Savage Spirit

"A shining star!" 

Romantic Times
  

TOUCH THE WILD WIND

ROSES AFTER RAIN

WHEN PASSION CALLS

EDEN'S PROMISE

ISLAND RAPTURE

SECRETS OF MY HEART 

The
Savage
Series:

SAVAGE EMBERS

SAVAGE ILLUSION

SAVAGE SUNRISE

SAVAGE MISTS

SAVAGE PROMISE

SAVAGE PERSUASION   

Savage Spirit 

Cassie Edwards   

Diane DuSchene, this one is for you!

Cassie

A LEISURE BOOK
^®

August 1994

Published by

Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

276 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10001

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

Copyright © 1994 by Cassie Edwards

Cover Art by John Ennis

ISBN: 978-0843936391

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

The name "Leisure Books" and the stylized "L" with design are trademarks of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

Printed in the United States of America.   

Listen to the spirits in the mist, 

they call into our Apache hearts.

They give us courage and strength 

when we are in doubt.

When our children cry out in hunger, 

they call out, 
"Nu' uka Biza' a' yo' n'
ouudaah' ndida nzhu'."
 Come, little 

one, don't say anything. It is good.

When our warriors go into battle, 

they give them knowledge of what 

is to come.

When our bodies grow weak with age, 

they tell us we are young in spirit.

They release our souls to the great 

world beyond, when it is time to 

go to the great counsel fire in the sky.

Listen to the spirits in the mist, 

they call into our Apache hearts.

Stephanie Jimenez, Apache    

We met as strangers from two walks of life.
We became friends to learn each other's cultures, as if born into it.
We endured the challenges of life that drew us together to become lovers.
We will never be apart from each other's embrace,
Not even when we are called to walk hand-in-hand,
In the hereafter land.
YVONNE G. SANTOMAURO

The Arizona Territory
1859

A cloud of dust surrounded the Apache warriors. The sun spread a red haze over the riders and into the canyon in the distance. As the sun gradually lowered in the sky, the redness deepened, highlighting the cottonwoods a short distance away, where Chief Cloud Eagle suddenly spied   the campsite of a wagon train that had stopped for the night. The camp beside the Gila River was not far downriver from Chief Cloud Eagle's stronghold.

He tightened his reins only slightly to slow the speed of his stocky roan. His gaze locked on the group seated beside the campfire, then shifted and focused on a man who sat somewhat away from the others on a small stool, at an easel. Cloud Eagle surmised that this man was painting the brilliant sunset which he faced. The artist gazed at length at the view before returning his brush to the canvas.

Red Crow, Cloud Eagle's best friend and confidante, sidled his horse up next to his chief's, his breechclout fluttering against his muscled thighs in the evening breeze. "Do we stop or pass them by?" he said in the Apache language to Cloud Eagle. "Will they not want us to share our bounty with them?"

Similarly dressed in a breechclout and moccasins, his long, flowing, coal-black hair held in place with a band of flannel cloth tightly bound about his head, Cloud Eagle glanced over his shoulder at the warriors who rode behind him and Red Crow, and then at the travois fastened to several of the Apache horses. They bore the rewards of their hard labor these past several days. The Great Spirit had blessed their hunt with many bundles of fox and beaver pelts, as well as much fresh meat.

Then Cloud Eagle looked over at Red Crow. "The white man hunts for his own supper," he said. "We hunt for ours. What we have remains ours."

Cloud Eagle's lips lifted into a slow smile.   ''Unless they have something of value that they might want to
trade
for what we carry with us today," he said. "Some white travelers have strange but sometimes useful tools never before known to the Apache."

Red Crow smiled and nodded at his friend's suggestion.

"The white travelers are surely aware of our presence by now. Let us go and greet them," Cloud Eagle said, nudging his horse forward with his knees. He yelled over his shoulder for his men to hang back and wait as he and Red Crow went into the white man's camp.

His warriors gave dutiful nods of acquiescence.

Looking to see that his two pet coyotes were keeping up with him, Cloud Eagle slapped his thigh to call them nearer. He laughed when Gray and Snow came bounding up beside his horse. Their fur was thick. Their eyes were bright and alert, their legs long and lean.

"Now if the Apache do not put fear into the heart of those white men," Cloud Eagle said to his coyotes, "the sight of you two might. My pets, behave yourselves."

They responded with sharp, confident barks. Their bushy tails wagged as they leapt and bounced beside Cloud Eagle's stocky roan.

Cloud Eagle focused his attention on the wagon train again. There were only three wagons and very few travelers. But even though the number was small, he was always curious when white-skinned Americans came near his stronghold. Miners were flooding into the hills and canyons, taking metal from the ground. Many settlers were raising homes in every direction.   The Apache were at peace with the United States Army. The California Road had been opened and wagon trains and troops were seen daily on it. They had not been molested by Cloud Eagle's Coyotero band of Apache. He and his people had given their word of peace. It had been kept.

Cloud Eagle had resented the intrusion upon his land in the beginning. In time, knowing that war gained his people nothing, he had signed a peace pact with the United States Government.

But there were others who put fear and dread into the hearts of all travelersIndian renegades and white outlaws.

Cloud Eagle had stood back and watched the huge wagons which came to supply the growing mining industry of the Arizona Territory.

He had also made an agreement with the United States Government permitting the mail stagecoaches to operate through his territory. He had seen no threat in allowing the mail route across his land.

But he always worried about those who came in the covered wagons. How could he trust them?

Cloud Eagle and Red Crow approached the wagons in a peaceful manner. Cloud Eagle returned the white men's stares, then held his palm in the air. "Peace," he said, looking slowly from man to man. He slipped from his saddle to the ground.

Red Crow stayed on his horse a moment longer. His eyes alert, his hand resting on the butt of his rifle where it was slung in its gunboot at the side of his horse, he watched the white men. When he saw that the men posed no threat to his chief, he   dismounted and walked stealthily behind Cloud Eagle, his hand resting on his sheathed knife at his right hip.

The coyotes followed proudly and confidently on either side of Cloud Eagle. He walked square-shouldered and tall toward the white men who stood stiffly around the fire, watching him, with the exception of the man who still sat at his easel.

Cloud Eagle's eyes searched the faces of the men and looked deeply into their eyes. In them he saw a guarded fear, and he understood why. There were only about twelve of them compared to his band of thirty-five Apache warriors. If there was even a hint that their chief was stepping into a trap, his warriors would not hesitate to turn their weapons against the travelers.

Cloud Eagle stepped up to the circle of men. Red Crow sidled up beside him, while the coyotes sniffed and explored the camp.

"I am Chief Cloud Eagle of the El Pinal Coyotero Apache," Cloud Eagle said. "The peace word has been given by this Apache chief. We do not attack blue coat soldiers or settlers. And you? Why do you come to my country?"

Cloud Eagle quickly noticed how the men's eyes shifted to the man who was now standing at his easel.

This indicated to Cloud Eagle that this man was their leader. He sauntered over to him and extended a hand of friendship toward him. He gazed in fascination at the lanky man's bright red hair and full beard. Then he studied his dark eyes. They spoke of a man of gentle ways, one who might be kind and warm of heart.

"You are the leader?" Cloud Eagle said, glad   when the man did not hesitate to accept his gesture of friendship.

Charlie Cline, who dreaded all Apache, forced a smile at the tall Indian. He was relieved to find that the Indian was cordial and friendly and spoke English well enough to be understood.

This made Charlie more hopeful that he would find his sister safe and unharmed. He had worried about her ever since he had learned that she was all alone in the Arizona Territory.

From his studies before he started this journey, Charlie had discovered that in all of the Coyotero Apaches' dealings with travelers and traders, they were the most reliable and friendly of the Apache bands. There had been no documented robberies or slaughters committed by them.

He also knew that the El Pinal Coyotero took their names from Pinal Mountain. They were known to live in and around the base of this mountain. Their country was rich in timber, with many beautiful mountain streams and fertile valleys for cultivating their crops. The Coyotero Apache were known to raise wheat, corn, beans, and pumpkins in abundance.

In this particular, they were far in advance of all of the other Apache. Charlie hoped that meant that they were also far advanced in how to threat white people humanely.

"Am I the leader of this wagon train?" Charlie said, finding the Apache's grip firm and confident. "You might say that. I'm Charlie Cline. These men are accompanying me from Saint Louis."

"And why did you leave the city that I know well?" Cloud Eagle said, dropping his hand to his side.   "You know of Saint Louis?" Charlie said, lifting an eyebrow. He eyed the coyotes uneasily as they sniffed at his feet. Then when they wandered away, he looked squarely into Cloud Eagle's eyes again.

"You have been there?" he said, trying to evade talk of his own reason for being so far from home. He didn't want to speak his sister's name to this Apache, even though this chief seemed trustworthy enough.

He most certainly did not want this Apache's offer to help in the search. Alicia was too beautiful to place before the eyes of any man who might have need of a wife out in this god-forsaken land. Charlie wanted to make sure she returned to Saint Louis where everything was civil and where the right men could come courting her.

"No, Cloud Eagle has not been there. Some winters ago, this Apache had the privilege of knowing a man from Saint Louis," Cloud Eagle said, his eyes filled with a sudden haunting sadness. "Good Heart. A man who came to our people injured. He was made well and treated as a brother among my people. He did not leave for two winters. He became as one with us. He taught my band of Apache the language of his people. We taught him many things of our culture. He was an explorer whose restlessness took him away from us again. We have not seen him since." He looked into the distance. "Perhaps he is in Saint Louis again?"

"I know of no one called Good Heart," Charlie said, absently pulling on his red beard. "But of course, I would not know him by that name. It was one given to him by you, was it not?"