The Last Sundancer (12 page)

As they traveled, s
he relaxed into the natural rhythm set by the horse.  The men did not speak and so Amara was alone with the thoughts that spiraled in the silence of her mind. 

S
he knew that she should be grateful that the raiders had not taken her honor.  However, they had subjected her to other humiliations that she did not wish to remember.  At times, she thought that she would never feel safe again. 

For the time being,
as they walked through canyon after endless canyon, she felt protected.  Kaichen was always alert and watchful. He appeared to be as tall as the canyon walls and just as strong.   

Amara gazed directly at the sun and then cast her gaze away.   Her eyes fell upon shimmering rock and the haunting loveliness o
f the world around them.  Up above the great sky was filled with an endless blue.  Clouds were rare and yet today there were fine, gossamer clouds that spread across the heavens. 
Rain.
  

Amara
was not the only one that hoped for rain.  Even the small river that ran beside her village had become almost dry. The creek bed bled muddy red soil in places where it had once run with clear water.

No one knew why it was so, but most understood that they could not stand by and die of thirst.  Those that cultivated the land had already m
oved on, searching for water.  It was an endless search.  Never ending.  From the time Amara took her first sip of water until now she had been taught its value. 

Not a drop was wasted and not a day went by that she did not b
eseech the heavens for water. Yet the rains had not come.  

How long could the people
of the land last under the drought that wreaked havoc upon both man and beast?  What sin had the people committed that they were forced to endure the loss of the essence of life?  Water gave life.  All knew it.

Kaichen
came to a stop and his horse halted, jarring Amara.   She grabbed hold of the animal’s mane and slid from the horses back without waiting for permission.  

Her actions had been hasty.  She should have waited and she knew that she had erred even as
Kaichen turned to face her.  He towered over her and she stared up at him in morbid fascination as he lunged toward her.  Amara froze. 

Kaichen felt his blood run cold as Amara slid from his horse and stood before him.  He snatched her up into his arms and spun around while placing his covered foot directly over the scorpion hole that Amara had stepped upon.  He backed away swiftly as the scorpion emerged.  It was larger than most and agitated.  

The horse moved out of the way of the scorpion’s pinchers after a quick whistle from Kaichen brought the animal to him.  Kaichen realized that
Amara held herself stiffly and though he enjoyed the feel of her slight weight in his arms it would be best to set her down. He glanced around and saw that the ground was riddled with scorpion holes.

Amara did not see the scorpion or the hole that she had stepped o
n without thought, she only knew that Kaichen grabbed hold of her and lifted her into his arms without even a sound.  She had never seen anyone move so quickly.  

“Stand here.”
Kaichen set her upon a rock and clasped her shoulders firmly. 

It was only then that she saw him quickly skewer three scorpions.  Amara
gasped and clutched her chest. It was difficult to catch her breath as she realized the danger that she had been in.  She shuddered at the thought of dying from such a sickness as that inflicted by the deadly scorpion.

“
Scorpions taste good without their stinging tails.  You will see.” Antuk reassured her though she could not understand his words, he accepted the skewered scorpions from Kaichen with a nod.  “Tell her that she is safe now.”

Antuk spoke to Kaichen and waited patiently until Kaichen relayed the words to the woman
in her own language.

Amara nodded as she thanked Kaichen
for his help.  She knew to watch out for scorpions and other dangers but she had been distracted by grief which weighed upon her every footstep.

Kaichen knew that he must reach his mother and their people before the first harvest came to an end.  He did not wish to consider the dire consequences should he fail.  His mother’s message delive
red by Cohtzen had been clear, their village was in danger and Kaichen was all that stood between them and annihilation.

Without another word
, Kaichen lifted Amara onto the back of his horse.  Her body was stiff in his arms and she trembled slightly.  He felt a moment’s sorrow over her fear.

Amara watched
Kaichen’s eyes darken with resolve.  He was a study of hard lines and rippling muscle though his body was lean.

The hard plains of his face showed no hint of softness, even his lips and chin appeared to be chiseled from stone.  His nose had a broad ridge and his eyebrows were naturally winged though his face remai
ned remote and expressionless.

Would he ever come to love her as the wife of his heart?  The silent
question took her by surprise.

Antuk threw a smile over his shoulder as if he heard her unspoken
thoughts and Amara looked away.  She knew that she was only as safe as those that offered her their protection, with Kaichen she was safe.

While Amara had remained at her mother’s side she had been safe.  The people of her village often complimented her face and form, though she did not seek such words of praise. 
She had come into her time as a woman over the past season of cold and  her mother would have found a suitable mate for her over the next few moons.  There was no one that Amara favored yet she knew that she would have followed her mother’s direction on the matter.

A strong hunter would bring meat to their dwelling and her mother would also be well taken care of by such a man.  Amara was thankful for all that her mother had
done to see to her wellbeing.

They had very little to call their own, but
her mother had done all that she could to make certain that they had a place to sleep and enough food to sustain them.   The other villagers shared what they could, though it was very little.

Amara bit her lip as she thought of her life up until now.  She had not complained.  Her mother would have taken another mate if she could have, but the men of her village were either too old to consider taking on a woman and her child
or they were already joined.

“I
have never seen such a wide open space before, does the world continue on without end?” Antuk stopped his donkey and shouted his words to Kaichen.

Amara could not help but turn around and stare at the grinning man.  She had never seen anyone
as large in size as this man.

Yet, somehow
Kaichen seemed even taller and stronger.  He appeared immovable.  Amara saw no softness in Kaichen and she thought to herself that she had never known a man that fascinated her more.

His si
lence called to her and his resolve beckoned her to his side.  Who was this man that had taken her as his lifemate and why did he affect her so?

Amara did not know what to make of Kaichen’s silence.  She clenched the horse’s mane within her grasp
as tension stole through her body.

Kaichen glance
d up at her for a long moment and Amara was held in thrall as he held her gaze.  The moment seemed endless and for a time she felt as if she was seared by more than the heat of the sun.

A shiver coursed down her spine.  Power.  She recognized the touch and taste of it, but by what measure had it been given to this man?  She lowered her gaze until she n
o longer saw Kaichen or Antuk.

She saw only her clenched fists as they gripped the horse’s mane.  Amara exhaled as she rel
eased the tension in her body.

She had been rescued from a cruel fate only to fall into the hands of a man blessed by power.  The only question in her mind was whether or not she could
fully confide in him.

The man that had escaped would not
allow a wound to his thigh to stop him from finding her.  As surely as she breathed, she knew that he would fulfill his quest, he had been ordered to bring her to his leader and he would not accept failure.

Amara clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and the horse sped up slightly
, putting distance between the place where they had started out and hurrying toward the place that they were headed. She would have to share all she knew with Kaichen as soon as possible.

She would have to learn to trust
the man that she now called husband. It seemed that she had made a decision and she could only hope that it was the right one.

Kaichen felt the presence of his ancestors as he stepped foot upon the high bluff that overlooked the valley below.   He had left Antuk behind with a request that he protect the woman from harm. 

The fire in his bones told him that he must climb to the top of this bluff and satisfy the thirst of his soul.  He did not explain his actions to Antuk and his loyal friend did not require an explanation.  He seemed to understand that Kaichen stood in both worlds at times, the world of men and the world of power.   Kaichen had long ago learned not to deny the blood that flowed through his veins. 

It was only as he closed his eyes and looked at the world from within that he felt a deep connection with the man that was more legend than flesh and blood. 

At times
, Kaichen wished that his father was still here to offer guidance and wisdom.  His mother told him the stories of his father from the first day of his birth until she had sent him to live with Azin.  In this way, his father had been as real to him as a man of flesh and blood

Kaichen held his palms to the sky as he opened his mind and body to the world around him.  He could hear the sound of the trees as they spoke to one another.  Their leaves were like hands holding on to one another.  

He could smell the scent of sand, dust and pine which made up the essence of his world, but there was more.  The land was dry and thirsty; balance had been lost long ago.  Kaichen did not know whether balance could ever be restored and he doubted that he was the one that could offer such a gift to his people. 

“One day people will walk this land, they will step in the places where I have stepped this day.  They will look up and see the eagle soar and they will look down upon the green valley that lives even up until that day.   But will they look with eyes that see?  Will they listen with ears that hear?  Will they touch with hands that feel?” Kaichen spoke solemnly as the weight of responsibility fell heavily upon his shoulders. 

“The One who has made the world around me knows the answer to these questions and I….I am just a man.  How can I save my people?  Why must I carry the burden of innocent lives?”  Kaichen bowed his head humbly as the brilliant blue sky shifted overhead.  

There was no answer to his entreaty.  There was no response to his unspoken question. 
Who will save my people?
 

Kaichen took comfort in the world around him and he did not ask for more than it was willing to give.  He accepted the urgency of his quest with
his head bowed low to the ground.  With a restored spirit, he returned to Amara and Antuk.               

“The day grows warm with the sun overhead.” Kaichen hoped that his words w
ould elicit a smile from Antuk since his friend appeared troubled. 

“It is hot beyond measure.  You know this well.” Antuk responded as he studied Kaichen’s face.  “You have sought the spirit world and asked for wisdom.  I will not ask if you found enough wisdom to share.  Your face shines with all that you found.”

Antuk’s easy acceptance of Kaichen’s oddities was one of the reasons that the two men were such good friends. Kaichen eyed Amara uneasily.  Though she was now his wife, he did not wish to speak of the fire that lit his blood at times without warning.

The canyons and caverns that rimmed the land often called to him and he would know
deep inside that he walked upon a sacred place.

Amara did not shy away from his gaze and Kaichen was surprised.  He expected her to narrow her eyes in dist
rust or turn away out of fear. Others feared him but Amara simply gazed at him for a moment and then looked away. 

Kaichen could not say why he was both intrigued and amused.  He noticed that her small hands found comfort once more in the weight of the st
range instrument that she held.

He had heard music brought from wood before and he appreciated the sound of it, though nothing had moved him to dance.  Others felt the beat of the drum and they stepped in rhyt
hm to it, not so for Kaichen.

“What is this wooden stick that you hold?” Kaichen was surprised by his
own question spoken in Amara’s language.

She raised her head to gaze at him sharply as if he had offended her in some way. 
Her emotions were plain to read upon her face and Kaichen felt the urge to smile though he denied himself the pleasure. He could not afford to forget the seriousness of his journey.