"So, to go over it again. You've got a wagon waiting for me in Alamieda, and I'll take it out to Cedar Ledge and load up what I can and then meet you in Carlyle Springs?” DeVries gave her a final embrace as he confirmed that as the plan. Elanie began to walk to the door as Lijuan shouted to her.
“There is no way you don’t know by now he slept with me that last day out at Cedar Ledge. Whatever you are going to steal from us you should use the profits to buy some self-respect!” Her face once again going crimson, Elanie huffed out of the cabin, knocking Lijuan with her shoulder as she passed.
Cassandra turned to DeVries after she watched the door closed behind Elanie. “So, this is where you take us to the Omegas?”
"No, me and the boys are going to go meet them where they are camped out nearby and bring them back here. Those redskins are smart characters. They prefer to stay deep in the woods to avoid the chance of being spotted. If people knew they were around, they'd be on the alert. Now with the gully sealed that should prevent anyone from easily getting here on the slim chance anyone might be coming up this way." DeVries was saying as he pulled on a duster that had been hanging near Elanie's cloak.
“Then you better tell your renegade friends to give this up and head on out of here without us because someone did see them and lived to tell about it. A detachment from Fort Spooner is likely already on the march this way.” Cassandra revealed with a degree of satisfaction as she saw nervous looks pass between their abductors.
“Stalking-Stalking Wolf isn’t going to leave without you just because of some blue coats. He’s looking forward to taking possession of the sisters of Dutch Wilde. Something about an old score to settle regarding a one on one fight between them some years ago.” DeVries said swallowing and trying to show off an air of conviction that he wasn’t quite able to pull off.
"Tell Stalking Wolf if anything happens to us my brother David will hunt down every one of you, especially him and kill you all!" Lijuan snarled and as always using Dutch's correct name in the same way her brother was the only one ever to refer to her with the Chinese meaning of her name…beautiful and graceful.
"You can tell him yourself, but the only thing for certain is that you four won't be here to see it. It's time for us to be on our way. We will be back here soon. Enjoy your vacation!" He said slipping on a pair of riding gloves.
"Well, I hope one of you likes walking. You put your horses on the other side of the canyon right in a grove of trees. One of them got loose just before you set off the blast. An appaloosa I think it was. No doubt ran off when that explosion hit!" Cassie shouted. It was a weak attempt to delay them she knew, but every second they weren't on their way to get the Omegas the more chance she had to figure out a way to escape. There wasn't much that frightened the Wildes, but the four sisters knew that if the Omegas ever got their hands on them, they would be begging for death over whatever torture Black Hawk would have lined up for the offspring of his most hated enemy.
Cord Stevens did a slow burn as he turned to his brother Bull who angled his body away from his sibling. “You god damn idjit! That was Sesame! I gave you her reins and told you to tie her up after you were done with yours!”
“I did Cord! I did! I even used this fancy slipknot the whore I was with last night showed me. We got to talkin’ about how one of her regulars liked to be tied up by her when- “
In one swift motion Cord’s hand whipped through the air knocking off the other man’s hat as the gun in his other hand fell to his side. Bitterly Cassie thought this was just the sort of distraction they needed before their hands were tied.
"You f'ing fool! I don't care about any of that! You may have cost me my horse!" Bull tried to apologize, but the angry Cord was having none of it, shaking his head in disgust.
DeVries used his hands in a calming gesture. “Relax everyone. With what the Omegas are going to give us in gold you can purchase all the horses you want. Besides, one of us was going to have to stay behind anyhow to watch over them. It’s even more important now. Whoever stays can keep watch outside the cabin. From the view, up here beyond the valley below is the open plain between here and Fort Spooner. There is a hundred percent chance of spotting any detachment from the fort and if one is spotted the plan will be to high tail it on foot after us and warn the Omegas and us if they are near."
It sounded reasonable to all the outlaws involved, and even Cassandra gave the plan some grudging credit in her mind. It was quickly decided that since it had been Bull's mistake he would remain on guard duty and Cord would take Bull's mustang. As they filed out of the cabin, they heard DeVries issue a final warning no matter how tempting the women were he was not to lay a hand on them or answer to Stalking Wolf.
Once they were alone, the Wildes remained silent and listened to the sounds of footsteps fading away. Cassandra went to the only un-boarded window and watched in the distance as the group of men paused by their wagon. She wondered if they were possibly changing their mind about leaving Bull and using one of the two horses that had pulled their buckboard as a mount.
Cassandra’s eyes went wide as she saw Bull kneel for a moment and when he rose both hands were now full. Suddenly she saw the two horse’s legs seem to give out from underneath them and began to fall and a split second later the twin blasts from two weapons being fired caught up to her ears.
"No!" Cassie breathed knowing the sound of her guns as well as the sound of her own voice.
Her equally bound sisters pushed their way next to her in time to see the group continue on their way while Bull shoved the two pearl-handled pistols into his belt. She looked back grimly at her sisters, and their faces were all barely controlled masks of fury and Honor was blinking back a tear. More often than not when they traveled with teams of horses, it was Honor who loved to do the driving. It was one of her great skills, and she was close to all the different teams of horses the Wildes used for their wagons.
“Honor?” Catalina asked gently. Her sister nodded at her and blinked away her tears. “I am okay. I am okay. Another affront these low lives will answer for when we are free…and we will be free yes Cassandra?”
“You better believe it!” Lijuan said with conviction even though the question was meant for Cassandra. Their oldest sister looked at them all, from face to face and nodded. “Lijuan is correct.” She said as she heard Bull Stevens come to a stop outside the locked door. Presumably looking out at the vista below for any signs of cavalry on their way to Clayton’s Hollow.
Her eyes began to dart around Jim's cabin, looking for anything that would help cut their bonds. All it would take was for one of them to get free, and she could release the others. DeVries it seemed was at least smart enough not to underestimate the Wildes after they turned his life upside down and made him a wanted fugitive. Anything reasonably sharp they might have used was nowhere to be found, no doubt collected by Elanie beforehand. Cassandra told Honor to keep watch at the front window, and the others began to look around.
After a few minutes of searching, they met in the center of the room, including Honor who moved away from her place at the window and gave a report. "He is being most methodical in his patrolling. He has not stopped making a loop around the cabin the whole time you were searching, though he does stop once a rotation to peer down at the landscape below looking for any sign of troops. I trust one of you have found something.”
“You’ll find your trust misplaced Honor Elizabeth. We didn’t find one lick of anything to cut these ropes with.” Lijuan said through clenched teeth.
“Oh, dear. What if we can’t get free before those owlhoots get back here with Black Hawk’s warriors?”
“Well, Honor, die like men I reckon…even though we is women!” Catalina shrugged with a smile, prompting Cassie to as well. It was just like her spunky little sister to try and lighten things up, even in the face of most horrific deaths. Something within Cassie steeled itself, a determination not to let Cattie or any of them die. Her eyes began to boomerang around the room lo
oking for whatever they might have missed.
She thought about everything she knew about Jim knowing anything she could remember that might help them find something he would have at the cabin that could be of some use. By profession he was a surveyor, doing the majority of his work for the railroads that were pressing ever westward. The man was also a stamp collector, but that was utterly useless information. Then there was his hobby of being something of an amateur meteorologist. Being a surveyor, the man worked a great deal outdoors, and he always wanted to be abreast of what the weather might bring. Cassie once again remembered pitching in up on the roof helping him put up the fancy weathervane from London. Even if any of the instruments he used were left behind, she didn't see how they could be of any help.
Suddenly she stopped looking about and took a deep intake of breath, her mind having fixated on his last hobby she knew of. The man loved to bake; she remembered one night during their time together he had surprised her by baking her favorite, dessert a chocolate cake while she had been taking an early evening dip in the old beaver pond in the shadow of the Totem Rock. Suddenly her eyes shot wide open and a grin blossomed on her face at the sight of the glass sugar jar sitting on the counter that he had used in making the cake.
The often dour Lijuan's face lit up as she studied Cassandra's face and Cassie saw her looking at her and returned the grin.
"You've got something, don't you?! You always do!" Lijuan questioned, much enthused.
She was about to reply when her face brightened even more as she looked at Lijuan, yes, the petite Lijuan, and then her eyes raced elsewhere into the room, and everything fell into place.
“Here’s what we are going to do girls. I know you aren’t going to like a part of it!”
“Whatever it is I reckon I’ll like it a whole lot better than getting’ my heart cut out by them Omegas. Bright Feather told me they believe if you eat the heart of your enemy you gain their courage and their skill! Now I don’t know if she was just funnin’ me or not but I sure don’t wanna find out!” Catalina rattled off.
"With that, I concur most wholeheartedly!" Honor nodded emphatically.
“The whole lot of them devils would overdose on our skill and courage if they took all four of our hearts!” Lijuan said, her old cockiness returning now that she was confident Cassandra had a way to get them out of their dire straits.
“Let’s hear what you’ve got golden girl!”
CHAPTER 10
Outside as he had been doing since he began his patrol around the perimeter of the cabin Bull Stevens came to a stop and peered down at the trees and hills below the plateau. Far off in the distance, he could make out the wooden ramparts of Fort Spooner. Could the bitches have been telling the truth? Could troops be on the march right now? If he spotted any, he would stand ready to run to the others, but in honesty, he would prefer to fight. Especially now that he had two beautiful new guns.
Earlier at the wagon, the others had collected up the sister's guns intending to give them as a gift to Stalking Wolf, leaving the knife, bullwhip, and hammer lying on the ground. Bull had insisted on keeping Cassandra's guns saying he was going to sell them and use the money to buy Cord a new horse. The others had accepted his lie as he had no intention of ever giving the guns up. They were excellent looking weapons, well kept up by the blonde, as evidenced when he tested them by gunning down the team of horses.
Satisfied that he couldn’t see any troop activity he once more resumed his patrol around the cabin. He had been instructed by the boss DeVries to do so because the women were crafty. He didn’t want them sneaking out any windows if they somehow figured a way to get through the wood they covered them with. He had snorted thinking that was ridiculous if not impossible.
Also, Bull had tried to suggest that he remain in the cabin and keep watch of them there but DeVries had told him it was more important he keep watch for any troops. Cord, who had a little bit more self-control than Bull, had shot him a cautioning look which he knew to mean that he was also to obey keeping his hands off the four sisters. Keeping him outside increased the chances he would keep his urges in check.
He had just returned from his circuit when two of the sisters, the black, and the Mex appeared in the window screaming at the top of their lungs. They were frantic, begging Bull not to turn them over to the Omegas; tears filled the colored woman's eyes as she pleaded how she didn't want to die. Bull turned his back in an attempt to ignore them, but they kept screaming and shouting more.
Inside in the kitchen area, lost in the ruckus of the screaming Honor Elizabeth and Catalina the sound of the breaking glass jar went unheard by Bull as Cassandra knocked it to the floor. Squatting down with her hands tied at her wrists behind her back, she was still free to use her fingers, and she fumbled until she grabbed onto a shard. A curse escaped her lips as she nicked one of her fingers, but she continued to maneuver it around until she had a good grasp on it. Rising, she drew as close to Lijuan's back as possible and began to try and bring the makeshift knife to Lijuan's bonds.
Lijuan attempted looking over her shoulder in hopes of giving Cassandra directions but it was hopeless, she couldn’t see anything. Cassandra, it would seem would have to do it by feel. After several missed attempts to land the jagged edge of the shard on the rope, including one that gave Lijuan a nick of her own she finally was able to begin awkwardly sawing away at the bonds.
Outside a gun, blast roared. The pair's head swung towards the front of the cabin, but they could not see Bull because their sisters were blocking their view of him. They did hear him shouting curses to keep quiet, or he'd give them a good pistol whipping whether the Omegas liked it or not.
The sisters pretended to be cowed and fell silent as he moved away to begin another loop around the cabin. Honor nodded her head, pleased with her performance.
"I believe I told you, ladies, I was the star performer of the annual school play that we would put on at Bristol-Slade." Honor boasted with some pride in her whispered voice, referring to her days at an all colored school for up and coming young ladies of color. During the war Whip had sent her off to attend the school in faraway Manhattan to keep her away from the Confederacy controlled Arizona.
Catalina threw her words back at her "I believe you're right…you sure did. Probably six hundred million times! And you was right Cassie. I sure didn't like playin' no scardy cat! Pretendin' to beg!" the feisty sparks in Catalina's eyes backed up every word of what she just said in a low voice.
"Well, it's about to be…" she began as the shard cut through the remaining strands of rope, "worth it!" Suddenly Lijuan was free, and she heartily shook her hands to get the circulation back into them. She snatched the glass shard and not having to work behind her back as Cassandra had done was easily cutting away the knot as the quickest way to set Cassie free. The pair locked eyes as Cassandra apologized for cutting Lijuan.
“If that’s as bad as the day gets I’ll take it!” Lijuan said stopping the sawing motion and now easily able to yank the rope free releasing her sister. “Wait until he’s gone around the corner and get your asses over here and Cassie and I will get you free!” she called out in a loud whisper.
***
Outside upon completing another loop Bull once more stared out at the vista. Nothing looked any different than before. Just trees and more trees giving away to the empty flatland beyond the foothills. Shifting his eyes away from the view and to the edge of the cliff not far from the cabin he watched as a small stream wound its way down from a nearby gorge. Idly he thought it was an odd scene as it was clear to his eyes the canyon and the waterfall must have been once more significant than it was based on the size of the creek bed. The water was rushing now because of the recent rains, so he knew that meant usually the stream was even smaller than what he was now seeing.
He tilting his head to look up and rising above the gully he could just make out some type of strange rock formation only barely visible near the top of the gorge. His interest in his surroun
dings faded rapidly as his feet began to carry him for another circle around the cabin. His thoughts instead began to turn to the Mexican girl. She reminded him of the Mex he had lost his virginity to in a hay-strewn stable in Juarez. The familiar flush came over him as it always did when he thought of her…her and her laughter at his clumsy attempt at sex when he came less than a minute after entering her.
What did she expect!? It was his first time after all. He was just a wet behind the ears youth of eighteen years, and he had a whole lot of longing pent up inside of him. She sure wasn't laughing after he beat her within an inch of her life. It had been his turn to laugh at the erasure of her beauty with the swollen face and the twin pair of black eyes he had given her. That had been the last time he had been with any Mexican girl.
Bull paused behind the house to light a cigarette to life, casually flipping the still lit match into the nearby woods. Once on the move again he began to think maybe he was long overdue for a little Mexican. It would be different this time. He had paid enough whores in his life that his performance and stamina were as good as any man's. He walked on more and more warming to the idea that despite what his brother and that dandy might have said perhaps he would help himself to this Catalina Wilde.
***
Inside Lijuan Wilde was standing stock still and stark naked, her clothes a pile on the floor as Honor Elizabeth and Catalina worked feverishly rubbing her from head to toe from a can of lard they had found in Jim's pantry. Cassandra kept a furtive watch near the window.
"Hurry up!" she hissed as quietly as she could, briefly turning to look at the spectacle in front of the fireplace.
Honor Elizabeth stepped back, and her head nodded in approval. "There. I should say you are sufficiently greased up." Her lips were pulled back in a smile, and she looked at Catalina who was opening her mouth to make some sort of quip when Lijuan clamped her hands down on both their shoulders and drew them into her.
Renegades And Revenge: Daughters 0f HBH (Half Breed Haven Book 8) Page 10