“Well, now, pretty lady, I guess it is, but if any dyin' takes place around here, it'll be you folks that die. Let's discuss this hunger of ours.”
“Go. Return to your people now and you can leave safely.” Eldon said.
A rail thin man at the far end of the line chuckled and asked, “Ya have some big balls, son, but who's goin' to stop us, ya? One warrior against four?”
“Our women are warriors too, so you've been warned.”
All four men laughed and the thin man said, “We're lookin' for breedin' stock, and ya have two mighty fine lookin' ones with ya right now. We might just kill ya and then take 'em. I think they'd enjoy being used by real men for a change. What do ya say, darlin'?”
When the men looked at Lydia, Mongoose raised her bow, pulled the string back and let an arrow fly.
One of the four men screamed a warning, but the big man took the arrow deep into his hip. He gave a pitiful scream, fell from his horse, and hit the ground hard, driving the arrow deep into his coxa. As one, the remaining three charged forward, giving loud war cries.
A man with a spear narrowly missed Eldon, with the tip getting caught in the Eagle's shirt, but with a hard swing of his long sword, he made a long gash in the man's right thigh. Falling from his horse, the injured man stood surprisingly fast and pulled a bronze sword. Since he was injured, the Great Lakes man made no effort to start the fight, so Eldon took the battle to him.
Circling, each man looked for an opening or weakness, but saw none. Eldon started to move to the left, then quickly moved right, which opened the man up. Using the tip of his sword, he sunk about four inches of hardened steel into the man's shoulder. Grunting, with blood flowing from two injuries, the Great Lakes warrior took a roundhouse swing which Eldon easily ducked under, and extended his sword blade. The sharp metal took the warrior low and deep in the belly, and when he dropped his sword, Eldon lifted the sharp blade, opening a twelve inch incision.
The fatally injured warrior fell to his knees screaming, as he attempted to hold his bloody intestines inside. As crimson stained hands grasped at the rolls of purplish-gray gut, Eldon swung his sword with all his strength and grimaced as the Northern Lakes warrior's head rolled across the ground. The body fell to the left, quivering as its central nervous system shut down.
Mongoose quickly released a second arrow and saw her target take the long shaft in chest, but he acted as if she'd completely missed him. He swung a bronze battle ax as he rode by her, but missed, which allowed her time to nock another arrow. As he was turning his horse, Mongoose released another arrow which struck the man in the middle of his back. He completed his turn, gave a loud scream, and fell from his horse.
Knowing the man was still alive, which made him potentially dangerous, Mongoose ran to him as she pulled her skinning knife. His eyes were open and blood was puddling under him when she neared, but he seemed unable to move.
My last arrow must have struck his spine and he's paralyzed, she thought as she squatted beside him. Grabbing his filthy hair, she said, “We warned you our women were warriors, but the Great Lakes People must not have such warriors. When you get to the other-side in a few minutes, tell the men warriors a woman killed you.”
Without another word, she sent the point of her knife up and under the man's ribs, where she jerked the blade violently from side-to-side, ignoring his screams. Then, pulling the bloody blade, she cut his throat, as was the custom of her people. His body thrashed and jerked as she released his hair, letting the head fall, and stood. Her hands and forearms were dripping blood and the sweet coppery smell of blood filled the air.
Lydia's target moved right for her, which unnerved her a little, but she released her arrow and smiled as it struck the man in the left eye. He fell from his horse, slid on the grasses, and lay unmoving. She walked toward him, another arrow ready, only once near she saw he was dead. She knelt and cut his throat. The arrow entered his eye socket, then about four inches of the shaft went into his brain, which resulted in death, she thought. I could never make a shot like this if I wanted to do so. It was God's hand in my shooting.
Eldon asked, “Are you two hurt?”
“No, I'm fine.” Mongoose said.
“No injuries.” Lydia replied, “But what about you?”
“I'm fine. Now, let's go see what Mongoose hurt that started the dance.”
The big man was still screaming as they neared. Once at his side, Eldon kicked the man's weapons away from his reach and then pulled a knife from his belt.
“No . . . one . . . uses women . . . warriors.”
Mongoose laughed and said, “We do, fat man. Do you have a name?”
“I . . . I am called . . . Clint. What will . . . you . . . do . . . with me?”
Eldon said, “It is the custom of our people to torture captives to death. You will die a slow death.”
“No . . . torture.” The big man raise his right arm, which he fully extended and opened his hand wide, which was sign language meaning he was unarmed.
Eldon laughed and once sober said, “Of course you are unarmed. It'd be hard to torture a warrior to death if he had a weapon.”
Mongoose, using Sioux sign said to Eldon, “We will use ants.” Then looking down at the injured man she said, “Clint, it looks as if your bad day is about to get worse.”
Chapter 12
AS ASA AND BYRON STOOD over the bloody mangled body of Har, both wore smiles. The Big River People were no more, except for a few women and young girls. Every male, regardless of age, was killed in the attack to prevent the Big River People from ever walking on earth again. Asa was quickly killing off the weak and disease thinned tribes, and already had more land than his people could defend. He thought if he killed all his enemies, then all would belong to The Wolf People.
“Ora,” Asa asked, “how many women did we capture?”
“Twenty women and sixteen girls.”
“What would you guess the oldest woman's age to be?”
“Sixty and she's useless to us, unless someone needs a slow slave.” He laughed and then added, “The rest are around thirty or less in age.”
“Bring the old woman to me. It is time to put fear in the hearts of the women who yet live, and to show them we are powerful.”
The women were all taken before Asa who smiled at the beautiful young women and said, “We are your masters. Some of you will be allowed to marry into our tribe, especially you young girls; a few of you that are older may marry, while the remainder will become slaves. A few of you will be kept to entertain the young men without wives, which means you'll get little rest, because our men are always wanting a woman.”
He allowed time for his words to sink into the minds of the frightened women. After many long minutes he said, “Bring me the old woman.”
The old woman was brought before Asa and she kept her head lowered, not making eye contact with him.
“Kneel.” Asa said.
She knelt in the grasses and kept her head lowered. Asa pulled the steel sword that had been taken from Har's blood tarnished hands and held it high over his head, allowing the sunlight to reflect off the sharp cutting edge. He then slowly lowered it.
The old woman hadn't moved or said a word the whole time. Asa suddenly stuck about two inches of the blade into her back, which brought a warbling scream; her torso went straight, and her head came up. As soon as her head was up, the blade swung through the air and her head rolled to the grass. Her eyes actually met his for a second or two as she blinked, then a fountain of blood shot from her severed neck, and her body fell forward.
Most of the women and young girls screamed in fear, but a few stood unmoving as if in shock.
Walking to the head, Asa picked it up by the hair with his hand, and holding it high said, “This is what happens to those who dare disobey The People.”
Knowing he had the women scared, Asa said, “Byron, pick any woman you want and take her here, so all of them may witness what is in store for them.”
> Byron walked among the women, looking for one that he'd seen earlier, when they were being rounded up. Finally, he stopped in front of her. He grabbed her left arm and led her forward. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she left the group, and once beside Asa she fell to her knees.
Asa laughed and said, “She thinks we're going to remove her head.”
Forcing her to her feet, Byron took his knife and cut her simple wool dress down the middle. He then removed it and threw it to the ground. It wasn't until he started undressing that the woman realized what they wanted from her, and she smiled. She'd been raped before and it was expected when a tribe was overrun by the enemy. You may take me now, she thought as her legs were being forced open, but one day I will kill you.
When Byron finished with the woman, her clothes, now useless, were handed back to her and she was shoved back into the group naked. Once her clothes were on, her hands were secured behind her back, just like the others. Ora then had each woman's head tied to a long rope with a number of slipknots tied every few feet. By using four long ropes, four men could easily handle the captives. The woman, a narrow line of blood now running down her leg, was still smiling, because she was a survivor. I'll have my revenge, but it will take time, she thought as the men with the ropes began walking. They will never know I am the one responsible for what is to come.
Back at the village, Ora and Byron selected one young girl and one woman for themselves. The warriors, depending on their status divided the other women, and two older ones were pulled for the young men to enjoy. The young girls would all stay together until they were old enough to marry, but they'd be taught how to live as Wolf People, how to cook and how to please a man. The ones selected by the two warriors would be tattooed with their owners marks.
Byron didn't select the woman he'd raped in the village. He'd seen a different one that caught his eyes during the return trip. He had her placed in his lodge, chained to the support beam and left alone. He'd let her starve for a few days and provide her just enough water to stay alive.
He and the other leaders were to meet with Asa in his lodge immediately when they returned. He walked to the lodge, entered and was seated beside the leader. A small fire burned in the center of the one-room structure and the men were sitting in the dirt around the dancing flames.
“I have had a vision.” Asa said.
Bull shit, you've likely had an original thought, Byron thought and laughed internally.
“What was in your vision?” Ora asked. Since they'd returned to the village, the man had moved closer to Asa, supporting him in all things.
Sucking up to the leader, huh, Ora, Byron thought.
“In my vision, we overrun the village of the Eagle People and take many women captive. Their village is totally destroyed, with few survivors. A handful of men and women run north, but we let them go, so they may carry the danger of the Wolf People with them to others.”
“Why do we kill all the males? Male slaves are worth much if traded with the tribes across the big river or with those in the mountains to the west.” Luken asked.
“Each time we kill all the males and keep the women our village grows stronger. We will soon have many babies born of Wolf warriors and they will be our future. Trade we do not need, but we soon will control the most land of any tribe.”
Byron said, “We will need many warriors to keep control of even the land we have now. As you know, we cannot scout it and protect it from trespassers, because we have few men. And, you want more land? What good is land?”
Asa smiled and looked at Byron as he would a young child just before he said, “The land itself is nothing, but the animals on the land and the roots will feed us, just as the river and streams provide plants, pure drinking water, and fish. I would have thought a great warrior like you would have thought of this.”
“I worry of getting too much land too quickly and not being able to guard it. We can own land for a thousand miles in all directions, but it does not make us safe, not if we don't have enough warriors to scout the land and fight invaders.”
“The tribes are all weak from the sickness. The last trader that passed by said all the tribes have small pox and most have lost at least half of their men, with many losing up to seventy-five percent. Now, while the tribes are at their weakest is the time to strike them!”
All of the warriors except Byron screamed and yelled in agreement, but the warrior knew they were moving too quickly, and in the end it could cause the collapse of the Wolf People. Land is no good if you cannot protect it, he thought, but he said nothing.
“Three days from now, we will move against the Eagle people. We will strike fast, hard and be vicious as we fight. Not a single male will be left alive and all women between two years of age and thirty-five will be kept to populate the Wolf Clan! All others will taste the sharp bite of our swords.”
“This cannot happen yet!” Byron yelled to be heard over the yells.
“And, why not?” Asa asked, his eyes narrowed in anger as he stood.
Shit, I've pissed him off, Byron thought and after it grew quiet, he said, “We need to scout the village once more before we attack. The last time we visited, many were ill and most of the men were not well enough to be walking. Now if we scout, we might be able to get a better estimate of how many men we will face. No man in this room is a coward, but there is no need to risk all our lives by attacking without gathering intelligence first.”
Asa smiled, looked around the room, and then said, “Your suggestion is a valid one, and one I have already considered. I'm glad you're thinking better than you have in the past, my old friend. That is why, a week ago I sent a four man team to check the village of the Eagle People. They are due back any day now.”
If they come back at all, Byron thought.
“Now, I want each man to prepare for the coming battle. We will take half of our warriors and leave the remainder to guard our village. That is all I have to speak about, but Byron, I want to speak with you once all others have left. Leaders, see to your men.”
“Yes, Asa.”
The men quickly filtered out of the lodge, leaving the two alone. Long minutes of silence filled the room, until Asa said, “The next time you confront me in a meeting, I will have you drawn and quartered! You will never question my decisions ever again. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“I'd already thought of the scouting, but one day you'll go too far and anger me. I am the absolute ruler here—not you. I will not warn you again. Now, get the hell out of my lodge and leave me alone.”
Byron left and realized the Clan was entering a dangerous time, and if it existed as a people in a year, it would surprise him. All it would take is for a stronger tribe, there are many around us, to realize half our warriors are gone and then they'd take our village. A long trip like this with an attack at the end of it should be planned out in great detail. Asa wants to mount his horse, ride to the Eagle People, kill them all and then return home. He must know a thousand things can go wrong and while I'll never speak against him again, I'll keep my ass covered at all times, he thought as he walked to his lodge.
Four days later, as they awoke an hour before sunrise, Byron moved to the woods to relieve himself and as he peed, he felt a terrible burning sensation. He'd never felt such pain before in that part of his body. He returned to camp and made his way to Aquilla, the shaman's helper. The shaman never went along on attacks, due to his age, but usually one of his helpers did. Since Ninian death, an old man who'd once been a shaman was again in the position.
Aquilla listened to his complaint and then said, “You may have passed a kidney stone, so if the pain does not go away in a day or two, return and speak with me.”
“What do I do about the pain?”
“Drink whiskey, because we have no other painkiller.”
Each time they stopped for a break, his pain would be severe as he urinated. Finally, in late afternoon he pulled the whiskey bottle and began to sip i
t.
Asa watched him and then said, “Go easy on the drink. A drunk man cannot fight.”
“The shaman's helper ordered me to drink this. I have pain.”
“And, where is this pain?”
“In my penis when I pee.”
“I think you passed a kidney stone, as I have in the past. Drink and kill the pain, because it burns. But, on the day we are to attack, no whiskey for you, agreed?”
“Agreed.” Byron said, and then took a large gulp of the strong drink.
The next morning when he awoke, his penis was covered in a greenish-yellow pus, which scared him. Aquilla looked him over and then said, “You did not pass a kidney stone. You have a disease that the Old Ones called the French Pox. It is transmitted by sexual contact and there are no known treatments or cures. The Old Ones had a cure, but it has been lost over time.”
“What can I expect having this disease?”
Aquilla lowered his head and said, “The disease is rare among our people and you're the first one that I've seen to contract it. A person you had sexual contact with over the last three to fourteen days gave you the illness. If you've had sex with any others, they too will have the illness. From the papers the shaman has, which we are required to read and memorize, the disease will eventually kill you.”
“You mean to sit there and tell me because I screwed some bitch, I'm going to die? Are you insane? I've never heard of such a thing.”
“I'm being honest with you and if you don't want to know more, then I'll shut up.”
“I'm pissed.”
“I would be as well. I suspect, well, from what I heard, the woman you took at the last village may have been soiled.”
“I will cut her damned throat when we return.”
“Byron, the disease will kill you in stages. Over the next week or two the leaking from your penis will stop. Then, at some unknown point in the future, sores will develop on your manhood and they'll vary in length as to how long they last. Years from now, your sight will slowly get worst until you are blind.”
Eagle People Page 12
