They had to choose between chasing the slaves and saving their employer's home. They chose the home. Nahla's team rode for 12 hours without stopping. By dawn, they were 40 miles away. By sunset, they'd crossed back into Arizona territory.
And on the 12th day, they rode into the gathering place with the last two sisters. 12 days later, riders appeared on the southern horizon. Jesse was lying in a cot in Diving Hawk's tent. Too weak now to teach or plan or do much beyond breathing. His heart had finally begun its final surrender.
The digitalis no longer helped. The medicine Diving Hawk provided only eased the pain slightly. But when Kiona burst into the tent with tears streaming down her face shouting, "They're back! They're back! " Jesse forced himself to sit up. Diving Hawk tried to stop him.
You should rest. Let me bring news to you. No, I want to see. See. With Diving Hawk supporting him on one side and using a walking stick on the other, Jesse made his way outside.
The camp had gathered to watch the riders approach. Jesse counted them. Seven rode out, nine were returning. Nahla rode in front. Behind her, Swift Bird.
Behind them, two young women Jesse hadn't seen before, but recognized instantly. They had the same features as Kiona and Shenoa and Nahla. The same dark eyes and high cheekbones. The same strength in their bearing despite obvious exhaustion. Winona and Ayana, the last two Black Feather sisters.
Home. Nahla dismounted and helped her sisters down. All six sisters came together in a massive embraces and tears in Apache words spoken too fast for Jesse to follow. Reunited, finally, impossibly reunited. Nahla looked up from the embrace and her eyes found Jesse.
She extricated herself from her sisters and walked to him. "All six," she said. Her voice was thick with emotion. "All six safe. Your debt is paid, Jesse Walker.
Paid in full. " Jesse felt something break loose in his chest, not his heart, though that was failing rapidly now, something else. The weight he'd carried for 21 years. The debt to Silver Hawk. The guilt over Sand Creek. The failures with Catherine and Ethan.
All of it suddenly lifted. He'd done enough. Finally, after a lifetime of trying and falling short, he'd done enough. "Your father would be proud," Jesse managed to say. "He would be proud of you.
The man who came when called, the man who kept his promise. " Jesse's legs gave out. Diving Hawk caught him, lowered him gently to the ground. People rushed forward, but Jesse waved them back. "I'm fine, just tired. Let me rest here a moment.
Let me watch. " So they let him rest there, propped against a post, while the camp celebrated. Six sisters reunited. A tyrant's network destroyed. A community of survivors growing stronger every day. Jesse watched it all with dimming eyes.
His heart was barely beating now. Each breath came harder than the last. But he was content. For the first time in decades, truly content. As the sun began to set, Nahla sat beside him.
She didn't speak. Just sat there, her presence a comfort. "I'm dying," Jesse said. Not a question, just an acknowledgement. "I know. " "Soon.
Maybe tonight. " "I know. " "I need you to promise me something. " "Anything. " "The school. Build it. Not here. Somewhere permanent. Somewhere the army can't easily reach.
Use whatever comes from reclaiming your father's land. Teach the children. Bridge the worlds. Make something that lasts. " "I promise. " "And Ethan, my son. If he ever comes looking for me, tell him.
Tell him his father died well. Died for something that mattered. " "I'll tell him. But Jesse, you should tell him yourself. " Jesse smiled weakly. "We both know I won't last that long. " They sat in silence as the celebration continued around them. Children laughed.
Food was shared. Stories were told. Life continuing despite death's proximity. As full darkness fell, Jesse's breathing became more labored. Diving Hawk appeared with medicine, but Jesse waved it away.
"No more. It's time. " The six Black Feather sisters gathered around him. Kiona, Winona, Ayana, Shenoa, Yazhi, and Nahla, who knelt beside him and took his hand. "Thank you," each sister said in turn. Some in English, some in Apache.
All with the same meaning. Gratitude for the impossible man who'd given them back their lives. Jesse looked at each face. Tried to memorize them. These were Silver Hawk's daughters.
And in a way they'd become his daughters, too. The family he'd failed to build with Ethan built instead with strangers who became closer than blood. "Your father," Jesse whispered to Nala, "tell him. Tell him I kept the promise. " "I will. When I see him in the next world, I will tell him. " Jesse's eyes drifted closed.
His breathing slowed. Once more. Twice more. Then stopped. Nala Silverhawk sat holding the hand of Jesse Walker as his spirit left his body.
Around her, her five sisters wept quietly. Diving Hawk began a death chant in Apache. Swift Bird, who'd been saved by this man, stood with tears streaming down his face. They buried Jesse Walker the next morning on a hill overlooking the gathering place. The grave was marked with a cairn of stones and a piece of wood carved with simple words.
Jesse Walker, cowboy, warrior, builder. He paid his debts and kept his promises. At the burial, Nala placed the leather charm, the one Silverhawk had given Jesse 28 years ago, on his chest before they covered him with earth. "You're free now," she whispered. "The debt is paid.
Rest well, Jesse Walker. And thank you. " The fire in the cabin had gone completely to ash. Only the faintest glow remained. Ethan's voice was hoarse from hours of telling. Sarah's face was wet with tears.