Passion's Series (10 page)

Chapter Eleven

James spotted her first. Her left arm and head were draped backward over a heavy log. The rest of her body was not visible from where he stood, but the stalk and feathers of an arrow were. Fear gathered like a fist in the back of his throat.

His heart screamed out, but his voice was lost to him over the loud din in his own ears. A small newborn spark within his soul began to dim. He swung around to see the Mohawk stripped and being prepared for the trail back to Chota, and something inside him snapped.

A sudden roar filled with pain and anguish erupted from his lungs. He raised his hatchet. His vision no longer included what was around him, only the Mohawk…only him…and New Moon lying lifeless behind him.

Another anguished scream rent the frigid morning air and James wondered briefly if the sound had come from him. How could he have let this happen? The strength of his legs sent him flying forward.

He was only partially aware of the three strong bodies that blocked his path and wrestled him to the ground. Through the buzz of anger and grief that rang loudly in his ears the sound of Silent Deer's voice reached him.

"You will stop this. We will take him back to Chota Town. It is right that all the village witness his death."

James gave a mighty heave, breaking the other's hold on him. "It is right that I kill him myself! Now!"

Three heavy bodies slammed him back to the ground and held him pinned.

"There are many who feel the same as you. Would you deprive them of their blood lust?" The words were spoken by New Moon.

Relief filled him with a shudder. His breath came in shaky heaves. With renewed strength he shoved the three heavy bodies away and scrambled to his feet.

New Moon stood propped against the rough trunk of a tall pine. An arrow protruded from her right shoulder. The shank had already been broken just below the feathers and James knew she must have broken it herself.

Walking on unsteady legs he moved toward her. Her knees buckled and he sprang forward. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her left side up against his body. Pressing her back against the tree, he reached with trembling fingers to touch her face.

What was happening to him? The little baggage had been nothing but trouble from the time he laid eyes on her. She pressed and tested him at every turn, now that spark of irritating boldness was slowly withering in his arms and all he could think about was how he desperately wanted to see the fire flash in her eyes and hear her voice whisper his name.

His fingers traced her pale lips and then traveled downward to the arrow shaft. There was so much blood. It flowed down to where their bodies touched and the warm stickiness pooled against his stomach. The flow of blood had to be stopped. He pressed his fingers around the arrow shaft in an attempt to slow the flow.

New Moon stiffened and James' gaze flew to her face, not wanting to cause her more pain. She looked directly at the Mohawk.

"I am New Moon, warrior of Chota Town. I am not dead, but you soon will travel that path. Will you die well, warrior?"

James felt as if he floated in a space somewhere between two realities but not quite in either one as he turned his head to see the Mohawk's response.

The Mohawk smiled as he looked into her eyes and James felt a strange sense of jealousy at the near intimacy, knowing that at that moment for New Moon and the Mohawk no others existed.

"I am Winds Blowing. I will die well, squaw!"

New Moon turned her face to spit upon the ground and then slowly turned her gaze back to her enemy. "This squaw will witness your death."

New Moon looked up at James and he saw what he thought was a flicker of reassurance before her eyelids fluttered and then closed. As she slumped forward he stooped and scooped her into his arms.

Cradling her protectively he carried her to a thick bed of pine needles and lowered her gently to the ground. He gripped his strong fingers around her wrist and felt for a pulse. It was weak and slow, so slow!

"You must stay behind and care for her. If your medicine is strong she will live." James looked at Silent Deer. "When she is well enough take her back to the village."

"No!"

James' head swung back around to New Moon. He couldn't believe she spoke. Her pulse came stronger now.

"I will enter the village with the war party," she continued in a steady voice.

Silent Deer looked from New Moon to James and back to New Moon before he finally acquiesced and nodded solemnly. "Keep her here until she can travel. We will wait for you at the first campsite."

Moon closed her eyes and her head lolled to one side. This slipping in and out of consciousness concerned James more that he cared to think about. He looked anxiously to Deer.

"She will live," Deer reassured him. "She is in the death sleep. I will remove the point and show you which herbs and growing plants are the best medicine. Then our warriors must leave. We will be at the first camp sight after the sun has traveled the sky seven times. If you are not there we will wait that long again. If you are not back by then I will come to look for you. I will pray to the Great Spirit that your medicine is strong."

"I understand," James answered, and he did know. The meaning in Silent Deer's words was easy to understand. New Moon's safety had been his responsibility.

James pressed a finger to New Moon's throat and felt another moment of fear when he didn't feel a pulse right away.

"She is in the death sleep," Silent Deer said as if speaking to a child who had difficulty understand. "Her heart beats slow, but it is strong. She will survive if her spirit chooses life over death. Now, listen well to my instructions."

"I will care for her," James answered softly and it felt as if he'd taken an oath. For him, he had.

Fox built a small fire in which to heat his knife blade. Spotted Hawk went in search of plants to use as a poultice and others for a tonic.

James watched in stunned silence as Deer removed the point. Nothing was given to New Moon for pain, yet not a sound slipped, past her lips, nor did a frown crease her forehead.

Once the wound was cauterized and Spotted Hawk covered it with a thick paste prepared from white pine bark, Deer leaned close to New Moon and said gently, "Drink."

New Moon fluttered her eyes open and raised up with Deer's assistance. He placed a water skin that had been filled with a warm tea steeped from catnip leaves and lily roots to her pale lips.

She drank deeply, closed her eyes once again, and slumped limply against Deer's shoulder.

James looked to Deer who shrugged. "The death sleep. She will wake when you need her to drink."

***

Two days after the party left, New Moon's body became hot and she tossed restlessly. James knew she was no longer in the death sleep, but was in the throes of a high fever.

In her fever-induced sleep she began to speak. At first the words were incoherent, disjointed ramblings, then little by little the words became understandable.

"This can not be true, there will never be another."

He smoothed the hair back from her forehead. "You are not alone," he told her gently. "Rest easy."

"He does not even like me," she answered in a small voice and a sob slipped from between her lips.

It felt as if a knife turned within his heart. Never had it occurred to him that this proud woman could be insecure. How had his actions done this to her? He hung his head. He'd deliberately tried to show her that he was stronger, more capable. He looked at her. Her cheeks were flushed with fever.

"Who is the insecure one here, Little Wa-sa? Who am I to come into your life and try to prove you less than you are? You are brave, and strong, and more beautiful than any other woman, in your world or mine."

But New Moon wasn't any other woman. When he held her in his arms, it was like rediscovering a part of himself, a part that had been lost and suddenly found.

The first time he held her in the cornfield and she had molded herself to him he'd felt a communion with her body.

When she stepped out from cover and spoke to a mountain cat that could have killed within the space of an eye blink, as if it were a friend, he'd felt her courage bond them together. When she viewed the mutilation of the warriors she had known from childhood, he'd felt as one with her spirit.

Being tied to just one woman had never been in his plans, yet now he knew he would never be complete without her.

He picked up the strips of cloth he'd used for her ankle only days before and soaked them with water from his water skin. The water supply was low, he realized, and cursed softly under his breath.

Though two of the warriors left their water skins behind, their supply would soon be gone. He drank little himself, but did not deny New Moon in her weakened and feverish state.

It was a full day's run to the next mountain spring. He could not leave her here unprotected, but moving her would be extremely risky. Yet, he had no other choice.

New Moon shivered and cried out in her delirium for his warmth. He knew he must withhold it. It was imperative that her fever cool.

She called out again. Taking her hand in his he forced himself not to take her into his arms, as he wanted so desperately to do.

Instead he whispered softly, "You must fight the fever, Little Wa-sa." A smile touched her lips and his heart lurched.

"Only my warrior calls me Little Wa-sa," she whispered.

Her words and the tone of affection he'd heard surprised him. "So I am your warrior, am I?" He answered with a sad smile. "You sound like a possessive little baggage..." His voice cracked. He was even more surprised by the emotion her words had caused to rise within him.

He reached out with a trembling hand for the skin that held the last of their water. As he bathed her hot forehead he prayed to the Great Spirit of her people and to the God he'd known all his life.

Her mumbling became more pronounced as she spoke of a new path and the warrior to come. It sounded like none of the stories he'd heard told by the old women to the children or by the Magi during the purification ceremony.

She turned her head in his direction and looked into his eyes, her own clouded over with fever, "Are you the one? I must know." It was the same question he'd heard so many times since his arrival.

"Do you want me to be?" he whispered. She didn't appear to hear him as she asked the question over and over, her eyes now darting from one unseen point to another. He took her face between his strong hands and turned her face to his. Peering deep into her eyes he answered her, knowing he spoke the truth, "Yes, I am the one, Little Wa-sa."

***

New Moon fought to swim up from the murky depths. All around her was wet, and cold, and clinging. Her mind felt dull, but she must think. There was something she must do if only she could remember. She was so tired, so very, very tired. The darkness moved in closer. NO! She must not let it claim her. She fought.

"I am the one, Little Wa-sa. I will not let you go. Come back to me."

Someone spoke to her. The darkness receded only slightly but it was enough. Her determination returned. So cold. She trembled.

"Come back to me, Wa-sa."

It is so dark, so cold.
Did she say that?

"Come back to me, Wa-sa. I will warm you."

She felt warmth. It started across her shoulders and moved down to her arms. Something warm and soft touched her lips. She opened her mouth to the soft warmth and liquid slid down her throat and she swallowed. Her eyelids were heavy, but she struggled to open them.

His face appeared close to hers, his beloved face. He took another drink into his own mouth and lowered his lips to hers once again. She drank deeply before slipping once again into the death sleep.

James closed his eyes as he pulled her closer within his embrace.

Chapter Twelve

New Moon scooped a piece of deer meat from her shallow bowl and popped it into her mouth. It was her first solid food in days and it tasted wonderful. James boiled the meat until it was tender and seasoned it with wild onions and acorns. He managed to find a hive of bees and stole a honey rich comb. The sweet nectar dripped from warm corn cakes he'd made from the last of their meal.

New Moon ate ravenously. A drop of sticky honey slid slowly down her chin, and she quickly caught it with her finger and poked  it into her mouth  to suck the sweet nectar from her skin. At that moment she glanced up to see James watching her with intense interest. Minor explosions erupted in her lower stomach.

"Are you enjoying your meal, Little Wa-sa?"

New Moon smiled as she placed her empty bowl to one side. "Yes, I enjoyed it very much. You are a good provider."

She liked the sound of his voice when he wasn't angry with her. She also liked the deep shade of blue she saw in his eyes.

"Will you teach me the death sleep?"

New Moon blinked a couple of times. Of all the things she might expect to hear from him at this moment, that question was not one of them. She was not blind. She had seen the need in his eyes, had felt it during the night when he held her so tightly against himself to keep her warm. Was this a game they played? She could play as well as he.

"The death sleep is not for a white man to know." She glanced over to the water skin lying on the ground next to James' feet. "I am thirsty. Is there enough water left for me to have a small drink?"

James picked up the full skin and handed it to her. "Do you think I will not be able to learn the technique?"

There is little I think you could not learn, she thought to herself, but held her tongue. She took the water skin and measured its weight within her hand. Her gaze slid up to his.

"This skin is full."

"Yes, so are the others. You haven't answered my question. Do you believe I would not be able to learn the death sleep?"

New Moon's expression was full of question. James loved the way her brow furrowed. He wondered how she would look in passion. He shook himself. His mind was wandering again. He silently scolded himself.

"You must answer me first. Where did you get this water? The closest stream is a day's run from here."

James chuckled, "Okay, Littler Wa-sa, I will tell you. Two nights ago I heard the sound of water. I followed the sound until I came upon a small, clear stream."

Her heart beat hard at her wonderment over what she heard.

"The next evening I refilled the skins again. The funniest thing, though," his brow furrowed in confusion, "today I could not find the same stream in the light of day. Now that you're better, I do not have the time to continue looking. We must get you to that first campsite before Silent Deer comes looking for my scalp. Another time I will come back to this place and search for it."

James watched New Moon's face. He felt relieved to finally tell someone about the stream. He had  risen at first light to search for the meadow, but it was nowhere to be found. If not for the filled skins and New Moon's rapidly improving condition, he would think the whole thing had been a dream.

Maybe it was a dream if the look on New Moon's face was any indication. She watched him as if he'd just sprouted horns and a tail.

"You found Lake
Ataga 'hi
?"

James felt the tiny hair on his arms rise. "I have never heard of this Lake
Ataga 'hi
"

New Moon opened the pouch and poured a small amount of water into her hand. It looked like any other water. She brought her hand to her mouth and licked the water from her skin. Tying off the top of the pouch she spoke to James, "I will teach you the death sleep."

"Good!" James proclaimed happily, but could not fathom the change in her.

"When we camp tonight we will begin the lessons." Wasting no more time, James gathered the water pouches and slung them over his back. Having already returned the campsite to the forest, the only remaining task was to clean out New Moon's stone bowl and toss it back to nature. This done, he lifted New Moon into his arms and started off toward Chota Town.