Chapter 20
NORA BLEW ON her hands and rubbed to warm them while the spitted rabbit she’d caught slow roasted over the fire, which she’d kept small so as not to draw attention to their location. Nora watched the fire and studied Running Bull out of the cor-ner of her eye. This man had grown up with the mysterious Jack Justice. He likely held answers
Jack had been thus far unwilling to give. Would he reveal them? What was Jack like as a boy? What did Running Bull know of Jack’s white family that was killed? Did Jack fight white settlers with his tribe? Would he be able to turn on his own kind? Who was his kind?
“Drink this,” Running Bull ordered. “It will warm you from the inside.”
Grateful, Nora accepted the mug. She savored the feeling of the warmth in her cold hands, feeling returning to her fingertips. She brought the mug to her mouth, blew a bit to cool it, and took a sip, instantly spitting it back out.
Running Bull and Jack chuckled.
“Oh, my! Oh, I’m so sorry for my deplorable manners! I was not expecting such a potent brew. It has a very bitter taste that seems to resemble tree bark. What do you put in it?”
“Tree bark,” Running Bull and Jack chorused.
“Oh, erm, hmm.” She looked down at her mug specula-tively.
“There are other herbs in it, as well,” Jack said gently. “Drink it. It’s an acquired taste, but it will warm you, and the herbs will fight against illness. Traveling in winter can weaken you.” Nora nodded her agreement but held her tongue. Traveling in winter could weaken someone, but it couldn’t weaken her, not with the elixir coursing through her veins.
Nora continued to hold the mug, bringing it to her face to warm her nose and cheeks. While the cold couldn’t weaken her, she could still feel its bitter effects. When the tea had cooled down a bit more, she drank the whole thing at once, not wanting to taste any more than she absolutely had to.
Moving her toes closer to the fire, she began to thaw. It would be a bitter night sleeping in the trees again, a new experience for her. She had a feeling this journey would bring her many new experiences.
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