According to Legend (21 page)

“Where are you taking me?”

“Be silent.”

I recognized that voice. The Iroscotay scout.

I was slung over the shoulder of the scout as if I were a sack of grain. He ran effortlessly.

“Put me down,” I demanded. “I command you in the name of Moheeladeck.”

“You no longer belong to Moheeladeck. You now belong to Divakar.”

“Half-Breed,” Moheeladeck called. The wolf was immediately at his side. “Go. Find Takshawee,” he commanded. No one had seen Takshawee and his gut burned with the knowledge something had gone awry.

The wolf bounded off into the forest toward the stream with Moheeladeck following close behind. They soon reached the spot where Half-Breed had last seen Takshawee, but what they found there made Moheeladeck’s blood run cold. A rock smeared with blood lay in the grass next to her moccasins and the Tribal Princess was nowhere in sight.

“Half-Breed, I thought you were guarding her? What happened here?” Moheeladeck glared at the wolf.

Half-Breed’s eyes pleaded for understanding and at the same time, forgiveness.

“Follow the scent. Find our Princess,” Moheeladeck commanded.

The wolf sniffed around and immediately picked up the trail heading south. They followed the trail for a while when suddenly the direction changed. It was there that they found the amulet that Moheeladeck had given her. He remembered the first time he has lost his bride. The pain of it still scared his heart. He knew he could not endure it if she were lost to him again. Could time be so cruel as to give him another chance by bringing Takshawee back to him, only to take her away again? As he picked up the amulet and tucking into the pouch at his waist, he said, “Half-Breed, we must go back to the village and gather some men to accompany us. These tracks are of one man who carries someone, but I do not believe he is acting in this alone. I fear when we find him, we will meet with a battle where alone we would be greatly outnumbered. I do not wish to endanger the life of Takshawee and I hate to give her captors even more of a lead than they already have, but it is not wise for us to proceed into this without assistance.”

We were going up into the mountains. I knew because the air was getting cold and the trail was steep, but the scout maintained his pace. The sun was high in the sky when we arrived at a cave that was hidden in the mountainside. It was in that cave that he finally set me on my feet.

I was dizzy from being upside down and slung over the scout’s shoulder all morning. I nearly fell over, but was supported by strong hands that caught me as I stumbled. I instinctively pulled away and looked up into the deep blue smoldering eyes I knew so well, the eyes of Divakar.

I would have slapped his face, but my hands were tied behind me. My arms ached from being pulled back for so long.

As soon as they released my hands, I would reach for the catcher and send myself to Moheeladeck’s side. Until I had the opening to do so, I would have to remain calm and play this game. It seemed to me that I had been in this position before in another time.

“Divakar, my arms ache and there is nowhere to go,” I said. “Please, I beg you, untie me.”

“Do as she asks,” he commanded the scout.

When the bonds were cut, the pain of the blood returning to my arms was excruciating. I gasped from the pain and couldn’t move.

Divakar stepped closer to me. He gazed down into my eyes and ran the back of his fingers along my jaw line. Then he leaned in and kissed me. His lips felt cold to me and I could not return his kiss. I stood there motionless as a stone statute.

“You are so lovely.” He walked around me, circling me as if assessing a prize.

When he returned to stand before me he whispered, “When I first saw you my blood rushed like a raging stream and my heart soared like an eagle. I knew at that moment that I must make you mine.”

“I belong to Moheeladeck. He is my husband.”

“You are no longer part of that tribe. You are now part of the Iroscotay tribe and will be my bride,” he said, his tone much the same as that of Moheeladeck when a decision was made.

“That is not possible. My heart belongs to Moheeladeck.”

“In time, you will no longer think of him.”

Divakar caught me off guard as he reached and took my precious dream catcher in his hand.

I froze.

“I have heard that this decorated amulet holds much power.” He smiled, holding the catcher up before his eyes. “We cannot have you using that power to escape,” he said as he ripped it from my neck.

“Do you imagine that he will not come for me?”

“Of course I have thought of that,” he said and he turned to the scout who was standing close by awaiting his orders.

I shifted then to see the scout standing with an Iroscotay maiden beside him. As soon as Divakar gave the nod, the scout took the girl, lifted her over his shoulder and took off running in another direction. “By the time Moheeladeck arrives here with his tracker, we will be long gone and he will continue to follow the trail the scout is now providing,” he said as he tied the catcher around his own neck.

“You seem to have this very well planned out.” I spat the words at him.

He chuckled. “You do have spirit. I like that. I rather like everything about you.”

I had to think, had to keep my head. I knew Moheeladeck would come. Divakar said we would be long gone, so I had to devise some way to leave a trail.

“I will honor you this day, Takshawee, by not taking you and making you mine,” he said, edging closer.

I stared up into the depths of his blue eyes and saw someone I knew from another time.

David. Divakar. Whoever this man was, he leaned closer and drew me into his arms. He held me to him with the catcher pinned between his heart and mine. My mind grew cloudy as he bent his head to kiss me. The heat from the catcher gently hummed over my heart and the heat of his lips and the passion burning behind them consumed me. Against my will, I responded to his kiss. Desire rose within me. I swayed and rested against him. My breath quickened and my heart raced. His kiss grew more passionate as did my response. Our hearts beat in unison, along with the vibration of the stones. The heat of him drew me to him. I yearned for him to go beyond just this kiss, far beyond.

He smiled as he lifted his lips from mine. “This amulet does hold magic. It brings you to him in your dreams while you sleep. Henceforth, it will bring you to me when you are awake. I will now become the object of your desire,” he said, as if he had the power to order the stones to do his bidding.

His gaze burned into my soul and I couldn’t look away. My breathing was rapid and my heart thundered wildly in my chest.
Did he? I wondered.

“There is a tunnel here in the depths of this cave. We will be following it,” he said with a smile. “I played here often as a child.”

I thought he was from the far north. How did he play here as a child?

He took me by the arm. I expected him to be rough and savage and to shove me ahead of him, but he was gentle with me as if he were escorting me to the dance floor. We moved further back into the dark depths of the cave. My eyes could not adjust quickly to the darkness, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going. We entered a tunnel and as the cold damp air surrounded us, a knot of fear rose in my throat.

Don’t panic. Be patient.
I was grasping onto the edge trying to hold onto the smallest shred of rational thought I had left. Behind the entrance was a boulder and once we had passed, Divakar spoke to his tribesmen waiting there. “Cover the opening,” he commanded.

We stood in the dampness of the tunnel and as the grinding sound of the boulder being pushed to cover the entrance filled the eerie silence, a tingle rushed up my spine. We were engulfed in darkness. The only movement of air was when Divakar’s warriors rushed past us. As we followed them into the depths of the mountain tunnel, I prayed silently that Moheeladeck would find me.

What would become of him should he meet with Divakar’s warriors? What if harm should come to him? He was not a dream to me, but a real man, a man who’d made love to me. He was my past, but he was also my present—my future. I did not want to live if he did not exist. I didn’t want to breathe if he did not. My heart ached and I was nearly crippled with the pain of the mere thought of losing Moheeladeck. The only thing I could do was stall for time until I could come up with a way out of this.

“Do you think that boulder will stop my husband?” I asked.

“If I were he, I would stop at nothing in my efforts to find you, so no, I do not imagine he will be stopped by this. It is merely an obstacle to gain us more time to escape him.”

“What is it you want? What will you ask Moheeladeck to give you in exchange for me?”

“His life,” he answered.

I gasped. Tears pooled in my eyes and I swallowed the lump that rose in my throat as the raw emotion of such a loss ate away at my soul.

“It is not riches or land I seek. I wish to possess you. I am no fool. Do you think that I do not realize that as long as he is alive, your heart will never fully belong to me?”

“Whether he lives or dies, my heart will never belong to another.”

“We shall see,” he answered as he drew his hand to the catcher and continued to take me forward and deeper into the tunnel.

Does he have any idea how to use the power of the stones? Does he possess mystical powers that will allow him to control them?

The further we traveled down the tunnel, the more familiar it was. The musty smell clung to my skin and my mind swirled around memories of being chained to the wall in the dungeon deep in the bowels of the museum. Somehow, I knew that we were in one of the tunnels David and I had wandered past that day Mr. Harvey ambushed me.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked.

“We are going to a place where my warriors are waiting. I do not wish to face Moheeladeck alone.”

“So you know he will come for me?”

“Yes, he will come and I will be ready to destroy him, to finish this once and for all.”

“No matter how many warriors you have, he will never allow your plan to succeed.”

“Silence!” he roared.

He must have realized that his harsh tone had frightened me because he drew close to me and pulled me into his arms. He became tender and spoke softly.

“I will never let another man touch you. I will not let anyone hurt you. I love you. It would be wonderful if you loved me as well. I’m not asking for that right now, but in time you will grow to love me.”

Was I having déjà vu again?
I had heard David speak nearly these same words to me that day in the park. My head was swirling with the fog of memories, memories of things that had not yet happened. Could that be possible?

How was I going to get out of this mess? Then I heard the voice of Shaweetoo, my spirit guide, in my mind.
I will always be with you. Draw upon your power, your inner strength.
I knew I had to force myself to control the powers within me to get out of this. I had to remain calm and formulate a plan. Breathe, I reminded myself.
Be still and wait.

Faint sounds echoed through the tunnel from far behind us.

Moheeladeck! He is coming for me
, I thought. I longed for him to be at my side, yet feared for his life at the same time. The sound of water raging up ahead of us drew my attention. I was momentarily confused because I expected the tunnel to come out somewhere near where the museum stood in the future, not near raging water. Then it dawned on me. If I follow this tunnel, I’d emerge at the falls, at The Cave of Secrets.

We traveled quickly through the last few feet of the tunnel, and the voice of my Spirit Guide again whispered in my mind.
You can change into the form of any living creature under the sun.
If I could transform into any living creature, which would I become? And what of Moheeladeck?

Divakar said he had assembled his warriors who would be waiting to ambush my husband. I knew there would be a battle and that it would be a battle to the death. Cold fear gripped me and my stomach clenched at the mere thought of losing Moheeladeck. The sting of tears burned my eyes. I love him and I could not escape and leave him to face this fate.

We stepped out of the tunnel into the light of day, and we were indeed at the falls. The spray of the water danced upon my face, but the place that had always given me peace had become the backdrop for what was now becoming a nightmare. This place had always given me solace. Would it bring grief today?

As Divakar stepped into the light, his Iroscotay warriors came out from their hiding places in the woods. He called for one of his warriors, a tall man who although appearing to be young, bore a face fierce and angry. A shiver ran down my spine.

“Take her away from here to a place of safety. Guard her and do not allow her to escape. If anything happens to her, you will answer to me,” Divakar said.

The young warrior nodded. He grabbed my arm and yanked me into the woods. He was not as gentle as his Chief when he shoved me ahead of him in a direction away from what was certain to become the site of a battle.

It’s now or never
, I thought.
I must concentrate. I must shape shift to escape. I must go back to Moheeladeck.

The image of Shaweetoo appeared in my mind, and I knew what I must do. I started to run down the trail before me. The guard, surprised that I had burst into a full-on sprint, rushed after me. As I raced, my thoughts focused, my mind alert.

In my mind’s eye, I imagined the flight of an eagle soaring above the earth. Before I knew it, I felt weightless. The coolness of the wind slapped against my face as I soared high above the trees and mountaintops. How green and full the trees were, lush and thick and the spray from the falls rushed up into a foggy mist. Giddiness bubbled up inside me and my heart hammered in excitement as I realized that I was flying.

Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. I wish I could share the sight of this with Moheeladeck.

I looked down at the guard who stood, jaw dropped open. His expression was puzzled as he watched me in flight turned to one of fear as I’m sure he realized what fate he was certain to suffer at the hands of Divakar.