One Hundred Horses (7 page)

***

Grey Fox was sitting in Crazy Goose’s tipi, watching as the old man fret. The village was loud tonight with the celebration of the buffalo kill. Grey Fox needed a place of solitude, but the elder wouldn’t sit still, adding to his own agitation.

“My heart lies heavy on the ground without my daughter,” Crazy Goose admitted. Grey Fox stayed silent, brooding. Then Crazy Goose’s raised voice cut through the air, startling him.

“Why would Sun Puma escape and take a foal and a young girl, who loved the clan and would not want to leave, with her? How did that happen and nobody heard or saw anything?” The old man stood and started to pace. Grey Fox grounded his jaw. Crazy Goose was wrong to imply that some misfortune had befallen Sun Puma and Sky Fire. Whites could not be trusted. When would his people learn this?

“Maybe now Red Dawn will not speak of this vision for me again,” Grey Fox muttered. Crazy Goose gave Grey Fox a questioning look. He had a moment of shame for uttering the words but did not take them back. He ground his teeth so hard, now his jaw ached.

“How long has it been since the Blue Coat raid took the lovely Moon Water and your mother, She Who Wanders?” The question stunned Grey Fox. People did not often speak of the dead, but Crazy Goose seemed comfortable with the question, and his weathered face searched for an answer from him.

“Five full seasons,” Grey Fox muttered, looking down.

“That is a long time to mourn, a long time to hold onto bad spirits. How can Sun Puma trust you if you don’t trust her? I do not believe she ran away. Running Deer doesn’t believe Sun Puma took his future mate. You should be like Running Deer.”

Grey Fox shifted uncomfortably. He was worried Crazy Goose was starting to see more than just simple mistrust. “Running Deer is young and not yet wise to the ways of women or life,” Grey Fox pointed out. He knew his argument would not sit well with Crazy Goose. The elder stopped pacing and regarded him.

“Running Deer is out there looking for Sky Fire while you sit here with an old man trying to fool yourself. There is no shame in admitting my daughter has won over your heart. Tell me again who is not wise to the ways of women or life,” he said in a huff.

Grey Fox closed his eyes. He must be wrong. He could not just sit and do nothing. What if Sun Puma was in danger right now and he did not scour the Earth to find her and protect her? His heart demanded it of him.

***

Grey Fox found Running Deer at the creek’s edge. Even there, the sounds of the people and shadows from the fire reached them.

“Why don’t you go eat? I will look,” he offered.

Running Deer cast large, sorrowful eyes toward him and started pounding his chest. “I cannot eat. Not without Sky Fire.”

Grey Fox shifted on his feet. Running Deer’s pain was like a kick in the gut. He put his hands on his hips and looked skyward.

“You also have not eaten. Is it because you miss and worry about Sun Puma?” Running Deer asked. Grey Fox didn’t want to risk exposing any kind of weakness for Sun Puma. He ignored the question.

“Have you found anything?” he asked the younger man. Running Deer nodded. He pointed to a forgotten basket. It was dark, and the moon offered little light, but it was enough for Grey Fox to recognize the basket. It was his basket that Sun Puma used to fetch water. It was still full.

Doubt coupled with fear began to vibrate through him. A full basket of water by the creek made no sense. Two women missing with a foal made no sense. The man and his nephew crossed the creek back toward the village. It took only seconds for Grey Fox to find the other basket that belonged to Sky Fire and then, even in the dark of night, Grey Fox was able to see the huge stain of dried blood on the rocks. A stark coldness engulfed him.

Running Deer looked at him with fear.

“Do not speak of this. Get us two fresh horses and meet me at the edge of the meadow. I will go talk to Crow Feather. Go!” Grey Fox ordered his nephew. Running Deer took off.

***

“I will come with you!” Crow Feather exclaimed in excitement. Grey Fox looked behind his brother at Wild Flower heavy with pregnancy on her sleeping mat. She was holding her sides, rocking back and forth with sobs deep in her chest.

“You are needed here. I don’t want the village to get suspicious,” he told him. Crow Feather looked at him oddly. He was about to protest when Grey Fox stopped him cold.

“This is the way of it. We don’t need Stalking Wolf and the others looking for war over two women who may or may not have been taken.” The brothers locked arms, and Grey Fox slipped off into the night to the meadow, meeting Running Deer, who stood with two horses.

***

The hot sun blistered Sarah’s skin. For two days she had been bent over the side of the horse and was offered no relief until at night, when Broken Horn would throw them both off onto the ground and splash them with whatever water was available. Sky Fire whimpered through the gag in her mouth, constantly muttering in Comanche. Sarah felt increasingly ashamed that she did not try harder to understand the language. She was so afraid for Sky Fire—the girl was so young. She tried to console Sky Fire as the horse bounced them painfully over the terrain, but Sky Fire seemed lost inside herself.

Finally, after a few more hours and the darkening of the sky, the man stopped the horse and as usual, then threw the two women down to the ground. Sky Fire let out a yelp of pain and then fell back asleep. Sarah, weakened from lack of food and water, fought to keep her eyes open. Lying flat on her back, she tried to get a sense of where she was. Broken Horn had shoved a dirty rag tightly in her mouth and no matter what she tried, she could not get it to come out. The rancid taste of the material brought tears to her eyes. He just looked at her and laughed at her struggles.

Tonight, she watched helplessly as her captor drank himself into a stupor on the other side of the campfire. Sarah noticed that the man appeared Comanche, but he wore white man’s clothes. He spoke English perfectly. And some of his provisions looked to be new. He took one look at her and then started laughing,

“Oh, Mother Earth, you gifted me with Grey Fox’s mate! What a good day this is for me!” he said, holding his arms wide. Sarah just watched him. Next to her, she heard Sky Fire moaning.

“Your Comanche lover is the one to do this to my face!” Broken Horn shouted as he pointed to the deep scars that ran from his cheekbone to his chin. She noticed those deep scars and wondered what this man had done to Grey Fox to deserve them. Forcing herself not to react to his drunken words, she simply stared at him.

“It’s my turn to have some fun now,” Broken Horn hissed. He took a long swig from his bottle and tossed it aside. As he stood to approach her, Sarah felt her heart begin to slam against her ribcage. He stumbled once and nearly fell into his own fire. He was looking directly at her with pure rage in his eyes. She braced herself, trying to understand how or why a man like this would have Tom’s horse and what he was planning to do.

Sarah tried to spit the dirty rag out of her mouth one last time in an effort to scream for help, but it was too late. Broken Horn was upon her. He threw his body on top of hers, crushing her so that she couldn’t breathe. He then lifted a lock of golden hair, drunkenly studying it. He lifted it to his nose and inhaled. Bile rose to the back of her throat, burning. His rancid body odor mixed with his whiskey assaulted her. Her stomach tumbling, her body shaking, she could only watch him.

“Golden like the sun,” he murmured. Again, she felt her stomach clench with a warning. He was looking her over with hungry eyes. His hand slipped between their bodies as he rubbed himself. A moan of pleasure passed through his lips, and she knew it was moments before she would be sick. With a quick motion, Sarah managed to lift her legs up and knock him off of her. As he rolled to the side she kicked him with her bound feet as hard as she could in his tightened groin. The man shouted in agony and then seemed to pass out.

Her head pounding, it took her a moment to realize she had been successful. With her senses reeling from shock, she watched to make sure he didn’t move. Blood surging through her, she finally managed to use her tongue and push against the filthy rag to free it from her mouth.. She scooted over to Sky Fire as fast as she could and whispered into the girl’s ear, “Sky... Sky... wake up. He’s asleep! Sky, wake up!”

Sarah was frantic, trying with all she had to get the Comanche girl to respond. When Sky Fire’s eyes flickered open, it was a moment before Sarah could see lucidity in her eyes. With her hands and legs still tied, Sarah worked at the rope around her hands using her teeth. Sky Fire sat up wearily and then fell back down, her hands holding her skull. Sky Fire cried softly into her gag. Sarah watched the girl sway. She grabbed her to steady her.

“I’m going to take the rag out of your mouth, but you must be quiet,” Sarah told her. Sky Fire nodded. Sarah removed the rag and began feverishly untying the ropes from Sky Fire’s arms and legs. It was then that Sky Fire let out a terrorizing scream. Sarah turned around to see Broken Horn sit up and grab a nearby wooden branch. In an instant, the branch caught Sarah above her ear and knocked her dangerously close to the fire.

***

She ran. She didn’t know where the strength came from, but Sky Fire ran through the darkness. She could hear footfalls and heavy breathing and cursing from behind her as she sprinted across the desert. Her lungs seared as she inhaled deeply. Her swollen skull caused her vision to distort as she stumbled. Sky Fire fell down hard next to a creosote bush, rolling herself underneath its low-lying branches. In her black world, Sky Fire lay and prayed to the spirits. Tears burning her eyes, she fought for control to stay as quiet as she could. The sound of running feet flew past her. She waited. There were no more sounds to be heard. Sky Fire relaxed and let the looming, inky shadows swallow her as she fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Seven

In the morning light, the two warriors found the trail of a single horse being led by foot. Grey Fox watched the steps closely. These were not Sun Puma’s steps, but those of a large man. The women must be on horseback. There was much blood this time, all to the side of the horse. Grey Fox hoped that it was the horse that was injured, but his instincts knew that there had been an awful injury to someone. His jaw clenched. Visions of Sun Puma hurt haunted him, and he quickened his pace.

He noticed that the little filly followed way behind, and he wondered about this. The clues left to him did not form a clear picture in his brain. Running Deer stayed quiet most of the ride. His fear and anguish over Sky Fire was so close to the surface, and he knew Running Deer was afraid to voice them.

By nightfall, the pair of trackers found where a fire was made. It was still warm. They could see the flattened, bloodied earth where the two women had lain and the broken glass of a whiskey bottle. Grey Fox threw his head back and screamed a curse into the sky. There was no denying now that the women were taken captive and badly beaten. Grey Fox picked up a bloody tree branch and hurled it into the air.

***

Broken Horn knew he had made a terrible mistake. His hatred for Grey Fox and his drinking had clouded his thinking when it came to the girl. She had been asleep on the back of that sorrel for two days, and he didn’t know what to do with her. As he came closer and closer to her ranch, his anxiety grew. If she died, he would be hung for murder. If the other woman survived and somehow made it back to the Coyote Clan, she would talk. Grey Fox and the Comanche warriors would find him, and his death would be worse.

Broken Horn’s mouth twitched. He looked at the woman once more. Her hands and feet were swollen from being tied too tight. The cut on her head from the tree branch had stained her hair with blood. In a sudden rush of panic, Broken Horn released the reins of the sorrel and whacked the horse as hard as he could across his flanks with the leather. He stood and watched as it disappeared beyond the horizon. In the distance, Broken Horn thought he heard a war cry. The little hairs stood on his arms. He knew then that it was too late for him. Grey Fox would surely find him.

***

The eastern sky bubbled with fluffy clouds that traveled northward by the burst of gusty winds. Layers of dirt were lifted and carried until gently dropped again. The sharp tang of rain filled the senses of the two men trailing human tracks that clearly indicated a chase.

Running Deer’s expression paled at the sight of Sky Fire’s lifeless form under the creosote bush. With a cry, he fell to his knees and gently touched her face. Grey Fox raced ahead. He couldn’t stop the fear that the rain would soon wash away whatever was left of the trail. He only made it a few yards past where Running Deer was kneeling over Sky Fire because the one set of tracks had turned right back to that camp. He had to make a decision.

Grey Fox looked down from his horse at a tearful Running Deer. “Is she alive?” he asked his nephew. Running Deer nodded.

“Yes. She is hurt badly. Look at her head!” He half-cried as he showed his uncle the large protruding concussion. Grey Fox winced. He tightened his grip on the reins until his knuckles turned white.

“Can you get her back to the Clan without me?”

Running Deer lifted Sky Fire into his arms. “I would die before I let her walk with the spirits!” he said, looking at Grey Fox intensely.

Grey Fox nodded. “Make a travois for her and go easy.”

***

Grey Fox was running out of time. He found where the horse had headed north. This time, there was no one leading. Sun Puma had to be riding with her captor. Once again, Grey Fox harbored doubts. The blood on the trail was easily explained by Sky Fire’s terrible head wound. Maybe Sun Puma was fine. Maybe she was with her white man mate? But the broken bottles of firewater confused him. The clues left to him ran through his mind so fast, his head hurt. Grey Fox wasn’t going to stop until he had answers.

The warrior forged ahead, following the trail with blazing speed. His mind wandered back to the Blue Coat raid against his village. It was another time he was out on a successful hunt only to return to find his mate gone. Moon Water’s body was filled with holes from the white man’s guns. He could barely even look at his half-white brother, Crow Feather, after that even though Crow Feather had slain nearly seven soldiers that day. Grey Fox couldn’t stand the thought of losing another woman or being taken for a fool by a white. Angry thunder cracked over head to match his mood. The rain falling from above did nothing to quell the fire building within him or the fear of what he may soon discover.

***

Raindrops fell and traveled across Sarah’s skin. The cool water soothed her, beckoning her to open her eyes. Her hands and feet felt numb and cold, and a burning pain in her back and hips stabbed at her from lying over the horse for so long. She wondered where the Comanche had gone off to. She heard no sound, saw no movement. Bluey was grazing easily on a patch of prairie grass, seeming no worse for wear as he carried his helpless passenger. As the horse meandered, Sarah realized she was alone. She tried to wiggle her way off his back, but she was stuck. She had to find a way down.

With a surge of strength, she rolled onto her back, and that freed her enough so that she fell on the rain-soaked ground below. Bluey side-stepped her a few feet, then returned to his meal. Shakily, Sarah started to work on the rope when she saw a rider on horseback charging toward her. Sarah felt the world spin, fearing the worst was yet to come.

***

The sight before the War Chief caused a sharp agonizing pain to sear through him. Sun Puma didn’t even look the same, she was blistered so badly. Dirt had embedded into her raw skin. Her once-golden hair was stained with dried blood. She was more injured now than the day he had found her on the boulder. He jumped off his horse to run to her side, narrowing his eyes on her swollen hands and feet. The rope was so tight her fingers had lost all shape and color.

Bile bubbled and burned in his throat as the truth rammed into his soul. He had been terribly wrong. So wrong about everything that he began to harshly chastise himself as he let out a war-like cry of his own pain and his perceived weakness in protecting those he loved most in this world. His sudden outburst spooked Black Cloud, who trotted off a few yards. His hands trembled with anger as he forced himself to calm down for Sun Puma’s sake.

Grey Fox struggled to get the tip of the knife under the rope. It was difficult due to her swollen skin, but he had to cut off the binds. He painstakingly worked until he had freed her. Sun Puma moaned as the ropes gave way, releasing the blood to pump into her hands and feet once more. When she finally opened her eyes, she let out a piercing scream of terror. He could see her confusion and taste her fear. “Sun Puma! Sun Puma!” he repeated over and over. Recognition finally flashed in her eyes, and another wail escaped her as she threw herself at him.

“My sweet, Sun Puma. I will never forgive myself ever for leaving you. I should have taken you with me. I should have stayed with you. I am broken-hearted that you have suffered because of my neglect.” He saw her shake her head. She looked up to speak to him but the words did not come out. Her look of anguish tore at him, tormented him. When she was finally able to speak she said words he could not accept.

“It is not your fault. You could not have prevented this. You can’t always stay by my side. I love you Grey Fox. I love you. You are here now. That is what is important to me.”

Grey Fox could not believe that he ever thought that she had done any of this on purpose. He leaned over and kissed Sun Puma on the forehead. He lifted her onto the back of the horse and then mounted up behind her. He wrapped his muscular arm around her waist, protecting her. Now that he finally had her safe, he was satisfied to have her relax against him and fall asleep.

***

The ride back to the village went slowly. They stopped for water and for rest several times. The knowledge that Sky Fire was safe with Running Deer eased some of Sarah’s worries. She was gravely concerned for her mama and Tom, but knowing she couldn’t involve Grey Fox, she said nothing. At night, he held her close to him. He tenderly cared for her and treated her wounds. As the time passed, Sarah’s heart no longer questioned where it belonged. Grey Fox had somehow become her world, and she found peace with the path that sealed their fate. But even though she was ready to accept her future, she sensed there was something troubling Grey Fox by his long bouts of silence. There was more on his mind beyond their current troubles. Whatever it was, Sarah couldn’t stay awake long enough to sort it out with him.

***

Sarah felt Grey Fox gently place her on a soft bed of fur. She was aware of him gingerly applying aloe on her skin. She opened her eyes to see him administering to her with such a look of genuine concern and tenderness that tears formed in the corner of her eyes. She focused on the lines of his face, the shape of his lips, the length of his dark eyelashes. How had she not noticed before the true beauty of Grey Fox? She had been too inexperienced to know the sheer magnitude of this man until the last few days. Reaching out to trace his lips, she wanted him to kiss her.

With her touch upon his face, he shifted his gaze to meet hers. She wanted him to read her thoughts, to know that she wanted him in all ways a woman could want a man. “You’re hurt,” he whispered.

“I am aching inside, Grey Fox. I am aching to become a woman. A full and complete woman.” A look of desire filled his features as he lowered his face to hers. She licked her lips in anticipation. Pausing above her, his soft expression changed to concern.

“I’m fine. I’m tougher than I look.” she whispered. “Please, Grey Fox, please make love to me.