I only ask one thing. If the soldiers come, hide the children high up. Do not let them fight. Promise me. Ayanna stared at him.
She saw the resignation in his eyes. She saw the acceptance. He was not begging for his life. He was begging for her son's memory, and for the sons who were still alive. It confused her.
It made her hate him more, and love him more, all at once. Before Nalin could call for the stones, a sound shattered the tension. A horse, ridden hard, crashed through the brush at the canyon entrance. It was one of the young scouts Nalin had sent out to watch the southern passes. The boy slid from his pony, collapsing in the dust.
He was wounded, blood soaking his leg. Nalin, the boy gasped. The women rushed to him. Nalin knelt, grabbing his shoulder. Speak, she commanded.
Dust, the boy wheezed. Huge dust. The blue coats, they are not three days away. They forced the march. They are at the black rocks.
He looked up, his eyes wide with panic. They will be here by sunset. The camp went silent. Sunset was four hours away. The argument over Luke's life evaporated instantly, replaced by the cold reality of imminent annihilation.
We fight, Nalin said, standing up. Her voice was steel. Gather the weapons. Move the children to the caves. She looked at Luke, still tied to the post.
And him? Ayanna asked, her voice trembling. Nalin looked at Luke. Then she looked at the terrified faces of her people. "We need every gun," Nalin said.
"Even his. He will betray us. " Ayanna cried. "He has nowhere to go," Nalin said. "If the soldiers find him here, fighting with us, they will hang him as a traitor. He is one of us now, whether he likes it or not. " Nalin turned to Ayanna.
"Cut him loose. " "Me? " Ayanna recoiled. "You," Nalin said, "you hold his life in your hands. If you want him to fight, you must free him. " Ayanna stared at her matriarch, then at Luke. The conflict inside her was a physical pain. She hated him for Arroyo Seco.