Table of Contents
Praise for THE SAVAGE SERIES....
Copyright
Kindle Edition
DEDICATION:
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THRITY-TWO
Excerpts
Acknowledgments
Dear Ones:
Thank you:
More Books
About the Author:
Praise for THE SAVAGE SERIES....
PEARL: “... Blodgett doesn't waste time and paper blabbing away, she creates a complex and well thought-out plot line. If you skim through, you'll just end up frustrated that you wasted your time.... Tamara Rose Blodgett did a fabulous job creating a phenomenal steampunk world with a fancy, lyrical XIX-century-ish language straight from the Victorian era. The setting and the costumes, the characters and the way they express themselves, the sparkling atmosphere and evocative descriptions - all that makes for an exquisite and thoroughly compelling read—evie-bookish.blogspot.com/
BLOOD:“... I read this book in a day...ready for book 3! They are so addicting I cannot explain it with words...” Francesca
PRINCIPLE: “.... I cried, I laughed, my stomach was in knots, I cheered & fist pumped! The intrigue by itself had me enthralled. I think the circumstances of Clara's conception are going to give us some juicy plots in the SAVAGE books still to come, and I for one can not wait...!!!-Skylar Griffin
VENGEANCE:“.... Could not put the book down and as soon as I was done with it, I purchased the next. Afraid I am addicted to this series...” Tony James
PROTECTOR: “....When it comes to detail, drama and a myriad of sub-plots that race past leaving you breathless trying to keep up, Tamara Rose Blodgett has THE GIFT! Her latest, The Savage Protector is done in true TRB style as she deftly shifts from different POVs, different scenes and never misses a beat...”-Dii
Table of Contents
Praise for THE SAVAGE SERIES....
DEDICATION:
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THRITY-TWO
Acknowledgments 204
More Books by Tamara Rose Blodgett 205
Books written under the pen name, Marata Eros 206
About the Author: 208
Edwin presses for travel to his home clan of Cape Cod where The Rite of the Select will take place. Philip accompanies the siblings, though his future with Calia is uncertain.
Adahy is part-Band but in his heart he is Iroquois. He must accept the sins of his past and a passion for a broken female he cannot deny. The legacy of war, protection and survival are all he knows. When Elise finds the only tender part of him, he leaves the sphere to escape his own vulnerability.
When a third evil emerges unexpectedly during their journey, and the Travelers devise new methods of interfering with their world, Adahy and Elise come together to survive the new challenge to their survival.
Can Calia and Philip be together? Or will a new scheme introduced by others foil their chance at happiness? Is Adahy strong enough to overcome his perceived guilt to embrace love with someone as fractured as himself....
THE SAVAGE DREAM
Book Six: The Savage Series
Copyright 2014 Tamara Rose Blodgett
Kindle Edition
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to a legitimate retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Editing suggestions provided by Red Adept Editing
DEDICATION:
For my Savage fans~
CHAPTER ONE
Adahy
In February there was no mercy from the wind. It swept through the open plains, settling into the deepness of Adahy's bones with sharpened teeth.
Elise traveled in the shadow of his stride, he breaking the wind for her. She had oft traveled with the Fragment and had been Outside in the bowels of winter, where a larger person in front was sure to afford cover for her.
Chasing Hawk and the other Iroquois warriors moved like they were part of the wind, employing snowshoes in the trenches and gullies between swaths of iced and frigid branches which no longer held snow. The wind howled and wept its intent through the valley they currently traversed. They would pause each mile, taking stock of directions. The conditions were nearing a whiteout, and Adahy made his way to the knot of warriors.
Adahy gave a circumspect glance at Elise, checking her posture and hoping that she did not digress into the sleeping sickness so prevalent amongst those who were unaccustomed to wandering the vastness of the prairies in the grip of winter's depth.
Her dark eyes slid to his own, and Adahy quickly looked away.
“I talk—Chasing Hawk,” he told Elise in his frustrating English, pointing to the chief. She nodded, pulling the hood of her cloak further around her face. He noticed the tip of her nose was quite pink and tore his eyes away lest he become fascinated by this female in the middle of a snowstorm.
He and Chasing Hawk were arguing.
Adahy was grateful for the language barrier because the words of his chief were blunt.
“They are women, they have no right to be in this storm. The wind takes our breath. It is a sign.”
Adahy frowned. Chasing Hawk was an intuitive leader. Unease unfurled like the w
ings of a raven inside Adahy's breastbone.
Elise understood some of their language—he saw that from her expression. “Is he—will we be punished?” she asked. Adahy struggled to understand her words, especially the last one.
She interpreted his expression. “Hurt?” She put a hand on her chest.
Adahy gave an emphatic shake of his head. “Iroquois honor. No hurt females.”
Adahy was disgusted by her shoulders slumping in relief. Her unconscious gesture made him hate the Fragment with a fire that could not be put out. Adahy was not fond of the tomahawk as his brethren were, but he might free his daggers and tame the scalps of many, if the Fragment's members were to present themselves.
His mouth fairly salivated at the idea. Adahy's desire for revenge was a keen thing.
Elise's soft hand on his arm caused him to turn just as he was nearing the tight group of warriors. “You be well,” he said.
She nodded but stayed close to him.
Adahy shifted back, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the hammering wind, and the sharpened snow hitting his skin felt like small knives. It was too cold for snow, it was a mix of strangled and frozen rain, beating them sideways. A quarter mile behind their party, the Band brought up the rear.
Edwin and his female kin Calia kept their distance from each other. Adahy frowned. It was a most odd interaction. The largest male Adahy had ever encountered, Band or otherwise, held the lead, the female staying at his side much as Elise was doing with Adahy. Where Elise was soft around the edges, this female warrior of the Band was hard. That she had never been taken by the marauding Fragment was a noteworthy feat.
“We are not waiting for the white giants,” Chasing Hawk announced, looking back at the Band. His eyes narrowed at Adahy who simply shrugged.
“We do not need to travel with the Band,” Adahy conceded. “They simply ask that we stay with them until we reach our tribe.”
Adahy knew from murmured conversations with his chief that tensions were running high. The small scouting party wished to be reunited with their tribeswomen. The fire of their home called its warm blessing to them.
Adahy knew they were very near the fork that would take them away from the eastern path that three of the Band would follow to get to the sea they endlessly spoke of.
Actually, it was Edwin who would not stop speaking of it. His sister did not seem so intent on going. He had put forth such a speech of accusation at one point of the journey that the men had grown uneasy the sibling pair would come to blows. If it had not been for Philip's interjections, they might have.
Perhaps the clansmen of the Band were as different as the tribes. There had been great prejudice against Adahy when he'd met the new tribe. He was not pleasing to the eye. Instead of the lithe, fine-honed, and nimble warrior so typical of the Iroquois, he moved differently, was built big of bone and fought in a manner not in keeping with the others. He had learned that where there was difference, others felt threatened.
Philip approached the circle of warriors. There were only four, excluding Adahy. “What say you?” he asked Chasing Hawk.
Adahy stifled a groan.
He knew that Chasing Hawk would feel instantly insulted by the English words, finding them crude and useless.
Much the same as the Band probably found his own native tongue.
“Tell him I do not wish to travel with their party any longer. That our tribe is near,” said Chasing Hawk.
Adahy sighed. He was a poor choice of interpreter. His English was terrible, his Iroquois excellent. If he spoke, the chance of misinterpretation was high.
He spoke, “Chasing Hawk say tribe be close.”
Philip's eyebrow rose. Calia sneezed beside him, and his brows drew together in obvious concern.
“Calia is sick.”
Adahy knew he'd said something about the female.
His eyes slid to Elise, and she shook her head. “I cannot heal sickness.”
Chasing Hawk stabbed his snow stick into the slight hill that separated the Band from his own group and moved within range of Calia.
Philip growled low, and Chasing Hawk's eyes went to his, narrowing.
“He no hurt Calia,” Adahy said.
Philip looked at him.
“He is ascertaining how sick she is,” Elise said.
Adahy got the gist of what she had said but the nuances were lost on him.
He folded his arms against the weather, casting a glance at the deep pewter sky.
They needed to find shelter. Now.
Chasing Hawk was the same height as the female, Calia. He lifted his hand, and she seemed to understand he was not there for harm.
She nodded and he placed his forearm against the flesh above her eyes. He instantly jerked his arm back.
He looked at Adahy and pursed his lips. “She is ill.”
Adahy came forward. “What is it?”
Chasing Hawk shook his head. “She is not healthy enough to have tried this journey. She does not have enough meat on her body, does not take enough food, not enough rest.” He gave a disgusted snort and stepped away.
Philip gathered Calia closer.
Edwin spoke up. “What seems to be the trouble?
“The trouble is the Red Men do not wish to travel with us, Calia is sicker now than she was in the morn, and we need to find shelter in the middle of this blizzard,” Philip said.
Philip gazed at Edwin, his expression weighted with accusation.
To Adahy it looked as though Philip would like to use the tomahawk on that one. If the circumstances had not been so severe, it would have amused him. As it were, nothing could be further from the truth.
Elise shivered, too proud to move closer to him. He wrapped his cloak around her, and she nestled against his chest, fitting against him perfectly. Adahy was not fooled. She did not offer a tender intimacy, but was only warming her body so she might live.
Survival was not love.
Philip was speaking again, “We must seek shelter with their tribe. Calia is too sick to go on, and the storm has stolen nearly all visibility.”
“It has,” Calia said, coughing into her hand. Philip's frown deepened.
“Fine,” Chasing Hawk said in a tone of disgust. Adahy's brows drew together. It was somewhat out of character for their chief to be so inhospitable. His disquiet deepened.
Edwin said, “We shall use them for the moment. For when this storm passes, we will be gone.” He spoke quickly, and Adahy found it difficult to understand.
Philip faced Edwin. “I will not forget the press of this journey. That it was your agenda that put your own blood in danger. Calia is not well, we are not out of danger, and yet you speak of exploits.” Philip made a sound of disgust.
“You do not understand,” Edwin stated, his chin hitching up.
Adahy felt that Philip understood the situation very well.
“What I do understand is that things will be very different when we reach the Clan of Massachusetts.”
Chasing Hawk turned away from their arguing, and Adahy followed with Elise against his body.
Let the clan argue amongst themselves. He would seek shelter for Elise.
She slowed, struggling with the deep drifts of snow, and Adahy picked her up. Elise did not protest. Adahy felt the burn of her face against his arm.
Her flesh was on fire.
No longer hearing the white English words of anger behind him, his eyes met those of Philip. Concern for the women lay unmasked in his face, mirroring Adahy's own worries.
They continued in haste, following Adahy's leader toward the place where food, fire, and safety waited.
CHAPTER TWO
Elise
Adahy put Elise gently on her feet. Her arm shot out to halt her drop into the snow but he steadied her.
He stared down at her with concern. “Sick?” he asked in his halting English, already knowing the answer.
She nodded. It was a hateful situation as it were. She was a rare Healer due to the blo
od of the Band, which ran in her veins. Many had a touch of the supernatural if they also possessed the blood of the Band. But not all.
Yet she did. It was as if there was a force greater than her that deemed that all the tragedy of her life should be offset by something of worth. Unfortunately, she was a healer not of illness but of injury.
Whatever she and Calia were afflicted with would need to run its course of burning flesh, yet the cause remained a mystery. What Elise did know was they needed water, and judging by Calia's thinness, food would help as well. Calia appeared to be starved.
Adahy made a terrible noise from the well of his throat, and it pierced Elise's thoughts like a knife. Her head jerked up, and she saw the animal-skin tents—or teepees, as she had heard the Red Men call their dwellings.
She blanched at the sight that greeted them.
Stranded triangles of teepees sprouted in the womb of a small grove of trees, a natural shelter from the wind. But the silence was eerie, as though a reverse wind tunnel had been employed.
Chasing Hawk tore his snowshoes off and ran along the slick, matted prairie grass that sprang up from a grave of ice and trampled snow.
Blood lay everywhere in a spatter pattern like rain burst from below instead of above. There was not a bare spot of white that lay unsullied by the crimson color.
The warriors followed closely. Arrows were nocked. They threw each teepee flap open, nosing arrowheads inside as though a hidden enemy would spring forth.
After the third doorway had been opened and breached, Chasing Hawk sank to his knees on the ground and wept as if his soul was being shredded.
Adahy towed Elise after him as the wailing of the Red Men sounded louder than the wind.
Elise hardly noticed when flesh that burned as hot as her own slipped inside her hand. She turned and saw an expression on Calia's face.
Resignation.
Adahy left Elise with Calia while he, Philip and Edwin went to each teepee.
Their faces became grimmer with each one they checked inside.
savage 06 - the savage dream Page 1