FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
"Hey, look at that." Cody slowed his horse to a walk and pointed to a run down shack that sat alone in a small field of brown grass and weeds. It was a sorry structure built out of rough graying boards and only had one uncurtained dirty window. The roof slanted and a stovepipe could be seen jutting out at another odd angle. Black smoke curling out of the pipe was the only sign that someone actually lived there. When he got closer, he could see a painted sign in front that read, "Fortunes told. Potions made. Cures for All Ills." The sign was nailed to a rickety post that held up the little porch roof. The whole structure looked as if it might collapse at any minute.
"That wasn't here the last time I came through.
How about you?"
"Nope, me either. But don't go getting any
ideas. We don't have time to get your fortune read."
"Now, Buck you know me, business before pleasure.
Besides, I know my life is going to be absolutely glorious!" Cody laughed
and spurred his horse forward. Buck took one last curious look at the shack
before following.
A woman stepped outside the door. She had heard
horses and thought there were customers awaiting her appearance. Instead, she
saw the backs of two young men on good-looking horses riding for the fort. One
was white with yellow hair looking almost dandified in a buckskin jacket with
long dangling fringe flying behind him. She quickly dismissed him as being just
another wild cowboy.
It was the other rider that caught her attention
for a minute. He was half-Indian. Well, she had certainly seen half-bloods before.
She turned to go back inside when memories of an annoying little half-breed
who always stole the attention away from her son assaulted her. Hate began to
surge through her veins and made her heart pound.
Her mind flashed back to a time when White Owl and Running Buck were racing bareback on Indian ponies each trying to spur his horse on to victory. It had just been a little game but she was always anxious to have her son outperform the chief's half-brother. As usual, Running Buck had pulled ahead at the last second and her son was once again the loser. She recalled Red Bear lifting his little brother off the horse and praising him for riding so well. Her nostrils flared with hatred but something else, some very small detail pricked at her memory. She closed her eyes to concentrate. In her mind's eye, she saw Running Buck sitting astride the horse with the reins clutched in his left hand. The rider she had just seen also held his reins in his left hand! Her mind raced at the possibility. The odds were against it but she had to know if it was him. She quickly closed the door and scurried to the fort.
She skulked silently outside the captain's office.
Several men hurried by and paid no attention to the woman who had become a fixture
around the fort. She glanced nervously around and quickly hid behind the corner
of the building when three men stepped out into the sunshine. One man was Captain
Avery. She knew him well. He had come to her asking for a salve to cure a particularly
violent toothache. If his men could have seen him holding his head in agony
and whimpering at her administrations, they would surely think twice about taking
orders from such a weak man. No Kiowa would ever whine about such pain. Indeed,
a Kiowa would rather gouge out the offending tooth with a knife before to admitting
to such trivial pain.
She quickly dismissed the captain and swept her
eyes over the half-blood. To her dismay, he was facing slightly away from her
and his hat was pulled low over his forehead casting shadows across his face.
It was hard to tell if it was him. It had been at least five years since Running
Buck had left the Kiowa and he was sure to have changed. This one was tall but
Running Buck must surely have grown. His hair was also shorter and loose strands
blew in his face. He reached to push them under his hat but that only obscured
his face more. She noticed he was wearing an earring and she tried to get a
good look at it but it kept dancing as he would shift his weight from one leg
to the other. He was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation and did not
join in. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at his boots while he
waited for the other two to finish their conversation.
"Thank you boys for delivering these maps for
me. We should be able to have our scouts cover much more territory now."
He chuckled softly. "They keep ending up in box canyons."
"It was no problem, Sir. Just a part of delivering
the mail." The white man touched his hand to the brim of his fancy hat.
Typical arrogant boy!
"Are you boys staying over?"
"No, we thought we'd just grab some grub and
then head out." Again, the white boy spoke giving his friend a sideways
glance. Was the half-blood ever going to open his mouth or was he just going
to stand there? Well, if behavior was any indicator, this one acted like the
same stupid boy she used to know who always kept quiet while his eyes noticed
everything.
"Very good. Thanks again, boys." The captain
shook their hands before returning to his office and leaving the two boys standing
on the porch.
They stood a moment on the steps and the half-blood
gave the white one a piercing look. Their eyes met briefly before they turned
away from the office and made their way over to the mess tent. Yellow Crane
silently trailed the two boys stepping lightly and clutching her skirts so as
not to make any unnecessary movement. She never took her eyes off the backs
of the boys in front of her and her ears strained to overhear any tidbit of
a conversation.
"We could have stayed Cody," the half-blood
was saying.
"You know you hate soldiers," The white
boy said as he glanced around the area. "And judging from the looks you're
getting, the feelings reciprocal." He slapped the Indian in the chest with
the back of his hand. "It's OK. We'll spend the night under the stars and
I'll regale you with some of my adventures when I was just a young lad."
The half-blood laughed a little and shook his head slightly. "Hey,
and you could tell some stories about when you lived with the Kiowa. I could
use some for my book."
Again, there was more laughter and the light-haired
fellow punched the other playfully in the arm. The two eventually disappeared
into the mess tent still talking.
It didn't matter what nonsense they were talking
about now. What she had been waiting for had been said. He had lived with the
Kiowa! It couldn't be anyone else. That was Running Buck. So, Red Bear's brother
was really alive. A chill swept through her body and blood pounded in her ears.
She wanted to kill him right there. She would run up to him and let him get
a good look at her ugly disfigured face. She wanted to see him recoil in horror
and fear when he recognized her. She would plunge a carving knife into his heart
twisting it while his blood ran. Then as a final act of mutilation she would
cut off his nose and deliver it to Red Bear. She leaned heavily against the
building and breathed in deep ragged gulps of air. No, that would be too easy.
She would come up with a better plan for making his life miserable just has
hers had been by that brother of his. She wanted to prolong Running Buck's suffering
and make him feel the pain that she had endured these many years.
Yellow Crane did not dare enter the mess tent. The
space would be too confining for her to properly hide. She was forced to wait
an almost unbearable hour before the two left the mess tent. She had secreted
herself by the livery where their horses were waiting for them. She listened
to their mindless talk as they prepared to leave.
"If we take our time getting back, they might
be done re-roofing the barn by the time we get home."
"Cody, is getting out of chores all you think
about? Besides, I'm sure Teaspoon will have something else for us to do. You
know the repairs have to be done before winter."
"Hey, we just came back from a dangerous run
through hostile territory. We deserve some time off. I'm thinking about that
dance tomorrow night is all. I want to be well rested."
"Cody, you're getting as bad as Ike. All he
can think about lately is that new girl. I'm gonna have to throw some water
on him before too long."
So, Running Buck had made friends in the white world.
He had a job. The little brother of the War Chief had done well for himself.
He didn't have to struggle to earn a place like she had. But then, he wasn't
disfigured or scarred. He hadn't been banished from the tribe. He still had
family that cared about him. Life had been so easy for Running Buck when he
didn't deserve it all. He didn't even deserve to be alive. If she could travel
back twenty years, she would gladly carry the wailing infant and leave him far
away from the rest of the tribe. She would have stuffed his mouth with moss
and left him on the prairie to die. Fate would not let her do that though and
so once again she would create her own destiny.
He certainly had changed since he was a boy. No
longer scrawny but slender, muscular and strong. He had a look of self-assurance
about him that had been lacking when he was child. She noticed that he stood
straighter and kept his body alert for any trouble that might arise at any time.
If only he knew.
She watched Running Buck place a woven blanket on
his horse before swinging the saddle into place. She watched from behind the
corner of the building as he cinched the buckles tight and then tied his bedroll
on the back of his horse. Bah! This one has been in the white man's world too
long. No true Kiowa warrior would need a saddle to stay on a horse or sleeping
blankets to cushion him from the ground. Just as he was about to mount, he turned
his face slightly toward the right. He seemed to look right at her for a minute
and she shrunk back in horror when she thought he saw her. She relaxed when
he turned back to the horse and quickly mounted. She watched as he gave his
horse a slight kick and rode off with his friend.
Ha! She had finally caught a glimpse of his eyes.
They were dark and piercing as before but there was something more. His eyes
were Red Bear's eyes. Those eyes that she saw every night before she fell into
a restless sleep. Those eyes had kept her alive all these painful years as she
plotted her revenge. Her own eyes sparkled with glee and she fought to keep
her cackling laughter in her throat. Her long bony fingers clutched at the long
beaded coil dangling from her neck. Red Bear's spirit was strong, but not so
the spirit of his half-white little brother. If she could not kill Red Bear's
body, she would destroy his spirit. She would take the one thing that was truly
precious to the Kiowa War Chief.
Her demented mind grew calm and she inhaled deeply. Yes, the time had come to harvest revenge against the one she truly hated, the cause for all her suffering. She would not move quickly though. Instead, revenge would be sweeter when she could have some fun with it first. She would kill Running Buck. Of that she was certain, but she would draw it out for her pleasure. Yes, she would take Running Buck's body but first she would take his heart by destroying his white friends first.
