Alicia sighed heavily as she entered the kitchen, only to find her uncle sitting alone at the table, finishing his meal.
"Where are Christian and Virgil?" she asked, carefully.
"They said they wanted to work on their house together," was the stiff reply.
The small blonde was about to give the man a vague apology for the way she had acted, hoping he would do the same, when a sudden hand around her mouth prevented her from making any sound.
"Don't say a word," the voice growled. Whoever it was turned her to face her uncle, who seemed to be in a similar predicament.
Suddenly, there was a knife against her neck, and her captor warned, "Move and she dies." To Alicia's horror, there stood Robyn, her sapphire eyes wide, fear for the blonde apparent in their depths.
"Don't hurt her," the Indian pleaded, turning her hands with the palms facing outward, to try to assure the men with masks that if moving meant Alicia was harmed, she wouldn't blink. A sudden blow to the back of the head she sensed was coming but didn't dare defend, and she crumpled to the floor.
"No!" came the muffled cry from Alicia, as she watched the woman fall. The man by her ear laughed cruelly, and when his partner had gagged both Jacob and Blue Fire, he wrapped a blindfold around the rancher's green eyes, and stuffed a rag in her mouth.
"Hey, what do you want me to do with…?" the second man asked.
The response was immediate. "Shoot the animal," he snarled, and Alicia released a muffled scream when she heard a shot ring out.
"You take those two, and I'll take our little blonde gem here," he ordered. "Don't forget to keep them together, all right? Good, let's move." Alicia felt herself being pushed out the door, and then stepping into a wagon, after a long walk through the forest.
And then it all went black.
Robyn groaned as she came to, and the throbbing in her head told her she was very much alive. Immediately, she looked around for Alicia, pausing when she found her back against a tree, with her hands tied tightly behind her back.
Testing her bonds, she realized that although it would take her a while to get free without her weapons, which were lying a tauntingly five feet away, it could be done.
The sooner I get out of here, she thought, the sooner I can find Alicia. With that motivation, the Indian began working on the ropes, when a moan told her she wasn't alone.
"Who's there?" she asked, her throat dry from the gag she had recently managed to remove.
"Oh, you can't be serious," Jacob sighed, upon realizing that there was a person tied to the other side of the tree, and that person was Alicia's damned Indian friend.
Blue Fire growled, briefly trying to think back to what she had done recently to anger the Great Spirit in order to deserve such punishment.
"Listen, I am not concerned with you right now," she explained, tersely. "All that matters to me is finding Alicia and keeping her safe, and if you will not help me, then stay out of my way."
"Hey, I want to find her, too," protested the large man, his palms sweaty and the wool in his suit doing nothing to cool the heat from the early afternoon sun. He figured the woman, in her leather outfit, must have been sweltering.
"Pull on your ropes," she requested, and, after a startled pause, Jacob did as he was told. Just as Blue Fire had suspected, the knot around her wrists tightened - both captives were tied with the same length of rope.
Interesting, she mused, feeling the knot with her fingers. From what she could tell, it'd be easier to remove her left hand first. Beginning to flex the muscles in her arm and wrist, Robyn set to work.
Over an hour later, no longer aware of the trickle of blood gliding across her palm from the severe rope burns around her wrist, Robyn ordered, "When I say pull, you move your hands as far to your right as you can. Ready?"
"Sure," acknowledged Jacob.
Blue Fire took a deep breath. "Pull!" she cried, clenching her eyes shut, dragging her left hand slowly out of the rope. Ignoring the searing pain, the Indian quickly worked on her other hand. When she was free, she grabbed her knife, and loosed Jacob, who struggled to his feet.
"You're bleeding," he noticed, as the dark-haired woman attempted to staunch the flow, using the red bandanna that had once been used by her captors to muffle any sounds she may have made.
"Very observant," Robyn snorted, wryly, inhaling quickly when the cloth made contact with the raw wound. Replacing her knife, which she was still extremely surprised had been left behind, along with her tomahawk, their presence telling her thieves hadn't been behind the attack, the tall woman looked around to get her bearings.
"We are about ten miles west of Apache land, and fifteen miles from Alicia's ranch," she deduced, tonelessly. "It would be best to go to the ranch, where I can get to the horses. Then I will find Alicia," the woman concluded.
"You would rather return to a white's house than to your own land?" questioned Jacob, and Robyn glared at him.
"First of all, if you would like to walk into a camp full of Apache with your attitude, I would be more than happy to escort you, believe me. Secondly, what do you know of my tribe?" she snarled. "You do not understand the reasons for what I do, so why do you assume it is wrong? Just because it may not be what you would choose does not mean it will not work."
That said, the Indian stormed off, heading towards Escape Ranch at a fast pace. Jacob sighed, and began to follow her. He hated to admit it, but he didn't know where to go, and he really didn't want to end up in Apache land, so Blue Fire was his only hope.
He needed her help.
"Wait," he cried, and hurried to catch up to her.
Hours later, Blue Fire was regretting having left the banker's gag behind. The man refused to let up about the heat, and how tired his feet were, and how he thought they should be there already, and how thirsty he was, and…
The Indian tuned him out for as long as she could, until his incessant whining became too much for her to take.
"Complaining is not helping us find Alicia," she stated, evenly. "I am tired as well, but it does no good to think about it."
"I just don't understand," Jacob muttered, under his breath. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
Sapphire eyes regarded him carefully, but Blue Fire said nothing. They were nearing the ranch, at any rate; then she'd be rid of the man. With every passing moment, her concern for her soul mate increased. Not only did she not know where Alicia was, but she didn't know who had taken her.
Or why.
And that scared her.
Jacob's voice broke through her thoughts. "So, how'd you get that mark on your hand?" he asked, conversationally, and the Indian frowned. He pointed to the back of her right hand, where the tattoo of a small disc-like object was seen on the flesh between her thumb and first finger.
The Indian sighed. "It is a symbol that has been in my family for many generations," she explained. "It is a real weapon, and was used in battles by my ancestors until it was not needed. My grandfather, a great medicine man of our tribe, once had a vision of a warrior who would wear the symbol on her body, and would run with the wolves and the horses. He said it was a woman, but everyone doubted him, because it was said that women could not be warriors.
"I am that warrior," she finished, "and my grandfather's prophecy has been proven." Talking on the part of the Indian ceased when the ranch came into view, and even Jacob was quiet, deep in thought, but the silence didn't last long.
"They weren't supposed to take her," muttered Jacob, to himself, and paused when the Indian in front of him suddenly stopped in her tracks. Slowly turning to face the man, who was only then beginning to realize that she might have overheard his comment, blue eyes pinned him in place.
"Are you telling me you knew about this?" demanded Blue Fire, approaching the banker in two long strides. "That you had a hand in this?" In an instant, her hand was encircling his throat, and Jacob Lee was having a hard time breathing.
Clawing at the relentless and seemingly steel-enforced grip, he choked out, "I didn't… they weren't supposed to… they didn't listen to…"
The woman had heard enough. "Why?" she hissed, tightening her hold.
Too frightened to worry about lying, Jacob admitted, "My brother, Samuel, was supposed to leave the land to me. I… I was still in Boston, and told him I was going to make it into a hotel; I would have been rich! I was the next in line, but he left it to Matthew, instead.
"Then, when Matthew got sick, I was sure the property would be mine. I didn't think he'd leave it to Alicia - I knew it was hard work, and I was sure the girl didn't want to carry it on without her brother," he continued. "When I heard it was in her name, I was enraged; it was supposed to belong to me, in the first place…
"I had contact with Jake and Brian from a few years back, the last time I was here," the man explained, and Robyn's stomach tied itself into a sick knot; she knew what was coming. "I told them when I was coming, and asked them just to scare her a bit, and to get you out of the picture, just until Alicia signed the deed over to me. They weren't supposed to take her, or me…"
He sighed. "This wasn't part of the plan," Jacob concluded.
"Jake and Brian are supposed to be in jail," she growled.
Jacob nodded as best he could. "I wired them the money for bail," he confessed, "along with a telegram telling them what to do. They failed last time, so I decided if I came out here, maybe it would work."
The tall woman's jaw was clenched, and her breathing was labored as she fantasized about snapping the man's neck. It wouldn't take more than a flick of her wrist, and the man would never worry about land ever again.
Swallowing hard, she began, "If Alicia gets hurt…"
"I know," Jacob interrupted, whining. "If they hurt her, I…"
"No," she said, sternly, interrupting the weak apology she was sure was coming, before she had to listen to it. "If something happens to Alicia, if they hurt her, you will not only have to deal with me, but you will have to live with yourself." Releasing him, she called for Winter Escape, and praised the horse when she came right up to the fence, waiting to be let out.
Doing so, the Indian then whistled for Wolf as she slipped a halter over her horse's nose. Frowning when the normally very obedient canine didn't appear, she tried again, and even shouted, "Wolf! Wolf, let's go!"
No response.
Jacob spoke up rather weakly, his voice trembling. "Uh, when Jake and Brian came, he tried to stop them, and they…"
He didn't have time to finish before Blue Fire sprinted into the house at full speed, sapphire eyes wide, fearing the worst.
"Wolf!" she cried, as she rounded the corner into the kitchen, and came to a skidding halt. "Oh, Wolf." There, breathing shallow and intelligent eyes clouded, lay the woman's best friend. Dropping to her knees, she stroked the bloody fur gently, tears springing to her eyes as the faithful animal lovingly licked her hand.
"You'll be all right… Forgive me, Spirit Guide," she pleaded, before spotting the bullet wound to his shoulder, and plunging her fingers into the wound to retrieve the small caliber bullet. Quickly tying a cloth over the hole, to help stop the bleeding, she lifted the wolf into her arms, wincing when he whimpered slightly.
Laying him carefully on the fur beside Alicia's bed, which she brought in from the hallway, she made sure he had easy access to clean water and a portion of meat, praying with all her might that the wolf would survive.
"I must leave you, now," she told him, and he barked his understanding weakly. "Rest, and heal, my friend. Now I go for Alicia." Rising to her feet, the tall Indian grabbed her bag and walked out of the room without a single glance back, knowing if she looked at the injured animal once more she would never be able to leave.
Mounting Winter Escape as soon as she was outside, Blue Fire noticed with some irritation that Jacob was still standing idly where she'd left him, and she demanded, "Where did they take her?"
The man's brown eyes met her own hard blue gaze. "I told you, they weren't supposed to do this. I don't know where they'd take her," he promised. "Which horse should I take?"
A dark eyebrow was raised in his direction. "You are not going with me," Blue Fire stated, evenly, leaving no room for argument. "I will find Alicia on my own. You will stay here."
"But, she's my niece!"
"And it is on your head that this has happened," the woman reminded him, angrily. "I do not care who she is to you, if it was not for your greed this would not have happened. You will be no help to me or Alicia.
"If I catch you following me, you will find my tomahawk buried in your chest. Do you understand?" Eyes wide, Jacob simply nodded, silently.
"Dotth'izh ko'!" cried a voice, and Blue Fire sighed as she looked up, watching Small Fox ride through the forest. "Dotth'izh ko', the Navajo have been seen! They are less than two hundred miles from the camp. My father asks for your help," she said, gently.
The tall Indian growled at the situation. She had to find Alicia, and now she had to fight a war. Terrific. Her heart or her people… which did, she obey? If she fought with her people, Alicia would surely die. But if she searched for Alicia instead, there was a possibility that she might still die, and surely her absence would not help the Apache. She was torn between the two, and took a few tense minutes to argue with herself, before coming to a decision; one which could be life altering, she realized.
"Small Fox, Alicia has been taken. I… I must go after her," she explained. "Please, understand. I want to help my people, but Alicia may not live if I do not find her. I cannot fight in the battle," she admitted, at last.
Small Fox was quiet for a moment, and then nodded. "I do understand, Dotth'izh ko'. She is your soul mate, you have said. Our people can rebuild themselves elsewhere. You will not find another like Alicia. Go to her, and all of the luck to you, sister." With a final glance at her friend, the young girl spurred her mount in the direction she came, disappearing into the thick trees.
"Remember my warning," Blue Fire snarled to Jacob, and then silently prayed that she would be in time to save Alicia. In an instant, bareback with a simple rope halter around the mare's head, the Indian was off at a gallop, the horse underneath her struggling to keep up with the pace her mistress was requesting.