Page 51 of The Spirit of the Wolf

At length, he finally conceded her point. “Hokake, you may go, but only once I have shown you how to travel at night.”

She let out her breath. “I will learn. I will learn quickly. Thank you.”

He nodded. “It is decided, then. I will whistle for my pony, for he has probably not gone far, and we will load him with provisions for you. Then I will show you what to do when you travel. But you must give me your complete attention.”

“I will.” She smiled and chuckled, though the sound of it did border on a sob. “Thank you again, Grey Coyote. You won’t regret it. After all, you’ll be free of me, free to go your own way, without having to worry about me.”

He inclined his head, but only slightly, and he wondered if his eyes mirrored the sadness he felt. After a moment, he said, “Hau, I will be free…”

Grey Coyote stared at her, committing her features to mind.

However, there was little more he could do to keep her with him, for she didn’t really belong to him. Thus, dropping her hand, he stepped away from her. “Ito, come, Little Sunset, let us prepare you for this journey.”

“Little Sunset?” Her look at him was intense and a bit somber. Breaking eye contact, she asked, “It is my Indian name?”

“Hau. You have an Indian name now. It will be with you always.”

“Thank you. I will treasure the name for as long as I live.” After a short pause, she gazed back at him. “I have another name, as well. An English name. I think you should know it.”

“Hau, yes. I agree.”

“Funny,” she said.

“Funny?”

“Yes, it’s odd that I haven’t seen fit to tell you my real name. We have been so close, one would think I would have said something about it before now. It’s…strange.”

He inclined his head.

“Marietta. My English name is Marietta.”

He frowned. Marietta? He had heard this name before. But where? When?

All at once, he felt odd, as though he were not a part of his body. A peculiar feeling swept over him. The name was connected with his tribe somehow, with him, with his mission…

“Do you not like my name?”

Grey Coyote’s throat constricted, and he chose not to answer, calling back to mind the exact memory. It had been in the Minnetaree village, and he…

He could barely believe it. He had been with this woman for days, and he hadn’t known who she truly was. He hadn’t put the pieces together.

But he recalled every single part of that puzzle now. It had been evening, he had been preparing to leave, and the wind had whispered to him. It had spoken to him, had called out this name. He had ignored the message at the time, and apparently, he had done so at his own risk.

The woman, it had said. The woman, Marietta. She is the means.

He was a fool not to have realized it sooner. This woman had something to do with him, with his people, with the riddle, with their freedom.

And he had almost let her go.

“Please don’t scowl at me like you are doing.” Marietta leaned in toward him. “It’s a pretty name. Of course my full name is Maria Marietta Welsford. Can you not say it? At least once?”

“Marietta,” he repeated softly. “Marietta.”

He stared at her hard, very hard, because she was about to become very upset with him. And he was going to have to proof himself against her wrath.

He only hoped that when it was all over, she would forgive him.

Chapter