"I am sure. I swear it upon my life and honor."
"Why did you not come to me on the last sun and reveal this to me?"
"I feared you would not believe me and you would hate me. I do not know how strong her love medicine is over you. I swear it is the truth."
"Have you told another of what you saw?"
"No, for it is your right and duty to deal with an unfaithful wife. Please do not hate me because I was the one who was forced to reveal this matter to you."
"Do not worry, Wastemna, for it is not our way to hate the one who brings bad news, only hate the words told to him. But I am certain it must have been a friend, not a lover, you saw with Chumani."
"If that is true, Waci Tate, why did she not tell you about him?"
"I do not know, but I am sure her reason is a good one."
"I pray your words are true so your heart will not be pained again with the loss of another wife and the Great Spirit is forced to punish her for dishonoring you and the sacred vision."
Wind Dancer took Chumani for a walk in the forest after her return to their tepee a short time later, as he did not want others to overhear his words. "When you joined to me, you did not tell me your heart and body belong to another man. Is sadness and revenge why you hold back from me and why you behave badly to Wastemna and other women here and why you create such mischief in our lives? Do you hate me and wish to make me unhappy so I will send you away so you can return home to him? Why do you betray me and the sacred vision for your lost love?"
Chumani was hurt and baffled. "I do not behave badly in your camp or to your people. I seek no revenge on you with the mischief which attacks us; it is not my doing. I am a good wife to you in all ways but one; that was your choice to make and I agreed with it. My heart loves and my body desires no other man, not my first mate or another from my camp or in any camp. Why do you think such wicked things about me? Your words are cruel and untrue."
Her anguished reaction cut into his heart, but he was compelled to ask, "Who was the man you met with and embraced in the forest on the last sun? The secret visit you did not reveal to me last night?"
"Do you spy on me?" Chumani asked in shock. "Do you not trust me?"
"No, I do not watch you, but another saw you meet him there and told me of it this sun. Is he why you were distant with me last night and do not wish to lie beneath me?"
"The person who told you I met a man was mistaken. It was Zitkala, niy best friend. She approached me in the forest and we talked for a long time. She is a female warrior and hunter, as I was before you claimed me."
"It was not a woman Wastemna sighted with you." He saw Chumani's gaze narrow and chill at the name he mentioned. He watched her withdraw the sharp weapon from her waist sheath. He wondered if she was going to challenge him to a death fight or try to slay him and escape, and knew she would not be successful with either attempt. She placed the blade between her teeth and spoke around its edge as she refuted his words, her dark gaze drilling into his watchful one as she performed the swearing custom.
"I bite-the-knife, Waci Tate, and swear: I speak the truth. It was Zitkala, a woman, my best friend since we were but a few circles of the seasons old. We trained, hunted, rode, and fought together as you do with Red Feather." Chumani removed the weapon and continued to speak. "She came to bring me news of my family, friends, and people. Do you not recall she was away from our camp when you came to claim me? I did not ask her to enter this camp and our tepee; I wished to speak with her alone. Zitkala has taken no mate, for her face, body, and ways are more of a man's than a woman's. You can accept or refuse my words, but I do not speak with a split tongue. I do my best to follow the commands of my husband, father, Great Spirit, and the sacred vision. If you do not believe me or you are displeased with me, speak the parting words before our tepee flap and I will be free to return to my people." She knew all he had to do was take that position and announce she was no longer his mate and their joining bond was broken. Yet, deep inside, she prayed he would not do so.
As Wind Dancer studied her and considered her explanation, Chumani wondered if he was seeking an excuse to get rid of her and to save face while doing so by making it appear her fault. When he started to speak, she held up her hand and told him, "Do not speak while your heart and head are filled with mistrust and anger or while mine are too filled with them to listen. Think upon what you want to do; then we will talk. Now I go for a ride to calm myself; I will return before night comes. Then, this destructive and hurtful matter must be settled between us for all time."
Wind Dancer thought it was best to let her leave for a while to allow both of them time to clear their heads and cool their hot feelings. He also needed to decide how to repair the obvious damage he had done to their relationship, as he was almost certain she spoke the truth. It would be too easy for him to check out her story for her to lie to him; and by doing so, she would be dishonored in her camp and banished from it. Yet, his fear of loving, trusting, and then losing her kept a tiny doubt nibbling at his mind.
After Chumani left him standing there, Wind Dancer turned and sighted his mother and sister nearby in the bushes. He realized the two women had happened upon the scene by accident and had remained quiet to prevent disturbing and shaming him as he quarreled with his wife.
Winona approached him, placed a hand on his forearm, and said, "You must go after her, my son, and make peace with her. Time and distance can become your enemies and slay all her good feelings for you. Do you not know Dewdrops has great love in her heart for you and great pride in being your wife and vision companion? Do you not know she would not speak false words to you? Do you know the Great Spirit would not give you a bad wife? Go before you lose her forever and glorious victory is denied to us."
Wind Dancer knew those words were true, and hearing them sent a surge of joy and energy throughout his body. He quickly prayed that he had not destroyed her good feelings for him and driven her away forever. He smiled, embraced his mother, and hurried to his tepee. He realized she had taken nothing except her horse and Cetan, which he considered a favorable sign she planned to return. He gathered his weapons and other needed supplies before he headed to his horse to mount and pursue her.
As he loaded his possessions on the animal, Red Feather joined him. Wind Dancer told his best friend of the misunderstanding and that he was looking for Chumani.
Red Feather grinned and said, "She rode that way."
Wind Dancer's gaze followed Red Feather's gesture toward the south. "I go to spend private time with her. I will not return until she is mine. Guard my family and our camp, and pray I find victory with her."
"It will be so, mitakola. "
In the forest, Hanmani murmured, "Love should not bring sadness and trouble, my mother. Why does it do so for my brother?"
Winona looked at her youngest and only female child whose name meant To-walk-in-the-night and said, "They are still strangers in many ways, and they endured great losses long ago which make them wary of each other and their feelings. They fear to show their love and desire; they fear the other does not feel the same way; their minds fear to accept and trust what they know in their hearts to be true. If they listen to each other with their hearts open wide, all will be good between them when they return."
"Do you think so, Mother?"
"Yes, my beloved daughter, I am certain of that, for my father, our wise shaman, saw it in his vision."
Winona's mind added, One sun, you will learn such things for yourself, my beloved daughter, for I saw it in a dream on the night you left my body thirteen winters past. When that season comes, you will find great love, but the trail you must ride toward it will be a difficult and dangerous one, just as it is with your brother and Dewdrops.
Chumani halted her horse and stared at the ground as her mind filled with troubling thoughts. She had spoken too quickly and harshly, for his misconception was normal, whether he or another person witnessed her meeting with Zitkala, especially since she had kept it
a secret from him. By doing so, she had given him just reason to doubt her and be angry. He had never met her best friend, so he was not familiar with Zitkala's mannish looks. She should have remained in camp and settled the matter with him. It was wrong of her to blame him and to leave.
As she heard Cetan's shrill cries overhead, she glanced upward and noticed the sky was darkening rapidly and ominously and the force of the wind was increasing in strength and purpose. Already, limbs shook, grass swayed, and wildflowers trembled in anticipation of the brewing storm. She reasoned the Great Spirit was displeased with her and was trying to warn her to hurry back to his camp. Yet, she had noticed the signs too late. She knew the conditions would soon make it too dangerous to be outside and she must seek shelter fast. Recalling she had sighted an area where caves and rock ledges were located, she headed in that direction, calling out to Cetan to follow her to seek cover from the weather's fury.
Wind Dancer tracked and located Chumani, then left the grassy terrain to ride into the tree-blanketed foothills which swept upward into the sacred mountains. He assumed she was seeking protective shelter in one of the Paha Sapa's canyons from the approaching storm and hoped he could catch up to her before it struck. When the trail signs indicated she had dismounted, he reasoned she could not be far ahead of him; her destination must be a nearby cave or a position beneath low and wide overhanging ledges of black rock, he decided. To keep from frightening her, he shouted her name to make her aware of his presence.
Chumani entered a cave with a load of wood she had gathered for a fire. Only minutes later she heard Wind Dancer's call followed by a peal of thunder which roared across the terrain, a dazzling display of lightning. Her heart leapt with happiness. She tossed down the wood, rushed to the cave's mouth, and halted there to look for him. Lightning flashed in jagged lines and in brilliant multi-branched forks across the ever-darkening sky, and rumbling thunder chased it at a swift pace as she sighted him coming out of the treeline on the other side of the clearing before her. She smiled and waved as she yelled for him to bring his horse into the cave and to join her there before a deluge began. She watched him smile and wave in return, causing her heart to beat faster with excitement and joy.
Then two perils struck like a double-edged knife. Suddenly his horse snorted and whinnied, reared on its hind legs, and pawed the air with its forelegs, its eyes wide in panic as it yanked wildly on the tether clutched in Wind Dancer's left hand. That unexpected action caused her husband to stumble aside on loose rocks and fall to his knees. As he hit the ground, a strong wind gusted briskly and blew dirt into his eyes, causing him to jerk his free hand toward them. Yet, it was the threat beyond him that almost petrified her into stone, the reason for the horse's terror: a grizzly had topped the low hill behind them, halted there, and was eyeing the two targets with great interest. She knew her horse was safe in the cave, but her husband and his mount were in terrible danger. Although the massive beast appeared to be slow and lazy when it ambled along, she knew he could charge with awesome agility and speed and could slash open its prey with one swipe of those long and deadly claws.
"E'tonwan! Matohata!" She shouted for him to look out because a grizzly was heading his way. "Inahni sni yo. " She warned him not to run, as that would be considered as a challenge to the giant bear.
"Tokahan hwo?" he called out, asking where it was since his vision was blurred.
As he rubbed his eyes and shook his head, she realized he was temporarily blinded by the dirt and was vulnerable to a lethal attack. "Uyelo; inila yanka yo. " She cautioned him to be quiet because the creature was advancing on him. "Lecetkiya. "She asked him to come to her. She hurried into the cave and retrieved her bow and several arrows, elated she had brought them along. With one shaft nocked and holding two between her teeth, she rushed outside and made her way to the right of the entrance.
Chumani glanced at Wind Dancer as the frightened horse shifted about and kept bumping into him. She wished he had his war mount with him, as that animal was braver and more nimble-footed than his daily riding horse. Her gaze darted to the bear with its dark and sleek hide. She saw the muscular hunch between his powerful shoulders ripple with its movements. It paused to stand to sniff the air and to see better, its height and size enormous and intimidating. She knew her injured husband could not outrun the swift and keen-eyed creature or successfully battle it while hurt, though she was certain he could do so under different circumstances.
She glanced at Wind Dancer again. He had drawn his knife, but it was obvious he had not recovered his vision from his gestures. She shouted to the bear to seize its attention and hopefully to draw it away from its intended prey until her husband could see. The grizzly halted and looked at her as she continued to yell at it, wave her arms, and then throw rocks at it. He growled and made a short bluff charge at her. She repeated her actions and increased the volume of her shouts. When Wind Dancer yelled for her to cease her dangerous ploy, she made them louder and incessant so her voice would drown out his and keep the ferocious grizzly's focus on her.
Chumani fired an arrow at the bear and struck him in his left shoulder. The angered beast slapped at the shaft and broke it off near his body. When she pelted him with rocks and danced around on the canyon floor, he made a charge toward her using another brief burst of speed. His body jiggled after he made an abrupt halt about ten horse lengths' beyond her. As the weather worsened rapidly, the creature stared at her, assessing her strengths and weaknesses. As she watched him extend his thick neck, flatten his ears, take a stiff-legged stance, and lock his intense gaze on her, she realized she had succeeded in becoming his new target. When he shook his body to loosen it and growled again, she knew the fierce beast would lower its head next and race toward her in an unrelenting attack.
Chumani prayed for skill and courage as she whirled and scrambled up a nearby incline toward scattered rocks which would delay the awesome predator's approach and give her a chance to fire her other two arrows at him, at closer range. She doubted three would slay the animal, but perhaps they would injure him enough to slow him down so they could escape or would cause him to loose interest in her and Wind Dancer.
Leaning against a black rock for balance on the slippery terrain, she fired a second arrow into him as he reared to his full height to get a better view of her. She struck what she knew was a vulnerable spot at the base of his throat, yet, he also snapped off that arrow and kept advancing as if it were nothing more than a small insect bite, even with blood seeping down his chest and shoulder. She scooped up several large rocks and pelted his head with them, hoping to strike his eyes and damage his keen vision. She jumped as radiant lightning blazed across the darkened setting and almost ear-splitting thunder boomed around them and seemingly caused the cliffside and ground to tremble. Gusting winds blew hair into her face and obstruced her line of vision, forcing her to use one hand to grasp it and hold it behind her neck.
Suddenly Cetan sent forth many shrill cries and dove for the grizzly's face, using his talons to slash at its eyes. The bear bellowed in rage, swiped at the hawk with sharp claws, and stumbled on the precarious terrain as it did so. Still, Cetan persisted with swoops around the animal's massive head and cleverly eluded those lethal paws. Chumani fired a third and last arrow into the bear's chest, increasing its pain and rage. As the creature ignored the hawk and came toward her, she tried to scramble backward up the slope. She only covered a short distance when she lost her footing, her rear hit the ground, and she began to slide toward her fierce attacker's gaping mouth and huge white teeth. Help us, Great Spirit, she prayed silently, so we may live to honor the sacred vision quest!
As the grizzly rose on its hind legs, lifted his arms skyward, tossed back its head, and roared as loud as the thunder, a resplendent lightning bolt struck it full force in its heart. The blow was so powerful that it knocked the bear backward and sent it toppling to the canyon floor. Chumani stared at the scene in amazement; it was as if the Great Spirit had slain his forest creatu
re to save their lives. She saw Cetan alight on the fallen beast's chest as if to check it for signs of life. As if finding none, the hawk flew to a spruce and perched on a large limb while Chumani made her wobbly descent to the massive heap of deep brown fur.
Wind Dancer joined her, a bow with a nocked arrow in one hand and still rubbing his eyes with the other. He nudged the grizzly with his foot and knew it was dead. His heart still pounded within his chest from the fear Chumani would be killed or mauled. He had been desperate to rescue her and had reacted as fast as his disabled condition would allow. He had never felt so helpless in the face of such great peril, and he would have been to blame for her death or injury after driving her from the safety of their camp. His watering and scratchy eyes went to his wife to make certain she was not injured.
He smiled when she looked at him and he said, "Wakantanka did not wish us to join Him on this sun. He asked Wakinyan to hurl a lightning lance into the forest warrior's heart to halt his attack. You challenged a mighty force with great skill and courage, mitawin, as did Cetan. I wish my eyes had been clear so I could better witness such a great show of prowess."
Chumani hoped his pride was not bruised by her taking charge of the perilous situation and by the vulnerability his temporary blindness had caused. "Wakantanka works in mysterious ways, so I do not know why He chose me and Cetan to fight this battle for us," she said gently. "Perhaps it was to show you a way to use that dirt trick when we challenge the Crow in the coming suns."
Wind Dancer was grateful for her words of support. "That is true. You risked your life to save me, and I thank you."
"Just as you would have endangered yours for me, as you did when you challenged two Bird warriors in the Brave Heart forest, and I thank you for saving me that sun. If you had not come when you did, I would have been slain or captured and they would have ... done great harm to me. The storm is upon us," she remarked as wind yanked at her hair and garments, along with the greenery around them. As the lightning and thunder increased in frequency, she added, "Soon night will blanket the land. I will take your horse into the cave while you pray for the bear's spirit and sacrifice. If your eyes still suffer, I will return to help guide you there."
Lakota Winds (Zebra Historical Romance) Page 13