Wild Thunder

Strong Wolf took a basin of water and a cloth to Sweet Wind. He knelt down on the other side of the bed as she began washing the blood from his body. Proud Heart comforted the children beside the lodge fire.

“Awaken, my brother.” Strong Wolf said. “You must tell me who did this to you. A search party will be formed. We will find the one responsible. He will pay for the crime!”

Bird in Ground’s eyes slowly opened, his lashes stuck together with dried blood. He gazed up at Strong Wolf, then looked slowly over at his wife.

“My husband, you are home, safe with your wife and children,” Sweet Wind murmured, gently stroking a cloth across his bloody and battered chest. “I am so sorry for you. Who could do this to you?”

“I . . . made . . . good hunt today,” Bird in Ground said, reaching a trembling hand to his wife’s cheek. “Plenty meat. Plenty hides.”

He looked at Strong Wolf again. “Did . . . you . . . find my horse and travois?” he stammered out, each word paining him.

“No, they are gone, but we will send braves to search for you,” Strong Wolf said. He took one of Bird in Ground’s hands. He gently clutched it. “My brother, tell us who did this. Time is wasting. We must go and find the guilty party before he gets too far.”

Bird in Ground closed his eyes. He recalled the threat about his family, that if he told who did this, they would die!

“I know . . . not . . . of their names,” he said, hating the lie as much as he hated the men he lied for!

“There was more than one?” Strong Wolf said, his eyebrows raising.

“Yes, that I can tell you,” Bird in Ground said, moaning when pains shot through his abdomen.

“Describe them,” Strong Wolf said.

Bird in Ground turned his eyes away and said no more.

Disappointment grabbed at Strong Wolf’s heart, for he knew that this brave knew at least how to describe his assailants, but had been warned into silence.

“Bird in Ground, I will say no more now, but when you are well again and can see the logic of pointing out who did this to you, I will question you again,” Strong Wolf said, rising to

his feet.

Bird in Ground looked in panic up at Strong Wolf. “Do not ask, for I will not tell,” he said, then again looked away in shame.

Strong Wolf stiffened. He looked over at Proud Heart, whose own jaw was tight with disappointment. Then he left the lodge. He was almost certain who was responsible. But he couldn’t take action without having absolute proof!

Streaked with purple, opaque shadows, the world was red in late sunlight as Strong Wolf entered his lodge. He sat down before his fire thinking about the bitter disappointments he had been forced to face in his lifetime.

But most of all, he feared loving the white woman, for if she turned her back on him once she knew the secret of his past, he was not sure if he could endure the disappointment.

“Should I even chance it?” he whispered.

Chapter 12

And soon her swimming eyes confessed

The wishes of her soul.

—ROBERT DODSLEY

The sun was low in the sky, rising slowly, splashing the heavens with a beautiful pinkish tint as Hannah rode the pinto beneath a heavy umbrella of trees. She had scarcely slept all night. As soon as daybreak broke along the horizon, she had quickly dressed in a riding skirt and blouse and had left the house while her brother was still asleep.

She was filled with many tumultuous feelings, most of which now centered on Strong Wolf. His kiss had sparked something within her that she could not shake. Every time she thought about being in his arms, she felt warmly weak inside. Her heart would thud suddenly at the mere thought of his name.

Even now, her breath quickened when she realized where her morning travels had taken her. She was being drawn to the mystery cave; to the misty, smoky haze. Had she been drawn there for a purpose? she wondered to herself. If so, what? Why?

With a wildly beating heart, Hannah dismounted and tethered her horse’s reins to a low limb of a tree. Breathless, she moved down the footpath.

Anxiously she recalled the other time that she had been here with Strong Wolf. It had been easy to drift into his arms, to allow the kiss.