I need you to stay with our people and make sure that everyone remains calm. Tutayac, I need you to follow me and help me carry our third warrior back to camp.”
Shecu nodded as Tutayac straightened herself and left camp with Iondaee and the deer. Tutayac strode beside Iondaee with determination. Jesse could sense that her deep grief was now being transformed into anger. She seemed determined to make sure that her husband's death would not be in vain. Iondaee seemed to sense it too. He had chosen her to help him in order to strengthen her for the leadership role he knew she would now have to fulfill. Iondaee would have no choice but to allow women to become hunters and warriors. It would be at least five years before the oldest of the boys would be prepared for such duties. Survival by any means was now the key to their existence.
Jesse looked at Iondaee with admiration as they were enveloped by darkness. “Were you scared when you had a knife to your throat?”
“Scared?” echoed Iondaee. “No. I knew he would not kill me. There is no honour in the murder of a defenceless old woman. He was only doing what was necessary for him to gain control of my village. He would have let an old woman go, eventually.”
Jesse smiled. “Still, that was one of the bravest things I've ever seen. So what are you going to do with them now?”
“They will come with us until we reach the land of our brothers, the Algonkian. Then they can choose to either remain with us or return to their village.”
Jesse stopped, stunned. “Stay with you and your people? After they just tried to capture you?”
Iondaee smiled. “It is not as unlikely a choice as you may think. The Algonkian will certainly spread the story of how a band of women and children managed to capture three Iroquois warriors. The tale will spread quickly throughout all of the nations. The warriors will likely be too ashamed to return to their people. Also, remember that there are dozens of women in my village in need of husbands. And once we settle, we will require male elders. As a chief, I will guarantee our captives will be honoured and well-treated by my people if they choose to stay and live in our band.”
“Others may take one of these…men as a husband,” spat Tutayac, listening to the one-sided conversation, “but I'll never marry an Iroquois!”
“That is your decision to make,” answered Iondaee, his voice deepening with a chieftain's authority. “But I also expect you to welcome them and honour them if they do decide to join us.”
The three were well beyond camp when they came to the body of the unconscious warrior. He lay slumped over, leaning against a moss-covered boulder. Iondaee explained how he had surprised him by leaping on him from the top of the boulder as he passed by. Iondaee bent down and grabbed one arm. Tutayac moved to the other side of the body. Just as they were heaving the warrior off the ground, Jesse straightened.
“Iondaee!”
It was too late. The whistling sound was there for only a moment. Iondaee cried out in pain as he clutched his leg. An arrow was embedded in his flesh just above his knee. Iondaee dropped the body, sending Tutayac tumbling on top of the unconscious warrior. Jesse flung himself to the left, glancing at the nearby shadowy figure, now aiming his reloaded bow. Jesse knew that this time the warrior would not aim for Iondaee's legs. The bow twanged. The finger of death was on its way.
“No!”
Jesse leapt in front of Iondaee and felt a searing pain in his chest as the arrow went deep within him. His breath vanished, as did his legs. Jesse collapsed on the ground next to Iondaee. The Iroquois warrior, sensing victory, secured his bow and approached, removing his hunting knife from its sheath. Jesse and Iondaee, both stunned at the turn of events, stared at each other, now resigned to their fate. Tutayac, however, was not yet willing to give up. Her blood boiled with rage. She reached to Iondaee.
“Iondaee, give me your knife.”
“Tutayac, you can't…“
“Don't argue with me. I will avenge the death of Asitari. Give me the knife.”
Iondaee gave her his knife. Both he and Jesse looked on helplessly as she stepped over them and faced the fierce warrior, his face smirking at the sight of a woman ready to fight.
“So this is what's left of the mighty Wendat warriors? A woman?” he jeered. “I expected a little more from such a noble nation.”
“You will pay for what your people did to us,” Tutayac said, defiantly. She raised the knife, its tip waving at her attacker.
“We will see,” he said, lowering himself down to a crouch.
The warrior circled her, stopping and then slashing back and forth with his knife, forcing Tutayac to retreat. She jabbed several times at him, aiming for his midsection, but the warrior was simply too quick. He skillfully worked her back, toying with her until her feet tottered on the edge of the steep bank to the creek.
“I'm afraid this will be the end,” he growled. “You are brave, woman. I give you that. You will die with honour.”
He brought his knife up for the final stroke just as a large apparition flew past Tutayac's head. A creature slammed directly into the warrior's face, toppling him backward and onto the ground. After landing effortlessly on its four paws, the new attacker wheeled around and released the most terrifying growl Jesse had ever heard. It was a huge cougar. Far bigger than any cougar he had ever seen at the zoo, it had a beautiful golden coat with massive, silent paws. The animal released another bone-shivering growl, exposing its huge incisor teeth, perfect for ripping the flesh off the bones of its prey. The warrior, scrambling to his feet, realized that his bow had been damaged in the fall. A knife against such a beast would only anger him at best. This creature was on the hunt, and it was not to be stopped tonight. In his surprise at the sudden appearance of the cougar, the warrior had forgotten all about Tutayac.
It was almost as if she had not seen the cougar. Her thoughts were still completely focused on the shocked Iroquois warrior. She took advantage of the distraction and launched herself into a sprint. She expertly spun the knife around in her hand and struck the back of his head with the large wooden handle. His head jolted forward with the crack of the impact. Instantly, the warrior crumpled to the ground. Tutayac stood over the unconscious warrior, victorious. The cougar assessed the situation with glowing eyes, his hot breath clouding in the cool evening air, his deep purr almost hypnotizing.
“He wants dinner, Iondaee,” Jesse managed to whisper, each word bringing agony to his side. “Leave me. It's me he really wants. Take Tutayac back to the village…while you still have a chance.”
“I can't leave you,” countered Iondaee, eyeing the cougar.
“You must,” coughed Jesse. “I'm leaving now. I can feel it. Go back to your people.”
Iondaee looked down at his wounded leg. He grabbed hold of the arrow shaft, gritted his teeth and pulled. His face winced in pain, but the arrow came out cleanly. Blood began to trickle out from the wound.
“Tutayac,” he commanded. “Come to me, slowly.”
She did as she was told.
“Now give me the knife.”
She passed it to him.
“Can you stand?” asked Tutayac.
“I think so.”
