Chapter 32

NORA STARED OUT into the winter night. The snow continued to fall on the little stretch of beach between her associates’ house and the ocean. She had always found the waves to be soothing.

The home belonged to Joseph and Tara Milligan. When Nora came calling, they’d opened their home for her, Jack, and Running Bull, but packed a bag and headed to Tara’s sister’s home. They had given Nora and her traveling companions full use of their home, but if the British discovered them, Joe and Tara could claim that the home was broken into while they were away.

The list of people in danger because of Nora’s quest grew longer every day.

Nora had lied to Jack about her Warrior. She hadn’t given him the full details of who he was and what he meant to her. She looked for him in the faces of the men they encountered on the road. He could just as easily be Jack or Running Bull given the sparse clues Fox had provided.

And he could have been one of the men they had already killed.

Jack appeared at her side, tense and quiet. “He is burning up.”

“We will bathe him again and give him more water to help cool him down. We could bring him out to the snow for a bit, but I’m afraid that will have the opposite effect.”

“It is too bad the Healer is not here,” Jack said quietly.

Nora’s body froze. What did he say?

“I beg your pardon,” Nora said turning to Jack. “What did you say?”

Jack stared hard at Nora. As usual, his eyes and face gave nothing away.

“I said,” he replied, “it is too bad there is not a healer here.”

Nora shook her head. She could have sworn he’d said, “the Healer,” but that was impossible. How would he know about Will? Though she did wish for Will or Bridget with all her might, they were alone in the Milligan’s home.

“Yes,” Nora nodded her head jerkily. “A healer would be helpful.”

“Or,” Jack said, “you can give him what you gave me.”

Nora’s stomach dropped. Jack didn’t know about the elixir. He couldn’t. He had been unconscious when she administered it to his shoulder, and she had been careful to keep it well hidden since. She couldn’t bring it out in front of him now.

“We’ll bathe him down again,” she said, turning back and heading into the house.

Running Bull lay on the sofa in the parlor in front of a roaring fire. He had kicked the covers off again in his fever. She walked to her friend and placed her hand on his forehead.

“See if you can find ice outside,” she directed Jack. “We can place some on his wrists and the bottoms of his feet. If we can get cold water into him, we could cool him down from the inside.”

“And while I’m gone, you’ll save him, won’t you?” The fear and agony in Jack’s tone were evident. His concern for his friend touched her heart. If Running Bull didn’t make it, Jack would be inconsolable.

“I will do what I can,” she said. If Jack noticed her non-answer, he said nothing. He grabbed a bucket from the kitchen and left.

Nora fingered the vial of elixir in her pocket. She had put it there when she’d taken out her suture kit and Jack was distracted by the map. She thought herself to be in the same posi-tion she’d been in with Jack. Running Bull showed signs of being her Warrior, as well. Did he need the elixir now? His wound was not as serious as Jack’s, but what if the infection? He had been injured protecting her, but if she went around giving the elixir to everyone she cared for, there wouldn’t be any left when she identified her
Warrior. Her Warrior was no good to her without eternal life.

And she did care about Running Bull. She had come to care for both of them. At the very least, she thought of them as her friends. Friends did not abandon each other in their hour of need. She would give him until morning. If the fever did not break overnight or his condition worsened, she would pour a drop of the elixir on the wound.
Decision made, she pulled a rocking chair closer and sat down to await Jack’s return.

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AS DAWN DREW closer, Nora and Jack kept their bedside vigil. Neither had spoken during the night and the tension consumed the room. Running Bull remained soaked in sweat. Jack had little confidence that Nora had administered the medicine she had given to him at Ben’s. Jack’s recovery had been quick for the injury he’d thought he had, hadn’t it? If Nora had given Running Bull her drug, wouldn’t he be better now?

Jack needed Running Bull to recover so he could apolo-gize. As one of the tribe’s most valued warriors, it was Jack’s duty to protect his chief. Though Running Bull was not officially the tribe’s chief as of yet, he was their future leader, and as such, was entitled to the same protection as the chief.

At least to Jack’s mind.

Failing was foreign to Jack, something he did not often do. And he had failed to protect Running Bull. He had also failed to protect Nora. He had been distracted down by the lake. When he had come upon it, Nora had just finished washing and was brushing her long, chestnut hair before wrapping it back up under her wool cap. It had fallen down her back in silky waves and he had wondered if it would feel as beautiful running through his fingers or splayed out on his pillow.

Who was he jesting? He didn’t have a pillow. He didn’t have a place to live.

Still, Jack had thought about her damn hair long after she had left the lake, and because he was lost in his thoughts of her, the British soldiers had gained the upper hand.

He was angry. He was angry with Nora. If not for her, Running Bull would not be injured. He was angry with Running Bull for insisting on coming with him for this assignment instead of staying with the tribe. But most of all, he was angry with himself.

“He is not getting better,” Jack said from his chair facing the sofa where Running Bull continued to lay sleeping.

“He has not gotten worse,” Nora countered.

“And did you give him what you gave me?”

“What makes you believe I gave you anything, Mr. Jus-tice? We kept your wound clean and bathed you during your fe-ver. We did our best to get broth and water into you. It is the same as we are doing now for Running Bull. Bodies heal differently.”

“You lie prettily, my lady,” Jack mocked. “I know you have the power to heal him.”

“You know nothing,” Nora hissed and propelled herself from the chair. She paced the small space of the parlor before turning and fleeing the room for the kitchen.

Jack immediately followed. When he crossed into the kitchen, Nora moved about grabbing plates and mugs. She pulled bread and cheese and fruit down and began slicing them up. Jack noticed her movements were aggressive. If she wasn’t careful, she’d lop off a finger. But he knew she sensed the tension. She was angry, as well, and she was not entitled to be.

“And why is it that I know nothing, Lady Eleanor?” Jack prodded. “You keep things from me. It is as clear to me as the picture of you standing before me.”

“We agreed that I would tell you what you needed to know when you needed to know it, Mr. Justice,” Nora said. “You gave me your promise.”

“I did nothing of the sort, you decreed it so, and I chose not to push the issue. I am pushing it now.”

“You are not the boss of me. You are not my lord,” Nora argued.

“Then who is?!” Jack shouted.

“STOP!” came a bellow. Both turned and saw Running Bull leaning on the doorframe.

“Running Bull,” Nora said. She quickly moved to him and tried to take his weight. “You should be resting.”

“Who can rest with all this noise?” Running Bull said weakly. “You two are constantly bickering. You do not communicate, and if you cannot learn to do so, neither of you will ever succeed. I have had enough. You will work out what is between you now, tonight, before we leave this place. It is the stubbornness of both of you that hinders our progress. You could be friends, wonderful friends. Instead, you poison yourselves with arguing and resentment. Take this somewhere else and leave me in peace.”

Jack and Nora watched quietly as Running Bull left the kitchen and climbed the stairs. Jack assumed he was looking for a more comfortable bed. They should have brought him to one to begin with. There were many things Jack should have done.

“He is right,” Jack said. “And you must understand by now that I cannot continue to protect you unless I know who I am protecting you from.”

“I’ve already told you, sir, Lord Rogan seeks me and the stone.”

“Why?” Jack asked. “Who is he to you?”

Nora took a deep breath, looked Jack square in the eye, and said, “My father.”