Savage Destiny (The Hearts of Liberty Series, Book 1) (41 page)

He gathered fresh pine boughs to line the bottom, and then bent down beside Elliott's body. He removed the gold signet ring from his right hand and tossed it to Alanna. "You'll want to keep that. I want you to have his knife, too. You'll need it should we become separated."

Alanna tried on the ring and found it felt secure only on her index finger. When Hunter handed her Elliott's knife, she threaded the sheath through her belt, and prayed she would never have occasion to use it. She watched him remove the handkerchief from Elliott's pocket, but the young man had had nothing else with him. When the Indian sent her a questioning glance, she shrugged slightly. "The rest of his belongings are still at your house."

"I'll use his handkerchief to cover his face."

"Wait, use my shawl instead."

Hunter stopped her before she had untied it. "You'll need it tonight for warmth. The handkerchief will have to do."

Unable to watch him lower Elliott into the ground, Alanna got up and took several steps away. Her cousin had been a fine man, and he shouldn't have died so young. "You said you'd seen Blind Snake in the Ohio Valley," she called over her shoulder.

"Yes, he might have killed Elliott then."

"Had Elliott died last summer, he would have been called a hero."

"He is one still," Hunter argued.

Hunter laid his friend's body in the hole, crossed his hands over his chest, covered his face with the handkerchief, and added another layer of pine boughs, before he refilled the hole. He packed the earth down firmly, and scattered the excess dirt so it would not be noticed. Next he sprinkled fallen leaves on the ground in a random pattern to mimic nature. He had to search for several minutes, but found a fallen branch he added to his carefully landscaped scene.

"How does this look to you?" he asked.

Not really knowing what to expect, Alanna turned around slowly, but then her eyes widened in surprise. "It looks perfect. No one will guess the ground has been disturbed, but how will you ever find this place again to retrieve the body?"

"Do you become lost on your plantation?"

"No, of course not, it's my home."

"Well, the forest is mine. I won't have trouble finding my way here again. Do you want to say a prayer before we go?"

"No, Elliott was wonderful to me, and I'll remember him in my prayers for the rest of my life."

Hunter thought it odd that she had shed no tears for her cousin, but because every second they tarried brought Blind Snake closer, he gestured toward the adjacent trees. "We dare not leave any tracks here. Watch where I step, and do not fall behind."

Feeling completely drained, Alanna doubted she could still keep up, but she nodded. Hunter turned away, again traveling north at the same steady pace he had set earlier. After a while, she saw only a blur of honey-colored buckskin up ahead, but she continued to push herself and run long after her mind had sworn her body was spent. When at last Hunter drew to a halt and turned back toward her, she collapsed in his arms.

Hunter had meant only to make certain that Alanna was still with him, but clearly she could go no farther. He was nearing exhaustion himself, but carrying her cradled against his chest, he traveled another mile before stopping for the night. The place he chose was not only on high ground, but also densely wooded. It was bordered on one side by blackberry vines heavily laden with ripe fruit, and on the other by a fast-flowing stream. There was still time to hunt, but because he dared not light a fire to roast meat, he hoped Alanna liked blackberries.

He untied her shawl, spread it out on the ground, and laid her upon it. Thinking she might sleep for hours, he washed up in the stream in an effort to refresh himself, and began to pick berries. He had eaten his fill before Alanna sat up. She rubbed her eyes, but still didn't seem to recognize her surroundings.

Hunter carried a handful of berries over to her. "We'll stay here tonight, perhaps longer. Try and eat all you can."

Alanna needed no further encouragement. She popped a berry into her mouth, and then gobbled several more. "I haven't had anything to eat all day."

"I am a poor host it seems."

"Oh, no, it's not your fault." As she reached for the next berry, she noticed Elliott's ring on her finger and drew her hand back.

"What's wrong?"

"I fainted again, didn't I?"

"You were exhausted."

Truly, Alanna could not recall ever being so tired, but she doubted exertion was her only problem. "Our trip wasn't supposed to end this way."

"You could not have foreseen the danger."

"Perhaps not, but when you mentioned wanting to search for Blind Snake last night, neither Elliott nor I took you seriously. If only we had paid attention to you, rather than force you to listen to us, he might still be alive."

Hunter nodded toward the vines, and then gathered more berries for her before he sat down beside her. "The past can't be changed, and you mustn't blame yourself for Elliott's death. It was the fault of Blind Snake and his friends."

"What friends? I thought he was alone."

"We both saw him shoot Elliott, but there were shots from another direction. He may have had only one companion, or half a dozen. They would have overtaken us long before now, if they could. I think they'll go back to the trading post to wait for us. If we stay in the forest for a week or two, they'll grow bored and move on."

Alanna immediately took exception to his plan. "We can't let Blind Snake get away with killing Elliott. If you think he'll be lurking around the trading post, then we have to go back there and have him arrested!"

Insulted that she would question his judgment, Hunter's eyes narrowed to menacing slits, and his expression filled with defiance. "I do not have to do anything. If you must go back to the trading post, you'll go alone."

"You can't mean that."

"Oh, but I do. You may stay with me as long as you do what I say. If you are going to do nothing but argue, then follow the directions I gave you. Travel south until you reach the Mohawk, then follow it east to the trading post."

Alanna had seen that same intractable expression before, and knew Hunter meant what he said, but she was already so badly frightened his threat scarcely mattered. "Do you expect me to willingly be your slave?"

It was just that type of insolence to which Hunter had objected, but Alanna was clearly too tired to leave their camp, let alone return to the trading post on her own. "I have no need of a slave," he scoffed, "but Blind Snake might. The Abenaki treat their captives very badly. If you leave me, be careful he doesn't catch you."

Alanna had not thought to ask to what tribe Blind Snake belonged, but an Abenaki was the last Indian she would ever want to meet. Her hand started to shake, and she dropped the berry she had been holding. Hunter picked it up and handed it to her. It was another thoughtful gesture that didn't match his words.

"I can't eat anymore."

"You must. Without food, you won't be able to keep up with me."

As obnoxious as Hunter was, Alanna was positive he was a far better man than Blind Snake could ever hope to be. Still, remaining with him was a choice she was forced to make out of desperation. "No, I feel sick already. If I eat anymore, I'll be ill for sure."

Hunter scooped up the berries she had left, and set them aside. "I'll save these for morning."

That morning Elliott had been alive, but he would never see another sunrise, and Alanna was overcome with sorrow. He had known her so well, and had loved her in spite of her faults. She doubted she would ever find another man who would always be so wonderfully supportive. She did not even want to look. "The Abenaki have cost me a great deal," she murmured softly.

"The authorities will never find Blind Snake to punish him, but I will. Elliott's death will be avenged."

He sounded so confident, Alanna took his remark as a promise rather than a boast. "Have you killed men before?" she asked.

"Only in the Ohio Valley, and I took no joy in it. That was war, though, not a matter of revenge."

A flurry of wings as the birds nesting in the nearby trees took flight, caused them both to jump in alarm. Hunter rose and offered Alanna his hand, but he shook his head to warn her to be silent. She stood and then reached down for her shawl. Hunter took her hand and led her around the blackberry vines and into a cluster of maple trees. The low branches of one provided a natural ladder, and he gestured for her to climb up into the tree.

When she had been small, she had scamped up trees as easily as Byron and Elliott, while Melissa had never even been tempted to mimic her brothers' boisterous antics. It was the memory of those happy, sunlit days that gave her the strength to tuck the back hem of her skirt into the front of her belt to form a billowing pair of pantaloons. With her shawl again tied around her waist, she accepted Hunter's help to reach the first branch, and from there it was easy to move on up where the thick foliage provided the perfect hiding place. It wasn't until she looked down and found him backing away, that she realized just how precarious her perch truly was.

Hunter waved to her, and then circled around to the spot where they had been resting to hurriedly restore it to its natural state. In the gathering dusk, long shadows filled the forest, and he slipped soundlessly from one to the next. He heard Blind Snake's laughter before sighting him, but his respect for his adversary grew when he saw how easily he had tracked them. Apparently tiring of their sport, the Abenaki and two of his kind were making camp for the night at a spot Hunter had considered and then bypassed. Blind Snake and another brave each had muskets, while the third was armed only with a bow.

Knowing they had to be as tired as he, Hunter considered attacking them now, but in the twilight he might easily miss his first shot, and that would bring the three men down upon him. He would have eagerly taken that risk had he been alone, but Alanna's safety also had to be guarded. Biding his time, he waited and listened. He thought he knew enough of the Abenaki tongue to follow their conversation, but the men were chewing strips of smoked venison, which slurred their speech, and often teased each other with expressions he didn't recognize.

Only gradually did he become aware that they considered pursuing him and Alanna an amusing pastime. They talked about him and his female companion as though they were deer or some other game. They argued over how they would treat them once caught, but not wanting to hear their gruesome plans, Hunter returned to the tree where he had left Alanna. He dared not call out to her, and swiftly climbed up where he could whisper and be heard.

He took a firm hold on her arm to catch her should she faint, and told her what he'd found. "The Abenaki would never have gotten this close if I could have covered our trail. There are three of them, and they'll fall asleep soon. I'd slip into their camp and slit their throats, but I don't want to leave you to face them alone, should I fail. We'll have to go. We'll walk in the stream again, but I'll leave it to create a false trail. By morning, we'll be miles from here."

"Do you think they found the grave?" Alanna asked.

"No, or they would have mentioned it. Elliott's body is safe, but we aren't. Take care climbing down."

Having never climbed trees in the dark, Alanna had considerable difficulty following him back to the ground, but finally managed it without mishap. Her knees felt weak, and she doubted she could go very far. "Couldn't we hide right here? In the morning, if they go west, we can head back to the trading post."

"And if they catch us, we'll die! Let me decide what is best. Your ideas are foolish." He reached for her hand and, jerking her along, found the stream where he moved with his usual graceful stealth, while she tripped and slipped along behind him.

The blackberries she had eaten provided so little in the way of energy, Alanna was soon gasping for breath. Hunter's stamina was apparently inexhaustible, and he turned to scold her. "Hush, you're making too much noise."

Alanna thought she was doing remarkably well, and refused to allow him to intimidate her. "Must you run? It's so dark I can't see anything but your back, and not knowing where to step makes following you extremely difficult."

"Then see how you like traveling alone for a while." Hunter stepped off the trail and stood still a moment to let his moccasins sink into the mud. "Keep following the stream. I'm going to leave a false trail before catching up with you."

Alanna dreaded the thought of picking her way over the mossy stones alone, but now knew better than to ask him if he actually planned to meet her farther up the stream. Once she had caught her breath, she started off without comment. The day had been as terrible as the one on which Melissa had died, and it did not seem that it was ever going to end. She focused her attention on the moon's fragmented reflection in the water, and tried not to slip and fall while Hunter was still close enough to ridicule her for being clumsy, but she had several close calls before she was out of sight.

Hunter stomped around to make certain Blind Snake would find his footprints, and then walked off into the woods. He continued for half an hour before finding an outcropping of rocks which made a perfect place to disappear. Now moving with far more caution, he turned north, then back west to again find the stream. Once in the water, he traveled as swiftly as the current, and in a matter of minutes caught up with Alanna, who was bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.