Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Their rush turned out to be a slower pace than anything Suzette would have imagined, given their circumstances. This was most likely due to her condition, she supposed, with Black Lion still treating her as delicately as he was able.
His thoughtfulness and his care did endear him to her. Still, she worried for him. She had offered to travel faster, stating she thought it would probably not harm the child to do so.
“We will not take the chance,” Black Lion had replied. “The Thunderer knows I come. And we are making this journey as fast as we can.”
Indeed, they had taken to traversing over the Plains by day and night, stopping only long enough to provide their horse with a rest and Suzette with the nutrition needed to keep her healthy. Interestingly, not a single person accosted them. In truth, they met with no one at all.
Perhaps this was partially due to the dark and dreary conditions haunting their travel. Murky clouds lingered overhead, and thunder wailed in the heavens regardless of the hour of the day.
Black Lion was driven, and she was certain that were she not with him, Black Lion would have rushed over the prairie with no regard for himself or his health.
Perhaps it were to his advantage that she did accompany him.
At least she liked to think this was so, for when the time came for a confrontation with the Thunderer, it would serve him well to be rested.
At present, with her body situated before him in a sidesaddle style, she was essentially sitting in his lap, and thus was spared the jolting influence of the trail. Often she found herself sleeping in Black Lion’s arms, particularly during the evening hours.
Since they were now traveling by horseback, the trip south to Colorado seemed to be much shorter than the journey north. Or maybe her perception was tainted because she feared what they might find at the end of their trip.
“We are almost there,” Black Lion said to her on their third day of travel. He had nudged her awake with a tap on her shoulder and a kiss on her neck.
She opened her eyes to a roll of thunder, which raged through the sky above them. Squirming in her seat, she tried to attain a position of some comfort. However, there was very little to be found.
“Do you know what time of day it is?”
“It is early morning. The sun has yet to make an appearance in the sky.”
“And will it appear?”
“I would like to think it will, but it is doubtful. The farther south we travel, the more desperate the storm clouds appear on the horizon.”
“I suppose it is to be expected, since we are openly defying the one who rules the storms.” She glanced forward.
She wondered at herself. Had she now begun to believe that a god could, indeed, take human form?
Or was there some other explanation for what she was certain she had experienced?
A reason she couldn’t fathom? “When do you think we will come within sight of the show?”
“Perhaps when the sun reaches the high point in the sky.”
She nodded, then translated, “At noon, then.” Scowling, she turned her face toward his. “Besides warning your friends, have you considered what we might say to Mr. Cody about our disappearance?”
Again, he shrugged. “I will tell him the truth, that I left to find my friend and the Song Bird…if he asks.”
“Of course he will ask. I will let him know also how I begged you to go with me, in case he worries that you stole me. I have thought this might be why the scouts were so persistent—they may believe you took me from the show by force. I know that before we left, there was certainly plenty of gossip about us.”
“Perhaps,” he said.
“Do you think the Thunderer has caused any harm to the show yet?”
“I do not believe he has,” said Black Lion as he leaned down to speak in her ear.
“If he harmed my friends, I would know it deep in my soul. Because this has not happened, it leads me to believe he waits for me only. Perhaps he manipulates me so he might kill me in a more public place. Or maybe he watches for my arrival before he wreaks his vengeance upon my friends. Either way, it matters not. He awaits me.”
“Us,” she said. “He waits for us.”
Black Lion didn’t answer. But then, she hadn’t expected him to. With another glance at the threatening sky above them, Suzette tightened her arms around Black Lion’s neck and stared off into the horizon.
The day was still overcast, cloudy and cold, though there was no snow on the ground, due perhaps to a winter thaw which promised spring but did not deliver.
The air was frigid and stationary, even though overhead the clouds continued to shift.
Suzette and Black Lion had come at last to within a few miles of the Wild West Show.
They had at present traversed to the bottom of a large rise in the land, beyond which, nestled into an immense valley, was the Wild West Show.
Suzette could hear the faint refrains from the Wild West band, as well as the scent of the smoke that always accompanied the show.
Wrapped as she was in Black Lion’s arms, the warmth of his body gave her a feeling of security which was, she knew, nonexistent.
Her stomach twisted with dread. What awaited the two of them down there?
Whatever it was, Suzette feared it was nothing good for either of them. “Black Lion, I do not like this. There may be so much trouble that… Alas, I fear for you personally. There is prejudice there, and I am afraid people may act against you first and ask questions later.”
“I am aware of this. However, there is no choice but for me to go forward. My friends are in trouble, my enemy awaits. What would you suggest? Running away? You know I cannot run from this danger.”
“No, not running away, but perhaps I could go down there first—before you, if only to ensure you might be able to proceed without harm.”
He scoffed. “Are you suggesting I hide behind a woman’s skirt?”
“No, only that I could make the others understand the particulars of our situation first.”
He pulled a face. “If I were to let you do as you suggest, I would be committing a most cowardly act. No, we will go there together.”
She sighed. “Very well. Then let us form a different plan in case there is trouble.”
“The plan we have is a good one, and I see no reason to change it.” He raised an eyebrow at her, as though a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Do you intend to alter it?”
“Well, yes, actually I do. I understand you need to find your friends and warn them, but what I still don’t understand is why you are demanding I go to Irena’s tent instead of remaining with you.”
“I would have you be safe.”
“But will I be safe there? What if the Thunderer comes to Irena’s tent and you are not there with me? Has he not already threatened me in my dreams?”
“Hau, but I am the one the Thunderer wishes to harm, not you.”
She shook her head at him. “I don’t know. It is a mistake, I think. The danger is not in being with you, for, as you say, you will be there to protect me. The danger, I feel, is in being alone.”
He frowned.
It was a small reaction, but it was enough to make her press her point. “I do believe I could be of help. The Thunderer fears me. Therefore, there must be some danger from me. Pray, keep me with you.”
Again, he frowned. “If I agree to this, do you promise you will not deliberately antagonize the Thunderer? That you will stay out of the way, regardless of what he does to me?”
“I… I… How can you ask such a thing of me?”
“Easily.”
Above them, lightning flashed in the sky, the rumble of thunder following.
She said, “I cannot promise you this. And you cannot ask it of me. You have no right to send me away, either. I am a part of this. He came to me in my dreams.”
When Black Lion remained mute, she sighed.
Speaking to this man when his mind was set was like endeavoring to talk sense into a stubborn bull.
But she was not so easily persuaded either.
“I am safe only as long as I am with you. Perhaps you should revise your plans, for this is how it will be. I will remain with you.” She folded her arms across her chest.
He drew in a deep breath, sighed, then pointed forward. “There, can you see it?”
Their horse had climbed to the top of the rise, and in the valley below, stretched out across the Plains, were the rambling structures that made up the Wild West Show. Fences, barns, tents, tepees, canvas-covered bleachers and an enormous arena met her gaze.
At present, it appeared as if the show were engaged in the segment of the program called “Cowboy Fun,” for she could see, down in the arena, the tiny figures of the cowboys riding the wild, bucking horses.
As she watched, she saw also a cabin being set up center stage, in preparation most likely for the “Attack upon a Settler’s Cabin” scene. On the outer perimeter of the arena, several Indians were on standby, waiting behind the scenic backdrop for their cues.
As the cowboys retreated and the pioneers took center stage, the Indians began to creep up to the cabin.
“You and I did that scene once,” she commented.
“I remember it well. How much easier it would be if I could, like my ancestors, steal you and put you in my tepee and keep you there.”
She shook her head. “I would still object, and you, I fear, would be required to listen to me complain.”
Though their situation was desperate, he grinned at her. “There are times when I think you are as stubborn as a wild pony.”
“Who is calling who stubborn?”
He arched a brow at her, winked, then reined in their horse to make its way down the natural rise in the prairie. “I see little evidence of the Thunderer down there. I am glad.”