Wild Splendor

She did not want to slip between the blankets herself just yet, knowing that her mind would not rest enough from her worries for her to sleep. Leonida took one of her blankets, wrapped it around her shoulders, and moved away from the camp, where more were asleep now than awake. She strolled through the forest, stopping at the stream that snaked beneath the stars.

Sighing, she spread the blanket on the ground, then sat down on it, gazing heavenward. The moon was being elusive tonight. First it was there, and then it was behind a fluff of clouds. In the distance she could see lightning forking in zigzags across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder.

“That’s all we need,” she grumbled to herself. “A storm. Without protection, everyone would get soaked. In the night air, many would catch a cold. Lord, haven’t we had enough to contend with? Please keep the storm in the distant hills.”

Suddenly her spine stiffened. She bolted to her feet and turned to stare across an open meadow. “Horses,” she said, her heart thumping almost as loudly as the hoofbeats fast approaching.

She began running when she finally saw the horses coming toward her. She stopped and squinted into the night, trying to see the lead rider. But with the night so dark, she could see only shadows and the outline of the riders.

Fear suddenly grabbed at her heart. What if it was someone besides Sage and his warriors? Frantic, Leonida looked around her for cover but found nothing.

Then she gazed at the riders again and a sigh of relief coursed through her when she could finally see the face of the lead rider.

“Sage,” she whispered as joy spilled over within her.

Then she began running toward the riders.

“Sage,” she cried, waving at him with both hands. “Oh, darling, it is you. You are all right.”

When Sage spied Leonida, he broke free from the others and rode hard toward her. When he reached her, he wheeled his horse to a halt. Bending over, he pulled her up onto the horse with him. As she clung to him, her arms twining around his neck, they kissed in a frenzy.

“I was so afraid for you,” Leonida whispered as they drew apart. She touched his face, as though to make sure he was truly there. “You were gone for so long.” She looked over his shoulder, counting the warriors who were now drawing their mounts to a halt behind Sage. They were all there.

“We did not find him,” Sage said, as though reading her thoughts. “Four Fingers eluded us again.”

“All of this time and you did not achieve your goal?” Leonida said softly. She lay her cheek on his chest, the goatskin fabric soft against her flesh. “I’m sorry, darling. I know how important it was for you to find Four Fingers. Now he will always be a threat to you and your people.”

“Perhaps not,” Sage said. “We came upon four of his warriors who are no longer in alliance with him. They told us that Four Fingers ordered his warriors to disband, to find another life separate from his.”

“You believed them?” Leonida said, raising an eyebrow.

“I never want to believe the word of any Kiowa,” Sage grumbled. “But for now, I will accept it as truth.”

“Then we can travel onward to our original destination?” Leonida asked.

“Not quite yet,” Sage said, gazing down at Leonida, realizing how disappointed she was by the way her eyes wavered.

“What do you mean?” she asked, fearing the answer.

“At this time, I have done all that can be done about Four Fingers,” he said, his voice drawn. “But I have yet to settle things with Kit Carson. I will stay the night with you and my people, then tomorrow, at break of dawn, I must travel again, away from you. I alone will go after Kit Carson. It is an itch that must be scratched, then healed!”

“Do you mean that you are going to abduct Kit Carson?” Leonida gasped, paling.

“It is the only way,” Sage said, his jaw tight.

“No,” Leonida said in a moan. “You mustn’t. Kit Carson is always surrounded by many soldiers. It will be impossible to get past them. And if by chance you do, what will you do once you have him? You know that he will never give in to any of your demands.”

“It is not something I would gamble with,” Sage said stiffly. “If he is abducted and brought back to be among my people, you will see who is in charge then and who will give in to demands and who will not.”

He framed her face between his hands. “Do not have such little faith in your husband,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “But it is not because I doubt you, or have little faith in you. It is because I love you so much. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“My woman, you worry needlessly,” Sage said, then kissed her. “But it is good to have a wife whose devotion and caring is so unwavering.”

Sage’s warriors rode up on each side of him, waiting for instructions. They all already knew of his plans to search for Kit Carson alone. That was the only possible way to get past the soldiers. One person, especially one who moved as stealthily as Sage, could abduct him.

Many warriors would draw too much attention.