Quicksilver Passion (70 page)

Here I am ... here I am ... am ... am . . .

The echo was so eerie, it made her feel even more alone and defenseless. Besides, the wolves might hear her voice if they hadn’t picked up her scent. Straining to hear, she tensed and listened. Nothing. She had only imagined that someone called her name.

In the distance behind her, a wolf howled again. It sounded nearer this time, but she couldn’t be sure if the pack really was closer or her fear only made it sound so.

Stop it, Silver!
she admonished herself.
You’ve got your club. Keep walking!

Her breathing came labored now but she kept putting one small foot in front of the other, even though she couldn’t feel her toes anymore.
If her feet froze, would she be able to dance?

Almost in a dream, she saw herself on the stage at the Nugget, dancing and laughing for the cheering crowd. The silver-heeled shoes sparkled in the light as she danced.

Silver Heels
! the crowd chanted.
Silver Heels!

With her feet numb, she had difficulty maneuvering and she tripped and fell. For a long moment, she lay there, the flakes cold on her lips, and she thought of a laughing little girl making angels in the drifts, of the taste of snow ice cream and the only man who had truly loved her, her daddy, pulling her on a sled.

He seemed to be gesturing to her.
Come with me, Silvia. Your life has been as unhappy as mine. Come with me. Give up as I did and I’ll take you to a place where there is no cold or terror or pain. . . .

No!” She pulled herself up on her knees. She wasn’t like Daddy; she wasn’t weak. She might not make it, but it wasn’t going to be because she gave up and surrendered to death as he had done. If Death was coming for her, he would have a fight on his hands.

All she wanted to do was sit down on the trail and close her eyes for a few minutes, but she realized that if she did, she might never wake up. Silver managed to get to her feet and stumbled forward again.

The wolves howled behind her, nearer now. She had to believe they had finally picked up her scent.

Silver decided she would not think about that. She would sing to block out their howling and also to keep herself awake. Could she remember the words to any songs?

It scared her to think how confused and disoriented she was while she tried to think about singing. She wasn’t even sure which way she was supposed to walk anymore.
Away from the sound of the wolves howling
. Yes, that was it, she was supposed to walk in the opposite direction from the wolves.

It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry, the sun so hot, I froze to death, Susanna, don’t you cry....

The whole thing struck her as funny, especially the part about freezing to death, and she couldn’t remember the rest of the words anyhow. It took more energy than she possessed to sing, and besides, she had to breathe deeper and the air was so cold. Maybe that hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

The wolves sounded excited behind her; no doubt they had picked up her trail at last. Maybe she could climb up into a tree and wait for them to go away. Silver looked around. All the trees looked no taller than a man and her hands were so numb, she wasn’t sure she could climb anyway.

Up ahead in the moonlight was a little rise. She stumbled toward it, the wolves baying behind her. From there, she had a slight advantage with her club, but not much. Beyond that were several big spruce trees ... if she could make it that far. She wasn’t even sure she could stumble to the little rise, but she’d give it a try.

The wolves howled and yapped on the trail behind her, excited over the scent of her blood on the bandage.

Silver swore under her breath and struggled toward the rise.
You devils may get me, but I intend to take a couple of you with me first!” She made it to the rise and turned around, ready to face the oncoming pack that yelped closer and closer as they seemed to smell her scent. Silver braced herself and hefted her club in numb fingers. Freezing to death was one thing, but being eaten alive was something she hadn’t counted on!

Cherokee awakened suddenly and reared up on one elbow, looking around the cabin that was lit only by the firelight.
What had awakened him?
Maybe a burning bit of wood falling into the glowing coals?

He looked at the fire a long moment, yawning. Usually, he slept so lightly, a mouse tiptoing across the boards would wake him up, sending him grabbing for a weapon. But he had been exhausted from staying up all hours the night before by the girl’s bedside.

The girl
. Being a taciturn and lonely man, he hadn’t realized how much he had begun to rely on her presence. She seemed to be sleeping quietly, her form motionless under her blankets. He settled back down, wondering what time it was. And then he reared straight up in bed. That was what had awakened him—the absence of her soft breathing.

My God, suppose she was dead? His heart almost stopped as he leaped up, crossed the floor in four long steps, and threw her covers back. Pillows. That’s what was under the covers, pillows placed so they looked like a body. Why, that little ...

Another thought crossed his mind that was even more horrifying. Where was she? Maybe she had stepped outside to relieve herself. He pictured how embarrassed she would be if he went outside and caught her in the snow. To protect her modesty, he would wait a long minute. The minute stretched into two.

Maybe she had gone out to the shed for some reason. Cherokee opened the back door and looked in at the sleepy burro that wiggled its long ears at him. Cherokee returned to the cabin.

Surely the little wench wouldn’t be loco enough to walk away from here, as far as it was back to town and with all this snow. Anxiously he peered out the frosted window and, not seeing her, threw the door open wide. To hell with her modesty!

Silver? Silver, are you out here? Answer me!”

Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled and the sound echoed through the desolate hills.
Wayah
. Wolf. Memories of Cherokee tribal tales about the animal came to his mind.

At least
u-no-le
, the wind, had died down. The moon was big and full tonight, illuminating the snowy scene. A set of small footprints led away from the cabin.

By damn! She was either crazier than any woman he had ever met or she was more scared of him than he had realized. For a moment, he cursed himself for admitting to her how much he desired her body. Surely after he had given his word, she didn’t believe he would rape her?

The air was so cold, his breath hung like ghostly fog on the night air. In this snow and weak as she was, Silver couldn’t possibly walk into town. But she could freeze to death trying.

Cursing himself for sleeping too soundly and the girl for her foolishness, Cherokee got his heavy coat and gloves, a backpack of supplies including a bottle of whiskey and extra cartridges for his loaded rifle, and started down the trail after her.

Somewhere in the distance, the wolf howled again and the pack answered him, yapping with excitement. They were on the trail of a rabbit or a deer, maybe. When they caught it, they would tear it to pieces and be swallowing it before the creature’s heart had even stopped beating. Could they be on Silver’s trail? The possibility scared him, as he thought about her shoulder wound. The slight scent of the blood on the bandage was enough to be carried on the breeze to that hungry pack.

Silver?”

Silver
...
Silver
...
Silver
... The echo mocked him.

When he caught that ornery chit, he’d half a mind to turn her over his knee and spank that lovely little bottom for dragging him out in the cold. Cherokee tried to concentrate on how angry he was with her as he strode along, the frozen surface crunching beneath his weight. As long as he thought about how mad he was, he wouldn’t be able to get frantic and worried.

God, it was cold! The air seemed to bite at his rugged face and he hunched his shoulders against the chill and kept walking. He thought about the whiskey in his pack and how it would warm him if he would only reach back, get the bottle, and drink it as he walked. Once he had liked the taste and he remembered that flavor now. He shook his head. Cherokee had sworn and he would keep that oath. The whiskey was for
U-ne-ga
, Silver, when he found her.

The wolves howled again. They seemed closer now. In fact, when he stopped to listen, it sounded as if they were between him and Silver.

A quarter mile, then a half, and still the little footprints lay ahead of him on the trail. Once he found where she had stumbled and fallen. Another place it looked as if she had simply sat down in the snow for a while.

He had covered at least a mile and he still hadn’t found her. He began to have a grudging admiration for her spunk. In her condition, he hadn’t thought she could make it a hundred yards, yet she was still moving ahead of him. Silver either had more grit than the average girl ... or she was too scared to stop.

The wolves howled again, much closer this time.

Silver? Silver, can you hear me?”

...
hear me
...
me
...
me
...

Did he hear a voice in answer or was it only the echo? Cherokee checked to make sure his old rifle was loaded in case he crossed the trail of the wolf pack, and increased his speed. The cold was beginning to get to him. He tried not to think about whether Silver might be cold—or even lying dead and frozen along the trail. He had no way of knowing how long ago she had left the cabin.

The thought scared him so badly that he said a small prayer to the Great Spirit, A-da-nv-do. He had not prayed since his grandmother died and he had dug a hole all by himself in a hidden place in the Smoky Mountains and buried her. Then as a half-grown boy of eighteen, he had found his way across many miles to Tennessee and Shawn, his father’s friend who had taken him in and treated him like a son.

Cherokee thought of Silver lying helpless on the trail, and broke into a trot, carrying the rifle at the ready. Up ahead of him, the wolves had picked up a scent. Their excited yapping as they ran told him that.
Was it the girl they were after?

At that thought, he broke into a run, moving awkwardly through the snow. Then he topped a rise and looked down. The moon lit up the scene and the big shadows of the circled wolves almost hid the prey they had trapped. Cherokee took one look at the spunky girl swinging her club and then he took off down the slope.
Silver, I’m coming!”

He stopped halfway, aimed, and took the lead wolf down as it sprang at her. The wolves set up a frightened yelp as their leader fell, then they turned and fled into the brush. Cherokee didn’t stop all the way to her.

She fell into his arms, sobbing.
I—I—thought I was going to die! They’ve been trailing me for a long time...”

I know, I know. It’s okay now.” He held her tightly against him.
You’re safe now, nothing will get you.”

God, she seemed half-frozen. He pulled off his gloves and felt her face.
You crazy little fool! You couldn’t have made it all the way to town! Were you that afraid of me?”