The
Saga of Indian Em'ly
Books
1-4
by
Sara Harris
Genre:
Historical Adventure
Twelve-year-old
Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his little sister, Cactus Flower,
and the wildness of the desert canyonland the Apache call home. But
in one night of misunderstanding and mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus
Flower’s innocent world is shaken as they find themselves locked in
the nearby fort with the pale face soldiers and their mother’s
lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other, Knocks Down and
Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the
pale face world—pale faces who have now become the enemy.
After
finding themselves at the mercy of the Army, far from Apache
Territory and well on the trail to Colorado, Knocks Down must bring
himself to trust the soldier, Pale Face Joe. But Joe disappears, and
when ordered to dispose of the children or else, the other Army
soldiers waste no time in depositing them at the nearest Catholic
orphanage.
They
manage to escape the evil orphanage along with a new pale face
friend, Kid McCoy. But they are set upon by a gang of murdering claim
jumpers who steal Cactus. With Kid McCoy’s help, Knocks Down goes
after her. When they encounter a soldier who was responsible for
their mother’s death, they realize he’s set on seeing them dead,
as well. How can a boy defeat a battle-hardened soldier? Just when
Knocks Down is about to give up, the biggest surprise of all changes
everything…
Goodreads
* Amazon
Something isn’t right. The
night animals ceased their songs in unison, and another troublesome cloud
shrouded the moon. An icy shiver trickled down my backbone to the tune of
silence. The happy drumming coming from the camp, telling the world of the
birth of Red Lake’s firstborn son, had slowed to a stop. I froze, pulling
Cactus Flower back onto her bottom. She rose from the hard-packed earth, her
bottom lip puffed out and her inky eyebrows knitted together above her eyes.
Before she could open her mouth to speak, a flock of beating wings sent me
cowering, nose first, into the dirt beside her.
“Knocks Down,
why did those birds –”
Instinctively,
I slapped my hand over her mouth, taking care enough to be gentle. No sooner
had she quieted, than another sound echoed through the solemn night air.
“Halt! Who
goes there?”
I
slipped my finger over my lips, wordlessly instructing Cactus Flower to remain
silent. She nodded and I removed my hand from over her mouth.
“That
voice...it’s pale face. Do you know it from your visits to the soldier fort?” I
kept my own voice low, so it fairly bounced along the mesquite branches before
disappearing into the canyon, no more out of place than a wren scratching on a
rock.
She
shook her head and wrinkled her nose. I knew she was scared. I was, too.
“I say again,
halt! I have orders to shoot!”
A
woman’s voice answered. “Izdzaa, yiiltse! Pa-lease, please!”
Cactus
Flower and I exchanged a look. Peering through the mesquite branches, I saw my
mother, our mother, her outstretched hands
bathed in the moonlight as the cloud slid from over it. She was making the
Apache sign for peace. Cactus flower saw her, too. Before I could raise my hand
back to cover her mouth, the word tore from her lips in a shriek that echoed
down through the canyon and back again. “Ma!”
“Sentry,
fire!” came another voice, followed abruptly by two booms. Booms which echoed
the very one that had taken the life of Silver Sky, my father, so many winters
ago.
My
mother’s moans filled the empty darkness. I pushed my fear deep down and jumped
from our hiding place. In a moment, I was at her side.
“Mother?” My
spirit ached as I took her head in my lap. “Why?”
The
soldier’s boots hit the earth hard as they struggled both to find us and to
make sense of what they’d done.
Stealthily
as either of the mountain lion cubs we’d been watching, Cactus Flower slipped
up behind us, sobs catching in her throat. “Ma, Ma?” She curled into Shining
Waters’ outstretched arm, snuggling against our dying mother. “No, Ma.”
I
didn’t have to look down to see the pool of my mother’s blood, I could smell
it, coppery and unwelcome. Tears stung my eyes, and hatred filled my heart as
the soldiers approached.
“Oh, my stars,
Tom. It was a woman! We done shot a woman!” The soldier dropped to his knees
and scooped up my mother’s hand. “Tom, administer first aid. We can’t let her
die right here’n front of her chill’ns.”
The
second soldier stood, his mouth hanging open like a dog. “She was Injun, Joe.
Ain’t no matter now, we done kilt her. They said to be on th’ watch, heard tale
of Injun attacks.”
Joe,
the first soldier, never took his eyes from my mother’s face. “Go get supplies,
Tom. We will do our best to save’er.”
Sure
enough, Tom turned and trotted off in the direction of the soldier fort. I
watched him go, visualizing my hand-carved arrow flying into his retreating
back. My hands began to shake.
“I come…I
help,” Ma sputtered in broken English.
Joe
covered his mouth with his free hand. “Lord above, she speaks English.” His
eyes darted about a moment before resting first on me and then on Cactus
Flower, who lay whimpering at my mother’s side. “Ma’am, are you Cap’n Redding’s
wife? His Indian bride?” He gulped.
“Indian…Em’ly?”
A
weak smile found its way onto my mother’s lips. “Me Em’ly. Me help.”
Old
Joe bent down close, my mother’s hand still in his, as though he were tending
his own kin. “How did you want to help, ma’am?”
“Gonna be a …”
My mother coughed. “Raid. Raid on soldier fort.”
Joe’s
back stiffened and he hefted his weapon from where it had fallen beside him.
“They told us to watch those thievin’ Apaches.”
“Not Apache.
Comanche.”
His
gaze settled back on Shining Waters. I had to fight the urge not to reach out
and grab his throat. I could almost feel my fingers squeezing his last breath
from his body...
Comanche
war whoops echoed off the rocky canyon walls.
“They’re
coming,” Cactus Flower whispered. “Get up Ma, let’s go home.”
“Em’ly!
Em’ly?” Captain Charlie Redding skidded on his knees, almost tumbling as he
came to a stop near my mother.
Her
face relaxed. “Take care of children, Charlie. Comanche raid soldier
fort.”
The
blood-chilling cries of the Comanche met my ears as my mother, Shining Waters,
expelled her last shuddering breath.
Captain
Redding grasped the sides of his head and dug his fingers into his hair.
Wordlessly, he spun on his booted heel and, with one punch, sent Tom reeling
backward into Joe, who had backed off to a respectable distance when Captain
Redding approached. Both soldiers collapsed in a pitiful heap. “We’re under
Comanche attack and you killed my wife! You fools!”
I
watched through wide and surprised eyes as Captain Redding drew his sabre and
marched over to his soldiers.
“Ma?”
Hysterical confusion overtook Cactus Flower as she tried to help our mother up.
“Get up, Ma, we have to go!”
Two children, twelve-year-old Knocks Down and his six-year-old
sister, Cactus Flower witness the death of their mother by the pale faces. The
pale faces then take the children to an orphanage.
At the orphanage they meet a friend Kid McCoy. The three
children escape the orphanage only to meet up with a bad group of murders who
take Cactus Flower and sell her. With the help of his friend Kid McCoy Knocks
Down goes after Cactus Flower to rescue her from these evil people.
While Knocks Down and Kid McCoy are looking for Cactus
Flower they run across the man who killed their mother and find out that he
wants them dead as well.
The Saga of Indian Em’ly tells the story of Indian Em’ly’s
children and their ordeal with the pale faces and the hardship they face as
they try to make their way home after seeing her die right in front of them and
of the evil people they meet along the way.
Knocks Down and Cactus Flower are two very strong and brave
children. Knocks Down is so brave and loves his sister so much so that he doesn’t
think about the danger to himself when she is taken and he goes searching for
her. All he thinks about is her and saving her.
The Saga of Indian Em’ly is a love story that I can
definitely get behind. The Saga of Indian Em’ly is a very intense read that is
filled with adventure from the first page right up to the end.
I would recommend The Saga of Indian Em’ly to all fans of historical
fiction, adventure and a warm hearted love story, a brother and sister love
story.
Sara
is a mother of four, animal lover and advocate, and conservationist.
Little House on the Prairie, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and Lonesome
Dove are among her favorite shows/movies and books. Sara holds her
B.A. in History and is the author of the historical romance series,
An Everlasting Heart, from 5 Prince Publishing and recently debuted
into the children's book realm with Chunky Sugars (5 Prince Kids),
written for her own chunky baby.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
0 comments:
Post a Comment