Under the Northern Lights

by Tracie Peterson

  He frowned but moved away from her. ‘‘That can always change,’’ he muttered. He said nothing more, nor did he try to touch her again.

  Leah drifted off to sleep feeling her peace of mind slip away. If he came to her in the night, she would be defenseless. God, please keep me in your care. Guard me through the night.

  When she awoke in the morning, Leah felt stiff and achy from having been stuck in pretty much one position all night. Still, she was determined not to complain. Chase slept soundly in front of the tent opening. No doubt he thought this would be just one more barrier to keep Leah from escaping.

  ‘‘Chase, wake up. I need to check the traps and get the dogs readied for the day,’’ she said as she struggled to sit up. It was impossible. ‘‘Would you please untie me?’’

  ‘‘It’s still dark outside,’’ Chase muttered.

  Leah laughed. ‘‘It’s going to be dark for several more hours, but I still need to tend to things. Unless, of course, you don’t plan on our leaving before it’s light.’’

  Chase yawned and unfastened her bonds. ‘‘If it were up to me, we’d forget about the others all together.’’

  His words frightened Leah. She suddenly thought, for the first time, that perhaps he would do just that. ‘‘I don’t want to forget the others. You know that full well.’’ She pulled the rope away from her feet and hands. She decided to say nothing more. ‘‘I’ll get a fire going. If we’ve managed to catch something in the trap, I’ll do a quick skinning and cleaning and put the food to cook for our breakfast.’’

  Leah didn’t wait for a response. Instead, she hurried to secure another oil lamp to light her way outside, then left Chase to his own devices. The dogs stirred and began to whine for their breakfast. She gathered dried brush and took pieces of driftwood that she’d packed on the sled to start a fire. Once that was going, she put a pot of snow on to melt, then set off to check her traps. By the time she returned, the snow would be melted and she could add more to the pot.

  There was no other sound except for the sorrowful howls of the dogs. They were grieved that she would go off along the trail without them. Especially Marty. She could hear his distinct cry even as the others joined in.

  The first trap revealed a fat fox. Leah smiled. She would save the skin for trading, should they come to a village, but feed the meat to the dogs. It would stretch their meager breakfast and make a hearty addition to the frozen fish. The other trap revealed a hare. Not as fat as the fox, but a good enough size to feed Chase and herself a couple of meals. She would boil the animal, and they could drink the broth and have some of the meat for breakfast. Later in the day they could have the remaining meat for lunch. The skin would be nice to save as well. If she didn’t sell it, Leah knew it could be useful to them for lining their clothes or making additional protection for their feet or hands.

  She had been working for nearly an hour when Chase finally came outside. It was still very dark, not even hinting at dawn.

  ‘‘What time is it?’’ he asked, yawning. ‘‘I fell back asleep. Good thing you’re a woman of your word.’’ He stretched and sniffed the air. ‘‘What’s that?’’

  ‘‘Snowshoe hare. I caught one in the trap, as well as a fox. The dogs made quick order of the fox meat, but our rabbit will make two nice meals for us.’’

  ‘‘Smells delightful. I guess your traps came in handy.’’

  Leah looked up from the camp stove. ‘‘Yes. They always have in the past. If you’re ready for something to eat, I can pour you some of the broth. I figured we’d drink the broth and eat a bit of the meat, then save the rest for lunch. Does that meet with your approval?’’

  ‘‘I’ll tell you after I see how full I get on broth,’’ Chase replied, sitting down on the ground beside her.

  They ate in silence, but all the while Leah kept wondering where they would travel and how far they would have to go. ‘‘So are you holding my husband and brother at Mary’s Igloo?’’ The tiny town, if it could even be called a town, had once been a fairly well-populated place. It had originally been called Kauwerak, but when gold came to the area in the early 1900s, a name change had come about due to an Eskimo woman named Mary who offered refuge and warm meals for the miners who were in need.

  ‘‘They aren’t there,’’ Chase said flatly.

  Leah felt the food stick in her throat. She quickly grabbed some water to wash down the lump. ‘‘Why are we going there, then?’’

  ‘‘I didn’t say we were. I just said that was the direction you needed to go.’’

  Leah drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘‘I see. So how much farther will we go? Surely it does you no harm to tell me now. We’re far from Last Chance. There’s no one for me to give the secret to.’’

  ‘‘I suppose not,’’ Chase replied, ‘‘but I know you to be a very ingenious woman. After all, your survival skills rival mine or any other man I know. If I were to tell you where we were headed, there would be little to keep you from doing me in and slipping away to find them on your own.’’

  ‘‘But I gave you my word.’’

  ‘‘A lot of people have given me their word before, Miss . . . excuse me . . . Mrs. Kincaid. I don’t trust you or anyone else.’’

  ‘‘Maybe that’s your problem,’’ Leah replied rather flippantly.

  ‘‘Well, now it’s yours as well,’’ he answered, getting to his feet. ‘‘Be ready to leave in ten minutes.’’

  Leah watched him walk away. She had no idea where he was headed, but no doubt he’d keep an eye on her the entire time. With a sigh, she quickly went about breaking camp. Within the requisite ten minutes she was ready to roll out. As Chase made his way back into camp, the skies overhead revealed signs of dawn.

  ‘‘Let’s be on our way,’’ he announced, motioning her to the basket. ‘‘But this time, I’ll drive the dogs.’’

  Leah had no choice but to accept the arrangement. But as she settled into the basket, she felt a despairing chill settle over her once again. Gone was the peace from the night before, and in her heart she cried out again for God to help her.

  I’m not a very faithful child, Lord, but I’m trying. Please help us. Help me . . . help Jayce and Jacob. Lord, I don’t know what else to do. I just need for you to show me.

  Chapter Five

  What are you saying, Emma?’’ Jacob looked in disbelief at the woman. ‘‘Jayce hasn’t been here until now. Not since last summer.’’

  ‘‘But he was here. I saw him. He was here with Leah. They left together.’’

  Jacob looked to Jayce. ‘‘It must have been your brother.’’

  Fear for Leah mingled with anger—no, rage—at Chase. Jayce clenched his fists. ‘‘I’m sure you’re right. Which way did they go?’’

  Emma shook her head. ‘‘I don’t understand any of this.’’ The bewildered woman took a seat at her table. ‘‘I thought Leah wasn’t acting herself, but since she’d just arrived and was so tired . . .’’

  Jacob sat down across from her. ‘‘Emma, think back. Tell me everything.’’

  Jayce joined them. He feared any kind of delay, but it was evident they needed more information.

  ‘‘Well, Leah came home with John. They only arrived a few days ago. The man we thought to be Jayce arrived a few hours ahead of her. We thought from the things he said that he was you. He seemed to know us—at least he acted as though he knew us.’’

  ‘‘My brother is a consummate actor. He has fooled an entire nation into believing we are one and the same.’’

  ‘‘He was very nice,’’ Emma said, shaking her head. ‘‘I would have expected . . . well, he didn’t seem bad.’’

  ‘‘Chase has a way of putting people at ease and making them believe whatever he wants them to believe,’’ Jayce said. ‘‘Don’t feel bad.’’

  ‘‘Well, he certainly had me fooled. He seemed quite kind and very loving toward Leah. Are you sure she would know the two of you apart?’’

  Jacob laughed. ‘�
�Leah would know. She was probably under some sort of threat. At least that’s my guess.’’

  Emma nodded. ‘‘She did tell me that your brother was in trouble. She mentioned his kidnapping Mrs. Beecham.’’

  ‘‘What about Mrs. Beecham—Helaina? Was she here as well?’’ Jayce questioned.

  ‘‘No, there was no one but your brother.’’

  Jayce and Jacob exchanged a look of concern. ‘‘That’s probably how he gained her cooperation.’’ Fear for Helaina edged Jacob’s tone. ‘‘Leah knew your brother had taken Helaina. If Chase played on this—well, she would probably have done whatever he asked her to do.’’

  ‘‘Which was what?’’ Jayce looked to Emma again. ‘‘What were their plans?’’

  ‘‘Leah said they were going north—Kotzebue was mentioned, but she didn’t know anything for certain. She said he had a place up north. I asked if she was going to move away from us, and she assured me she wasn’t. Oh, I wish I’d paid better attention.’’

  ‘‘Chase spent last summer with the Homestead exploration group. They were in Kotzebue for some time trying to get native help. You don’t suppose he really has a cabin up there, do you?’’ Jayce turned to Jacob for answers.

  ‘‘I can’t imagine Chase being open enough to confide any such news. If he told her Kotzebue, it’s probably just a diversion.’’

  Emma began to twist her hands. ‘‘I can’t believe this. It’s so awful. Leah with a murderer.’’

  Jayce’s fear and anger mounted. Chase had gone too far this time. What little sympathy Jayce might have mustered for his brother fled in the realization that Leah was now in jeopardy.

  ‘‘I wonder what he did with Helaina,’’ Jacob muttered.

  Jayce realized Jacob was now pacing instead of sitting with them at the table. ‘‘I’m sure she’s fine. Chase would have had no way of knowing Leah would return to the village. If he came here merely to get supplies and new dogs, he probably put Helaina somewhere for safekeeping. Somewhere with friends or someone he could pay to watch over her. Maybe he promised them extra food or needed supplies.’’

  Jacob stopped. His face appeared to be chiseled in granite. The expression was one of barely contained rage. ‘‘He could have just killed her.’’

  ‘‘I don’t think he’d do that,’’ Jayce said, shaking his head. ‘‘Think about it, Jacob. He knows someone is after him. He had to figure that a search team would be assembled. Besides, Helaina would have told him that we would personally come for him. She knew we were only days behind her arrival into Nome.’’

  Jacob seemed to consider this and calm. ‘‘That’s true enough.

  Still, I don’t trust your brother.’’

  ‘‘I don’t trust him, either, but I trust his sensibility when it comes to self-preservation. He won’t do anything to jeopardize his safety and survival. Keeping Helaina alive while he gathered supplies and dogs would be in keeping with his manner of doing things,’’ Jayce assured. He could only pray that he was right. It did seem reasonable that Chase would conduct business in such a manner, but it also seemed just as much like Chase to eliminate any extra problems. Jayce would not tell his friend that, however.

  ‘‘So he came here, and they took ten dogs and supplies,’’ Jacob reiterated. ‘‘Emma, did Leah mention how many supplies they were taking? Did she perhaps say that Chase had told her to pack a certain amount of stuff?’’

  Emma frowned and closed her eyes. ‘‘I don’t think she ever mentioned it. We only talked briefly. I told her my sister was coming in the summer and that I was expecting another baby. I told her we had plans to go to the States in the summer. I just ran on with talk about me. I feel so ashamed.’’ She opened her eyes, revealing the tears that had welled.

  ‘‘Emma, this isn’t your fault,’’ Jacob said. He came to her and put his hand on her shoulder. ‘‘No one blames you for this. Now tell me, did anyone else talk to Leah before she left?’’

  ‘‘Ayoona and Oopick did,’’ Emma recalled. ‘‘You might talk to them about how that went. Ayoona’s a very astute old woman. She might have noticed something amiss.’’

  ‘‘That’s true,’’ Jacob said, looking to Jayce. ‘‘She might have known something was wrong but not been able to figure out what it was.’’

  ‘‘We’ll talk to her,’’ Jayce said. ‘‘So let me get this right. They left two days ago with ten dogs and a sled packed with goods and headed north—but you know nothing more.’’

  Emma nodded. ‘‘I’m really sorry.’’ From one of the other rooms a baby began to cry. ‘‘That’s Rachel. She’s not been feeling well. If you’ll excuse me, I need to tend to her.’’

  ‘‘You go ahead, Emma. Jayce and I have bothered you long enough. Thanks for helping us.’’

  ‘‘I wish I knew more,’’ Emma said, getting to her feet.

  ‘‘It’s all right. It’s more than we knew before this,’’ Jacob replied.

  Jayce nodded. ‘‘It’s very useful.’’

  Walking away from the missionaries’ house, Jayce couldn’t help but feel a tremendous sense of frustration. It had been such a surprise to arrive at Last Chance and find Leah wasn’t there. The first people they spoke with had no idea where Leah had gone, but then they’d happened upon Emma as she was hauling in chopped driftwood for her stove. Jayce wished that Emma’s comments had given comfort instead of dread.

  ‘‘We’ll find her,’’ Jacob said. ‘‘We’ll find them both. We’re smarter than Chase, and we know this land better than he does.’’

  ‘‘But you don’t know him. He has an uncanny knack for learning and surviving. I mean, look how long the Pinkerton agents were after him. He knows how to take care of himself, but he doesn’t have any regard for others. Now he has Leah and Helaina. I want to be encouraging about this, but I don’t know how.’’

  Jacob nodded. ‘‘I know. I feel the same way. But if we despair, we might be inclined to admit to defeat and give up.’’

  ‘‘I’ll never give up.’’ Jayce was resolved to the pursuit of his brother. ‘‘If I have to follow Chase all over the world, I won’t give up. He’s made this more personal than merely pretending to be me. He’s taken the woman I love. He’s taken the very heart of me, and I won’t stand for it.’’

  Karen Ivankov awoke with a start. She sat up in bed and tried to listen to the silence around her. It wasn’t even light yet, but something felt very wrong. And then she remembered: She’d had a horrible nightmare about Leah falling through the ice. She was a young girl again—about the age when Karen had taken over guardianship.

  Leah was flailing against the water and Karen had tried desperately to reach her, but it was impossible. Then in her dream she saw Jacob walk out across the ice to help his sister. Karen called to him, admonishing him to crawl on the ice to better distribute his body weight. But Jacob wasn’t listening and fell through the ice as well.

  ‘‘Are you all right?’’ Adrik asked with a yawn.

  Karen turned. In the darkness she could only make out her husband’s outline. ‘‘I had a bad dream about Jacob and Leah. I can’t seem to shake the feeling something’s wrong.’’

  She could feel Adrik turn over. He reached out to her. ‘‘Come here. I’m sure it was nothing.’’

  ‘‘I don’t know.’’ She snuggled down in his arms. ‘‘It seemed so real. Leah fell though the ice, and then Jacob fell through. I couldn’t help them, and they were going to . . . well . . . die. I just knew they were going to die.’’

  ‘‘Sweetheart, they’ve already been through life-threatening circumstances. You’re probably just dreaming this because of what happened this last summer. Leah and Jacob are no doubt doing just fine. Besides, Jayce is there to help Leah now. He’ll help Jacob as well. Don’t worry about them. God has it all under control.’’

  Karen cherished the warmth of her husband’s arms and felt a small amount of relief as he pulled her closer. Perhaps he was right. It was, after all, just a silly dream.

&n
bsp; ‘‘So what do you think about my taking that railroad job?’’ Adrik asked, changing the subject.

  ‘‘What exactly would you do for them?’’

  ‘‘I’d help the teams that are planning out the route. I’d hunt and trap for them and help them find their way through the forests and such. The governor doesn’t want to see the line fall apart again, for there’s been a great deal of money put into this venture. The project has halted twice now, and if it stagnates again, he’s afraid it will never be completed. He trusts a handful of his old friends to help get the track . . . on track.’’ He grinned at his play on words.

  ‘‘But you’d be gone for a long time,’’ Karen said, thinking in earnest about the job offer.

  ‘‘Well, that’s what I wanted to discuss with you. I’ve been thinking about it, and well, I think you and the children should come with me. Move to Seward at least, or better yet, north to the mouth of Ship Creek. There’s a huge population there—nearly two thousand people. It’s mostly tents, but I’d build you a house.’’

  ‘‘I thought you said it would only be temporary.’’

  He frowned. ‘‘It would be temporary.’’

  ‘‘Temporary as in years? No one is going to build that railroad overnight. Then, too, there’s talk about setting aside lands for a national park. No doubt they’ll want you to stick around and help with that. Before I know it, they’ll decide to run the line all the way to the Arctic, and I’ll be wearing a fur parka year-round.’’

  Adrik laughed. ‘‘The Arctic would be a very ambitious project to say the least. There’s an awful lot of rough terrain between Seward and Fairbanks; just getting it that far would be a miracle. I’m not completely convinced that a railroad line would ever be prudent in Alaska. The marshy ground in the summer would never support the tracks. They’d have to figure something out to ensure its endurance. Just look at all the trouble the earlier builders had. They used green wood and lighter rails. There are a great many places where the line will have to be rebuilt before they can ever move forward to new land.’’