Tykota bid his sister farewell, and he could see that she was fighting to keep from crying. "Marry your young warrior, and be happy, Inea."
"I will miss you."
He touched her cheek. "Name your first son after me."
Inea nodded and turned away as Tykota mounted his horse. Mangas had insisted on accompanying Tykota, while Coloradous rode with them as far as the twin peaks.
The brothers dismounted and stared at each other, both knowing that an old wrong had been righted.
"I never wanted it this way, Tykota. You were the chosen one."
Tykota smiled. "Sometimes the chosen one is the wrong one, my brother. You are the one who should have been chief all along."
"Will you return?"
"I believe I will for visits." He gripped his brother's arm. "My only sister and brother are here. I will want to see you from time to time."
"Will you marry the white woman and settle down at Biquera?"
"I do not know, Coloradous. But I will try. For if I do not find her, I will be empty inside." He looked at his brother. "Have you ever felt that way about a woman?"
Coloradous smiled. "For a very long time. Before I was disgraced and sent from the village, I wanted to make her my wife. She loved me and would have come with me, but her father would not have it-he wanted her to marry a war chief. And I did not want her to share my disgrace. She never married, and I hope it is because she still loves me."
Tykota smiled. "I believe her father will have a change of heart. He will crow if his daughter marries the chief of all the Perdenelas." Then Tykota became serious. "I will need to reveal to you the sacred treasure."
Coloradous turned away. "This is hard for me, Tykota. Our father showed you the treasure."
"And I am revealing the secret to you."
Coloradous turned back to his brother. "There is much that I must do to establish my right to be chief, so I cannot leave the valley just now."
"I know. At next full moon, meet me at the cave where our father took us as boys."
"The treasure cannot be there. I have explored that cave, and there are but the two caverns."
Tykota smiled. "Things are not always what they seem."
Coloradous nodded. "I will meet you there."
Tykota mounted his horse. "Until then, my brother. I know the people will prosper under your wise guidance."
Coloradous reached up and placed a hand on Tykota's arm. "I want to warn you to watch out for Santo. He was making threats against you. I do not know if he will do anything, but a man eaten up with anger is not to be trusted. We know this from our brother, Sinica."
"Have no concern, my brother. I have no fear of Santo."
"Do not dismiss him so easily. In his eyes, you denied him the woman he wanted and drove him from the tribe."
"I will look out for him."
The two brothers looked into each other's eyes and saw love and respect reflected there. "Take care, my chief," Tykota said, smiling. He turned his horse, and he and Mangas rode out of the valley and into the desert.
The sun was low in the west when Tykota swung to the ground and spoke to Mangas. "We will camp here for the night."
Mangas dismounted and took the reins of Tykota's horse before he spoke, following him up the mesa. "Why do we come this way? This is the place where Sinica died."
"I need time to think, so I am going to a cave two days' ride from here. You cannot go with me, but tomorrow you can ride on to Biquera."
Mangas staked out the horses while Tykota stood at the edge of the mesa remembering the last time he'd been there. He touched the mesquite tree where Makinna had been tied that day, and he remembered that he had died a little when he'd killed his own brother.
Later, when they sat before the campfire, Mangas spoke. "I still think of you as my chief, and so will many of the others."
"You will think of me as such less and less as time passes. Coloradous will make a much better chief than I."
"That may be so, but my heart does not accept anyone but you to stand in your father's shoes. When do you want me to leave?"
"In the morning, old friend. I will be gone for a while, and I must show Coloradous the secret of the treasure."
Mangas nodded, but his mind was troubled. He knew that Coloradous was a good warrior, and his heart was true, but Tykota would have been the greatest chief that the Perdenelas had ever had. "I will do as you say. But what will I tell your white mother?"
"Tell her I will be home soon."
Mangas met Tykota's glance. "Do we stay at Biquera?"
"I do not know."
"I have grown to like it there. I have my own dwelling, and I have become accustomed to the white man's comforts."