Chapter 43
With Tempest resting peacefully in his arms, Lucky stood in the middle of the Grand Suns solar storm, a huge Soleil Wheel spinning about them.
The fire looked hot enough to burn but felt like summertime. He expected the plants in the area to sprout, bloom, and grow tall as if experiencing the nurturing rays of the summer Sun.
He watched the Grand Suns with their black hair and bronze skin swoop by with graceful elegance. Each wore a winged headdress with a lock of hair like a rattlesnake’s tail pulled forward to stick out from a sloped forehead while the remaining hair was slicked back and banded like a long snake. A wide belt around the waist anchored a long heart-shaped breechclout. Two sections of fabric with geometric designs had been slipped over each arm, one above the elbow and one below that covered the hand, with bands of woven fabric hanging down to resemble wings. He had no doubt these Grand Suns represented the sacred and winged Plumed Serpent.
Never in his life could he have imagined such an experience. He had heard the tales. He had seen the artifacts. He had preserved as much as possible for the Secret Order of Sun Rattlers and the Society for the Preservation of Antiquities, but nothing could compare to reality.
He felt blessed by the Grand Suns. The knowledge and experience that he would take back to his Sun Rattler clan was priceless. Yet the greater good was that the People’s power that had been preserved on the spirit plane had been brought back to the physical plane of Earth through the power of the Soleil Wheel. He felt sure now that the tribes of Turtle Island, no matter how many dark days they might have ahead, would survive and flourish.
Yet he cradled the greatest gift of all in his arms. Tempest was the living embodiment of the Soleil Wheel, the Sun Wheel of Life, symbolic of the Sun’s journey around the Wheel of the Year as it influenced life on Earth in the rotating seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. And now the Soleil Wheel also represented the rebirth of the power of the People.
Without her, none of this would have been possible. She was from East Texas, or Tejas, the Caddo word for friend. He expected to learn from her grandmother and great-aunt that she was a daughter of the powerful Caddo Confederacies that had once ruled a huge area directly south of the Mounds in the piney woods of Texas. And the Caddo, as well as the Wichita of the Red River, were considered the direct descendants of those who had built the Mounds. The Choctaw, Cherokee, and Atlahtaw also reflected much of the same heritage.
Fortunately, Tempest’s wound was no more than a graze on her side that he had bound with a clean chemise from her saddlebags. She had lost blood and would be sore, but she would heal. She was weak from her injury, but even weaker from burning so much energy so fast. What she needed now was peace, quiet, and time to replenish what she had so freely given. He could think of no better place than here.
Crawdaddy was gone, taking Haig’s body with him. They’d eyed each other over their six-shooters. Yet they’d known that a shootout would leave them both dead, so they’d walked away from that final confrontation. Lucky had been most concerned about Tempest. Until he’d checked her wound, he hadn’t known if she would survive. As a Rattler, Crawdaddy was mostly immune to a rattlesnake bite, but he would be extremely sick for a long time. He would most likely drop out of sight to heal. Haig would never be heard of again. Crawdaddy wouldn’t want it known that he had been too weak to save a valued employee.
But Lucky knew. And Crawdaddy knew that he knew. He also knew that Lucky’s alignment with Tempest would make their Sun Rattler clan the most powerful of all the clans. Lucky didn’t doubt that Crawdaddy would again scheme to get back his power, but he would be watched.
For now, Lucky only wanted to think about his ladylove. He’d returned her .32 to its holster. He’d put her ring and necklace in his pocket. He’d done all he could for her. Yet, after everything that had happened, he wasn’t sure how she felt about him. She could still walk away.
Tempest sighed, stretched, and opened her eyes. She glanced around and stiffened in shock. “I thought this was a dream.”
“No. It’s real.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Your power. Your love. Your acceptance of ghosts.”
“But Lucky, you’re assigning me too much importance.”
“Not me.” He inclined his head toward the figures that circled them. “The Grand Suns.”
“I still don’t know quite what to think, but I’m feeling better. Would you set me down?”
He wanted to keep her in his arms, but he knew that wasn’t possible. He gently lowered her to the ground.
She put her left hand to her throat, appeared surprised, and then looked at her hand. “Oh, Lucky! We’ve got to go back and get my ring and necklace. Remember, I threw them down when I confronted Crawdaddy.”
“Do you still want them?”
She looked surprised. “Don’t I get them back?”
“They belong to the woman I love and who loves me.”
She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “That means they are ours forever.”
He wrapped her in a tight embrace and deepened the kiss, wanting more, wanting all of her. But something else came first. He gently set her back, reached into his vest pocket, and pulled out the ring and necklace. When she held out her hand, he placed them on her palm.
She smiled at him. “With silver I thee bind, with gold I thee anoint, with love I thee wed.” She reached up and clasped the chain around his neck, and then slipped the ring onto the little finger of his left hand.
He kissed her, knowing he was blessed beyond all measure by her love.
And the Grand Suns whirled faster and faster until they slipped back into the Earth, leaving the Mounds in peace and serenity and harmony.
Tempest raised her head, looked about, and then at him. “I do think we’re finally alone. And it’s time for your initiation.”
“Are you sure? That might include a baby.”
“Oh, Lucky, I was foolish and scared before.” She placed his hand on her stomach. “Moon Rattler has already blessed our daughter.”
“She’ll be powerful.”
“More importantly, she’ll be loved.”
“As I love you.”
She knelt and tugged him down beside her. “Here, in this place of power, bind us together as only a Rattler can do.”
He cupped her face with his hands and looked into her violet eyes. “Forever and always, you’re my bride.”