This My Savage Soul
by
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Everything was still, no wind, no sound except for the rolling of the stage and the horse’s hooves on the dry earth. Elizabeth was just beginning to fall asleep when a piercing shriek wrent the earth from top to bottom. Jerking upright, she knew what it was before she even threw back the flap, only this time it wasn’t her dream, it was real! Indians were rushing them from the trees, how many she could not tell, but she watched first one soldier fall and then another as flying arrows found their intended marks. For a moment she sat paralyzed as if she were in a dream. An arrow struck the side of the stage just inches from her face, jerking her back to reality. "Has anyone got a gun?" She yelled. Everyone just stared at her blankly. "Has anyone got a gun damn it!" "I do." Ted said "Well, what are you waiting for? Use it!" Ted brought the pistol to the window but could not pull the trigger. "Damn you!" Elizabeth yelled, grabbing the gun from his hand. "Everyone, get down as low as you can." With very little effort Elizabeth aimed and fired, knocking one of the Indians from his perch. The soldiers had begun firing also but with less accuracy than the warriors. Another soldier fell, than an Indian. The stage driver was the next, sending them hurling forward with no direction. The stage pitched to the left and then to the right causing Elizabeth to loose her hold on the gun sending it flying to the passing dirt below. All they could do now was hold on and pray that one of the soldiers would notice that they were out of control. In a split second there was a loud crack and the stage overturned, sending everyone crashing into the sides. The young maid was thrown from the stage and killed instantly by beating hooves. That was her blessing for the stage overturned again, sending the remaining passengers flying with bone splitting force. At last they stopped and Elizabeth tried with all her might to regain her senses. Within seconds she had jumped from the stage, dragging Emily behind her. Ted was next to come out, he was pathetic running around screaming for his gold. The other woman inside, Elizabeth quickly noticed, was dead. Her head lay to a very unnatural angle pronouncing a broken neck. Hoof beats made Elizabeth whirl to defend herself. There was no need, a young officer rode up jumping from his mount. "Hurry!" he said, picking her up and placing her upon the animal. Emily was quick to follow. Looking back Elizabeth saw one lone soldier against six Indians. He did not last long. The young man slapped the horse’s rump as hard as he could sending them careening forward at the same time that an arrow pierced his back. They dared not look back because they knew the only ones left were themselves, for they had seen Ted go down pitifully trying to drag his gold to safety. Elizabeth urged her horse on faster, silently begging Emily to hold on with all her might. Daring to look behind her, she could see two riders quickly approaching them. Pushing the horse as hard as he would go they were still no match for the swift moving Indians. In a split second one of them was upon her and grabbed Emily off the horse, nearly unseating Elizabeth as well. The other came forward swiftly lunging from his mount, dragging her to the ground with his powerful body. She landed with a loud thud, knocking the wind from her lungs, but she quickly recuperated. Rolling swiftly to her back she found herself caught in his powerful embrace. Two sets of eyes met, one flashing almost black and the other as deep as a summer thunderstorm. Both were stunned silent as recognition showed on each face. She was not supposed to be there and he was the end of her dream. Surely its meaning was her own death. She thought this powerful man with the shining eyes was her grim reaper.
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About the Book
Elizabeth Bradford is young, beautiful and very much alone. The death of her father has left her with nothing but the name of a distant relative. Gathering what few possessions she has, Elizabeth sets out on a journey that will change her life forever. When a band of renegade Indians attack the stage on which she is traveling, Elizabeth finds herself face to face with a man whose image has haunted her dreams since childhood. Skyhawk, Cherokee warrior, is determined not to let her beauty cloud his hatred of the white race and sets out to break her spirit, yet he finds himself drawn to the very thing about her that he wishes to destroy. A raging battle of wills and a deep burning passion throw the two enemies into a tailspin of love and longing. Elizabeth realizes her love for Skyhawk only to discover that he is to wed another, a beautiful young Indian maiden, one of his "own." She also comes to realize that she carries Skyhawk’s child and if that child is male, he will be taken from her. Determined that Skyhawk never know her condition, she fights hard to earn the tribe’s respect and eventually her release. Elizabeth, along with the secret of the child she carries, returns to her people and into the home of Jeremiah Taylor, an elderly gentleman, and his family who took her under his wing on the first leg of her journey. Trying to fit back into the "white" world, Elizabeth finds it difficult to forget the man who has touched her soul and whose life grows within her everyday. She almost loses her own life after a very difficult delivery. Yet, just as she is recovering, Jeremiah lay dying. As she is saying her heartbreaking goodbyes to her dear friend, she finds that he has granted her one last show of love. He has sent for Skyhawk. Elizabeth must now face the truth within her heart and the deep yearning within her own Savage Soul.
About the Author
Belinda Adkins resides in a beautiful Kentucky valley, near Germantown, with her three children.
A graduate of Berea College, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in studio arts and has gone on to work in both the visual arts and creative writing fields.
She has published several poems, as well as a limited memoir in Blue Moon Rising: Kentucky Women in Transition by Jenny Brown. She currently teaches art to grades 1-12 at St. Patrick’s School in Maysville, Kentucky, as well as adult Continuing Education Courses at Maysville Community College.
Belinda spends much of her spare time continuing to write and is presently completing work on her second novel.