CHAPTER 46

Never in my life have I seen the great medicine man Onendah ride off on a night raid. Why does he do this now? Kida wonders. She feels the impulse to follow them surge to its pinnacle and tip over to action. This sets curiosity off inside her mind, which reflects in her squinting eyes.

I am going to follow them and learn what they are doing, she thinks, racing for her horse.

Kiowa, Onendah, and Paw ride late into the night. They are the first to arrive at the sparkling lake, way up in the pine forest. As their horses come to a sudden halt, the Indians watch the sun rise. They relax and sing songs and wait for Anoki and Makes Trouble well into the afternoon and finally into the lingering sunset. Orange colors splash across the sky, turning clouds pink and blessing the pine trees with a powerful golden haze. Birds sing farewell to the day while crickets begin their nightly symphony. Firebugs ignite here and there. A wolf howls. An owl hoots. Racoons steal acorns from the squirrels.

"Are you nervous?" Paw asks with a teasing grin.

Kiowa nods. His emotions hurdle from one elated extreme to the other. The boy in him seeks his mother, but the man wants the woman who is replacing his mother. His stomach feels like it is flying and leaving the rest of him behind, which causes him to smile. But then his face stiffens, turning serious, and his eyes seem to be looking through the earth. Then the smile returns.

"It was the same when I took a little woman," Paw says with a comforting smile. "Between your father's death, her death, and the child she took with her, I am surprised my heart has any room left in it."

"You have a big heart and I have made a place in it."

"You have taken all the space in it, and now you have not told me your plan. Will you be leaving me as well? Can I come with you?"

"Onendah hasn't said, Uncle."

Paw searches Kiowa's face for the prospect of hope. He doesn't find what he's looking for. All he sees is his nephew looking for some sign of Anoki.

Off in the distance, where Kiowa can't see, Kida halts her horse. She ties him to a tree and paints her face and arms black. She crouches low and runs her fingers along the sharp edge of her rusty scalping knife. "If you are here and casting spells on Kiowa, Hopi girl, I will break your spell, steal your magic, and cast a spell of my own." She grabs her magic pouch and knife.

"I will gather wood and light a fire," Paw says, stepping off into the forest.

"I should have sent you to fetch her Uncle. Makes Trouble is probably off creating some mischief."

"Change into your wedding clothes, Kiowa. We won't want any distractions when the ceremony begins," Onendah orders him.

Kiowa nods and removes the roll on the back of his brown-and-white pinto pony. He fastens a wampum around his neck and paints his horse.

Kida can hear their voices but cannot make out their words. Onendah has a habit of signing his words while he speaks, so she thinks she understands him to motion "ceremony," but she can't be certain.

Thoughts swirl in Kida's mind. Surely Kiowa wouldn't be stupid enough to marry the Hopi girl and bring her back to the tribe? She surveys the men and realizes that is their intent. She laughs and thinks, Perhaps I should just go home and tell his mother what treachery her son plans. They will not be able to stop a herd of angry women. She presses the cold blade against her cheek and shifts her calculating eyes. She slides it down to her chin and taps the tip of her bottom lip. She feels her heart burn with rage and decides to stay. I will be swift! I will be silent! I will be deadly!

Many hours pass, and the howls of the coyotes, the hoots of the owls, and the chirps of the crickets wear on Kida. She grows very sleepy and can't help but nod off.

Soon, the large pale moon takes on an orange hue. A blanket of stars glitters all around it and shine unnaturally bright. Aside from the sounds of nature, the only signs of humans are the crackling fire and the flute Paw plays. With a huff of his chest, he pushes out his cheeks and keeps a constant pressure on a small opening in the pine flute. As he wiggles his fingers in a slow, smooth pattern, the notes of a love song the Kiowa have played ever since there were Kiowa dance off his pipe and beckon the bride.

"I have done many things I should have been afraid to do but for some reason was not. Tonight, I am not certain why, but I have great fear," Kiowa confesses with a broad, nervous smile.

"It was the same for me when my little woman and I made promises to each other," Onendah says, nodding and blowing rings of smoke, one through the other.

On the opposite side of the lake, Kida is awakened by the distant thud of horses' hooves.

She sits up and sees a sight that turns her hateful flames into spewing lava.

"I don't know how you know where to go, Night Wind, but carry my precious heart to him! Ya! Ya!" Anoki wraps her fingers in Night Wind's mane. She leans forward and kicks his side harder. He goes from a trot to a sprint.

Makes Trouble, covered in black-and-white war paint and wearing his bonnet, rides a pinto pony, leading the most beautiful woman Kida has ever seen. What's worse is that she expertly handles Kiowa's horse, Night Wind.

It is as though he was made for her to ride him. I could never ride bareback that fast. I would fall off and die, Kida thinks enviously.

Kida tallies Anoki's beauty the way all women do: face, figure, and clothes. I hate that your face is prettier than mine! I hate that your waist is smaller than mine. I hate that your breasts are larger than mine. I hate that you are more beautiful than I ever will be. I hate the gold arm bracelet on your slender arm. I hate your plain-woven dress. I could have made one just like it. It is a simple white dress with pretty beaded patterns. So what? Any woman could do that. After tonight, it will be blood red. Kida seethes, placing her knife in her mouth. She smears black paint on her dress and feels the flames of jealousy burn until the veins in her eyes crackle red. She quietly crouches down until her belly rests on the cool earth, then slithers along. Let us see if he loves you when I cut out your heart. No man can love a cold, dead woman, no matter how much his heart tells him to. Before morning light, your scalp will be woven into my dress, Kida thinks as she quietly stalks Anoki.

Drawn to Kiowa like iron to magnetic love, Anoki works the mane and furiously attacks Night Wind's side with her heels. She lets him loose. His front legs fully extend. His back legs spring with a powerful thrust that cuts the earth and kicks soft soil up behind him. She makes the stallion live up to his wild name and sends him into a full sprint. The enthusiastic rider sails past Makes Trouble's inferior horse. He cackles and whips his horse for speed, but no animal is comparable to Night Wind.

Anoki's smile broadens and beams as bright as the moon. Her eyes sparkle like the stars above her head and brim with absolute joy. Her cheeks burn with bright hope. Her rich raven hair whips wildly behind her. She can feel the wind push hard against her face. Her lips part and she shouts her joy. "Kiowa, my great chief! Anoki is here!"

"Anoki!" Kiowa shouts. He lifts his arms to the sky. His face explodes with righteous conviction.

He holds his muscular arms out toward her. "Come to me!" Kiowa passionately proclaims. He watches her reflection in the lake. In the sparkling crystal reflection, he sees her majestic spirit. She doesn't seem like a mere mortal woman at all, but more like an angel riding a shooting star.

"Is it possible to catch a star?" Kiowa asks his uncle.

"With magic, anything is possible," Paw answers.

Paw watches as the warrior's features soften and turn to angst. At this moment he looks so much like his father, Paw can hardly tell the two apart.

"She is here, Uncle! Makes Trouble, my almost brother, has brought me the greatest treasure. He did it! She is here. Now I have everything!"

"He did," Paw says, patting Kiowa on the back. "Is that her brother way behind Makes Trouble?"

Authors note: Dont worry folks, Anna & Chris will make an appearance. Keep in mind its 1859. I have 20 more chapters of prelude and then its going to be 2011. I promise it will be worth it!