mátâháá'e
, I can smell your fear. Your display of bravado doesn't impress me. Soon that won't matter. You'll be long gone. Then Night Wolf will forget you. He'll marry my cousin, Prairie Flower. She'll give him Cheyenne children we can all be proud of, not half blooded bastards," he taunted her further.
"You won't get away with this. Night Wolf will find me," Ione retorted as her anger began to override her fear. "You can deride me all you want, but you're worse than I'll ever be. You speak the English tongue. You consort with your people's bitter enemy, just to help your cousin land the husband she wants. You won't get away with this. Night Wolf will come for me. Then you will pay!"
"Night Wolf is too busy being a hero to know you are missing yet. When he realizes you're missing, it will be too late."
"He will find me," Ione repeated adamantly. Then her eyes grew wide as saucers when a second warrior entered the stand. The face paint he wore looked all too hauntingly familiar. His raven black hair fell to his waist. Black and red war paint covered his facial features, but didn't hide the coldness in his eyes. She gasped, eyeing him warily. This warrior was the one who carried Samantha away during the raid on her family's wagons.
Her abductor knelt beside her, "You recognize Black Sun. He's eager to get his hands on you."
Ione trembled, praying for Night Wolf to find her. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
Her abductor threw her to Black Sun then he mounted his horse. He nudged the animal's flanks, walking to the edge of the woods. He looked back at Black Sun with Ione at his feet then rode away, galloping back across the prairie.
O.O
Black Sun grabbed Ione by the hair, yanking her to her feet. He shoved her toward a horse tethered nearby, making a hand motion to mount up. When Ione defied his order, he motioned a second time more vehemently. She shook her head sternly, dropping to the ground. There she sat glaring up at him.
Black Sun rolled his eyes, yanking her to her feet by her hair. Ione squealed as pain shot through her scalp. Black Sun lifted her off her feet, boosting her into the saddle then mounted behind her. He made a furious hand motion to behave before setting his painted horse in motion.
Ione jostled about from her position of being slung over the withers of the horse. She eyed the ground speculatively, wondering how damaging the horse's hooves would be if she fell beneath them. She wiggled about, attempting to slide backwards, but Black Sun slapped her upturned bottom before wrenching her to an upright position. He flashed a stern expression at her, sneering as she cried out from the pain.
He raced his paint horse across the prairie, turning north when he reached the foothills. Skillfully he guided his horse through a labyrinth of jagged rocks, making sure his mount's hooves did not mar the surface. Then he located a well traveled game trail, mixing his horse's prints in with those of deer, elk, and other horses. As they came to a wide stream, he coaxed the horse into the water, travelling several miles upstream before exiting near of copse of trees. Black Sun dismounted, covering his tracks with deadfall from the nearby trees.
He glanced at Ione slumped over the saddle, her head resting against his horse's withers. The long ride had exhausted her. Remounting, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back against his bare chest, allowing her to rest comfortably. Then he continued on. His destination was in sight as he scanned the high bluff to the north. He knew he'd be there soon.
O.O
The Cheyenne warriors soon routed the raid on the village, bringing it to an end nearly as quickly as it began. Though the fighting was fierce, the Cheyenne soon had the attackers fleeing across the prairie. Several hide lodges were burnt beyond salvage, which meant the families that lost their homes would take residence with relatives until the necessary goods were gathered to build new homes. Amongst the dead was an elderly man, a mother, her young child, a boy that had been on herd duty, and Night Wolf's youngest sister, Little Sage. The girl who fancied herself a budding warrior with moderate archery skills had managed to plant an arrow into the chest of one invader, but ended up on the business end of a feathered tomahawk.
Soon the fleeing women returned to their homes to assess the damage then help others in need. Tessa along with Winter Bird sorted through their household items, deciding which ones to donate.
Night Wolf frantically searched for Ione, knowing he had not found her amongst the dead. He mourned his sister's loss, slashing his forearms to show his grief. He watched his mother coat her own face with ashes, hacking off her own braids with a knife. She keened brokenly, singing a dirge that would carry her beloved daughter's soul to the afterlife. Witnessing his mother's suffering sent a piercing ache through his heart, but it was nothing compared to the loss he felt that he couldn't find Ione.
He followed the slight indentations made by the moccasins she wore in the soft earth. He tracked her to Sun Bear's lodge then onward when they seemed to vanish. He noted a fresh set of horse prints. From the length of the stride, the horse had been galloping. The depth in the earth suggested it carried more than one rider. His heart sank with the realization she'd been carried off by one of the enemy. He had to find her. Her life depended on it.
O.O
Black Sun led his horse up a steep incline on the side of the bluff. When he crested it, he mounted again, turning west. He maneuvered the horse through the maze of boulders until he came to the entrance of a large cave. Then he dismounted, leading the horse inside. The cave interior was deep, spacious, with stalactites hanging from its high ceiling. Ione allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness, staring in awe at the natural architecture.
When he reached the rear of the cave, he yanked Ione from the horse's back. She landed on her bottom with an 'oomph,' letting out a startled squeal. Black Sun ignored her as he brushed down the horse's lathered flesh. Then he provided it with some grain, tethering it near a shallow pool of water.
Grabbing up Ione, he led her to the opposite side of the cavern, sitting her down near a fire pit. He motioned to her, instructing her to get a fire going. Then he walked away a short distance, pushing a slab of rock aside. From within a shallow crevice, he pulled a beaded parfleche and what looked to be a dirty scrap of humanity. A high pitched cry sounded. At that moment, Ione knew it had to be female.
Could it be Samantha
? Hope swelled in her heart.
Black Sun shoved the girl to the fire pit, pushing her to the ground. He handed the parfleche to her, making the hand sign to fix food then he returned to the horse. He glared at them before grabbing his bow and quiver of arrows. "Stay put," he growled in stilted English.
Ione spared the warrior a glance before carefully looking over the cowering girl before her. Dirt covered her facial features, stained her greasy looking dress. Hair that had once been pale blonde was now brown from mud. It hung in limp strands around the girl's face. She waited until Black Sun was out of earshot then crept over to the girl. She was sure it was Samantha.
"Samantha," Ione whispered as she reached a hand out to touch her sister's shoulder.
The girl's head snapped up at the sound of a familiar voice. Her eyes grew wide from the surprise of seeing her sister in front of her, "Ione!" They embraced happily as tears coursed down their faces. Samantha broke out in ragged sobs, clutching Ione tightly. "I'm so happy to see you again! You don't know what it's been like since that foul man captured me! How did you get here?"
"I was rescued from the ones who attacked our wagons by a Cheyenne warrior. He took care of me. He took me back to his camp, but it was attacked by Crow. I was captured, traded to the man who took you. We have to escape. I have to find Night Wolf," Ione replied.
"Black Sun will kill us if we try to run away. I've tried to get away from him, but he always catches me. He's done horrible things to me. He violates me every night. I try to fight him off, but he's too strong," Samantha cried, wiping her eyes on her dirty sleeve.
"I ache for you, sister. Night Wolf spared me that horror," Ione replied. "He's probably worried sick because I'm missing."
Samantha's brow furrowed, "Who is Night Wolf?"
Ione smiled despite their precarious predicament. "He's the most wonderful man I've ever met. He's handsome, gallant, and brave. He's the Cheyenne warrior who saved me from the Crow. He's taken care of me. He's been gentle and loving."
"He's one of those red-skinned bastards!" Samantha wailed, shocked at her sister's confession. "No decent white woman would give herself to one of them. How can you sit there, speaking of him like that when our mother and father lay dead somewhere, killed by his kind!?!? Our brothers are dead because of his kind! Thad is dead! They carried Chloe off. What about your shameless friend, Tessa? I bet she couldn't wait to spread her legs for them. She probably thought it would save her worthless hide!"
