“That man.” Naatoyita pointed at the group.
Kendra craned her neck. It was difficult to determine which one he pointed at.
“Can you be a little more specific?”
“The tall one with the yellow hair.”
Kendra squinted into the darkness. One of the guys was definitely a little taller than the others, and he had blond hair. He was built like an athlete, and walked with a cocky swagger. Apparently, some things never changed, no matter the time period. These guys all looked to be a bit wasted.
“And what am I supposed to do with him?”
“His name is Chase Russell. You must convince him to climb into the canyon of the Yellowstone with his friends.”
Kendra’s brows rose, and she stared at the elder. She shook her head. This was absurd. Would it even be worth asking the obvious question?
“Why?”
“He must be sent two hundred years into the past.”
Kendra groaned. What would it take to get a straight answer from this elder? When she glanced through the trees again, the last in the group of raucous guys had entered one of the buildings. Her eyes returned to the elder. She held her hand to her hip, glaring at Naatoyita.
“So, should I go up to him and simply ask him, or would you like me to cuff him and take him to the bottom of the canyon by force?”
“Something will come to you, Natukendra’eh. This man is vital in the past for the continuation of the Osborne line.”
Kendra sighed. “Fine.”
She headed for the building, grumbling under her breath about how she’d let herself be talked into this by the old man. It quickly became obvious that it was some kind of bar, or nightclub. Music blared from several speakers, a football game played on a huge screen over the bar, and people mingled at various tables, laughing and talking loudly.
It was easy to spot the group that had entered a minute before. They were huddled up to the bar, ordering drinks. Several girls had already surrounded them, like flies to fresh bison dung.
Kendra surveyed the rest of the room. She stuck her hands in her back pockets and walked around. Three young women sitting at a table close to the bar caught her eye. They were all giggling and making eyes at the tall blond guy who was her target. Chase Russell. The last name sounded familiar, but now wasn’t the time to mull over where she’d heard it before.
She walked up to the girls. “Is this seat taken?” She pointed at the only empty chair.
“No. Come join us,” one of them invited. “Haven’t seen you around before. Are you new?”
“Kendra.” She held out her hand. “Yeah, I’m new.”
At the bar, girls giggled, and the guys were laughing and making obnoxious comments. Chase was in the process of downing his third shooter since Kendra had entered the room, making a big show out of it in front of the girls. With each drink he poured down his throat, he became louder and more boisterous. Kendra studied him. That guy was vital to the Osbornes? Naatoyita must have pointed out the wrong guy.
Kendra leaned closer to the girl sitting next to her who was staring dreamily at the tall blond. Kendra motioned with her chin toward the bar.
“Who’s the hottie over there?”
“That’s Chase Russell.” The girl’s voice was filled with the admiration of an adolescent.
“What’s his story?”
“He’s part of the trail maintenance crew. Rumor is he’s here because he’s on probation.”
Kendra’s brows raised. “Bad boy, huh? What got him in trouble?”
The girl seemed more than eager to talk about her object of desire. “Got arrested in California for possession, so they sent him here.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. He’s a really nice guy.”
Yeah. Being nice was always a good reason to get out of trouble. Kendra stood. She smiled at the three girls and excused herself. In just a few short minutes, she’d gotten the measure of this Chase Russell.
“I’ll be right back.”
She hurried through the room and out the door and straight for the line of trees where Naatoyita was waiting. Kendra headed directly toward him. When she was concealed behind the trees, she glared at the elder.
“Are you sure you pointed out the right Chase Russell? Because if you did, you’re making a huge mistake. That guy in there can’t possibly be the one who’s going to be vital for the Osborne line.”
Naatoyita smiled quietly and nodded. “I am sure. I was doubtful at first, as well, but Naatosi and I both agreed that he is the one.”
Kendra rattled off what she’d surmised about Chase Russell in the few minutes she’d observed him, and from talking to his admirers. “He’s a petty criminal with no regard for authority. He’s been given a chance to turn his life around, and he’s not taking it seriously. Do you know how many guys like him I’ve arrested in my line of work?”
Naatoyita held up his hand to stop her rant. He smiled confidently. “With the proper guidance, he will come around.”
Kendra huffed. Clearly there was no swaying the elder. “You’re asking me to get this guy to do more illegal stuff by climbing to the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Why can’t you simply offer him the chance to time travel? He’s drunk already. He might go for it without question.”
Naatoyita chuckled. “Chase Russell is all the things you have said. He must learn his lessons, and he must fight hard to overcome his past mistakes. None of these things will happen if he is handed the opportunity to easily escape his former life.”
Kendra stared at the elder. “I must be as nuts as you are,” she mumbled, then turned and headed back toward the pub. The sooner she got this over with, the quicker she could get back to what was most important – finding Wo'itsa.
She found Chase Russell where she’d last seen him – at the bar with a shot glass in his hand and several girls surrounding him. Talking loudly, he and his drinking buddies were boasting about the brave acts they’d supposedly done in Yellowstone, like going hot-potting and cliff diving at the Firehole River.
More like brainless and illegal stuff.
Kendra rolled her eyes. She blew air through her mouth, then shook her head to tousle her hair. She pulled her shoulders back and pushed the front of her tank top downward to expose her cleavage.
“I’m sorry, Wo'itsa,” she mumbled, then walked up to the bar.
She ordered a beer, moving closer to Chase. He glanced her way. She smiled coyly, then averted her eyes, but not before he’d winked at her.
“I can’t believe I’m about to encourage criminal activity,” she mumbled, staring into the glass of beer. She’d left her life of petty crime behind once she’d become a cop, so maybe there was hope for this guy, too. This was for a greater purpose, if she was to believe the crazy elder.
If Naatoyita thought Chase Russell was going to do great things in the past, then who was she to doubt it? Stranger things had happened. She leaned toward one of the guys standing next to her.
“I think you guys should have a party at the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, near the Lower Falls,” she whispered suggestively.
The guy stared at her, then his face lit up in a stupid grin. “That’s a great idea. We could hike down there tomorrow and spend the night.” He turned to some of the other guys and loudly made the suggestion. They all seemed in favor of the idea. Surprisingly, Chase Russell was silent.
“Come on, Chase. Here’s your chance to prove that you’re not just a city boy,” one of the guys shouted at him.
“I doubt you’d make it all the way to the bottom,” someone else goaded.
The three girls at the table where Kendra had sat earlier giggled and made eyes at Chase. The object of their admiration scoffed. Kendra’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t want to do it. It had seemed so easy to make the suggestion to his drinking buddies, but Chase was clearly not very keen on the idea. Maybe she’d misjudged him, but that wasn’t helping her at the moment.
She pushed away
from the bar, beer in hand, and moved closer to him. The other guys continued making their plans for hiking down to the bottom of the canyon, occasionally calling out to Chase that he was a coward if he didn’t join them.
Kendra nudged his arm, holding up the beer and smiling her most seductive smile.
Let’s just pretend I’m practicing for when I see Wo'itsa again.
“I’m Kendra,” she said, sliding her hand up his arm. She nudged with her chin toward his companions. “Sounds like an adventure.”
Chase smirked. “I’m trying to be on my best behavior. You and I could get out of here and I can show you what I mean.” His smile was flirtatious. It wasn’t difficult to see what made him so appealing to young girls. He was easy on the eyes and very good at laying on the charm.
Kendra laughed and leaned forward. “That sounds interesting, but you do know that those guys won’t let you live it down if you don’t go with them.”
She batted her eyes at him and winked. Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear, “I like a guy who enjoys living on the edge and taking risks. If you go, I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
Chase looked at her, his cocky grin widening, then shouted to his friends that he was going with them.
“I’ll see you when you get back.” Kendra shoved the beer into his hand, smiled, then quickly left the bar to join Naatoyita.
“All right, it’s done. Now what?”
The elder smiled, and held out the vessel he’d kept in his medicine pouch. “Now we must make sure he touches this at the bottom of the canyon.”
“Are you insane?” she hissed. “You want me to climb to the bottom of the Yellowstone canyon? You can forget that. This was a crazy idea in the first place.”
“Chase Russell must touch the vessel at the bottom of the canyon. It will send him two hundred years into the past, and his true test will begin to mold him into a worthy husband for the daughter of Daniel Osborne, and father of the man who will ensure that the sacred mountains are protected.”
Chapter 31
Kendra dug through the snow until her bare hands made contact with a cold, stiff body. Was she too late? No, she couldn’t have failed. He was too close to his goal to fail now. Her hands trembled, and she ignored the biting sting of the icy snow. Forcing herself to not touch the body, she leaned over him and whispered in his ear.
“Leave now, Chase, before it’s too late.”
Dammit. It would be so easy to simply shake him awake and get him to move before he froze to death, but Naatoyita had told her repeatedly that she couldn’t interfere directly. Moving the snow off his near-frozen body had probably been too much interfering already, but it didn’t matter. Chase Russell was barely conscious and wouldn’t remember her being here at all.
A tear of desperation and anger escaped her eyes, running down her cheek. All she could think about was her husband. Why was she helping this guy get back to the woman he loved?
Because you’re a daughter of the Sky People, and this is your calling.
Naatoyita’s preaching droned in her ear.
She raised her head to the sky. “Haven’t I done enough already?” Kendra’s breath swirled in front of her as she stood and raised her voice. “I got Chase Russell to the bottom of the Yellowstone Canyon, what more do you want? I need to get back to Wo'itsa.”
There was no reply. Naatoyita wasn’t around to hear her frustration.
After her argument with the elder on the evening when she’d persuaded Chase to hike to the bottom of the canyon, she’d relented and followed the old man as he started the treacherous climb into the canyon.
After several death-defying steps, Naatoyita turned his face toward Kendra with a sly smile. “We do not have to make the climb ourselves, Natukendra’eh,” the elder had cackled. “The vessel will take us to the bottom ahead of Chase Russell, and we will be there for him to touch it.”
“We can do that? Time travel just a day?”
“Once you know how to completely control the vessel, it can take you anywhere in time.”
Kendra’s eyes had narrowed. “But we’re not supposed to change certain things.”
Naatoyita had nodded. He’d placed a hand on her arm. “I know what is on your mind, Natukendra’eh. You cannot bring back the dead. Matunaaga was meant to die to pave a path for his daughter so she could find her way to the past.” He’d paused before adding, “Only the most powerful puhangand would even attempt such a thing, but it is not without severe consequences.”
Kendra had to concede that the elder was probably right. Without Matt Donovan’s death, Aimee might not have come to the past to meet Daniel, and the Osborne line would never have existed. She’d smiled.
“I wonder if Mukua knows that he made a big mistake when he caused the death of Matt and Kayla Donovan.”
“I am sure he is aware, and it is why he continues to look for ways to put an end to the Osborne line.”
“I still don’t think this is the right guy to further the Osborne line,” Kendra had scoffed as she’d watched Chase Russell stagger toward the river to empty his guts. Not long after, he’d passed out near the water’s edge in a drunken stupor.
His friends had set up camp a short distance away, and Naatoyita had placed the vessel next to the unconscious man.
“Take my hand, Natukendra’eh,” he’d said, while touching Chase’s arm with one hand, and the eye of the snake with his finger.
They’d woken up by the river, and Naatoyita had announced they were a couple hundred years in the past.
“What do we do now? Just leave him here?” Kendra had glanced at Naatoyita when he’d told her it was time for them to go.
“His journey begins here. You will watch over him while his transformation takes place, but there is also another who will guide him and set him on the right path.”
Kendra had stared at the elder with surprise. “Another? You mean, Wo'itsa is here?” Excitement and joy had made her heart pound faster. The elder had quickly extinguished her hope with the shake of his head.
“Not Wo'itsa, but a descendant of the union between the Wolf and Bear Clans.” Naatoyita had glanced at her with a smile and touched a hand to her abdomen. The elder’s implication was confirmed with his next words. “Already, you carry his mother within you.”
Kendra had taken a shocked step back.
Carry his mother?
Her hand flew to her belly. “I’m pregnant?” she gasped.
Naatoyita had nodded, his smile widening. Her limbs went weak as her mind grappled with the idea that she was going to have a child. Wo'itsa’s child. The idea of having a baby – something that had never before crossed her mind – was terrifying, yet also exhilarating.
“I have to get back to Wo'itsa,” she’d stammered. “I have to find him.” Tears had blurred her vision, and she’d barely been able to choke the words out.
“Once Chase Russell has completed his quest of personal growth, you are free to search for Wo'itsa. Your love for him is strong, and you will find him again as easily as you have found him before.”
“Why can’t you guide Chase Russell?”
“The vessel and I have other places to be for now, but we will meet again.” With that, Naatoyita had disappeared.
Reluctantly, Kendra had obeyed the elder and held off using her vessel to search for Wo'itsa. She’d used the snakehead many times to find Chase Russell as she followed him through various stages of his journey. Her ability to control it had improved each time.
Her first impression that he was a drunk and a loser had been completely wrong. He’d fallen deeply in love with Daniel and Aimee Osborne’s daughter, Sarah, and had wanted to prove his worth to her by going on a solo journey through the wilderness to learn about survival.
The snakehead had brought her to Chase when he’d nearly died from food poisoning, and she’d coaxed him not to give up. To her great surprise, Mukua had shown up then, laughing and proclaiming he’d never survive. Before she’d had the cha
nce to apprehend the elder, he’d disappeared again.
Now, her vessel had once again brought her to Chase when he was in trouble. He must have fallen asleep the night before and hadn’t been aware of the heavy snow that had fallen, threatening to bury him alive.
“You’re almost there, Chase, but you have to go now,” she whispered in his ear.
Behind her, a deeper voice cackled. “There is no escape this time.”
Kendra leapt to her feet at the sound of the familiar, raspy voice behind her. Mukua. Was he deliberately stalking her? He wasn’t going to get away a second time.
“Where’s Wo'itsa?” She advanced on the elder, her heart pounding.
The elder’s satisfied smile split his wrinkled face. “You and Wo'itsa will feel the same pain I have felt all these years.”
Before she could pull her knife and lunge through the snow at the elder, he was gone again.
“That’s it,” she called, throwing her hands skyward. “I’m done here.” In the next instant, she hurled her knife through the air. It landed where the elder had stood a minute ago. With a frustrated growl, Kendra stomped through the snow to retrieve her only weapon.
It was time she found her husband. If Mukua had managed to harm him, he wouldn’t be taunting her. He would simply tell her that something bad had happened to Wo'itsa. The elder was probably trying to lure her away from Chase, but she couldn’t stay here any longer.
She glanced over her shoulder at the tall, blond man who stirred under his blanket and shook off the snow that had threatened to suffocate him. He would be fine. The knowledge and experience he had gained through this journey would help him find his way to the trapper outpost that was less than a day’s walk away.
“Good luck, Chase,” she murmured. “Just like you have to get back to your love, so do I.”
Kendra’s hands tingled as she dug for the snakehead in her pouch. She touched her hand to her belly and smiled. It was still inconceivable to think that she was carrying Wo'itsa’s child. How would he react when he found out he was going to have a daughter?
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