His Dakota Captive

by Jenna Kernan

  Lucie opened her mouth but nothing came out.

  “Mr. Fox, do you know what the hell you are doing?”

  Sky nodded. “I shot him.”

  Lucie’s voice returned. “No!” She ran forward, throwing herself into Sky’s arms. “No, no. Don’t do this!”

  Reilly called to his men. “West, Selman, secure this prisoner.”

  David’s jaw was set in a look of determination Lucie recognized. The two dismounted and grabbed Sky by each arm. Lucie clasped her fingers behind Sky’s neck and clung to him with all she had.

  “Lucie,” David said, the disapproval ringing in his voice. “Have you no shame?”

  No, she had no shame left. Instead, she had a love for a man who would give his life away to save…who? She fought and it took three men to dislodge her. Sky stood straight and silent, refusing to look at her.

  “Let him go!” she howled.

  She struggled in the arms of the soldier holding her, kicking at them and trying to wrench free as they tied Sky’s wrists behind his back.

  Eagle Dancer stepped up to him and spoke. Lucie could not hear the words, but she heard Sky’s reply.

  “Friend, let me do this.”

  Eagle Dancer stepped back and Sky was led away.

  They were leaving.

  “No!” she howled. “They’re not his arrows!”

  The men released her. But the others had already thrown Sky upon a horse. Lucie flew to Eagle Dancer.

  “Save him. Please. It’s a lie. You know it’s a lie. He didn’t do it.”

  “He has made his choice.”

  Lucie released him. “You will let him take the blame?”

  Eagle Dancer said nothing. She turned to follow Sky, but Eagle Dancer grasped her arm and drew her back. “Lucie. Don’t go.”

  She saw the hurt in his eyes, reflecting her own. They had each lost the one they loved today and the understanding and grief flowed between them. But still he would not give her up, even knowing she loved another.

  “Let go,” she whispered.

  “I have waited my whole life to see that look in your eyes and when I see it you are looking at another man.”

  Her heart broke again. “I love him. Please help me.”

  Eagle Dancer released her. When he finally spoke his voice cracked. “If it is your wish.” He cleared his throat and spoke to his people. This time his words were clear and strong. “I divorce this woman. She is no longer my wife.”

  The crowd seemed to give a collective gasp and the whispers began.

  Lucie stood dumbstruck. The man who had done anything to possess her had finally given her up. She thought of all the times she had begged him to release her. Why now? Was it because he knew he had no power to prevent her leaving? That she would go with his permission or without it?

  Eagle Dancer aged before her eyes. His shoulders slumped and his expression seemed bereft. When he spoke, his words were low and gentle, like a caress. “It is all you ever wanted from me, isn’t it, Sunshine—your freedom?”

  She could not speak past her tears and could only nod. She turned to go, but he stopped her again, this time with a gentle touch.

  “Sunshine, why did you come back?”

  “To repay you for keeping me alive and to tell you that I forgive you.”

  Eagle Dancer’s dark eyes swam with tears. “Where will you go now?”

  It was a very good question.

  Lucie had three choices. She could backtrack to the school and beg for her position, return to her parents, or go to Fort Sully and try to get Sky released. She had no illusions that they would let him go as easily as they had discharged Eagle Dancer. Sky was their scapegoat and they would definitely put him on trial in a military court.

  The arrows did not belong to Sky, but Lucie was certain that no one cared if they had the right man as long as they had a convenient culprit. He would be painted doubly the villain as he was white. Lucie considered that her sensationalized story would pale by comparison.

  She still did not know how Sky felt about her, but she was certain what lay in her heart and that was enough to decide the matter. She was going to Fort Sully. But first she would discover the real guilty party, for she would not see Sky punished while the guilty one went free.

  The morning had fled and she had done little but cry herself sick and pack her belongings, while Eagle Dancer was out conferring with the elders. He called a greeting before entering, as if it were a tipi instead of his house.

  She did not try to hide her red eyes or puffy cheeks. They suited her mood. She rose to speak to Eagle Dancer, hoping he would help her save Sky.

  “You know who did this. The man responsible must step forward.”

  “The man responsible?” Eagle Dancer shook his head. “Did Sky tell you of his friend?”

  “The boy he killed with an arrow? Yes. But I don’t see what that has to do with this.”

  “They are joined together in the spinning hoop. One action, and now another—linked.”

  Lucie shook her head in confusion.

  “This boy that was Sky Fox has lived in guilt and shame over his action. He never faced the council of elders, he never accepted punishment for his crime. What is more, he is responsible for the death of a good boy, brave and strong.”

  “A tragedy, to be sure.”

  “I knew then that he should not die for doing this one bad thing. But I did not foresee how he would suffer by not being able to pay for this act.” Eagle Dancer shook his head. “He has told me that he has never taken a life since that day, not even to defend his own. Yet he has survived gun battles, thieves who would steal the cattle he guards, attacks by Comanche. How is this possible?”

  “He is very lucky, I suppose.”

  “He went searching for death on many occasions. He has told me this.” Eagle Dancer continued his train of thought. “We once had a warrior who was impervious to bullets. Only one of his own people could kill him.”

  Lucie realized that he was speaking of the great war chief the whites called Crazy Horse.

  “He was protected by strong medicine because he was a holy man. He gave his life for others. Sky Fox follows this path.”

  Lucie’s spine prickled as she recalled having a similar thought. “Even a holy man should not be asked to protect a murderer.”

  Lucie opened her mouth to speak, but Eagle Dancer raised a hand to stop her. Then he stood stiffly and walked to the door. He called to his nephew, who appeared a few minutes later.

  “This boy is not yet fourteen winters old,” said Eagle Dancer. “Nearly the same age Sky Fox was when he killed the son of Joy Cat.”

  Lucie stared in frustration at Eagle Dancer.

  “The arrows belong to others, three boys. But the war club this boy used to avenge himself belonged to me.”

  “To you?” But how could Eagle Dancer have killed Carr? Lucie glanced at No Moccasins in confusion. In that moment, seeing his flushed face and downcast eyes, she understood it all.

  The boy returning for vengeance, his friends trying to capture the glory of battle they would never know and the man who could not save a boy killed by his carelessness, given the opportunity to save three young lives. Of course he accepted the blame. It was a way to atone for the act for which he could never make right.

  Lucie stood. “Oh, my God in heaven. Sky did it to save him.”

  “And most surely, he has.”

  No Moccasins’s head hung.

  “And the lives of three others, as well.” Eagle Dancer held up two arrows. “Running Horse and his younger brother.” He added a third to the group. “And Red Lightning.”

  No Moccasins lifted his head, staring with eyes made glassy from unshed tears. Eagle Dancer spoke as he stared at the boy.

  “But this one will not live his life filled up with shame and guilt, for he will make up for his mistake. He must be like Sky Fox and make a life worthy of such sacrifice.”

  No Moccasins looked at his uncle.

  “
But his way is not the white man’s way. So, he will not go back to the mission school. He must gain a different kind of education. He will be a keeper of the language, the rituals and rites to remember what his brothers and sisters are forced to forget. Like Sky, he will not be a warrior, for he will also be a holy man who serves his people.”

  No Moccasins straightened. He no longer looked defeated and ashamed. Eagle Dancer had given him back his dignity and delivered a purpose. Eagle Dancer had seen what had become of Sky and would not make the same mistake twice. No Moccasins would have a time of penance and then gain absolution. Then perhaps he would not also feel the need to sacrifice himself.

  The head man pushed his nephew toward the door. “Go and speak to Iron Bear. Tell him that you wish to learn all he can teach you.”

  No Moccasins ran out the door.

  Lucie found her throat burning and the tears she had held back now fell.

  “If Sky tells the truth, they’ll kill the boys.” Eagle Dancer stared at her. “You will go to him now?”

  She nodded and he clenched his jaw as he looked at her with a longing that constricted her chest and made it hard to breathe.

  “My heart knew that once I opened the cage door, this little bird would fly away.”

  “Yes. But I am not the only caged bird. You should remove your niece from that school.”

  Eagle Dancer’s brows rose. “This you say after working there?”

  “She is a captive, just as I once was. Bring her home.” She gathered her blanket bundle and Sky’s possessions while Eagle Dancer watched her with sad eyes. At last she stood in the doorway. “Goodbye.”

  He didn’t speak or move, only stared after her until he could see her no more.

  This time Eagle Dancer did not have the lie to shield him. He had to face the truth and it cut his insides like flecks of swallowed flint. She did not love him, had never loved him and nothing he could say or do would change her mind.

  He looked about at the white man’s cabin he had built for her. The straight walls and careful chinking all erected on a delusion.

  Eagle Dancer walked slowly to the glowing oil lamp and hoisted it over his head. Then he threw it with all his strength against the wall.

  The glass shattered in an explosion of flaming oil that instantly ignited the furs upon the floor and the blankets before the fire. Black smoke billowed, forcing him to retreat. He banged into the wall, missing the door and falling to the floor, choking on the smoke.

  Someone grabbed hold of his war shirt, dragging him backward. He breathed fresh air, but his eyes stung from the smoke and it took a moment to open them. When he did, he looked up into the face of the one who had saved him, his nephew—No Moccasins.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lucie stepped from the riverboat to the dock, thankful that Sky’s saddlebag had provided her more than enough for her passage downriver. She also had his gun and gun belt. The horse she had left in No Moccasins’s care. She walked to the fort, but upon arrival, discovered that the major would not see her. She considered telling Reilly who was really responsible, but could not find the nerve to condemn four boys, so she went to her brother.

  David left the officers’ quarters to speak with her, but instead of the help she had sought she got only an angry tirade.

  “I’ve telegraphed Mother and Father and written at length. They know…everything.”

  David was still tattling, just like he had always done. Had he expected her to hang her head in shame? Well, she wouldn’t. “Will you help me to see Sky?”

  “Are you chasing after him now? What about your husband, the chief?”

  “He divorced me.”

  David took a step back, to absorb that. His voice lost its condemning tone. “Lucie, go home. You don’t belong here.”

  “No, David, you’re wrong, This is exactly where I belong.”

  He sighed. “You can’t save him.”

  “But I can at least see him.”

  David pressed his lips together. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Lucie squeezed his upper arm and left him to return to his fellows. She knew she was making David’s life difficult. But she was determined to do anything she had to do to reach Sky.

  She was not granted access to Sky on the second day. She needed an excuse to remain in view of the stockade so she took up the task of darning socks and mending uniforms for the soldiers. She stationed herself directly across from the guardhouse with her basket. There she waited and watched. The morning detail included three soldiers, a cook who brought meals—two a day—an afternoon detail that stayed until the sun set and then the night watch took over until daybreak.

  One week had passed when Eagle Dancer arrived with the B.I.A. agent, Mr. Livingston. How had he journeyed all the way from the northern reservation? She hoped he had not walked, for such exertions were bound to aggravate his consumption, but she knew he could little afford the boat passage. She watched him across the yard, noting that his hair was singed and his face burned, as if he had fallen into his fire. What on earth had happened?

  She stood to cross to him and his step faltered as he noticed her, but did not change direction or signal recognition. Lucie hesitated, unsure if she should approach or not. What had she expected—that he would be her ally after what she had done to him?

  She watched the men check Eagle Dancer thoroughly before they all disappeared into the guardhouse. It was not until after he had vanished that she thought that he might also be under arrest.

  Sky glanced up at the sound of boots that arrived too early for dinner and too late for lunch. Something had happened. He stood peering out the square window set high in the solid door as Eagle Dancer was escorted forward.

  “Have they arrested you, brother?” asked Sky.

  “No.”

  One of the soldiers spoke to Livingston. “What’s he saying?”

  “Asking if he’s arrested,” said Livingston.

  “Not yet,” said the soldier, fingering the trigger of his rifle.

  Eagle Dancer stared steadily forward, accusing him with his gaze. Sky looked away and then back.

  Lucie’s outburst at his arrest had certainly left no doubt about her feelings. Sky regretted the hurt this caused his friend, nearly as much as he regretted not being able to explain to Lucie what he had done.

  “Will you make her understand?”

  Eagle Dancer shook his head. “She knows all.”

  Sky’s head sank forward in relief. Eagle Dancer’s words called him back from his musings.

  “How did you get her to come? Did you tell her I was sick, miserable, in prison—dying? Did you take all my manhood to bring her to me?”

  Sky thought of lying, but had too much respect for this man. “She would not come at first. When you were arrested, she changed her mind.”

  Eagle Dancer’s eyes squeezed shut as if he were enduring some torturous pain.

  “What they saying now?” asked the guard.

  “They’re talking about Miss West.”

  The man leered. Sky’s hands balled into fists around the iron bars. He set his anger aside and stared at Eagle Dancer, who had recovered himself somewhat. He waited.

  Eagle Dancer breathed deeply and then spoke. “We will not forget what you do here. I will see to it.”

  “I do nothing but give back the life I have taken. The hoop was broken that day and now it is whole again.”

  “What’d he say?” said the guard.

  Livingston translated. “He is confessing to the crime.”

  “Will you take care of Lucie? None of this is her fault.”

  “This I cannot do,” said Eagle Dancer.

  He pressed his hands flat to the planed cedar as his stomach dropped at the possibilities.

  “Why?”

  “I have spoken the words. She is my wife no longer. If you die, I think she will cut her hair and that would be a pity, as she has such beautiful hair.”

  Sky felt his eyes burning and could not spe
ak.

  Lucie breathed a sigh of relief when Eagle Dancer finally emerged from the guardhouse. As before, his face revealed nothing, but this time, instead of walking past her without so much as a glance, he made straight for her. Livingston had stopped to speak to the guards, leaving them alone for a moment.

  Only when he was before her did she notice that his face was burned. She blinked in shock at the burns across his forehead and jaw. Before she could ask what had happened he began to speak, quickly, urgently.

  “I am not permitted past the door. There are two guards with rifles, who never leave. Who has the keys? I don’t know. No Moccasins rides Ceta south and will wait for you across the river on the land of the Bitterroot. Send word to us with any of the People who trade here and it will reach me.”

  Livingston caught up with them, just as Lucie understood that he was passing her intelligence, like a scout. He was trying to help her help Sky. She stared up at him in wonder, gratitude welling up inside her.

  “All right, chief. You seen him. Now you got to go.”

  Eagle Dancer nodded and held her gaze for a moment more. “Remember the trick of your mother.”

  And then he was gone.

  Her mother? What the blazes?

  What had Eagle Dancer meant about her mother’s trick? She thought back to all Eagle Dancer knew about Sarah West. Had he met her when she had visited their camp, trying to rescue her daughter? The day Lucie escaped….

  She sat upright. The day she escaped, her mother had taken Lucie’s place. Draped in blankets against the cold, not even her daughter had known what Sarah had done until hours and miles later. Sarah had played a trick. She had changed places with Lucie. The guards saw one white woman enter and one leave.

  But Lucie couldn’t take Sky’s place, even if they did let her in his cell.

  “But I can’t…” She recalled Mr. Livingston’s presence and fell mute.

  “I have brought you corn bread.” Eagle Dancer turned and motioned to a woman who carried a folded piece of red wool trade cloth. As she approached, Lucie noted it was Joy Cat’s daughter, Dragonfly. Lucie accepted the bundle, recognizing it was too heavy to be bread.