Bonnie stared at the ground, lost and confused.
'A Ritual? The Outlaw's Ballad? What is that supposed to mean? I…'
Those words stirred something inside her mind.
In a strange way, and all at once, the thoughts rising up inside crowded together like a pile of torn, scattered scraps of paper. Blurry images she couldn't make sense of began flashing before her eyes like irritating flickering lights, and whispering voices trapped in distant memories spoke close to her ears.
They repeated dissonant words — cut into fragments that overlapped with one another, compounding the meaninglessness. And yet there was one single thing that did make sense. Something she could recognize even through all the chaos.
One word…
Devil.
Repeating over and over, cutting through her mind like an arrow.
Victoria glanced back and noticed that Bonnie looked deeply confused.
"It seems like you don't understand anything I just told you."
That pulled Bonnie back to reality. She looked up, disoriented. Then Lady decided to speak, adding to what Victoria had said.
"I understand how you feel. It's hard to grasp at first. We're born believing the world is a very cruel but ordinary place — but when we dive headfirst into the hidden side of things, we realize how small we are compared to everything incomprehensible that moves through the shadows."
Evelyn laughed.
"That's exactly why people end up creating so many dark legends. Some are real, some are half-real, and a rare few aren't even a shadow of what actually hides beyond the rumors. We outlaws are part of all of it."
"I had no idea about any of this…" said Bonnie. "But now I'm aware of it."
"That's just how it is, girl. Sometimes we think we're the owners of absolute truth — but when reality hits us in the face, we have no choice but to bow to it."
"Yeah…"
"But to get back to the point," Victoria added, turning her gaze forward again. "By breaking the law established by men and separating yourself from society in the pursuit of freedom, you unconsciously performed the opening Ritual of the First Stigma of the Outlaw's Ballad: Wanted."
"Aren't Ballads… songs?" asked Bonnie.
"They are," the woman answered. "But they're also the opportunity to spread a legend — which is why they gave that name to the supernatural power of the Outlaw's Ballad."
"And how does the ritual work? What do you have to do? Why is it even possible?"
Lady raised her hand.
"I'll take that part. To become a 'Wanted,' you have to break the law established by men — whether by killing, stealing, or doing something illegal according to the statutes. What matters is breaking the law and seeking freedom. Two simple steps that condemn you forever. As for why it's even possible — nobody has any idea."
"That's right, girl. And like any power that comes from nowhere, it has its advantages and its costs," Victoria added.
"There's the part where, if you stay in the same place for too long, your powers start to thin out and slowly disappear," said Evelyn. "Or there's the part where the power builds so fast that it drives you mad, tears you apart, and turns you into a monster."
Victoria raised a hand — without looking back — to quiet Evelyn, and continued:
"With all of that in mind, what you need to understand is this: if you want to develop the First Stigma, increase its power and effectiveness, you will have to accept the consequences that come with it."
Bonnie tightened her grip on the reins.
'I really had no idea how any of this worked. So the source of the powers is a ritual — but what I did that day when I killed Caleb Graves didn't feel anything like a ritual. Part of me struggles to believe it. But after everything I've seen, I'm going to have to force myself to expect anything from here on out.'
The meaning of a ritual was fairly clear — a sequence of repetitive, symbolic actions performed following a tradition, a culture, or a belief. If all it took to start the Outlaw's Ballad were two simple steps of a ritual, then how did the ritual come to exist in the first place? Who was the first person to taste supernatural power? No — more importantly — were there more Ballads?
The people of the Devil's Cult were performing rituals with young girls. Were they following a Ballad of their own?
"Before you ask something," Victoria added. "There are supposedly more Desert Ballads out there, but I don't know whether they're real or just rumors. What I do know is that each Ballad follows a specific archetype. The Outlaw's Ballad is a sequence of four confirmed Stigmas — though there may be more."
"We're still on the first Stigma ourselves," said Lady.
"You need knowledge of the following rituals to access the following Stigmas," Victoria continued. "But that information is so scattered that it mostly just sounds like another legend."
"You could say that's the basic foundation of what anyone needs to know about the Desert Ballads," Evelyn concluded.
Bonnie turned the new information over in her mind.
'A path with four stages — possibly more — to be completed through rituals… It sounds like a method of gaining power that is both simple and complicated at the same time, because anything can happen. And it has its drawbacks too: if you don't follow the steps of the Stigma, you lose the power gradually. You can also go mad and end up becoming a monster. I have no idea what kind of monster — but I have the gut feeling that I'll see it someday. Unless I'm the one who becomes it.'
Victoria cleared her throat.
"I'm sure Evelyn already mentioned this to you, but the influence of the First Stigma amplifies certain everyday aspects of the self. Greater speed of movement and reaction, heightened senses, increased luck factor, amplification of circumstances in which you're able to successfully escape, and greater endurance."
Bonnie nodded.
"Yes. I'm aware of that. The man pursuing Evelyn showed that kind of power during the duel. So did Evelyn."
"You're going to have to tell us how that duel went," said Lady, glancing at Evelyn.
Thieving Cat laughed.
"It was over pretty fast. I'll give you the full story later. Right now, Bonnie wants to know how to get stronger. Seems like she can't even dodge a bullet yet, and that's a problem."
'For the record, no ordinary person could dodge bullets,' Bonnie thought with a crooked smile. 'And until very recently, I was an ordinary person.'
"Yes, yes. The only thing you need to do is train the abilities you've already gained. It's straightforward — and you'll get used to it. The power is already there. You just have to learn how to use it through trial and error. If you have any questions, you can ask."
"I think I'm good. That was pretty clear. Thank you," Bonnie answered in response to Victoria's words.
Lady clapped her hands.
"Congratulations. You're on your way to learning how to be an outlaw."
"Yeah… I think so."
Victoria stopped for a moment, bringing the others to a halt as well. She looked at all of them with that slightly stern expression of hers.
"We should pick up the pace from here on out. The buyer will be expecting the haul, and I want that money. Evelyn — try not to fall behind. With your arm like that, you'll need a few more days before it heals completely. Lady — keep an eye on Evelyn and make sure she doesn't fall off her horse. And… Bonnie Jones — you ran from home and you have nothing. What do you plan to do?"
"Well…"
It was only a matter of time before she asked that.
'I still have my necklace and my bracelet. If I can sell them for a decent price in the next town, I could survive the next few months without going hungry. And if I train properly to master the First Stigma, the dangers of the desert won't be as much of a problem. But…'
Her main objective was the real issue. Telling Victoria about it meant getting another lecture — but she couldn't avoid it. Evelyn would bring it up sooner or later, so rather than letting someone else decide when, she decided to say it herself.
"To be honest with you — about a week ago, I was kidnapped by the Devil's Cult. They were supposed to sacrifice me on a stone altar, but that never happened. Instead, they died, and I managed to escape. From that moment on, I've wanted to find out what's going on with that cult and make them stop killing innocent girls. I've also been told that the cult's people are probably hunting me to finish what they started — but I'm not going to back down. I will never back down to anyone ever again…"
Bonnie knew that some of that wasn't entirely true. She wasn't after the Devil's Cult to save innocent girls — though she wasn't against that either. What Samuel Calloway was really searching for was a way to give Bonnie her body back and return to his own world. Now that he understood far more about the supernatural, he understood that something similar was happening with a cult back in his world of origin.
There was no way Victoria would believe a story that wild. It was even more surreal than everything that came with the Ballads' powers, Devils, and people turning into monsters. Even so, the woman held her gaze on her for a few seconds.
Then she turned her eyes back to the road and said:
"I see. That means you'll probably be going your own way come the next town. Good luck with that. We're all going to have our hands full from here on out, so let's not waste time. Move out."
And with that, Victoria urged her horse forward across the plain.
For a brief moment, Lady looked at Bonnie with a great deal of sympathy and concern — but she followed her gang's leader without a word.
Evelyn, on the other hand, let out a short laugh.
"Seems like she already figured out that I tried to warn you about the same thing. Maybe she figured there's no point spending time on something I already failed at. And she'd be right. That's just how she is. Come on — I'll tell you some great stories on the way so you can start learning a little about what tends to happen out in the desert."
With that, Thieving Cat rode on ahead. Bonnie held still for one quiet second before moving.
'At least they didn't lecture me. It wouldn't have been worth the effort. I'll walk my own path. Bonnie — No. I'm tired of people telling me what I should do.'
Walking a road with no return… No. She had already been on that road the moment she killed Caleb Graves.
There was no going back.