Beyond The Horizon (12 page)

“Take Little Firebird to your tipi, my daughter,” Yellow Dog directed. Singing Rain moved to obey. “The council will decide this issue when they meet tomorrow.”

Singing Rain took Shannon gently by the arm. “Come.”

“Where are you taking me?” Shannon asked, aiming a silent plea in Blade’s direction.

“Go with Singing Rain, Shannon,” Blade encouraged. “My mother will see that no harm comes to you while your fate is being decided by the council.”

“There is nothing to decide,” Shannon vowed staunchly. “I want to leave.”

“It’s not that simple,” Blade tried to explain.

“The council will decide in my favor,” Mad Wolf loudly proclaimed. His arrogant tone and smug confidence left a bad taste in Blade’s mouth. “You cannot claim a woman you have never bedded.” Mad Wolf pressed on. “I am the one who will lie between her white thighs and pillow my head on her soft breast.”

Whirling on his heel, he stomped away.

Mad Woir’s audacious words brought a sputter of outrage from Blade’s lips. He was well aware that the decision could go in Mad Wolf’s favor if Shannon was asked point-blank whether Blade had bedded her, and she either faltered or was slow to reply. Intuitively Blade knew Shannon would be an inept liar, and that the council of elders were wise enough to recognize the difference between a lie and the truth.

“Wait for my return, my son. We have much to discuss,” Singing Rain said as she led Shannon away.

Blade nodded, his eyes following Shannon’s trim back as she walked reluctantly beside Singing Rain. She looked back once with such pleading in her eyes that it nearly broke Blade’s heart.

He had been so engrossed in his confrontation with Mad Wolf that he hadn’t noticed how enchanting Shannon looked dressed in Indian garb. Every line and curve of her supple form moved with fluid grace beneath the single garment. He thanked God that he had arrived in time to save Shannon from being raped by Mad Wolf.

Blade felt a compelling need to protect and comfort Shannon. Twice he had come close to making love to her and gained his senses in the nick of time. She didn’t need a half-breed complicating her life, yet the hungry yearning to possess her was a constant ache in his loins. Not only did he crave to taste her innocent sweetness, but he wanted almost as much to comfort her and appease her every wish. My God! Blade thought, astounded at the direction of his thoughts. He was waxing sentimental in his old age.

“What will happen to me?” Shannon asked Singing Rain as she settled herself on the mat inside the Indian woman’s tipi.

It had grown dark, and Singing Rain busied herself lighting a fire. Once that task was completed she crouched down beside Shannon and spoke in low, soothing tones.

“The council of elders will meet tomorrow and decide your fate. Try not to worry. I’m sure they will decide in Swift Blade’s favor.”

“Try not to worry!” Shannon repeated numbly. “They could give me to Mad Wolf. Where is Blade? Why can’t I see him?”

Singing Rain smiled a secret smile. She had always hoped her handsome son would find a woman to match him in strength and courage, and she was pleased he had chosen the woman called Shannon.

“It grows late, Little Firebird. Lie down and sleep. We must trust the elders to make the right decision. Before they pronounce judgement you will be called upon to answer a few simple questions. It is important that you answer them honestly, for the elders are wise men who can easily distinguish lies from the truth.”

“What kind of questions? What should I say?”

“You must speak what is in your heart,” Singing Rain advised. Her ambiguous answer did little to appease Shannon’s fear. “I must go now and speak with my son.”

“No! Don’t go!”

“No harm will come to you here. It has been ten long years since I have seen Swift Blade.”

“Oh,” Shannon said in a small voice. How selfish of her to monopolize Singing Rain when she longed to speak privately with her son.

After Singing Rain left, Shannon stretched out on the mat, grateful for her reprieve, no matter how short-lived. It wasn’t long before her lids dropped; the day had been long and arduous and she’d had blessed little sleep in the past forty-eight hours. All she managed before falling asleep was a short prayer thanking God for sending Blade and asking His forgiveness for doubting Him.

Singing Rain smiled up at her tall son with fierce pride. He had left as a youth and returned a powerful warrior, handsome, virile, strong. Timidly she touched his face, her soft brown eyes conveying her love without having to say the words.

“You’ve changed, my son.”

“I am a grown man, mother. These past ten years I have learned the white man’s ways to please my father.”

“He would have been proud of you, just as I am,” Singing Rain said. Profound sadness colored her words. “He was content with your decision to join the white man’s war. Slavery was not his belief. Will you stay?”

“I cannot stay, Mother. I am on an important mission for the Great Father in Washington,” Blade explained cautiously. “Many lives depend on my success. I cannot tell you more than that, and you must not speak of what I have just revealed.”

“I will say nothing, my son,” Singing Rain promised. “Are you in danger?” Blade hesitated a moment too long, his silence answer enough. “Please be careful, Swift Blade.”

“I’ve lost none of my Sioux cunning, Mother,” Blade smiled crookedly.

“What about the girl? Mad Wolf is determined to have her.”

“I know,” Blade acknowledged grimly. “I am hoping the council will decide in my favor.”

“Is Little Firebird truly your woman?”

“I have said it, haven’t I?”

“Swift Blade, you know what I mean,” Singing Rain chided gently. “She must speak truthfully when she is asked if you have taken her to your mat. I fear that you have said it only to save her from Mad Wolf.” She leveled Blade a measuring look. “Only if you speak the truth will you be allowed to claim her. But if her answer is no or the council thinks she is lying …” Her sentence trailed off, leaving much unsaid. “Can you be absolutely certain the council will believe her if her answer is yes?”

Blade remained silent, chewing on Singing Rain’s ominous words. Her meaning did not escape him. The message she tried to convey was that Shannon would only be believed if Blade had actually bedded her. The elders would recognize the truth when they heard it. My God! Did he dare? Did he actually dare so brazen a thing? His body grew hard just thinking about it. Would Shannon hate him for even suggesting something so outrageous? With a twinge of regret he decided his way was the only method he could think of to keep Mad Wolf from having her.

“Your point is well taken, Mother,” Blade acknowledged.

Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and his mouth turned dry. He knew what he had to do was wrong, but he had no other choice.

Singing Rain searched Blade’s face and saw that he understood clearly what must be done. She was satisfied that she had done her duty. It was up to Blade now to find the will and the way. It was not what she would have wished for Little Firebird, but her fate depended solely on Blade.

“Go now, my son. We will talk tomorrow.” Her soft brown eyes searched Blade’s face, conveying a silent message. “I will sleep in Yellow Dog’s tipi tonight.”

Singing Rain’s departing words reverberated like thunder in Blade’s brain. Shannon would be alone tonight!

The village was quiet. Even the dogs had settled down for the night. Everyone slept—everyone but Blade. He approached the tipi where Shannon slumbered as silent as a wraith. Pushing aside the tent flap, he slipped inside. Glowing embers still burned in the shallow firepit, and Blade could see Shannon clearly. She lay on her side, the rise of her hip and slender curve of her waist titillating his senses. Long lustrous strands of chestnut hair fell across her face in glorious disarray and Blade stood mesmerized by the utterly enchanting picture she made. Then the look on his face changed abruptly to one of grim determination. Hunkering down beside her, he gently shook her shoulder.

Shannon awoke with a start; her dreams had been filled with terrible visions and premonitions. She never would have allowed herself to sleep tonight if Singing Rain hadn’t promised her she wouldn’t be disturbed. She trusted Blade’s mother but wondered at her wisdom when she was rudely awakened and found someone crouching over her. Her first inclination was to scream. Then she recognized Blade.

“Blade, you frightened me! What are you doing here?”

“Shannon,” Blade said with gentle persuasion, “you want to leave here, don’t you?”

“Of course. What kind of question is that?”

“An important one,” Blade said urgently. “Mad Wolf wants you, and there is only one way I can save you.”

“My God, don’t play games with me! I know you came here for me. Why can’t we just leave?”

“It is not that simple, Shannon. Because my grandfather is chief, I feel obligated to obey tribal customs. But there is a way. In order for it to work, you must do exactly as I say. I told Yellow Dog and the council that you were my woman. It is up to you now to convince them that I speak the truth. You will be required to appear before them tomorrow and answer their questions.”

“Tell me what to say,” Shannon said eagerly. “I already admitted I was your woman—what more can I tell them?”

“What I tell you now may make you angry but it can’t be helped,” Blade said slowly. “You will be asked if I have bedded you. Only an affirmative answer will save you from Mad Wolf.”

Shannon went numb with shock. How could anyone ask such a question of her? “No, I won’t do it! Besides, I—I’m a terrible liar. They will know immediately that it’s not true. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Indians don’t follow white man’s laws,” Blade said pointedly. “The council consists of old and wise men trained to recognize lies and deception. You can tell them we are lovers, but if we are not they will read the truth in your eyes. Unless …” His sentence dangled in the air, waiting for Shannon to grasp his meaning.

A dull red crept up Shannon’s neck and face. “Unless …” The word was a mere whisper.

“…unless it is true,” Blade said, expelling his breath sharply.

“Blade, you can’t mean … You don’t expect to … No! I won’t let you!” Comprehension slammed into her like a bolt of lightning.

“Is making love with a savage so unthinkable? Would you rather take your chances with Mad Wolf?” Blade’s blunt questions made more sense than Shannon cared to admit. It was just that she always thought making love was something one did only if love was present. Blade would be taking her virginity for the wrong reasons. But was there any other choice?

“Is there no other way?”

“I’m afraid not,” Blade responded, captivated by the play of emotions on Shannon’s lovely features. “You’ve never made love with a man before, have you?”

“Of course not!” Shannon spouted indignantly. “That right belongs to my husband.”

Shannon hated to admit to Blade that making love with him didn’t frighten her—far from it. If anything, the thought brought a shiver of wild anticipation. It was allowing so intimate an act to a man not her husband that concerned her. It was clearly something that was never even discussed in her family, for her strict upbringing forbade intimacy without the benefit of marriage for any reason.

“I’m sorry, Little Firebird, but it has to be this way. I’m not unskilled; I won’t hurt you. You may even enjoy it,” Blade added with a mischievous chuckle. He slid his lean length down beside her on the buffalo robe.

“No! I can’t,” Shannon cried, scooting backwards. “It seems such a cold thing to do. It’s not right!”

“No, not cold, Little Firebird,” Blade whispered huskily. “I’ve thought about this from the first moment I saw you. If my kisses didn’t repel you, why should my lovemaking? Forget I’m an Indian and think of me as a man—a man who wants you not merely to keep Mad Wolf from having you but because you are a beautiful, sensual woman ripe for love.”

He kissed her eyes, her nose, each tiny ear before sliding his mouth down her neck and then slowly up again to claim her lips.

Shannon wanted to resist, wanted to deny that his words affected her in any way, but she could not. She couldn’t count the times she had thought about his kisses, dreamed about lying like this in his arms, knowing all the time it was impossible. It was wrong—wrong—wrong.

But if that were true, how could anything that felt so wonderful be sinful? Even as her body responded, her mind rejected utterly what Blade was doing, what was going to happen, and she stiffened. Though her head might be whirling in confusion, she couldn’t accept this without offering resistence.

“Don’t do this, Blade.”

“You know I must.”

“I realize you think this is necessary, but I’ll hate you afterwards.”

“I accept that. Understand this, Little Firebird, I’ll do anything to save you from Mad Wolf, even live with your hatred.”

“It changes nothing.”

Blade winced but continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Lift your arms, I’ll help you remove your dress.”

“Must you?”

“Please, Shannon, trust me. I don’t want you to go through life fearing men or marriage because of what I must do. I don’t want to leave scars for an act that should bring pleasure. Let me do this right and I promise that when you join your family, the physical side of marriage will hold no more fears for you. Hate me if it will ease your conscience, but don’t fight me.”