by Karen Kay
Was he crazy?
More laughter, this time terrible and loud, rang out through the wintry air, and she forgot whatever else she had been thinking, for it was the same voice that had visited her in her dreams—and the Thunderer was saying, “You are puny, human. I could kill you in an instant.”
“We all know you could. Yet it would take no valor and be without honor,” countered Black Lion. “But come, meet me one against one, and we shall see who is the better,” he dared. “Come and meet me.”
Gray clouds dropped to the ground, while miniature whirlwinds spun fast and furiously, without advancing anywhere. From within those whirlwinds, a man stepped forward.
Suzette pinched herself to be sure she was awake. The Thunderer’s image was exactly as she remembered it to be. He was a man, yet not. His coloring was, as she had noted from her dream, blue and gray, like those of the angry clouds from which he came.
The Thunderer was pacing toward Black Lion, and Black Lion spoke to him. “Why do you hate us so much? Have we not paid enough for our past misdeed?”
“Never!” cried the Thunderer. “Those who have gone before you have been clever of late, I admit. They are free and have freed the bands of their clans, while my children, who committed no wrong in any of this, are dead. Yours is the last of the Clan still entrapped. Know this. It is my intention to keep you entrapped forever.”
“Ah, and now we know. But, as the wise ones have said, all things must come to an end, even curses and your hatred. Look at you! How can you live with such animosity? How can you bear it? No, your children would not have wished this for you, I think.”
“Would they not?” challenged the Thunderer. “Though I have their images in stone, their spirits haunt me. Were they here, they would demand I seek retribution for their deaths. I know it! Haiya, I will not rest until I see a fitting punishment for this evil that your people have done to me.”
“Is not an eternal life in the mist punishment enough?” countered Black Lion.
“Nay! Never! Had I the strength, I would put a hex on you that would be a hundred times more powerful.”
“If that is how you see it, then come and kill me now,” Black Lion summoned. “You can end this thing. Come, let us do battle, for I would show you kindness, and if we are lucky, the victor may yet free his own people.”
“Haiya! You know I cannot battle with you and give you the chance to show me kindness. But…” The Thunderer paused, then he laughed again, sending shivers up and down Suzette’s spine. “But I can kill those close to you. There is one here who hides in the bushes.”
“Hiya! You will never get to her, for I protect her. You would have to kill me first.”
“Aa, yes, I can see this is so. And there is little I can do about it, for I cannot disobey the Creator and kill you…yet. But there are others that are dear to you. Ah”—the Thunderer pointed southward—“I see your friends now. There is a show there.”
“My friends have done nothing to you,” cried Black Lion. “They are not part of this.”
“Are they not? Did they not make the mistake of seeking to be friends with you?”
“Hiya! Do battle with me now. I am prepared to fend off your advances. Or do you lack the courage and must place your anger upon innocents?”
The Thunderer’s reaction to this challenge was another misplaced laugh. “Three days,” roared the Thunderer. “That is all the time you have to save them. Three days.”
“Hiya!”
But further protest was useless. Stepping into the spin of a whirling cloud, the Thunderer retreated, then disappeared, back into the darkened night above them. The clouds began to move, and, indeed, they traveled south.
“Hiya! Hiya! Hiya!” Black Lion shouted to the heavens, and then, “Damn!” he shouted in English. “Come back!”
But there was no answer.
“Hiya!” he cried again, then as though he spoke to another, he said, “If he can, he will kill my friends. We must go back to the show, and in a hurry if we are to be there in three days. You and the Song Bird must return as well. How far away from us are you?”
Who was Black Lion talking to?
And then she saw White Claw, the medicine man. He stood there, next to Black Lion. But where had he come from? Or had he been there all along? Did that mean Irena was here too?
“Irena?” Suzette stood from her hiding spot and took a few awkward steps forward. “Irena? Is Irena here, as well?” She paced toward Black Lion.
“Your grandmother is not with us here,” said Black Lion.
Suzette glanced around the clearing, but no one else was to be seen. “I thought I saw White Claw.”
“So you did,” said Black Lion. “But in spirit form only. White Claw’s physical body is not here.”
“In spirit only?” She frowned.
“Did you hear?” Black Lion asked.
“I did.”
“Then you understand we must leave to go south. I must get to my friends quickly.”
“Yes, but—”
“I think if we do not rest, if we travel as quickly as we can, we can get there in time to warn them. Tell me, if I give you the money I have made from the show, do you think you might be able to buy a horse in the next town we come to?”
She nodded. “I probably could, but—”
“Then come, we have no time to lose.” He made a move to leave.
“But Irena…”
“White Claw also knows the danger and is changing his course to come south.”
Again, Black Lion made a move to leave, but she pulled him back. “What exactly is the danger?”
“I am the last champion for my people, and the Thunderer knows it,” he said with little hesitation. “There are no longer any boys left in my band of the tribe who could follow me. Therefore, because I am the last, if I miss this chance to lift the curse, my people are doomed forever.”
“But I don’t understand.” She frowned at him. “In going south to your friends, aren’t you putting your life in danger? What good is that going to do your people if you die?”
“None. However, I have no choice.”
“But if you are truly concerned about your people…”
“Then you choose for me. Who do you think should die? My friends here, or my people who are still enslaved?”
“No one should die, particularly you. But if I were to choose, I think I would…” She shook her head. “Oh, go. I can see that you must. But when you get there, show the Thunderer kindness instead of animosity.”
“I will if I am able. Come,” he said as he turned away, “let us go and purchase a horse, for only in this way can we arrive at the show quickly enough.”
“Yes, all right.” She nodded. “How far away is the next town?”
“It is close. Half a day’s walk perhaps.”
She slanted him a frown. “We will walk during the day? Then you no longer worry about being found by a posse?”
“It is a worry, yes, but it cannot be helped.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Her expression stilled. “I assume we leave at once.”
“We do. Come and gather your things.”
“What things?” she asked, as she swung her purse over her shoulder.
Without any further delay, they set out for the next town.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Their rush turned out to be a slower pace than anything Suzette would have imagined, given their circumstances. This was most likely due to her condition, she supposed, with Black Lion still treating her as delicately as he was able.
His thoughtfulness and his care did endear him to her. Still, she worried for him. She had offered to travel faster, stating she thought it would probably not harm the child to do so.
“We will not take the chance,” Black Lion had replied. “The Thunderer knows I co
me. And we are making this journey as fast as we can.”
Indeed, they had taken to traversing over the Plains by day and night, stopping only long enough to provide their horse with a rest and Suzette with the nutrition needed to keep her healthy. Interestingly, not a single person accosted them. In truth, they met with no one at all.
Perhaps this was partially due to the dark and dreary conditions haunting their travel. Murky clouds lingered overhead, and thunder wailed in the heavens regardless of the hour of the day.
Black Lion was driven, and she was certain that were she not with him, Black Lion would have rushed over the prairie with no regard for himself or his health. Perhaps it was to his advantage that she did accompany him. At least she liked to think this was so, for when the time came for a confrontation with the Thunderer, it would serve him well to be rested.
At present, with her body situated before him in a sidesaddle style, she was essentially sitting in his lap, and thus was spared the jolting influence of the trail. Often she found herself sleeping in Black Lion’s arms, particularly during the evening hours.
Now that they traveled by horseback, the trip south to Colorado seemed to be much shorter than the journey north. Or maybe her perception was tainted because she feared what they might find at the end of their trip.
“We are almost there,” Black Lion said to her on their third day of travel. He had nudged her awake with a tap on her shoulder and a kiss on her neck.
She opened her eyes to a roll of thunder, which raged through the sky above them. Squirming in her seat, she tried to attain a position of some comfort. However, there was very little to be found.
“Do you know what time of day it is?”
“It is early morning. The sun has yet to make an appearance in the sky.”
“And will it appear?”
“I would like to think it will, but it is doubtful. The farther south we travel, the more desperate the storm clouds appear on the horizon.”
“I suppose it is to be expected, since we are openly defying the one who rules the storms.” She glanced forward. She wondered at herself. Had she now begun to believe that a god could, indeed, take human form? Or was there some other explanation for what she was certain she had experienced? A reason she couldn’t fathom? “When do you think we will come within sight of the show?”
“Perhaps when the sun reaches the high point in the sky.”
She nodded, then translated, “At noon, then.” Scowling, she turned her face toward his. “Besides warning your friends, have you considered what we might say to Mr. Cody about our disappearance?”
Again, he shrugged. “I will tell him the truth, that I left to find my friend and the Song Bird…if he asks.”
“Of course he will ask. I will let him know also that I begged you to go with me, in case he worries that you stole me. I have thought that perhaps this is why the scouts were so persistent—they may believe you took me from the show by force. I know that before we left, there was certainly plenty of gossip about us.”
“Perhaps,” he said.
“Do you think the Thunderer has caused any harm to the show yet?”
“I do not believe he has,” said Black Lion as he leaned down to speak in her ear. “If he harmed my friends, I would know it deep in my soul. That this has not happened causes me to believe he waits for me only. Perhaps he manipulates me so he might kill me in a more public place. Or maybe he watches for my arrival before he wreaks his vengeance upon my friends. Either way, it matters not. He awaits me.”
“Us,” she said. “He waits for us.”
Black Lion didn’t answer. But then, she hadn’t expected him to. With another glance at the threatening sky above them, Suzette tightened her arms around Black Lion’s neck and stared off into the horizon.
The day was still overcast, cloudy and cold, though there was no snow on the ground, due perhaps to a winter thaw that promised spring but did not deliver. The air was frigid and stationary, even though overhead the clouds continued to shift. Suzette and Black Lion had come at last to within a few miles of the Wild West Show. They had at present traversed to the bottom of a large rise in the land, beyond which, nestled into an immense valley, was the Wild West Show. Suzette could hear the faint refrains from the Wild West band, as well as smell the scent of the smoke that always accompanied the show. Wrapped as she was in Black Lion’s arms, the warmth of his body gave her a feeling of security that was, she knew, nonexistent.
Her stomach twisted with dread. What awaited the two of them down there?
Whatever it was, Suzette feared it was nothing good for either of them. “Black Lion, I do not like this. There may be so much trouble that… Alas, I fear for you personally. There is prejudice there, and I am afraid people may act against you first and ask questions later.”
“I am aware of this. However, there is no choice but for me to go forward. My friends are in trouble, my enemy awaits. What would you suggest? Running away? You know I cannot do that.”
“No, not running away, but perhaps I could go down there first—before you, if only to ensure you might be able to proceed without harm.”
He scoffed. “Are you suggesting I hide behind a woman’s skirt?”
“No, only that I could make the others understand the particulars of our situation first.”
He pulled a face. “If I were to let you do that, I would be committing a most cowardly act. No, we will go there together.”
She sighed. “Very well. Then let us form a different plan in case there is trouble.”
“The plan we have is a good one, and I see no reason to change it.” He raised an eyebrow at her, as though a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Do you intend to alter it?”
“Well, yes, actually I do. I understand you need to find your friends and warn them, but what I still don’t understand is why you are demanding I go to Irena’s tent instead of remaining with you.”
“I would have you be safe.”
“But will I be safe there? What if the Thunderer comes to Irena’s tent and you are not there with me? Has he not already threatened me in my dreams?”
“Hau, but I am the one the Thunderer wishes to harm, not you.”
She shook her head at him. “I don’t know. It is a mistake, I think. The danger is not in being with you, for, as you say, you will be there to protect me. The danger, I feel, is in being alone.”
He frowned.
It was a small reaction, but it was enough that she pressed her point. “I do believe I could be of help. The Thunderer fears me. Therefore, there must be some danger from me. Pray, keep me with you.”
Again, he frowned. “If I agree to this, do you promise you will not deliberately antagonize the Thunderer? That you will stay out of the way, regardless of what he does to me?”
“I… I… How can you ask such a thing of me?”
“Easily.”
Above them, lightning flashed in the sky, the rumble of thunder following.
She said, “I cannot promise you that. And you cannot ask it of me. You have no right to send me away, either. I am a part of this. He came to me in my dreams.”
When Black Lion remained mute, she sighed. Speaking to this man when his mind was set was like endeavoring to talk sense into a stubborn bull. But she was not so easily persuaded either. “I am safe only as long as I am with you. Perhaps you should revise your plans, for this is how it will be. I will remain with you.” She folded her arms across her chest.
He drew in a deep breath, sighed, then pointed forward. “There, can you see it?”
Their horse had climbed to the top of the rise, and in the valley below, stretched out across the Plains, were the rambling structures that made up the Wild West Show. Fences, barns, tents, tepees, canvas-covered bleachers and an enormous arena met her gaze.
At present, it appeared as if the show were enga
ged in the segment of the program called “Cowboy Fun”, for she could see, down in the arena, the tiny figures of the cowboys riding the wild, bucking horses.
As she watched, she saw also that a cabin was being set up center stage, in preparation most likely for the “Attack upon a Settler’s Cabin” scene. On the outer perimeter of the arena, several Indians were on standby, waiting behind the scenic backdrop for their cues.
As the cowboys retreated and the pioneers took center stage, the Indians began to creep up to the cabin.
“You and I did that scene once,” she commented.
“I remember it well. How much easier it would be if I could, like my ancestors, steal you and put you in my tepee and keep you there.”
She shook her head. “I would still object, and you, I fear, would be required to listen to me complain.”
Though their situation was desperate, he grinned at her. “There are times when I think you are as stubborn as a wild pony.”
“Who is calling who stubborn?”
He arched a brow at her, winked, then reined in their horse to make its way down the natural rise in the prairie. “I see little evidence of the Thunderer down there. I am glad.”
No sooner had he spoken the words than with a crash a bolt of lightning struck a barn in the valley and set it afire. Immediately, she heard a call to arms, and men poured out of the arena to gather at the barn. Screams and the neighing of the horses could be heard, even from this distance. It was strange, for only a moment earlier the air had been frigid and still, but now the winds had kicked up, and the tiny, spinning clouds were everywhere.
As they watched, the fire spread to another building. Then came several lightning bolts all at once, one close to the arena, causing the performers in the show to seek cover. Another building was set ablaze.
Already Black Lion was lowering her to the ground. “I must go down there at once. Look yonder. Do you see those whirlwinds? Even as we speak they are touching down within the arena. He means to harm those people. I know you want me to take you with me, but you must see that I cannot. I have to hurry, and if you were with me, I might do damage to your child because of this. You must stay here.”