The Warrior's Song

Both were silent on the quick drive to Diane Littlefeather's house, each thinking over the events of the night before. The lines of concern hadn't left Joseph's eyes, and he had kept close to her ever since she had woken them both with her screams. Sherry was all too happy to have him close. His warm presence was reassuring.

Diane greeted them at the door, her black and silver hair still tussled, and still rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her eyes met Sherry's, briefly, then she stood aside, and wordlessly waved them into the house.

"Coffee's ready....y'all want some? You look like you might need it." Diane stood at the counter, stirring her own mug of coffee, the steam rising from it in the cool morning air. Sherry and Joseph both nodded, and she took down two more mugs and filled them, then set them in front of the couple at her kitchen table before pulling out a chair and flopping down into it.

"Okay, guys.......spill it. What the hell is going on?"

Joseph nodded almost imperceptibly at Sherry, and she began to repeat her story to Diane, leaving out nothing, not even the strange occurrence at the healing ceremony the night before. When she reached the retelling of the woman's death, her breath hitched in her throat, and Joseph reached out and held her hand, giving her comfort. Sherry finished the tale, and then slumped in her chair, as if by telling her friend and teacher, it had taken some of the weight of the experience off her shoulders.

Diane was silent a moment, lost in thought, then spoke, "I know this man."

"What?" Sherry's eyes were large with surprise, the circles under them from lack of sleep startling.

"I knew him very well, actually. Shilombish Lusa." Diane shuddered with the mention of his name. "He was my teacher."

"Shilombish Lusa? What does that mean?" The unfamiliar syllables of the old language were rough in Joseph's mouth.

Sherry thought for a moment, then looked at Diane. "Something.....spirit?"

"Black Spirit." Diane answered. "He wasn't always called that, not when I knew him, anyway. Then he was Peter 'Redblanket' Bradley. Unassuming name, isn't it? As far as I know, he still goes by that name, but there are several of us who know him otherwise, now."

Sherry didn't understand. "But...if he...why?"

Diane sighed. "I don't know why. I don't think anyone knows why, Sherry. He was a very good man when I knew him. I lost touch after he left the rez, back before either one of you were born. I heard rumors that he'd gotten greedy, that he wasn't using his teachings the way he should. And then, I met him, much as you did, one night. But, when he saw it was me, he backed off, and I haven't even heard a whisper of him since then."

"Diane, he scares me......very badly."

"I know he does. He means to. That's why he put on that display for you last night. But, something you need to remember, Sherry...that's all he can do to you. He can't touch you."

"What do you mean, he can't touch me? He killed that woman last night!" Sherry jumped up from her chair, and started pacing around the kitchen. Joseph followed her with his eyes, but didn't say anything; this wasn't his area of expertise.

"Sherry," Diane's voice grew firm; she became the teacher once again, "that was a show he put on specifically for you. He knows what will bother you the most, what will frighten you. His aim is to drive you away from healing. If he's already gotten you this frightened, then his job is almost done, isn't it? You can fight him. You are stronger than he is simply because you are doing what is right, and he isn't. There is only so much a man like that can do, and he can't affect you physically."

Sherry stopped her pacing to lean against the kitchen counter, arms crossed under her breasts. "What about the woman he killed? What about her?"

"She was a prop, nothing more. Was she real? I can't answer that, Sherry. I wish I could. My guess would be that she's someone that he's roped into thinking the way he does, and it was all an act."

"But you don't know that for sure, do you? You don't know."

Diane sighed once again. "No, I don't."

The day passed too quickly for Sherry, and the night drew close too fast. She'd spent most of the day in her herb garden. It was normally a safe haven, and a source of comfort for her, but nothing could keep her mind from what was probably waiting for her when she closed her eyes that night.

After a dinner with Joseph that she only picked at, and an evening spent trying to read, she finally gave up trying to stay awake.

She yawned widely, and finally told Joseph, "I'm going to have to go to bed. I can hardly keep my eyes open."

Joseph laid his book down on the coffee table. "I'll go with you."

His concern made her smile. "You don't have to, you know. I'm a big girl."

"I know you are, but you're my big girl, so I'll just go with you."

Sherry smiled and touched his cheek, “You are so good to me, Joseph.” She turned and started down the hall to the bedroom. Joseph, close behind, held her hand.

“You know I love you more than anything, Sherry.” He stopped her at the side of the bed and turned her towards him, “I know this has been hard on you. It's got to be pretty scary, and I don’t want to see you like that. If my being close to you makes you feel safer in any way, then I will be right by your side until Manitu-K takes us from here.”

“You worry more than I do.” Sherry took Joseph’s face in her hands, kissing him gently, then more deeply as he pulled her closer. Finally she pulled away, staring into his dark eyes, “I always feel safer when you are with me. I will never turn you away for caring so much.”

Joseph tugged at the belt on her robe, undoing the loose knot and sliding it off her shoulders. She smiled and sat on the bed slipping her feet under the thick quilt as he draped the robe over end of the bed. She rolled onto her belly and hugged a pillow close to face, sighing softly as she settled into it.

Joseph stood staring at her prone form for a long moment, his heart beat so loud in his chest he was sure she could hear it, a warm glow filled him as he padded quietly to her side. Sitting on the edge of the bed he listened to the quiet breaths as she drew them in and released them again. He could sense the tension still there, the slight hesitation in her breathing, barely detectable twitches under her skin. He worried.

Softly his hand brushed the hair from the side of her face, he leaned close and kissed her cheek, watching the smile form on her lips. Combing the loose hairs across her shoulders and down her back, he lingered there, gently rubbing lazy “8s” over the small of her back. She sighed again, more a relived sound then a weary one. He turned a bit more bringing his other hand to join the first on her shoulders, lightly caressing them; the feel of her soft warm skin under his hands aroused him. His hands moved lower on her back, feeling her tension ease slightly. He smiled, feeling more than a little relief himself.

Sherry rolled onto her back, staring up at Joseph as his hands slipped to her arms, stroking them up and down. She took his hands in her own for an instant before pulling him down on top of her. Her arms reached across his broad back hugging him close as he kissed at her neck. Joseph snaked his arm under her squeezing her to him just as tightly.

He seemed frozen there forever, basking in her warmth and enveloping her with his own. It was the hot tear that he felt on his cheek that broke the trance. He eased his hold and lifted his head, seeing another tear roll down her cheek.

“What is it, baby? What’s wrong?”

The concern in his darting eyes made her smile, “Nothing's wrong, love, I'm just being a sentimental fool, I guess. I'm just glad you're here with me, that's all."

"Where else could I possibly be?”

Pulling him down again, Sherry pressed her lips to his. He returned the kiss with equal passion, his tongue gently imploring, she accepted and met him with urgency. She pulled his hair out of the braid that confined it, tugging on it and then sighing under his mouth when she felt it fall around them.

Joseph pulled back, smiling, then place a hand under her leg, lifted it out of his way, and with one slow stroke, eased into her. They were still a moment, barely breathing, and then Sherry wrapped her legs around his waist, silently asking for more. He rocked deeper, making her forget the healing, the man, all of it, as his body demanded she go with him.

Sherry stirred, coming slowly awake. She could feel Joseph's hands on her, and was surprised he was waking her up so soon after their lovemaking. A sleepy smile crossed her face, and she opened her eyes.

The eyes gazing into hers weren't Joseph's brown ones. They were ice blue, and held a glint of malicious amusement in their depths. She pushed at the man's chest, knocking him aside as she rolled quickly to her feet. Again, she was in the village. This time it was strangely empty, and had an air of abandonment.

"So, we meet again...warrior." The man facing her spat on the ground, then smiled horribly.

"What do you want from me?" Sherry asked him, backing away.

"I want what you have, of course....your power. What else do you have that I could possibly want?"

Sherry risked a glance around her and saw that Koi chito was close, rumbling deep in his throat, his ears laid back against his head. She heard Hushi's cry in the air, and knew her companions were there, come what may. It gave her the courage to stand tall and straight. "And, just how do you propose to take it from me?"

The man smiled again. "Oh, I'll get it, never fear. You present yourself well, I'll give you that, but I know you're frightened. I can see it in your eyes. At least you're smart enough to be afraid." He started slowly advancing on her. "Go ahead and scream, child. There's no one to hear you here."

He got within ten feet of Sherry, and Koi chito leapt silently from Sherry's side, claws spread and teeth bared. Again, he changed, mid-leap, into a wolf. The man and wolf tumbled to the ground, and, as Sherry watched, the wolf changed yet again.

Now it was Joseph, with his hands at the man's throat.

Sherry did scream then. Joseph had no training to fall back on here, nothing for him to use as a weapon, except his love for Sherry. Before she could get to his side, the men rolled, and when she heard the laughter, she stopped in her tracks. The man held a flint knife to Joseph's throat.

"Now....we'll see what kind of warrior you are, child, won't we?"

Her mind raced, fear for Joseph overriding everything else. There had to be a way to stop it. She felt Koi chito at her side again, and she knelt for a moment, an arm around his neck, her tears rolling silently down her face. She stood, ready to offer herself in Joseph's place.

She heard Hushi scream his anguish in the air, then Koi chito pushed her hard enough to make her stumble. They had showed her the way out.

Sherry braced herself, flung her arms to the sky, and began to sing, her voice wavering at first, but growing stronger. She sang of her love for Joseph, of her desire to save her people, and of her gratitude to her companions. As her voice grew stronger and louder, the very air around her began to shimmer, objects in the village becoming indistinct. The man's expression changed to disbelief, and she saw him mouth the word "NO" but didn't hear it.

She continued to sing, voicing the warrior tradition of her people, and again, her voice grew louder. She felt the weight of Sinti on her shoulders, and smiled through her tears, and when she finished her song, there was an echo of silence that crashed through the village. The man's face moved from disbelief to fear, and then he splintered like a mirror shattered, and was gone.

Sherry started awake with a gasp. Her hand groped wildly for Joseph, waking him in the process. He raised himself on one arm, pushed his hair out of his face, then asked, "Are you alright, babe?"

She smiled in return, and said, "I'm fine, love. Just fine."

Sherry snuggled closer to Joseph and closed her eyes, comfortable and safe in his embrace. Then she felt something tickle her face. She brushed at it with her hand, sure it was her hair bothering her, but something about it didn't feel familiar. She opened her eyes again, and found a feather in the bed next her, a big one. It was pure white until the tip, where it turned a perfect glossy black.

"Joseph, look at this."

He raised up on his arm again. "That's an eagle feather, Sherry...where did that come from?"

"I don't know." She was as puzzled as he was.

Joseph relaxed again at her side, and sleepily said, "You know, only warriors are allowed to wear those."

A beautiful smile crossed Sherry's face, and she tucked the eagle feather in her hair, and closed her eyes.