by Adair, Mary
She heard the sounds, as though through a tunnel. The sounds of fighting, of flesh slamming into flesh, the grunting sounds of two men pitting their strength against one another.
The sky was no longer blue as the darkness crowded in around her, and she drifted into unconsciousness.
***
James silently studied New Moon's face, now still and peaceful in sleep. Not far from where she had fallen there was an outcrop of rock that offered a limited amount of protection from the cold mountain winds.
James padded the hard ground with pine needles and covered them over with the small strip of cloth the Mohawk had worn about his waist. This done, he built a small fire and then carried New Moon to the makeshift bed and laid her gently down.
He recalled the pain he felt at hearing she had been taken from him and ground his teeth as flashes of the twisting, writhing body of her abductor came to his mind.
The Mohawk had died well, but James had longed to hear the strangled cries. He would have drawn out the suffering of New Moon's abductor if he'd thought it would further avenge her pain or his own.
Not too long ago he would have refused to believe himself capable of such torture to another, but then neither would he have believed himself capable of the love he felt for New Moon.
James raised himself in one fluid motion, oblivious of his own pain and fatigue, and moved toward the dying embers of their fire. He must hurry before the sun rose.
He held his hands over the coals until they became hot and moist while he looked over his shoulder at his sleeping woman. He gripped his hands into fists to retain the heat and returned to New Moon and knelt down beside her.
He crossed his arms on his chest and lowered his head as if in prayer and chanted softly. As his prayer rose in volume and tempo he raised his head and arms to the sky. With tears sliding down his cheeks, James called out to an ancient god, "Listen! Oh, now you have drawn near to hear."
He lowered his gaze to her face and satisfied himself that she still slept. Raising his right hand to his lips, he moistened his fingers. Very gently he drew his moistened fingertips across her breasts and sang softly, "Listen! Hear! Now the souls have come together. You are of the Wolf clan. Your name is Nu-ta-te-qua; I am of the white man's clan. Your body, I take it, I claim it. Listen! Hear! Now our souls have come together."
Again he touched his fingers to his tongue and repeated the chant while he gently applied the moisture to her soft flesh.
New Moon stirred slightly and James waited for her to quiet before he brought his fingers to his lips for a third time to caress her breast and recite twice the next lines to the ancient spell, "You are of the Wolf clan. Your name is Nu-ta-te-qua. I am of the white man's clan. Your Spirit, I take it, I claim it. Listen! Hear! Now our souls have come together."
His fingers returned again to his lips and then to her as he gently and lovingly caressed her breasts. Her skin was becoming chilled and he was concerned that she would open her eyes before he could complete the Cherokee ritual that he now felt driven to complete.
"You are of the Wolf clan. Your name is Nu-ta-te-qua. I am of the white man's clan. Your heart, I take it, I claim it. Listen! Hear! Now our souls have come together."
He turned his face heavenward and completed the ancient prayer that would bind her to him forever. "Listen! Hear! Now our souls have met, never to part, you have said, 0h Ancient One above. 0h Black Spider, you have been brought down from on high. You have let down your web. She is of the Wolf clan; her name is Nu-ta-te-qua. Her soul you have wrapped up in your web. Listen! Hear! Whither can her soul escape? 0h Black Spider, may you bind her soul to mine that it shall never part. What is the name of the soul? The two have come together. It is mine! 0h Ancient One, we have become as one. The woman has put her soul into our hands. We shall never let it go!"
James looked again at her sleeping face and his lips parted in a smile as he lowered his lips to her chest. There, between her breasts, he kissed her gently to seal the prayer and close the web.
As his warm lips touched her chilled flesh New Moon awakened. Raising her hands she wound her fingers through his hair and pulled him upward so her lips could join to his. The touch was as light as the touch of a butterfly and then her fingers went limp and her hands slid downward. James caught her wrists and lowered her hands to her side.
The sun was up, but the air was still chilled and James was concerned for New Moon's health. He quickly added more kindling to the fire, kissed her gently on the forehead and set out to find game for food and hides to keep her warm.
Two days and nights passed as James cared for New Moon. He gave thanks that this time she was not as near to death as before.
She recovered quickly and tomorrow they would start their journey home. He sat down, his back against the hard rock wall. As he watched the darkness settle beyond the light of the campfire, the night became alive with the songs of frogs and crickets and an occasional sad, lonely cry of a wolf.
New Moon walked over to where he sat and looked down at him. With a grin she settled between his legs and leaned back against his strong, warm chest as she slid her toes closer to the crackling campfire.
James wrapped his arms about her and pulled her close against him as he nuzzled her hips and legs between his thighs. Soon they would be back in the village and in their own lodges, no longer needing to camp in a small rock crevice and share their body warmth to survive the night.
***
New Moon held his forearms and gently ran her fingertips through the fine mat of hair. A smile touched her lips. She loved a white man. She ran her fingers back up his arm and watched the play of reflecting light from the campfire on the golden fur. Not just any white man she mused, a very hairy white man.
Sighing, she tilted her head back and nuzzled his neck. She turned slightly in his arms and pressed her face against his neck and breathed deeply. Her tongue darted out to taste his skin and then on impulse she took a nip.
"Ouch!" James chuckled. He raised a hand to rub the pad of his thumb along her jaw and over the soft fullness of her bottom lip. As if drawn, he lowered his lips toward her but stopped a breath-space away.
"I purified myself for your rescue, Wa-sa. Would you tempt me beyond my endurance? Would you risk our safe return to the village where your brother sits happily among the horses I will pay him?"
New Moon's eyes leapt for joy and she reached to pull his face to hers.
James caught her wrist and grinned ruefully, "Careful, Little Wa-sa. It's hard enough for me to resist you with you pressed so comfortably between my legs. Don't tempt me further."
He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them gently before lowering them back to her own waist. "Rest now, my love," he whispered. "In two days we will be back in the village and I promise, you will receive full measure for all the torture you're putting me through."
New Moon obediently settled back and closed her eyes. How could she rest? Her skin was on fire. He must feel the beat of her heart beneath his arms. She could feel the beat of his heart against her back and it made her ache to turn over and wrap her arms around him.
She shifted and his heart picked up its tempo. Smiling she shifted again and was rewarded by the sudden manifestation of throbbing heat against her backside. As a ragged moan escaped him, and his grip on her became almost painful, she strained to press her hips more firmly into his lap.
"Wa-sa! Be still!" he growled in a half croak. "It's your custom I'm trying to observe here, not my own. Must you continually test me?"
Suddenly the heat was gone as he released her and stood. She looked up but he would not return her look as he stepped from the shelter of the small overhang. There, on the other side of the fire, he lowered himself.
This was where he would spend the night, his back to her, his eyes scanning the dark for danger. She trembled in the sudden chill and sighed heavily as she wrapped her arms about herself.
James breathed deeply as he stared out into the night. Why di
d she test him? Was she hell bent on proving him unworthy? Did she not know the torture she put him through? With disgust for his own lack of self-control, he kneaded his sweating palms together. Damn, he swore, but these Indians had restrictions that could send even a Puritan straight to hell.
Just one more night, he assured himself. Then I'll never have to hold myself from her again.
Chapter Twenty-one
A shout rose up from the watchman of the gate as Red Panther and New Moon emerged into the clearing that surrounded the village. The old beloved woman quickly hurried through the gate with a robe to place about New Moon. Clucking like an old hen the elderly woman ushered her back toward the village.
Just before disappearing through the gate New Moon looked back at him, her eyes twinkling with promise and her lips spread in a smile that made his heart jump and his stomach tighten.
As James passed through the gate Dancing Cloud who slapped him warmly on the shoulder met him.
"Panther, it is good you have returned to us. I see your scalp," he said, pointing to the scalp at James' waist.
"Will his blood cry?"
"He killed New Moon's brother. He would have killed New Moon. He got what he deserved."
Dancing Cloud nodded his approval, "Good. It is finished." With a sideways glance he asked, "Did New Moon accept you?"
"Yes."
"Good! I would not have given back the bride price." Dancing Cloud said jovially. Noticing Red Panther's down-cast expression he said, "You do not look good, my friend. I do not understand. You saved your woman, killed your enemy, you were alone in the mountains with New Moon. You should have come back strutting like that new stallion of mine."
James looked confused as he stared at Dancing Cloud, "Yes, I killed my enemy." He sounded incredulous. "I saved my woman, but the nights alone with my conquest were the most difficult of all. This custom of yours, of a warrior not defiling himself when on the warpath, almost killed me."
Dancing Cloud fought valiantly with his features but soon gave up and crumpled over in great laughter. James waited patiently for the chief to regain his composure.
Finally the chief straightened and wiped his eyes as his face once again molded itself into the mask of total sobriety. "You must have strong medicine." He let his eyes casually roam about the village as if in thought, "Much control." With this last statement he turned his back to James and walked away.
The village Shaman hurried from his lodge, his hands filled with a variety of rattles and pouches of herbs, toward Red Panther. As he neared the chief, Dancing Cloud reached out and caught his arm. Pulling the old man close Cloud leaned toward his ear as if to whisper, but rather said very loudly, "You will not need all of those things. Red Panther did not break purification."
The old man looked at the chief in surprise and then to James. James, in an attempt to ignore the scene the Chief was causing, allowed his gaze to wander about the village.
To his dismay every face was turned his way. It seemed the entire village could find nothing of more interest than his sex life! Tucking his rattles back into his medicine pouch the shaman turned, and with one last glance at James, walked with Dancing Cloud back to his lodge.
The sting of Dancing Cloud's mirth and the stunned silence of the other warriors who watched him were more than James could bear. With his back straight and the look of a thundercloud on his face he moved through the village toward his own lodge.
He did not notice the show of respect he received from every villager. Even the children stopped their playing to watch the mighty Panther walk past.
James passed by his lodge, never hearing the welcoming whinny from Eagle. He had one thought in mind. He angrily strode around the cane that sheltered the bathing section of the lake and then, without even removing his loincloth, walked out into the water till it was waist-high.
There he stood, motionless, until the children's muffled giggles reached his ears.
James suddenly realized the coldness of the water and quickly washed himself. Turning he raised his arms high, he made the most frightening face he could and charged the giggling children who screamed with delight and ran in all directions.
He wrung out his hair and hurried back to his lodge where he hoped Akachee would have a warm fire burning.
He was not disappointed. He also found his buckskins and a new pair of soft moccasins waiting for him. On a pole beside his bed furs hung two scalps. Akachee had already painted the insides red. Now they waited for him to tie at his waist. Hanging beside the scalps was his bone vest, which she had polished and decorated with fluffy swan feathers.
As James stepped from his wet loincloth he let a vision of New Moon standing in the moonlight pass through his mind and felt better than he had since returning to the village. Tonight he would offer the bride price to Cloud before witnesses and New Moon would accept. Tonight all the waiting would end.
James picked up the pair of plucking shells which Akachee had also left out for him and walked over to the fire. Making himself comfortable against the backrest he started in on the task of plucking his chest hair.
He was lucky that he was not overly covered, but what he did have was quite a chore. The Indian considered body hair unattractive and the male, more concerned about his appearance than the most pompous dandy, was fastidious about plucking every single hair that sprouted anywhere besides on his scalp. So fastidious, in fact, most white men thought the male Indian actually devoid of body hair.
"Ouch!" he grunted, as particularly stubborn stubble broke free. He'd quickly learned that shaving his body only tended to create a beard effect on his chest and so had to adopt the unpleasant method of plucking practiced by his red brothers.
Finally he tossed down the Indian tweezers and ran a testing hand along his jaw and chest. He looked down at the lower part of his body and frowned at the light covering of hair that gleamed in the firelight. He rubbed a hand up the outside of one leg and decided the rest could stay. There was only so much plucking he was willing to do.
James rose and fetched the bear oil from Akachee's things, and rubbed a small amount on his stinging skin. He then picked up his brush and raked it through his hair until it hung in a straight, bright curtain of gleaming auburn that reached past his massive shoulders.
Dancing Cloud's voice called from outside. James hastily pulled on a dry loincloth before bidding him welcome. As Cloud stepped through the doorway James could not miss the gleam of mischief in his friend's eyes.
"How is the celebration coming along?" James asked anxiously.
Dancing Cloud looked at his irritated chest, "It is time to go. There will be much to celebrate. As he turned to leave he said over his shoulder, "It is a shame New Moon will miss it."
"What?"
Dancing Cloud turned back to him, "She is in the woman's lodge," he said in explanation and walked out.
Chapter Twenty-two
The next five days dragged by with James pacing like a caged animal. Finally Akachee could stand no more and raised such a racket about his mood that he left the village in search of deer.
When he returned from his hunt, he was pleased to learn New Moon no longer resided in the woman's lodge. The village was a hive of activity. Tonight would be a special night. It would be the joining of Red Panther and New Moon.
"I have taken your things to New Moon's lodge," Akachee said, a crack in her voice.
James stepped up to her and pulled her into his arms. "I will see that you have plenty of bear grease for your hair," he rubbed a hand over her head and she looked up at him, "and food, and you should know that I'd never let you be without furs to keep warm." He squeezed her close and put his cheek to her forehead, "Besides, I plan to keep New Moon busy giving me sons. If I do not keep you happy who will watch over my sons while I make more?"
Akachee pushed backward but not out of his arms. She looked into his grinning face, "Well, I hope you have very strong medicine. When the chief s runner returned and said you had captured N
ew Moon's abductor all the warriors lay down bets that you had broken purification. It took a long time for you to return. The bets became high."
James glared down at Akachee. Was there nothing these people would not place a wager on?
Akachee became nervous and tried to pull away. "Oh, no, mother. You are staying right here till you tell me all of it. Who bet that I did not break purification?"
Akachee grinned, "The chief is a very wealthy warrior." James threw back his head and laughed. Akachee pushed from his arms, "You may laugh, but the warriors do not know what to think about you. Many now believe you have very strong medicine and you and New Moon will have a son. Others say that New Moon is barren.
They say her spirit is too strong for her to have a child."
"How does the Chief bet?" James asked.
"He bet all that he has won from the other warriors that New Moon will not conceive."
"Then for the sake of the village, I must make stronger medicine than New Moon."
Akachee snorted, "Her spirit is too strong. You will have to take a second wife." Akachee brightened, "Have you noticed Yellow Flower?"
James made a face, "She is too meek by far for me, mother. I need a woman who is strong."
"You mistake meekness for weakness, my son. Yellow Flower is very strong."
James raised both hands, "Enough, Mother," he warned. "I will not have you making such talk in front of New Moon."
He pulled his knife from its sheath. "Go prepare for the celebration, I need to cut off the deer's feet for New Moon."
***
James rode proudly into the center of the village square, atop a large roan stallion. He rode up close to the chief and dismounted.
Dancing Cloud made a show of looking over the stallion while James looked down at New Moon with a solemn expression etched on his face. He walked around her, noting the high tilt to her chin, the straightness of her back. He grinned at the tiny flowers braided into her hair as he wondered absently how many would be left by morning.
