Savage Flames (10 page)

Chapter Eighteen

All for love and nothing for reward.

—Edmund Spenser

The morning sun filtered down through cracks in the domed ceiling of the
garita,
settling onto Dorey’s face and awakening her with a start.

She leapt to her feet with alarm. When she looked around, she remembered where she was, and why.

She began to tremble, for never had she been as afraid as now. Surely with daylight she would be discovered, for someone in
this village would come to the storage house, either to take something from it or bring something there after the women began
working in the garden.

But for now, there seemed to be only a stirring of people down below in the village as the Seminole awoke to a new day.

She was so afraid of being discovered. What would these people do to her when they found a stranger in their midst?

If only she could find a way to get back home. Surely by now her mother knew that Dorey had notreturned to the plantation.
Yet when her mother did realize Dorey was missing, she would be so distraught, she might make herself sick with worry.

Dorey must find a way to get home, and today. She didn’t want to cause her mother any more grief than she had to.

Dorey wondered if her mother would go to Fort James to ask Colonel Cox for help locating her daughter. Dorey’s father had
never had anything good to say about that man. The colonel was known for his corruption.

No, Dorey doubted that her mother would seek his help. Instead, she would probably set out on the river, alone, to try to
find Dorey. If her mother found Dorey’s abandoned canoe, she would think the worst…that her daughter was more than likely
dead!

“But, Mama, I’m not,” she whispered.

She went to the door and leaned out just far enough so she could look down upon the village. The hut where she had spent the
night was higher than all the other buildings except one.

She gazed at the unique home, which was two-storied, yet otherwise similar to the other huts in the village. She wondered
if the larger home was the chief’s. Wouldn’t a chief have better lodging than everyone else?

If so, the chief’s home was not far from where Dorey now stood.

“Surely if I’m caught, I’ll be taken to the chief,” Dorey whispered, still staring at the two-storied building.

She had heard her father speak of a Chief Wolf Dancer, who was said to be young and kind, though they had never actually met.
Her father had believed it was best to keep his new neighbors “at arm’s length,” as he had put it.

Dorey decided she would watch the activity in the village, and at her first opportunity, she would flee back to the river.

She knew it would be easier to find her way back home in daylight. If she could only choose the right waterway that would
lead to the main part of Bone River, she could find her way home easily!

She was feeling so hungry, her stomach was growling. She turned and eyed the stores of food that lay everywhere around her.

Now that it was daylight and she could see it all, she was astounded. Last night she had only been able to search with her
hands for something she could eat.

When she had found the melons, their golden color revealed to her by the beams of moonlight that came through the cracks in
the roof overhead, she thought she had never tasted anything so good. It had been so juicy and delicious, she now hungered
for more of the same.

But before she could eat, she must take care of another pressing need. She had to relieve herself, but where could she do
that?

She just couldn’t find it in herself to do it where the food was stored.

That only left her one other choice!

She must hurry down the ladder to the groundand rush into the brush, then scramble back up into the
garita
without anyone seeing her.

Her pulse racing, she stepped to the door and peered outside.

She looked near and far for anyone who might catch her on the steps. Fortunately, she saw that hardly anyone was outside yet.

Dorey said a soft prayer before leaving, then hurried down as quickly as possible, attended to her business, and scrambled
back up the ladder.

Eager to eat, Dorey plopped down on the floor and broke open a melon, the juice dripping all over her skirt, as it had done
last night. She savored the sweet flesh as she chewed and swallowed it.

Then she saw something else that looked interesting: green beans, freshly picked and strung together on a string. Although
they would not be as good as when cooked in meat broth, they were another form of nourishment, which she needed to keep her
strength up for all that lay ahead of her. She might not be able to find her way home right away. If she got lost farther
in the Everglades, she might not have anything fit to eat for days.

She crawled over to the beans and plucked one and then another from the string and ate them. They were hard and crunchy, yet
she knew they were good for her, something her mother had always stressed when it came time to sit at the dining table.

Dorey was the sort of child who sometimes just toyed with her food.

But today?

She wished that her mother could see how eagerlyshe was eating. And everything she chose was very nutritious.

As she sat there, chewing on the green beans, she was scarcely aware of the increasing sound of voices as people came out
of their lodges to begin the day’s activities.

All she could think about was finding her way back home. But first she had to find a way to leave the village without being
seen.

Until that moment, she had forgotten one important thing: the two young braves who had abducted her and taken her to the tree
house.

Surely they would be going to their hideaway this morning. They would discover that she had escaped. They would surely begin
looking for her and might see her as she tried to find her way home.

But no matter what, she would be leaving this island. She would just pray that God would be her companion and look out for
her. He was all she had to depend on.

Chapter Nineteen

My love for you is mixed throughout my

body,

So hurry to see your lady, like a falcon

Swooping down to its papyrus marsh.

—Love Songs of The New Kingdom

Joshua! Twila!” Lavinia exclaimed excitedly as she awakened and found them sitting together beside her bed.

Then she saw someone else. Her insides felt strange, a feeling she had never before felt, as she found Wolf Dancer sitting
on her other side, his eyes full of concern for her.

She would never forget his loving care of her. It went beyond his just wanting to be certain she didn’t die from the snakebite.

She knew when she had seen him that first time in the tree that he felt something special for her.

She had actually felt a connection to him, then, and she felt it now as he sat close beside her. She wanted to reach out and
touch him, just to know that he was actually so close to her.

These strange feelings he aroused in her were the ones she should have felt for her husband.

But sad to say, she hadn’t felt anything but kindness and affection toward Virgil.

But now?

A host of beautiful emotions seemed to have been awakened inside her at the mere sight of Wolf Dancer.

And he was a proud Seminole chief! His pride in being chief was evident in his demeanor.

“Your fever is gone,” Wolf Dancer said, smiling at her and feeling deeply for her, especially now that he had seen how she
felt toward those whose skin was black. Her pleasure in seeing Joshua and Twila proved that she was not a prejudiced woman.
She could possibly feel something for him, a Seminole Indian.

He had felt something for her for some time now. Wolf Dancer had missed seeing Lavinia these past days, when she had not been
visible even at the window. He had feared she might have died.

“Yes, your fever is gone,” he repeated, so very glad she was alive and well. “And your eyes are clear. How do you feel?”

“I feel wonderful,” Lavinia said, slowly sitting up and drawing a blanket around her shoulders. “Thanks to you and your shaman,
I believe I am going to live.”

Then she gazed at Joshua and Twila. “Joshua, oh, Joshua, you are alive!” she said, reaching out to take one of his hands in
hers. “I thought—”

“We all thought he was dead,” Twila said, taking her father’s other hand and smiling up into his dark eyes. “But he ain’t.
He was only wounded.”

Twila turned grateful eyes to Wolf Dancer. “Chief Wolf Dancer not only saved you, Miz Lavinia, but also my pappy,” she murmured.
“He found him in a canoe, unconscious, with that dreadful arrow in his shoulder that Massa Hiram shot him with.”

“What?” Lavinia gasped. “Hiram…shot you, Joshua?”

Realizing that it might not be best to reveal too much to Lavinia while she was still weak from her wound, Joshua decided
not to tell her that Hiram had shot not only him but also her husband.

“Yes’m, he done shot me,” Joshua said tightly. “He’s no good, dat man. Rest now, Lavinia. Don’t fret none ’bout what dat man
did. I’se goin’ to tell you all ’bout it later.”

She understood and agreed.

Although she was so much better, she still felt weak and even disoriented at times.

“Yes, later. For now, all that is important, Joshua, is that you are alive,” she murmured.

She turned smiling eyes to Twila. “And you, you sweet thing,” she said, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on Twila’s
cheek. “I’m so glad to see you safely with your pappy.”

And then sudden alarm entered her eyes and heart and she gripped Joshua’s hand harder. “Oh, Lord,” she cried. “What of Dorey?
Twila, after I was bitten and fell unconscious, did you…did…you see…did you find…Dorey?”

But she already knew the answer without hearing it. If Dorey had been found, and was safe, she would be there at her mother’s
bedside.

Realizing that, Lavinia slowly took her hand from Joshua’s and turned her gaze away from them all as tears spilled from her
eyes.

“You don’t need to say it, Twila,” she sobbed. “I already know the answer. If my daughter had been found, she’d be here with
me.”

Seeing Lavinia’s despair, feeling it deep inside his own heart, Wolf Dancer reached a hand out and gently placed it beneath
Lavinia’s chin.

He slowly turned her face so that they could look into each other’s eyes. “Lavinia, we were searching for Dorey when we found
you unconscious in your canoe,” Wolf Dancer said thickly.

He saw puzzlement in her eyes behind the shine of her tears, and he understood. The circumstances behind Dorey’s disappearance
were difficult to comprehend. He wasn’t certain he could even make it clear to her, himself, were he to tell her from the
beginning how the two young braves had abducted Dorey, and why.

“Please tell me everything,” Lavinia said, searching his eyes. “I…I…am alright. I need to hear it. I want to know
what you know about Dorey. You do know what’s happened to her, don’t you? It’s there in your eyes and in your voice. Please,
oh, please tell me she is alright.”

“I cannot tell you that because I myself do not know how she is,” Wolf Dancer said.

His reply made her wince and brought even more tears to her eyes. He placed gentle hands to her face and wiped the tears away.

“I am not certain you are well enough to hearwhat I am about to tell you,” he said, his voice tight. “Perhaps you might want
to wait until later.” “No,” Lavinia said, swallowing hard. “I want to hear whatever you know, now. This is my daughter we
are talking about. If anything has happened to her, I…need…to know.”

She reached a desperate hand to Wolf Dancer and clutched one of his hands. “You must tell me,” she said urgently. “Please
tell me now.”

He knew he had no choice but to tell her what he knew, even though it might turn her against the two young braves who’d caused
such sorrow, and possibly against himself and his entire band.

“There are two young Seminole braves…” he began and didn’t stop until it was all said, even the worst of it—that Dorey
seemed to have disappeared into the Everglades and had not been seen again since the boys left her alone in the tree house.

“No!” Lavinia cried, turning away from everyone and sobbing. “No. She can’t be dead. Not…my…Dorey.”

Then she turned back to Wolf Dancer. “It is my fault,” she cried. “I never should have given her permission to leave our home,
especially alone…yet I have always trusted that she would be alright.”

Then a sudden fire replaced the guilt in her eyes. She sat up straight and gazed directly at Wolf Dancer. “And…those
…two boys?” she demanded. “Where are they? Are they being punished? Do they know the wrong they have done my daughter
…and me? I may never see my precious Dorey again!”

“The young braves have been shamed for what they did, and they are out in the swamps even as we speak, helping to search for
your daughter,” Wolf Dancer said, understanding her need for vengeance. He was going to wait awhile longer before making a
decision about what the young braves must do to atone for their reckless behavior.

“Lavinia, for now, all that is important is finding your daughter,” Wolf Dancer quickly added.

Tears filled Lavinia’s eyes again. “Where can my daughter be?” she asked, feeling sick to her stomach because she was so upset.
“Could she have made it back home in the dark during the treacherous hours of night? Or…is she lost? Could she have
died in the Everglades all alone?”

Suddenly a voice spoke up from outside the shaman’s lodge. Shining Soul was away for the moment, saying prayers in private,
so Wolf Dancer went to the door and opened it, finding one of his most trusted warriors standing outside.

“Singing Waters, you have left your sentry post,” Wolf Dancer said. He gazed intently into his warrior’s eyes, seeing trouble
in them. “What brings you to your chief?”

“A small canoe has been found beached at the far side of the island,” Singing Waters said. “It is not one of our canoes, and
no one was found anywhere near it.”

Wolf Dancer was filled with sudden alarm, for he had always feared the day when whites might find his village and invade it.

He stepped outside, quickly looked beyond SingingWaters, and slowly scanned the village. When he saw nothing unusual, he turned
back to Singing Waters. “Go,” he commanded. “Get several warriors. Tell them what you have seen and instruct them to search
every part of Mystic Island.”

After Singing Waters left to do his chief’s bidding, a new thought came to Wolf Dancer. Could that canoe be the one in which
Dorey had traveled? Could Dorey even now be on the island, hiding and afraid? He went to Lavinia and knelt beside her. “A
canoe was found beached on the opposite side of the island,” he said, and saw her eyes light up at the possibility he’d just
been considering.

“Could it be Dorey’s?” she gasped. Wanting to see the canoe herself, she started to get up, but her weak knees buckled and
she fell back down onto the bed of pelts.

“If it is, she will be found,” Wolf Dancer reassured her. “I will go myself and search the island, to see if she is here.
But you must not get your hopes up. The empty canoe might have floated down the river on its own, and the waves might have
carried it onto the sandy beach of my island.”

He nodded at Joshua. “Come with me,” he said. “We shall look together.”

Joshua’s eyes lit up as he went to stand beside Wolf Dancer.

Lavinia smiled up at Wolf Dancer. “Thank you,” she murmured. She found it incredible that this young chief could be so kind
to her, when it was whites like herself who had forced his Seminole band into isolation, and others onto reservations. She
wished shecould somehow find a way to make it up to them, especially Wolf Dancer and his people.

Twila settled down close to Lavinia and held her hand.

“She’ll be fine, Miz Lavinia,” Twila said optimistically. “I just can’t imagine anything happening to our Dorey. She’s a strong
person. She’ll be alright, I just knows it.”

“Me too,” Lavinia said, yet she was not sure at all that her daughter was even still alive.