Wo'itsa?
Kendra’s heart sank. The two of them were in this together? They seemed to talk briefly, then Mukua’s hand was on Wo'itsa’s shoulder, and they both vanished into thin air.
There was no time to let disappointment in Wo'itsa take over, or the anger at herself for believing he wasn’t so bad after all. Obviously, she’d been wrong about him. None of that mattered now, though.
The confused bear lumbered out of its sleeping area, and the first thing it seemed to see was Aimee. The bruin huffed, then let out an ear-splitting roar and raised up on its hind legs.
The girl stood still, facing the enraged beast. She backed up slowly, then stopped when the bear halted its charge. Maybe it was only bluffing and would return to the carcass when it realized Aimee was not a threat.
The animal roared again. Kendra stared in horror as the giant beast charged Aimee Donovan a second time. She stumbled backwards, tripping over rocks.
Kendra ran through the woods. She was too far away without an effective weapon against the bear. She picked up a rock and threw it at the predator, just as Aimee lost her footing and disappeared over the edge of the ridge.
“No!” Kendra yelled and ran fully into the open. The ear-splitting roar of the bear drowned out her frantic cry. The animal charged after Aimee as she tumbled to her probable death, but stopped when it reached the edge of the canyon. It whipped around faster than its lumbering body would seem to be capable of moving.
“Damn.” Kendra gritted her teeth. The predator had seen her and was coming after her now. There was nothing she could do to even attempt to help Aimee Donovan at the moment.
Kendra ran back into the woods. It was probably the wrong thing to do with a grizzly bear chasing her, but there was no alternative. The enraged beast would tear her to shreds. She grabbed hold of a low branch from the nearest tree and pulled herself up, giving silent thanks to all those painful hours in the gym. She didn’t stop to look where the bear was, but continued to climb upward, losing her grip on the next highest branch.
Fear and adrenaline kept her going. The bear’s loud huffs seemed to be right behind her. Kendra ventured a quick glance over her shoulder. The animal circled the tree, raising on its hind legs and pushing against the trunk with its mighty paws. It was going to attempt to climb the tree after her.
When the entire tree shook, Kendra hugged the narrow trunk, but she lost her balance. Her body quivered as she clung to the tree. Below her, the bear continued to push against the trunk.
“Where’s my bear spirit that’s supposed to give me this great power?” She raised her head to the sky. “Where is it?” she screamed, not expecting an answer.
The Sky People were supposed to have great mystical powers, and their strong spirit medicine kept them from harm. That’s what Kunu had always said. If she was one of them, as so many seemed to believe, where was her magic to defeat this bear?
She looked down at the big bruin. At least he’d stopped clawing at the tree, which could mean he’d decided he wasn’t able to climb the trunk. His weight would probably bend the tree and snap it in half.
“You’re supposed to be my spirit animal,” Kendra called to the bear, glaring at him with an accusing stare. “I’m supposed to beware of the wolf, not you.”
The furry beast stared up at her, then abruptly turned its head and moved away from the tree. Kendra’s eyes widened. He was leaving? Had he understood her and had her Sky People power worked on him? What was her power, anyway? She certainly hadn’t felt anything.
“Natukendra’eh?”
Kendra’s eyes shot to the man who’d called her name and was running directly toward the bear. The beast roared again.
A new sense of foreboding slammed her in the gut. “Wo'itsa, stay back.”
Where had he even come from? She’d seen him vanish with Mukua right before the bear had charged Aimee Donovan.
Wo'itsa threw his ax at the big animal. The bear raised up on its hind legs and seemed to not even notice when the weapon bounced off its forehead. Kendra moved. She wasn’t going to watch the bear shred Wo'itsa to pieces. That crazy wolf was putting himself directly in harm’s way.
She shimmied from the tree just as Wo'itsa tossed something at her. It fell to the ground a few feet from her. The snakehead. Kendra grabbed the vessel, every inch of her trembling. She looked up, and her wide eyes locked with Wo'itsa’s stare.
“Save yourself, Natukendra’eh.”
“Wo'itsa, what are you doing?” He was sacrificing himself for her? She shook her head and rushed forward. Wo'itsa stood facing the bear, his knife raised. The creature’s giant paw swiped at Wo'itsa, tearing the flesh open on his chest. Wo'itsa stumbled and fell to the ground.
Kendra lunged forward, throwing herself in front of the bear and grabbing Wo'itsa’s arm. The bear’s hot breath was in her hair as she pressed her thumb over the snakehead’s eye.
Chapter 18
A slight groan escaped his lips as he forced his eyes open. The familiar swirling in his head could only mean that he’d time traveled again. The one difference this time was the added pain in his chest, as if someone had tossed hot coals onto his skin after slicing him open with sharp knives.
Wo'itsa’s eyelids were heavy as he opened them. The fading sun left his surroundings in near-darkness, while the flickering of orange and red light reflecting off the nearby trees to his right suggested flames. The faint smell of smoke hung in the air, and the crackling of wood confirmed there was a fire nearby. Where was he this time?
The echoes of a bear’s loud roar and the stench coming from its mouth still lingered in his nose, or perhaps it was merely a memory. While it had been daunting to charge headlong into a confrontation with the mightiest predator in the mountains, nothing had terrified him more than seeing Natukendra’eh in peril.
The bear had almost succeeded in uprooting the tree and pushing it over, while the woman had held on as her grip on the tree had been slipping. The fear in her eyes, knowing she was trapped and had nowhere to go, would be etched in his mind forever.
As he lay there, waiting for the dizziness to subside, the burning pain in his chest grew in intensity. He should be dead. After the grizzly had swiped him with its giant claws, his memory faded. There was only one explanation as to why he still breathed.
The brave little warrior woman hadn’t taken the vessel to save herself. Somehow she’d managed to get close enough to him to touch his arm to enable them to time travel together. She’d risked her life to save his.
Mixed emotions raced through him, mingling with the pain from the wounds created by the bear’s claws. Ever since he’d gone on his vision journey, his life had been nothing but confusing.
He’d sworn for years never to give in to tender feelings for a woman, yet Natukendra’eh had come along and shattered that resolve without even trying. According to Mukua, they were supposed to be enemies, but as much as Wo'itsa had tried to cast her in a sinister light, he couldn’t bring himself to feel animosity toward her.
Even his greatest wish – to be granted another vision to guide his life’s course – had ended in confusion. An elder of the Sky People had come forth to personally mentor him, but the more time he spent with Mukua, the stronger the feeling grew that not all was as it seemed with this elder.
Wo'itsa stirred and lifted his torso from the ground. The movement brought more pain to the open rips in his flesh. He gritted his teeth and sat up fully. Something slipped from his chest, bringing even greater agony as the chill of the air touched his raw wounds.
“You’d better lie back. Those lacerations finally stopped bleeding, but if you move they’ll start again, and I don’t think you can afford to lose any more blood.”
Wo'itsa glanced to his right. His grimace turned into a smile.
“Natukendra’eh.” It was an effort to speak. “I told you to save yourself.”
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the woman hadn’t listened, but she’d put herself in harm’s way for him.
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“I wasn’t going to let that bear shred you to pieces. Now please lie back, or I might have second thoughts about helping you.”
Her face was close enough for her breath to graze his cheek. Wo'itsa’s unfocused eyes blinked, and he stared into the eyes of a woman who was more breathtaking than anything he might conjure in a vision. Her cool hand touched his forehead, and a shiver passed through him at the contact.
“I think you have a fever, too.”
Wo'itsa lowered himself back to the hard ground, but his hand raised to touch her cheek.
“Natukendra’eh,” he rasped. His fingers brushed against the softness of her skin. Instantly, she stiffened and shrank away.
Perhaps it was the pain and fever making him say and do foolish things, but at this moment, he didn’t care. “My little warrior woman.” He smiled.
A faint scoff was his reply. “I’m not your little warrior woman, and my name’s Kendra.” The glistening in her eyes betrayed her dismissive words. She sniffed. There was a slight tinge of fear in her next words. “You’re getting delirious.”
“Where are we?”
Wo'itsa raised his head, an action that brought instant pain again. He glanced around to see only trees. The faint sound of water gurgling like a meandering stream mixed with the crackling of the fire.
“I don’t know.” Natukendra’eh’s reply was somber. “The snakehead was supposed to bring me wherever I need to be the most. That’s what that elder, Naatoyita, told me. I was hoping for a modern hospital, but we’re still in the woods somewhere, and I assume it’s still in the past.” She sounded almost desperate with each word she spoke.
She stood and moved away from him. The crackling became louder, and the light illuminated the area more brightly, indicating that she’d added more wood to the fire.
“Leave me, and find safety for yourself. You can return to your own time now. I brought the vessel back to you for that purpose.” Wo'itsa’s words sounded faint in his own ears.
She’d longed to go back to her future life, and he’d given her that opportunity with the snakehead. Instead, she was tending to his wounds. Those were not the actions of someone who thought of him as an enemy.
He sucked in a deep breath when something cool covered the torn flesh on his chest. Pain gripped him like a thousand knives slicing him open, and he strained against it, clenching his hands into tight fists at his sides.
“I’m sorry. Try and relax.” Natukendra’eh’s soothing words were once again close to his ear. “I’m doing the best I can to cover your wounds to keep them clean, but I have nothing other than my shirt. I don’t even have anything to use to sew them up, not that I could even do it.”
Wo'itsa stared up at her. Her shirt? She hovered over him, her black jacket covering her, but it had never been closed in the front before now. He glanced downward at his chest. The dark material of her shirt without sleeves was wet and had been placed over his wounds.
“It’s all I can do for now. It’s getting dark, and it might be too dangerous to move you again. Time traveling doesn’t exactly make for a soft landing most of the time. Since we didn’t travel to the future like I was hoping, I don’t know what else to do.”
He looked up, and their eyes met. Wo'itsa blinked again to sharpen his focus. The concern in her eyes wasn’t in his imagination. She no longer looked at him as her enemy, and hopefully never would again.
He’d been prepared to lay down his life for her when he’d charged at the grizzly to divert the bear’s attention away from her. Never had he held such strong emotions for a woman, not even the one who’d owned his heart years ago.
His feelings for Natukendra’eh were a mystery he couldn’t explain. He’d been drawn to her since he’d first seen her lying in the tall grass when she’d time traveled for the first time. Those feelings hadn’t diminished when Mukua had warned him about her. Her fighting spirit and determination were admirable, and beneath that warrior exterior was a woman who simply needed to be shown the way back to her ancestors.
Wo'itsa closed his eyes. He relaxed his muscles to ease the pain in his chest. Each breath was agony, but it gave him comfort to know that Natukendra’eh was safe for now.
Earlier, he’d been shocked and surprised at Mukua’s actions. The elder had left two women defenseless against one of the fiercest predators in the mountains. There had been no time to react when Mukua had touched the vessel and had sent them both to a new time, far away from Natukendra’eh.
“Why have you left the women to die?”
Wo'itsa’s first question to Mukua had been spoken in heated outrage. The elder had stood quietly, gazing off into the surrounding countryside, clearly looking for something. Nighttime was upon them, with the last rays of the sun sinking quickly behind the distant mountains.
After several minutes of silence that seemed to stretch on forever, Mukua had finally faced him.
“Isn’t the woman with the golden hair proof that change is coming to the mountains? Is it not enough that Cameahwait’s wife comes from a time in the future? She has already poisoned his mind, and he moves further away from the traditions of the Tukudeka.”
Wo'itsa had stood, quietly listening to the forceful words spoken by his mentor. Mukua had a point. Why were so many people sent through time by Mukua’s brothers to come to the past? Were they all trying to bring change to the sacred mountains?
“Natukendra’eh needs to remember her ancestors,” Wo'itsa had argued. His mind had been filled with thoughts of her in danger, and having to face a grizzly on her own.
She has the bear spirit. It will protect her.
The thought had given him little comfort. Cameahwait had almost died when battling a grizzly, even though the spirit of the bear was his protector. Natukendra’eh knew nothing about the spirits. How could they protect her?
Mukua had scoffed. There had been a dark gleam in his eyes. “It is better she doesn’t remember anything. She has no need for her ancestors. That is why I wanted to send her back to the time from which she came.”
Something about that look in the elder’s eyes – as if he hadn’t been completely truthful – had sent an uneasy shiver down Wo'itsa’s back. As much as he’d tried to understand, he couldn’t see the old man’s reasoning. He hadn’t voiced his thoughts. Going against the elders of the Sky People was simply not done. They were the wisest men who had guided the Tukudeka for centuries.
“Let me show you something, Wo'itsa.” The elder had swept his hand out in front of him and indicated for Wo'itsa to follow. “More men will descend upon our lands, and all of our sacred ground will be destroyed.”
Wo'itsa had followed. Mukua had led him through an area where the ground was hot and unstable. Boiling mud, steam, and water made the going treacherous.
“We must do what we can to stop more people from coming here. They will forever change things,” Mukua had continued as they walked. “My brothers would allow these people to come. The Wolf Clan of the Sky People didn’t believe this change was coming.”
“That is why the clans were at war.”
Mukua had laughed bitterly. “Yes, and because of the arrogance of the leaders of the Bear Clan, who proclaimed their line would make sure the mountains would remain protected.” The elder’s words had become more embittered. “They only meant to protect themselves and their own blood. They cared nothing for my wife or protecting her.”
The elder had stopped abruptly, and the hate coming from his glare had caused Wo'itsa to take a step back. “Their line will not be the protector of the mountains. I will see to that.”
Wo'itsa had then followed Mukua in silence. The loss of his wife had left the elder with a broken heart, and his words stemmed from his pain.
“Sometimes sacrifices must be made, and laws broken for the greater good,” Mukua had mumbled as they came to a stop among the shelter of some trees. They were still surrounded by the brittle earth that could give way at any moment, resulting in certain death.
W
o'itsa had come up beside the old man and looked in the direction the elder stared. His eyes had gone wide. Two horses stood tethered to a tree. The creatures were an uncommon sight. He’d only seen animals such as these running free, and only once or twice in his life.
He’d heard of Bakianee who lived on the plains riding astride the beasts, but he’d never believed it. While they were fast on open ground, horses couldn’t navigate the treacherous terrain of the high mountains. They were not as surefooted as mountain sheep, and would only be a hindrance on a hunt.
A short distance away from the horses stood a large, box-like contraption made from wood and partly covered by a material not unlike leather skins. Four round objects, also made of wood, held the box off the ground.
A fire burned to the left, and a woman sat on a log, staring into the flames. This woman had hair the same golden color as Cameahwait’s wife and the woman he’d seen earlier. Wo'itsa’s gaze had turned to Mukua, who stared intently at the woman.
“I bring you here so that you will see I speak the truth. More people who are not like us come, and if we don’t stop them, no one else will.”
“It is only a woman,” Wo'itsa had reasoned.
Mukua had scoffed, jutting his chin in her direction. “If Naatoyita has his way, this woman will be instrumental in setting a path for more to follow. We cannot let that happen.”
The elder had turned away and scurried through the trees. Wo'itsa’s gaze had fallen on the woman once more before he’d followed the elder. She looked haunted and scared. Her delicate face was ashen as she stared into the fire.
He’d rushed after the elder. What was Mukua’s plan?
“You’re not going to harm this woman, are you?”
Why had he felt the need to even ask a Sky People elder such a question? Something about Mukua’s demeanor had compelled him to seek assurance that the woman was safe.
Mukua’s laughter cackled through the trees. “There won’t be any need to harm her. She will not survive on her own, and it is not my place to interfere with what happens to her.”
Yellowstone Legends Page 20