Savage Dawn

Nicole.

In his dream he had seen her in danger. Two men had been on each side of her, pulling her first one way, and then another.

In the dream she had fainted from fear, but before she had fallen to the ground, she had called out Eagle Wolf’s name.

He could hear her voice now, as though she were there, her eyes pleading with him, her arms outstretched toward him as she begged him to help her.

He knew that when someone had such a dream, one that seemed so real, it meant something.

It did not take him long to interpret this dream.

He believed he was being beckoned by Nicole to come and find her and bring her back with him to his village. There she would be safe, ka-bike-hozhoni-bi, happy forevermore.

An ache deep inside told him now that he should never have allowed her to leave as she had. He should have gone to bring her back to him.

She was oh, so alone in the world…except for him.

Ho, dreams spoke true. Nicole was in trouble and needed him. He must go and find her.

He hurriedly pulled on his fringed buckskin breeches and shirt and slid his feet into his moccasins.

He combed his fingers through his thick black hair to rid it of tangles. He quickly slipped on a beaded headband, secured his sheathed knife at his right side, then grabbed his rifle. Before he left his tepee, he recalled the dream once again, to see if something about it that he had not remembered earlier might come to him to help him in his pursuit of this woman.

He clenched his eyes closed in an attempt to remember identifying characteristics of the men in his dream who were a threat to Nicole. He had not seen their faces, just their clothes.

One wore all black, such as he had seen Mormon men wear.

The other man had long, filthy golden hair that fell down his back, and he wore crude, dirty clothes.

The dream had surely meant that those two men were fighting over Nicole. If the dream were true, then would he find her soon enough to rescue her?

He must!

Or he would always regret having allowed himself to fall asleep beside the fire that night. How could he have missed realizing her plan when she had said good night to him so sadly? Surely she had said those words knowing that when he awakened in the morning, she would be gone.

Ho, he must find her. And when he did, he would take her under his wing and protect her, not only for now, but forever.

With determination etched on his sculpted face, and his jaw tight, Eagle Wolf strode from his lodge and went to stand in the center of his stronghold.

In a loud, stern voice, he awakened everyone, calling his warriors to him.

“My warriors, I should apologize for pulling you from your beds in such a way, but I will not,” Eagle Wolf began. “I have asked you to come to me this early morning because there is something that must be done and I need ten of you to go with me today. I shall point those ten out and the rest can return to your lodges and families. As we ride, I will explain to you why we are leaving our homes, even without our early morning meal. Ready yourselves. I will wait for you at my corral.”

He chose his men, and then went to his corral and readied his white stallion, mounted it, and waited for all of the ten warriors to come to him on their own steeds.

And when they did arrive, the group rode from the stronghold together. Only when they were far from the tepees and riding down the pass did Eagle Wolf raise a fist in the air, a silent command for them to stop.

He wheeled his horse around and faced his warriors. “There is a woman…” he began, watching their eyes and their expressions as he explained what he expected of them today.

He could tell by their faces that some did not agree with their chief’s plan, while the others showed their support. They loved their chief and would be there for him, always, no matter what he might ask of them. If he wanted to find this woman, even a woman whose skin was white, so be it.

“It might take more than one day—are you prepared to ride with me until we find the woman?” Eagle Wolf asked, again looking slowly from man to man. “This is the chance for you to return to your families should you wish to. If not, I expect you to follow my direction until we finally have the woman safely with us.”

No one turned back.

Eagle Wolf smiled warmly at each of them, then turned his horseback down the mountain.

He could not get the dream from his mind. If the men in his dream were real and had taken Nicole by force, would Eagle Wolf ever find her? Would he be able to turn back without her and again forget her?