Darkthaw (11 page)

“Is Nishwa all right?” Kane hurries through the trees toward us.

The others stand fifty strides away, watching on. Charlie stands off to the side, craning his neck at the scene.

“Almighty,” Kane swears under his breath as he gets close. “That trap—we walked right past it.”

“That branch got caught in it. If it hadn't, his leg would've been torn straight off,” I say. I feel sick.

Kane puts a hand on the back of my neck. “We'll need something harder than a stick to pry with,” he says.

“We know,” Isi says.

“Need something made from steel,” I say.

Kane catches my meaning. “It'll ruin them.”

Everyone is silent.

Kane nods. “I'll be back.”

Too many moments later, we're still talking about the bleedin' rifles. Sister Violet and Frère Andre have had a look at Nishwa's leg, and they've got their heads together, jawing on the matter.

I can't take it anymore. I push away from the tree Kane and I are standing against, intending to march over and tell them what I think.

Kane catches hold of my arm. “They'll make the right decision,” he says. “They're just scared. Best not to stir that hornet's nest.”

But I'm not so sure. I can see the doubt in their eyes, and the way Sister Violet flaps her hands, it's like she's trying to conjure a better plan out of thin air. Andre holds two rifles, one in each hand, and weighs them as he speaks. Violet shakes her head, gesturing to the youngsters and horses. She crosses her arms, her jaw set.

And now something real curious happens. Charlie approaches them. He holds out a hand, talking low. I'm desperate to hear what he's saying, but Kane tightens his grip, keeping me in place.

A couple of moments later, Andre's headed back to Nishwa with the rifles. With Charlie.

I rush toward him. “Andre?”

“
Pas maintenant
, Emmeline. We free the boy.
Et après, tu peux aider
.”

He figures I can heal it, except I've never seen such a wound. I look to Matisa, who's staring at Nishwa with big eyes.

I can help. I have to. I pull my satchel over my head and start digging through the roots and bits of herb. I'll need flame and water.

I find a dry patch of ground a few strides from Nishwa and start building a fire with the little twigs and leaves I find nearby. I strike my flint and get a small spark going. I blow on it, coaxing the flames. Before I know it, Charlie's helping me, finding bigger branches to get the flames real hot.

Andre's busy getting them all in a position where they can work the trap. He gets the rifles wedged in at cross angles so that they're dug firm into the ground.

“I'll tell the young'uns we'll be stopped a while,” Charlie says to me and heads back to the horses, fast as he can with that Almighty-cursed limp.

“Isi
et
Kane, you take rifles,” Andre says. “When I say, pull back,
comme
ç
a
—” He mimes the action. “
Avec toute votre force
.” Hard, he's saying. “We don't have long time. I pull the trap. If branch come also,
bien
.”

Isi and Kane take their positions. Andre gets his hand under the trap in a way I hope means he won't get his fingers snapped off if it springs again.

I pour some water in Matisa's metal cup and stick it in
the fire. I add some yarrow, willing it to boil quickly. I don't want to look, but my eyes drift back to the scene, where Andre sits, all his attention on the trap.

“Alors,”
Andre says,
“maintenant.”

Kane's forearms strain as he pulls back on the rifle. Isi does the same, clenching his teeth tight. Real slow, the jaws start to unhinge.

“
Un peu plus
. Little more,” Andre says, his hand at the ready.

Isi sets his jaw as he and Kane pull away from each other, steady. One violent jerk from either side would mean disaster.

The jaws open another inch and Andre starts sliding it off.

Nishwa shrieks as the teeth of the trap shred along his skin once again, and finally the trap is over his foot and Andre's setting it on the forest floor. Kane and Isi pull their rifles free. The trap snaps shut with a bone-chilling clang.

Matisa rushes to put a cloth to Nishwa's leg. She talks to him in soothing words, pressing into the wound though he shrieks again at her touch. She throws me a wide-eyed look so I nod, trying to reassure her.

The rifle Kane held is bent, I can see that from here. Isi's looks fine. Andre looks Nishwa over, grabs the rifles from Kane and Isi, and slings them over his forearm. He uses the tail end of his
ceinture
to wipe at his glistening forehead. His eyes are satisfied. Relieved. But his face looks older than before.

He walks over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.
“Doucement,”
he says.

“Course I'll be gentle,” I answer. He mops his brow again and turns to go. “Andre,” I say, “what did Charlie say to you? To get you to use the rifles?”

“He say he has wooden bow for us. It was—
comment on dit?
—exchange.”

“YOU JUST STAY RESTING,” I SAY TO NISHWA,
laying my hand on his shoulder and squeezing. Matisa looks over her shoulder from the fire, where she is stirring a pot of tea. Once we got the bleeding stopped with my paste of spruce gum and yarrow, I gave Nishwa some of the tincture Matisa made for my foot, hoping it would dull the pain. The bandage looks good, but he lies on his back with his eyes closed, his face an unnatural white. I place the tincture vessel next to his slack hand.

Matisa nods her thanks. “We will make you more, Em.”

A pang of guilt hits that she's thanking me at all. I leave Kane with Nishwa and step away, taking deep breaths. Isi paces around the outskirts of our makeshift resting spot. The rest of the group have ventured farther down the rise to unpack provisions for the midday meal. I can tell no one's sure how settled they should get. Nobody's talked about moving on or setting up camp yet.

Charlie sits with his family, watching on. He gave his
most precious implement to help save Nishwa's leg. Still can't quite believe it.

“Nishwa needs better medicine,” Isi's voice breaks into my thoughts. I start and turn, find him standing with his arms crossed. “That trap must have broken his leg.”

“Couldn't feel anything out of place,” I say.

“Breaks can be difficult to find,” Isi replies with a shrug.

We look over to where Nishwa lies. Kane is checking his forehead for fever. He notices us looking on, hops up, and joins us. “He'll need time to heal.”

“I'm pretty sure if there were a bone to set, I'd have found it,” I say to Isi.

Isi waves me off. “He needs to see our
âstehowew
—it means healer.”

“I know what it means, and I know how to take care of wounds,” I say.

“This is not about you!” Isi snaps.

Anger surges through me. “You sure about that? Because all you're doing is pointing out where I've failed!”

“Easy, Em!” Kane says.

Isi's face goes dark. He spins and stalks away.

Kane crosses his arms. “What was that about?” The curve of his brow is cleft with a deep line, and his eyes are troubled.

“Just standing up for myself,” I say.

“Isi wasn't saying you were responsible.”

“I
am
responsible. I'm the reason we're headed for that crossing, the reason we passed through these particular woods in the first place.”

“Em—”

“Nishwa had to give up his horse for Charlie's family or
he wouldn't have been on foot. And now Isi's sure I haven't healed him proper.”

“He's just worried.”

I look down. Pull my arms close around my body. “It's just—” I force the words out. “Isi's right: Nishwa needs to go back.” As much as I want to believe I've helped his leg, I know he won't be better tomorrow. Or the next day.

Kane nods.

We look at each other.

“So we leave Charlie and his family.” But as I say the words, I feel sick. I wrap my arms tighter around myself.

Kane's forehead creases.

“It's only another day. If they just follow the river . . .” I trail off. Can't be sure they'll make it. But I can't ask Matisa to keep going this route. She's done so much for us already.

“Em,” he says. “My ma—she's skittered.”

I nod. Can understand that. “All right. So we'll press on—”

“No,” Kane cuts me off. “For a while now she's been talking about what the mapmaker said. About the rogue types out here—the people who can't be trusted. Whoever laid that trap must be nearby.”

For a while
. I think about seeing the two of them talking earlier.

“Seeing this has made up her mind.”

“Her mind?”

“She's talking about that crossing,” he says. “She wants to head east.”

I draw back. “With Charlie and the others?”

“Not
with
them,” he says. “But she . . . she wants to head to that Dominion outpost. Figures she can get help going east
from there.” He rubs the back of his neck. “We leave Charlie, we're leaving my ma and the boys. And I can't—I can't do that. Not before I know they're safe.”

I stare at him, taking in his meaning. “You want to go with her.” My stomach twists.

“I want to get to that crossing.”

“But—but then what? They'd still have to journey all those days east. Henderson said that outpost was days away!”

“I don't know,” he says. “Mayhap you and I would take them?”

I stare at him in shock. “I can't leave Matisa.” After all she's done, I can't abandon her now. Bringing Kane's family—that was Matisa making a sacrifice to ensure Kane didn't have to, and bringing the Jameson family along was another: she was helping me live with myself. And my dreams are telling me to stay with her.

“Then she can come with us,” he says.

I stare at him. “To the people she believes are bringing war to her home?” My voice is heavy with disbelief.

He scrubs his hands over his face. “We don't
know
that's true.”

“No,” I say. “I can't ask it of her.”

Kane clasps his hands at the back of his neck and looks skyward, blowing out his breath. The poplars creak around us unsettled-like, as though they can feel our desperation.

He won't leave his ma and the boys right now. It's all over his face, in the way he stands.

But . . . no. I need to fix this. Find a compromise. Days ago, Matisa talked about sending the boys on ahead if we were slow. That was before Nishwa was injured. It's asking more
of her to stay with us now, but I don't have much choice. “I'll ask Matisa to stay with us till we reach the crossing,” I say. “Mayhap we'll find a settlement after all. Or mayhap we'll meet some good people who'll take your ma and the boys east.”

Kane drops his arms and looks down at me. “I can't leave them before knowing they're safe,” he says.

I swallow hard. “But if Matisa will come with us, and it looks all right for your ma and the boys?”

He looks away. “Guess we'll deal with that when it comes.”

I stare at his profile, willing away the tears that swell against the backs of my eyes. That day at the riverbank comes back to me—his skin searing into mine.

I'll go anywhere with you
, he'd said.

But it's not true.

A flicker of anger lights in my chest. He knows how much being out here means to me, he knows I've pledged to stay with Matisa.

I swallow and clear my throat. “Let's see what Matisa says.”

He nods. “Think that'd be best.”

“I will take you to the crossing,” Matisa says, and the icy hand around my heart unclenches.

I try hard not to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Nishwa needs to go.” Isi's eyes narrow; a muscle works hard in his jaw.

Kane and I stand with them near a dozing Nishwa, out of earshot of the camp, where the rest are busy setting up.

“I know.”

Isi stares at Matisa as she bends to Nishwa's foot. Her expression is unconcerned as she turns his foot over, gentle. “I have been dreaming of you, Isi, taking care of an injured bird.” She looks up. “Perhaps this is what it meant. You can take him.”

“And leave you here? No.” Isi shakes his head. “That is not what your dream meant. You will come with Nishwa and me.”

“No,” Matisa says firm, standing and crossing her arms. “Kane's family needs to get to the crossing, too, now. We will stay the course. You can bring the news to our people about the Dominion.”

In this moment, I'm so full of love for Matisa that I want to shout.

Isi launches into their language. Sounds like he's protesting.