Guadalupe's Tears (6 page)

Lee rolled his eyes up, and would have sighed if he had the breath. He rested his forehead on hers and said, “I’m glad you came.”

He kissed her then, gently, tenderly, and deep inside the destroyed husk of his body, his heart fluttered. He rested his forehead upon hers again and whispered, “Maybe I’m not as dead as I thought.”

Lee sensed they weren’t alone. He jumped back, his hand on the butt of his pistol. Livvy gasped. Three Comanche’s were standing at the entrance. They eyed Lee warily. The one in the middle stepped forward and said in perfect English, “Are they gone?”

“Yes,” Lee said. “The men are dead, the whore demon Phaedra took off. I don’t know where she went.”

“You talk good English for an Injun,” Livvy said.

“And you sound like an ignorant fool,” the warrior snapped. “I’m the chief of this band. I speak fourteen languages. Being a slave I suppose you speak only one, and badly.”

Livvy’s eyes blazed. “I ain’t no slave. Livvy Freemantle ain’t never going to be a slave again.”

“Then I advise you stop talking like one,” the man said.

“Shut up, Livvy, or you’re going to get us all scalped,” Lee hissed.

The Comanches stared at Lee. The chief said, “She turned you, didn’t she?”

“Phaedra? Yeah. I aim to kill her as soon as I come across her again.”

The man on the left spoke in Comanche. The chief nodded. “And you? Are you protecting the town now?”

“No. You can have what’s left of it and be welcome to it.”

“We and the white men lived peacefully at first. But they broke their promises to us. And then she came and made her bargains.”

“And you? Did she promise you anything?” Lee asked.

“Only suffering,” the chief replied. He scowled. “It’s true, the red demon did promise to protect the whites from us, but she also allowed their men to come up into our encampment. They terrorized the women and provided whiskey to our young men.

And when we tried to fight--” He cut off, his jaw working, rage and humiliation etched on his features. “The white men from town...they’re never content...they are always taking more, demanding more, and offering nothing in return but sorrow.”

“She’s not protecting the town anymore,” Lee repeated as he extracted a cigar from his shirt pocket and offered it to the chief, who refused. Lee shrugged and lit up. “You have no cause to worry about me. Miss Freemantle and I are heading out after midnight.

“Even if she holds the secret to heal you?”

“She won’t,” Lee said. “Done asked. Now all that’s left is to put her down, and the sooner the better.”

The chief nodded. Turning, he relayed the information to his advisors. He muttered to one of the men on his right and he left. Moments later an ancient Comanche woman carrying a beaded bag arrived. The chief spoke to her, and she chanted as she pulled a small handful of bones and stones from the pouch. She cast them upon the ground, divined them, then spoke rapidly, gesturing toward he west.

“The demon woman has gone west,” the Chief said. He handed Lee an amulet bag, “This will give you safe passage through Comanche and Kiowa territory. I’ll send runners to the Apache, so they will know what you’re looking for and won’t harm you or your woman.”

“Thank you,” Lee said, putting the bag around his neck. It felt warm and alive. Whatever was in it contained more than just a free pass from one territory to the next. It contained powerful magic. Perhaps the magic would be strong enough to lead him to Phaedra.

The chief held out his hand and Lee clasped it. “Good hunting,” the chief said as he parted. They turned to leave when Lee spoke up. “Oh yeah,” Lee said as an afterthought. “There’s two negra men asleep somewhere up in the rocks. They have no part in what the town did.”

“We know,” the chief replied.

****

Livvy and Lee stood on the lip of the cave and watched as what remained of the town of Casey burned. It would probably cost the Comanches a lot once word got out, but Lee had a suspicion that the Chief had no problem with taking on the US Calvary, and perhaps even looked forward to that particular opportunity.

Lee turned to Livvy. “Well, now Miss Livvy Freemantle, are you ready to go west with me? It’ll be a dangerous trip, even if the Indians are on our side.”

Livvy smiled and held up the wine skin filled with Guadalupe’s tears. “Where you lead I will follow. Where you goest, I will go too.”

Fin

About the Author

Angelique Videaul was born in 1958 in Paris, France. She is a retired art teacher who has recently begun writing erotic romances. She infuses her love of the United States South West in her writing. She speaks fluent English and hopes to visit the States one day. Guadalupe's Tears is her first Phaze Book.

Table of Contents

Title page