There had to be!
And she had to try. Magnus would kill them all without hesitation. That had been his intent all along, she reminded herself bitterly. Bolstering her courage, she straightened, steadied the gun in her hand, and focused hard on Magnus’ beard.
With a hopeless cry, she squeezed the trigger again. Adrenaline sped through her as the gun discharged. Again she fired. And then again. And then again.
And then she blinked, disbelieving her eyes. Before her, as though in slow motion, Magnus wavered a moment, then fell to his knees in the grass, clutching his ribs... an arrow piercing his heart. Blood gurgled from his mouth.
Oh, God... an arrow!
Elizabeth stared at it for a dumbfounded moment. She watched as he dropped the gleaming silver gun to the grass and then collapsed atop it. Shocked, she turned to see that Katie had buried her face into Cutter’s side.
And then she looked up... and saw another face approaching, a face with eyes as black as Cutter’s. But it was familiar and she didn’t scream, despite her moment of fear. She swallowed, realizing that it was the very same Indian who had come upon her and Cutter in their sleep. The same one who had spoken to Cutter. Who’d thanked her for the sage she hadn’t purposely placed on his brother Black Wolf’s grave. She shook her head, as though disbelieving what she saw. The Indian came forward and bent over Magnus’ body, placing a hand before his nose and then at his throat.
“Enaa'e.”
Elizabeth shook her head frantically, not understanding.
“Enaa'e!” He pointed at Sulzberger and made a quick slicing motion with his hand. “Enaa'e!”
“D-Dead?” she stammered. “Dead?”
The Indian seemed to understand her, and he suddenly pointed away from them, in the direction Sulzberger had come from. “E-e tdhtahe!”
“C-Colyer?” she asked, pointing timidly in the same direction. “D-Dead, too?” She tried to recall what Cutter had said about death in the Cheyenne tribe. “Seano?” she blurted. She pointed in the same direction the Indian had, once more, hope spiraling in her breast. “Colyer...Seano?”
The Indian’s brows collided, though he appeared amused, not angry. He shook his head and pointed again. Then, turning, he held out his hand. Two of his fingers ran across his palm. “E-e tdhtahe,” he repeated.
Elizabeth shook her head, still not understanding.
Suddenly his arms flew wide, and his fingers curled, claw-like. He shouted the word again and lunged at them. Katie screamed, hurling herself into Elizabeth’s back, her arms flying about Elizabeth’s neck.
Elizabeth didn’t dare move.
“E-e tdhtahe!” the Indian said again, pointing at Katie. He mimicked Katie’s fear, running in a circle with his hands high in the air. His mouth was agape with a scream that never materialized.
The image was so comical that if Elizabeth hadn’t been so dazed, she might have actually laughed. As it was, he stopped suddenly, and she flinched at the suddenness of his movement as he again pointed in the direction Sulzberger had come. Just to be certain she understood, he turned his palm up once more and ran his fingers across it. “E-e tdhtahe!” he repeated.
“Afraid,” Elizabeth whispered with a nod. Her heart pounded fiercely, yet she knew instinctively that he’d meant neither of them any harm. Colyer had run away afraid, she surmised. She made the same running motion with her fingers, and nodded again at the Indian. “Colyer ran away afraid,” she concluded, and then she began to pry Katie’s arms from around her neck. She brought Katie around to embrace her. “He won’t hurt you,” Elizabeth assured, knowing in her heart that it was the truth. “He means to help us.”
The Indian nodded and smiled, as though he’d again understood. He looked down suddenly and kicked Sulzberger’s body violently. Elizabeth winced, but Sulzberger didn’t stir.
Satisfied that the Indian had come in peace, Elizabeth wasted no more time in returning her attention to Cutter. With Katie still clutching at her, she turned and began to examine him under the Indian’s watchful gaze. Quickly she began to unbutton his shirt, removing his arms from his sleeves. He was much too heavy to remove it completely, so she left it for him to lie upon.
As Elizabeth probed Cutter’s arms, she was vaguely aware that the Indian was dragging Sulzberger away from them. When he was gone finally, Katie eased her grip, though she didn’t release Elizabeth completely. Her little fist clutched at Elizabeth’s skirt.
Katie’s whisper was shaky. “I-Is he a Indian, A-Aunt Lizabeth?”
Elizabeth nibbled her lower lip as she met Katie’s frightened gaze. “Yes,” she replied.
“Is h-he a good Indian?”
Elizabeth couldn’t tear her gaze away. There was so much of her own emotions mirrored in Katie’s eyes. “Yes, he is,” she answered with more certainty than she felt. Swallowing, she returned her attention to Cutter.
“Is Uncle Cutter gonna go to heaven, too, Aunt Lizabeth?”
Elizabeth was startled by the innocent question; her eyes flew to Katie’s. Tears stung her own eyes, but she held them back, containing them with anger. “I don’t know,” she replied honestly, her voice breaking. She averted her eyes to Cutter’s chest, laying her hand upon it. She bit into her lower lip to keep from crying out loud. His breath was shallow, too shallow, and his flesh was raging with fever. Fear lodged in her throat as she turned him slightly, peering underneath his back.
Nothing.
