"I do not want to live with you!"
He glared at her and took a step forward. "You
will live with me. I won you by my strength! No man will take you from me. Your promised man surely cannot!"
She hated the sneer on his face.
"I will keep you. You are mine to do with as I please. You will work for me, tan hides for me, sew my clothes, cook meat for me, and you will bear my children."
"No!"
His lips tightened, the scar on his face whitened, and a muscle in his jaw ticked. "You have no choice, woman! I have chosen you. You come with me now!"
She saw his blurred image through her tears. "Does nothing matter to you? You know I do not want to go with you. Are you so desperate for a woman that you will choose one who does not want you?"
His hooded eyes watched her out of a stony face. "If I want to."
She shook her head, unable to believe she was being forced away from her mother, from all she held dear. "You know nothing," she said, shaking her head. "Nothing."
He gave her a push in the direction of the sobbing women. "I know that it is only what I can take and hold in my hands that matters. Everything else is fleeting. My life, your life. Your very breath ... all of it is fleeting. What matters is now. What I can take and what I want."
Her eyes widened. "What happened to you?" she whispered. "Whatever happened to you that you should think like this?"
They glared at each other.
"Understand this, Badger woman," he snarled at last. "I have lost everything. I have nothing else to lose. And nothing and no one will ever mean anything to me again!"
He gave her a push in the direction of the sobbing women and strode away.
She stared after him, pondering his words, dazed. Finally she picked up her basket and possessions and stumbled over to the crying brides. Inside, she felt as frozen as glacial ice. Sageflower reached for her hand to comfort her, and though Star felt the warmth of the other's flesh, it did not reach her heart.
Suddenly there was loud yelling as Red Jaw came running through the camp, a girl and a boy tucked under each arm. Star watched, stunned, as their mother, Crow, staggered after her children. "Give them back, give them back!" cried the distraught woman.
But Red Jaw shook his head and yelled to Hooknose, "Let us leave! I want to sell these ones. They will fetch many shells."
Hooknose laughed and roused the Badger men to their feet. "Come on, you wood rats! Move!"
The tired, humiliated little caravan set off. Crow ran after her children, but Star could see that she had a long red gash in her leg. She must have been wounded in the ill-fated Badger raid because she could barely walk.
Star closed her eyes against the pitiful sight of the mother dragging her leg, holding out empty arms, and crying, "Bring them back. You cannot take them! They are my babies!"
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Claw, and hope surged suddenly through Star's frozen breast. ''Why are you taking these children?"
"They will fetch a good price," puffed Red Jaw, trying to maintain his grip on the struggling children.
Claw was frowning. "But"
"I will give you part of the price that I get for them," said Red Jaw. "It will be much. Fish Eaters pay dearly for strong, healthy children such as these."
Claw looked uncertain.
"Half. You can have half," puffed Red Jaw as one of the girl's flailing fists found his soft stomach.
"Half." Claw smiled then and nodded in agreement. Star's hope withered. There would be no help for the children. Her hands tightened on her basket of possessions.
The slave catchers urged the men along at a fast pace and limping Crow soon dropped far behind. Star's last sight of her Badger people was of Crow, exhausted, prostrate, arms outstretched in the dirt, sobbing as she crawled hopelessly after her stolen children.
Chapter Seven
They came to a fork in the trail. Hooknose and his captives would go down the river trail; the Jaguars would follow the sage trail back to their territory.
"Where are you taking those two children?" Falcon asked Hooknose. He kept his tone casual. He wondered why he was even asking. Some vestige of his former noble self, he supposed.
Hooknose's reply was equally casual. "To the Fish Eaters, of course. If you mean which band of them, probably to the Salmon Catchers. They like to work children. Very hard." He chuckled. "They will get plenty of work out of these two."
When Falcon said nothing more, Hooknose prodded, "But why do you want to know? Perhaps you are interested in trading a little something for the children yourself, hmmmmm?"
Falcon saw Hooknose glance at Star.
"Perhaps we could make a trade," continued
Hooknose. "I will trade the two children for your female captive."
Falcon did not like it that Hooknose understood his interest so readily. Seeing the children torn from their mother had given Falcon a vague twinge of regret, remorse ... something, he did not know what. Just that it did not sit well with him. But what was he going to do about it?
As he had told his Badger captive, Star, he knew that it did not matter what he did. To do good, to do evil, mattered not at all. He had no control over his life. What happened, happened. The best thing he could do was seize any opportunity to do what he wanted. And it amused him to find himself in the odd position that he, who could never have what he wanted mosthis dead son's life back againhe had the power to decide if a Badger woman was to live or die. He who could not even control his own life, could control hers. What a strange game life is, he thought. There are no rules, so you make them up as you go along, this rule for this time, that rule for another time. And then you throw them all out if it appeals to you, because nothing matters. Nothing.
And as for the two stolen children, for him to help those children would mean as little as if he did not help them. He had learned that lesson well. There was no Great Spirit, so what did it matter what he did? No one was going to judge his actions for goodness or kindness or honesty; no one was going to reward him for any good that he did nor punish him for any cruelty or evil that he wrought. There was nothing. Nothing. If there were, then his son Hawk would never have died
No! he warned himself. Stop this thinking. No good ever came from churning up the past. He must stop. Now.
"The children?" Hooknose watched him curiously.
Falcon eyed the children. Red Jaw had tied their hands in front of them and then tied the rope to the line of captured Badger men. As the men shuffled along, the children ran to keep up. Even as he watched, the girl fell. Red Jaw kicked her and yelled at her to get to her feet. The girl struggled to stand as the boy reached out his bound hands, trying to help her. Falcon turned away from the sickening scene.
"The woman captive," said Hooknose softly. "Give her to me and you can have the children."
Falcon dismissed the offer immediately. He had no intention of giving Star to this slave catcher. She would lead as miserable a life as a slave as these children would.
Then he caught himself. What is this wretched softness in me, the kind that yearns for children and a woman? I know all too well how that leads to death and humiliation and despair. No, it is better to care about no one, to care nothing about any living creature. "No," he answered. "Not interested."
He turned his back on Hooknose and walked over to where Claw and the other Jaguars stood. The women had stopped crying; some looked exhausted from the short walk they had endured. Star, however, was standing straight and tall, her black hair blowing like a thick cape in the cool wind. He wanted to touch the thick mane, as blue-black and as shiny as a raven's wing, but he knew she would not tolerate his touch.
"Why were you talking to Hooknose?" Claw sounded suspicious. "I do not want you interfering, Falcon. Those children will be sold and I will have a share of the price they bring. Red Jaw told me so."
Falcon laughed. "You expect a slave catcher to keep his word to you? You are mistaken to think that."
Claw glanced at the listening Jaguars and flushed in humiliation. "Do not mock me," he warned.
Falcon grinned. He did not care whether Claw was embarrassed nor about what Claw did. Nor about what any of them did. Falcon was merely a breathing, hollow man with no heart left.
He shrugged. "It is nothing to me what you and the slave catcher agreed."
"Good. Then do not interfere with my plans."
Falcon grinned. "I must check on my captive," he said.
"She is one of the brides for the men. When we get to our camp we will decide whom she will wed," said Claw.
Falcon spun around. "I have already decided. She is mine!"
"Now listen to me," said one of the other Jaguars, stepping forward. Lance was a heavyset man. "My two brothers helped me hunt for the furs to give as gifts for a Badger woman. And I gave gifts. I expect a wife. You cannot just come along and take one of the women."
Falcon shrugged. "It is nothing to me what you and your brothers did."
Lance said angrily, "Ever since your wife left you, you have become a different man, Falcon. A dishonorable man."
Falcon's eyes hooded and he reached for his knife. "I captured the Badger woman. I keep her. If you want to fight me for her, do so."
Lance outweighed Falcon and they both knew it. But Falcon had the advantages of height and swiftness. Both knew that, too.
Lance glanced around at the stony faces of his fellow Jaguars. "I will not fight you," he replied at last. "But it troubles me that you behave this way."
Falcon shrugged and kept his hand on his knife hilt. "Anyone else wish to fight me for the woman?"
His eyes drifted over the watching Jaguars in challenge. No one stepped forward.
"Then I will keep her," he said. "And I am not giving any gifts for her. I am stealing her." He moved his hand away from the knife.
Claw said, "But we agreed when we went on the bride quest that we would give gifts"
"No gifts were given for those children." Falcon pointed at the bound children trailing along behind the departing slave catchers.
Claw glanced at his fellow Jaguars for support. "Nothing was said about children. If the slave catchers want children, well, II think it is fine to let them sell children."
"And the rest of you Jaguar men? Do you agree?" Falcon was amused as he waited for their answer. Not having to choose to do good acts any longer truly freed a man, he thought. His knowledge that nothing mattered gave him a whole new view of his fellows and their actions. It was amusing to see which ones tried to behave honorably. Claw, now, sometimes he acted as an honorable, honest man, and sometimes not.
Once Falcon had been an honorable man, but no longer.
Some of them truly struggled with the question. He could see it on their faces. But he also saw that no one wanted to challenge Claw. So much for honor.
Falcon laughed. "You cannot tell me what to do with my captive. Not if you steal sobbing children away from their mothers." His gaze roved over the frowning men. "How many of your wives would allow their children to be taken away? How many of you would let your children be taken?"
Silence.
He turned to Claw. "So. You will get your shells from the slave catchers and be a happy man. I will get my captive. There is nothing more to say."
The men gathered their belongings together. "Come," Falcon said to Star. "You can walk with me. No need to walk with the others."
"I prefer walking with the other women." She drew back coldly.
He laughed. "Do as I say, Star, and we will have a good life together."
"I do not want a life with you!" she hissed.
"You have no choice, woman." He chuckled and pushed her ahead. "You belong to me now."
Chapter Eight
Falcon glanced at Star, unperturbed by the anger emanating from her. Why had he stolen her? he wondered. He had no need of a wife. After the unfaithful Tula had left him, he had decided he did not want another woman in his lifeever. So why had he allowed this woman to interrupt his plans for a solitary life?
He eyed her as she walked beside him. Her knife-straight nose, her flashing dark eyes appealed to him. She tossed her head and her thick dark hair fell behind her shoulders, revealing the strong lines of her jaw. She was tall and slim and strong as she matched steps beside him.
"What will happen to the two children?" Her voice cut through his thoughts.
"They will be sold to the Salmon Catchers."
She did not like that answer. He could tell by
the way she frowned intently and watched her footfalls. "I have known them since they were tiny babies."
What did she expect from him?
"Their mother, Crow, has no other children."
"Perhaps she will have more," Falcon answered. "If she recovers from that bad gash in her leg. Sometimes people can die from bad wounds."
He was amused at her angry glance. Did she think, then, that he wanted the mother dead? Why, this angry beauty thought him worse than he truly was! He chuckled.
"It would be a terrible thing to lose your children," she pointed out.
His smile faded. He tightened his grip on his spear.
"I think it is very wrong to steal children away from their mothers. Or fathers."
He quickened his pace.
"Crow has no husband. Her husband died. She is all alone."
Why was she telling him this? What did he care what had happened to the injured woman and her ill-fated children?
"I remember holding the little boy when he was a baby. Milky is his childhood name because he liked his mother's milk so much. The girl's name is"
"Silence!" roared Falcon and shook his spear.
Her eyes widened and she halted. He saw that he had frightened her and he struggled to calm himself. "I do not wish to hear any more about those children." He kept his voice firm.
She glared at him, her black eyes burrowing into his. "They mean nothing to you," she answered evenly. "This I know. They mean nothing to your Jaguar people. But I tell you this. They mean something to me. I love them."
He watched her stride past him in that loose-gaited way she had. He watched her straight spine in her yellow leather dress, her long black hair as it fluttered in the wind.
"Love?" he answered. "Do not talk to me of love. It does not exist!"
She avoided him after that. When they stopped to camp for the night, she gathered what wood she could find for a fire, but she was wary of him and kept her distance.
On their journeys, the Jaguars always carried dried meat for their sustenance. They would sometimes supplement this food with fresh meat if they were fortunate enough to find a deer or elk, but a group of 20 men and six women made so much noise on the trail that it was a hopeless task to hunt unless a man went hunting in another direction and left the main group.
"I want you to stay with the women," said Falcon, after he and Star had eaten their dried meat in silence.
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.
"I am going hunting." He answered her unasked question. "I may be gone overnight."
She shrugged, maintaining her silence and her indifference to him.
He got up and walked over to Claw's fire. He told Claw he was going hunting. When Claw glanced at Star, Falcon leaned closer to him and said, "I charge you with the care of my Badger woman. Keep the other men away from her. If anything happens to her while I am gone, I will seek revenge.''
Claw tried to hide his fear, but Falcon read it easily in the other's dark eyes. Claw finally nodded.
Falcon returned to the small fire he had shared with the Badger woman. "Get your bedskins and possessions and move over to the women's campfire." He saw that her jaw was set. "I tell you this so you will not be left alone."
She narrowed her eyes at him, then rose to do as he bid.
When he saw that she had found a place by the Badger women's fire, he headed back along the trail they had just traveled. He wondered if deer meat would appeal to a Badger
woman's palate.
Chapter Nine
Dawn was breaking. Falcon had hidden his spear farther back on the river trail, so he pulled out his knife and crept quietly through the brush until he was close enough to discern the sleeping forms.
He had not meant to track them, truly he had not. It was just that once he was away from the other Jaguars, he had not thought of deer. His moccasins had set him on a different path, the one to the river.
He peered through a screen of low brush separating him from the slave catchers' camp. Why are you here? he demanded of himself.
But he knew why. A small, shadowed body rolled over and moaned. Probably the girl. Next to her was another small body, the boy. Snores came from the bound Badger men.
Yes, it was the girl. And Milky. He chuckled softly to himself at the boy's baby name. When he became a young man, Milky would try very hard to be a brave hunter; he would do anything to shed that name.
Falcon grew grim. Milky would have little chance to reach manhood if he were sold as a slave.
Creeping closer, Falcon was careful not to waken Red Jaw, who slouched against a pine tree. He has drifted off to sleep on guard duty, Falcon realized in disgust. Hooknose snored on the other side of the fire, tossing now and then. He was the one to watch out for.
Falcon was on his belly now, slithering forward. Carefully he cut the bindings of the girl, then the boy. Neither awoke. He glanced over at Hooknose. Still asleep.
Red Jaw moaned. Falcon froze and waited. Red Jaw relaxed into gentle snores once again.
Falcon crouched and tucked his knife into his twisted leather belt. Then he reached for the girl. Her muffled moans would wake the others, so he put his hand over her mouth and shook his head. Her brown eyes widened. "I will take you to your mother," whispered Falcon. She nodded sleepily and let him pick her up.
He placed her carefully over one shoulder, then lifted the boy and tucked him under one arm. He remembered that his son would have been this age had he notStop it! he commanded himself. With gritted teeth, Falcon crept away with his two burdens.
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