Savage Courage

He gazed at Shoshana. Was this the woman of his sister’s dreams?

If so, what did they truly mean?

Chapter Fourteen

To lose thee were to lose myself.

—John Milton

The next morning, after Storm felt that it was dry enough along the mountain pass, he left the cave with Shoshana, again holding her on the horse with him. She was still too dizzy and sleepy to ride by herself.

Storm gazed down at her, snuggled contentedly against his chest. It was as though she belonged there. He felt attached to her even though he knew that when she was awake and able to understand that she was no longer free to leave his stronghold when she wanted to, she would probably hate him.

When the stronghold was only a short distance away, Storm sent up a signal of his nearness, imitating the howl of a coyote.

The same type of howl came to him in response; his sentries were aware that their chief, not an enemy, was approaching.

He had to smile when he heard a small howl come from the bag at the side of his horse; the gray wolf pup had heard the mock coyote sounds.

“You are aware, that is good,” Storm said, reaching to flip back the cover so that the pup could see things around him.

Up until now, he had mostly slept.

The pup’s blue eyes gazed trustingly up at Storm; then the tiny thing gave what sounded like a bark.

“You soon will be at my stronghold and fed something nourishing,” Storm said, reaching a hand to the wolf’s gray, wiry fur and stroking it. “Gray Wolf, when you are fully grown and have the strength of an adult, you will be sent out to find those who are kin to you. You will mate one day, Gray Wolf.”

The sound of an approaching horse drew Storm’s attention from the wolf. He smiled and waved when he saw one of his favored warriors riding toward him.

Four Wings returned the wave, then drew rein beside Storm. He looked questioningly at the woman, and the wolf pup.

“I will explain later how I have the woman with me, and the pup,” Storm said calmly. “Ride ahead, Four Wings, and alert White Moon that I am bringing an injured woman to him. Tell him that the woman received a hard blow to her brow and she cannot stay awake for any long period of time.”

“I shall do this for you,” Four Wings replied. He wheeled his horse around and rode back in the direction of the stronghold.

Storm made his way through a canyon, a rough, rocky, and very dangerous defile, and then arrived at his stronghold, where there were a mixture of homes built for his people.

There were many tepees made of buffalo skins tanned white.

There were also some circular wickiups, built from saplings and brush. Ordinarily four or five of these shelters were built in close proximity to each other.

“Storm!”

Storm saw his sister leave her tepee and run toward him. She stopped abruptly when she noticed the woman on his horse with him. She stood stiffly as Storm rode onward, then drew rein beside her.

When Dancing Willow saw the face of the woman, she gasped, then looked questioningly up at Storm. “This is the very ish-tia-nay that I have seen in the stars . . . in my dreams and visions,” she said ominously. “This is the woman that I warned you about, Storm.”

Dancing Willow folded her arms angrily across her chest as she glowered up at Storm. “You have just brought trouble into our people’s lives by bringing this woman here,” she scolded. “Why did you bring her? Did you not recall my warning?”

“I found this woman being held prisoner,” Storm said, his eyes meeting and locking with his sister’s. “While her captor, Mountain Jack, was gone, I released her. It was my decision to bring her to our stronghold. She will bring satisfaction into my life, not trouble to our people.”

“Satisfaction?” Dancing Willow said, her dark eyes widening. She ignored the people mulling around them, watching and listening. “It is not like you to think of . . . ‘satisfaction’ . . . instead of what is right for our band.”

Knowing what must be said to make his sister understand, yet not wanting Shoshana to hear their dialogue, he gazed down at Shoshana.

He studied her eyes to see whether there was movement behind the closed lids. When he saw no signs of movement, Storm felt that it was safe to speak freely.

His sister had one trait that rankled him more often than not. Although he was a proud chief, his older sister had a tendency to speak up and argue when she should only listen.