Monday, March 30, 2009

Excerpt from Winds Of Change


The thunderous hoof beats of the horses reverberated through the village. Men scrambled from their lodges, many of them still naked. They ran and waved their arms to divert the spooked horses. Running Swift and Hands So High dashed through the village.


Some of the women with small children ran for cover of the woods while others stood ready for an attack as the enemy rode past, raising their clubs in the air. Young boys ran among the enemy, firing arrows from their small bows. Many of the villagers scrambled between teepees to seek safety from tomahawks and pounding hooves, all the while swinging knives and clubs to defend themselves.


The Blackfeet galloped into the center of the campsite, shooting arrows wildly into the crowd of attacking Arapahos. One warrior slashed a teepee pole, causing the covering to collapse and catch fire from the pit inside.


“Stop the horses,” shouted Running Swift. Quickly, he ducked a wild thrust by an attacker, which barely scratched his shoulder. He nocked his arrow and took aim. The feathered shaft pierced the rider’s chest. The brave died on his way to the ground. Running Swift grabbed a handful of mane and swung into the empty pad saddle.

As he rode into the melee, he yelled, “Push them to the lake.”

Deer Hunter ran toward the water, trying to keep the raiders in front of him. With his quiver empty, he threw his spear at one of the Blackfeet, missing by two feet. His arrows would have found their mark.

Hearing the thunderous hooves pound the campsite ground, Vision Seeker darted from the path of the panicked animals. She held her son, Little Feather, in one arm and waved the other, trying to divert the frantic horses.

A woman in front of her stood terror stricken by the battle raging around her.

“Move,” Vision yelled, as she dodged a Blackfoot’s tomahawk. She grabbed the woman by the shoulder and pulled her between two teepees. A young boy bumped into Vision, knocking her off her feet as he sprinted after the enemy with his bow and arrows.

Clutching Little Feather to her chest, Vision raced toward the shelter of several trees to hide her son. She hung his baby bag safely from a branch.
From the tree line, Vision saw Many Faces pick up her small daughter, Little Fawn. She yelled, “Many Faces, behind you.”

The woman swung a club at a brave on horseback. An arrow struck her in the stomach. As she crumpled to the ground, she dropped her daughter.

Overcome with anger, Vision screamed, “Kill them. Kill them. Kill the Blackfeet.”

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gwyn, Plot-wise, I don't know where this excerpt falls but there sure is a lot of exciting action -and characters. Makes me wonder what came before it.
Mary

Houston A.W. Knight said...

Hi Sweetie,

Awesome excerpt! I love your covers. Very well done.

Hugs
Hawk

Vicki M. Taylor said...

Wow, what vivid imagery! Great excerpt, Gwyn!

Cynthia Becker said...

Beautiful cover and great action excerpt. I went back to the previous post that offered the plot summary. Sounds like an interesting read. Congratulations wyn.

Eunice Boeve said...

Gwyn,
Your sequel Journey at Tracers Point looks good. Love the cover.
I've been wondering about Sarah. Thanks for not leaving us hanging.
http://www.euniceboeve.net

Anonymous said...

Very exciting action. Good excerpt!
Heidi

Velda Brotherton said...

Gwyn, Enjoyed your excerpt. What great action and the writing is so tight. Never a boring moment. Great stuff, friend.

Phil Dunlap said...

Gwyn:

I love action and you have it in spades. I look forward to reading the whole book.

All the best
Phil