Never Surrender Read online

  Thankful for Ahanu’s help, Kate took a few steps before the dizziness subsided. Ahanu followed. She glanced up the trail, still a bit uneasy. Well ahead of them walked Taima, his back straight and proud as he moved stealthily through the trees, his horse trailing behind him.

  * * * * * *

  Taima gripped his bow in frustration as he stepped over fallen, decaying tree trunks, which lay across the trail. He didn’t want to think of anything right now except returning to camp, least of all how this woman affected him. Disgusted with himself, he stayed ahead of Ahanu and the woman, Kate. Taima had vowed never again to allow another woman to get beneath his skin. Yet, thoughts of the white woman forced their way into his mind like poisoned arrows and when his fingers had touched the soft, warm flesh of Kate’s injured back, he’d wondered if the rest of her body was just as soft and milky-white.

  Damnation, he cursed to himself, clenching his jaw; he was doing it again. Did he hate her for being white or more because of the way he allowed her to affect him? The hatred he carried against the white man ran deep in his heart, whether male or female. The death of his wife and mother at the hands of three trappers three summers past had nearly cost Taima his own life.

  The trappers’ deaths hadn’t brought his mother and wife back, but Taima felt part of his revenge had been satisfied when his arrows penetrated their bodies. The grizzly bear and her nearby cubs had eaten well that day.

  He’d walked away without remorse.

  Taima smiled at the final image he’d conjured up. He doubted the trappers ever gave their victims a second thought either.

  The dense forest ended and Taima walked into another open meadow, tall green grass reaching his knees. The sun warmed his face and chest; the pine scent of the trees gave way to fresh air with a hint of sweet sagebrush.

  He scanned the meadow, searching for signs of danger as his gaze fell upon three bucks and four does across the way.

  Excitement heightened his awareness; his heart quickly pumped blood through his veins. With extreme caution, Taima reached behind his head and pulled an arrow from his quill, then placed it against the bow. The muscles in his arms tightened as he drew back the cord, slowly and patiently. Taking careful aim, he released the arrow, waiting, watching as it sliced through the air and penetrated the buck directly behind the left shoulder. The powerful deer fell, while the others leapt for cover, their tails in the air.

  Food for his people being Taima’s only thought, he ran toward his kill. Taima knelt beside the still animal; as always, his shot had been true, the animal was dead. He pulled a knife from the sheath at his waist and proceeded to gut the eight-point buck.

  * * * * * *

  The dizziness passed for Kate, though the pain at the back of her head still throbbed. Clotted blood had stopped any further bleeding. She continued to check the wound on her head to be sure, wincing in pain from the burning sensation each time she touched the cut. Had these savages not forced her up this treacherous mountain path, she wouldn’t be in agony, or wishing they were dead.

  Damn them to hell! She would make them pay for this.

  Kate glanced back at Ahanu, who followed close behind her, never smiling, only prodding her forward. His dark eyes masked his emotions, and though he didn’t go out of his way to be mean, Ahanu never crossed the invisible line Taima had drawn between her and them.

  Kate looked ahead, searching for Taima. At least an hour had passed since she’d last seen his back. Did he arrogantly think she would continue to follow him? If so, she would indeed inform him differently the first chance she got. But right now, each time she slowed, Ahanu kept poking her to continue moving.

  A clearing up ahead drew her attention. Relief soared at receiving a reprieve from traipsing through the underbrush of the forest. She longed for the sun’s warmth on her face since last night’s chill yet clung to her bones. The blanket around her shoulders at least provided some protection from the cold.

  Thoughts of last night caused her stomach to knot remembering the arm that prevented her escape, but the comfort that arm gave still confused her. She didn’t want to be anyone’s prisoner, and the memory was just one more thing she added to her list of complaints she bore against her captors.

  Kate stepped into the surrounding beauty of the meadow. The blanket slipped from her shoulders and she caught it in her hand. Pillowy, white clouds floated above the snow-peaked mountaintops, copses of pine meandered up the hillsides, while a stream snaked its way through the lower valley. A small group of mule deer raced toward the edge of the meadow’s far side--where Kate spotted Taima kneeling in the tall grass.

  Curious, she turned to Ahanu who had already seen Taima and went about tying their horses to a tree. As he started running toward the blue-eyed warrior, she gripped the blanket within her fingers, and followed after Ahanu. She wondered what could have happened and why Taima had knelt there. Long strides depleted what little energy she had left, running also made her head and back ache even more.

  Breathless, Kate came upon Taima gutting a deer. Blood covered his arms to his elbows, causing her to cover her mouth as bile rose in her throat. Wanting to avoid the bloody animal, she immediately looked away and ran past Taima and Ahanu to lean against a huge boulder some distance from the dead animal.

  Kate sat down and rested her head against the rock. The bile in her throat refused to go away and hoped she wouldn’t be sick. She looked heavenward, keeping her head high, inhaling fresh air, then closed her eyes. The sound of purling water bubbling in a nearby stream reached her. Birds flapped their wings overhead, giving her dark world an image of beauty. She willed the sounds to calm her nerves as the sun warmed her face.

  After several long minutes, the queasiness subsided.

  Why her? How did she come to be in this place? The raid seemed more like weeks ago rather than a matter of a few days. She vaguely remembered being at the rock during the beginning of a storm. The distant thunder and lightning had been too far off to be threatening, so she hadn’t returned to town. But that couldn’t have affected her being here now. Could it?

  She sighed, wanting immediate answers to all her questions. Certainly the Indians she traveled with couldn’t tell her; they couldn’t even understand English. Rubbing her face with both hands, she tried to block out the world.

  Suddenly her senses tingled with the feeling that someone watched her. Apprehensively, Kate lifted her lashes and stared into Ahanu’s dark eyes. He glanced to the side, and her gaze followed his. Kate locked her eyes on Taima, who knelt, securing the buck to a long pole.

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Now what?” Like he would understand.

  He motioned for her to rise, and seeing no alternative, she did. Still feeling nauseated, she followed Ahanu to where Taima waited. He never once looked in her direction.

  The two men hoisted the pole onto their shoulders. The sight and smell of the deer made her stomach knot and bile to rise in her throat again. Her heart sank when the animal’s head hung limply down, its rack nearly touching the ground. She tried not to think about the deer’s beauty, only of the fact that meat would be provided. The hide would likely be used for clothing, and the horns for tools. Indians were resourceful, she knew, wasting very little of nature’s bounty.

  A painful grip on Kate’s arm caused her to cry out as Taima’s fingers wrapped around the small bones of her wrist.

  “Let go of me, you savage.”

  Taima nearly pulled her arm from her shoulder when he dragged her forward with a force she dared not fight. They walked toward their horses at the meadow’s edge where they chewed on tender grass during the hunt. Ahanu untied the reins and pulled the horses behind him, their few belongings still strapped on the horses.

  Rebellion slowly built as she was dragged along, coiling within her like a snake prepared to strike. Suddenly she dug in her boot heels, bringing them to a near halt.

  “Damn you, Taima. Do you think I’d actually try to escape? Where would I go?”

 
“Saitii tahimahkaute en kai mananku namanukkiwa’iyu.”

  An answering remark in his native tongue drifted back to her, but Taima never turned around as he yanked her forward. She looked back at Ahanu, who watched her with dancing eyes. A slight smile curved his mouth.

  Taima continued on, obviously caring little about her discomfort. Whenever she slowed, he would tug painfully on her wrist. Kate glared at the back of his head, wishing he could feel the daggers her eyes must be casting his way. If Taima thought to best her, then he certainly had his work cut out for him. She would never surrender to his customs, but rather, fight him every step of the way.

  She again attempted to pull her wrist from Taima’s grip. “You’ll not win at this game, you know. I’m stronger than I look, and I’ll fight you at every turn!” He only returned the jerk as he repositioned the deer pole on his right shoulder, never interrupting his stride.

  Momentarily resigning herself to the situation, the next half hour passed quietly as Kate tried to occupy her mind with the breath-taking beauty of the mountains. From their position in the valley, foothill bluebells and pink wild onion flowers interspersed with scarlet globe mallow, knee-high grass, and sagebrush. The sweet smell of sagebrush assailed her senses and she loved it. She gazed at the jagged, snow-covered mountains, wishing she were running free through the pines--away from Taima and his companion.

  Now Taima dragged her up a slight incline.

  From the top of the hill, a short distance down the other side, she saw five open-faced lean-to dwellings that had been built near a stream running along the lower basin. Tree limbs as thick as her arm formed the lean-to’s top and sides, thatched with several pine boughs also on the top and sides. Why didn’t these people use teepees?

  Ten men sat about the various fires constructing bows and arrows while women carried wood or knelt before hides staked to the ground, viciously scraping the animal skins. Kate shuddered. How primitive. What year could it possibly be?

  Several small children played with dogs beyond the lean-tos, their long, black hair secured with headbands. Four horses stood beneath a copse of trees tethered to a rope. Did they not own more horses than this, to service all these people?

  As Kate walked down the hill beside Taima, two warriors came forward to relieve him and Ahanu of the deer, but Taima’s grasp on her wrist remained tight as he talked with two more warriors.

  Conspicuous, hate-filled glances were directed at her, but Kate held her head high, refusing to be intimidated by these savages. Boldly, she held the men’s gazes. The women had stopped their scraping long enough to glare at her, and then returned to their work as though it were an everyday occurrence to drag a white woman into their camp.

  One beautiful, young woman ran toward Ahanu, and he embraced her. Two feathers painted blue and white hung from the leather headband holding back her long, blue-black hair. Kate admired the blue and white beads decorating the fringe of her supple doeskin dress. After the woman inspected Ahanu, seemingly for wounds, she turned her attention on Kate, and then glanced back to Ahanu. Her lips curled in a sneer as her eyes narrowed. The woman glanced from Taima, to Kate, and then whispered to Ahanu.

  He chuckled at whatever she’d said.

  The conversation halted between Taima and the men who’d joined him. His bright blue eyes traveled from the woman, to Kate and the cold expression froze her heart.

  Taima yanked her arm and flung her in the woman’s direction. “U tsaya’a!”

  Kate stumbled as she was flung toward Ahanu and his woman. Taima spoke a command, and Ahanu motioned for Kate to follow her. Before stepping away, Kate glanced back at Taima in time to see him look away. She glared at his back. If only he could understand English!

  When the woman tugged on her arm, Kate turned to follow her toward one of the three-sided lean-tos where she indicated for her to sit near the fire in front of the lean-to, which she did, thankful for the reprieve away from that savage. A delicious smelling stew of some sort simmered over the coals in a shallow metal pot. Remembering her history and judging from the abundance of their supplies, Kate assumed these people obviously traded well with the white man and other Indian tribes.

  Kate watched Taima and Ahanu as they approached, then glanced at the thatched dwelling. Through the open front of the lean-to, she saw a massive, fur-covered buffalo hide lay neatly folded to one side.

  The woman approached her and held out a stone plate filled with food. As Kate reached for the offered food, the woman stared at the cuts grazing Kate’s hands. The young woman’s gaze also traveled over her torn sweatshirt, dirty jeans, and her boots as Kate realized how differently she must look.

  The woman examined her palms before meeting her gaze.

  “I fell and tried to grab trees to hold onto, but they only cut my hands.” Kate sighed. “Like you can understand me.”

  The woman handed Kate the stone plate of food, which she readily accepted. She plucked a succulent chunk of meat from the broth and popped it into her mouth. It tasted wonderful.

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she sensed being watched, and Kate immediately looked toward Taima. To her surprise, she momentarily met his almost-caring blue gaze, making her think he might almost be human. Then just as quickly, he turned back to the other warrior he’d been talking to, as though he didn’t want her to know he kept a watch on her. She wondered how long he’d been observing her, and why his gaze had suddenly turned indifferent when she looked at him.

  Frustrated and angry, Kate returned her attention to eating, though she wished she held a burger and cola instead. She dipped a hard biscuit into the tangy juice as she watched Taima’s people carry on with their daily routines.

  The few warriors Taima talked with began to disperse, and Taima glanced over his shoulder at her with narrowed eyes. They made eye contact for a brief moment then he looked at Ahanu, nodding his head for Ahanu to join him. Without waiting for Ahanu to catch up, Taima strode away.

  Kate wondered if Taima had a woman waiting at his lean-to as Ahanu did. Watching Taima’s back as he walked away, she mulled over the thought and licked the last remains of broth from her fingers. When Ahanu finally caught up with him, the two stopped and knelt to speak with an old man.

  Finished with her food, though she still watched Taima, Kate handed the plate to the woman, who glanced in Taima’s direction, then back at Kate. The angry look in her narrowed eyes needed no words.

  Did this woman think she wanted Taima?

  “Oh no! It’s definitely not what you’re thinking. That savage may not have tortured me but…” She pointed her hand in Taima’s direction. “…he is just as guilty. If it weren’t for him forcing me to come here, I’d be on my way back east to Pittsburgh by now.”

  The suspicious look never left the woman’s face as she took Kate’s plate and Kate watched the children, who played in the meadow behind the lean-tos, their laughter carrying on the wind. Remembering her own friends at home, Kate thought this group seemed as though they were like a small family, each helping the other with small chores such as gathering wood, making bows and arrows, or tanning hides. One woman instructed the others on the use of a sharp, rounded object. Kate wondered at the type of tool the women used to scrape the hides since they appeared to be making a quick job of it despite the primitive manner they used.

  Kate sniffed and looked back at her hand. A rancid odor met Kate’s nose as a warm ointment stung the wounds on her hands and Kate stiffened. “What is that?”

  The woman gave a native reply, again one of which she couldn’t understand.

  * * * * *

  Keeping his gaze trained ahead of him, Taima strode past a group of giggling young girls, wishing Ahanu would catch up with him. He needed to talk with Sakima and inform him of Kate’s presence and why she was here, though the older man had probably seen her arrival in one of his visions. Sakima’s knowledge always seemed to astound Taima. For one individual to know so much of what the spirit gods sent their wa
y proved fact enough that Sakima was their chosen shaman.

  He sat cross-legged before a fire, wrapped in a buffalo hide. Wise beyond his fifty summers, Sakima’s dark eyes met Taima’s. Their gazes never broke as Taima sat across from him at the fire, next to Ahanu. The three sat in silence for a long time.

  “You are troubled, my son.”

  Taima looked into the fire, then poked at the glowing embers with a stick. “Noshi...father...capturing the white woman has disturbed memories I would rather not dwell on.”

  “Sometimes the spirits know more than we do. Perhaps they think it is time you did dwell on your memories. Perhaps now, it is time to think of the past again.”

  Taima gazed into the older warrior’s profound, dark eyes, not wanting to stir his own painful thoughts. “Noshi, please . . .”

  The shaman nodded slowly. “Nechan...my son...I, too, have memories of your mother. She came to mean more than life to me. But from the Great Spirits, I’ve learned we must often face the past in order to carry on into our future.”

  Taima sighed and stared at the early stars. “Have your Great Spirits advised you how to deal with the sorrow of dredging up what’s better left in the past?” He glanced back at his father, trying to read his thoughts through the seasoned dark eyes that gazed back at him.

  “Yes, Nechan...and you will always feel a tug on your heart whenever you think of your wife or mother. But you have dealt with these emotions before and though our group here is small, our people look to you for strength and guidance. You’ve never disappointed them in this task. Now it is your turn; learn to pull strength from those around you.”

  This time, Ahanu poked the fire with a twig. Taima watched the tip dig through the glowing embers, feeling his heart burn with pain, as though the coals were within his chest.