Savage Flames

She gazed at Wolf Dancer. “All of this is the work of a madman,” she said.

She hurriedly left the room, and Joshua and Wolf Dancer followed her.

They thought she was going downstairs, but instead she made a turn in the corridor and went to another room.

They stood just inside the door as Lavinia moved slowly around Hiram’s room, which had not been touched at all. She opened the chifforobe and discovered that all of his clothes were there.

It did look like he would be returning.

Then she saw something sticking out from beneath the bed. It was a blanket wrapped around something long and bulky. She bent to her knees, set the lamp on the floor, and reached beneath the bed. She pulled out the blanket.

When she unfolded the blanket and saw what was there, she gasped and felt the color drain from her face. “Oh, my Lord,” she said as Wolf Dancer knelt quickly at her side.

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p; She looked over and saw the anger in Wolf Dancer’s eyes. “A bow…and…arrows,” she said. “This is what he used to kill Virgil.”

“And to shoot me,” Joshua added.

Wolf Dancer picked up one of the arrows and ran his hand slowly over the shaft. “Where did he get arrows like the ones used by my people?” he asked. “I know he wasn’t ever on my island, or anywhere near it.”

“Then he had to have gotten them from someone who has the same type of arrow as yours,” Lavinia said.

She swallowed hard, remembering the full horrorof the moment when she had seen Hiram carrying Virgil with the arrow in Virgil’s chest.

“These arrows and Joshua’s testimony should convince Colonel Cox of what Hiram has done,” she said angrily. “Surely he will arrest Hiram!”

Then she looked intently into Wolf Dancer’s eyes. “But that isn’t enough to satisfy my need for vengeance,” she hissed. “What we have planned is what will truly tear at Hiram’s sanity. We will leave absolutely nothing for him when he returns. We will burn not only the mansion but also every building that stands on this plantation, including the slaves’ quarters. Everything he did will be for nothing! And when he does return and sees the destruction, he will experience the true feeling of loss.”

“This is only the beginning of his comeuppance,” Wolf Dancer said, laying the arrows back with the bow and getting to his feet.

He looked into Lavinia’s eyes and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “I will send Joshua to bring my warriors to set fire to the mansion,” he said. He searched her eyes. “Are you certain this is what you want? This home is yours. Everything on this land is yours.”

“That is why I want to destroy it all,” Lavinia answered, swallowing hard. “It stands for all the wrong things. An empty piece of land is better than this huge mansion which has brought nothing but heartache into my life.”

“Then, Joshua, go for several of my warriors,” Wolf Dancer said. “By the time you return, lanternswill be lit. Those will be used to set fire to the house interior.”

Joshua nodded and ran from the room.

There was a strange sort of quietness as Lavinia and Wolf Dancer moved through the house, finding and lighting the wicks of various lanterns and lamps.

After the warriors arrived, each took a lamp or lantern, and soon the drapes were aflame, as were many pieces of furniture. The flames took hold quickly, necessitating a quick escape.

Lavinia stood beneath the moonlight as the house went up in flames. The sky was now lit orange by the savage flames of the burning house.

And as it continued to burn, the tobacco, which had been tied up in bundles by the slaves, was taken to the canoes and placed in them. Then the horses were led out of the stable and set free.

As they galloped away from the chaos of the Price Plantation, even Lavinia’s favorite mare, she felt a strange sort of emptiness. She truly loved her mare and had loved riding it.

But she knew that someone would claim it, as well as the others, and give them good homes.

The Seminole had no use for horses. Everywhere they traveled was by canoe, or on foot.

Some few of the slaves took off on foot, heading north, while the others boarded the canoes, among them Nada, Caleb, and their two children.

Lavinia took one last look around her at everything that was burning, and for a moment seemed to see Virgil standing there watching. The expressionshe saw on his face was not at all what she would have expected were he alive to witness the destruction of his plantation; it was a look of serene peace. It was then that she recalled how he had so often said he would one day free his slaves. She knew that somewhere in the heavens he was looking down and approving of what she had done.

“Let us go now,” Wolf Dancer said, sliding an arm around Lavinia’s waist and leading her away from the heat of the many fires.