Savage Desire (Savage Lagonda 1) (24 page)

Tajarez dismounted and looked past the steep incline to the river beyond. He could see Anias coming out of the woods and noticed Jeffery was not with him. His dark eyes scanned the horizon. Dark clouds could be seen in the distance. There would be more rain tonight, he thought.

Tajarez led his horse down the incline toward the river. He had spotted no game so far. Perhaps Anias and Jeffery had been more fortunate than himself.

Tajarez felt his horse pull against the reins, and automatically tightened his grip. The animal reared on its hind legs, and Tajarez sensed that something had disturbed him. He tossed the reins aside and spun around, scanning the wooded area. Looking past Anias, he saw a black grizzly bearing down on his cousin, and since Anias had his back to the woods, Tajarez knew he was unaware of it.

Tajarez raced forward, stringing his bow as he ran. He shouted to Anias, "Stand clear. There is danger, Anias."

By this time, Anias had heard the charging animal for himself, and he watched as Tajarez jumped in front of him and aimed his silver-tipped arrow at the bear's heart. The arrow flew through the air and found its target. The animal staggered, but did not go down.

"Get back, Anias," Tajarez ordered. "This one does not die easily."

The sounds the wounded animal made echoed along the riverbank. The grizzly was crazy in its lust for blood. The bear charged Tajarez, whose bow and arrows were now useless to him. He was aware that Anias had run into the river.

Anias, seeing Tajarez was in danger, automatically raised his bow and aimed it at the bear. Then it flashed through his mind that if Tajarez were dead, the rule of the Seven Cities would pass to his father and through his father to him. On his cousin's death, Mara would be free. She would be his.

Tajarez jumped to the left of the charging animal. The sharp talons missed him by inches. The bear was in agony, and Tajarez knew it would kill anything that moved. He thought if he could make it into deep water, he could easily out-swim the wounded animal.

The bear, however, seemed to sense Tajarez's intentions, and whirled on him. The animal was bleeding from his mouth and nostrils. Tajarez quickly threw down his bow and withdrew his knife, knowing it would now be his only defense. He wondered why Anias had not come to his aid.

Tajarez now knew he faced death. He could smell the foul odor that came from the grizzly. The sounds that came from the animal were enough to cause the strongest man to quake in fear. Tajarez, however, did not wait for the animal to reach him, but charged forward. He felt his knife make contact with the bear as he buried it in the animal up to the hilt. He felt himself being lifted into the air, and then a gunshot rang out. For what seemed like forever, Tajarez was suspended in the air. The animal suddenly pitched forward and Tajarez hit the ground hard, and immediately jumped to his feet, unharmed.

Jeffery reloaded his gun, then ran down the embankment. Tajarez cautiously approached the fallen animal. By the time Jeffery reached his side, Tajarez had rolled the bear over. Then he withdrew his knife. Jeffery knelt down beside him and they both examined the animal.

"There is where I wounded him, Jeffery, with the arrow, and here is the knife wound. You shot him in the head, yet there is a fourth wound here in his chest that was made by a bullet."

"This could be the bear Anthony told us he wounded."

Tajarez nodded. "Most probably it is. I cannot understand a man's wounding an animal and leaving it to suffer. Your friend should have stayed to finish the job."

"I agree. Look, your arrow penetrated the animal's heart, and still he did not die. I have never seen a bear to rival this one in size. He must weigh close to eight hundred pounds."

Tajarez looked at Jeffery. "You saved my life. Ask what you will and it is yours."

"I want nothing. It is no more than you would have done in my place." He smiled. "Mara would never have forgiven me if anything had happened to you. Besides, you are my friend. Are you hurt in any way?"

"No, but I thought for a while that this day I would walk among the spirits."

By now Anias had joined them. His eyes sought Tajarez's, wondering if his cousin would suspect that he had purposely not come to his rescue.

Tajarez frowned. "I am glad you are not harmed, Anias."

"The grizzly caught me unaware, Tajarez. It is because of you that I live. Next time I hope it is I who stand between you and harm. Then I can repay my debt to you.

The fact that Tajarez had saved his life at the risk of his own only caused Anias's hate to deepen. Had it not been for the Golden One's brother, he would now have all he desired.

Today, instead of witnessing his cousin's death, he had been made to appear the coward. Although Tajarez had not said so, Anias knew he was wondering why he had not come to his aid.

It rained hard that night, and the next morning the rain continued to fall. As the travelers made their way westward, their progress was slowed by the driving rain as well as the strong wind that blew out of the southwest making it hard to see more than a few paces ahead of them.

Mara felt miserable. She was soaked to the skin, and her riding habit clung to her feeling wet and heavy against her skin. She longed for the shelter of her tent. She had not seen Tajarez since the day they crossed over the river. But when they stopped at noon, Mara noticed Tajarez and Jeffery had joined them. She was determined that she would not be the one to make the first move toward reconciling their differences. He would either come to her or they would continue on as they were now.

Jeffery walked over to her and sat down under the tree where she had sought shelter. Mara was a little put out with him for spending all of his time with Tajarez and none with her.

"You look something like the half-drowned kitten George pulled out of the Mississippi last winter, little sister. Bet there is not a dry spot on you anywhere," he said, crossing his long legs in front of him and pulling his hat down lower over his forehead to shelter him from the driving rain.

"Pretty words could never win me over, Jeffery," she told him angrily.

"I thought the rain would cool down your temper and make you somewhat easier to get along with," he said, grinning.

"Little you would care if I were drowning. You spend all of your time with Tajarez, doing God only knows what."

He watched as she pushed a strand of golden hair that had escaped from her hat back under the brim. "I have not meant to neglect you, Mara, but I must confess I am getting a lesson in wilderness survival from Tajarez. It is an invaluable lesson, and Tajarez is a good teacher. You cannot imagine how exciting it is for me to ride beside him in the virgin wilderness and witness sights yet unseen by any other white man. After this experience, it will be difficult for me to return to the polite society of St. Louis."

Mara turned her back to him. "Look at me, as you put it, looking like a drowned kitten. At this moment I could have been on my way to Paris."

He turned her around to face him, and his expression was grim. "Are you having regrets, Mara?"

Green eyes stared into green eyes, before Mara finally dropped her lashes and looked away. "No, I am having no regrets. Sometimes I wonder what I am doing here, but other times I know."

He touched her cheek lightly. "I suspect you will feel better once the rains have stopped and the sun comes out."

"Perhaps. Look, they are beginning to mount up. Oh, what I would give at this moment for a change of dry clothing and a shelter from this wind."

Jeffery helped her to her feet. "Just think of it this way, little sister. Each mile you travel will be one less mile you will have to go."

"That is easy for you to say; you are enjoying yourself," she quipped.

Jeffery kissed her soundly on the cheek, then helped her to mount her horse before he left her to seek out Tajarez.

Tajarez had not approached Mara, nor had he even looked in her direction. If he was waiting for her to make the first move, he could just wait until hell froze over, she thought bitterly.

They had been riding only a short time when they came to a narrow mountain trail. There was a sheer drop-off of some hundred feet on one side. Mara shivered when she saw the steep ravine, thinking if one were to fall over the side it would mean sure death.

They would have to ride single file to reach the other side of the mountain. Mara shifted her position, wishing she could ride astride as Sasha did. She thought she felt her saddle shift beneath her. Clutching tightly to Blanco's reins, she felt the saddle move once again. The movement must have spooked Blanco, because he reared up on his hind legs and pawed the air. Mara's saddle gave way underneath her, and she felt herself falling. She did not even have time to cry out as she landed near the edge of the cliff. Then she felt herself sliding over the side toward the gully below. Her hands clutched at the side of the cliff, trying to grasp something solid to hold on to, but it was muddy, and she felt her hands slipping.

It was then she realized she was not alone. She felt Palomas's arms encircle her waist. He was holding her in such a way that his body, and not hers, was taking all of the punishment as they both rolled over the steep slope.

All the unkind things she had said to Palomas flashed through Mara's mind, and now he was risking his life to save hers. She felt in that moment that they would both be killed.

Suddenly their fall was broken. Palomas had grabbed on to a tree root that protruded out of the side of the cliff. He swung her around so he would have a better hold on her. Mara tried to reach for the root herself, so she could relieve him of some of her weight, but it was just out of her reach.

They both knew that the root would not support their combined weight. Looking into Palomas's eyes, she saw love and adoration mirrored in their brown depths. She felt a close bond with him, knowing he had willingly risked his life to protect her.

They heard movement above them, and Mara felt Palomas's muscles strain as he pushed her upward. His breath was coming in short gasps, as he tried to push her to safety before he lost his grip.

Mara saw the leather rope that was being lowered to them. She grabbed the end of it, and held on tightly. At the same time, she was aware that the tree root was breaking loose.

"I will not go unless you are with me, Palomas," she screamed, realizing that he had every intention of releasing her now that she held on to the rope. "Give me your hand," she cried, clawing at his arm for a firm grip on his hand.

He looked at her sadly and shook his head. Mara gripped his arm tightly. "If you fall, I will let go of the rope. Hold on to me," she cried.

Her other hand was wrapped around the leather rope, and her foot came in contact with a small overhanging rock. She rested her weight against the rock, trying to take the burden of her weight away from Palomas.

"If you do not try to save yourself, I will stay with you.

Her words he did not understand, but the meaning was clear. If he fell, she would fall also. Striving to reach above her, he grabbed on to the leather rope. Suddenly, a second rope appeared and Palomas reached for it. Then they were both being drawn slowly upward to safety.

Many hands reached for Mara as she neared the top of the cliff, but it was Tajarez's she sought. His face was wild as he drew her up beside him. He held her so tightly she could scarcely breathe, but it felt like bliss to her. She was laughing and crying at the same time, feeling she and Palomas had cheated death this day. She was shaking so badly she knew if Tajarez were not holding her she would have collapsed on the ground.

"Beloved, I thought I had lost you," Tajarez said in an agonized voice.

"Palomas, I must see to him," Mara said, pushing against Tajarez. Palomas was sitting on the muddy ground, holding his side, and she noticed that his buckskin was covered with blood.

Mara knelt down beside him. Taking his hand in hers, she saw that his hands were also covered with blood.

"Palomas, you saved my life, and I thank you with all of my heart." Mara looked quickly at Tajarez. "Please tell him what I said."

Tajarez knelt down beside her. "Mara wishes me to tell you of her gratitude for saving her life, and I am also grateful. When we reach home, you will receive a reward comparable to the deed."

"I want no reward, my prince. I did only what was required of me. She was very brave and would not allow herself to be rescued until she knew I too was safe. Few men would have reacted so well."

Tajarez nodded. "Later I want to know how this came to happen, but for now, let us get off this mountain. Are you able to ride?"

"I can ride. I am no more than scratched."

Mara, however, refused to move until Palomas's side was bandaged. She supervised as Sasha performed the task.

Palomas looked into her eyes, and they both knew they had shared an experience that neither of them would forget. They had faced death together, and they had formed a bond that would never be broken.

No longer would Mara resent Palomas's presence. Their eyes confirmed the message that could not be spoken. They shared a love for one another deeper than friendship. It was something that happened to few people. It was mutual respect and admiration, knowing each of them had been willing to die so the other might live.