"I'll have to manage. I promised him I would not share the secret of the cave with anyone, and I cannot break that promise."
"Miss Hillyard, I do believe you'll accomplish whatever you set your mind to do."
She nodded, though she felt utterly inadequate to the task at hand. "I can." She straightened her shoulders. "I can do anything if it will help Tykota."
When they had ridden for the appointed time, Makinna told John that they would make camp, and that she would go on the next morning alone.
As dawn broke, Makinna was ready to ride. She turned back to John, who had been loading the packhorse for her, as he finished securing the supplies. "Tell me the truth, and I will know it if you lie. Do you think he's alive?"
John smiled at her. "I can tell you that Tykota is a stubborn man and one hard Indian to kill."
"Yes." She let out the breath she'd been holding, feeling a glimmer of hope. "He is stubborn."
Makinna had been riding for hours, and she was becoming frantic. Where was the cave? Tykota had told her it was in this direction. She would recognize the mountain if she saw it.
She halted her mount and uncapped her canteen, taking small sips as Tykota had taught her. Somewhere out there he might be severely wounded, and she had to find him.
What if she never found the cavern? What if she wandered aimlessly and was lost in the vast desert?
It was almost sundown when she spotted the mountain looming out of the sand. Urging her horse forward, she began laughing and crying at the same time.
She had found the cave!
Tykota woke slowly to the sound of the water spilling into the pool. He groaned and tried to sit up, but pain seemed to pin him to the ground. He licked his dry lips, wondering how long he'd been there. He had no sense of the passage of time.
He closed his eyes, wondering if Coloradous would come in time to save him. No, probably not. His thoughts turned to Makinna. Makinna laughing. Makinna angry. Makinna soft and loving in his arms.
If he was going to die, his last thoughts would be of her.
Tykota heard her calling his name, and he smiled. He felt her soft touch on his burning forehead. He felt her near him, bending over him.
Yes, he thought wistfully, let the memory of her essence walk with me into the shadow of death.
Makinna placed a hand on Tykota's forehead. He was feverish. She saw the rise and fall of his chest and called out his name.
He was alive!
She saw the angry wound in his shoulder where he'd been shot. "Tykota, open your eyes. Talk to me!"
He listened to her voice as if in a dream.
"Tykota! Open your eyes!"
It took great effort to raise his eyelids. Yes, there she was, looking frantic. She was as perfect in his imaginings as she had been in person.
"Tykota, I need to ask you something."
He blinked. Her hand on his skin felt so real. "Are you a dream?" he whispered through dry, cracked lips.
"No, I am here, Tykota. I need to know if the bullet is still in your shoulder."
He tried to concentrate on what she was saying. "I... was shot." He tried to rise, but he was too weak. "Santo... killed Mangas."
"Tykota, listen to me. Mangas is not dead. He is the one who told me I would find you here."
"I was coming to you," he said, closing his eyes. "I just had... one more thing to do before we could be together."
"We are together now."
"You left me."
Tears gathered in her eyes, and she bent to kiss his lips. "I will never leave you again unless you ask me to."
Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he gripped her arm. "Makinna, you are not a dream?"
She gently touched his face. "No, I am not a dream." She pushed his dark hair away from his face and smiled through her tears. "Tykota, is the bullet still in you?"
He licked his dry lips, feeling joy spread through him. If she was a dream, he didn't want to awaken. "The bullet is still there."
She sat back on her heels, gathering her thoughts. She had watched Hannah dig the bullet out of Mangas. But could she do the same? Yes, if it meant saving Tykota's life. She could do anything.
"Tykota, I have supplies at the bottom of the mountain. I am going to get them. I will be right back."
His hand tightened on hers. "You said you would not leave me."
She placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Only long enough to get what I need to remove the bullet."
She hurried out of the cave, unwilling to dwell on the difficult task ahead of her. She prayed that God would give her a steady hand and a strong will.
When she reached the bottom of the hill, she gave the horses water from a waterskin, unsaddled hers, and took the supplies from the packhorse.
All the while she was praying silently that she could save Tykota.