Holdin' On for a Hero (20 page)

As one, the creatures rose. Tsa’li put his hand on Chance’s shoulder. “Go with them. They will guide you.”

She put her hand on top of his and gave it a squeeze then stood. She had no idea why she was doing this. It didn’t make any sense. But she had to find Wyatt and if this was the only way she had to risk it.

The big male wolf looked up at her and she nodded. “I’m ready.” He turned and started upstream. She followed close behind, surrounded by the pack. Within moments Tsa’li and the safety of the fire had vanished.

* * * * *

Greg Holling turned the bottle up to his mouth and took a long drink then passed it over to one of his men. He looked over at Jenny. She was staked out on the ground, her hands and feet spread wide and tied to stakes driven in the ground.

“Not bad for an Indian bitch,” he laughed.

Matt Taylor, his closest friend laughed with him. “Yeah, so when do we get to sample her?”

“Not ‘til Wolfe gets here,” Greg replied. “He gets to watch.”

“But your old man gave pretty clear orders that we couldn’t kill him,” Matt pointed out. “You ready to buck the old man?”

“Who said I had to?” Greg retorted. “We’ll just rough him up a little and dump him somewhere.”

“Then he’ll be able to identify us,” Matt said. “That don’t sound like a good idea to me.”

“Well, who the fuck asked you?” Greg barked. “Besides, who’s he gonna tell? The police? Yeah, right! Like they’d believe him. And anyway, we all have alibis. We were at my old man’s house having this big barbecue. There’s thirty people who’ll swear to it.”

“Well, hell.” Matt grinned. “Then let’s have us some fun.”

Greg laughed and yelled over at Jenny, “You hear that, bitch? Yeah, you get all wet and juicy thinking ‘bout it ‘cause I’m gonna fuck you blind.”

He and all his men laughed and starting joking and bragging about what they were going to do to her.

They had no idea they were being watched.

From only yards away the Warrior crouched and watched in silence. Inside him Wyatt begged to be heard, pleading with him not to go to war against the white men. But the Warrior dismissed Wyatt’s pleas. The men were enemies of the people and it was his duty to kill them, to avenge the lives they had taken and to make them pay for defiling the woman.

He stripped off the shirt and the white man’s pants that Wyatt had covered himself with. He had no shame in his nudity. He was the Warrior—he was afraid of nothing.

The men finished drinking their firewater and threw the bottle aside. As they moved to circle the woman staked out on the ground, the Warrior slid from his hiding place and crept silently to the nearest vehicle.

In the back of the truck were several rifles, a short-handled ax and a long skinning knife. He ignored the guns. Those were weapons of the white man. He took the knife and the ax.

Greg Holling moved to stand between the woman’s legs. “Okay, boys, it’s just about time to give this bitch a good fuck.”

The men laughed and started arguing over who would go first. None of them heard the Warrior until it was too late. He sprang up with a war cry and heaved the ax.

The ax head embedded in the skull of one man. He fell to the ground, dead before his body landed. The other white men turned in fear. After one look at the Warrior, they all made a dash for the vehicles where the weapons were. The Warrior laughed and grabbed one man who tried to get past him by the throat. The man gurgled a scream, trying to get away but his strength was no match for the Warrior’s.

The Warrior gave a mighty howl and stabbed the knife into the man’s abdomen, just above the pelvic bone. He jerked the knife upward and the man screamed and twisted, his intestines spilling out onto the cold ground in a steaming mass.

Tossing the man aside, the Warrior dove at a third man, taking him to the ground. Greg took one look at what was happening and ran for his truck. Jumping in and starting the engine, he stomped the accelerator and pulled away in a storm of flying leaves and dirt. Three other men raced after him, throwing themselves into the back of the truck in a panic.

The Warrior slit the throat of the man he held on the ground and looked around, seeing the truck making its way down the beaten path. Jumping to his feet, he started after it.

Chance saw the truck race down the path, bumping and sliding. She emerged from the trees and saw Wyatt coming toward her. My god! What happened to him?

She knew the man was Wyatt, but he had definitely changed. His eyes were like that of someone possessed. They gleamed with a manic fire. His face wore an enraged expression and every muscle on his body was tight. Naked and barefoot, he appeared like some ancient avenging god suddenly sprung to life.

He stopped and looked down at her. The gray wolf moved beside her and the Warrior looked at it in silence. A moment later he stepped forward as if to pursue to fleeing men.

“Wyatt, no!” Chance held up her hands. “Let them go, please!”

“I am the Warrior! Do not order me, woman!”

“I’m not ordering you.” She lowered her hands and her voice. “I’m asking you. Please, let them go.”

“They are the enemy! Tell your pack to stand aside.”

“No.” She shook her head and took a tentative step toward him. “Please, listen to me. They are enemies, I agree. But you don’t have to kill them. There are other ways of dealing with them. Please, I beg you, let them go and come with me.”

The Warrior looked at her for a long time. “You are the white woman that belongs to him.” He walked to her and looked down into her eyes. “We are one. If you are his woman then you belong to me as well.”

Chance looked up at him and nodded, swallowing nervously. “Yes, I do, and I want to take you home.”

The Warrior grabbed her by the hair and jerked her to him. “Do you dare, white woman?”

Chance winced at the pain, feeling unsure and afraid. “Yes, I do. I came here to find you…to take you home with me. Wyatt, please, please come with me.”

The Warrior smiled. “He hears you, white woman, and is concerned for your well-being.” He looked at Chance for a moment then released her hair to take hold of her coat and rip it off.

“Stop!” she protested, feeling angry and afraid at the same time. “I mean it, stop! It’s cold out here!”

He laughed and grabbed the front of her shirt, tearing it from her body. She hit at him angrily and screamed for him to stop but he laughed. “You said you belong to me, white woman.”

Chance picked up her ruined coat and held it around her shoulders. “That doesn’t mean you have the right to treat me like some piece of meat!”

The Warrior looked around at the wolves. “Your friends understand, white woman. Perhaps it is time you did as well.”

Chance almost let her anger get the better of her at his imperious tone and attitude, but she swallowed her pride, looking first at the wolves then at him. “Fine, but I’ll understand much better at home. So let’s free that girl and then we can go.”

She walked past him and tried not to look at the dead men lying on the ground. Kneeling down beside Jenny, she spoke softly as she untied her. “You don’t have to be afraid now. They’ve gone. You’re safe.”

Jenny looked up at her with fear-filled eyes. “They were going to-to—” Her words were choked off by a flood of tears.

“Come on.” Chance helped Jenny up and draped her own coat over her. “It’s okay, it’s over and you’re safe.”

Jenny let Chance lead her over to the truck that had been left by Greg and his men. The keys were inside. “Listen to me,” Chance told her. “Take this truck and go over to John Wolfe’s house. You’ll be safe there. Tell him I’ll be with Wyatt at his house. Tell him what happened and have him call the state police. Can you do that?”

Jenny nodded then looked nervously over her shoulder. “What’s wrong with him? Why did Wyatt—”

Chance looked over at the Warrior who stood silently watching. “That’s not Wyatt, just someone who looks like him—someone who needs help. Now, go on, do what I said. Everything will be fine.”

Jenny threw her arms around Chance and hugged her. “Thank you. We were wrong about you. You are different. You walk with the wolves.”

“Only occasionally,” Chance quipped and untangled herself from Jenny to look at her seriously. “I need you to do something for me.”

Jenny nodded and Chance continued. “You didn’t see Wyatt here tonight. Do you understand? I’m not asking you to lie, even though it may seem that way. That isn’t Wyatt. You have to believe me. Wyatt isn’t here. That’s…”

Her voice trailed off as she tried to come up with a convincing lie. Finally she opted for the truth. “He’s…he’s the Warrior. So when anyone asks, you didn’t see Wyatt. Understand?”

Jenny nodded again and Chance gave her a brief hug. “Okay, now get going.”

Jenny got in the truck and pulled off. The Warrior and the wolves moved aside for the truck to pass then he walked over to where Chance stood.

She made herself look at the dead men. “You did this.” She turned to him.

“Yes.”

“It’s wrong.”

“They are the enemy. They have taken lives. They deserve to die.”

“They’re still people! Don’t you get it? Their lives have value too! Wyatt knows that so why don’t you?”

The Warrior slapped her and sent her tumbling to the ground. Chance stared up at him with fear in her eyes as she pulled herself into a sitting position. He smiled and squatted down beside her. “You have much to learn, white woman.”

“My name is Chance, not white woman.”

“What does the Old One call you?”

“The old one? I don’t know who you mean.”

“The one who sent you with the wolves.”

“Oh! Tsa’li! He calls me White Woman with the Eyes of a Wolf.”

“Wolf Eyes, yes, that is fitting. Very well, Wolf Eyes, take off your clothes and let me see you.”

Chance looked up at him in surprise. “What? You can’t be serious!”

The Warrior grabbed her and threw her down, ripping her clothes away. Chance screamed and fought him with all her strength but he was too powerful. When she was naked he sat back on his heels and looked at her. Chance sat up and crossed her arms over her chest but he grabbed her hands and moved them out to her sides.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

“I want to see you.”

“But you know what I look like. You’ve seen me before.”

“Through his eyes,” he said. “I wish to see with my own. You are very beautiful, Wolf Eyes. I feel desire for you.”

Chance stiffened at his words, her eyes moving involuntarily to his groin. “No!” she whispered hoarsely as she saw his erection. “No, please. Not here…not among all this death. Please, let me take you home.”

“And will you take me to your bed?”

She didn’t answer for a moment. She was afraid if she said the wrong thing she would anger him, and as long as he felt the rage he would not release Wyatt. Finally she nodded. “Yes, if that’s what you want. But we have to leave here.”

“Very well.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet.

Chance looked around and saw that all but the one gray wolf had vanished. She picked up her torn clothes and draped them around her then walked over and knelt down in front of the wolf. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m in your debt.”

The wolf licked her face then turned and disappeared into the trees. Chance stood and held out her hand to the Warrior. He looked down at the offered hand for a moment then crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You may proceed.”

Hoping she was not making a major mistake, she walked down the path ahead of him.

* * * * *

John was standing on the front porch with Tsa’li when Jenny jerked the truck to a stop in front of his house. She ran up to him, babbling hysterically. He put his arm around her shoulders and took her inside.

Tsa’li sat down beside her on the couch. Billy Hawkes and Iris came in from the kitchen. Billy ran over to Jenny and she threw herself in his arms, crying in loud sobs.

Iris stood watching impassively. John took no notice of her until he saw Tsa’li watching her with his dark impenetrable eyes. Then he turned and gave her a curious look. She looked away and sat down.

Tsa’li pulled Jenny from Billy’s arms, gently but firmly. “Speak.”

She sniffed and wiped her face with the sleeve of the torn coat. “It was Holling—Greg Holling and some of his friends. They killed Jimmy! Oh, god, Tsa’li, they just shot him like he was nothing.”

“Yes.” Tsa’li nodded. “That we know.”

Jenny wrapped her arms tightly around herself and rocked back and forth. “They took me to Black Camp Gap and tied me down on the ground. They said they were going to-to—”

She looked over at Billy and he sat down and took her hand. “They know, Jenny. Just tell them what happened.”

Holding his hand tightly, she turned to Tsa’li. “They were all drinking and laughing and talking about how they were going to make Wyatt watch. How they were going to beat him up and after they killed me they were going to dump him somewhere.”