Mr. Morrison," she said, "We are not helpless victims. We are Apache women. We know how to fight, how to track, how to survive in this desert. What we need is someone with the authority to make their deaths legal." I understood.
As a deputy U.S. marshal, I could make arrests. I could ensure that whatever happened to the gang would be seen as legitimate law enforcement rather than vigilante justice. " There's something else," Sidley said quietly. " Something you need to know about why they wanted us alive." " What's that?"
Ayana exchanged glances with her sisters again. " We know where something is hidden. Something valuable enough that men will kill entire families to find it." The sun was getting lower and I knew we needed to move soon if we were going to avoid another confrontation at the tree. " All right," I said, making a decision that I knew would change everything. "
But if we're doing this together, we do it my way, legal, and by the book." " Agreed," Ayana said immediately. As we mounted our horses, the sisters riding double since the gang had taken their mounts, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was much more to this story than a simple robbery gone wrong. Mr. Morrison, Ayana called as we rode away from the grove. There is one more thing you should know about the price of helping us.
What's that? As she was quiet for so long that I thought she might not answer. Finally, she spoke. Once you know what we know, you can never go back to your old life. The knowledge we carry will make you a target for as long as you live.
I looked at her riding behind me at the strength and beauty that hadn't been broken by torture and abandonment and realized that maybe I didn't want to go back to my old life anyway. We rode hard toward the badlands, following tracks that were easy enough to read in the soft sand near the creek bed. The garrison gang wasn't trying to hide their trail, which meant they were either supremely confident or supremely stupid. In my experience, both could be equally dangerous. They're heading for Devil's Canyon, Kachina observed, studying the horizon ahead of us. "
There are caves there where they can make a stand." " You know this country well," I said. " Better than they do," Ayana replied. " Our people have lived here for generations. Every rock, every hidden spring, every safe path through the mountains, we know them all."
As the sun began to set, painting the desert in shades of red and gold, Itil suddenly raised her hand for us to stop. " Listen," she whispered. In the distance, I could hear the sound of horses and men's voices. The gang was making camp somewhere ahead of us, probably feeling secure enough to build a fire and cook a meal. " How many men are we talking about?"
I asked, "Six." When they took us, Naelli replied, "But there may be more now." They sent riders in different directions before they before they left us at the tree. Six men, possibly more, against one marshal and five women who had been tortured and left to die. The odds weren't good, but I'd faced worse.
We need to know their exact position before we make any move," I said. " And we need to know what we're really dealing with." Sidley dismounted and pressed her ear to the ground in the old Apache way. After a moment, she looked up. " Eight horses," she reported, maybe two milesles ahead in the canyon mouth. "
They're not moving." " Ayana," I said. " It's time you told me the truth about what they're after. If I'm going to risk all our lives, I need to know what we're fighting for." She was quiet for a long moment, looking at each of her sisters before turning back to me.
Our father was a chief, she began. But he was also something else. Something that made him valuable to white men and dangerous to his enemies. What kind of something? He knew the location of the hidden places, Cina said quietly.