Yellowstone Legends

by Peggy L Henderson

  “Kendra.”

  She grasped the woman’s hand.

  Recognition suddenly filled Aimee’s eyes, and a faint smile passed over her lips. “Let me tend to your friend, and then I think you and I have a lot to talk about.”

  Abruptly, she broke eye contact and rushed after her husband and son. Kendra followed close behind, her ears ringing as a multitude of strange and surreal sensations flowed through her.

  Aimee worked quickly and efficiently, giving orders to her son and husband, and even to Kendra, as she cleaned the wounds on Wo'itsa’s chest. She spoke to him in the language of the Tukudeka, asking if he wanted something to numb the pain before she stitched up his wounds. He stared up at the old woman before shaking his head to decline.

  Kendra hadn’t understood everything she’d said to him, only that she’d explained she was known among the Tukudeka as Dosa Haiwi, a healer, and would make sure he lived.

  Kendra stepped up to the side of the bed and leaned over him. “It will be better if she gives you something for the pain.” Why would he decline painkillers?

  “I do not fear pain,” he’d rasped.

  “Give him something.” Kendra’s eyes had gone to Aimee.

  The old woman shook her head. “I can offer, but I learned a long time ago not to press the issue.”

  Kendra gritted her teeth as Wo'itsa lay there, not making a sound as Aimee sewed up his lacerations. The agony was evident on his face, and his eyes focused on her during most of the ordeal. When Aimee was finished, his body visibly relaxed, and he sank into the mattress and closed his eyes.

  “Best to let him rest now. I will give him some willow bark tea for his fever, so he can sleep.”

  Aimee nodded at her son and husband, and they left the room. She stopped in front of Kendra and smiled. “He’s going to be all right. Tonight will be the worst of it, no doubt. You can stay here with him, if you want, but he’s probably going to sleep for a while.”

  Aimee left the room. Kendra sat at the edge of the bed and reached for Wo'itsa’s hand. “You’re a stubborn man,” she whispered.

  Wo'itsa’s lips curved in a smile and he opened his eyes. “I cannot allow you to be more stubborn than me.”

  The admiration in his pain-glazed eyes was too much. Abruptly, she dropped his hand and stood. “I’ll be back to check on you in a little while. Try to sleep.”

  Aimee stood by a bench along the wall in the main room of the cabin, washing her hands in a large bowl. She reached for a towel and turned to her son.

  “Thank you for your help, Sam. Why don’t you go back to your own cabin? It’s late, and you should be with Summer. Her time is so close, she could go into labor at any moment.”

  Samuel nodded. He glanced at Kendra, his eyes lingering on her clothes again, then he wished his parents a good night and left the cabin. Aimee turned, looked at her husband, Daniel, then smiled at Kendra.

  “It’s been many years,” she said conversationally, as if nothing about this encounter was strange to her. “But for you, Officer Weda, I’m guessing it’s only been, what? A few weeks? You don’t look a day older than when I first met you.” She motioned with her hand to one of the chairs at the table. A twinge of sadness passed through her blue eyes. No doubt the circumstances of their meeting brought back painful memories.

  Daniel Osborne’s piercing stare was almost like a weight pressing down on her. Kendra stared back at him. If he was an Osborne, he was her blood relative. She dismissed the thought for now and focused her attention on Aimee.

  “What year is this?”

  Daniel pulled out a chair for his wife, and Aimee sat. She motioned again to the chair opposite her. Kendra slid into the chair, looking across the table at the two old people. The image flashed in her mind of Aimee Donovan falling over the edge of a canyon because a bear had charged her. The same bear that had chased her up a tree and almost killed Wo'itsa.

  “This is 1851. How long have you been in the past, Detective Weda, and how did you get here?” She turned her head slightly to look at her husband.

  Daniel had quietly taken a seat beside his wife and reached for her hand, which he now held tightly in his.

  Kendra shook her head. “Please, call me Kendra.” She sniggered. “I’ve been in several pasts already. When I first time traveled, I was a hundred years further in the past.”

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out the snakehead. She set it on the table. An uncomfortable look passed between the old couple.

  “I thought we were done with this thing. It’s been many years since we last saw it,” Aimee whispered.

  “You time traveled with one of these?” Kendra held the old woman’s stare.

  Aimee’s forehead scrunched. “One of these? You mean, there are more? Daniel and I tried several times to destroy the one his father gave us. When that didn’t work, we got rid of it another way, but it kept reappearing. It’s been almost twenty years since the last time we saw it.”

  Kendra shook her head. “From what I’m told, it can only be destroyed by a select group of people.” She paused, glanced at the vessel sitting on the table, then back to Aimee. “One of those people was your father. I didn’t think you knew about this thing when you gave it to me.”

  Aimee blinked. Tears welled up in her eyes. “My father?” She shook her head. “I never saw this until the day Daniel’s father, Zach Osborne, showed it to me and offered to send me to the past. That was years after my parents’ deaths. How could I have given it to you?”

  Kendra cursed under her breath. Had she said something she shouldn’t have said? She took in a deep breath and looked Aimee Donovan . . . Osborne in the eye.

  “I guess I’d better start at the beginning.”

  It was more than an hour later when Kendra had finished telling the couple about Matt Donovan, the Sky People, how she’d time traveled, and everything she’d learned and experienced in the last several days.

  “I watched you fall over a cliff when Mukua aggravated the bear and it charged you. It almost got me, too, but that crazy Wolf came back and saved me.” Kendra shook her head and laughed, glancing over her shoulder toward the room where Wo'itsa slept. “For me, that was just a couple of days ago, but here we are, and now you’re saving him.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment, trying to absorb everything they’d learned so far. Kendra was first to speak again when something suddenly occurred to her. She looked at Daniel.

  “If Zach Osborne was your father, then that means that Cameron Osborne is your grandfather.”

  Daniel nodded. “My father has never told me much about my grandfather, but he did mention him by name.”

  Kendra moved her gaze to Aimee. “Your father and Daniel’s grandfather were good friends. I also recently found out that Cameron is my cousin.”

  Aimee cleared her throat. Her voice cracked slightly. “I always said there were forces at work much greater than we’d ever understand.” She smiled at her husband. “Even though we’ve long put the time travel device behind us, it’s a relief to finally find out exactly where it came from.”

  “Your parents’ deaths happened because someone wanted to change everything the Osborne family was going to accomplish to protect Yellowstone.” Kendra continued to tell them what she knew about Mukua, and his plans to destroy the Osborne line.

  “Who is the Tukudeka hunter with you?” Daniel hadn’t said much the entire time, so his question came almost as a surprise.

  “His name is Wo'itsa. I believe he’s another survivor of the war between the Sky People clans.”

  Daniel’s features changed, but his face instantly became unreadable again. He exchanged a quick look with his wife. Aimee’s brows rose in surprise, but neither of them said anything. Had they recognized Wo'itsa’s name or something?

  “And you say that you, as well as my grandfather, Aimee’s father, and Wo'itsa are children of the Sky People?”

  Kendra nodded at Daniel. She was only speculating about Wo'itsa, but her g
ut told her he was the one Naatoyita had referred to.

  “I was told by one of the elders that my job is to prevent Mukua from changing the correct time line. I’m supposed to protect the Osborne line and find the vessels, so they can be destroyed.” She scoffed. “Easy task, right?”

  Daniel blinked and shook his head. “I never truly believed in the Sky People legends and paid little attention to them. They are my Tukudeka brother’s beliefs.” He smiled. “He has always had it in his head that he has strong ties to the Sky People, even if none of them ever spoke to him.” His smile widened when he glanced at his wife. “I look forward to seeing his face when I tell him that we have met two of them today.”

  Chapter 20

  “I’m glad to see you’re awake. I know I can’t make a hunter of the Tukudeka remain on his sleeping mat if he doesn’t want to stay, but I hope you will reconsider. Your wounds might break open again and prolong your recovery.”

  The old woman smiled as she came closer. She was short in stature, and her long hair that was braided in a single rope retained a hint of the golden color it must have had in her youth. She was a white woman, but she spoke the language of his people without flaw.

  Wo'itsa had just sat up and pushed the coverings aside when she’d opened the door and entered the room. He’d been awake for several minutes, trying to figure out his location. He certainly wasn’t in a Tukudeka wickiup.

  Perhaps this was the future Natukendra’eh had talked about, but the dwelling was similar to Cameahwait’s cabin.

  Wo'itsa flung his legs over the side of the sleeping mattress, which was much higher off the ground than he was used to with his own sleeping furs. He caught his breath when a sharp pain ripped through his chest. A hasty glance downward revealed that his upper body was wrapped in some kind of white material.

  “You’d do us both a favor if you continued to rest.”

  The old woman had come up to the side of the bed. She smiled, but there was also a firm look in her eyes, like that of a mother who wouldn’t be disobeyed by her children.

  “Where am I, and who are you?” His words came out raspy and hoarse, the dryness in his mouth making the sounds difficult. And where was Natukendra’eh?

  “I am called Dosa Haiwi. My husband is Dosa Bia’isa, and you are in our home.” She reached her hand out to touch the backside of it to his forehead.

  Wo'itsa gaped at her.

  Dosa Bia’isa. White Wolf. In one of his earlier time travels, the man who was supposed to marry Morning Fawn had also been called White Wolf. Could it be the same man?

  Wo'itsa remained sitting, taking in shallow breaths to minimize the discomfort in his chest. “Where is Natukendra’eh?”

  The woman smiled. “She’s outside with my husband. I’ll get her if you’d like to speak to her. Your friend’s been rather anxious to see how you’re doing.”

  Wo'itsa nodded as he stared at the old woman. Natukendra’eh was eager to see him? His lips twitched in a faint smile. That didn’t sound like her at all. He nearly laughed when the old woman had referred to Natukendra’eh as his friend. If only she’d feel at least that much for him.

  Perhaps she was starting to think of him differently. She’d stayed by his side and saved his life after the bear attack. She’d managed to bring him to this healer, and she still hadn’t taken the vessel to return to her future time.

  “I’ll be back shortly with some water, and some food as well, if you feel up to it.”

  The old woman turned to leave. Wo'itsa stood, despite the healer’s recommendation that he stay on the sleeping mattress. Every muscle in his body ached, and if there had ever been a time in his life when he’d felt this weak, he didn’t remember it.

  He walked toward the light shining in from the opening in the wooden walls. Only, it wasn’t open. Something that was as clear as ice sealed the opening. When he touched it, it wasn’t cold, but warm from the sun’s rays. This had to be some kind of wonder from a time in the future.

  “I see you’re up, even though Aimee told you to stay in bed.”

  Wo'itsa turned a little too quickly at the sound of the familiar voice – a voice that had called to him in his dreams while he lay on the sleeping mat, and now made his heart pound a little faster. He faced her, his eyes meeting hers across the space of the room. She looked different, yet just as breathtaking as before, perhaps even more so.

  Her hair had been tangled and unkempt the last couple of days, but now shone with new luster as it spilled down her head and over her shoulders. Most noticeable was the different clothing she wore. That’s what made her look different.

  Gone was the black jacket and the black britches. Instead, Natukendra’eh wore doeskin britches and a fringed leather shirt. She almost looked like an ordinary Tukudeka woman.

  She stared at him, holding his gaze while he quietly admired her. It was highly improper for a hunter to openly admire a woman who wasn’t his wife, but there was nothing he could do to stop himself. For some reason, this woman had taken hold of his heart with a force stronger than reason.

  “You really should listen to Aimee. She knows what she’s talking about.” She shook her head and frowned, stepping fully into the room and closing the distance between them. She handed him a cup of water.

  Whether his dry mouth now stemmed from thirst or in response to staring at Natukendra’eh, he couldn’t say. He accepted the cup and held it to his lips, emptying it in several swallows.

  “Are you all right?” Her frown turned into a worried glance. She held her hand to his forehead, just as the other woman had done.

  Wo'itsa caught her wrist when she lowered it again. Instantly, she tensed. “I am unsure whether I am having a vision, or if you are truly standing before me.”

  She pulled her hand away, but she didn’t move out of his reach. “Well, it really is me standing here, but I think the fever you’ve had for the last couple of days has done something to your mind.”

  Wo'itsa took a step closer. His fingers itched to touch the soft skin on her face, but he held his hand close to his side. A deep breath brought instant pain to his chest, as if the bear’s claws were trying to rip him open all over again.

  “The legends of the Sky People say their women were exceptionally beautiful. You could be one of them.”

  It was true. In the doeskin she was wearing now, rather than the dark clothing from the future, she could easily pass for the most beautiful woman of his clan. She would have countless suitors.

  Natukendra’eh blew air through her nose that sounded like a snort. “Now that’s a pick-up line I haven’t heard before.”

  Despite her dismissive attitude, she averted her gaze and shifted weight from one foot to the other.

  “I’m only wearing these borrowed clothes until mine are clean and dry. I tried to get all of your blood out of my shirt, but I think it might be ruined, so I didn’t have much choice.”

  She continued to look toward the ground to avoid making eye contact. Perhaps she was right. What had possessed him to spout words like a lovesick youth?

  “You say I’ve been sick with a fever for two days?”

  She nodded. “Aimee is a miracle worker. Without her, I don’t think you would have lived. I wanted to take you to the future for modern medical care, but she didn’t advise it. She didn’t think you’d do well, waking up in a hospital.” She smiled mischievously, instantly bringing back the confident woman he was accustomed to. “Her husband, Daniel, seemed to agree.”

  Some of the words she spoke he’d never heard before, and their meaning escaped him, but he understood that she’d wanted to take him to her future time to save his life.

  She glanced up at him, her eyes searching his. There was something on her mind, a question that lingered, but she didn’t ask.

  “Now you’ll have scars like Cameron’s.” She hesitated, then added, “And like my tattoo.” Her smile was back. “Maybe you’ll switch sides now and join the other team.”

  Once again, the mean
ing of her words escaped him. He would undoubtedly have scars on his chest from the bear attack, but it didn’t change his identity. His spirit animal wouldn’t have suddenly changed from a wolf to a bear. Or would it?

  Wo'itsa mentally shook his head. Too many questions filled his mind that no one could answer at the moment. He would have to seek Mukua’s counsel, but would the elder even speak to him after what he’d done?

  “Aimee has some soup simmering in the main room. I’ll bring you some if you promise to get back in bed.”

  Natukendra’eh’s words sounded as stern as the old woman’s. Instead of moving toward the bed, Wo'itsa headed for the door.

  “I have been in this bed too long already. If you have the vessel I gave to you, perhaps it can return us to my proper time.”

  Natukendra’eh rushed up beside him as he stepped into a larger room. The rich aroma of meat and broth filled his nose, and his stomach answered. Perhaps with some food in his belly, he wouldn’t feel so weak.

  “I see you’re not going to listen.”

  Wo'itsa smiled. The concern in her voice belied the narrow-eyed glare she cast at him.

  “Would you do the same if I asked? You didn’t listen when I told you to take the vessel and save yourself.”

  She scowled and shook her head. “That’s completely different.”

  “You didn’t listen when I was forced to tie you up because you were going to leave in the middle of the night and probably get killed. And you didn’t listen when I suggested we head back to the valley where I was supposed to save Morning Fawn.”

  She waved a dismissive hand in front of her face. “All right. You’ve made your point.” Quickly, she jabbed a finger at him, then pointed at the table and one of the chairs surrounding it. “Right now, you need to sit and I’ll get you some food.”

  Rather than comply immediately, Wo'itsa took a step toward her. He reached for her hand and lowered it, letting his fingers slide along her wrist. His eyes locked with hers, which had become like large round pools. Her full lips parted slightly as she stared back at him. The wounds in his chest burned as his heart answered the longing in her gaze.