Savage Spirit (31 page)

"What now?" the general said. He took two wide steps and stood at the window, aghast at what he saw. "My God. Where will this all end? Now
we
are being attacked by
Apache
."

Cloud Eagle was momentarily taken off guard. He was afraid that there would not be enough of his Coyotero Apache to withstand the gunfire of the soldiers. He could envision all of his warriors being dead at the close of this day.

When he realized that the firing had stopped   abruptly, Cloud Eagle grabbed Alicia by her free hand and ran with her from the general's quarters, followed by the general and his men.

They were all surprised to see the outcome of the Apache attack on the fort. It had apparently come as a total surprise. Leaderless, the soldiers had surrendered without a single casualty.

The soldiers had been ushered into a tight circle in the courtyard, their hands raised above their heads, the Apache on horses encircling them.

Beyond the walls of the fort, more Apache on horseback encircled Fort Thomas, their rifles drawn.

"So many Apache," Cloud Eagle gasped. "There are more Apache warriors than ever I could lay claim to. They outnumber the soldiers ten to one."

Alicia's gaze roamed over those Apache who were within the walls of the fort, stopping at one in particular when she quickly recognized him.

She grabbed Cloud Eagle's arm. "Look," she said, smiling up at him. "Thunder Roars is there, among the Apache. It is
his
warriors who have joined yours in the attack on Fort Thomas."

Cloud Eagle's gaze moved searchingly over the warriors. A broad smile spread on his face when Thunder Roars turned his eyes to Cloud Eagle at the same moment that Cloud Eagle recognized him. "He is staying true to our vows of friendship," he said gratefully.

Thunder Roars dismounted and went to Cloud Eagle. They embraced, then stepped apart, their eyes locked.

"It is with a sad heart that the blue coats saw cause to interrupt the serenity of my friends' lives," Thunder Roars said, lifting a hand to   Cloud Eagle's shoulder. "Your surviving warriors brought the news to me of the disaster at your stronghold. They sought my help. I came not only to see that you and your woman were released, but to seek justice for the Coyotero Apache."

"It was a good day when two arrows felled the same deer and brought two warriors into a bond of friendship," Cloud Eagle said. "This friend thanks you, Thunder Roars."

"I freely gave my skills to see that your woman was freed from the greedy clutches of the white pony soldiers. You both are free to go now and forge ahead with plans for your future."

"And I thank you for what you have done for me, but mostly for Cloud Eagle and his people," Alicia said, placing a gentle, appreciative hand on Thunder Roars' arm. A shudder overtook her at the memory of the death scene at Cloud Eagle's stronghold. "I just wish I could have done more for them. It all happened so quickly."

"And now what are we to do with these captive soldiers?" Thunder Roars said, looking from soldier to soldier. "Perhaps we should kill them and be done with it."

Alicia searched among the men, too, looking for Milton Powers or Ten Bears. But they were nowhere to be seen. Their luck had held for a while longer. They had escaped.

"No, we will not kill these men," Cloud Eagle said, turning to gaze at the general. He smiled at Alicia, then at Thunder Roars. "They will ride with us to once again see proof of a true enemy to the white people. They will see exactly how far an enemy will go to feed his greedy hungers."

Cloud Eagle paused, then addressed the general. "Sandy Whiskers," he uttered, "is the worst   kind of an enemy. After you witness the extent of his operation, you will realize that Cloud Eagle and his warriors are innocent. Our names will be cleared."

He glared at the general with squinted eyes. "You and your soldiers must look upon the Apache cages," he said, his teeth clenched. "Then you will admit to this Apache chief that you were wrong to accuse the Coyotero Apache of the raids on the California Road."

"But Cloud Eagle," Alicia asked, gazing up at him. "Sandy Whiskers may have destroyed all of the evidence. He may have returned and destroyed all of the cages. What proof, then, can we show the soldiers?"

"No one can that quickly totally destroy all evidence of such a large slavery and breeding program," Cloud Eagle reassured her. "Especially since Sandy Whiskers knows that he takes his life into his own hands should he surface and return to his outpost. And he would not destroy all of his equipment. It would be too costly."

"Even if leaving everything intact might incriminate him?" Alicia questioned.

"He is a greedy man," Cloud Eagle rumbled. "It is a chance that he would take."

"I hope you're right," Alicia said softly.

Cloud Eagle took two horses from the hitching rail. He handed one set of reins to Alicia, the other to the general. He nodded toward one horse. "Mount up," he said flatly to the general. "Then ride over to your soldiers and tell them to get their horses and follow. Also warn them not to bring any firearms. There have been enough needless deaths today."

His shoulders slumped, General Powell did as   he was told. As he gave orders to his soldiers, Cloud Eagle went to Alicia.

"
Ish-kay-nay
, you make Cloud Eagle proud to say that you are his woman," he said, framing her face between his hands. "Never lose your savage spirit. That, among other things, is what separates you from all other women I have ever known."

"What I did today was for you," Alicia said, rising on tiptoe to brush a kiss across his lips. "I would do anything for you. Anything."

She clutched the rifle tightly in her hand as Cloud Eagle placed his hands at her waist and lifted her into the saddle. "One day we can return to an ordinary life," he said. A frown suffused his handsome face. "But not very soon. There is much mourning among my people. There are many burials to see to."

Alicia hung her head. "I cannot help but feel responsible," she murmured. "Had I never entered your life, none of this would have happened."

"Never forget that it was I who introduced you into the life of my people," he said, giving her a fierce look. "If blame is to be cast, cast it my way."

"Never can you be blamed for all the wrong that has come to your people of late," Alicia said, blinking tears from her eyes. "Never could they have had such a devoted, loving leader as you."

"The soldiers are ready to ride with us to Sandy Whiskers' outpost," Thunder Roars said, urging his horse next to Alicia's, and leading Cloud Eagle's roan, which he had brought with him from the stronghold.

Cloud Eagle turned and gazed at length at the double line of soldiers, the general at the lead. He   checked with a more careful eye for the shine of weapons, relieved when he saw none.

Then he mounted his frisky roan and rode away.

He stopped and edged his horse close to the general's. "Is everything understood?" he said, his dark eyes watching for the general's acquiescence.

"Understood," General Powell said, nodding.

Alicia snapped her reins and nudged the flanks of her horse with her heels, then grew pale and breathless with horror when she caught sight of the shine of the barrel of a rifle from the shadows at the side of the soldiers' barracks. The flash of copper skin caught her eye as the man stepped more into the open, his aim leveled at Cloud Eagle.

It was Ten Bears!

"Cloud Eagle!" Alicia cried, her scream muffled by the loud blast of rifle fire.  

Alicia felt faint when she realized that not one gunshot but two had rung out. Someone else had seen Ten Bears.

It all happened in an instant. But surely not quickly enough to save Cloud Eagle. The shots had exploded at the same time. Almost paralyzed with fear at the thought of her beloved possibly being mortally wounded, Alicia placed a hand at her throat and stared at Cloud Eagle. She expected him to fall from his horse at any moment.

To her relief, he did not budgeexcept to lower his smoking rifle to his side as he glared at Ten Bears. She then realized that Cloud Eagle had been the one responsible for the second gunshot. He had shot Ten Bears!

Alicia turned quick eyes back to Ten Bears just as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his chest.   ''Thank God," Alicia breathed. Cloud Eagle's aim had been more exact than Ten Bears'. Ten Bears had been shot mortally in the chest. He was breathing hard, his gaze on Cloud Eagle as Cloud Eagle slid from his saddle and walked stiffly toward him.

Thunder Roars was suddenly there, standing over Ten Bears, smoke spiraling from the barrel of his rifle. In one movement, he kicked Ten Bears' rifle away.

Thunder Roars gave Cloud Eagle an assured, pleased smile as Cloud Eagle came to him.

"We fired at the exact moment. Again we share in a kill," Thunder Roars said to Cloud Eagle. He gazed down at Ten Bears. He gazed at the two bullet wounds, blood seeping from them. "He will be dead soon, Cloud Eagle."

Alicia dismounted and went to Cloud Eagle. She was amazed at the irony of what had happened. The gunfire that she had heard had not been from Ten Bears' firearm at all. Thunder Roars and Cloud Eagle had chosen the same instant to shoot Ten Bears.

Yes, they had shared another kill, for Ten Bears' breaths were now numbered as he lay gasping and struggling for each as though it were his last.

Cloud Eagle thrust his rifle into Alicia's hands, then knelt beside Ten Bears. "You die without honor, snake," he said coldly. "Your spirit will never rest. Instead it will wander aimlessly through time. You will never be reunited with your loved ones. Was it worth losing the wonders of the afterworld in an attempt to get revenge on Cloud Eagle?"

"Should . . . you . . . have died, it would have   meant everything to this Apache," Ten Bears managed to say between shallow breaths.

"I have told you before that you have relinquished all right to call yourself Apache," Cloud Eagle said. "Snake. Forever you will be no better than a snake. Your spirit will crawl on its belly and never find peace."

Ten Bears closed his eyes in an attempt to block Cloud Eagle from not only his sight, but also his mind. He gasped for air and clutched desperately at his chest again. "Leave me be," he begged. "Just leave me be."

Cloud Eagle lifted Ten Bears' face closer to his. "Your sister," he said, his teeth clenched. "Where have you left her? She is without protection?"

Ten Bears' eyes opened at the mention of his sister. With his free hand he grasped Cloud Eagle's arm. "Lost Wind!" he gasped. "She
is
alone. She
is
without protection. I would have returned for her, but now . . . but now . . ."

Again he closed his eyes, breathing much more slowly.

"Where is she?" Cloud Eagle demanded.

Wide-eyed and trembling, Alicia watched Cloud Eagle's interrogation, worrying about his motive. Had he missed Lost Wind since her banishment? Did he still love her?

Or was Cloud Eagle's concern for her truly only because he feared for her life, since her brother would no longer be there to see to her welfare?

Alicia knew that Cloud Eagle had warned Ten Bears to care for his sister. And now that he hadn't, she wondered if Cloud Eagle would send for her and take her into his own life again.

Cloud Eagle's heart was good. She doubted that he could allow even one of the Apache women of   his stronghold to face danger alone, even if she was a spiteful, unlikable person.

Surely Cloud Eagle was going to just see that Lost Wind was brought back to his stronghold to live a life of safety, Alicia thought to herself. Not as his wife.

Spring Dawn was still in the stronghold. She was no threat. Alicia would not allow Lost Wind to become a threat, either.

If Lost Wind was ever found to bring back to the stronghold, she thought.

Guilt spread through her when for a moment she found herself wishing that Lost Wind might never be found.

When she heard Ten Bears manage to breathe out where he had left his sister, Alicia knew that she had much to think over and accept, should Cloud Eagle send for Lost Wind now that he knew where she was.

"Go for her, Cloud Eagle," Ten Bears whispered harshly. His eyes grew wide; he clasped harder to Cloud Eagle's arm as his body went into a spasm, then subsided limply on the ground.

Cloud Eagle placed his fingers over Ten Bears's eyes and slowly closed them. He bowed his head for a moment, remorse filling him for this fallen warrior who had lost his way in the world of the Apache.

Then he lay Ten Bears' head back on the ground and rose to his full height over him. He stared at Ten Bears for a moment longer, Alicia watching him.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she caught another movement that no one else seemed to have noticed. Everyone seemed focused on the death scenenot on other survivors besides Ten   Bears who might be lurking in the shadows.

Wheeling around, Cloud Eagle's rifle clutched in her hands, Alicia aimed at the man who was sneaking behind the building on her left.

"Stop right there!" she shouted. "Don't go another step or I'll blow a hole clean through you."

All eyes turned at once when Milton Powers stepped into view and dropped his weapon and raised his hands quickly into the air.

"Damn it, Alicia, it's only me," Milton shouted back. "Turn that firearm away from me. Do you hear?"

"Milton?" Alicia said, her eyebrows forking. "Lord, Milton. Did you hate me so much that you?"

"I sure as hell don't like you," he said, interrupting her. He inched toward everyone. "You ain't never been anything but trouble for me. And now that you're an Injun lover, I doubt I'll ever be able to stand bein' around you."

"You won't have that to worry about," Alicia said, keeping her aim leveled on him. "And not because I don't plan to return to work at the stage station, either. But because you are going to be in jail. You are going to stand trial for your part in the Apache massacre. There's no way you can lie your way out of this, Milton, so don't even try."

General Powell dismounted and came to Alicia's side. He nodded to two of his soldiers. They also dismounted and went to Milton.