Chapter 40
At sunset, Tempest stopped beside Lucky atop Swallow Rock near Fort Coffee overlooking the Arkansas River. The rays of the lowering Sun burnished the wide river in shades of copper as breezes swept across the lush grasslands of the terraces below. Livestock grazed in pastures separated from cropland. A few log houses dotted the area.
“Do you think Haig and Crawdaddy are down there?” She glanced at Lucky.
He nodded. “They didn’t get too much of a head start on us, but enough to beat us. Crawdaddy won’t let this go.”
“I hope I never see him again.”
“If we’re cautious, maybe we won’t.”
“Thanks for helping me get Grandma’s money.”
“Glad to help.”
“Emma was really brave, too.”
“That’s a Choctaw. Honorable and brave.”
“I agree.” She thought of Lucky and how he’d stepped in time and again to help her. She wasn’t so angry with him anymore, but she wasn’t sure how to go forward with him, either. “I wish Haig hadn’t gotten away. I want him put in jail.”
“Don’t give up. I know a couple of Deputy U.S. Marshals in Fort Smith. Rafe Morgan and Rune Wulfsson. Once we get the Soleil Wheel, we can contact them about Haig.”
“I like the sound of that.”
She could see grassy hills rising like sentinels above the flat land below. She counted seven set almost in a triangle with a large, long one set a distance to the east and several smaller ones below it.
“Are those the Mounds?” She glanced at Lucky again.
“Yes.”
“They look like hills.”
“But they’re not normal in river bottoms. And they’re found elsewhere on Turtle Island.”
“How do you think they were built?”
“Many baskets of earth piled up in layers over time.”
“That’s a lot of work.”
“The Mounds were important.”
“Are they burial sites?”
“One is here. The people also built homes and temples of adobe with thick grass roofs on top of the Mounds. They were very religious and kept the Sacred Fire always burning in their temple.”
“It’s amazing.”
“From our oral tradition and more recent research, this was once an important hub that coordinated a vast area from east to west. They had river access to the rest of the country and utilized trade networks to the gulf and oceans. Can you imagine a confederacy of seventy tribes and millions of people?”
“It sounds like a bigger United States.”
He nodded. “Right here, there are twelve mounds on about one hundred fifty acres, and the city covered five square miles. Five hundred people lived in the ceremonial center surrounded by about ten thousand folks.”
“That’s a lot.”
He pointed. “If you look to the lower right of the Mounds’ triangle, you’ll see what used to be the plaza. The solstices and equinoxes triangulate at an exact spot where a house would have stood. The sunlight coming through a pinpoint in the building during the year would have created a lazy eight.”
“They knew enough to be so exact?”
“Yes. And they knew much more. The third Mound lines up with the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. The sixth Mound lines up with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Priests and chiefs used these powerful times of the year for celebrations and to decide when to plant and harvest crops as well as other vital matters.”
“That’s impressive. But what happened to the folks who lived there?”
“We don’t know exactly why, but they abandoned the area. Yet they inhabited it for about eight hundred years.”
“That’s a long time for a government to last.”
“There were no wars.”
“I guess that makes a big difference.”
“It does.” He pointed toward the west. “Twilight soon. It’s about time for us to head down to the Mounds.”
“I hope I’m able to help find the Soleil Wheel.” She looked at Lucky, feeling the familiar stirrings in her heart. She wanted to love him, but she was no longer sure she could trust him.
“You’ll do fine.” He touched his vest pocket. “I’d like you to wear your necklace and ring. You’ll be stronger and safer.”
She hesitated, even as she felt a deep connection to the objects. “Crawdaddy said you’d had a lot of ladyloves.”
“He was trying to upset you.”
“But is it true?”
“No. I’ve known a lot of ladies, but you’re my only ladylove.”
She felt the solar cross over her heart tingle at his words and she absently rubbed it. “I want to trust you.”
“Tempest, you’re my love, my life, my future. Nothing can ever change that fact. I admit I’m not perfect. I’m doing the best I can to protect us. And keep the Soleil Wheel away from Crawdaddy.”
“Now that I’ve met him, he’s a strangely terrifying man. He makes Haig look weak.”
“You’re right to be wary of Crawdaddy, but Haig’s a fast gun, so don’t discount him, either.”
“I won’t.” She felt the S&W at her waist. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt my .32 when I dropped it?”
“I checked. No damage.”
“Good. I may yet have to shoot Haig.”
“Hopefully, nobody gets shot. I want to find the Soleil Wheel and get out with nobody the wiser.”
“They don’t know where to dig?”
“No, as far as I know. You’ll help us find the right Mound, but I already have a fair idea of its location.”
“Good.”
“Crawdaddy may have a gang down there hidden till dark.”
“Does he know we’re here?”
“Can’t miss us. We’re silhouetted big as life up here.”
“You want him to see us?”
“I want him to know that we aren’t afraid and that we’re going to get the Soleil Wheel.”
She felt a shiver run up her spine. She was caught up in forces bigger than anything she could ever have imagined in her life. If she didn’t trust Lucky, she might not make it out alive. She held out her hand. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help us. Afterward, we’ll see.”
He smiled. “That’s enough for now.”
When he set the necklace and the ring in the palm of her hand, she felt warmth from his body heat. He closed her fingers and held her fist for a moment. She felt energy flow from him to her in the form of promise, protection, power. And her feelings for him opened like a flower to the Sun.
“Let’s go.” He pointed toward the west. “The Sun is setting. There’s no time to lose.”