It takes the strong ones fast. We should let him go. " another woman whispered. "He has served his purpose. If he dies, the debt is paid. " Nalin stood at the head of the pallet. She looked at Luke's face, which was flushed a dark, unhealthy red.
"He saved your shelter. " "Cheese. " Nalin said sharply. "He shielded Sani's boy. He held the roof over my head. " "He is still white. " Coco muttered. "He is useful. " Nalin insisted. "And perhaps perhaps he is more. " She turned to Ayana, who was standing at the edge of the circle, her arms crossed.
"You will tend him. " "Ayana? " "Me? " Ayana stepped back. "Why? " "Because you wanted to kill him the most. " Nalin said. "If he lives, it will be because you willed it. If he dies, it will be on your hands. It is a test, daughter, for him and for you. " Ayanna argued, but Nalin's word was law.
For 3 days and 3 nights, Luke drifted in the dark waters of delirium. Ayanna sat beside him in the small, separate wikiup they used for the sick. She wiped his forehead with cool water. She trickled herbal tea between his cracked lips. She listened.
In the grip of the fever, Luke's defenses crumbled. He mumbled, his voice thick with panic. "Will, get down! " he shouted suddenly, thrashing on the robes. "The ridge! They are on the ridge! " Ayanna held his shoulders, pushing him back down.
"Shh, there is no one on the ridge. " "I told them. " Luke moaned, tears leaking from his closed eyes. "I told them the village was empty. I did not know. Will, I did not know about the women. " Ayanna froze. Her hand hovered over his chest.
"San Carlos. " Luke whispered. "The river, the fire. Oh god, the fire. Sarah, I am sorry. " Ayanna sat back, her heart cold. He was dreaming of the violence, but he was not dreaming of glory.
He was dreaming of horror. She heard the names of places she knew, places where her people had been slaughtered. She heard the name of the river where her cousin had died. He was there, she realized, but the anger that should have come did not burn as hot as she expected. Instead, it was doused by the misery in his voice.
He sounded like a child lost in the dark. He sounded like she felt when she woke up screaming from her own nightmares. He is haunted, Ayanna thought, just like us. She looked at his face, stripped of its guard. She felt a confusing swirl of pity and suspicion.
He was the enemy, yes, but he was a man who carried his own ghosts, and the weight of them was crushing him. Luke broke the fever on the fourth night. He woke to darkness and the smell of sage smoke. He was weak, his body feeling as if it had been beaten with clubs. He turned his head.
Ayanna was sitting near the entrance, half in shadow, mending a moccasin by the light of a single tallow candle. "Water. " Luke croaked. Ayanna moved instantly. She lifted his head and held a gourd to his lips. He drank greedily.