Emma shot a glare at him, thinking of the abductions he and his brothers had committed on purpose. She took satisfaction when she saw the wad of material on his shoulder where Nathan had shot him.
Serves him right.
“I could use someone like you,” Diamond said. “So you’ll come with us.”
“No.” Her weak voice did nothing to enhance her position.
“Don’t underestimate me. I’ll hurt you if I have to.”
Did they know she was with Nathan? Was that the only advantage she had?
She didn’t have the physical strength to overtake them, and after touching Diamond she wasn’t sure if she had the mental fortitude either.
“Why would you need to know the future?” she asked, trying to stall.
“I have certain talents. Together, we could become even stronger. And souls like yours don’t come along every day.”
“I won’t go with you,” she said.
Diamond watched her with steely eyes. She went cold as the Hopi boy flashed in her mind and a feeling of familiarity washed over her. The boy had been forced to do the unthinkable with his mother’s flesh.
Oh my God.
It was Diamond who’d done it.
This man wasn’t a man. He was something else, his energy distorted, misshapen, but incredibly strong.
What made someone into such a creature?
She’d touched him, had felt the emptiness that occupied the place where his spirit should have dwelt. She’d never seen him in a vision, having no idea he would cross into her life. Shouldn’t she have? To help her prepare?
“Tie her up,” Diamond said.
One of the Baxters yanked her backward.
“Let her go,” Nathan said, his calm command laced with a lethalness Emma had never before heard.
Diamond stood unnaturally still. Emma’s eyes darted behind the tall man and to the side, but she couldn’t see Nathan anywhere. As her heart raced, she decided she could dive to the left around some thick brush if given the opportunity.
Diamond pulled a small knife from somewhere, turned, and flung it. Gunfire erupted and Emma dropped to her knees, getting free from her captors and scrambled on her hands and knees for some type of cover. The Baxter brothers yelled in a flurry of screams.
Emma felt a man grab her and pull her upright. She fought and struggled against Diamond as he tried to use her as cover. They both fell to the ground as Nathan’s shirtless form shoved at her captor. An arm wrapped around her throat, and she gasped for breath as all three Baxters jumped Nathan. He backhanded one in the face and blood squirted from Abner’s nose, who tried to stop the flow with his hands and stumbled backwards. Hersch grabbed Nathan’s arm, so he swung the other around and hit the man upside the head with his gun. Then, he kicked Reggie in the gut, causing the man to double-over.
Diamond dragged her behind a tree.
Nathan aimed his gun. Emma’s stomach tumbled as her own self-preservation took over, and she struggled frantically against Diamond’s iron grip around her neck.
Nathan darted to the right and disappeared.
“You’ve got yourself a bodyguard,” Diamond muttered, his breathing broken. “Smart girl. But I’m smarter. They told me you visited the boy.”
Emma struggled to breathe. The boy. What would become of him?
“You’re a monster.” Her voice was nothing more than a croak.
“To some a monster, to others a savior.”
Her feet slipped as he pulled them further into the underbrush.
“What will you do without him?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure who he referred to—Nathan or the Hopi boy.
“I’ll kill her,” Diamond said loudly.
She tried to yell out, but he continued to choke her. There was only one other time when she’d felt such uncontrolled panic—the night her folks’ had died.
Fear crept into her that this man might hurt—even kill—Nathan.
“Don’t.” She clawed at the arm that continued to drag her backwards. “I’ll help you.”
“Damn right you will,” he said.
A rattle stopped them both. Where was the snake? Oh God, where was the snake? She couldn’t turn her head to see.
Diamond released her in a rush and she fell forward, her hands slamming into the dirt to stop her fall. Trembling, she raised her eyes and saw the snake’s thick body coiled onto itself, the large head and flicking tongue focused on her.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.
A gunshot blew pieces of the snake into her face and she shielded herself as she screamed. She scrambled to her feet and ran, not stopping until she reached the camp she and Nathan had made. She started to throw supplies into the boat in a hurried, frantic rush.
Where was Nathan? Was he hurt? She couldn’t leave him, but the need to flee was strong.
With everything in the boat, she glanced back at the pathway.
No one.
Nothing.
She brought shaking hands to her face. Did the snake bite her? She didn’t think so, but couldn’t tell.
She needed to escape. Where was Nathan?
Unsteady legs took her up the trail. Nathan slammed into her, knocking the wind from her lungs, and she stumbled backwards.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand, yanking her to her feet, and dragged her to the boat. She flung herself inside as Nathan shoved the dory hard into the current.
Blood smeared his naked torso as he jumped inside and began rowing hard.
Emma glanced at the shoreline as they moved swiftly into the water, but there was no one.
“What happened?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Are you hurt?”
Emma swallowed against the dryness in her throat. “I don’t know. That snake…”
“Did it bite you?”
“Did it?” Her hands came to her face again in a search for proof.
Nathan continued to row while he scrutinized her face. “No. What about your arms and legs. Look now.” His urgent tone scared her.
She shoved her sleeves up her arms and examined the skin, then pulled her trousers up to expose her calves. She couldn’t find any fang marks. She examined the clothing around her body for puncture holes. “Nothing. I can’t find anything.” Relief washed over her, but it fled as quickly as it came. “Are you bleeding?” she asked, terrified.
“It’s not mine.”
The tone of his voice and the stern set of his gaze made Emma ask no further questions.
Knowing that neither of them wanted to stop, Emma set to work organizing the boat, repacking items. She was glad she did, since they soon came across a rapid.
It wasn’t bad, and they got through it without mishap.
The next rapid proved more difficult.
The terrain was rocky, the canyon narrow again, and there appeared no good place to come ashore. Emma felt the need to continue. It was an irrational feeling, considering how difficult it would be for the Baxters or Diamond to follow them. But what if they had a boat?
Was Diamond even alive? Emma wasn’t ready to ask Nathan that question.
So instead, she focused on the whitewater ahead of them.
Chapter Seventeen
“Nathan, we should stop.”
“I know.” He pulled hard on the right oar and looked all around. “But I don’t think we can.” He craned his neck to see their direction. “Brace yourself.”
Emma eyed the large rocks looming to the left, clearly blocking their passage. Nathan steered the boat to the right side of the river. As they entered the rapid, any semblance of control disappeared. Huge waves tossed the boat with sinuous precision. Emma grasped the gunwale and wedged her legs against the wooden seat. She shook her head and spit water from her mouth as waves crashed into the boat, blinding her. Using her hand to push water from her eyes, she suddenly screamed.
“Nathan, move! Portside!”
A ledge of black, spiked rock waited just ahead. The boat would never survive the colli
sion.
Nathan dragged on the oars with all his strength, his face contorted from the effort, and a long, low grunt escaped his throat. The boat slapped the water and rocked from side to side as they barely missed the obstacle.
Nathan rowed until they faced down river again, then paused to rest.
“Hadn’t expected that,” he said.
“I think we’re pretty lucky, if you ask me.”
“Luck is fickle. I’ve never counted on it.”
“Did you kill Diamond?” The question came out before she thought better of it.
Nathan watched her, a darkness overtaking his eyes. She saw something in him she’d never seen before, something savage and feral, an animal instinct that spoke of war and killing and revenge. Then, it was gone, replaced by exhaustion.
“No.”
His gaze, shuttered and unapproachable, told Emma he would speak of it no more.
“Do you need to stop?” he asked.
Emma shook her head.
“Then let’s bail and keep going.”
Without further discussion, she grabbed a small tin pail and scooped water from the bottom of the boat.
* * *
Nathan had always found killing another human being to be a violent breach of existence, no matter what the reason. Slay the other man before he slays you, and live to see another day. In the moment, it cannot be stopped; self-preservation is too strong. But later, when the rush of anxiety and fear dissipates, a great revulsion would always consume him. A payment for what he’d done, no matter that he always did it in the name of justice. But time had shown that justice was often dictated by perspective, and good and evil were not always obvious in the end.
Nathan had wanted to kill Diamond.
The man threatened Emma, tried to harm her. It released in Nathan an instinct to protect and an unstoppable rage.
He would've executed the man except for one thing. Pinned to the ground, Nathan at the advantage, the man had uttered a single sentence. “Weak fathers beget weak sons.”
The words pierced Nathan, as if a knife had been plunged into him physically. In pain, he released the man and backed away. Diamond hadn’t tried to rise, to gain the upper hand, but somehow he already had, with his statement.
Nathan wrestled hard to live with the circumstances of his pa’s death, to try to understand why he’d killed himself. A part of him was deeply ashamed of the weakness of his pa’s character, that he could have done such a cowardly act. Nathan would never do such a thing. Would he? But even deeper lay an anguish that Nathan could hardly acknowledge—how could his pa have left his family like that, how could he have left his only son? Diamond’s words broke past the carefully maintained barrier, ripping the wound open with the seasoned skill of a killer. How he knew anything about his pa seemed beyond all probability. That only unnerved Nathan more.
They came upon another rapid with a wide, rocky channel. It seemed prudent to stop and scout. Ultimately, Nathan decided this required a portage. It appeared far too dangerous for the boat, and after the last rapid he didn’t think they should push their luck. Not that luck played any part in his life.
* * *
The portage took the remainder of the day. At the bottom of the rapid, they made camp for the night. Exhausted, Emma gratefully lay down beside Nathan. No fire. He didn’t say Diamond followed, but clearly he was concerned he might. How anyone could track them, Emma didn’t know. The river corridor appeared inaccessible.
“Why did Diamond take you?” Nathan asked.
“The Baxters told him I could see the future. He wanted me to join up with him.”
“How the hell did they find us?”
Nathan was right. The chance of crossing paths with another human being in this place was remote, if not impossible. Emma could only reach one conclusion. Reluctantly, she shared it with Nathan. “I think Diamond uses dark magic.” She stared up at the night sky with its hundreds, maybe millions, of stars. “I think he was the one who murdered Loloma’s mother. I think he was the one who cannibalized her.”
Nathan was silent.
Finally, Emma turned to look at him. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking no more wandering off alone.”
Emma sensed he was bothered by the day’s events—she certainly was as well—but he didn’t seem to want to open up about it. She rolled toward him and inched closer, resting a hand over his heart, but his shirt blocked her access so she slid her fingers underneath the material. His heart beat steadily against her palm. She wondered how it had come so easily for her to be with him in the way a woman was with a man. Somewhere along the way, especially after her trouble with the boy, she simply accepted that she needed Nathan.
No visions of a future with him visited her, and she shied from trying to learn more. She didn’t really want to know what their destinies might be. It was enough to be with him now.
He pulled her close, engulfing her into his arms, and kissed her. Despite his distracted state, he proceeded to make love to her with a full-blown intensity. She met him in this place, bringing along her own need for him.
And one thing became crystal clear.
She loved him.
* * *
The next morning they packed the dory and immediately got on the water. Another rapid greeted them. After stopping to scout, they both agreed to line the boat. It relieved Emma not to portage—her arm and leg muscles remained sore from yesterday’s movement of supplies over the uneven landscape. They spent all morning at this rapid, only to do it again in the afternoon when they encountered another.
Black clouds soon began to fill the sky and Emma sensed impending rainfall. Rather than dread it, she felt uplifted at the prospect. The water would cleanse the grime inside and out. By nightfall they reached the headwaters of a wide, rocky rapid. They made camp at a beach area on the southern side of the river.
The rain came during the night, heavy and unrelenting. Emma huddled with Nathan under a tarp and blankets, but it was impossible to remain dry. She slept intermittently, and felt groggy in the morning. A gray atmosphere hung in the air, but thankfully the rain had stopped. Emma cleaned their camp, shaking out water-laden canvases and blankets, while Nathan made breakfast.
“Let’s go for a hike,” he said.
“What if we’re being followed?” she asked.
“That’s why I want you to stay with me.”
They pulled the dory further out of the water and hid it behind a clump of bushes, then repacked all the gear.
Emma adjusted her hat and rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt. She grimaced when she realized it wasn’t quite so white anymore. They moved away from the river. The terrain was rocky, with granite everywhere. As Emma followed Nathan she thought of rattlesnakes, and worried they'd stumble across one.
After about a mile of walking in silence, Nathan stopped and Emma sensed another person in the area. Nathan backed into her, pushing her behind some rocks, and pulled his gun. Her mind immediately fixated on Diamond and the Baxter brothers.
Nathan lowered his weapon, and his shoulders visibly relaxed. “It’s Masito.”
“Are you certain?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” Nathan stepped into the open.
Emma thought it a foolhardy thing to do, and hesitated before leaving the protection of the boulders. The two men shook hands. The apparent camaraderie confused her.
“I’ve kept my eye out for you,” Nathan said.
“I have been busy,” Masito replied.
“How did you know he was here?” she whispered to Nathan.
“Light signals.”
“But it’s cloudy,” she insisted.
“The signals came yesterday.”
Still not quite understanding, Emma moved to stand beside them and Masito nodded at her. Remembering how she’d run away from the Hopi encampment, she asked hesitantly, “How’s the boy?”
“No change,” Masito answered. “Pakwa was not surprised that you fled. Suc
h journeys are difficult. They make people afraid. She was wrong, you are not ready. Maybe you never will be.”
Emma didn’t know how to respond to Masito’s disappointment in her efforts. Shame filled her. She had been frightened, and she'd run away. “Tell Pakwa that I’ll try again,” she blurted out before she could think twice about it.
Nathan stared at her. “No, you won’t,” he said sternly.
She frowned at him, startled by the sharpness of his reply.
“I will tell her,” Masito said. “She will be happy to know that you have a spine.”
“Quit making her feel bad,” Nathan said, his voice laced with anger.
“I am sorry,” Masito said, “but the boy is my sister’s son. Would you not try anything to save a member of your family?”
“He’s right, Nathan,” Emma said. “What about your new nephew, Jackson? Wouldn’t you do anything to help him if he were in trouble?”
Nathan swore under his breath. “All these dreams and superstitions are only distracting you from the reality of what could really be going on.”
“Which is what?” she asked.
He remained silent.
“See? Even you can’t explain all this away.” She turned back to Masito. “I’m not sure how or when, but tell Pakwa I will try again.” She would simply need to get a hold of her fears better this time. With some distance from the event, she'd begun to think she simply encountered monsters of her own making.
Masito nodded. “I have what you asked for,” he said to Nathan, “but you will need to come up the trail with me.”
“What does he have?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” Nathan replied.
They hiked up the side canyon for a short time. Finally, Masito stopped. He went to a non-descript shrub and pulled several items from behind it.
He removed a rifle from a leather covering and handed it to Nathan, who inspected the weapon. Masito handed him a box of ammunition.
“I met a Mormon travelling to Allen’s Camp in the east,” Masito said. “He agreed to sell it to me with the money you gave me.”
“You gave Masito money?” she asked. “When?”
“When we were all together before.”
“Where did you keep it?”
The Sparrow Page 15
