Thundering over the Tundra on the back of a horse was not my idea of a good time, but my dream was riding me. I had to know and, because of that, I had at least two warriors and a shaman around me as we headed across the barren steppes towards a small village.
The smell hit us first. Not the sound, but the smell. At least THAT was normal. The wind carried the scent of cooking food and freshly baked bread as we approached the village That concentration was broken slightly as a stone from a hoof tore a deep gouge over my left eye, making it bleed profusely.
Blood! Just the thought of it brought back the dream that caused this mad flight from the camp with a Mongol shaman named Jin Mai. I couldn't think. All I could see was Kiefer Sutherland lying in the dirt in a pool of blood. My breathing almost stopped, as the image lay before me in full color. No! I was not going to give in to panic. To follow that path would be insanity. I didn't need to fall apart at this particular moment.
Suddenly, we were in the middle of the village, an honestly normal village. One with barking dogs, neighing horses, milling children, and gossiping neighbors. I looked around in confusion for a moment, glancing this way and that for something that looked off. Frowning, I looked at Jin and said, "You said they were here. My dream said Kiefer was in danger."
The shaman at my side turned her horse in a circle, and then looked back at the warriors behind me. At her silent command, they rode out and around the village while I dismounted and led my horse through the main thoroughfare of this place with no name. We both looked at each other in confusion.
"I don't like it," I murmured as I glanced at one woman as we walked past. She smiled, but it never reached her eyes. Eyes that were filled with such terror that I knew the facade was forced. THAT set up all my defensive alarms.
I nodded to the fearful woman and smiled back, putting all my reassurance in my eyes. "Jin." I called. When she approached, I looked over at the her, "Tell her we have lost a friend somewhere around here and were wondering if he had made it through here."
The shaman gave me a look of curiosity, and then exchanged words with the woman. A fearful look passed over her face as Jin spoke. She shook her head and spouted off some words, clutching a pair of children to her. But I looked at the children looking at me curiously. One of them hand signed to me in the shadow of his mother, pointing in the right direction.
As he pointed, I noticed he was missing a pinky finger. The bandage was fresh as was the hand. A glance at the other hand told me all I needed to know. The boy grinned impishly and winked. I smiled and nodded thanks before turning to Jin. "Leave some of our supplies with this woman. They haven't been through here yet." I gave her a meaningful look.
She nodded and then reached into her saddlebags and handed her some dried meat and goat cheese. Then she said something that made her laugh and took the food inside, herding her children before her. The boy went, dragging his feet and waving.
We mounted and rode out of sight from the village. Jin turned to me and said, "Okay, what happened?"
I told her about the boy. "While you were talking to the mother, the boy pointed at the mountain. He made some other hand signs that I didn't recognize, but the bandage on one hand is fresh. The hand had been recently washed as well. Looks like our medical crew has been through here."
She hummed. We rode in silence until we were out of sight of the village. Casually we turned and headed for the mountain. Our two warriors joined us and chattered away. Jin nodded, then translated. "They say there are tracks up the mountain, many of them. It looks like the crew was taken by the mountain bandits for some odd reason."
I nodded, and then said, "Have them keep watch on the Village. Anyone comes into the village with the intent to harm these people I want them -- detained would be a good word for it. I want them breathing and relatively in good shape. You never know when we need a bargaining chip."
She chuckled and relayed the words. Both of them grinned and seemed to fade into the forest. Jin turned to me, "They promise they'll be still in usable shape if any get caught," she winked. "So, now what?"
I looked up the trail and sighed, "We ride." I shook my head and said, "There goes my photography layout."
A horse appeared out of the brush next to us as Little Father appeared on a shaggy mountain horse, "Not entirely. Looks can be deceiving, Shadow Bear. If you do this right, you will be back in your own camp by tomorrow morning."
Jin looked at him, grinning like a fool. "It has been a long time."
Little Father winked at her. "Yes, it has, hasn't it?"
I looked between the two of them, suddenly feeling the sensual attraction they were oozing at each other. "Okay, you two love birds, I'm riding ahead. When you finish cooing and making eyes at each other, join me and hope that Kiefer isn't hurt or dead." I kicked my horse into a gallop.
I topped the rise and almost got snagged by a rope stretched over the path. As it was, I shifted just in time so that it scraped over the open gash on my forehead, causing it to bleed even worse, before I managed to get loose of it. I hauled on he reigns shortly after that and looked down on the camp in the valley. What I saw, chilled my blood.
Kiefer was in the center of camp on his knees. His arms tied to a branch thrust between his elbows. Standing behind him was a monster of a man, heavily muscled and armed to the teeth. He was taunting and poking at Kiefer with what appeared to be a knife.
Furious, I spurred my horse down the hill at a full gallop. I only had eyes for my lover's tormentor. As I rode over the guards who tried to stop me, I climbed up so I was practically crouched on the saddle. Not a great move, but hey, it gave me the purchase I needed to launch myself at the man responsible for making Kief bleed so much.
My attack took him by surprise as I hit him with a flying tackle. I hit him square in the chest and rode him to the ground, relieving him of his knife in the process. By the time I got to the ground, my knife was on his throat, drawing blood. A lot of good it did me because the rest of the men had their guns pointed at my head and Kiefer's.
Whatever might have happened next was forestalled by a single gunshot from beyond the circle of menace. Everyone looked up to see an ancient Mongol lower his pistol. He growled out something and they all looked shame faced. In heavily accented English he looked at me and said, "Release Ngatu. He has enough to pay for without a woman shedding his blood."
Smiling, I stood up, but kept the knife pointed at the man. "Then he should know better than to torment helpless people." I said, then turned and slashed Kiefer's bonds. "Especially one of my friends."
