Kaylee woke abruptly, a gasp of surprise rising in her throat when she realized that the hot breath feathering over her face was real and not part of her nightmare. She laughed softly when she recognized the dark form looming over her.
"Dusty! What are you doing here?"
Blue Hawk had lunged to his feet, his knife drawn, at her first wordless cry. Sheathing his blade, he reached for the reins dangling from the mare's bridle.
Kaylee stood up stiffly, her joints aching from sleeping on the ground. "How do you suppose she found me?"
Blue Hawk shrugged. "I do not know, but at least now we will have meat to eat."
Kaylee stared at him aghast, then grabbed the reins from his hand. "You're not eating my horse!"
Blue Hawk's lips twitched, and then he laughed. "Kay-lee, I was only making a joke."
Still caught up in the aftermath of her nightmare, she started to ask him how he could joke at a time like this, then stopped. He was trying to put her at ease the best way he knew how. She punched him lightly on the arm. "Well, it wasn't funny."
"I am sorry."
"You wouldn't really eat her, would you?"
He nodded, his expression solemn now.
"That's awful."
"Meat is meat. Have you ever been hungry, Kaylee?"
"Of course."
"For days at a time?"
"Well, no."
"There have been times when my people ate their dogs and their horses, and when that was gone, they scraped hides and boiled the scrapings to make soup."
Kaylee wanted to believe he was making another joke, but she knew he was serious. She had never been that hungry. Nor had she known horror like the battle of the day before. Once again she realized how sheltered she had been, even though she had grown up on the frontier. At the ranch she had never lacked for food. Shaun had a prodigious appetite, and every day started with a big breakfast of eggs and bacon and fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, or her mother's melt-in-your-mouth pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. And they always had meat for dinner, usually beef, of course.
She stroked Dusty's neck. She couldn't imagine being hungry enough to eat her horse. The mare was as much a pet as a means of transportation. "What do your people usually eat? In good times?"
Blue Hawk smiled. "When the buffalo come, times are good. Fat cow and hump and tongue. In the summer the women gather berries and cherries and plums, turnips and wild onions. We hunt prairie chickens and gather their eggs. We hunt elk and deer. The boys catch turtles and fish, squirrels and prairie dogs."
"And rabbits," she said, thinking of the one he had trapped for their dinner the night before. "Don't forget rabbits."
His lips twitched again. "And of course there is wasichu beef."
"Very funny," she muttered.
He drew her into his arms and she leaned into him, her body remembering the pleasure they had shared the night before. "How soon will we reach Crazy Horse's camp?"
"Tomorrow night." He kissed her, his lips warm on hers.
When their kiss ended, she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Her dreams had been filled with nightmare images of the day before. She had seen it all again so clearly, heard the cries of the women and children, felt her own fear clogging her throat. So much blood, so much needless death.
"Kay-lee?"
She looked up at him.
"You have not changed your mind?" he asked softly. "About being my wife?"
She shook her head and then frowned. She had heard Shaun say that among the Lakota, a man was permitted to have as many wives as he wished, so long as he could provide for them. He had claimed it was just another example of their godless ways.
"Is it true," she asked, "that Lakota men can take more than one wife?"
He nodded.
"You won't take another wife, will you?"
"No. Unless there are no children," he added teasingly.
"I don't think I could share you."
He looked at her, his expression mischievous. "Women sometimes take another husband."
"They do? I've never heard of such a thing." She knew Mormon men often had more than one wife, but she had never heard of a wife having more than one husband.
"If there are no children, sometimes a woman takes a second husband. Any children that are born belong to the wife and the first husband."
She thought that was very strange, but didn't say so. "Go on."
"It is the woman who owns the lodge and everything in it, except for her husband's personal belongings. It is the woman who rules the lodge. It is the woman who rules over the children. She looks after her daughters until they are wed, and her sons until they reach the age when their voices begin to mature. After that, sons are under the authority of their father. It is at this time that a young man goes to seek his vision. If he receives a vision, he will go to the medicine man, who will interpret it for him. The shaman will paint a design on the boy's chest, and from that day on, the boy will be considered a man and will be treated as such."
"I have so much to learn. Will you teach me to speak your language?"
"Yes."
"What if your people don't like me?"
"Then we will find another place to live." He took her hand in his. "I will do my best to make you happy."
"You already make me happy."
He smiled at her, his eyes dark with desire. "Tomorrow night you will be happier."
Riding double on Dusty, they reached the camp of Crazy Horse just after dusk the following day. The village, located on the banks of a wide river, was far bigger than Kaylee had expected. She could see a large herd of horses grazing in the distance, guarded by several teenage boys.
As they drew closer, she saw women bent over cook pots. The smell of sage and cooking meat was strong. Blue-gray plumes rose from the smoke holes of the tipis. She saw young children playing near their mothers, boys playing some kind of game with a hoop and a stick, warriors standing around in groups, talking. Other men appeared to be gambling. There were large wooden racks hung with drying meat. And there were dogs, large and small, everywhere.
Blue Hawk asked the way to the lodge of a warrior known as Matoskah. They found him sitting in front of a large tipi, sharpening an arrowhead. Kaylee remained in the saddle while Blue Hawk and Matoskah exchanged greetings and Blue Hawk rattled off what appeared to be some pointed questions. Then he seemed to relax slightly, and turned to her with a relieved smile. "My people are here. More than I could have hoped."
He helped her down from the horse, tethered Dusty to a picket pin, and they followed Matoskah into his lodge. Matoskah's wife, Sisoka, welcomed them and offered them food.
Kaylee smiled her thanks as Sisoka handed her a large wooden bowl and a spoon made of horn. Sitting down near the back of the lodge, she stared at the bowl's contents, wondering what kind of meat was in the stew. She remembered all the dogs she had seen outside, and recalled also that Blue Hawk had told her the Lakota ate dog and horse meat, so she was somewhat reluctant to eat it.
"What is wrong, Kay-lee?" Blue Hawk asked.
"Nothing, but . . . I don't want to be rude, but what kind of meat is this?"
He smiled his understanding. "Buffalo."
Relieved, she ate quietly, watching the others. Hungry as she was, the lean meat tasted better than Double R beef.
Blue Hawk and Matoskah talked as they ate. Kaylee glanced around the lodge, wishing she could understand what the men were saying. Matoskah seemed very excited, waving his arms, speaking rapidly. Blue Hawk nodded, his expression concerned and then angry.
When the men finished eating, Matoskah lit a long- stemmed pipe. He lifted it over his head and then to the four directions, took a puff, and offered it to Blue Hawk, who took several puffs and passed it back to his friend. They smoked until the tobacco was gone, and then Blue Hawk stood up.
"I must go see to my people. I will return."
"I'll go with you."
"No," he said. "Wait here. I will not be long."
He was back in less time than she could have hoped.
"Come, Kay-lee," he said. "Let us take a walk before we sleep."
She handed her bowl to Sisoka and stood up. Smiling her thanks to her hosts, she followed Blue Hawk out of the lodge. He turned toward the river, nodding to the men he passed.
"Your friends seem very nice," she said.
Blue Hawk smiled. "I have known Matoskah since we were children. When he married Sisoka, he left our camp to live with his bride's family because he had no family left and she wished to be close to her mother."
"What about your people?"
A look of pain crossed his face. "So few left. Still, more than I had hoped. More still may arrive. So far, seven women, four men, nine children."
They walked silently for a time, Kaylee respecting his grief, feeling her own heart heavy at the loss of so many of his people—her people, she added to herself. It seemed right.
She cast about for another topic to lighten his spirit.
"Your friend seemed very excited while you talked. There must have been good news, too."
Blue Hawk grunted softly. "Two moons ago, the White Eyes attacked a small Cheyenne village on the Powder River. Our allies were victorious. When the battle was over, they came here, to join with Crazy Horse. Eight days ago, Crazy Horse and his warriors defeated Three Stars Crook and his army at Goose Creek. Crazy Horse and his people are breaking camp tomorrow. They are moving north to the Greasy Grass, to join Sitting Bull to make war on the White Eyes."
"War?" Kaylee asked. Her heart slammed against her chest.
Blue Hawk nodded. "Do not be afraid."
Not be afraid? Was he serious? She had already seen enough death and destruction to last her a lifetime. "You're not going to fight, are you?"
He squared his shoulders. "I am a warrior."
"But—but I don't want you to."
"I must, Kay-lee."
She wanted to rage at him, to beg him not to go, but she knew in her heart there was no point in arguing with him. He was a warrior, a man of honor. If his people were going to war, then his place was with them. He would not stay behind, safe with the women, and let others fight in his place.
"There is nothing to fear," Blue Hawk said reassuringly. "During the Sun Dance, Sitting Bull offered one hundred pieces of his flesh to Wakan Tanka. He danced all day and night and on into the next day. He danced until he was too weak to stand, and when he could speak again, he told of a vision he had had, a vision of many soldiers without ears falling like grasshoppers out of the sky, with their heads down. He said he saw them falling into camp and heard a voice say, 'I give you these because they have no ears.' "
"What does it mean?"
"Sitting Bull's interpretation is that the wasichu will not hear the truth. The vision of soldiers falling head down means they will be defeated."
She looked up at him. "Promise me you'll be careful?"
"I promise I will always come back to you, wiwasteka ." He drew her into his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head. "I had thought to make you my wife when we reached here, but there is no time. We will be married when we reach the camp of Sitting Bull." His gaze searched hers. "You do not mind?"
"No. I can wait if you can."
His arms tightened around her. She was here, in his arms where she belonged. And for now, that was enough.
In the morning, the Lakota dismantled their camp and in no time at all the household belongings and lodgeskins were loaded onto travois, and the people were mounted and ready to go. Warriors dressed in their finest clouts and moccasins rode at the head of the column. The women, children, and old ones came next, followed by the horse herd. More warriors rode at the end of the column, guarding their backtrail. And dogs. They were everywhere. Barking, chasing birds and rabbits, nipping at the heels of the horses, and generally making a nuisance of themselves.
Kaylee knew it was a day she would never forget: the women and their brightly colored saddle blankets, the singing of the warriors, the boys racing up and down, the thundering sound made by the horse herd.
She rode near the back of the column to be near Blue Hawk, who rode in the rear guard on a fine pony supplied by his friend. He moved up to ride beside her from time to time. She was glad for his thoughtfulness and for his company, since she had no one else to talk to.
They rode for hours, stopping only to eat and rest the horses.
Kaylee watched the other women as she rode, the women with their children, the mothers nursing their babies. They made her think of her own mother. Emma must be worried sick by now. Kaylee wished she had some way to let her mother know that she was alive and well and happy, wished she had some way to know if Randy was all right.
She smiled at the way young men rode back and forth alongside the column, playing tricks and showing off for the young unmarried women, who pretended not to notice. They were a lighthearted, happy people, so different from what she had expected.
They made camp when the sun went down. The skies were clear, the weather warm. Kaylee dismounted, and stood near Dusty's head, not knowing where she should go or what she should do. All around her, women were spreading bedrolls, lighting fires, preparing food for their families. The men looked after their horses.
She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Blue Hawk striding toward her. How handsome he was, and how much she loved him! He smiled as he drew nearer. Taking Dusty's reins from her, he tethered the mare to a picket pin and stripped off the saddle and blanket.
"Come," he said. "Sisoka has prepared food for us."
Later that night, as they were walking through the camp, Blue Hawk pointed Crazy Horse out to her. Clad in a clout and leggings, the chief stood near a fire with a group of his warriors. She had heard stories of Crazy Horse, had imagined him to be bigger than life, so she was surprised to see that he was a slender man of average height. His skin was a paler shade of copper than Blue Hawk's, his hair not a true black but dark brown, with a slight curl to it. Blue Hawk had told her that as a boy Crazy Horse had been called the Light-Haired One. He had sometimes been mistaken for a captive child because of his light skin and curly hair.
"It is said that Crazy Horse had a great vision in which he saw a warrior wearing blue leggings and a white buckskin shirt. He wore no paint and only one feather in his hair. A small brown stone was tied behind his ear. Shadowy enemies rose up before him, but he rode through them unhurt. Sometimes it seemed as though the warrior's own people tried to hold him back, but he fought them off and rode on, while a storm gathered behind him. There was the sound of thunder in the air, and a zigzag of lightning appeared on the man's cheek. And still he rode on, through friends and enemies, while a small hawk hovered above him."
"What does it mean?"
"It is said that the warrior in his dream was Crazy Horse and that he must dress as the warrior in his vision when he goes to battle, that he must always be a leader, in peace and in war, and that if he does these things, no enemy will ever destroy him."
She did not discount what Blue Hawk said. After all, Bible prophets of old had received visions. And her mother's aunt had sometimes had dreams that came true. Who was she to say such things were impossible just because it had never happened to her?
They reached their destination late in the afternoon of the following day. The camp of Sitting Bull was located in the valley along the winding banks of a wide river. There were lodges as far as the eye could see. What must have been thousands of horses grazed along the river flats and the grassy benches to the west.
It was a beautiful place, wild and rugged, a place of rolling hills, bluffs, and deep-cut ravines. Lacy cottonwoods grew along the river's edge. There were groves of wild plum trees and chokecherries and their scent was heavy in the air, mingling with the aroma of cook ing meat and the acrid scent of smoke rising from hundreds of cookfires. The sky was a bright, clear blue.
"They are all here," Blue Hawk said, and she heard the pride in his voice as he pointed out the various bands. "The Sans Arc, the Minniconjou, the Santee, the Two Kettles, the Hunkpapa, the Oglalas, the Brules. All the Seven Council Fires of the Lakota. And over there, our allies, the Arapaho and the Cheyenne."
Each band formed its own camp circle, perhaps a mile or a mile and a half in circumference.
"What's that?" Kaylee asked, pointing at a large white tipi that stood apart from the others.
"It is a Hunkpapa warrior lodge. Sitting Bull belongs to the Kit Fox society, and to the Strong Hearts. The Lakota have similar lodges where the young men go. Crazy Horse belongs to the Strong Hearts and to the Tokala, as do I."
"Sort of a club, you mean? Only members can go there?"
Blue Hawk nodded.
"How many Indians do you think are here?" she asked.
Blue Hawk's glance swept over the lodges. "It is difficult to know. Perhaps two thousand men of warrior age."
The number was staggering, and yet oddly reassuring if there was to be a battle. With so many warriors, surely the Indians would win the fight. She felt guilty as soon as the thought crossed her mind. It seemed wrong, somehow, to hope that the Indians would win. The word "traitor" whispered through the back of her mind.
Blue Hawk left her with Sisoka while he went to take care of their horses and to make arrangements for their wedding.
Sisoka showed Kaylee a chunk of meat and a pile of vegetables and indicated she should cut them up for stew.
With a nod, Kaylee picked up a bone-handled knife and began to slice the meat, hoping it was buffalo or venison. Her thoughts turned toward Blue Hawk as she worked.
She was going to marry him. It was a big step. Was she really ready to get married, to marry a man who was not of her race or religion? She thought of Garth Jackson. She could never have married him. Then she thought of Randy. She cared for him deeply. They had grown up together. He had given her her first kiss. But he was like a brother to her. She loved him, but she was not in love with him and never would be.
She dumped the meat into a pot and began to chop the vegetables. Was she truly in love with Blue Hawk? It seemed a silly question. She had thought of him constantly since the day she found him, worried about him, dreamed of him. Made love to him. As much as she missed her mother, she didn't want to go back home if it meant leaving Blue Hawk. As much as she missed her own bed and her room and her clothes, she was content to stay here, to live in a hide lodge, so long as she could be with him.
She watched Sisoka, who was humming softly as she mended a tear in her husband's shirt. Like all the Indian women Kaylee had seen, Sisoka seemed perfectly happy, content with her life.
When Kaylee finished chopping the vegetables, she put them in the pot with the meat. Sisoka handed her a waterskin, and she added enough water to cover the ingredients, then stirred it all with a long-handled spoon.
Sisoka smiled her thanks, then spread her hands wide, as though to say there was nothing else for Kaylee to do.
Smiling back, Kaylee stepped out of the lodge and found a shady spot, where she could sit and watch the activity around her. Warriors strolled through the camp, pausing at one lodge or another. They all seemed to be in good spirits.
Young women, too, moved through the village. Dressed in their best, they laughed and flirted with the young men. Children ran between the lodges, happy and smiling, carefree as only the very young can be. And there were dogs everywhere. Even as she watched, a gray-haired woman grabbed a puppy and clubbed it over the head.
Kaylee swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and hoped she never had to eat dog meat. Or horse meat.
She stood up, excitement fluttering in her stomach when she saw Blue Hawk striding toward her.
"Has there ever been such a gathering!" he exclaimed. "Let the wasichu come! We will defeat them." He smiled down at her, his hand cupping her cheek. "But first a marriage, and a feast to celebrate."
"Feast?"
"Sisoka will arrange it. We will be wed tonight, Kay-lee. Those of my people who are here will attend."
She looked down at her dress with a twinge of regret. It wasn't exactly the dress she had always dreamed of being married in, but she wasn't likely to find a gown of antique satin just lying around anywhere. And, after all, what did it matter what she wore? In her heart she was already his wife.
She smiled up at Blue Hawk. "Tonight."