Elaine Barbieri by Miranda the Warrior

Author:Miranda the Warrior
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Shadow Walker turned his mount toward a grove of trees nearby, then drew it to a halt in the shadows. The setting sun had signaled an end to the eventful day’s travel, but Shadow Walker had pressed onward until daylight was failing.

Glancing down at the ragged slash on Shadow Walker’s forearm, Miranda swallowed tightly. Shadow Walker had kept his silence about Spotted Bear’s unexpected appearance and had ignored the blood that dripped from his wound. She wondered what he was thinking—then questioned her own thoughts as well. She remembered her fear as the violence between Spotted Bear and Shadow Walker escalated, recalling the true sense of rage that had overwhelmed her when Spotted Bear’s knife had creased Shadow Walker’s skin.

Looking down at Shadow Walker as he dismounted, Miranda glimpsed in his eyes a dark determination that she had not seen before. She started to dismount, only to have Shadow Walker swing her to the ground with no sign of debility.

Unable to hold her silence any longer, Miranda said,“Your arm is still bleeding. You should care for it before the wound becomes poisoned.”

Unexpectedly locking her gaze with his, Shadow Walker responded, “Would you have said the same to Spotted Bear if he had been the victor?”

Startled by the question, Miranda hesitated. Her silence turned Shadow Walker with a knowing glance toward a stream in the shadows of the glade. She watched as he knelt beside it and lowered his arm into the water.

Following, hardly aware of her intent, Miranda knelt beside him. She saw Shadow Walker wince as the water raised blood from his wound, and her response came with a sincerity straight from the heart when she said, “No, I wouldn’t have said the same thing to Spotted Bear.”

Turning toward her with unexpected heat, Shadow Walker grated, “More blood would need be shed than this which now trails from my wound before I would allow anyone to claim what is mine.”

Frowning at his response, Miranda was about to rise when she saw the pool beneath Shadow Walker’s arm reddening. The wound was ragged and deep. It continued to bleed. She muttered, “Doc Blandis would probably say that cut needs to be stitched.”

Shadow Walker’s dark eyes snapped up to hers. “I have suffered greater wounds than this. It will heal as the others did.”

“It’s bleeding again.”

Holding her gaze, Shadow Walker replied, “It is only Cheyenne blood. Your people shed it easily.”

Suddenly angry, Miranda responded, “It wasn’t a white horse soldier’s knife that cut your arm.”

“No, it was not.”

Shadow Walker frowned. He lowered his arm into the water again, then stood up.

Unable to ignore the free-flowing wound, Miranda stood up beside him and pressed, “You have to stop the bleeding. Don’t you have anything to bind it up with?”

A new note entered Shadow Walker’s tone when he asked, “Are you concerned about my welfare, Miranda?”

Annoyed, Miranda responded, “If you mean by that would I enjoy seeing you bleed to death—no, I wouldn’t.”

“Why? I hold you captive. If I were to bleed to death, you would be able to escape.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.