Lakota Honor (22 page)

"But why them, they're so tiny and—

"Exactly! I can blast smaller holes, and these heathens can crawl in them. Less dynamite means more money."

"Yes, but men are a lot stronger than children."

He shrugged. "Maybe, but I'd have to pay them."

"So all of this is for the money. You're killing children for money?"

"They are Indians, and not worth shit. I'd save an outlaw before I'd help one of these lowlifes."

"Why do you hate them? What have they done to you?"

"They're thieves," he yelled. "Heartless killers who say they live off the land and then rape and murder our people." His arms flung out, and he glowered at the shack. "When I was twelve, those bastards slaughtered every man and woman on the wagon train we were on. They took my sister, and if we hadn't run, my brother and I would've died also."

Nora stared into eyes that bore hate of the vilest kind.

"Those dirty skinned Injuns," he pointed at the shack, "will pay for that day."

Elwood was a man who begrudged a whole race because of something a few had done.

"They are only boys. They have done nothing to you."

"Those boys will grow to be men, and kill our people. I plan to rid the territory of the red man, one filthy brat at a time."

Nora thought back to the boys she saw earlier. None of them looked older than fourteen. "What do you do when they get older?"

"Why kill them, of course."

"You're insane," she screamed, "I cannot wait for the day when you pay for all you've done."

He eyed her for a long while before he burst out laughing.

"My men are well trained. No one will touch me, not even your dirty Indian."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Otakatay is a killer, a hunter and he will show you no mercy."

"He won't make it past the shack." Elwood pointed to the building the boys were in.

Nora peered around him, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw three guards laying dynamite around the structure.

"You're going to kill those boys?"

"If your savage tries to release them, I will light the fuse."

"They are just children. Please, you can't do that. Please."

He shrugged. "I will find more on the reservations to replace them."

"I'll do whatever you want." She was on her knees. "I'll marry you, lay with you. Please, please take me instead."

"Now you beg for me to have you." Fire shot from his eyes. "You'd do it all to save them?"

"Anything. I will do anything. Please, don't hurt those boys."

"You're pathetic." He slapped her hard across the face. "Your skin is white. Yet you talk as if those brats are yours." He bent down until his face was almost touching hers and pinched her cheeks together. "I will have you no matter what. And then I will kill you too."

She didn't know what else to say. She yanked her face from his grip and wrestled with the ropes around her wrists. She needed to get free to save them, to save Otakatay.

Elwood pulled the bandana back over her mouth. He kissed her on the forehead and laughed all the way to the house.

She screamed through the cloth lodged between her teeth and kicked her legs out. How was she going to warn Otakatay? How was she going to rescue the boys? She lay limp against the pole, helpless. Bile crawled up her throat, and she swallowed past the angst—the utter disappointment of not being able to do something. She stared through tear-filled eyes at the shack.

God help us all.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Otakatay stood among the corpses and skeletons. He'd gone to the open gravesite to pay his respects to those who hadn't survived long enough to see him return. He'd stood on the cliff high above the bodies, but needing to be closer, he climbed down the mountain.

There he saw Yellow Knee. He was a fresh body among the dead, and Otakatay ignored the sob lingering in his throat. The boy had been eight when he'd escaped and promised to return. Now, he'd never know freedom. He'd never breathe fresh air that wasn't tainted with rotten meat, vile bodies, and coal. He'd never taste the glory of independence. Otakatay had been too late for the young man. He'd failed him.

The pressure of what he'd done sank onto his shoulders, and he fell to his knees. The bow tied to his back cut into his skin, and he left it there. He hung his head. Remorse stirred in his gut, raw and spoiled. Guilt pressed into his back, curving it, as he moaned from deep within his soul.

Anguish clouded his vision, and he couldn't contain the sob as it burst from his clenched teeth. Tears overflowed onto his cheeks and chin. He placed his hand on Yellow Knee's cold one.

"I am sorry." He looked at the bones of the dead around him, "I am so very sorry."

He sat with Yellow Knee for the better part of an hour, before he carried the boy into the forest. There, he found a clearing, and laid him down on the ground. He pulled a bow from his pack and rested it gently on Yellow Knee's chest, he was a warrior. He couldn't let the mountain cat or any other animal feast on the child's body, so he gathered rocks to place around and over the boy.

"Wakan Tanan kici un—May the Great Spirit bless you." He placed the last rock over him and left.

Otakatay waited until it was dark and decided to come into the mine from the north side, where the graves had been. If Elwood and his men were watching for him, this would be the last place they'd guess he'd come from. He edged along the mountain until he could make out the house and other buildings below.

Three fires burned around the mine, lighting the area. He scanned the ground for any sign of Nora and stopped when he saw something move. He spotted the rose- colored dress immediately. She was tied to the whipping pole in the middle of the yard.

Rage rippled through him, and he flexed his hands. Had Elwood whipped her? He squinted to get a better look, but she was too far away. The miner would know great pain if he so much as touched one hair on her head. She hadn't moved. Her hands were tied to the pole, and her body slumped to the side. Time was running out.

He scrutinized the rest of the mine. He counted four men, two on either side of the shack, one by Nora, and one twenty feet below him. Quietly, he aimed his arrow at the man closest to him. He pulled the string back, paused, held his breath, and let go. He listened as the arrow whistled through the trees and struck its mark.

He jumped over a fallen log and took off down the hill toward the man. The arrow protruded from the man's back, and he was on the ground moaning in pain. Otakatay pulled his knife and placed it between his teeth. He rolled the guard over, and drove the blade into his heart.

One

He wiped the blood onto his denims and inched closer to the other buildings. He moved with ease, blending into his surroundings. He crouched within the bushes beside the shack, cupped his hand and hooted. The guard looked up into the trees. With great skill, he came from behind slit the man's throat and carried him into the forest. He left him there for the bears and the crows.

Two

The hinges on the wooden door creaked as he opened it. He stepped inside and tripped on something. He leaned over to get a closer look.

"Son of a bitch."

Elwood had laid dynamite around the building. He was going to kill the boys. He needed to get them out of here and fast. There was enough dynamite to kill them all and bring the building down on top of them. He turned toward the sleeping boys. He curled his lip. The mine owner would die tonight.

He stepped over the dynamite and waited until his eyes adjusted to the dark room. The stench invaded his senses, and he pushed all thoughts of the past from his mind. He needed to help the boys before all hell broke loose.

I promised.

Bodies were strewn all over the dirt floor fast asleep. Many were missing and had died since he'd been here. Shame settled in his gut. He searched the sleeping faces for any familiar ones and recognized a few. The rest had been too young when he'd escaped.

He knelt and woke an older boy. The smell from his unwashed body made Otakatay's eyes water.

The child opened his eyes and sat up.

"Do you speak English?" Otakatay whispered.

He nodded.

"Do you remember me?"

The boy's brown eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head to the side. "Cetan?"

Otakatay smiled. "Yes, it is me, Cetan."

The boy leapt into his arms.

He didn't care if the boy smelled. He wrapped his arms around him and squeezed. He'd take him and the others home. "What is your name?"

"Shinte Galeska—Spotted Tail."

"I need your help. You have to wake the others while I take care of the guard out front."

The boy nodded and scrambled to do as he was told.

Otakatay crept toward the door. The guard was directly on the other side. He paused, determining the best way to overtake him, when one of the boys began to cry. The door swung open, and he stepped back into the shadows.

The guard charged forward, whip in hand.

Otakatay lunged from the wall, knocking the man to the ground. He hadn't noticed how solid the guard was until his large chunky fists pummeled Otakatay's face. He could feel blood drip from a cut above his left eye. The blade of the knife poked into his leg, and he struggled to get it. The guard was a head taller than him and fifty pounds heavier.

He looked back at the boys and took a hard punch to the chin that snapped his neck back. He whirled around to face his attacker. Another blow to the jaw crushed his teeth together and sent painful vibrations up the side of his face. They wrestled with each other on the ground, and Otakatay was on the bottom. He glanced at the boys again. They were standing against the wall, watching the fight. Some were crying.

I promised.

Otakatay growled. He spat the blood from his mouth and heaved the giant off of his body. With panther-like skills he jumped on top of him, pulled his arm back and drove his elbow into the guard's nose, breaking it. Blood sprayed everywhere, and he hammered his fists into the man's face until he no longer fought back. The guard was out cold, or dead, and he didn't give a damn which it was. He huffed, as his chest rose and fell in uneven cadence. He wiped the blood from his mouth, and gathered the boys so he could usher them into the forest.

Halfway across the shack, a flicker of light eliminated the room. Fear knocked the air from his lungs. The guard had pulled himself to the open door, struck a match and was lighting the dynamite.

"Run! Run!"

Nora sat up. She could've sworn she heard Otakatay. A loud boom echoed throughout the mine as the darkness lit up with orange and red. Hot air blew across her face as the building the boys were in exploded.

"What the hell?" Levi said from behind her.

Oh, no. Not the children.
She thrashed against the ropes as a black cloud rose into the sky. Every muscle in her tired body screamed in pain. The shack had been blown to bits. Charred wood and ashes floated in the black sky. She tried to hold on and fight back the tears, but the shock of it all was too much, and she sobbed into the bandana lodged in her mouth.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Elwood shouted, as he ran toward them, Red in tow.

"Not sure. It just exploded."

Nora laid her head on a rock as harsh sobs shook her body. She tried to suck in a breath that wasn't paired with an excruciating pain in her chest, but it was no use. Her shoulders ached, and her hands went numb. Nothing mattered anymore. Otakatay and the boys had died.

"They must've seen the Indian. Why else would they blow the building?" Levi said.

Elwood marched toward the burning wreckage. He picked up a piece of wood, and hollered out in pain. It was hot, and he dropped it, dancing around holding his hand.

He deserved more than a burned hand. He deserved to die. She glared at him.

The debris from the shack had fallen in large chunks where the building once was. There was no way anyone could sift through the mess until everything cooled off.

Levi fell to the ground beside her, an arrow wedged in his chest.

Elwood fired his gun into the forest around them. He ran toward them. "Where did it come from?"

"I don't know. It's that savage. He isn't dead. He's here." With one arm, he dragged himself to the fence and slumped against the pole. Blood flowed from the wound on his chest.

Elwood broke the arrow off and tossed the stick aside. He handed Levi a gun. "Shoot at anything that moves."

Levi nodded as sweat formed on his forehead, and he turned a pasty shade of gray.

Another arrow whizzed by, hitting Red in the throat.

She wasn't sure if he died right then or from the next arrow that struck him directly in the heart. She scrambled to the side, but she wasn't fast enough and his bloody body landed on her legs, pinning her to the ground.

"We're going to die," Levi whined. He waved the gun out in front of him and shot into the trees.

"No, we're not." Elwood pushed Red off of her legs and untied the rope that held her to the whipping pole. He tied her wrists in front of her and hauled Nora to her feet.

Nora's arms and legs were weak, and she stumbled as she tried to stand.

"Stand up, damn it." He lugged her up.

The bandana, moist from her tears and saliva, had stretched. She pushed it out of her mouth with her tongue. "Let go of me you rotten bastard."

She jerked her arms back, trying to loosen his grip.

He cuffed her with the butt end of his gun.

Pain vibrated up her cheek bone, buckling her knees and sent vomit up the back of her throat. She swallowed so she didn't throw up. He wrenched on her hair, and she stood.

Otakatay
.

"If your lover shoots another damn arrow, I will kill you."

"Go to hell." She spat in his face.

He growled and punched her hard in the jaw.

Nora fell to the ground, the dirt floor swayed beneath her, and her vision blurred.

Elwood pulled her up again. He clamped his right arm around her waist and held her arms pinned to her sides.

"Hawk," he shouted into the forest. "Hawk, you low-life half-breed. Show yourself. Come down and face me."

Elwood was hysterical. He muttered to himself words she couldn't understand, and his left eye twitched while his head ticked to the side.

"Get your gun ready," he said to Levi.

The man bobbed his head up and down, while he aimed the short barrel at the trees in the distance.

Hours passed, and Otakatay still hadn't come through the forest. The first rays of light began to crest over the mountain as dawn approached. Elwood sat in a chair with Nora on the ground in front of him. She glanced at Levi. He hadn't moved in over an hour, and she wondered if he'd passed out or died.

Where was Otakatay? Had he left her here to fend for herself? Had he freed the children before the shack exploded and forgotten all about her? She didn't think he'd do such a thing, but the throbbing in her jaw and cheek had her second guessing him. She was exhausted, her muscles sore and tender. Every time she moved pain sliced across her arms and legs.

Over the last few hours she'd listened to Elwood mumble and convulse behind her. He'd gone crazy. He'd shoot at anything that moved and had reloaded his .42 several times since sitting in the chair.

The trees rustled in the distance, and she narrowed her eyes to get a better look. Elwood heard it too and fired at the bushes.

"You are wasting valuable bullets."

Nora spun to see Otakatay standing ten feet from her, his shot gun aimed at them. A purple bruise covered his right cheek, and a nasty cut over his left eye was caked with dry blood.

He was here all along.

Elwood stood and hauled her with him. He pointed his gun at Otakatay, and then changed his mind holding the barrel to Nora's temple instead.

"Levi, Levi," he yelled.

"Your friend is dead," Otakatay said.

Nora sensed the danger, as it oozed from his body, and she shivered. He resembled the killer she'd seen in the woods weeks before. The hunter and Elwood was his prey.

"If you shoot, I pull the trigger and kill the bitch."

"She is not mine. I don't give a damn what you do with her."

His words stung worse than any cut she'd ever received. Unable to look at him, she averted her eyes to the ground.

"Yes, she is. You rescued her from hanging. She said you've had her," Elwood sneered.