the man’s jacket and wears it for himself.
“It’s getting cold.” He rubs his hands together, lightly shivering.
We walk back to our horses, and I put on my black stetson.
“Why am I the one beating them up?” I ask, gazing at my blood-soaked knuckles.
“There’s something oddly endearing about watching a black kid beat up white folk. Poetic justice, you know?” Leroy smiles, lightly.
“You forcing me to do this as retribution for your kind? Why don’t I beat you up too?” I cock my head.
“Well, I guess I also want to teach you a lesson.” Leroy shrugs.
Looks like Antonio wants to say something, but he just sat on his horse biting his nails.
We trot away. Antonio looks down. Leroy looks forward. And I look back.
A screaming woman and a trembling kid crouch down next to the beaten old man.
I feel no remorse. The gang always comes first. He was the one failing to pay his debt. He got what he deserved.
And now it’s time to rob the bank in Phoenix, Arizona.
Chapter 1

Outlaws (Roger Anderson)
I’m being pursued by the law as I gallop on my pitch-black Arabian horse.
I tighten my grip on the three bags of cash I stole.
We perfectly executed the bank heist! It went exactly as planned!
But everything went downhill when a security guard decided to hide in one of the safes. It was a small safe as well, so he was cramped inside like a little kid.
It did not even startle me. I just laughed. It was funny.
What isn’t funny is the fact that his stupid prank messed up our entire operation! Thanks to him, our companion, Ludwig Ferdinand, was caught.
Only me, Leroy and Ludwig went inside the bank. Everyone else was waiting outside, so they had an easy escape.
Leroy shot and killed five people with his perfect aim so we could get out. We failed to save Ludwig, and that’s a good thing because I hate that bigot. But it’s also a bad thing because he was supposed to carry the money. All we have now are the three bags I stole. Two tiny bags of cash that were on the reception desk and a giant sack I filled with the money from the safes.
“Blah blah blah I will blah blah blah money blah,” Leroy says, couldn’t exactly hear him over the wind. Maybe if he raised his voice a bit.
He turns and goes into some random alleyway leading to a dead end. His escapes were always this weird. Somehow, he makes it back to camp every time.
I continue to speed forward as the officers chase me.
Left the city and now I’m surrounded by sand and cacti. Nowhere for me to hide. The valley is way too open. Looks like I’ll have to sacrifice one of the three bags of cash. It’s that or get shot, because the two officers seem to be aggressive.
I drop the heaviest bag of the bunch. That might not have been such a great idea in hindsight, but it was an impulse because it was straining my arm.
“This is all I stole. Leave me alone!” I yell. They fell for it, fools.
We may have to look for a new bank to rob soon. We’ve been abusing this one for the past three years. That might explain why that moron hid inside the safe. They were prepared.
I’ve actually become well known around where the bank is located. They call me the ‘black rat’. I know what the black part is referring to, but I don’t know if the rat part is about me being a thief or that one time I dropped a block of cheese during a robbery. Was some really good cheese. Can’t believe the bank had the audacity to rob me of its succulence.
I continue down the path and make it to a lush forest. Our camp is further in the forest.
The sun is setting. There’s probably a good amount of money in these two bags. Proud of how I did today. Here’s hoping the other gang members will be proud of me, too. The gang gave me a lot of responsibilities for this robbery, after all I just became eighteen two months ago during June.
Growing up means more responsibilities.
I make it to camp. It’s at the edge of the forest, near the lake. This area has been the gang’s hideout since before I even joined. The original leader set fire to this part of the forest, it’s why this is the only spot without many trees. It’s not a castle, but it’s a beautiful area to call home.
Most of the 16 people in the camp look at me. I glance at everyone at least once with the smuggest smile on my face. I raise the bags of cash and shout, “The mission was a success!”
Antonio dashes to me.
“I knew you could do it, brother! Never doubted you,” he says.
He gives me his hand to me to help me off my horse.