Her belief that he would come for her had never wavered. Kaichen was humbled by Amara’s trust in him and he wanted to give her the life that she deserved. A life free from fear and heartbreak. Already she had lost so much.
Kaichen gently clasped Amara’s hand, silently reassured by her presence, though he was the one that sought to reassure her. He would not make any promises or speak words that could prove untrue, but he vowed silently to fight against the band of raiders and bring them to their end.
Kaichen felt the full strength of the blood that flowed in his veins. He was not Shale, but he was indeed his father’s son.
“It is worse than I expected, far worse.” Kaichen spoke quietly as Tamol and two of his men crouched beside him, overlooking the village below.
Anger stirred in Kaichen’s heart as he surveyed the easily defensible knolls, ridges and bluffs, overlooking their fields. His mother had warned her people that they needed to become more than men and women that brought forth green shoots from the land.
Denoa could not single-handedly turn hunters into warriors. The villagers sheltered had not heeded the warning of their Beloved Woman and because of their refusal to change all of their hard work had come to nothing. The men and women that had bravely struggled against the merciless landscape had not been able to stand against the raiders.
Kaichen watched as a man walked forward with confident steps to stand before a kneeling hunter. He could not hear the words that were spoken, but the chilling shouts of victory told their own story. Their village had fallen to the raiders.
“The raiders outnumber us two to one, even with the help of your men.” Kaichen thought furiously as he considered how best to ambush the men below. “We will need the help of Farren and his men, along with the men of our village if we are to overthrow those below.”
“You do not fear so many men?” Tamol’s voice was harsh, though pride could be found there.
“They are men, like any other men. I will not show them undo honor by giving way to fear. We all die. Death will come for me whether I fear it or not.” Kaichen silently vowed that he would not fear the raiders. “If the men of my band had taken up weapons to fight against our enemies perhaps they would not be bound with rope and called captives even now.”
“You have no sympathy for your own people. They are harvesters of the land, not warriors.” Tamol was surprised by Kaichen’s hard response to the capture of his village.
“I call the men of my village weak, not because they seek to harvest food from the land but because they were not able to fight against the raiders. They did not take up weapons against men that would kill them, striking down the small along with the great. ” Kaichen gestured to the same peaks and bluffs that had drawn Tamol’s eye. “With carefully aimed arrows they could have driven the raiders back or at least held them off until our enemies tired of losing their own men.”
Tamol was silent as he took in Kaichen’s words. If Farren was present he would say that the men should learn to stand as protectors of their people as well as harvesters of the land.
“We must retreat and choose a place that will give us the advantage.” Kaichen spoke quietly, urging the men that were with Tamol to back soundlessly away from the precipice overlooking the village below.
“You seek to rescue your people?” Tamol’s voice was incredulous. The outcome of such a battle was clear to him. Kaichen was outnumbered and outmatched. “You must decide if this is worth your life. I know that you seek to help your mother’s people out of a sense of duty and responsibility, but they did not help you when the raiders used force to take you away.”
Tamol’s words served as a reminder of the sense of betrayal that burned within Kaichen’s heart.
“I have already made my decision. I will hold firm to the path that I have chosen.” Kaichen did not stop to consider any other course.
Tamol was not surprised by Kaichen’s words. He expected no less from the son of Shale. He nodded to himself as if coming to a sudden decision. “You must give the people something to believe in. Do this and they will have the heart needed to win this fight.”
Kaichen considered all that he knew about the raiders. The leaders of the band of raiders were ruthless and full of guile as they sought to gain power. If left unchecked, the raiders would become an unstoppable force. In order to survive, he would have to become the same.
Amara sat with Denoa as they waited for the return of the men. Antuk stood guard over the women and they watched as he restlessly circled their position and returned.
“The men return!” Antuk called out cheerfully and Amara smiled.
Antuk’s good cheer was contagious though their situation was dire. Kaichen strode into view, his presence almost preceding his form, in the same way that power swelled in the air before a storm.
Though Denoa’s face was still bruised and her injuries pained her, she could not forestall the pride that caused her mouth to curve into a smile. This was her son, born of her body and he was so much like his father that it brought tears of remembrance to her eyes. Shale would have been proud to call Kaichen his son.
“We must move to a position that allows us the advantage. You were right, the village has been taken. There is nothing more that we can do until the raiders decide to move our people.” Kaichen quickly filled the women in on all that they had discovered.
His mother trembled but she remained silent. Her eyes held a calmness of spirit that he knew was hard won. These were her people, she knew each person by name, she had been present when each child was born. Denoa was the Beloved Woman of a people taken captive by marauding warriors. She alone understood the fate that awaited their people if they failed to save them.
“If our enemies return by the same route, then we know where to overtake them. The raiders will ride upon their horses and they will lead the people behind them, each one bound to the next.” Kaichen pointed to the high bluffs that shifted into a narrow gorge as he painted a picture with his words. “If we are to make our attack, it will have to be there.”
Denoa followed the line of her son’s finger as he pointed to the familiar red rock that was the barrier between the lands they called home and the rest of the world. “Our people lose their power the moment they step outside of the boundary of red rock.”
Kaichen was silent for a moment, but his silence was respectful. He did not scoff at his mother’s words, nor did anger burn in his dark eyes.
“Good. Then this is the place that we must take our stand.” Kaichen’s words were heard by Tamol and his men.
Tamol stepped forward, “I will send one of my men to relay all that has occurred to Farren and the others.”
“Farren will never make it back in time to help us.” Kaichen’s jaw clenched tight with barely suppressed anger.
“Farren is responsible for his band and I am responsible for my own people. That is the end of the matter.” Tamol’s brow was furrowed in anger as he spoke in front of those that listened. He had already given Kaichen his support, whether or not his own men stood with him, he was ready to fight.
Kaichen knew that Tamol’s men were not warriors, they were harvesters of the land, just like his own people.
Tamol’s thick eyebrows drew together as he considered the coming fight. “You have not told me how you will strike fear into the hearts of the raiders, while at the same time readying the captives for the fight that is to come. You are lost without their help.” Tamol’s voice was a low murmur, intended to capture and hold Kaichen’s attention.
“I will stand between the red rock and this place. I will let my people see that help is near. It is the only way that I know to show them that they are not alone.” Kaichen’s voice was grim.
He could easily be taken down by a spear or a carefully aimed arrow. If he stood where he was now, he would make an easy target. The raiders would not show mercy. Tamol and Kaichen drifted away to see to their preparations for battle.
Kaichen lifted his head as a dark shado
w fell over him, blocking out the light. His mother cradled her arms across her belly as she grimaced in pain. Kaichen started to urge her to sit when she spoke in a rush of words that were filled with urgency.
“It is death to stand against well-armed men on horseback.” Denoa’s voice was certain. “There is another line of attack that you have not considered. Come with me and I will show you the way.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“It is often said that some people possess an old soul, born out of sequence with the hand of time. Your father was a visionary; he saw a great future for our people, one that even I could not grasp. He stood upon a high bluff overlooking our village and he said that the future lay before him like a line drawn in the sand.” Denoa brushed a stray strand of ebony hair from her face and then took a deep breath. “I never understood the meaning of his words but I remembered all that he said and held the memory safe for you. What I say to you now does not originate with me, but your father.”
Kaichen was utterly silent as his mother’s face took on the distant look of a born storyteller. He saw the love in her eyes as she envisioned his father, standing before her.
He also saw the carefully hidden pain and grief that told him more than any words ever would that the loss of their time together remained with her. Only Denoa remained of the mated pair and she was the last link that he had to his father.
“Time is like a line, imagine that my walking stick draws a line in the sand. I am here and you are there, our children are in the future. We live in multiple streams of time blended together. I am alive in the past. I climb to this same place where you now stand and my heart beats in time with yours.”
“One day our sons will stand in this place and in a different time I will stand beside them. If they believe that time resides only in the mind, then they will know the touch of my hand upon their shoulder and the approval shining from my eyes.”
“Tell this to the son born of your womb. Tell him that I walk with him all the days of his life, not because it is my duty, but because I am his father and he is my son. Teach him to believe in that which he cannot see, touch and feel and then he will know me.”
“Teach him to listen without hearing and look without seeing and then he will know his father’s shape and form. The Sundancer is not a man of mystic power, he is simply a man born of the hope of his people. Tell this to my son and if he is the man that he was born to be, then he will listen and heed the voice of his father, as spoken through his mother.”
Kaichen’s eyes opened and he heard the lilting, soft voice of his mother.
“Remember who you are.” Denoa’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she met her son’s steady gaze.
Though he had listened to the voice of his mother, he had been with his father, deep in his spirit. Instead of the proud set of his father’s shoulders, he saw the willowy strength of his mother and for the first time he knew in his heart that he was all that he was meant to be.
Denoa trembled from the strength of her memories. For a short time as she spoke to her son, Shale had been with them, so close that she could almost inhale the masculine scent of his skin and touch the muscled plains of his chest. Instead of overwhelming grief, she felt peace overcome her. By keeping the memories of her lifemate alive in her heart, she had done just as she promised Shale. By looking into Kaichen’s eyes she could see that she had accomplished her goal. Shale lived within the memories that she shared with their son.
“If you are to live, you must remain quick of wit and strong of body. Look to the heavens for the answer that you seek.” Denoa pointed to one of the tall spires that stood visible from all directions.
Kaichen’s eyes followed the direction of his mother’s hand and he knew the moment that his eyes rested upon the formation of rock that this was where he should go.
“My father once stood there.” Kaichen’s words were not said in question and his mother’s sound of affirmation only solidified what he already knew in his spirit. “He stands there even now, waiting for me.”
Denoa frowned as she considered Kaichen’s words. She did not understand what he meant but as he clasped her to his chest and kissed the top of her head she no longer cared. It was the first show of affection that Kaichen had willingly given her since he was a boy of twelve seasons.
She inhaled even as she gathered the moment close to her heart, sealing its memory deep within her mind and spirit. She watched in silence as her son strode back to the others. Denoa took a few moments to regain her composure before following him. Her body might be riddled with bruises but her love for her son made her strong.
Tamol grunted as Kaichen walked past him without speaking. All eyes were upon the young man that led them as he stalked toward his wife.
Amara shivered as she glanced up and caught sight of Kaichen, striding toward her. She suppressed another shiver as she was caught fast by his probing gaze. She forced herself to remain silent as Kaichen held out his hand to her and pulled her close.
“Little one, I wish to keep you safe during the fight to come.” Kaichen’s grasp was firm upon Amara’s shoulders as he looked into her eyes.
Her eyes were full of hope and unflagging confidence. She believed in him and she stood beside him, no matter what the sunrise would bring.
“I am glad to be called your wife.” Amara struggled to put her feelings into words. When he held her close, as he held her now, everything within her spirit reached out to him.
“Amara…” Kaichen’s voice was gruff as he spoke his wife’s name.
Tamol interrupted the couple with a crude remark that brought Kaichen’s head up.
“I wish only to know what great plan you have come up with. How do you plan to free your people should we decide to join your fight.” Tamol’s voice was innocence itself but Kaichen knew that the man enjoyed distracting him from his wife.
“Tell your men to take shelter amongst the rocks. We will rest here this night. With the coming of the sun those who are with me will fight together as one against our common enemy.” Kaichen never let go of Amara’s hand as she stood beside him.
Kaichen did not need to say the words out loud. It was possible that he would lose his life in the coming battle. If he died, he expected Tamol to watch over Denoa. “Watch over my mother.”
Tamol ground his teeth together and nodded.
Only then did Kaichen step forward and share his thoughts of the coming battle. Tamol’s eyes widened as he listened to the words of Denoa’s son. His plan was risky and daring. It was evident that they would face almost certain defeat or a triumphant success come the rising of the sun.
Denoa sat silently by the fire as she and Amara worked in tandem. Both women were equally skilled with working the animal skin until it was soft and pliable. It was Amara that had managed to find the right plants to create a blue dye. She used a basket, weaved by Antuk, to gather the necessary plants and then she set the clay pot upon rocks heated by the fire as the water came to a boil.
Amara’s movements were graceful, though many eyes were upon her as she went about her task. She used a carefully carved stick to stir the contents of the bowl until the color blue was harnessed from the plants. Antuk was only too glad to weave a braided belt made of long dried grasses which he handled with reverence.
Denoa continued to work the animal skin with her hands. She watched as Amara began the process of applying dye to the woven belt. Instead of using a band of dried grass to apply the dye, she dipped her fingers into the small bowl until they were submerged to the palm and then she trailed each finger over the belt as she allowed the dye to set.
“You do not weep for my son.” Denoa commented as she once again turned her attention to the garment that her hands worked to soften.
Amara glanced up from her task and saw worry instead of condemnation highlighted in Denoa’s gaze. “I have shed my tears for the grief brought upon the village and those that seek peace. I will not shed tears of fear, when Kaichen needs our strength.”
She held out the belt and offered it to Denoa. It was unfinished and in need of further color where it would tie around the waist of its wearer.
Denoa inhaled sharply at the honor Amara bestowed upon her. Amara was Kaichen’s wife and she did not need help with the task that she had set before herself, but by sharing the work she made Denoa an integral part of that which was to come.
“I have failed my son many times. I tried to protect him when he was only a boy, but he was taken from me. Now he is a man, fully grown and with a wife of his own. I cannot hold him to me as I wished to do when he was a child.” Denoa’s words were tinged with deep sadness and she lowered her eyes so that she would not shame herself further.
Amara was silent for so long that Denoa did not think that the other woman would respond. She dipped her fingers into the blue dye, up to the palms of her hands and then carefully pressed her fingers to the grass belt.
“You sent Kaichen away, when he was only a boy, did you do that for your benefit or for his protection?” Amara’s words were insightful and wise, causing Denoa to glance up with hope brimming in her eyes. “Kaichen appears to have moved past the hurts of long ago. It is because of you that he survived to become the that man he is today. Look to the future, but live for today.”
Denoa whispered the words silently in question as she looked at Amara expectantly.
“Yes, Beloved Woman. That is the warrior’s way.” Amara’s smile was kind as she looked into Denoa’s eyes.
The older woman’s face was bruised and the swelling around one of her eyes had decreased slightly due to Kaichen’s efforts. Soon the bruises would fade and so would the memory of the attack that she had suffered. But would the wounds that were unseen ever be banished? Amara could not say.
The Last Sundancer Page 34
