“So, you figured it out.”
“Kind of hard not to after seeing that vein. I made the mistake of assuming the rock I found in Marisala’s trailer was fool’s gold.”
“Marisala was a greedy bitch!”
He nearly lost it, she thought, nearly gave up the altered voice.
She asked, “Is that why you took Marisala’s mind?”
His harsh laughter filled the tunnel. “She stopped being interesting and fun and became a problem.”
“Which you never liked dealing with, did you, Leonard?” she asked, now certain of the villain’s identity. “You might as well step into the light, let me see the man responsible for my death.”
“How did you know?” Leonard Hawkins asked, now in his normal voice.
“If I hadn’t already sensed you, the conversation would have done it. You always did shy away from dealing with anything that was too difficult.”
“You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve done.”
“Like set up my father? I didn’t know you had it in you, Leonard—the abilities, I mean. But what did Father ever do to you?”
“Joseph interfered with my plans. He discovered my secret—the gold I’d found and sold. He said it belonged to the tribe, that I couldn’t keep it for myself even if I was the one who spent years looking for it. And when I did make that first strike, it wasn’t like I was able to get a fortune out. I was only using the old tools. It was barely enough to give me a better life.”
“But apparently, you improved your skills. Then you made sure the casino was approved and built and demanded to run it. Great cover. No one would question why you had so much more than anyone else. Did you ever think that if there was a concerted effort by the tribe to remove the gold from this mine, there would be enough money for everyone to have a better life?”
“I couldn’t let them in here. They would have ruined everything.”
She didn’t know if it was the confusion caused by the drug or if he was being purposely cryptic. “I don’t get it.”
“The Paha Sapa gives me my powers.”
Her father had made the same claim. “What does that have to do with the mine?”
“I need to be inside the mountain. I developed my powers in here when I was messing around one day. And this is the only place I can use them effectively.”
Leonard was so superstitious that he believed he could only journey in this specific mine, Ella realized.
“The reason you never left the rez.”
Sounding angry, he said, “Now the movie company will invade the mine—”
“And you’re afraid they will find your gold.”
“They plan to blow up the entrance. Not only would I lose the gold—”
“You would lose your power,” Ella finished for him.
She wondered if he’d considered the caves. There were a couple on rez land that would bring him inside the mountain just as well as did this mine. Not that she was going to give him any ideas.
“Enough! I have work to do!” Leonard picked up his lantern and walked past her.
Ella rolled to watch him as he approached another branch and, circling what looked to be a mine shaft that would take him even deeper in the mountain, chose the left tunnel.
At least she knew who and why. Now all she had to do was figure out how to free herself.
And how to bring him down.
If only she didn’t have to face this alone.
If only she hadn’t let her temper best her and make her leave Tiernan, she wouldn’t be in this fix.
Or they would be in it together.
Together as they should be. She’d felt the connection all along, but she’d wanted to deny it. No longer. If only he were here. If only she could do something to let Tiernan know where she was.
A thrill shot through her as she realized that maybe she could let him know.
If the mine had truly augmented Leonard’s powers, maybe it would do the same for her.
Closing her eyes, Ella focused, sought help from the elements. The air current circled her and the tunnel floor below her began to gently vibrate.
Give me the ability to reach the man I love.
You have it in you, Ella, her father says. You always have. It’s time.
The journey? she asked.
Your other half will make you whole.
Her other half…Tiernan.
She focused inward, drew on her memory of him the last time she saw him.
I’m sorry, Tiernan. I never should have left like I did. Hear me. Please.
She hurtled through the clouds, and propelled by the wind, she sought him in every direction.
Tiernan, I need you! she called.
The air shifted and she slowed and her surroundings came into focus. She was in a stand of ponderosa pines like the ones where they’d lain together the night before. She felt his essence and followed the trail, eventually catching sight of him, straight-spined and determined, riding one with Red Crow.
Tiernan, please find me before it’s too late….
Chapter Seventeen
Having found the place where they’d spent half the night, Tiernan moved Red Crow in the same direction Ella had taken. Not knowing how far she had gone before separating from the horse, he kept an eagle eye on the surroundings—every spruce, every poplar, every juniper, and all the rocks and crags between and behind them—even as he came up with an alternate plan.
Two Lakota had said they recognized his power—Nathan, and before him, Bear Heart. Had they seen something in him that went beyond what he’d experienced? How could he stretch himself to find Ella before it was too late?
Too stressed to figure it all out, he decided to use what he knew he had in his psychic arsenal.
“Whoa, lad,” he murmured, bringing Red Crow to a stop. Patting the gelding’s neck, he hopped off and moved around so they were face-to-face. “I need you to show me where you took Ella,” he murmured.
A simple parlor trick, he could connect with the recent past experienced by his subject, the way he’d known Ella had been hit by a dart that first day.
Pulling the gelding’s head down, he touched him, forehead to forehead, then reached out with his mind, forcing an image of their night’s camp to the beast. After which, he replayed Ella mounting the horse bareback and their taking off down a trail away from him.
“C’mon, Red Crow, keep going….”
He mentally replayed the images like a loop, Ella leaving him over and over again, going down the same trail, him urging the horse to retrace his steps.
As if he suddenly realized what the human wanted of him, Red Crow snorted and bobbed his head, smacking Tiernan’s so that stars danced in his mind.
Then the stars faded….
The surroundings bobbed… distorted… trees and boulders of increasing size… jagged rocky peaks that creepily moved closer…
“Yes, that’s it, good lad!”
Having recognized the direction he needed to take, Tiernan patted the gelding and stepped into the saddle. Before he could seat himself, Red Crow was off.
Tiernan gave the roan his head.
The horse picked his way out of the forested area and onto a trail that took them upward—Tiernan assumed in the direction he’d taken Ella earlier.