Wo'itsa simply stared from the elder to the woman he had known all his life as his mother. She wasn’t really his mother? He was the son of a Sky People chieftain? The information was too much to comprehend.
Day Star’s words sounded far away and unreal as she spoke.
“No one knew the difference. Since I was sequestered in the birthing hut for a month, no one but Pahamittsi and I knew what my son looked like, so it was easy to deceive everyone.” She glanced at Wo'itsa, her eyes begging for forgiveness and understanding. “How could I refuse? My child had died, and I was given another baby to hold, love, and raise as my own.”
Naatoyita added, “Pahamittsi devised the plan to hide you among the Tukudeka. Your birth mother took the dead infant, and everyone believed her child had died. Not long after, both your parents were killed in a raid. Had it not been for your birth mother’s concern for your future, you would have died along with your birth parents.”
Wo'itsa turned away from the people staring at him. He was a child of the Sky People. He felt no different than before. Too many thoughts swirled through his mind, but stopped when one in particular took hold. There was nothing stopping him now from pursuing Natukendra’eh. His muscles stiffened when a bony hand touched his arm, and he glanced over his shoulder.
“You have much to think about, Wo'itsa, but you know we speak the truth.”
Wo'itsa didn’t respond right away. The elder was right. He had much to think about. When he did speak, his voice sounded weak.
“Mukua told me that someone born to the Sky People could control the vessel, yet the last time I used it to time travel, it did not take me and Natukendra’eh where I wanted to be. I was hoping to see what had become of a white woman in the future after I made the choice to return to save Natukendra’eh from a bear.”
Naatoyita chuckled. The elder glanced at Kendra, then back at him. “The vessel sent both of you exactly where you needed to be. You did not need to see the woman again.”
Wo'itsa turned to face the elder. Once again, the old man was making little sense. Naatoyita must have realized that further explanation was needed.
“You and Natukendra’eh were both in the right time and place. Mukua hoped the woman would die, being alone without her guardian.”
“Who was she?” Kendra chimed in.
“She will be an important aid to Kyle Russell, the grandson of Daniel and Aimee Osborne when he fights to secure the protection of the sacred mountains from being exploited by other whites.”
“So what happened to her?” Kendra pressed. “Why didn’t we get sent back to save her?”
Naatoyita’s gaze fell on Wo'itsa. “When you two traveled the last time, you saw a man – Kyle Russell – on his horse. Had the animal not shied and thrown him because one of you scared a flock of geese into flight, he would not have met the woman. His fight for protection of the sacred lands would possibly have ended differently.”
The elder smiled and squeezed Wo'itsa’s arm. “So you see, you do have control of the vessel, even if it may not be clear to you at the time.”
Wo'itsa stared. His mind was still numb. “I need time to think,” he mumbled, then pulled his arm away and headed deeper into the woods to be on his own.
Chapter 24
“That went about as well as when you told me about my secret identity.”
Kendra’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke to Naatoyita without looking at him. She stared after Wo'itsa until he disappeared between the trees. He wasn’t going in the direction of the village, but moved straight for the creek where. . .
Kendra shifted weight. She touched a finger to her tingling lips. Wo'itsa was heading for the area where he’d kissed her the evening before. Adrenaline rushed through her limbs, making her weak all of a sudden. Her face flushed. She’d been kissed before, by guys who were much more experienced at it than Wo'itsa, but his kiss had literally swept her off her feet.
If he’d been telling the truth and really hadn’t ever kissed a woman before, he was a natural at it. With a little more practice, she’d melt in his arms. Her legs turned to rubber at the thought. Mentally, she shook her head. It couldn’t happen again.
Wo'itsa was the wrong guy for so many reasons. Besides, she wasn’t ready to get involved with anyone. She didn’t want to get involved with anyone. She liked being a loner . . . right?
“Wo'itsa has much to think about.” Naatoyita’s words pulled her back from her wandering thoughts, sparing herself from having to ponder her own question. Despite the old man’s advanced age, the elder looked at her with piercing eyes that were as sharp as an eagle’s.
“You have always known in your heart you were different. For Wo'itsa, this is an unexpected revelation,” Naatoyita continued.
“That didn’t make it any easier for me.” Kendra glared at the elder. “No one ever gave me any straight answers. My grandfather dropped little hints about how special I was, but he never came right out and told me about all of this.” She waved her hand out in front of her.
Kendra’s eyes went to Day Star, who stood looking frail and afraid. She offered the older woman a smile that was meant to be encouraging. It had to have been extremely difficult for Day Star to keep such a deep secret bottled up all her life. Was it a relief for her now that it was out in the open?
Naatoyita turned and exchanged a few words with the woman. As best as Kendra could translate the words, the elder was assuring Day Star she had done the right thing. He also thanked her for her role in raising Wo'itsa and keeping his identity a secret all these years.
Smiling weakly, Day Star mumbled she needed to return to the village and tend to her cooking fire. Her gaze lingered on Kendra.
“You will find him past the bend where the creek joins another body of water.” She took a step closer and raised her hand to touch Kendra’s cheek. “Your mother would be proud of you.”
Day Star smiled through the tears shimmering in her eyes. “He needs you, and you need him. This is what your mother would have wanted.”
With those words, she nodded curtly at Naatoyita, then scurried off in the direction of the village.
Kendra stared after the woman. Her fingers grazed along her cheek where Day Star had touched her. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. This had been the nearest she’d come to receiving any type of motherly affection. Day Star had known her mother, and somehow that seemed to bring Kendra closer to the woman she’d never met.
She blinked rapidly a few times then gazed in the direction where Wo'itsa had disappeared. Had she translated Day Star’s words wrong? How had the woman read her mind that she wanted to go after him?
He was, no doubt, as confused as she’d been after she’d ended up in the past; or maybe more so. He hadn’t been prepared for this kind of news at all. At least he didn’t have to contend with trying to figure out how to live in a completely new century.
Next to her, Naatoyita coughed. When she turned to look at the elder with a raised brow, he wore an expectant look on his face, similar to the one he’d worn earlier when he’d arrived at Day Star’s door.
Kendra had been restless all night and had probably kept Day Star awake with her tossing and turning under the fur covers of her sleeping pallet. At the crack of dawn, soon after Kendra had finally dozed off, the Sky People elder had shown up at Day Star’s door.
“We have much to discuss, Natukendra’eh.”
“Can we discuss it a little later?” she’d mumbled, yawning and trying to keep her eyes open, but he’d shaken his head and insisted she walk with him.
Reluctantly, Kendra had gone with the elder into the woods, where they’d had a long discussion about the Osborne family line and the key players who were destined to see to the preservation of Yellowstone in the upcoming centuries.
“I knew the vessel would lead you to Wo'itsa. Your bond with him is even stronger than I thought, since the vessel led you to him right away.”
The word ‘bond’ had sent a strange feeling through h
er, and a slight chill racing down her spine. Was the elder aware of what had been happening between herself and Wo'itsa? She’d laughed uneasily. Time to deny everything.
“What bond? There’s nothing going on between that Wolf and me.”
The old man’s words had jolted her fully awake. How much longer was she going to keep lying to herself? As much as she had wanted to dismiss the notion that she was falling for Wo'itsa, she couldn’t deny the truth any longer. She was falling like a rock down a steep cliff. For now, at least she could keep it to herself. No one else needed to know, but Naatoyita seemed to be aware. Come to think of it, Aimee Osborne had known, too, and that was before any kissing had occurred.
“Because of you and Wo’itsa, the visions of both clans will be realized.” Naatoyita hadn’t let go of the subject once she’d followed him into the woods, shivering in the cold, early-morning air.
Kendra had glared at the old man. His words could have been interpreted to mean that she and Wo'itsa were supposed to get together as a couple. It had put her on the defensive, and she’d reacted in anger.
“You told me that I needed to find the missing vessel and take the one Mukua has so they could be destroyed to keep Mukua from changing future events; not that you were running some kind of matchmaking service.”
Naatoyita had simply smiled, infuriating her even more. “You and Wo'itsa are the last of the Sky People. A union between the two of you will ensure that we are not forgotten. You are the protectors of the Osborne line, the line of your uncle and your mother.”
“There won’t be a union between Wo'itsa and me. I agreed to find your snakeheads, and then I’m heading home.” Kendra’s words had come out loud and heated. She couldn’t stay in this time, and she definitely wasn’t going to allow this old man to play matchmaker for her.
“You seem to know an awful lot about what happens along the course of history, so if you want my help in finding the missing vessel and stopping Mukua, you’d better start filling me in and giving me some more information.”
Surprisingly, Naatoyita had nodded in agreement. While the sun was rising, he’d enlightened her on events that had helped create Yellowstone as a national park, and the key roles that certain members of the Osborne family would play in order for it to happen.
“And Mukua wants to stop all these events from happening? He travels through time and sabotages things?”
Naatoyita had nodded. “When Mukua failed to find the three children Naatosi and I sent to the future, he began interfering with crucial events along the timeline to get his revenge on the leaders of the Bear Clan. He has been trying to find you, especially, for many years, because you are a daughter of both clans.” The elder had paused and his eyes grew round as he stared at her.
“You are to beware of him, Natukendra’eh. While the elders of the Sky People can only influence the actions of others, it is against our laws to personally do harm. Mukua crossed that line when he killed our brother, and again when he caused the deaths of Matunaaga and his wife. Your grandfather warned you to take heed of him.”
Kendra had waved him off with a dismissive shake of her head. “I can take care of myself.”
Naatoyita had studied her with a worried look in his eyes. “Do not underestimate him. When Mukua crossed paths with Wo'itsa, he knew he could use Wo'itsa’s strong puha to find you. He influenced Wo'itsa’s vision; and by doing so, he was able to locate you and Matunaaga – the man you knew as Matt Donovan.”
It had taken a few seconds to comprehend the old man’s words. She’d suspected that Wo'itsa had been at fault for Matt’s death when she’d first thought he was the wolf Kunu had warned her about, but she’d dismissed it later.
“You mean, Wo'itsa is partly responsible for the death of Matt and Kayla Donovan?” Kendra’s eyes had widened. A sinking feeling had come over her with that thought that she’d been correct after all.
Naatoyita had shaken his head. “Wo'itsa had no knowledge that Mukua used the vision for his own gain. He was hoping the daughter of Matunaaga, Aimee Donovan, would perish that night as well, but when that attempt failed, he tried to harm her in another way when she came to the past.” The elder had stared at her, his eyes blazing. “He will try again to prevent Aimee from coming to the past. He will continue to seek ways to keep her and Daniel Osborne apart somehow. He must not succeed.”
Kendra’s mind had swirled. Mukua could travel to any point in history and change events to suit him. He clearly hadn’t been able to keep Daniel and Aimee apart, but what if he succeeded and changed some other vital event in history? A sudden thought had taken hold, and she’d raised her head to stare at the elder.
“If Mukua can change events to suit him, why can’t we do the same thing? We could go to the time right before Matt was killed. I could warn him.”
Naatoyita had worn a somber expression. “Mukua is breaking the natural laws of time. The vessel was never created to change events from how they are intended to occur. Mukua did not realize that the death of Matunaaga set events into motion that brought Aimee to the past. We should never do something to alter the timeline as it is meant to be, but Mukua has forced our hand to ensure that certain events occur.”
“But in order to stop Mukua, we might not have a choice to tweak things more than a little, don’t you think? As long as the outcome is the way it should be, what harm can it do?”
Naatoyita had adamantly shaken his head. “We must never try to control the vessel to change the future or the past when someone dies. To do so might have grave consequences.”
Kendra had argued. “I don’t see the harm in time traveling to save Matt Donovan, especially if he is a child of the Sky People.”
“There are consequences to disturbing the timeline,” Naatoyita had repeated. The elder’s voice had become more forceful and adamant. “Mukua is constantly manipulating things to suit his needs. This is why it is vital that all the vessels are destroyed. Altering the timeline to bring someone back from the dead is not something that should be attempted.”
“Is that why Mukua couldn’t save his wife?”
This time, the elder had nodded. “We can only travel forward in time from when the vessel was created, not back. Events cannot be repeated. They can only be changed again further along the timeline.”
Kendra had struggled to make sense of it all. “But Mukua jumps to different points in time and tries to change events.”
“I am aware of the events that must take place, since I have seen the future.” He pointed to the pouch around her neck. “The vessel you hold will take you to specific points along the timeline to ensure their completion because it is a part of you.”
Further argument had been interrupted when Day Star had appeared with Wo'itsa. Now, Kendra once again stared in the direction he’d gone to be alone. What was he thinking? Next to her, Naatoyita tapped her on the shoulder.
“You and Wo'itsa are stronger together. You are both children of the Sky People, and your combined spirit medicine will guide you in the right direction.”
Kendra gritted her teeth. How could she fight her feelings for the guy if she spent any more time with him? Until all the vessels were in her possession, she didn’t have a choice. She might need Wo'itsa’s help in apprehending Mukua. Her Wolf probably wasn’t completely convinced that his elder was doing anything evil, so it would be best to stick close to him.
“I need to find Wo'itsa,” she mumbled.
Naatoyita smiled, clearly pleased. “Yes. Show him that his spirit medicine is strong. Together you can find and bring back the missing vessel.”
Glad to get away from the elder, Kendra headed for the creek, while her conversation with Naatoyita replayed in her head. Her mind spun with names of future Osbornes and their roles throughout history for the preservation of Yellowstone.
Apprehending Mukua and taking his vessel so he couldn’t do more damage along the timeline was a top priority. According to Naatoyita, he’d apparently caused enough trouble already by
sending a man named Hastings to the past to do his evil deeds. Who knew what else the old man was capable of in his drive for revenge?
In order to find Mukua, she needed Wo'itsa’s help. He was close to the elder, and Mukua had used him once already. Hopefully, Wo'itsa could be convinced to change sides.
“I have to look at him as my new partner for now,” she mumbled as she scrambled over some dead lodgepole pines that had fallen countless years ago and were decaying on the forest floor.
She nodded to solidify that thought. Wo'itsa would be her partner in finding evidence and apprehending a criminal, nothing more. She would not think of how his touch and kisses affected her.
Kendra’s heart pounded as she hurried along. The quicker she could convince Wo'itsa to help her find the missing vessel and Mukua, the quicker she could get back to her old life. Then she could forget about the one guy who’d managed to worm his way into her heart, making her yearn for things she’d never wanted before.
She came out of the woods and into the clearing where the creek meandered through the grass. Another wider stream flowed into this one, and that’s where Wo'itsa sat along the banks of the water with his back to her.
Kendra slowed her steps, then came to a stop and simply stood there looking at him. Wo'itsa sat tall, straight, and still as a statue. She held her breath and didn’t move.
The sun’s rays accentuated the bronze skin of his broad shoulders and corded arms, and made his raven hair appear almost blue as it hung in long strands down his back. The white linen bandage that was wrapped around his chest looked even brighter as it contrasted with his skin.
Kendra blinked and shook her head as Naatoyita’s words echoed in her mind that she and Wo'itsa shared a special bond and were meant to be together. Was the elder correct? Was that why she was so inexplicably drawn to this man?
Was the reason she’d shown no interest in guys before because deep down she’d known that Wo'itsa was out there, waiting for her? They shared a common past. It drew them together. She closed her eyes for a second. Impossible.
Yellowstone Legends Page 27