*
The sun had passed high noon before I came out to find Henry leaning against the longhouse no more than a step from the doorway, much like my personal sentinel. “Will the Indian live?” he asked.
I stretched my back and squinted into the sunlight. “Yes, I believe he will.” The poison had been completely eradicated from his body, allowing the nervous system to function properly again. The extended fight had left Teme exhausted, but in a day or two he would be up and about, his muscles still a bit sore, though no longer caught in endless spasms. I was also greatly in need of rest and longed to return to Brighmor where I could change into fresh clothing and curl up in my own bed.
As word spread that I had finished, people began to gather. “Let’s go home,” I said, thinking it prudent to be far away when the Sakima proclaimed that his son would live.
Henry helped me onto my horse and then mounted his own. “Would you like to return by ferry?” he asked.
I was touched by his willingness to ride several hours out of the way rather than trying to push me into crossing the river. But my clothes were still uncomfortably damp and I felt anxious to be home. Having successfully forded the river once today, I was less reluctant to do it again. “Let’s go back the way we came.”
In single file we entered the woods, Henry taking the lead to keep us on the trail while I took up the rear, content just to follow. We had gone maybe a quarter of a mile, discussing nothing of consequence, when he started asking more pointed questions about Teme and how one heals a serious case of lockjaw. I immediately explained it away as a case of misdiagnosis. That it had really only been a rotten tooth. For the most part I sounded fairly convincing, faltering only once at the sound of exuberant shouts and cries from the village far behind us.
It was coming on late afternoon when we finally arrived at the river. Determined not to appear weak or scared a second time, I guided my mare directly into the water. My pulse quickened as we approached the middle, but I remained resolute and merely leaned into her neck once the bottom fell away, and I felt her begin to swim beneath me.
Not particularly thrilled at being submerged up to my bosom again, I gritted my teeth and concentrated on the tree line ahead when something splashed in the water less than a foot from my horse’s head. Startled, my eyes darted toward the disturbance, only to see the ripples disappear in an instant, carried away by the current. The splash perplexed me, though in truth I was more concerned with keeping my seat. I gave it no more thought until something else whizzed past my head and hit the water well behind me.
“What the...” Henry said.
By now I had made it through the deepest part, and I swayed in the saddle as my horse gained purchase on the rocky bottom and started to ascend. Following a few more awkward steps, her upper torso had just emerged from the water, when she jerked suddenly and with a frightened whinny, started to rear up. Panicked, I tightened my grip on the reins. The rocks shifted precariously beneath her back hooves, and together we tumbled into the river.
As one, we went under the dark water, both thrashing like mad. The fight to be free from the other continued until my boots slipped from the stirrups, and the beast disappeared as my back scraped along the river’s bottom. Twisting around, I pushed up hard, gasping for air when my head broke the surface. Layers of sodden material wrapped around me, stole any chance of kicking to safety. I flailed my arms to keep afloat, but the current grabbed at my clothes and pulled me back under. Water rushed into my nose and mouth, ready to claim me for its own—just like my mother and grandmother, just like I had dreamed so many times.
My arms burned, the muscles cramping beyond use. Unable to fight any longer, death seemed all but inevitable when I was grabbed from behind and yanked upward. An arm clamped around my torso, pulling me unceremoniously through the river as I coughed and spat the dirty water from my lungs. One of my boots hit against a rock beneath me. Making to stand up, I felt myself lifted entirely from the water. Henry carried me the rest of the way to dry ground and then collapsed against a tree with me on his lap
Propped against his chest, I started to shake violently. “It’s all right,” he soothed as he folded his arms around me. “You’re safe now.”
Air shuddered in and out of my lungs, broken only by the occasional sob. Henry continued to hold me to him, his cheek pressed to my temple. “Shh,” he whispered over and over again. “I’ve got you.”
The initial shock began to fade after awhile. Breathing grew easier and a small portion of my strength returned. “What happened?” I asked. “Why did my horse rear?”
“Something spooked her. Luckily she got turned back around and made it out of the river safely. I saw her bolt into the woods.”