Never Surrender

by Deanna Jewel

  Taima stared after his father. Why did the man insist on pricking his curiosity, knowing it would make him reflect on the thoughts he wished buried? He would banish Kate from his mind altogether.

  Only the welfare of his people mattered at the moment. Meat needed to be replenished. He would take Ahanu and one other brave on a hunting trip. The remaining four braves should be able to watch over the group in his absence.

  As he stood near the horses, Taima shaded his eyes from the setting sun and looked toward the lean-tos facing east. Kate sat at Ahanu’s lean-to. The children watched her, as did some of the other women, though they pretended to do otherwise.

  Two women gathered water for the evening meal at the shallow Wind River where it meandered beside their encampment. The aroma of roasting meat invitingly mixed with the breeze.

  Taima glanced back at Kate.

  Aggravated that he’d even bothered to search her out, Taima turned and strode for the cover of trees farther down the river where he could bathe in privacy. He tossed his vest onto a rock along with his breechcloth and leggings. Cold, rushing mountain water met his entrance into the river, immediately divesting him of Kate’s image. Taima sharply inhaled as he knelt on the rocky bottom in the now waist-deep water, then arched his back and tipped his face heavenward. The river tugged at his hair as it touched the water; the sun warmed his flesh.

  Disgusted, he touched his side; his ribs still ached where Kate had elbowed him last night. The bruises he received in battle could easily be compared to what she put him through. Jealous braves didn’t fight him with as much tenacity. And for what? Taima knew he’d be better off getting rid of her, out of his sight, out of his mind, for good.

  He closed his eyes, needing this quiet time. He reveled at the orange colors the sun created behind his eyelids. Sweet sagebrush grew nearby. An eagle cawed overhead. The cold, rushing water swept away his worries.

  Slowly, while his eyes remained closed, Taima cupped water over each arm, then his chest. A swift intake of breath sent a sharp pain through his bruised ribs, but nonetheless, he enjoyed the path each trickling rivulet of water took on its way down his body.

  Gravel crunched behind him, breaking through his serenity. Dried grass rustled. His muscles bunched, preparing for attack.

  Taima spun around to view his intruder, ready to kill though his knife lay on shore.

  “Does she make you feel the need to cool yourself in icy waters?” Ahanu crouched on the shoreline. “And has she captivated your thoughts so much that you don’t even hear danger approach, my friend? I could have been a Blackfoot warrior for all you knew.”

  Taima ignored the questions and submerged his face in the water. His hair swirled to touch his cheeks. Like an explosion, Taima sat up and raked his fingers through his long hair. Then he grabbed a handful of sand and began to scrub, still ignoring Ahanu and his accusations.

  “You might be able to put off my questions by closing your eyes, but I fear it’s not so easily done where she is concerned. Does her image invade your sleep, also?”

  The cold water did little to wash away the anger now coiling within Taima, evoked by a mischievous intruder intent on provoking him. He bowed his head, then opened his eyes, focusing on the stones in the riverbed. A school of minnows swan past his legs.

  Slowly, he turned his head and through narrowed eyes, met Ahanu’s dark gaze. “One day soon, I may have to challenge you should you decide to make this your business.”

  Ahanu picked a dark-yellow buttercup from its place on the stream’s edge and held it to his nose. “You made it my business the day you captured her in the raid. My question is...what do you intend to do with her? She’s caused you nothing but trouble.”

  “How the hell should I know?” Taima erupted from the water and strode naked toward the rock where he’d left his clothes with his knife. Why couldn’t they just leave him be? He dressed, then walked back to Ahanu as he tied the breechcloth about his hips.

  Ahanu leaned back on his elbows, his body stretched out beneath the sun. The ever-present smirk still cut across Ahanu’s face, and to avoid it, Taima turned his attention to the hunting knife at his side.

  “I want you and Kaga to join me on a hunt,” Taima said. “The others can look after the women. The white woman can stay with Aiyana to help with the children and the chores.”

  “Aiyana may kill her before we return.”

  Taima snapped his head up to see if his friend actually meant what he’d said, or whether it was a poor attempt at mislaid humor.

  “I thought that might get your attention.”

  His breath caught in his throat. “Does Aiyana hate her, too?”

  “Probably about as much as you do. It was not only your wife, but her sister those trappers killed three years ago.” Ahanu stretched his arms overhead, swung them forward, and propelled himself to his feet. “Maybe Kate can’t read you, but I can, though you try hard not to show it. She, on the other hand, doesn’t hide the fact that she can’t stand you.” Ahanu chuckled. “Are you sure she won’t escape while we’re hunting?”

  “Positive.” Taima purposely strode ahead of his friend, dodging the sagebrush.

  In two long strides, Ahanu walked at his side. “Did you threaten to torture her if she attempts to escape again?”

  Taima looked at Ahanu. “Just trust me.”

  Ahanu chuckled again and shook his head. “You’re asking for trouble, my friend.”

  “Just be sure she stays with Aiyana...and I want her alive when we return. I’ll provide her with warm hides for sleeping and extra food.”

  Ahanu’s insinuation that he might have personal feelings for Kate was ridiculous. Taima kept her only for the future possibilities of trade; if he could stand her presence for that long. The trouble she caused was beginning to affect all of his people.

  “The hunt will allow us to gather extra meat before our journey to the Hot springs when we make our offerings to the spirit gods,” Ahanu stated.

  “Kate will also travel there with us. The women could use the extra help,” Taima added, even though he knew her presence would cause problems.

  “You know outsiders aren’t allowed near the springs. Why do you wish to upset the gods?”

  “There are things I need to find answers to.” Taima scratched his chest. “Today Sakima told me of visions he’s had about the white woman. He believes she was sent here for a reason.”

  He glanced toward Ahanu’s lean-to as they walked. “Why is everyone standing around Aiyana?”

  “Likely because your prisoner is with her.” Ahanu’s snide tone grated on Taima’s ear.

  Taima met the anxious gazes of those standing at the back of the crowd. When those gathered stepped aside so he and Ahanu could approach, Taima stopped abruptly.

  There, before everyone, Kate sat wide-eyed, still tied. The blood had drained from her face, making her look like a ghost. Aiyana held a knife to her throat as she gripped the front of Kate’s doeskin dress, the taut material cutting into her skin.

  Even from where he stood, Taima could see a faint trickle of blood where the knife’s point had penetrated Kate’s neck. Aiyana’s slender fingers were white from her grip on the bone-handled blade.

  “Aiyana!” Ahanu roared.

  Without turning away from Kate, Aiyana replied in English. “She is my prisoner. Taima left her with me. Witashnah would be alive today if it were not for her people. She must pay with her life as my sister did.”

  Taima watched yet couldn’t move. Kate’s raised chin quivered; her eyes never left Aiyana’s. A lifetime of anger and hatred spread over Aiyana’s delicate features, her eyes relaying her deadly message. She reminded Taima of a mountain lion, poised over its prey, showing white teeth as she prepared for the kill.

  “Aiyana...give me the knife,” Ahanu demanded.

  “Come closer and I will sink this blade without a second thought.”

  Taima watched as Ahanu circled behind his wife without her knowledge, so intent
was she on her victim. Then Ahanu’s fingers covered Aiyana’s hand and his other arm encircled her waist. He gently pulled her away, and relief spread over Kate’s face.

  Taima stepped toward Kate, and Aiyana sprang from Ahanu’s grasp to point her knife into Taima’s chest. He knew her pain; he also missed his wife. Should he have allowed Aiyana to do what he couldn’t bring himself to?

  “She must die, Taima! She must pay!” Aiyana screamed at him in English, her eyes wide with burning rage.

  “Her death will not bring my wife back, Aiyana. I suffer the same loss...as does my son.”

  She pressed the blade more firmly against his chest, though he knew she would do him no harm. Pain and loss were easily read in her sorrow-filled eyes. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

  Aiyana glared at Kate. “Then she must replace Witashnah. She must take over my sister’s role as wife and mother to you and Kelee.”

  Taima met Ahanu’s surprised gaze. Her statement had shocked them both.

  “She doesn’t realize what she says, Taima. She misses Witashnah.” Ahanu peeled the knife from Aiyana’s fingers, embraced her, and she cried onto his chest.

  “Why did she have to die, Ahanu? Why?” He caressed her hair as he looked at Taima and Kate.

  For Taima, the too-familiar heartache of losing his wife returned. Aiyana might as well have stabbed him; the pain would be no greater. He glanced at the smear of Kate’s blood on his chest left by the blade, then looked at Kate. Strands of dark, wind-blown hair caressed her pale face and neck. Tears slipped down her cheeks, her green eyes glistened with fear--something he’d yet to see from her.

  Aiyana’s statement echoed through his mind: She must take over Witashnah’s role as your wife! How could he even consider it? Yet...found he did. But he’d be damned before he let anyone know it. Taima lowered his gaze to Kate’s feet. Her moccasins had been removed and a strip of rawhide bound her bare ankles.

  “Father...will I have a new mother?” his son asked, tugging on the fringe of his buckskins.

  The child’s tender, innocent voice threatened to soften Taima’s hardened heart. He knelt on one knee before his son, Kelee’s friends behind him. Taima gently placed his hands on Kelee’s upper arms. “I’m afraid not, my son.”

  “But she’s pretty, like grandma was.”

  Taima cursed beneath his breath. Why had his mother thought it necessary to teach his son English? If not, Kelee wouldn’t have understood any of this.

  “I loved your mother very much. It will be a long time before I feel that way again.”

  Kelee’s small hand caressed Taima’s cheek. “But one day you will, Father.”

  Smiling, Taima patted Kelee’s shoulder. “Perhaps one day I will. Now go play.”

  Kelee obeyed, running off with his friends.

  Taima rose and looked at the fear in the faces of his people. They didn’t know English so had no idea what had transpired. In Shoshone, he said, “Go back to your fires. All is well.”

  Obediently, they dispersed. He returned his gaze to the remaining three. Aiyana still whimpered in Ahanu’s arms, and surprisingly, Kate sat silent, her anxiety expressed in her eyes and face.

  Taima strode toward Kate, never once breaking eye contact with her. He was unsure if he was angry that she still lived, or angry at Aiyana for not completing her deed. But truth be told, he knew he couldn’t bear to lose Kate even if she did hate him.

  He stood before her. “I will deal with you now.” He bent over, picked Kate up, and tossed her tied body over his shoulder. Glancing at Ahanu, he asked, “You will keep Kelee tonight?”

  Ahanu nodded, and Taima strode toward his lean-to some distance from the others, balancing Kate’s slender body.

  Chapter Six

  Kate refused to show her fear by struggling against Taima. The blood rushed to her head while she lay over his shoulder, but she remained motionless as he strode toward his lean-to. Now, alone with him, anything could happen. Her mind conjured up the worst, and she prayed he wouldn’t carry through with his earlier threat to bare her flesh for his pleasure.

  Taima leaned forward and suddenly they were immersed in darkness behind a buffalo hide covering the front of his lean-to. The strong smell of leather and pine penetrated the interior of his quarters. To her amazement, he carefully set her down on the ground. She stretched her stiff legs out and arched her back. Then warm fingers slid down her calves to her ankles and fumbled with the leather bond. Within seconds, her ankles were freed.

  Silence.

  She waited.

  Why was Taima being so still? If he intended to kill her, she wished he’d just get it over with. She flexed her feet to increase the circulation cut off by the leather straps. Her stomach knotted with anxiety, and her muscles ached from the tension of what Aiyana had put her through.

  Worried, Kate sat in silence while her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her new prison; dampness from her tears still clung to her lashes as she tried to see the interior. Layers of pine branches, coupled with thick tree limbs, formed the low roof and sides. With her hands tied behind her, Kate rubbed her fingers into the thick pelt of buffalo hides, which made her own soft mattress come to mind.

  If she could only get back to her own bed...and her own time.

  Kate bit her lower lip. Oh God, why was she here in the first place? Her frustration mounted. Memories filtered through her mind of friends at home. Could she possibly have traveled back in time?

  Nonsense, that could never happen.

  Her head throbbed from the memories, from lack of food and sleep. She couldn’t think about anything until she filled her stomach, or at least got some rest. Last night wasn’t the best night she’d ever had.

  Dim light seeped in where the hides joined together and between the branches overhead, giving her a glimpse of Taima as he sat before her. Did he plan to leave her tied and just sit in silence?

  Fine. She could wait as long as he could.

  Then Taima’s arm slowly rose in her direction. Warm fingers gently caressed her cheek and she flinched at the contact.

  “You should fear me, woman.”

  Kate sat silent, refusing to beg for his mercy. What did a savage know about showing kindness to an enemy?

  “You have nothing to say for a change? This afternoon, words spilled freely from your tongue.” He paused, obviously waiting for her to respond. “Am I to believe you have learned a lesson, or is this perhaps a trick on your part, waiting for the right moment to try something else?”

  “Is that what you hope? So you can strip me naked, march me in front of your people, and use me like you do other women?”

  His silence made her realize she had gone too far yet again. Would she never learn?

  His voice rang stern when he finally spoke. “Know there were no other women besides my wife...and there hasn’t been since.”

  A savage who roamed the countryside abducting women wanted her to believe he doesn’t ravage them? Kate found that idea hard to swallow. Frustration confused her thinking. She was too tired for this. “Then what do you want with me?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as her throat tightened. Another tear slipped from her eye. “Why do you keep me here?”

  More silence.

  Taima’s deep voice finally penetrated the quiet air, sounding calm this time. “Where would you go? None of your people live in these mountains. Other Indians would only capture you. The Crow and Blackfoot aren’t as friendly to their captives as the Shoshone.”

  Kate’s heart sank and she lowered her gaze. “What do you care?”

  “I’m not so cold-hearted as to send you into the wilderness to fend for yourself. I may not like the white man, or you, but I would not kill in cold blood.”

  She snapped her gaze back to Taima, suddenly wishing her hands were free. “Yet you were willing to allow Aiyana freedom with her blade. My neck still bleeds!”

  “Aiyana would not have killed you.”

  The beating of her heart kept pac
e with her rising anger. “I saw the hate in her eyes. It matches yours whenever you look at me; the same with all your people.”

  “My people will not harm you.”

  Her patience had worn thin after her episode with Aiyana. “Just leave me be. I need to sleep. And where can I go like this?” She stared at him a long moment before he answered.

  “I can’t leave you by yourself. But should you wish, you could stay with Aiyana if you feel safer there,” Taima said.

  A beam of light cut across his face, enough that Kate saw the curve of his lips and a quick glance in her direction before he lowered his lashes.

  “Like I’d be safe anywhere here.”

  “I could allow you an opportunity to escape,” he said sarcastically.

  As though a bucket of cold water had been tossed at her, Kate’s breath caught in her throat. His previous promise to strip her naked should she try another escape reverberated through her mind. Did he actually think to rape her or was he asking her permission?

  “You bastard!” She wished she weren’t tied. He’d not taunt her like this then.

  “Your temper will get you in trouble just as easily.”

  “Am I to be yours for the taking?”

  “I don’t take my women, I’ve already told you that!”

  Kate saw Taima’s shadow rise, and light flooded the area as he lifted the hide at the entrance, securing it open. The aroma of food drifted about the fresh air. Taima stepped from her view then muffled voices sounded just outside the lean-to.

  When Taima reappeared in the doorway, Ahanu stood behind him with two plates of food. Taima knelt at her back and she glanced at Ahanu. She lowered her lashes as Taima untied her, also releasing her hands. She flexed her fingers and blood immediately flowed into them. Kate rubbed her stiff hands and the deep indentations left on her wrists from the ropes.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice just above a whisper.

  “You have Ahanu to thank, not me. I would have left you tied had he not asked that you be released.” He took an obsidian plate from Ahanu and handed it to her, then took his own.