Savage Spirit (8 page)

"Or traded for at a trading post?" she hoped aloud.

As quickly as she could, to avoid anyone who might decide to come into the tepee too soon, she stripped off her clothes. She laid them aside and momentarily covered her breasts with her folded arms.

Voices. She heard voices that were too close for comfort. If Cloud Eagle had told her to change clothes purposely to get her fully undressed, he could come at any moment.

Her heart pounded. She glued her eyes to the entrance flap.

When the voices passed on by outside and faded into the breeze, she sighed heavily and proceeded to take her sponge bath.

She wished for a regular bath, where she could immerse herself fully in the water. But as she became sparkling clean, smelling like the flowers of the forests that she had explored near Saint Louis, she again recalled Cloud Eagle telling her that he would take her into the river for a bath.

"When?" she whispered, once again staring at the entrance flap.

Her shoulders slouched with relief, realizing that it would surely not be today. He would not have brought her bath water if he had planned to give her a dunking in the river.   After she was finished with her bath, she slipped the dress over her head. It was made of deerskin and extended to the knees with a fringe. It was ornamented with bits of bright, tiny pieces of glass.

She then slipped her feet into the moccasins. They came only a little above the ankles, with button-like projections at the toes.

The dress felt cottony soft against her flesh, but she felt something hard in the pocket that distracted her. She slipped her hand inside the pocket and withdrew a strange-looking gadget. She eyed it curiously. It looked as though it had been made from stiff porcupine quills.

"Is this meant to be used as a comb or hairbrush?" she whispered, arching an eyebrow.

She smiled as she recalled how Cloud Eagle had admired her hair shortly after he had discovered that she was a woman instead of a man. He apparently still found her hair fascinating. The comb could be his way of telling her to make her hair more presentable and lovely for him.

"For meanness I shouldn't," she said as she ran her fingers over the quills.

Yet she knew that
she
would feel much better if she rid her hair of its witch's knots and tangles.

Stretching her sore leg out on the pallet of furs, she proceeded to comb her hair. In only moments she had it lying across her shoulders in a coppery sheen. She ran her fingers through it, enjoying its clean, slick feel. She had managed to give it a slight washing in the basin so that even it now smelled like flowers.

She lay the comb aside and shoved the basin away from her. Her stomach ached and growled. There was no way to forget how hungry she was.   And just as she was allowing herself to recall the wonders of a bacon-and-egg breakfast with flapjacks piled a mile high, dripping in butter and sorghum, Cloud Eagle entered, carrying a tray of food.

As he placed the tray before Alicia, she eyed it hungrily, then slipped her eyes upward and gazed at Cloud Eagle. She was very aware of how he was staring at her. It made her pulse race. The strange feelings that were now troubling the pit of her stomach were not only hunger pangs, but something else too. She had experienced this feeling before with Cloud Eagle. It was sweet and sensual.

And she knew the dangers in that. They were alone. Their feelings for one another lay heavy in the air. She wanted him, surely as a woman wanted a man.

And she could not allow him to know this. Not until she totally trusted him. She did not want to be put off guard by any more of his kisses.

To try and forget his presence, Alicia dove into the food and began eating with her fingers. There were all sorts of vegetables and meats, and the fruit of the yucca. As she ate, she could still feel his eyes on her, even when she realized that he had gone to sit on the other side of the fire from her.

Cloud Eagle could not help but stare at Alicia. He had seen how beautiful she was in the painting. Today, she was just as breathtaking. Her long hair fell beautifully over her shoulders, its brilliant red color more pronounced against the white doeskin dress. She was alluring, slender, and dainty. The clean fragrance of her skin wafted across the fire. He inhaled and closed   his eyes, wanting her so badly at this moment that it hurt.

He knew that her want was just as fierce. He had felt it in the way she responded to his kisses. He had seen it in her eyes.

Even when she had been defiant and spiteful to him, he had seen that she could not hide her feelings beneath such a false exterior.

Comfortably full, Alicia pushed the half-emptied platter aside. She drew a blanket around her shoulders as Cloud Eagle rose from the floor and approached her. When he got too close, she inched her way back on the pallet of furs.

"Stay away from me," she warned. "You are a thief. You are an abductor. Once I am well enough, I will escape from your clutches. Just you wait and see. I know the art of moving through the dark without being detected as well as any Apache."

Tired of the accusations and her false front of pretending to hate him, Cloud Eagle stopped and glared down at her, then left the tepee without a word.

When he returned with Red Crow at his side, Alicia grew quiet and tense. She looked guardedly from one to the other, waiting to see what Cloud Eagle's next tactic might be.

What truly concerned her was that she now had two Apaches facing her with disgruntled looks on their faces.

And she had no idea what sort of man Red Crow was, or what his status in life might bewhether or not he already had a wife, or many. If Cloud Eagle was tired of bantering with her, he might just have decided to give her to another Apache warrior for his pleasure.   "Red Crow, I have brought you here to stand in front of the white woman so that she can hear me give you the command to take your choice of warriors to Sandy Whiskers' outpost," Cloud Eagle said, his eyes never leaving Alicia. "I am almost certain that the sandy-haired, bearded Englishman is responsible for this woman's ambush. Go to him. Demand the return of this woman's mail sack. Then bring it to me to prove the innocence of our band of Apache. It is the only way this woman will know that none of our Apache took part in the ambush."

Red Crow stared angrily down at Alicia. He saw her as an interference in the lives of the Apache. But he had received the direct order from his chief. He nodded and left.

Alicia was silent for a moment. She and Cloud Eagle exchanged unwavering gazes, then she laughed sarcastically. "Sandy Whiskers is a peaceful man," she said, giving Cloud Eagle her most defiant look. "All he is guilty of is trading furs. The United States Army ignores Sandy Whiskers' activities. They see his presence in the area as unimportant. He has built a wall around his outpost only because he does not feel safe from renegade Indians like you."

Cloud Eagle returned the sarcasm. "The stocky Englishman has the white-eyed pony soldiers at Fort Thomas fooled. But not Cloud Eagle," he said, his eyes narrowing. "This Apache knows that the Englishman trapper has outlaws and Indian renegades under his command who occasionally raid stagecoaches and attack white settlers. I have not pointed these indiscretions out to the United States Government because I use the Englishman for my own purposes. For my   silence, the Englishman pays the Apache quite wellwith farming implements, clothing, and firearms. It is the Apache's way to blackmail the evil Englishman."

"If what you say is true, then you are no better than Sandy Whiskers if you allow him to wreak havoc on the countryside," she accused him.

"What this Apache chief does, he does for the survival of his people," he said, placing a hand over his heart. "Much has been taken from the Apache. Cloud Eagle is taking back what he can, one item at a time."

Fueled by anger and what she felt was deceit, Alicia tried to stand in an effort to leave. She fell back down onto the pallet of furs. Wincing with pain, she felt tears flooding her eyes. She grabbed her leg.

"You are still in pain?" Cloud Eagle said. Seeing her discomfort erased from his mind all of the anger and frustration that he had felt moments ago. "The herbal mixture did not altogether work. I will go for Moon Shadow, the stronghold's shaman. Besides the chief, he is the most powerful and most influential member of our tribe."

"No!" Alicia screamed at him. "I don't want any shaman near me. A shaman is good for nothing but to feed on your people's fear of witchcraft."

Cloud Eagle took a shaky step away from her, his eyes filled with horror. "Do not say such things," he said, his voice wary. "Yes, our shaman has an ever-present consciousness of the supernatural. But it is because the Apache have a dread of witchesthose malevolent beings that work their evil spells through certain animals and natural forces. The bear, the owl, the snake. The   shaman protects us from these things we fear. He does not play
upon
those fears, as you suggest.''

"I don't care what you say, or what
you
think about this shaman. I do not wish to be in his company," Alicia said stiffly.

"I go for Moon Shadow now, and not only for his healing powers over wounds, but over souls that need mending," Cloud Eagle said, then left her alone with her dread.

"I've got to get out of here," Alicia whispered.

Sweat pearled her brow as she again tried to stand on the leg. She struggled and groaned, then fell again to the pallet of furs.

Breathing hard, Alicia felt helpless. She watched the entrance flap, waiting for it to rise.

She then looked desperately around her. She needed something to throw at the shaman as soon as he entered the tepee. That would certainly discourage him from practicing his voodoo over her.

The platter of half-eaten food caught her eye. Smiling devilishly, she lifted it into her hand and watched again, and waited.  

When Cloud Eagle still did not return with the shaman, Alicia set the platter of food aside.

Moments later, strange chanting and praying from somewhere outside the tepee caused her spine to stiffen. She swallowed hard. Moon Shadow had surely arrived.

The shaman's chants became higher in pitch, mystical and frightening. Alicia had not told Cloud Eagle that she was also superstitious, perhaps as much as the Apache.

And she had heard people talk about
hoddentin
a powder made from the tule plantwhich a shaman sometimes used while performing his duties. She hoped that Moon Shadow would not use it around her. Although for the most part people saw it as harmless, because of her superstitions, she feared it.

She recalled having read about
hoddentin
. The Apache sprinkled it on the body of the dead,   and anything pertaining to death was morbid to Alicia. She had not yet totally gotten over the death of her parents.

The entrance flap was quickly drawn aside and Cloud Eagle entered, then moved to one side to allow Moon Shadow's entrance.

Alicia stared at the medicine man. She had never seen anyone quite like him before. His hair was as white as snow and so long that it dragged on the floor as he slowly entered the tepee.

He wore an ornamented buckskin medicine shirt. The decorations were symbolic of the sun, moon, stars, rain, lightning, rainbow, and clouds. Also she could make out other designs of snakes, centipedes, and tarantulas.

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at one of the most mysterious accessories of the shamanthe medicine cord. There were four cords, beautifully decorated. She had heard rumors that the cords were so sacred that strangers were not allowed to look upon or talk about them. They were known to be in evidence on the person of the medicine man only on the most important occasions, as they were believed to possess the very greatest efficacy. Only the leading shaman could make them.

For Cloud Eagle to have allowed Alicia to look upon the shaman's medicine cords made her realize just how important she was to him.

Yet that did not make the shaman's practices any more acceptable to her.

She gave Cloud Eagle a pleading look when he gave her a quick glance. Still he did not take the shaman away. He allowed Moon Shadow to approach her, his monotonous chants unnerving her.   Moon Shadow stopped and stood over Alicia. When he reached for a small pouch tied at his waist, fear gripped her heart.
Hoddentin.
He was surely going to sprinkle her with
hoddentin.
The memory of her parents in their coffins suddenly burned a path through her mind!

In her mind's eye she could remember the waxy appearances of their faces.

In her mind's eye she could see the wounds on their brows that no amount of makeup could hidethe result of an outlaw's bullets.

Panic seized her when Moon Shadow sprinkled some of the powdery substance into the palm of his hand. She grabbed a piece of firewood and threw it at him. "Get out!" she screamed. "I have no use for you. Don't come near me. I don't want you to perform your hocus-pocus on me. I will get well in good time, on my own. I already feel stronger."

She sucked in a wild breath when she saw the complete look of horror in Moon Shadow's dark eyes as he stopped dead in his tracks after the piece of wood struck him on the leg.

Cloud Eagle's eyes widened and his insides froze when he saw Alicia's blatant disrespect toward his shaman. Of course, she had warned him not to bring the shaman to her. He had even seen her initial fear of the shaman when he had entered.

Yet he had never expected her to react in such a violent way.

His mouth opened to shout at her, to tell her not to throw anything else at Moon Shadow, but he was too late. Alicia had already thrown the platter of food at his people's spiritual leader.

Cloud Eagle sighed with relief when the plate   fell short and the food did not splash all over Moon Shadow's medicine shirt. That would be sacrilegious, a sin punishable by death.

And Cloud Eagle wanted nothing to happen to Alicia.

That was the main reason he had brought the shaman to her. To heal her.

Cloud Eagle waited with bated breath to see Moon Shadow's reaction. He was not at all surprised when the shaman turned on a heel and left without saying a word, nor did he cast Cloud Eagle even the slightest glance.