Chapter 8

Alejandro rode back to the hacienda in a daze. He still couldn't believe what had happened. It wasn't what he had intended. Zorro had saved his life several times and now he had killed him. When he rode out this morning to the canyon he hadn't really expected Zorro to appear at all. He had wanted to believe in Victoria's innocence, but he needed to be sure.

During breakfast he had talked about some bandits who were seen near the Perdido canyon and who were making problems with the De la Vega cattle. He had hinted that he needed Zorro's help tracking them down when he was riding out there this morning. Of course, there weren't any bandits there, but Alejandro knew if Victoria was still meeting with Zorro, she would tell him. And apparently, she did.

Z Z Z

When Victoria saw Alejandro's face she knew that something had happened to Zorro. Felipe had alerted her only a few minutes earlier that Toronado had come back without its rider.

"What has happened, Don Alejandro?" she demanded to know.

"It's too late, Victoria. Everything is too late." Still under shock Alejandro sat down on the couch.

"What do you mean, it's too late?" Victoria asked alarmed.

"Zorro is dead! Your lover is dead!"

"No, it can't be. He can't be dead!" Victoria was shocked. Helpless, she sought support from Felipe who had turned white. "Tell me what happened, Don Alejandro!"

"It's all your fault, Victoria. It didn't want this. But I did it for Diego. Without Zorro you can be happy with him." Alejandro explained though his words didn't make much sense.

"Tell me what happened!" Victoria cried almost hysterically. "What did you do?"

"That he came to the canyon today was the proof that you were still meeting," Alejandro looked at them without really seeing them as the scene was replayed again inside his mind. "I told Zorro that he should no longer see you or I would kill him. Zorro, he moved forward on Toronado, saying he needed to explain something to me. But I didn't want to hear an explanation, I wanted him to leave you. I pointed a pistol at him, but Zorro still came closer. He moved his hands to his face and then suddenly.. there was a shot, Toronado shied and Zorro fell into the canyon."

"No!" Victoria cried out. "Please, that can't be true!"

"Believe me, I didn't want that, Victoria. It just happened." Alejandro looked at them asking for understanding.

"Where is he now?" Victoria demanded to know. "Where is he? Did you leave him like that?"

"He fell into the canyon. There is nothing you can do! You can't get down there!" Alejandro explained.

"Where exactly is he?" Victoria wanted to shake him in despair.

"Somewhere in the canyon," Alejandro repeated. Suddenly, Alejandro felt something sharp at his throat. When he looked up, he saw that Felipe had taken one of the rapiers from the display rack and confidently held the sword to his skin.

"Where is he?" Victoria asked again and threw a grateful look to Felipe.

"He fell into the Perdido canyon next to the great boulder." Alejandro croaked, the sword at his throat hindering his speech. Felipe withdrew the rapier and nodded at Victoria, signing that it was the information he needed.

"You ride ahead, Felipe, while I get Doctor Hernandez," she said to the teenager, who nodded in agreement. Victoria longed to rush to Diego, but she knew that Felipe had more experience treating his injuries and on Toronado he would be faster.

Before she rushed off, she turned to Alejandro. "If he is dead, you will regret it for the rest of your life." Leaving him in his shocked state, she ran to the stables to ride to the doctor.

The ride to the doctor's house never seemed so endless to her. Her heart was beating fast and she made no efforts to dry her tears as it would slow her down.

Impatiently she knocked at the door, praying the doctor was at home and she wouldn't be too late.

"Doña Victoria, what's wrong?" Victoria was relieved to see the doctor at the door.

"It's Zorro, he is shot, maybe dead, I need your help...," she cried.

"Just let me get my bag, then you can lead me to him." The doctor vanished in the house and reappeared on his horse only minutes later.

Felipe was waiting for them not far from the canyon. He guided them through a hidden opening that led down to the bottom of the canyon. The doctor knelt down beside Zorro and examined him. He carefully removed his mask, showing no surprise to see Diego's face.

"Is he dead?" Victoria asked anxiously.

"No, not yet, but he is seriously injured. He has lost a lot of blood and has a concussion too. You did a good job in stilling the blood loss." Approvingly he nodded in Felipe's direction, "but I guess you have a lot of experience."

"Will he survive?" Victoria had knelt down beside Diego and taken his hand. He didn't move and his hand felt cold as if he was already dead.

"I don't know, Señora, I'll do what I can. First, we must get him into a bed and keep him warm."

"I can ride back to the hacienda to get a cart," Victoria offered.

"No, that takes too long and he wouldn't survive the long drive." The doctor shook his head.

Felipe started to sign and it took them some time to understand what he meant. He suggested an abandoned farmhouse that wasn't too far away. Since it was their only hope, they agreed to transport him there. Felipe made Toronado kneel down and with the help of the doctor he moved Diego on Toronado's back where Victoria held him to keep him from falling.

Felipe led them to the house, which was still in a good shape. It was stripped of most movable items, but still had the heavy furniture. They put Diego on the bed of the former bedroom and the doctor redressed his wound that had reopened during the ride.

Diego stayed unconscious the whole time and the sound of his labored breathing could be heard. "The shot has missed his heart, but his lung is injured. He has trouble breathing and could bleed to death from the inside. But the bullet is no longer inside him and it was a clear shot."

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Victoria asked.

"We can only keep vigil and redress his wounds. I have some potions to give him every few hours to help against the fever." The doctor made himself comfortable beside Diego's bed showing that he didn't intend to leave his patient. It would be a long night for all of them.

"Doctor, when will we be able to transport Diego?" Victoria inquired.

"I don't recommend transporting him at all. He should stay here until his wound has stopped bleeding and healed a bit if he survives that long. That could take some days."

Felipe was white and he was as close to crying as Victoria had ever seen him. She wanted to sit down and cry too, but she needed to be practical now if she wanted to save Diego's life. Felipe agreed to ride back to the hacienda and bring everything they needed to stay here for some days, but made a face when he heard the long list of items she considered necessary. He wouldn't be able to transport all that in one ride. Victoria decided she would return to the hacienda herself to get some personal items after she had taken her turn at Diego's side.

When Felipe had returned later, he not only brought the requested items, but also the padre. The doctor had recommended to get him as it wasn't sure Diego would survive the night.

Victoria waited outside the room, leaving the padre alone as he gave Diego the last rites. She leaned against the wall and let her tears fall, praying inside that Diego would survive.

The padre touched her slightly by the arm as he came out of the room again. "Come child, let me pray with you."

Numb with despair she let the padre guide her to the kitchen where they sat down together and prayed. Felipe came a few minutes later to join them while the doctor stayed with Diego.

After they had finished, the padre rose again. "I'm sorry, Señora, that I can't do more for your husband. It's in God's hand now to decide if he will survive or not. I will continue praying for him. Do you want me to stay?"

Victoria shook her head. "Thank you, Padre, for coming. Your support has been a help to me. I'll send for you again if there is need - and ...if Diego doesn't survive."

"I only hope that is not the case, Señora," the padre said compassionately. "Your husband has done so much for so many in this pueblo while putting his own life on hold that I can't imagine the tragedy should he die now." Visibly stricken, the padre left and Victoria knew he wouldn't stop praying.