Northern Star Read Free Page B

returned. Slowly, Perry’s groggy mind realized that the constant thunder around her was cannon fire, not a storm. She crawled to the window and looked out. She could see nothing but blackness, but judging from the sound, the fight could be no more than a mile away. Noma was easily frightened. She was probably hiding somewhere, waiting for a chance to get back.
    Now Perry felt not only fear but guilt as well. She’d spent the night dreaming of the way Hunter had touched her so tenderly and looked into her very soul with his gray eyes, while Noma had been somewhere outside, hiding. For one night Perry had been removed from the war, with no rules or fears to inhibit her. She’d cherished each moment. Now, in the morning light, she feared their time together might end before nightfall and she would be unable to spend another night in his arms.
    The bandage across Hunter’s shoulder was a bloody reminder of death’s waiting vigil. Some spots along the white cloth were bright red, and others were already drying to a dark purple. The bandage had to be changed before the material stuck to his flesh and caused more damage.
    Perry felt bonded to Hunter. Though they’d never talked,his life was as vital to her as her own. She would do whatever was necessary to see that he lived; then she would try to find Noma.
    Afraid of seeing the searing pain in his eyes again, she pulled off the soiled dressing as slowly and gently as she could. Blood oozed from the torn tissue on his right shoulder, calling an abrupt halt to Perry’s progress. She took a deep breath, fighting to control her nausea. She knew that the hot redness, spreading like scarlet weeds beneath the skin from the bloody injury, meant infection.
    Hunter slept, unaware of her touch. She slowly bathed his shoulder, remembering how he’d touched hers in the darkness. Whether he lived or died would depend on her keeping the wound clean until a doctor could be found. The jagged rip in his skin and muscles stood in sharp contrast to the other smooth shoulder. Perry watched as his chest rose and fell slightly with each breath. In the light his undamaged skin shone golden to his waist.
    She wrapped his arm where sections of the skin were rubbed away. Hunter moved in pain, clenching his teeth, yet made no sound. Perry finished her work as rapidly as possible, binding him with clean strips. She lifted his head gently as he accepted the water she offered. Even as Hunter’s fever raged, anger boiled in her own veins. Dear God, how she hated this war! How she hated not being able to help him. She longed to see those gray eyes filled with something other than pain.
    Hunter held out a hand toward her. “Angel, where’s the
Star
?” he mumbled. “Angel…my angel, was the
Star
captured? Is Abram alive?”
    Perry grabbed his long fingers and pulled them to her cheek, wishing she could answer his questions, but they made no sense. “I’m here,” she whispered as she moved his fingers along her face.
    Hunter looked up, his eyes half closed, his mouth tight with struggle. His hand slowly crossed her cheek and circled to the back of her neck, as though touching her werethe medicine he craved. His fingers caressed her flowing black hair as he pulled her face near his own. “My angel, you are so…”
    Pain clouded his eyes. Perry lowered him to the hay and reached for a scrap of cloth to bathe his feverish face. She wrapped the only blanket around him, softly whispering words of care, though she knew he could no longer hear her.
    She sat, chin resting on her knees, watching Hunter for most of the morning and wondering what he’d been about to say. She was lost in thought and didn’t react at first to the creaking sound of the old barn door. In her mind the sound seemed faraway, unreal. When the noise did register, she would have bolted to the edge of the loft to welcome Noma, but panic’s cold fingers gripped her. It might not be Noma, and the visitor might not be welcome.
    Pulling