Stepping back Lijuan surveyed her handiwork, and with a gleam in her eye that it was completed to her satisfaction, she nodded. She took a quick look around to memorize the exact spot so that later when the time came she could raise the rope to the level that she needed and then was on her way. Five minutes later she found herself at the wall. The trail ended where a doorway had been cut in the wall long ago to give the children easy access. Shying away from it she had no intention to walk through it and risk the chance that she would be spotted. No, her plan called for a bit more of deception than that.
Lijuan scanned the wall and she was relieved to find what she was looking for a short way from the door. In the darkness the towering tree Blue River described stood silent, its branches blowing in a warm and gentle night's breeze. Lijuan darted over to the tree and found a good grip on the lowest branch and pulled herself up and began climbing and didn't stop until she was above the wall.
Looking directly down she saw the top of the chicken coop as well as Little Flower's tent right next to it. Her eyes rose from her immediate surrounding and surveyed The Settlement. There were many tents and lodges and at the center a great fire burned. Two tents near the circle appeared larger than the others, and she surmised they belong to the chief and his sister, this Summer Sky. Further fueling her belief, she could make out the figure of a young woman sitting outside of one of the tents watching the activities closely.Many braves she witnessed were gathered around the fire, inspecting their weapons and chanting while other tribesmen and women milled around. Lijuan felt confident that the way some of the men appeared to be showing off their prowess in front of the seated woman that she was indeed looking at Summer Sky. Her eyes then turned away and began looking elsewhere.
Her face shone as she saw one very welcome sight. There were three men tethered to the wall itself. Surrounding them were a score of arrows and spears. Lijuan knew full well what that had meant. Earlier the braves had shot and thrown the weapons around the captives to terrorize them. Many years ago, a similar thing had happened to the sisters by a husband and wife team of scoundrels that were trying to use a fake Indian attack as a means to dispose of their victims. They had barely escaped with their lives, but Cassandra’s plan had set them free.
She was genuinely sorry for the mental torture they had endured, but the important thing was they were still alive. Blue River's theory had now become very solid. Lijuan was further encouraged that in their most significant stroke of luck since the whole sordid mess had begun with the Charging Bear's lifeless body tumbling down the stairs in front of her, was that the men were lashed to the wall not far from where the door near the trail stood. When the time was right, that would help facilitate a quick escape.
Her spirits were further buoyed when she saw no one was paying the captives much mind now. Apparently, the entertainment was on hold, for now, she thought sarcastically, but that was going to change when the moon reached its high point. Gripping the branch in front of her she leaned forward watching the activity by the fire. All she could do now was wait for Blue River's entrance. He would have given her enough time to get up the trail and position herself in the tree before entering The Settlement. His arrival would surely come any minute now.
Her heart began thumping against the inside of her chest a few minutes later when the chanting stopped, and men started shouting. Her brother was here, and Lijuan became rigid as her body flooded with worry for him. He was the youngest of them all, but his dearth of years hadn't made a lick of difference in the amount of courage he had, equal to any of his older siblings she knew. She considered the strength of Blue River's lifelong belief in his Great Spirit and with a gritting of her teeth she swore this so-called Great Spirit had better reward her brother's faith by looking out for him.
CHAPTER 17
As he approached the large fence surrounding The Settlement things were far different upon his return. The gate was still open but now sentries had been posted, and they spied him immediately. There would be no gentle sauntering into the camp this time. He held little doubt that the Mescaleros had lookouts just in case the townspeople tried some measure of counter-offensive. Though they were mostly miners, farmers, and ranchers, desperation made people do the unexpected, and clearly, Summer Sky was taking no chances.
As soon as he passed through the gate, he gritted his teeth as a young brave rushed at him, the others covering him with their bows drawn. As expected he was yanked down from his horse, hitting the ground hard in a repeat of his earlier arrival. His body was a mass of muscle from the active life he led as a brave and working side by side with the lumberjacks that harvested the timber on their family empire. Being in as good shape as he was, he absorbed the blow handily, though he certainly hadn’t wished to repeat it.
This time there was no gun to throw down. In a bold move, he had arrived unarmed hoping it would show he was still on a mission of peace. He brought himself to his knees and raised his hands above his head. Before he could stand up all the way, the young brave yanked him to his feet and pinned his arms behind him. It took a year's supply of self-control not break free and cold-cock the brave who he now recognized as the one who had taken his gun earlier, but that wasn't what he was here for.
The braves manning the gate turned their attention back towards the blackness beyond, their eyes roaming about looking to see if Blue River had brought any reinforcements with him. The brave holding him began to shove him forward, and Blue River did not resist. As he had done earlier in the day, his gaze fell on the chicken coop and the tree with its limbs hanging over it. Somewhere in that tree, he knew Lijuan was there watching him, and that gave him no small amount of comfort. Especially with the uncertainty that lay ahead. As they continued, he also spied the hostages still alive lifting his resolve as he now knew coming here had not been a deadly fool's errand.
As they drew near the fire pit area the brave herding him began shouting, and the warriors fell silent, and their activities ceased. Everyone was standing still accept for Crazy Elk who threw down a spear he had been practicing moves with that Blue River had to grudgingly acknowledge to be impressive. He strode towards them and grunted as his beefy hand thrust out knocking the brave to the side. The young warrior went down without a sound, either out of fear or respect or an alchemy of both. Blue River's freedom was only momentary when his biceps were seized from behind in an iron-like grip.
“You should have stayed away, half-breed! You might have lived to see another sunrise,” Crazy Elk snarled as he shoved him forward towards the destination that the young man had been steering him towards.
In front of him sitting cross-legged on the ground and looking up at him with a serene look was Summer Sky.
“This liar, this breaker of words dares to return to our home after failing to deliver Charging Bear’s killer when the sun went to its sleep!”
“My eyes see what is before them, Crazy Elk. I need no explanation.”
Crazy Elk frowned but said no more. Instead, he waited for her to speak as did all the others.
“What have you to say, my old friend?” she prodded
As Blue River carefully chose his words, he used the time to study Summer Sky. Her face was indeed serene but looking closer he saw a thin line of perspiration on her brow. Something was not right here he suspected, and when he saw a tightening of her eyes, he was sure of it. The question now was what was at play here that he knew nothing about?
“Despite the darkness in which Crazy Elk portrayed me, there is a grain of truth to what he says. I did not deliver as I had hoped. The killer had not tipped his hand by the setting sun. We still believe we can uncover-”
“We! As in the white eyes and the yellow woman you call sister!” Crazy Elk spat as his foot lashed out and kicked over a stump normally used for sitting on.
“Sky, I am sorry-”
“You will call her by her full name, you half-white dog!”
"Sky, truly I am sor-" Blue River swallowed hard as the blow he fully
expected to receive came as one of Crazy Elk's fists lashed out and made a smacking sound as it struck the skin over his ribcage. As the pain radiated out in a wave, he again gave his enemy a margin of respect for choosing one of his most vulnerable spots to strike. The scrawny child version of this man of many years ago was now just a faded memory.
Through clenched teeth, he spoke as he waited for the aching to subside. "You, however, are true to your word. You have sealed the valley and taken the men on that stage as hostages. When the moon is high, you will sacrifice them as the first blow against the people of Horseshoe."
“What choice have you left me? All you had to do was deliver the killer.”
“The violence can end here. I seek a new deal. I must speak with you about it.”
A hard smile swept over Crazy Elk’s face as he pointed at Blue River. “You have spent too many years in the company of the white man. You think you can come here and continue making deals as the white-eye does. There will be no deal! There will only be death. Your death!”
Summer Sky vaulted to her feet in a move that surprised the gathered throng of Mescalero and drew up so close to Crazy Elk that her breasts were nearly poking the man’s solid body. She looked up into his face, hers a mask of fury.
“You speak not for me! You speak not for this tribe. Who lives and who dies is my choice, not yours! It will stay that way for the short time left that my brother decreed that I be in charge while he away on the Great Hunt!”
Behind him, Blue River heard a murmur of dissatisfaction rumble through the crowd. His sister, Honor Elizabeth, liked to amuse herself having her fortune read in tea leaves whenever a fortune teller passed through town, but he didn’t need tea leaves to read that Summer Sky’s sway over the tribe was tenuous at best. It would be wise to act now before it was too late.
"Please, I beg of you, Summer Sky! May we parlay in your tent?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Crazy Elk stiffen, but the brave managed to keep quiet this time.
“As you wish.”
The crowd murmured again, and she turned to them. "Continue your practicing. After the offering is made to the Great Spirit, we must be prepared for the coming battle."
With that, she turned and pointed at the flap in her tent. Blue River entered, and she followed, leaving a scowling Crazy Elk to stand motionless before another brave handed him the discarded spear.
Inside she motioned him to sit.As he dropped onto the furs that covered the floor of her dwelling he made a show of wincing in pain from the blow Crazy Elk had delivered. This was the first time in his life that he was thankful to see a bruise had formed on his body. As he played up the pain, he glanced down at the welt. To his gratification, he saw that his slight theatrics were having the desired effect.
Summer Sky's head tilted as she examined the bruise before crossing over to a basket and plucking out some cloth. He watched her supple body as she knelt and soaked the rag in a clay pot before drawing near him on her knees and gently applying it to his rib cage where Crazy Elk had done his damage. To his surprise, the water was ice cold from the rag, and he gave her a questioning look.
"There is an ice cave on a nearby mountainside. One of the braves keeps my kettle supplied with it. I prefer to drink my water with a chill in it."
"It would seem to be the chief's sister has many perks to it."
"I do not understand this word ‘perks.'" She said as she continued pressing with the rag.
“Advantages. Not the least of which is being placed in charge over braves in his absence.”
She had fallen silent as she tended the injury, but she could see her eyes traveling all over his muscled form. His plan seemed more and more likely to work with each passing moment.
“Tell me of this new ‘deal” as you say and see if it is worthy of my consideration.”
Blue River brought his hand up and laid it atop hers that pressed against his side, and he looked into her soft brown orbs.
“There is no deal. Perhaps Crazy Elk is right, and I am a liar. I only came back using that as an excuse, so I could get here in this tent like I am right now. Alone with you.”
Summer Sky’s mouth fell open as she jerked her head back. “Blue River, has madness claimed you this night? You would walk in here and risk all to see me?”
“How could I not wish to see the beautiful Sky who has colored my dreams all these many years from the time I grew from a boy to a man. When I saw you again earlier, it was as if no time had passed. The only thing different is a girlish cuteness has given away to a woman’s beauty.”
“Your words—they make my heart sing,” she said slowly, still in disbelief.
“I burn to be with you. Here and now.”
“Blue River.”
“Before I take you, I want you to know that I stand ready to help you.”
“Help me—with what?” she asked blinking.
Blue River cupped her face in his hands and gazed at her. “I know all is not as it seems here. I believe in the conviction from which you spoke earlier of the wrongs against your tribe. But I do not believe you wish to walk this path tonight. First by spilling the blood of the innocent men on that stage and then a bold attack on the town. I knew your father. He was a good and fair man. There is no way he would have raised either of his children not to have the good sense to not follow this path to the destruction of your tribe. Look at me and tell me that what I say is not true.”
CHAPTER 18
Silence reigned inside the dwelling as outside the whoops and cries of the practicing warriors filled the gap left over from Summer Sky having gone silent. He released her face and lifted her chin with a thumb.
“You can tell me what’s really going on. It’s Crazy Elk, isn’t it? He’s the one guiding you down this folly.”
“Again, a word I do not know.”
“Stop Sky. Please.” he said in a hushed voice. She looked at him longingly on the edge of a decision he could tell. He issued a final plea hoping it would break the dam of her hesitation.
"Yes, what is happening here tonight is all Crazy Elk. It was he who told me that we must make that sacrifice, an ancient ritual practiced by one lone renegade tribe of the Mescalero. It's not something we do, but Crazy Elk was fascinated by the tales of this tribe and its barbaric practices."
“So, he wants to achieve some sort of glory by adopting the ancient ways.”
"That is only an extra boon. This ritual is his way of delaying our attack on the town."She must have seen the puzzlement in his face, and she began to talk quickly. "Just after you left we spotted smoke signals from my brother. He and our best hunters and the bulk of our warriors have been off on the Great Hunt. The signals read that the hunt was successful, and they would be returning home soon. That was hours ago. They could be here at any minute," she finished almost breathlessly.
“I don’t understand.”
Taking a deep breath, she laid a hand on his shoulder, "He wants to delay the battle so that my brother can be present for the attack. In the heat of the coming battle he intends to slay my brother and make it appear as a white man killed him in battle, and then he will assume command of our tribe as the new chief and I will be forced to become his woman."
Her eyes lowered, and a quaver ran through her voice that was hard to reconcile with the strong, commanding woman he had seen on the two occasions he had been in her presence on this day. He watched as she become downcast and struggled to sort out what she had revealed.
“I assumed that you were already his woman. His love for you was clear even when we were children.”
Summer Sky looked at him in despair. “I have been his lover. For all his faults and flaws he knows how to please a woman. But he wanted more. He wanted to take me as his wife but my heart, I discovered, belonged to another. A proud warrior whose life was devoted to the tribe. Jealous, but knowing he could not kill the man outright and anger my brother, he found another way to get rid of him.”
Blue River looked away from her face
for a moment as he realized what she would tell him next as he recalled Crow Woman's tale earlier as they prepared for the rescue mission. Her brother, best friend of the chief, had been accused of stealing valuable furs from other members of the tribe. Accused by Crazy Elk. They had been found in Ka-e-te-nay's tent, planted by Crazy Elk, she had said. The chief wounded that his closest friend was a thief, exiled him from the tribe and Crow Woman had gone with her brother. The loss of his people and his identity as a warrior were too much as was being disgraced in the eyes of the woman he loved, a woman Blue River now guessed to be Summer Sky. Soon afterward he had taken his life in a ritual.
“Ka-e-te-nay—he was the man that you loved?”
"Yes, for so many moons did I hold him, dear. I never believed he was guilty. I always knew it must have been Crazy Elk that did it, but I could not convince my brother. He is a good man, but he sees the world in black and white. The evidence was there in my love's tent, and so he was guilty and banished."
"So, with his rival out of the way, he must have continued to win you over?"
"He thought I didn't know that he was behind Ka-e-te-nay's exile, and when he proposed our joining, that was when I first refused him. The seasons have all come and gone three times now since Ka-e-te-nay's death and still, he pursues me. After my brother left on the hunt, he made his final proposal, and again I spurned him. It was as the white people from which you spring from say—the last straw."
“What do you mean?”
“As long as my brother lives, I can refuse marriage to him as long as I wish. If my brother dies, then he will take over. He has the backing of many of the warriors who do not agree with my brother’s way of running this tribe—trying to maintain a peaceful co-existence with the white eyes. They will support his taking control of the tribe as our new chief. I will be powerless on that dark day and will be forced to be his wife. He will at long last get the three things he has coveted most, the power of the chief, leading a war on the white men, and me …”
The Town 0f No Return: Special Edition (Half Breed Haven Book 11) Page 12