He did not find me. Tyen continued, her voice gaining strength. He bought me. He paid 20 silver dollars to a group of ex-soldiers who had who had captured me. He told me it was the price for my soul.
He kept me chained to his wagon for a month. He said it was God's will that I be broken. Pike was sputtering. "Lies. Slander.
She is a heathen." She is She is corrupted by this man. He is no holy man. Tyen said, her voice cutting through his. He is a slaver.
He told me I was his property. Those men, she pointed at the bodies. Came to steal me. That one. She pointed at Hackett, who was now in the custody of a deputy.
Put his hands on me. I cut him. They cornered me. They were going to take me. Daniel.
Daniel saved me. She finally looked at Pike. Her eyes were filled with a loathing so pure it was almost visible. "I am not your ward. I am a free woman, and I am this man's wife."
The canyon was silent. Brody looked at Pike, his face hardening. The preacher's righteous story had just been torn to shreds, not by a savage, but by an articulate, composed witness. The deputies, who had been looking at Daniel as a killer, now looked at Pike with open disgust. "Wife?"
Brody asked, looking at Daniel. Daniel had not lowered the rifle. "That's what I said. She's mine, my wife." Brody nodded.
A slow, grim understanding dawning. He turned to Pike. "Reverend, it seems your papers are based on a lie." You're under arrest for kidnapping, slaver trading, and for inciting this. He gestured to the dead men.
You brought these men here to commit a crime. Their deaths are on your head. "This is an outrage!" Pike shrieked. I am a man of the cloth.
You will answer to the church. You will answer to God. "Maybe," Brody said, pulling his handcuffs. But first, you'll answer to the circuit judge. As the deputies dragged the screaming preacher away, Brody looked at Daniel.
He motioned to the bodies. "This is a hell of a mess, Reed." They came to my home to take my wife. It was self-defense, Daniel said, finally lowering the rifle. Brody sighed.
He looked at the bodies, then at Tyen, who was now leaning against Daniel, her strength fading. "That's how I'll write it." But Daniel, you made enemies today. The preacher has friends. Hackett's family has money.
This town, it's not going to forget this. "Let them remember," Daniel said. Just so long as they remember to stay away. Brody nodded. He mounted his horse.
You bury these men. Bury them deep. He rode off, leaving them in the sudden ringing silence of the canyon. Daniel turned to Tyen. The trembling had taken over her body.