The blinding sun was shoulder high when Cedar City lay shimmering in the heat rising from Overland Trail. In the distance, citizens trailing little dust clouds shuffled in the street. In the lead, Jason and the Deacon stopped their mounts shoulder to shoulder. Only the town's dirty faced children paid attention to the newest strangers coming down the Overland.The weary riders raised their faces to a great banner which hung motionless in the air above their heads. The wide cloth stretched limply across the road and black letters, thick as a man's arm covered the banner with the words reaching from one side of the street to the other: CEDAR CITY: WELCOME ASSASSINS AND ROAD SCUM The stony face of the black vested Deacon cracked into a narrow smile. "Seems we're expected."