Lakota Honor (21 page)

She pushed herself up onto her elbows, ignoring the pain in her head and stared at four Indian boys. They stood on either side of two wagons sorting rocks from their buckets. Another boy carrying a bucket, walked out of a hole on the mountain. She watched, horrified, while he struggled to get it to the wagons.

There were no men here. An uneasy feeling crept over her, and she scanned the area again. All she saw working were boys, and all of them native. She looked up at the hill. Two man-sized holes were shored with wood to allow the boys to walk through, but it was the tiny tunnels inside the mountain that concerned her. She wondered how many boys were forced to go inside and crawl around the dark, dank caves.

She shuddered.
The poor darlings.

She remembered what Joe had said. Elwood put him in a cave when he was bad. These were children. How could Elwood treat them like this?

A young boy, no more than seven, came running down the mountain. His clothes were ripped and soiled. He was screaming, and she saw the tears run down his hollow cheeks. She sucked in a breath as a man burst from a wooden structure a few feet from the small hole in the mountain and chased after him. It wasn't long before he had the boy by the neck and raised his hand to the child. Nora squeezed her eyes closed.

The others stopped their work, and Nora noticed their legs were tied together. These boys were slaves—prisoners. Elwood treated them like he did his dog. Thank goodness she'd healed Pal. She hoped he was still okay.

She squinted to get a better look at the boys. Slash marks covered the skin on their arms. Her eyes misted, and she pushed her head into the horse's side to stop the tears.

When she was pulled from the horse a piercing pain shot up her leg and throbbed in her ankle. She wobbled, and stood without putting any pressure on the sore limb. She steadied herself by reaching out to grab hold of the horse beside her. The sun shone bright, and she held her other hand up to block the powerful rays.

"Nora, darling," Elwood called as he walked down the verandah of a massive house.

So this is where all the money went.
The house was built with logs and boasted large wood poles holding up a covered porch. Four long windows stared back at her from the front. The home was beautiful, but left an awful taste in her mouth when she considered how he treated the young boys. She peered around him for Joe. Where was he? She hadn't seen the boy at all and prayed he was all right.

"I'm glad to see you're unharmed after the horrible incident that happened in town." He kissed her cheek.

She yanked her face away.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"Why I want to marry you, of course."

"I've told you before. I will not marry you."

"Yes, but there is nowhere for you to go."

"I will be fine. Now please untie my hands."

She thrust her arms out in front of him.

"All in good time."

He smiled, and she wanted to slap him.

"I am not staying here and I will not marry you."

"There's no one else to protect you."

"Where is Joe?"

She heard Levi and Red snicker behind her, and her throat grew thick.
God, please let Joe be okay.

"The boy is no concern of yours."

"What have you done with him?"

"Don't trouble yourself with thoughts of Joe."

"Where is he? I want to see him." Nora struggled against Levi's hold and yelled, "Joe, Joe."

Elwood backhanded her. "You will see Joe when I say so."

She tasted blood, but she wouldn't succumb to Elwood's demands. "You bastard. You abuse young boys to work at your mine."

He raised his hands and clapped three times.

"Well done. I knew you weren't as stupid as your drunken father."

She stiffened. Pa didn't deserve his insults. She lunged forward, but Levi had a hold of her arms and jerked her back.

"Why are you doing this? Those are children."

"Yes, yes they are, and they serve a purpose at my mine."

"What purpose is that?"

"Nora, you are so naive. Do you know how much money it would cost me to hire men? I'd have never gotten to be as wealthy as I am now if I'd had men working for me."

"You treat them like slaves. You're a snake." She tried to yank her wrists free, wanting to scratch his eyes out.

"Precisely, my dear, and I intend to keep doing so."

"You have no idea what you've done. Otakatay will come looking for me." She didn't think he would, he wanted to get rid of her, but she needed to scare Elwood.

"Is this the renegade who rescued you from hanging?"

"Yes, and he'll gut you like the pig you are for taking me, too."
He is probably well on his way and glad I am gone.

Elwood's face changed from handsome to ugly and rigid. He stepped toward her, yanking her braid so her neck craned to the side. "This renegade, did he have you?"

She wanted nothing more than to be that close to Otakatay, but he'd pushed her aside. "Yes," she lied.

"You little bitch."

Elwood's eyes narrowed and his bottom lip curled. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

Tears filled her eyes and her cheek ached, but she refused to show any hint of defeat.
I will not cower.
Blood trickled down her chin, and she left it there meeting his crazed eyes instead.

"You gave yourself to a savage, a lowlife, but would not come to me?" he bellowed.

"I am not attracted to someone who beats children."

He brought his mouth down upon hers in a rough kiss.

She twisted away from him, but couldn't go far with Levi holding her.

"I'd never lay with you."

"Oh, Nora, you will. But first I must use you to lure in your dear Indian."

He took hold of her tied wrists and tugged her toward the center of the mine.

Fear slammed into her, knocking the air from her lungs. She hunched over, muscles cramped and her legs shook. Elwood had lost all sense, and he no longer resembled the well dressed man she knew. He gave her a chilling glare as his lips moved but nothing came out.

"He will come for me, and he will kill you," she lied again. "Otakatay will make you pay for what you've done."

"He will come, but he will die."

She dug her heels into the ground and almost came undone from the sharp stabs in her ankle and the bottoms of her feet. She knew without looking at them, they were cut and bleeding. Why did she take her boots off? She tried to jerk her wrists from him.

"He's a bounty hunter. There will be nowhere you can hide that he can't find you."

Elwood stopped and whirled toward her.

"Do you love him?"

She glared at him and remained silent.

"Do you love him?" he screamed, shaking her arms.

"Yes."

"And he loves you?"

Oh, she wished he did.
She tipped her chin.

"Perfect."

He yanked on her wrists again and she hobbled, trying not to put weight on her injured ankle. They came to a thick pole anchored into the ground in the center of the mine. Blood smeared the wood, and long slash marks covered the entire surface.

He whipped the boys here.

Elwood untied her arms, wound them around the pole and tied them back together.

She looked up. The pole was so tall there was no way she'd be able to get loose. Defeat swelled in her stomach, and she tried to ease the heaviness with slow breaths.

"Now we wait for your beloved to come," Elwood whispered close in her ear. "You see, dear Nora, I know your Indian well, and I have a score to settle with him."

The scars on his back, the deformed skin on his arms and chest, oh dear God, he'd been here.
Otakatay had been here.

"He doesn't love me. I lied. He will not come for me. He used me. He hates me." She spoke the truth, and the words hurt worse than any slap Elwood could give her.

"I think he will."

He motioned for Levi, and the man handed Elwood a blue strip of cloth. He jammed it into her mouth and tied it tight behind her head.

Nora screamed into the cloth.

"I can't have you giving my plan away. Levi, you watch her." He kissed her forehead before he left.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Otakatay stood in the meadow and stared down at Nora's boots. When he arrived back at the cave and discovered she was gone, he went searching for her. He traced her tracks to the clearing by the lake, when he saw four other footprints. Unease crept up his neck and squeezed as he assessed the rest of the area.

He didn't like the way the prints pushed into the ground. The front of the foot was deeper than the back, as if they anticipated she would run and they'd have to chase her. The size of both prints told him they belonged to men.

He studied the area some more and spotted the broken branches on the lilacs. He went to investigate and noticed more hanging twigs. She'd come through here. He followed her trail back into the forest, to an uprooted tree stump. Dirt was strewn around, and a petite hand print was embedded into the ground.
Nora.

Four drops of blood lay next to it. She tried to fight them off, but she was no match for their size. She was in trouble, and he needed to find her. Wild rage trampled over him like a herd of mustangs.

The sun dipped behind a cloud and cast shadows from the trees onto the forest floor as he led Wakina up the hill. The trail they left wasn't hard to follow, and he got the impression they'd done it on purpose. He ground his teeth together. His fingers curled around the reins and squeezed. He'd enjoy killing the bastards.

As the trail veered north and climbed up the mountain, recognition flowed over him like lava. He touched the feather in his hair.
I promise.
He examined the familiar cliffs and hills. Dread, thick and moist, covered his skin. He'd been waiting for this day and braced himself for the battle to come.

He clicked his tongue, and Wakina continued to climb the trail.

He didn't know how Nora knew the mine owner, or if the bastard had seen them together and was acting on revenge, but he'd find a way to get her back, even if it meant trading his life for hers. His body hummed as he imagined the impact of what the night would hold.

Vengeance, untamed and barbaric raced through his veins. He yearned to release the rage, the hate. He was thirsty for tainted black blood, and only one person could quench that need. Elwood Calhoun, the rotten son of a bitch. He was next to the devil when it came to wickedness, and Otakatay was determined to send him straight to hell.

He mourned every day for those he'd left behind. They were boys—sold by their own for a petty bottle of whiskey, or a few coins. Shunned, the boys were tossed aside, never loved or cared for. Anger stirred in his stomach, and he bit back the curses he wanted to let fly.

Visions fogged his mind, and he tried to blink them away. But as he drew closer to the mine his senses tuned in, and he couldn't stop the images as they invaded his soul. His nostrils flared, and he smelled the rancid beef that had been slapped on the ground in front of him. The pain from not eating for days forced him to put the green meat into his mouth. His belly lurched. He heard the trickle of water running down the rocks, and the wretched moans of the others starving or being beaten. He wished he could go and help them.

He remembered the weight of their dead bodies as he carried the little ones, the weak ones and the ones his age to the edge of the cliff. He felt the tears fall from his eyes when he begged Elwood Calhoun to spare Little Eagle, to take him instead. His ears rang with the snap of the leather whip, the laughter that followed and the pain that was yet to come. He heard it all, felt it all, and his insides burned with anger—with retaliation.

Tonight he'd finish what he'd waited so long to accomplish. He'd kill Elwood Calhoun. He'd release the boys and bring them home. He ran his hand down Wakina's long mane. He'd save Nora. Chances were he wouldn't make it out alive, but he promised them, and damn it now was the time for him to own up to it.

Nora had been sitting on the ground for half the day, and she was sure her face was bright red from the hot sun beating down upon her. Sweat beaded in between her breasts, and the fly-away strands from her hair clung to her forehead and cheeks.

Her nose itched, and she tried to nestle her chin into her shoulder and relieve the irritating tickle, but all she did was cause a jolt of pain to shoot up her neck. The bandana in her mouth tasted of sweat and pig, and she'd tried several times to push it out with her tongue. The stench-filled cloth was loosening, but it was still too tight.

She glared at Levi. He tipped his chair back onto two legs, slumped against the rickety fence. He was snoring loud enough to wake the dead. How he could stand this heat, she didn't know, but if she didn't get some water quick she was going to burst into flames.

She cleared her throat and was about to call out to him when another idea came to mind. She slid down onto her back and stretched, pulling at the rope around her wrists, she kicked the chair out from underneath him. The brute fell to the ground with a startled curse and rolled two times before he stopped.

She tried to hide her smile, but changed her mind and grinned at him through the bandanna. Even though it wasn't much, she tipped her chin and gave him a cool stare.

"You little wench," he spat. Dust flew from both his hands as he scrambled to his feet and charged straight at her.

She pulled herself back into a seated position as he pounced on top of her. Large hands wrapped around her throat, crushing her windpipe. She kicked her feet but wasn't strong enough to heave him off her. Black dots danced in front of her as she tried not to pass out. A gunshot split the hot afternoon air. The hands left her throat, and she sucked in fresh air.

"Levi, you touch her again and I'll put lead in your ass," Elwood said as he sauntered over.

The man glared at her, and she couldn't help but shiver. His empty, wooden eyes told her he wouldn't think twice about killing her. She gave him a nasty look, not willing to show defeat.

Elwood knelt beside her and removed the bandana. "Now, Nora, if you're a good girl, I will let you live after all of this."

"Go to hell," she hissed.

He laughed. "Ahh, you will be a fun one in bed." He traced his finger down her cheek. "And soon I will find out."

She jerked her face away and struggled against the pole, trying to loosen the ropes tied around her wrists. "I need some water."

Elwood motioned to Levi, and he dunked a tin cup into the bucket.

Nora's mouth watered.

Levi stood over her, filled his mouth with the water, smirked and spat it all over her.

She tucked her chin into her chest and prayed for the strength to go up against Elwood and his men.

"Thank you," she said curtly and turned toward Elwood. "You're wasting your time. Otakatay won't come. He doesn't care about me."

Elwood observed the hills and forest surrounding the mine. "He'll come, and I'll be waiting." He left her and headed toward the boys separating the rocks into carts.

She watched as he picked up a few, his face contorted with anger, spit flew from his mouth while he yelled at them to work faster. The boys never lifted their heads to make eye contact with him, and she noticed they flinched with each movement he made. She wished she could help them. Her hands heated, wanting to mend the open cuts she'd seen on their arms and legs. The warmth in her palms intensified, and she curled her fingers into a fist to stop the trembling.

Otakatay had lived here. He'd been Elwood's slave. It all made perfect sense now. She thought of Pal, how he was like a wild beast, attacking just for the taste of blood. Otakatay was no different. He killed for money, for a reason she didn't know, or was too oblivious to see.

There had to be an explanation. A fresh start maybe? She shook her head. That didn't seem to fit either. He could start over anytime, but he chose to hunt women like her. Doctor Spencer must've paid a handsome reward for the healers because it was the money that drove him to kill the women in the first place. If he killed for satisfaction, she'd be dead by now. But why did he need all that money? And why hadn't he come back to kill Elwood?

She surveyed the hills. There were five guards and Elwood. No one else was here. Otakatay could kill them all, and Elwood wouldn't know what hit him. So why hadn't he done it? Why was he hell-bent on travelling the continent searching for healers when the man who caused him such anguish was a few miles up the mountain from Willow Creek?

A loud slap permeated the air, and Nora snapped her head around to see where it had come from. A guard hovered above one of the boys at the rock station. The boy stooped over and clutched his cheek. She couldn't see his face for the long black hair hiding his features, so she twisted around to get a better look.

The boy glanced up, his hair falling to the side, and his eyes locked with hers. The truth unravelled like a ball of yarn. Chest tight, she bit her lower lip and held back the sob wanting to burst from her mouth. The money was for these boys—to help them.

Otakatay had tried to make her believe he was a monster, when all he ever wanted was to rescue these kids. She couldn't control the misery as it filled her eyes. How had she been so blind?

Hours had passed, and she was glad to see the sun settle in behind the mountains. Pain sliced through her shoulders, and she rotated them to ease the stiff joints. A flicker of color caught her eye, and she counted fifteen boys as they came out of the hole in the mountain.

Their ankles were chained together, and the clanking of metal links echoed toward her. Two men as dirty and unkempt as the boys walked alongside them. They were led to a building with missing planks and half a roof twenty yards from where she was tied. One by one the boys filed inside, while the men stood outside the doors.

As she scanned the surroundings for more children, she spotted another hole, no bigger than three feet high by two feet wide, in the side of the mountain. A portly guard sat outside of it. It wasn't long before more boys piled out of there, too. Some carried buckets, while the others carried a hammer and stake.

From what she could see, these boys were younger than the first ones, no older than six or seven. She inhaled, and her chest ached. Oh, dear God she wanted to help them. She jerked her arms, trying to get free. The rope bit into her flesh tearing the skin from her wrists.

The younger boys stared at her as they were ushered toward the same building as the others. Hope flashed in their eyes for a mere second before they realized she was tied up, a hostage like them. She couldn't bear to look into their eyes. No liveliness or youthful mischief swirled within the dark depths. All that stared back at her were empty, sad, desolate eyes of children forgotten. Boys that were tossed aside and not a second thought to anyone.

Her vision blurred, and she looked away, unable to see the torn and ratty clothes hanging from their bony, food deprived bodies. She couldn't gaze upon their broken and cut skin, the scars from so many beatings. And God help her, she couldn't see the despair clouding their eyes when they stared at her, knowing she couldn't do a damn thing to help them.

Hot rage bubbled and spit from her eyes as she glared at Elwood. Never in her nineteen years had she wanted to harm someone as much as she wanted to punish Elwood Calhoun for what he was doing to these boys.

She thought of Willow Creek. The townspeople assumed he was a rich miner with a simple son. They pitied him, gave him the best suite at the hotel, ordered in the finest whiskey while he was there. She was so disgusted she wanted to scream. They had no idea what he was doing up here on the mountain. How for years he'd tortured and beaten these young boys for his coal.

If she got out of here alive, she'd make sure those people knew what they'd harbored all these years. She'd make them feel the shame, helplessness and guilt she felt as this very moment.

There was a commotion by the door to the bunkhouse. She watched horrified as a little boy, no more than six came loose from his chains and ran toward her. She struggled with the rope around her wrists, wanting to reach out to him.

Tears soaked his dirty cheeks, and he yelled something in another language. Skinny arms wrapped around her neck as he burrowed himself within the curve of her hip and chest. Loud sorrowful sobs shook his little body, and she wished she could hold him in her arms. Her tears fell onto his knotty, unwashed hair.

"Shush, baby, it's okay," she crooned, rocking him from side to side as best she could. Nora's chest ached, and she didn't think she'd ever breathe the same again. The agonizing cries from the youngster tore at her soul, and she vowed to help him and the others. She'd find a way to rescue them.

The stocky guard yanked the boy from her chest and smiled down at her showing four rotten teeth. A high pitched scream came from the youngster as his arms and feet kicked the air.

"Leave him be," she yelled.

The man ignored her, walked past Elwood and threw the boy inside the building. He shut the door behind him.

"You bastard." She squirmed against the pole. "How can you do this to these children, they're innocent."

"I own them. Bought them fair and square," Elwood said nonchalantly.

"They're babies, missing their mothers."

He spun sadistic flat eyes toward her. "Some of their mothers sold them. So before you go and get all high and mighty, you may remember that I am doing these brats a favor. Half of them would be dead by now if it wasn't for me."