Through the Fire (The Native American Warrior Series) (19 page)

Tonkawa impassively considered her threat then tapped his fingers on his bare chest.
“Fire on me, woman, and die.”

“
Leave us in peace, Tonkawa, and live.”

He slanted black brows together.
“Still you defy me?”

A shout shattered the standoff.
“Becca! Get down!”

Musket fire exploded from everywhere at once. Painted bodies scattered back into the foliage in a blur. She was too stunned to move. Then the pistol was wrenched from her hand and strong arms dragged her down to the ground.

“Do as he says,” Shoka grunted.

“
Shoka!” she sobbed and flung herself over him.

He winced, rolling over and pulling her beside him.
“I’ll not hide beneath you anymore. Come. Stay low.”

He grabbed his musket. Using it for support, he staggered up. He set the stock to his shoulder, his movements growing steadier. A loud blast tore from the barrel as he fired down the bank toward the stream.

She heard the quick soft footfalls of a hidden warrior fleeing in the discharge of smoke and scattering leaves.

Holding the pistol in one hand and the musket in his other, Shoka charged down the steep incline. She scrambled after him, skidding on loose stones. Righting herself, she ducked between the boulders that rose around the water. She darted behind him to crouch down behind the rocks.

Musket fire erupted again. Shoka leaned out from their shelter and aimed the pistol. He fired. White gunpowder hazed the trees.

“
Catawba are fleeing,” he said.

Mindful of his blood-soaked shoulder, she pressed against him.
“Tonkawa?”

“
Escaped,” he said in disgust.

“
Meshewa won’t go in pursuit, will he? He’s too young.”

“
Wabete and Skaki will go with him.”

She feared Shoka would join the chase.
“Stay here.”

“
I will stay. Keep you safe.” He shifted his eyes from the woods to her. “You saved my life, Rebecca Elliot.”

“
I wasn’t about to let Tonkawa tear into you.”

“
Not only that. Do you not see your locket?”

She lifted the nearly unrecognizable globe, flattened and distorted now.
“You were struck there?”

“
Your gift preserved me.”

An ugly bruise stained his skin where the precious keepsake had dug into his chest.
“But you were knocked out.”

Shoka fingered the back of his head gingerly.
“The musket ball struck with such force I fell against the tree. For a time I knew nothing.”

“
I thought my heart would stop. Tonkawa said you were dead.”

“
I heard.”

“
Is that when you woke up?”

“
Sooner. It was better if he thought me dead.”

“
What if he had gotten the pistol away from me?”

“
I waited to spring at him. But to take it from you…” Shoka smiled and shook his head. “He was much surprised to find he cornered a devil cat.”

****

Rebecca sat with Shoka beneath the bower of branches in camp, his wound dressed with crushed sassafras leaves and rebound. Both of them were subdued as Wabete railed at Shoka.

“
Catawba warriors were upon you before you knew. Where are your eyes? Your ears?”

“
I will have more care,” he assured his irate brother.

“
How? All your thoughts are for this woman. Give her into my care until we reach the village.”

“
How could I bear this?” Shoka asked.

“
You prefer death?” Wabete shot back, cutting his tirade short as a newly arrived warrior sprinted into camp.

“
Wishekuanwe,
Capitaine
Renault’s guide,” Shoka said to Rebecca.

The brave skidded up to Meshewa and Skaki. He spoke rapidly, stabbing his finger at her.

“What has your woman done now?” Wabete demanded, and stalked off to meet the agitated guide.

Shoka looked at her questioningly.

“I have no idea.” She stiffened seeing Wishekuanwe start toward her.

“
Stay here.” Shoka stood and walked forward to intercept the warrior.

She focused intently on their faces as they spoke. Shoka nodded to the newcomer and hurried back to her.

“He says
Capitaine
Renault found your sister.”

Her weariness forgotten, Rebecca sprang to her feet.
“He found Kate! Is she all right? Can he take us to her?”

“
Your sister shelters in a cave with
Capitaine
Renault and his party. She suffers—” Shoka hesitated. “Illness.”

Rebecca gripped his arms.
“Scarlet fever? Measles?”

“
Nothing like this.” Again he paused, his voice low. “You are certain she has been with no man?”

“
What? Of course not. Why on earth do you ask?”

“
Her distress sounds like the early loss of a child.”

“
Absurd. She’s a virgin!”

Shoka pressed silencing fingers to her lips.

Rebecca checked herself with effort. “She suffers with her monthly flow. Sometimes she even faints. We must go to her at once.”

“
It is not far. Wishekuanwe will show us the way.”

A tremendous urge to reach Kate made Rebecca want to fly through the forest.
“Hurry. ’Twill soon be dark.”

“
I have no fear of the dark.”

“
Poor Kate, all alone with
Capitaine
Renault and those warriors.”

“
No one will abuse her.”

Rebecca wasn
’t so sure. She paced in circles while Shoka pulled on his shirt and slid his weapons and supplies into place. He took her arm and led her after their guide.

Unspoken curiosity filled Skaki
’s nodding farewell. Wabete waved them off with clear warning in his grudging, “
tanakia
,” and Meshewa watched with wistfulness at her parting.

Rebecca touched his shoulder as they passed.
“
Tanakia
,” she offered, repeating the Shawnee for ‘until our paths cross again,’ that Shoka taught her.

She needed no urging from him to set a brisk pace. Her almost giddy desire to reach Kate carried her above fatigue. She eagerly followed Wishekuanwe, gliding ahead of them like a shadow. The sun sank lower and emblazoned the sky. The brilliant red faded to rose, and then pale pink and the trail darkened. Sometimes she couldn
’t be certain Wishekuanwe was there.

Shoka seemed to know. He steadied her when she stumbled over a root.
“I never thought to say this. Slow, Peshewa.”

She reined herself in. Twilight lay heavily on them when at last Wishekuanwe pointed to the distinct boulder on a low rise above the graying trail.
“
A’wass lanah seegriana
.”

“
The cave is beyond that stone,” Shoka translated and followed their guide off the dusky path into the trees.

Rebecca stopped in front of the landmark.
“The stone is shaped like hands folded in prayer.” She pressed hers together and held them out. “See?”

Shoka turned toward her and extended his hands with both palms facing up.
“Why not pray this way?”

“
That’s not how I was taught. Besides, this stone is a sign of God’s protection over Kate.”

He shrugged and strode past the prayerful granite.

“It is,” she said, hastening after him to the cave mouth.

He stooped beneath the yawning stone behind Wishekuanwe. She darted at his heels. This cave was much larger than the pocket carved into the rock where she and Shoka had sheltered. Wood smoke
’s tang complemented the meaty aroma of the stew simmering in a black iron pot over the campfire just inside the entrance.

The half-dozen or more warriors seated near the blaze looked up as they walked across the uneven floor. One man was repairing his moccasins with a buckskin-wrapped awl. Poising the small tool over the sole, he spoke words of welcome to Shoka. A few men did the same, or nodded, then turned their eyes to her.

Lieutenant Remy, the Frenchman who’d accompanied
Capitaine
Renault, took off his navy cap to reveal a mop of dark curly hair. He stood and bowed to Rebecca then swept his arm with an elegant flourish. “Madame.”

Despite her apprehension over Kate and the fort assault looming ahead,
the Frenchman’s formal greeting amused her, as though they were meeting at a ball and he’d requested the next dance. She smiled, unexpected even to herself, and offered a slight curtsy. “Lieutenant.”

He flashed back a dazzling smile, all white teeth and twinkling brown eyes.

Shoka’s firm hand encircled her arm. “Must you charm all?” he whispered, as he skirted the assembly and walked with her into the shadowed interior.

“
I was only being polite,” she breathed back.

Light from the campfire flickered over the rock walls and played over the kneeling figure of
Capitaine
Renault. Beside him lay a young woman asleep beneath a crimson blanket, but Rebecca couldn’t clearly see her. Renault waved them over, a finger to his lips. Shoka crept forward and knelt beside him.

The earthy scent of crumbling leaves and damp stone filled Rebecca
’s senses, so different from the elegant homes she and Kate had known. She sank to her knees and gazed down at her sister’s pale face. How still Kate lay and infinitely vulnerable, like a child. Rebecca wanted to wake her, to reassure herself that her little sister was all right.

“
Will you not tell her I’ve come,
Capitaine
?”

His gold crested ring glinted in the fire
’s glow as he tucked the blanket more snugly around Kate. “In time. Let her sleep now. The poor girl is worn out from her ordeal.”

His tenderness surprised Rebecca, but Kate had this effect on people. She, on the other hand, had done everything in her power to infuriate him.
“What of her pain?”

“
She has respite now.”

Shoka picked up the wooden cup that sat to one side of Kate and sniffed the dark brew within.
“You gave her elder?”

Renault nodded.
“A small dose.”

Something in Shoka
’s manner made Rebecca uneasy. “What do you fear?”

“
Bark from this tree must be given with much care.” He bent close to the girl and pressed his fingers against her forehead and her neck. “Her skin feels as it should. Her heart is steady and her breathing. You did well,
Capitaine
.”

“
Merci
. I was reluctant to dose her with such a potent medicine. But I’ve never seen a woman in such distress except for childbirth.”

Shoka cast Rebecca a look that said
I told you so
.

“
Never,” she argued. “Kate is an innocent girl.”

“
Too innocent, perhaps,” Shoka countered.

A smile creased the strong lines of Renault
’s tanned face. “This one could conceive and not know the reason. Yet I am certain she suffers with complaints of a monthly nature.”

His intimate reference to Kate took Rebecca aback. This man was far too full of surprises for her peace of mind.
“Thank you for your care,” she said as smoothly as she could. She suddenly, desperately wanted to get Kate away from him.

He smoothed a chestnut curl at Kate
’s temple. “Your sister’s a delight. How could I do less?”

Kate shifted restlessly at his touch and reached out her fingers.
“Marc?”

Renault took her small hand in his and leaned down. His lips brushed her ear as he spoke.
“I am here.”

Her eyes remained closed, her voice a sleepy whisper.
“Don’t leave me.”

“
Non, ma chérie
. Sleep now.”

Kate snuggled under the blanket and her breathing grew deep and even. The very most Rebecca had hoped for was that Renault would treat her sister with consideration. His undisguised affection, obviously reciprocated by Kate, left her stunned.

Shoka quirked an eyebrow at him. “She calls you Marc?”

Renault sat up.
“It is my name.”

The surging impulse to protect her sister restored Rebecca
’s speech. “A very familiar name for such a short acquaintance, sir.”