Embers of Fall

Cold Arrival

During her hunts, she'd linger until the sun fell, but be forced to return when she heard the growls of hungry wolves and the whispers of those dead and gone.

It was still in the middle of January when she at last brought back a deer and they ate plenty. They sang that night, chanting songs and stories as the children slept.

Then they heard the sound of hooves and the creaking of wagon wheels. Each of them stood from the fire to watch as a wagon tumbled towards them.

Her heart lit up in an instant and she raced over to the gate as quickly as she could, waiting to see Kotve.

She missed him and wanted to fall weakly into his arms. She could not carry the weight of the tribe alone anymore and was hopeful upon seeing the wagon return. But there were no other horses riding alongside it.

Kotve's mustang was nowhere in sight.

He would of never given it up. So where was he? Where were the other men?

As the wagon maneuvered itself in through the gate, they saw that only one man sat up front.

Beneath the shine of the moon and glow of the cackling fire, they were able to catch sight of familiar golden hair and cold blue eyes.

A defeated gasp left Navati as her knees fell out from under her. She struggled to breathe as the other women rushed to her side, trying to collect her but she could only feel a rush of hopelessness steal her joy.

It was only when Jack hopped down and walked over that she grew the courage to ask where her husband was and the other men.

He looked down at her with amusement in his eyes, then crouched before her, smiling mockingly. "He decided to stay and take care of business. He said he'd meet me back here. Did he not come?"

She trembled and lowered her head, shaking it and was silent as he moved towards the fire to pluck meat from one of the sticks, "Strange. Well in that case, he should be back soon, don't worry your little head about it."

They watched in silence as he chewed and ate more of the meat and took his fill of milk, then watched as he sat down by the fire. "Don't let me interrupt your dinner."

Navati curled her hands into fists and regained her composure to confront him by the fire. Her eyes blazed with distrust. She was firmly in denial. Kotve would never have left them alone to mingle with foreigners and trade. He'd have returned or at least the other men would have.

Did she really know Kotve? He had returned once to her, wouldn't he again after he had shown that he cared about her? Her heart wavered, but she refused to believe he would do such a thing. He wouldn't abandon them.

"You're lying. My husband would have-.."

"Would have what?" Jack asked coyly. "He's not the man you seem to think he is, sweetheart. Like the rest of us, he loves to trade and do business. He will grab at every opportunity he can get and latch on. Milking it for all its worth."

"Liar," She protested and shook her head, her black hair swaying across her face. Her eyes flashed with pain and confusion.

"You think he'd come back for you? He's surrounded by women and men alike who are charmed by his persuasive tongue. It's in his blood from his father, he's just like the rest of us," Jack continued and took off his leather gloves.

When she was quiet, he looked around and dusted his hand on his pants, "Speaking of which, where is Ackins and your little friends?"

A sour taste dried her mouth, but she glared at him and then smiled wryly, "Most of them are dead." She grit her teeth then and stepped up to him, her hand pulling her dagger free from her sleeve in one quick motion and pressed the curved edge against his throat, "I took great pleasure in killing Ackins. You should have heard him scream."

Her eyes became a bold green and her words were menacing. He reached for his gun next, but she pressed the blade further into his neck, stilling him. "You bitch," He laughed and she showcased her clenched teeth, "He was pitiful, but at least I found out he sounds just like a pig. I made sure he died like one too."

She kept the dagger to his throat and reached down, taking the gun from his holster before backing away and pointing it at him.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Jack asked, leaning back and rubbing at his throat.

"No, but I'm sure I can figure it out. Now  leave us be." She cocked the pistol and aimed it at him, motioning for him to get up and leave. He reluctantly did so and began walking while she pressed the gun into his back.

But Pata intervened and handed her some rope, but Navati ordered her to tie him instead. Pata hesitated but grabbed Jack's wrists and began tying them tightly together while Navati shoved the gun against him. Next was his ankles. Once he was tied and they removed his belt and hunting knife, they shoved him forward towards the stables and Pata tied one of the leads meant for the horses to his bound hands and ankles. Unable to move, they left him there to freeze in the cold and retired for the night.

Navati stayed with Pata and Lena until she fell asleep that night and didn't budge until one of them woke her in the morning.

Pata looked panicked and paced, but when she saw that she was awake, she rushed over to grab onto her arm. "Roan is missing.."

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