Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (28 page)

Ian got out his violin then and played a
lively Gaelic tune which James and Moon Owl danced to and after a
while James played while Ian and Moon Owl danced for everyone to
see. There were none interested in dancing to the white man’s music
except some of the children. The three took turns teaching those
children the dance steps.

After everyone had eaten their fill of fish
and venison, the village men led Ian and James to an open grassy
area and produced everything needed to play Lacrosse. They split
into two teams and set up goals at each end. Leather strips wound
around and secured made the ball that was used.

It was a rough and tumble sport the way the
Seneca played it and quite a ruckus was made when a goal was
scored. Finally calling a stop to the game Gray Fox came smiling to
the two men with two rackets and asked them if they would like to
play.

Ian and James looked at each other and
nodded, splitting up so that one of them would be on each team.
Soon enough they dominated the play and each guarded the other well
enough that neither could score. Everyone was amazed at how fast
the two could move and how hard either man could sling the ball
toward the goal. They were very careful to play in such a way as
not to harm anyone on the field, but when crowded or pushed either
one would quickly give better than they got. This translated into
the men of the tribe giving great respect to the two of them as
they quickly learned that either man could knock down any brave on
the field and not surrender the ball. The two kept each other in
check and that amused the Indians a lot. The game ended up a tie
which both James and Ian thought was a good thing, given the
passion with which the tribesmen played.

The summer wore on and both Ian and James
learned to track by sight, being taught by Gray Fox. Even such
things as slightly bent down undergrowth or scuffed moss on a rock
could signify that something or someone had passed through an area.
Combined with their keen sense of smell and eyesight the two had
learned a valuable skill from the Seneca

Both of them made kills with borrowed
lances. The Indians were slack-jawed with amazement the first time
they ever saw Ian throw an iron-tipped lance. He hit a buck
broadside from some one hundred fifty feet away and the lance went
clean through the deer for a quick kill. They soon learned that
James could throw a lance just as hard and just as far as Ian and
they openly marveled at the physical prowess of the pair. Still,
they held back showing their true power for fear of too many tales
circulating to the few whites who did come through the area and
especially to the British should they ever return.

The two were made adopted sons of the Seneca
one evening at a brief ceremony presided over by Tall Elk. As the
simple ceremony unfolded, Moon Owl beamed at the two with pleasure,
her eyes shining with unshed tears of joy. Ian felt a lump in his
throat at that sight and felt great remorse knowing that the day of
his departure was near.

They worked diligently then to complete the
barn addition for the horses and oxen they would be leaving and
even got to break ground for the garden to be planted the following
spring.

James wanted to return to Boston and Ian
reluctantly agreed, knowing that he was duty-bound to go with him.
Both were sure that the war was still being fought, but Ian knew
his time to return had finally come.

He made a point of going around to all of
the people of the tribe to say his goodbyes. Speaking to the Sachem
and the elders that last evening he admonished them to let the
Mohawks know that he and James were adopted sons of the Seneca and
that they now lived in their land. “James and I had to kill seven
of them when we were coming here with Moon Owl. We allowed two of
them to live, so they know what we will do if they make war against
the Seneca.” Tall Elk then rose and came to stand before Ian and
James to say goodbye formally which was a great honor in the sight
of the elders and people.

Ian set a departure date of four days and
told Moon Owl. She was sad, but accepted it very well. On their
last night together, she came to their bed and said “I would not
even be here with my people if not for you and James. You told me
in the beginning that you had to complete your work for your
people. Tell me about them, the ones that are like you and
James.”

Gathering her into his arms then, Ian told
her somewhat about each one, and the circumstances under which they
had become members of the family. He introduced each one in the
order in which they came to live with the Lafayettes. She was quite
intrigued and was somewhat surprised at some of the violent events
that he had been involved in. She was especially surprised that
there was a child vampire among them. Ian explained the
circumstances of her crossing over and finished by telling her how
wonderfully sweet Aimee was and how much they all loved her.

“Moon Owl, those battles were not everyday
events, but you wanted to know and there was a lot of fighting and
killing in connection with some of my family coming to live with
the rest of us. We kill vampires who kill humans and we will always
be that way no matter where we live.”

“Are your kind here in this land?”

“Other than James and I, there are none that
I know of.”

“Why is that?”

“It is quite hard for us to be able to come
here and not be discovered by the humans we sail with. Others will
come though when better ships are built.”

“Will your family come here?”

“Yes.”

“Will the whites keep coming then?”

“Yes. They live in cities across the great
sea that have as many people in just one of them as all of the
Iroquois people put together.”

“Cities with that many people?”

“Yes lass, and I will tell you that I saw a
city in China once that had well over a million people in it, far
bigger than any city in Europe.”

She was silent as she digested it, saying
“They will someday change this land, the land of the Seneca.”

“Yes they will. It can’t be stopped, but you
may never see it in your lifetime.”

“What should the Seneca do?”

“The Seneca and other nations of this land
must change and adapt to how it will be. They will have to learn
the white man’s tongue too.”

“I believe you. And I will miss you” she
said, turning to him then and putting her arm about his neck she
pulled him close to kiss him.

“I will miss you too, Moon Owl, truly I
will.”

They made love then with great tenderness
and she awakened twice that night to make love again. He held her
close all night, speaking to her if she was awake, holding her if
she was asleep. It was tender but bittersweet too. He truly hated
parting from her and was surprised at how he had come to love her
so.

The next day before they departed, he took
her face gently between his hands and spoke softly to her saying
“You have made my time here in this land so wonderful that I can’t
put words to it. I am going to miss you very much. I don’t know
what is waiting for me out there, but I want you to promise me that
should I not return, you will someday marry a fine man of your
people.”

She gazed somberly at him then, saying “I
cannot promise that, Ian. No one can replace you in my heart. I am
glad that you brought me to be with my people and I will wait for
you here. Good bye, love.”

They kissed then tenderly and he turned,
shrugging into his ruck sack and trotted off to join James. In
minutes the two were rocketing through the great American
wilderness toward Boston.

“Stefan, I have had a really good idea.”

“I hope it is better than babysitting eight
vampires, Yvonne. This is getting to me, and how will it be when
winter comes?”

“Well, we need to keep them away from people
in order to not draw attention of the law-enforcement officials
hereabouts. I thought of leasing some run-down place to get them
out from underfoot and to give us some privacy, but we cannot trust
them unsupervised.”

“Well, I hope they are of some use to us for
all of the bother. So far all they do is to watch the Davis and
Millhouse homes, and that captain Siebert.”

“What else can we do, Stefan? This is a big
country and we have no other resources here. We have to wait and be
patient for McCloud to return to his bank and take up where he left
off. Then we will form a plan to overpower and kill him. I sent a
letter to Edwards in England about our progress and I asked for
more money.”

“Do you think he will send it?”

“Yes, being as we are building a coven and
have furnished him with an address, all in good faith.”

“Well, I hope he sends it, and killing
McCloud can’t happen too soon for me.”

“Stefan, other than us who is most motivated
to get revenge against McCloud?”

He pondered that for a bit, and then said
“That has to be that Grundy fellow.”

“Correct. What if we bring him over?”

He sighed deeply and replied “Another
vampire to imprint and watch over?”

“Bear with me a moment, Stefan. He is as
motivated as we are, and he has contacts in the British Military
and knowledge of their tactics. Not to mention that he is a
renowned expert in both swordsmanship and marksmanship with either
pistol or musket, according to Captain Siebert.”

“You would bring him over so that we would
have a skilled fighter then?”

“Right. Would he not make a welcome addition
to our coven?”

“In that light, yes he would, if we could
find him.”

“That is where Captain Siebert comes in. He
will know or he can find out. Once we can speak with him in
private, we can convince him to join us to get his revenge against
McCloud.”

“And if he refuses?”

“Then we will take him by force, and
besides, I can be most persuasive if need be” she said with a
smile.

“To hell with that! I will force him myself
if need be. Who has he to turn to once he is a vampire? Only us. He
will throw in with us after that no matter what else he feels. Mr.
Grundy is joining us whether he likes the idea or not.”

Yvonne did not bother to tell Stefan that
she had already formed an ‘alliance’ of sorts with Captain Siebert
before Washington’s forces had forced the small British presence
out of New York City. He was infatuated with her and since she had
given him a taste, he was hers to do with as she pleased. Like the
constable in London, this man was mad for her now. She laughed
inwardly at her cleverness. The sole purpose of this conversation
was because she only wanted for Stefan to think that he had some
sort of input to her plan. She thought
The British may yet take
back this city and when they do I have an ally in their army. I
will have your head, McCloud. I will have my revenge for the pain
you put me through.

***

Melissa came running as she had seen the two
frontiersmen approaching her front door. She flew into James’ arms,
laughing delightedly and covering his face with kisses. “Melissa,
I’ve missed you, but you’re making a spectacle for your
neighbors.”

“Bah! Let them ogle me. What do I care? You
are here now and what else matters?” She laughed as he picked her
up like she was a child and whirled her around, holding her over
his head effortlessly. Ian stood off to one side smiling, his hat
in his hand as she turned and came to him, kissing him on his cheek
saying “It looks like you have taken good care of James so I am
glad to see you too, Ian.”

“Oh I would not have dared allow a hair of
his head to be touched although some Mohawks wanted to lift his
scalp.” She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, but
seeing both of them laughing, was not sure if Ian was serious or
not. She said “Now tell me truly, is that so?”

James laughed and said “It is, but Ian and I
changed their minds real fast. Do you want to go into town
now?”

“Silly boy! I have better ideas than that”
she said with a laugh as she took both of his hands and drew him
toward the cottage.

Ian laughed and said “I think that means it
is time for me to go into town. I will be staying at our old place
should you want me. Good bye, Melissa.” Turning away he walked down
the stepping stone path and turned at the gate, walking toward the
center of Boston.

He walked toward Faneuil Hall to see what he
could learn. Along the way he thought
likely by now Henry Knox
has Dorchester Heights so well fortified that it would take a
massive British invasion to take it back. I doubt they will try to
take Boston back. Too many would die. They only had a small number
in New York so if Washington has run them out of there by now that
may be their next target.

As he arrived he saw Paul Revere coming out
of the door. Hailing him, Ian came over and smiling broadly the two
shook hands.

“Ian, where have you been?”

“In the wilderness, Seneca country.”

“So far away? Whatever for?”

“I was keeping a promise I made to take
someone to her people.”

Revere looked at him, clearly puzzled so Ian
explained the circumstances.

“I would have never taken Monique for being
part Indian. You did a good job of schooling her, Ian.”

“She is one-quarter Seneca and she is really
bright. Besides, I knew that she would be hurt at the treatment she
would receive if others knew about her origin. I would prefer that
you keep this to yourself, Paul.”

“I won’t speak of it. Say have you heard
that the Declaration of Independence was signed in
Philadelphia?”

“I only just got back today. So this is a
formal declaration, a formal split with England?”

“Indeed it is. The delegates signed it in
early July at the second Continental Congress. Hancock was there as
a delegate and so were Sam and John Adams. They are likely to have
heard of this by now in England. We can expect things to heat up
now for sure.”