by Merry Farmer
“Two Spots,” Aiden whispered, waving to draw Two Spots’ attention from where he crouched, hidden by the edge of a tipi.
Night was falling quickly. Two Spots gasped and halted in the narrow space between Sky Bear’s tipi and the one Aiden was using for cover. She searched the dimness for a moment before spotting him and scurrying toward him.
“Did anyone see you coming?” Aiden asked, standing but keeping his shoulders hunched.
Two Spots shook her head. “Grandfather has called them all to his fire to listen to the singing and to see the great magic.”
A grin tweaked the corners of Aiden’s mouth. If they pulled this off, it would be magic indeed. He nodded, resting a hand on Two Spots’ arm, then turned toward the unpainted tipi beside them.
“Are you certain this is Sky Bear’s tipi?” he asked.
She nodded. “I helped make it only a few moons ago.”
“Then you know how we can get you in and Katie out?”
Again, she nodded. She crossed to the back edge of the tipi and crouched. Aiden followed her. Tanned and treated buffalo hides had been sewn together with excellent craftsmanship to make up the outer skin of the tipi. The hides reached all the way to the ground in most places, but narrow gaps had been left in a few spots to let air flow through. Aiden thanked his lucky stars that the weather had been warm enough in the past few days to prompt Sky Bear to leave the gaps. Not every tipi had them. Still, the outer layer of the tipi was pulled tight.
Two Spots ran her hands along some of the gaps, testing to see which ones could be widened with the least amount of effort. She bit her lip as she worked.
“Are you sure you’re all right with this?” Aiden asked, concern tightening his chest. If she had any misgivings, he wasn’t sure that there was time to come up with another plan.
But Two Spots nodded. “This is the right thing to do,” she said. “It will leave you and Katie free to go.”
His grin returned. It was the first time he’d heard any of the Cheyenne call Katie by her given name. “I will be forever in your debt,” he said.
“No, it is I who must thank you.” She rocked back to sit on her heels, gracing him with a smile that made her shine with beauty in spite of the flaws in her skin. “Without this magic, I would have no way to become Sky Bear’s wife. I would have no way to touch the demon that has lodged in his heart for many seasons and banish it. You have made this dream of mine possible.”
There was nothing Aiden could say to such touching words. He reached out and squeezed Two Spots’ shoulder. “Sky Bear is lucky to have you. Let’s just hope he deserves you.”
They didn’t have to wait long for Katie to arrive at the tipi. In the darkness of the freshly-set sun, she approached and pushed aside the flap at the tipi’s door. There was a moment of thick silence as she disappeared inside. Then the bottom of the tipi, not far from where Aiden and Two Spots hid in the shadows, began to bulge as she tested it.
“Here,” Aiden whispered, tapping the buffalo hides. “Over here.”
A moment later, Katie thrust a hand out into the light of the waning moon. Aiden caught it and grasped it as Two Spots worked the edge of the tipi’s covering up enough for her to crawl through. Even then, it would be a tight squeeze.
“Hurry,” Katie said. “Grandfather has them drumming right now, but I don’t know how long he can draw things out.”
Two Spots nodded and grabbed Katie’s other hand. She and Aiden tugged, helping Katie wriggle free.
A low, snapped word stopped the three of them cold. Aiden twisted to find Magpie Woman standing at the edge of the space between the two tipis. Night shadows emphasized the look of alarm in her eyes. She repeated what she had said, louder.
Two Spots dropped Katie’s arm and stood to face the woman. She looked her in the eye and made her reply, then said over her shoulder, “Magpie Woman asks what we are doing. I have told her we are doing magic.”
Magpie Woman waited for Two Spots’ translation before going on. As she spoke, Aiden slipped his arms under Katie’s and pulled her all the way free. Together they stood as Two Spots replied to what Magpie Woman said.
“She asks why Burns With Fire is sneaking out of her son’s tent when she has said she will be his wife. I have told her that you did not agree in your heart, that this is a trick.”
Katie gasped. “You told her that?”
Alarm pulsed through Aiden, but he swallowed it. Rather than looking angry, Magpie Woman studied him and Katie with a look of calculation.
“Tell her that I love Katie, I always have and I always will.”
Katie clasped his arm. Two Spots began to translate, but Aiden went on before she was finished.
“Tell her that you love Sky Bear and you always have.”
Two Spots jerked to face him. “How can I tell her this thing?” she asked, fear in her eyes.
Magpie Woman said something that had Two Spots gasping and snapping back to face her.
“She… she says she knows that I love Sky Bear as Burns With Fire loves Thinks Like Fox.”
Katie squeezed Aiden’s arm tighter. That simple gesture sent Aiden’s heart soaring. It was a silent admission that what Magpie Woman had said was true. She loved him.
Magpie Woman went on talking. As she spoke, Two Spots’ face pinched with emotion. “She… she says that she has always wanted me for a daughter,” she said, voice catching. “She says that those who have said the marks on my face are a curse are fools, and she will challenge anyone who says these things again.”
Magpie Woman held her chin high and went on, gesturing to Katie and Aiden.
“She says that Burns With Fire would make a good daughter, but she is too strong for Sky Bear. The fire in her head would burn him alive.”
Aiden laughed at the image. Katie would probably burn him alive too.
Magpie Woman wasn’t finished. She went on, gesturing between the three of them. Two Spots answered her before saying, “She asks how we will make this magic happen. I have told her that I will slip into Sky Bear’s tipi now.”
“And what does she think of that?” Aiden asked.
After a brief exchange, Two Spots turned fully to them and said, “She says this is a good thing,” and smiled.
Katie let out a breath. Aiden sought out her hand in the growing darkness and held it. “We should get started,” he said.
Two Spots nodded and crouched at the gap at the bottom of Sky Bear’s tipi. Aiden nudged Katie to start forward.
Magpie Woman stopped them. She raised a hand and said something, gesturing behind her. Two Spots paused where she was, her mouth dropping open.
“She says.” She paused, swallowing. A smile spread across her face. “She says that she will give you horses, food, knives. You should go with her.”
Aiden glanced to Katie. It was her call. She knew the woman better than he did, knew whether she could be trusted. Katie met his eyes, held them for a moment, then nodded.
Magpie Woman gestured again for them to follow, and the three of them set off. Aiden checked over his shoulder to find Two Spots wriggling under the tipi. He wished her well and said a quick prayer for her and for her happiness. It was hard to imagine that her life would go on without a single care when so much trouble waited for the Cheyenne, like Grandfather had said. He made a promise to himself and to Two Spots, to Grandfather and all of the Cheyenne, that if there was anything he could do to further their cause, he would do it.
Magpie Woman led them silently to the edge of the village, where a large number of horses were corralled. She said a few low, coaxing words to the dozens of horses. A few of them heard her voice and walked nearer. It took her a few more minutes of walking between them and petting them before finding two that she liked. She brought them forward. A pair of boys tending the horses glanced on curiously, but neither of them tried to stop her.
When she brought the two horses to them, she said something in a hushed voice. Frustration bubbled up through Aiden’s gut at hi
s inability to understand what she was telling them. He worked to pick out a few of the words. The only one he thought he recognized was “Wait.” It seemed to fit her hand gestures as well.
“Wait?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she rushed off into the darkness.
“What do we do?” Katie whispered. “Where is she going?”
“I don’t know.” Aiden shook his head. “I think she wants us to wait here.”
Katie nodded, swaying closer to him even as she stroked the neck of the horse she held by its simple rope bridle. “I don’t think she would betray us,” she said, “but I don’t think we can wait very long.”
“I’m afraid you’re right.”
In the distance they could hear the sound of drums beating. The orange glow of several fires wreathed the tipis in warm light, highlighting their outlines against the dark, starry sky. The voices of at least a dozen Cheyenne men singing along to their drums, their voices strong and true, sent chills down Aiden’s back. He would have loved to stay and play with them. He wanted to learn their songs and their instruments. They called to him on a level as deep as his bones.
Just when he thought they had waited long enough and should move on, Magpie Woman returned. She carried two bundles in her arms. One was a sack made out of soft leather, decorated with beads and quills. She gave it to Katie with a few hushed words. The other she held out to Aiden—his fiddle case.
“Thank you,” he said, taking it, gratitude welling through his soul. He hadn’t thought he would be able to fetch it before stealing away.
Magpie Woman nodded and said something, her hands on the case as Aiden cradled it. Even though he didn’t understand her words, somehow he knew she was wishing that someday he would be able to fix the fiddle and play it once more.
“Thank you,” he said again, resting one of his hands on top of hers.
She only let him keep it there for a brief moment before turning and dashing off.
“Now we really better get going,” Katie said. “Though, in a way, I hate to leave.”
“Me too,” Aiden said.
He turned to Katie and the horses. They had no saddles, only the simple bridles. It took a minute or so for him to figure out how to get Katie mounted, to hand her their bundles, and to mount himself, then take the bundles back from Katie. It would be a challenge to ride bareback for the first time when they were trying to make a quick and quiet escape, and with baggage, but they would have to do it.
As the strains of the drums and raised Cheyenne voices filled the night air, Aiden and Katie turned their horses and stole out of the village.
Chapter Eighteen
For the second time in as many weeks, Katie found herself in a terrifying midnight run through dark and foreign territory. She knew nothing about riding with the blankets the Cheyenne used as saddles. It was so different from riding a fully-saddled horse that she was certain she would be thrown at any moment. She leaned low and clutched the poor beast’s mane for dear life. She couldn’t help but smirk to herself and consider the lack of saddles as one last way that Magpie Woman was making her life difficult.
Aiden was infinitely patient with her. He was getting the hang of riding bareback too, and for the first half hour as they walked away from the Cheyenne village, it made sense to go as slowly as possible and make as little noise as they could. Once they were far enough away that the drumming and singing had faded, they tried to run. That was when they both learned how difficult riding bareback was. Katie would have been content to walk back to Ft. Caspar, but Aiden gently pushed her to ride as fast as she could and still stay mounted. At least the leather leggings of her Cheyenne dress made sitting on the horse less awkward.
By the time the sliver of the waning moon had made it well overhead and Katie’s body was sore and exhausted from riding, a whole new set of worries began to invade her.
“Where are we?” she murmured to Aiden as he rode slightly ahead of her, trying not to sound frightened.
Aiden tugged on his horse’s mane to slow it to walk beside her. As awkward as her ride was, his was made more complicated by the hard fiddle case strapped across his back and the bundle clasped in front of him. “I don’t know,” he confessed, frustration in his voice. “I was hoping that I would recognize the area from before, but it all looks the same.”
Katie nodded to fight off the panic that wanted to take root in her gut. “There was a full moon the night we came. It’s almost new now. It’s too dark to keep going.”
Aiden shrugged and pointed up at the sky. “At least we’ve got the stars to guide us. And look, there’s our friend.”
“Our friend?” Katie looked up, but saw nothing but a vast canopy of stars. It was beautiful and somehow comforting.
“Right there.” Aiden leaned closer, pointing to the Big Dipper. “Ursa Major. The Great Bear in the sky.”
Katie’s mouth dropped open. “Sky Bear.” She glanced to Aiden. “He’ll chase us forever, one way or another.”
Aiden met her eyes with a shrug and a smile. He tapped his horse to walk on. “It could be.”
“How do the Cheyenne know what scholars call those stars?” Katie followed.
“You can never account for the things people know or don’t know, a ghrá,” he replied. “Would you have expected Two Spots to know English?”
“No, not really.”
His smile grew impish. “Some people know surprising things, and others don’t even know who they love.”
A prickly, sweet thrill swirled through Katie’s stomach. Heat flooded her. “And some people think they know the hearts of others a little too well.”
“Is that so?” he teased on.
“Yes, Aiden Murphy, and you know it. Perhaps if you got off your high horse a little and listened to what I have to say for a change instead of putting the words in my mouth and the thoughts in my heart—” She stopped. She had meant to say ‘head,’ but ‘heart’ came out instead.
Aiden only chuckled. “I was talking about Sky Bear.”
Another wave of hot swirls teased their way through Katie, centering in her swiftly-beating heart. “Oh.”
He turned to wink at her. That, coupled with the teasing smile that revealed his even, white teeth, knocked her even further off-balance. The shameless rogue had a way of keeping her on her toes, that was sure and certain. Well, he would get what was coming to him, just as soon as she could figure out the best way to give it to him.
“We should find a place to hunker down for the rest of the night,” Aiden said when they had ridden another mile. “You’re right. It’s too dark to keep going.”
“Oh, I’m right now, am I?” she poked him with her tone.
His smile was his only answer.
They found a cluster of bushes near a small stream and stopped, dismounting. It was quite a feat without the benefit of a saddle or stirrups to help, but Katie made it to the ground in one piece. As soon as she did, she stretched. Her back cracked and her muscles ached.
“If I never ride another horse after this, it’ll be too soon,” she sighed.
Aiden laughed, lighting up the night in spite of the thick darkness. He handed her Magpie Woman’s sack. “You’ll be back in the saddle, running across the great American prairie in no time.”
She shook her head and followed him to the edge of the bush, sitting beside him. “We’re well past the prairie, I think. I’d have to ride through the mountains now, and I’d rather not. Not bareback, at least.”
Part of her wanted to check inside of the sack for food, but a greater part of her wanted to lie down and sleep until all of her problems went away. Aiden shifted closer to her and rested an arm around her back. It was the easiest thing in the world to set the sack aside and lean against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Do you think we’re far enough away that they won’t come after us?” she asked, stifling a yawn.
“I don’t think they’ll come after us one way or another,” Aiden repl
ied. He stroked a loose tendril of hair away from her face. “I think Grandfather and Magpie Woman will see to that.”
She nodded. A sudden, ironic laugh bubbled up from her chest. “This is not the adventure I was looking for.”
“Now isn’t that a load of blarney,” Aiden chuckled. Indignant, Katie straightened to frown at him, but he went on. “You wanted an adventure where you could ride out into the wilderness and bravely face dangerous foes. You wanted to experience new and different people and things. You wanted to find yourself in the arms of a bold and dashing hero.” He squeezed his arm more tightly around her. “Well?”
She let out a breath. Two weeks ago, she would have boiled with anger at his teasing and argued with him on every point. Now, the need to fight with him was nothing but a faint spark at the back of her mind. Aiden was a rogue and a tease, he presumed too much, but he knew her. He saw right through her. He had chased her to the Cheyenne camp and he had stayed true to his word and rescued her from the fate that awaited her there. He was right. The hero she had dreamed about her whole life was the man sitting beside her, the man who had been beside her always.
But she wasn’t about to tell him that.
“I wonder what Sky Bear thought when he slipped into his tipi and found Two Spots there instead of me.” She changed the subject instead of answering him. At the same time, she nudged Aiden to lie down under the shelter of the bush.
He did what she directed him to do without a bit of resistance, shifting her around to lie with her back against his stomach. She rested her head on the pillow of his arm as his other arm looped around to hold her close.
“Well,” he answered, “if it were me, I would be surprised at first. But when it came down to it, I think I would be more than happy to find a beautiful woman who I had loved for a long, long time in my arms.” His voice dropped to a deep, seductive purr.
“Would you now?” Her whole body quivered as he spread his hand over her belly.
“Yes, a ghrá.”
