Character lock

The company

Faces taken from life where we had them, and painted for the rest. Every name the story speaks gets a portrait — the outlaw, the diva, the orange sister in the brown hat, the penguin, the scarred gator, Frankie, the Flamekeeper, and everyone else the draft named.

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  The outlaw

  Cowboy Kitty

  Most notorious train robber in the West. Black-and-white tuxedo fur, rust-red cowboy hat, black bandana, green eyes, a dusty-rose nose with a dark central spot. Honor under the hat. He jumped for her and never quite landed the same.

  

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  The railroad princess

  Diva Kitty

  Pampered pet of a railroad tycoon until a collapsing bridge and a stubborn bandit remade her heart. Black-and-white tuxedo markings, pink harness, a diamond-shaped blaze, the same dusty-rose nose with a dark central spot. She never truly turned. Every time it looked like betrayal, she was still choosing him.

  

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  The older sister

  Put Pumpkin

  Orange tabby who raised a legend. Terracotta poncho and a worn chocolate-brown cowboy hat — older, more broken-in than her brother’s rust one. She taught him to track, to adapt, and to admit when he was outplayed. She is Cowboy Kitty’s sister. That does not change.

  

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  The penguin who always wins

  Kingwin

  Emperor penguin. Black tuxedo jacket. Cream belly. Yellow-orange neck patches. A cane with a diamond the size of a fist. That face does not change — not the trench, not a fedora, not a different bird. He does not take servants. He takes crews. He wins every confrontation in this book.

  

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  The gator who collects

  Gary

  King of the swamp. Green hide, brown jacket, gold waistcoat, a cigar, and a pale scar slashing through his left eye. He does not do free work, and he does not call in favors. He collects.

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  Kingwin’s scout

  Terry the Terrible

  A scarlet macaw — red chest, blue-and-green wings, white facial patch, pale hooked beak. Kingwin’s scout, messenger, and applause. He never lets a victory go quietly.

  

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  The kick

  Oscar the Ostrich

  Towering, dusty, no visible weapons. He does not need them. A kick from those legs can shatter bone. Fear is the only leash Kingwin ever put on him.

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  The warhorse

  Harrison Horse

  A thick scar down a long face. Steely, intelligent eyes. He does not steer. He sets the current. The one Kingwin’s crew actually listens to when the penguin is not in the room.

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  The gunslinger

  Silver Jack

  Lean silver-gray tomcat. Black cowboy hat. Red bandana. A revolver that matches his name. Loyalty to himself first — until Devil’s Hollow taught him what a partner is worth.

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  The reinforcements

  Mad Dog Murphy

  A merle cattle-dog with a torn left ear, a brown cowboy hat, a dusty duster, and two guns. He always arrives late enough to be dramatic and early enough to matter.

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  The lock

  Sammy the Ferret

  The name that hushes a camp. Vaults, mechanical and otherwise, open for him. He does not take partners easily. Kingwin asked anyway.

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  The law

  Sheriff Dawson

  An aging wolf in a brown duster, a dark hat, and a steel star. A town that keeps slipping through his paws. He is not the villain. He is what the West looks like when it still tries.

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  The coyote

  Silas

  Kingwin crossed him first. Lean coyote, dark hat, red bandana, worn duster. He gathered the last folks in the desert crazy enough to take the penguin on — and handed Cowboy Kitty an army of outcasts.

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  The lieutenant

  Cyrus

  A bristling gray coyote in a dark leather vest who did not trust the new second-in-command. He lunged. He learned. Cowboy Kitty stepped over him on the way to Kingwin’s right hand.

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  Kingwin’s gun

  The Gull

  A particularly nasty-looking gull. Black eyepatch. Rusty pistol. One of the shadowy figures who swarmed the cargo car the night the cats first lost.

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  Kingwin’s hands

  The Otters

  A pair of otter henchmen — knives, bandoliers, one grinning and one scowling. They are the ones who pin Diva when the first fight goes wrong.

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  Kingwin’s muscle

  The Seal

  Harbor-thick and loyal. Cowboy Kitty knocked one flat with a kick the first night. There were always more.

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  Diva’s old life

  The Railroad Tycoon

  A well-fed orange tabby in a cream silk vest and a gold watch. He owned the carriages, the tuna, and, for a little while, the idea of her. He never owned the jump.

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  The key

  The Duke of Lyon

  A bloated aristocratic tabby in a powdered wig. He never noticed the golden key leaving his coat. That was the whole point of him.

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  Silas’s camp

  The Fox and the Bear

  A russet fox who cleans her revolver while she laughs, and a scarred bear who knows Kingwin is too big to hit head-on. The last folks in the desert crazy enough to try.

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  The other law

  Sheriff Gristle

  A bald vulture who kept the badge after he stopped trying. Hooked beak. Dusty duster. He arrives at Dust Valley right on time.

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  The still king

  Frankie the Flamingo

  Ivory robe. Golden monocle. Violet eyes that have not blinked in decades. Nine koi. A tenth, late. He speaks one word in this book: Awaken.

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  The salamander

  Sylvester

  Gills, gold vest, steam off the shoulders. Not for Kingwin. With him. He calls Cowboy Kitty her little brother and opens a shortcut nobody asked for.

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  The moth-winged fox

  The Flamekeeper

  Eyes of fireglass. Cloak of soot and song. In the Chamber of First Names he remembers everything, and he speaks the Leviathan’s true name: Sorrow.