Kaylene was stunned to know that Little Sparrow felt such contempt toward Running Fawn, since Running Fawn was the daughter of Fire Thunder’s best friend.
The smell of the food wafted through the air, made Kaylene hungry. As Little Sparrow ladled some corn gruel into a bowl and handed it to her, Kaylene forgot Running Fawn and her wonder about what sort of person she truly was. Although the corn gruel was tasteless, even somewhat horrible, she ate ravenously.
Footsteps outside the lodge made Kaylene turn with a start. She almost dropped the empty bowl when she found Fire Thunder standing in the shadows, his eyes on her.
She felt the pit of her stomach grow warm with desire, when she realized that his gaze was raking over her, observing her clothes, her braided hair.
It was as though he were branding her as his.
Chapter 9
Alter? When the hills do.
Falter? When the sun
Question if his glory
Be the perfect one.
—EMILY DICKINSON
Kaylene was torn with how to feel as Fire Thunder strode through the doorway into the lodge. Part of her was glad to see him. The other part could not help but fear him.
She still was not sure what her final fate was going to be at the hands of the Kickapoo chief.
She recalled how his people had stared at her as she had entered the village on his horse.
She had felt their mistrust. She had to wonder how they felt about her being in his lodge?
She was glad to have at least two Kickapoo friendly with her, and she felt that the proffered friendships had been genuine.
Except there was some doubt in her heart about Running Fawn. Little Sparrow had even referred to her as . . .
Her thoughts were brought back to Fire Thunder as he knelt down on his haunches before her.
Still he stared at her, but more so in her eyes now.
Little Sparrow broke the silence as she went to Fire Thunder and knelt between him and Kaylene, giving Fire Thunder cause to stare at her instead of Kaylene. She asked in quick sign language if Fire Thunder had found Good Bear.
Fire Thunder framed her tiny, copper face between his powerful hands. He slowly shook his head, then spoke the word “no” distinctly.
Little Sparrow emitted a soft sob as she lowered her eyes.
Then she looked slowly up at her brother again. Her tiny fingers signed as she finally confessed to Fire Thunder that she blamed herself for Good Bear’s disappearance. It had been she who had slipped away from him.
Now she knew that she should have not done that. Surely when he discovered her gone, Good Bear had blamed himself. In shame, he probably ran away, not wanting to face Fire Thunder with the news that she was missing. But he had had no idea that she was a captive all along, right there in one of the carnival tents.
“What was Good Bear doing that he would even not realize your hand slipped from his?” Fire Thunder asked, forming the words on his lips carefully so that she had no trouble reading them.
When he saw an instant blush leap into her cheeks from the question, he forked an eyebrow.
Kaylene sat, scarcely breathing, as she watched the silent deliberation between brother and sister. She was glad that Fire Thunder had spoken the last question aloud, for she felt that she might have the answer. Many a curious little boy had slipped into the tent where the naked tattooed lady performed with her snake.
Kaylene suspected that was exactly where Good Bear had been, perhaps for the very first time in his life having seen a naked lady.
Little Sparrow kept her eyes lowered not wanting to reveal the naughtiness of Good Bear to her brother. All Kickapoo boys Good Bear’s age were taught the dangers of bad women.
They were told many stories about them.
Little Sparrow knew that Good Bear had known better than to look at the naked lady at the carnival. That was why she had left his side so eagerly. She had been too embarrassed to watch the lady prance around with the snake coiled around her tattooed body.
“Little Sparrow, you know the answer to my question, but something keeps you from telling me,” Fire Thunder prodded. He placed a finger beneath her chin and lifted it, so that their eyes could meet and hold.
Still Little Sparrow did not respond to his persistent questions. It was bad enough that Good Bear was missing, let alone tell Fire Thunder the worst about him.
“Little Sparrow, how can we find Good Bear if we do not know all truths about the afternoon that he disappeared?” Fire Thunder said.
Tears splashed from Little Sparrow’s eyes. She flung herself into Fire Thunder’s arms, sobbing.
“I think I know what the answer is,” Kaylene murmured. She was glad that Little Sparrow’s back was to her, unaware that she was going to tell Fire Thunder what Little Sparrow refused to tell. Kaylene did not want to risk destroying her friendship with the child by telling a secret that the child seemed to want to keep to herself. But for the good of the boy, Kaylene felt that she had no other choice.
Fire Thunder’s gaze went to Kaylene. “You know where Good Bear was before he disappeared?” he asked guardedly.
“Yes, where most young men and adults alike were for a portion of the afternoon,” Kaylene said. “He may have been in the tent where the naked tattooed lady performed with her snake. Wouldn’t that prove why Little Sparrow doesn’t want to talk about it? She doesn’t want to tell on her friend.”
“A naked tattooed lady?” Fire Thunder said, lifting an eyebrow. “So that is the type of performances that go on in carnival tents? It is best that I have never allowed my people to go to a carnival. The boys and young men would have an education they need not be taught.”
“Not all performances are . . . are bad,” Kaylene said, blushing. “Don’t you recall what I said about mine? How I performed with my panther? There is nothing at all naughty or immoral about that.”
“What is immoral is what happened to my sister, and the temptation that Good Bear could not say no to,” Fire Thunder grumbled.
He eased Little Sparrow from his arms. Just speaking about what had happened to Little Sparrow and Good Bear gave him cause to be angry all over again.
And although he wanted Kaylene to love him, he still had a lesson to teach her so that she would understand just how badly her father had treated his sister. Once she truly understood the depths of the humiliation, surely she would accept that her father was a wicked man and she would begin to see the rightness of Fire Thunder’s punishment.
Only then would she let down her guard and allow herself to feel that which she was now denying, her true feelings for Fire Thunder.
He spoke in sign language to Little Sparrow. He told her to go and get more food and hot tea from the woman in charge of preparing their food and drink today.
Little Sparrow nodded and left at a run.
Fire Thunder stared at Kaylene for a moment longer, then added dry sticks to the fire until bright flames leapt forward. “I am unmarried,” he murmured, going then to sit down beside her. “And since I am chief, the women of the village look after me and Little Sparrow. They not only feed us, they clean my lodge, sew our clothes, and bring fresh water and wood.”
“All that is missing is a harem of women living with you, responding to your every whim and desire,” Kaylene said sarcastically. “It’s the same, though, isn’t it? The women just don’t live with you.”
“These women do these things for me because they respect me as their chief,” Fire Thunder said, defensively.
“Those women are nothing more than slaves,” Kaylene said, lifting her chin. “But of course you wouldn’t admit it.”
Wishing that he could break down the spiteful wall that Kaylene again had built between them, Fire Thunder said nothing to this latest remark.
He gave her a quick, roaming glance, appreciating how beautiful she was in the clothes of his people. Even her hair. Although he most admired it when it was spread out fully across her shoulders, he liked the braid. It ma
de her look as though she was part Indian.
He only wished that she were. But it was obvious that she was born of the white culture. Her sharp tongue was proof enough.
Little Sparrow came back to the cabin and Running Fawn was with her. Little Sparrow carried a pot of hot tea. Running Fawn carried a large black pot which she placed on the tripod in the fireplace.
Fire Thunder eyed Running Fawn curiously. “Running Fawn, it is good to see you involved in things other than causing your father heartbreak,” he said sternly. “You have not often participated in bringing food to my lodge. Is my special guest the only reason you do this today? You are curious about her?”
“She is my friend,” Running Fawn said, kneeling down beside Kaylene. She brushed a stray lock of hair back from Kaylene’s eyes. “Are we not friends, Kaylene?”
Kaylene felt the angry eyes of Little Sparrow on her, and the inquisitive eyes of Fire Thunder. She hoped that in time Little Sparrow would accept that Kaylene wished to have Running Fawn’s friendship because she felt it might be useful.
Perhaps Running Fawn could help her escape.
It was obvious that Running Fawn often went against what was expected of her. Kaylene saw this as an advantage. When Kaylene was stronger and she saw the opportune time, she would put Running Fawn’s rebel personality to a true test . . . to a good use.
“I am glad to have Running Fawn’s friendship,” Kaylene said, then smiled at Little Sparrow. “And also your sister’s. I feel lucky that they wish to be my friends, when they could so easily see me as the enemy.”
Fire Thunder did not respond. He gave Running Fawn a mistrustful stare, then nodded toward the kitchen. “Running Fawn, if you wish to make yourself useful, get three bowls from the shelves and ladle stew into them,” he said flatly. “Make it four if you wish to eat with us.” He looked toward the door. “Would your father wish to share the evening meal with us?”
“He is with Good Bear’s people,” Running Fawn said, taking the bowls from the shelves. She grabbed wooden spoons and went back to the fireplace. Soon she had four bowls filled. Little Sparrow poured hot tea into wooden mugs.
They all sat in silence as they ate. Kaylene had eaten the corn gruel earlier, but only because she had been hungry. She had found it horrible. The stew was delicious in comparison.
“Fire Thunder, your rancheria is much larger than I would have imagined,” Kaylene said, between bites of stew and sips of tea. “So many of your people live the modern life of white people.”
“Do not call my village a rancheria,” Fire Thunder scolded, setting his empty bowl aside. “That is a name used by the Mexicans to denote our Indian village. The Kickapoo resent this name. It connotes a small group of humble Mexican jacales.”
“But I thought you were friends with the Mexicans,” Kaylene said, shoving her empty bowl away from her. “Why would you resent what they call your village? And I saw many jacales, Mexican huts, in your village. So why use them if you resent their use?”
“I allow my people to use whatever form of lodge they wish,” Fire Thunder said, rising to go and take a look outside when he heard a horse ride past his lodge.
When he saw that it was no one of importance, he returned and sat down again before the fire. “We Kickapoo use the name Colonia de los Kickapoo to designate our village. That is how you are to refer to it when you speak of it from now on.”
Feeling as though she had been reprimanded, Kaylene said nothing for a moment. Then, wishing to get on the good side of Fire Thunder so that she might be allowed to leave as soon as she was well, and not have to devise an escape, she tried to find something favorable to say about his way of life.
“Your cabin is quite nice,” she murmured. “It is so nicely furnished.”
“Our lodges are constructed well,” Fire Thunder said. He looked slowly from the roof to the log walls. “Our houses must be made of virgin material. No nails or hardware are used. Every coupling is made of virgin material. Every coupling is made fast with pita.”
“As I arrived, I noticed the fields filled with crops,” Kaylene said. “I also saw horses and longhorn cattle. You appear to be a wealthy tribe of Indians.”
“The fields are filled with food eaten by my people,” Fire Thunder said. “And, yes, we are wealthy in many ways. But nothing was gained easily. It has been a struggle since the beginning of time for my people.”
Black Hair came into the lodge without knocking. “Good Bear’s parents are suffering deep inside their hearts for their son,” he said thickly. He glowered at Kaylene. “If not for her people luring innocent people into the tents of the carnival, Good Bear would be here today.”
Black Hair knelt before Kaylene. He glared at her. “Good Bear’s mother can bear no more children,” he growled. “To lose her son is the same as losing her life, her reason to live.”
“You can’t blame me for—” Kaylene began, but Black Hair interrupted her as he rose to his feet and stood over Fire Thunder and spoke.
“I have readied your horse,” he said. “You will ride with us tonight to go for horses, will you not? The warriors who are not still searching for Good Bear await you, my chief.”
Fire Thunder rose. He placed a gentle hand on Black Hair’s shoulder. “Yes, I will ride with you tonight,” he said softly. “I need the time . . . the fresh air . . . to think.” He glanced down at Kaylene. “I have decisions to make about many things.”
“I know that I am such a bother to you,” Kaylene said. She tried to stand up, but fell back down to her knees. Oh, how her shoulder pained her! And she was so weak.
“Just let me go,” she said, pleadingly. “You will then have only the concerns and welfare of your people to see to. Please take me to my mother. I promise the carnival will never return to these parts, ever again.”
Fire Thunder bent over Kaylene and swept her up into his arms. “Accept your fate just as my sister was forced to accept hers when she was abducted and placed in a cage,” he said.
“What . . . fate . . . ?” Kaylene murmured, her heart hammering inside her chest. “What are you going to do with me? Please let me go.”
Fire Thunder gazed into her eyes for a moment longer, then looked over his shoulder at his sister, whom he knew would not readily accept what he was about to do. He then carried Kaylene outside, where the sun was bronzing the sky as it sank.
Kaylene’s face paled as Fire Thunder carried her toward a cage that sat not that far from his lodge. It was not the same sort of cage that her father had used at the carnival. This was much shorter—so small a person could not stand in it, only huddle or sit.
“No, you’re not going to put me in there!” Kaylene cried, struggling to free herself. She went limp when the pain shot through her shoulder. She grew cold inside when Fire Thunder sat her in the cage and locked it.
Kaylene cowered at the back of the cage as the Kickapoos came and stared at her through the bars.
“You can’t do this to me!” Kaylene cried as Fire Thunder stalked toward his waiting horse. “How can you? I thought you said you weren’t going to harm me. Lord, Fire Thunder, don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me!”
Fire Thunder stopped in midstep. He turned and gave Kaylene a steady gaze, his insides aching to see her humiliation, her hurting gaze as she stared back at him. “How does it feel to be treated like an animal?” he said, his voice steady. “My people own such a cage only to cage wild cats after they have become a threat to us. We take them faraway and set them free again, on the other side of our mountain. Perhaps that is where I shall also set you free when I return.”
“No,” Kaylene cried. “I don’t want to be set free all alone, where only wild animals roam. Please take me out of here now, Fire Thunder. Take me to my mother!”
When Fire Thunder saw Little Sparrow moving slowly toward Kaylene, he went to her and placed his hands on her waist and turned her back toward their cabin.
He gave Running Fawn a frown, discouraging her interference. Running
Fawn shied away from him and ran to her own lodge.
Fire Thunder ran to his horse and swung himself into his saddle. Tonight he was going to steal horses from another Texan who had given his people problems when they lived in Texas. It was good to finally be able to avenge those long years of degradation at the hands of whites.
But he sorely regretted having to cage Kaylene.
And as for taking her to the wild side of his mountain—no, never. He would never let her out of his sight, not now that he had her there, solely his.
Kaylene was in a state of shock as Fire Thunder rode away. She now knew that she was doomed to be in this cage for as long as he was gone. She gazed at the darkening sky. She shivered at the thought of him possibly being gone the whole night.
She huddled upon the cold floor of the cage. Slowly her eyes went from bar to bar, truly knowing now how Little Sparrow must have felt when she had been forced inside her cage.
Shame engulfed her in cold splashes that her own father could have forced such a thing upon a small child. She hung her head as tears swam in her eyes. Then chilled with fear, she sat stiff and silent.
Midnight hovered nervously at the edge of the forest, close to the village, his eyes reflecting the moon.
Slowly he paced back and forth as he watched the activity in the Kickapoo village wane, until Kaylene was the only one left outside. He started to leap out into the open, but stopped when he saw a small child come into view, her shadow slight beneath the rays of the moon as she crept toward the cage.
His impatience running thin, Midnight growled and showed his pearly white fangs as his eyes followed the child’s movements.
Chapter 10
What clasp, what kiss mine inmost
heart can prove?
O lovely and beloved, O my love?
—DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI
Shivering from fear and cold, and feeling the total aloneness now that everyone had gone to their lodges, Kaylene huddled in the cage. She still found it hard to believe that Fire Thunder could have done this to her. This had to mean that he hated her. Would his next move be to kill her, to be rid of her in his life forever?
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