Land of the Dogs (The Colter Saga Book 5)

by Joel Baker

  “I think everyone has heard about the little white girl seen with one of the dog people,” Cass said. “None of us know what this little girl was doing with one of these vicious dogs. The consensus is that there must now be a family living with the dog people. The question is, are they controlling the dogs as well?”

  Cass looked around the circle of faces to see if there were any questions before he continued.

  “Mato and I earlier found signs while we were on the trail following the buffalo north. They were signs of people coming from the south. They were headed in the direction of the land of the dogs. We believe that these may have been the same people Asha saw.”

  “Mato has something to say,” Cass said, nodding toward Mato.

  “Before we go further,” Mato said. “We have someone that has heard of a family that lives with the dogs. Leon, why don’t you tell the council what your relatives down south told you?”

  Leon stood, looking nervous at having to talk in front of a group of people. The stories his relatives had told him seemed to be exaggerations at the least. The Lakota were now faced with the possibility that the stories were true. He was even more concerned.

  “Well,” Leon began. “About ten years ago, my relatives remember a white family who came through northern Texas on their way west. It was at the same time they’d encountered the dogs now living to the north of here. At first, no one knew the dogs were with the family passing through. It had seemed almost like a coincidence that they were both there at the same time.”

  “My people were living a little northwest of Oklahoma City,” Leon said. “It was before the drought and that part of the country was still a good place to live. My uncle and cousins had been hunting deer for several days when they spotted this family traveling away from Oklahoma City north by west. It was the heat of the day, so my uncle decided to break for lunch and maybe a nap. Two hours later a black man came over the horizon. One of my cousins spotted him and dogged him to see where he was headed. My cousin thought he was tracking the family that passed earlier. My uncle found that curious.”

  “Just a second Leon,” Cass said. “What about the dogs?”

  “One of my cousins claimed he saw two of the black dogs running out front of the white family,” Leon said. “He told my uncle it looked like the dogs were acting as scouts. He claimed they were running an extended figure eight to make sure they didn’t miss anything.”

  “Dogs don’t do that,” Mato said. “That’s a maneuver only our seasoned scouts perform.”

  “When it comes to the dogs,” Asha said. “I’m not sure we can rule anything out, Mato. I am curious how the dogs didn’t know someone was tracking them. Go ahead, Leon, finish your story.”

  “My cousin mentioned he saw the black man following the family,” Leon said. “My uncle thought he was probably with the group, and just catching up. They hunted for a while in the afternoon heading generally in the direction the family and dogs had headed. They camped that night and continued hunting to the northwest.”

  “No one was curious about the dogs or the family?” one of the elders asked.

  “My uncle felt the size of the dogs discouraged curiosity,” Leon said. “They hung back to make sure they were clear of them. The next day they found the body of the black man. They spent some time reading the signs of what happened. It took place where the family had camped.”

  “From what they could tell,” Leon said. “The man surprised the women while the men were away from camp. The signs were hard to read. As near as they could tell the man attacked one of the women. The dogs came to her defense and ripped the man to shreds. An old man and one of the dogs died in the fight, and were buried by a small river.”

  Leon took a seat back from the elders. There was silence for a long period of time in the lodge. Each of the elders thought about the implications of the story. Finally Asha rose to speak

  “I think we have to assume that the people, now living with the dogs, are this family,” Asha said. “They must have a long history with the dogs, and recently rejoined them from the south. They are probably fleeing from the drought. We can assume that they will be staying for a while.”

  “What should we do?” one of the elders asked.

  “It would be easy to do nothing,” Cass said. “I think we should try to contact them.”

  “They’re in the land of the dogs,” Mato said. “Who would go there to find them?”

  “Not me,” Cass said. “They are probably living very close to the border. I think we could signal them with drums. They might come to see what was going on out of curiosity.”

  “Why would we do this?” another of the elders asked.

  “They arrived here a few weeks ago,” Cass said. “They have a long, cold winter ahead of them. Maybe we could get off to a good start with these people by offering to help them.”

  There as another long period of silence. The occasional pop and snap of the fire was the only sound.

  “You assume they can control the dogs,” Asha said. “It could be the other way around.”

  “Yes,” Cass said. “If it is the other way around, we have now live next to the devil.”

  ****

  Matthew and Fala were the last to go to bed that night. They sat in front of the fireplace as the fire died to embers. For some reason, Jason was resisting going to bed, and was playing with blocks in front of the fireplace. Everyone else had turned in shortly after the meeting had broken up. The quiet murmur of voices could be heard coming from behind the partitions as people whispered to each other before falling asleep.

  Matthew worried about Fala being pregnant. He knew her mother Nina was a good midwife. Of course both Molly and Shannon would know what needed to be done. Still, it felt like they were in the middle of nowhere, without access to help if they needed it.

  Then there was his growing concern about Jason. It wasn’t just Banners occasional visiting Jason, although the visits from Banner were unusual. Banner had never shown interest in any of the Colters before. But now Jason was receiving visits from the other dogs as well. Matthew had no idea what it all meant.

  Sometimes one of dogs would walk up behind Jason and huff on his hair. His blond hair would fly around. Jason would smile, but otherwise act as if nothing had happened. It was if they had a private joke between the dogs and Jason. Matthew asked Banner what it meant. Banner told him it was nothing. Matthew wasn’t sure that was entirely true.

  Still, Jason seemed happy and spent a lot of time with his grandmother. Matthew mentioned the dog’s sudden interest in Jason to Fala. She hadn’t noticed anything odd or different.

  Matthew had felt better until yesterday.

  It was just after lunch and Matthew was out looking for dead trees to be cut down for firewood. The men felt that at least twenty cords of wood would be needed to see them through the winter. The roof of the Center leaked heat like a sieve. They would have to burn wood constantly. Matthew had located a stand of trees that would make excellent firewood. That was when he saw them.

  Somehow Jason had wandered away from the Center and had found his way out here into the woods. The boy was sitting in the center of a small clearing, sunlight dappling the ground around him. He sat with his legs drawn up to his chest, his arms holding them tightly. Arrayed in a semicircle in front of him were Banner, North, East, and West. They towered over the little boy, all staring at Jason intently.

  Matthew felt a stab of icy fear shoot through his heart. He was afraid to make a sound or show any movement. For the first time in his life he felt a cold fear of the dogs. He held his breath, not knowing what to expect.

  Jason moved to sit Indian fashion in the fallen leaves carpeting the clearing. He held his arms stretched upward towards the blue sky above. All four dogs lay down in front of Jason at the same time. They placed their heads on the ground between their paws. A chill ran down Matthew’s spine. It looked as if Jason were somehow controlling the dogs. Slowly he crept away from the clearing. Matthew
had no idea what it all meant.

  Chapter 13

  The sun had just risen when Molly first heard the beating drum. She joined the others standing on the porch of the Center, listening to the thunder of the drum beat. Dalton and James looked at each other and nodded, retuning back inside to get dressed. Molly looked down at Jessica and Max standing by the railing. Max was looking intently in the direction of the sound.

  “What does Max think of all this?” Molly asked.

  “He thinks you should tell whoever is beating the drum to stop,” Jessica said.

  “Does it hurt his ears,” Molly asked.

  “No,” Jessica said. “It makes him want to kill something.”

  Molly looked closely at Max and saw subtle signs that the transforming was beginning to take place. The gums began pulling back slightly from his teeth, his back arched, and his neck began to extend slightly. His eyes began to fill with blood. Shannon came out on the porch half dressed, just waking up.

  “Who’s making that God awful racket?” Shannon asked, sleepily.

  “I would have to guess the Lakota,” Molly said. “Jessica, get Max into the center, and keep him there. Shannon, you get a couple of horses saddled. Now hurry, both of you!”

  Molly raced back into the bedroom. She saw James slowly pulling his pants on, yawning. She grabbed her pants, pulled them on, and tucked her nightgown in as she raced for the barns. Shannon was on one horse and held Molly’s horse by the bridle.

  The two women lashed their horses as they raced toward the sound of the drum. They were barely able to avoid low hanging limbs and were jumping over fallen tree trunks.

  “What’s going on?” Shannon asked.

  “It’s the drum,” Molly called back over her shoulder. “It makes the dogs begin to transform.”

  As they approached the edge of a large clearing on the border with the Lakota, Molly could see perhaps ten or twelve people standing in a line behind a man rhythmically beating on a massive drum. The drum was perhaps three feet across and four feet tall. It was decorated with shells and feathers.

  The two women burst from the underbrush and trees, startling the Lakota standing in a line behind the drum. Shannon pulled up just beyond the line of trees, jumped from her horse and looked back at the line of trees, holding both her arms up in the air.

  Molly raced toward where the man, head down, continued beating the drum. As she drew near, Molly pulled up hard on the reins and slid to a stop in front of the drum and the man who had been pounding on it.

  “For the love of God,” Molly cried. “Stop beating that drum!”

  ****

  Cass had been beating the drum for about fifteen minutes. They’d decided that he would stop after a half hour to give the people living with the dogs, time to respond. He was looking down at the head of the large drum, concentrating on maintaining the beat. He heard a gasp from the others behind him. When Cass looked up, he saw two women burst from the line of trees on the far side of the clearing.

  He saw one of the women jump from her horse, and turn facing the trees with her hands up. He took a quick step back as the second woman with wild red hair, slid to a stop almost knocking over the drum.

  In quick procession, two men burst from the tree line, armed to the teeth and apparently ready to fight to the death. Immediately following the men out of the trees, six dogs slid to a stop in front of the woman standing with her hands up. Soon more dogs emerged from the forest, standing alert, also ready for anything.

  Except for the occasional huff from one of the dogs, it was silent for a few moments.

  “I’m sorry,” the woman with wild red hair said. “It’s just that the drums make the dogs want to kill someone.”

  “Do they want to kill anyone in particular?” Cass asked stepping forward.

  “Usually the one beating the drum,” Molly said. “My name is Molly Colter. The man with all the guns is my husband, James Colter. The woman holding the dogs away from your throat is my daughter, Shannon. That’s her husband, Dalton. I assume you’ve already met the dogs.”

  Cass, at a loss for words, stood staring at Molly until it finally became awkward. Mina stepped forward followed closely by Asha. She stood and looked Molly over for a moment before speaking.

  “We woke you up, didn’t we?” Mina asked, in her soft voice. “I’m sorry. My name is Mina. This is my mother-in-law Asha. The man that was beating the drum is my husband, Cass. He is the leader of the Lakota.”

  Molly gave a small wave and a smile to Asha and Cass. Another Lakota woman, almost as lovely as the first woman, stepped forward beside Mina.

  “This is my friend Lotus,” Mina said. “She’s the wife of that large, scary man staring at you from over there. His name is Mato. He is the leader of the Lakota warrior clan.”

  “Please to meet you,” Molly said. “Can you tell us why you’re beating a drum at the crack of dawn?”

  “We decided it was time for us to meet the people who came to live with the dogs,” Cass said stepping forward. “We are sorry for the early hour. We are early risers, and assumed you were also.”

  James rode forward and dismounted next to Molly.

  “Cass,” James said, holding out his hand. “I’m James Colter.”

  They shook hands, trying to get the measure of each other. James glanced over towards where Mato stood, glaring at him.

  “I heard you tell my wife your people wanted to meet us,” James said.

  “Yes, that is true,” Cass said. “We have a… history with the dogs. We saw signs that people were now living with them. We weren’t sure why you came here to live. We thought your coming here might have changed things. We also found signs that you recently came from the south somewhere. We just don’t know why you’re here or what it means.”

  “First of all,” James said. “We didn’t come here. We were brought here, by the dogs. We’re not entirely sure why they brought us here, but here we are and here we will stay.”

  There was silence for a few moments as the exchange became awkward again. Molly stepped forward to try and keep the situation from becoming confrontational.

  “Excuse me for butting in again,” Molly said. “I’m a little uncomfortable standing here with my nightgown tucked into my pants. Would anyone object if we regrouped, say at noon today?”

  Mina laughed, and broke the tension.

  “That’s an excellent idea,” Mina said. “By the way, your nightgown is lovely. Why don’t you come to our village when the sun is overhead?”

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Molly said.

  Molly looked at James, nodding her head back in the direction of the Center.

  James stepped forward and extended his hand to Cass, who took it.

  “We can count on there being no problems?” James asked.

  “You will be welcomed, James Colter,” Cass said. “We’ll see you at noon.”

  ****

  “What do you think?” James said, once they were back at the Center.

  “They seem so freaked by the dogs,” Dalton said. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about. If I were them, I’d want to know what we were doing here.”

  “Molly?” James asked. “Shannon? What do you think?”

  “I didn’t see or hear much,” Shannon said. “I was a little busy trying to hold the dogs back. Beating on that drum drives the dogs into frenzy for some reason.”

  “I think the Lakota men want to see if we are a threat,” Molly said, her brow furrowed. “The women seem friendly enough and were stunningly beautiful. Don’t you think?”

  “Banner told me both Mina and Lotus are pregnant,” Shannon said. “He said Mina would have a girl and Lotus would have a son.”

  “Mina was Cass’s wife,” Molly said. “Lotus is married to Mato.”

  “That Mato was a scary guy,” James said. “Did you see the size of him?”

  “He didn’t seem to want anything to do with us,” Dalton said. “I only saw one little reaction w
hile he was glaring at us.”

  “When was that?” James asked.

  “When he saw me holding my Colter rifle across my saddle,” Dalton said. “I think he knew what it was and what it could do.”

  “Who should go to meet with the Lakota?” Molly asked.

  “I think Molly, James, Dalton, and Shannon,” Matthew said.

  “What about the dogs?” Shannon asked.

  “What does Banner think?” Molly asked.

  Matthew reached out to Banner for a few moments.

  “Banner said it was up to us,” Matthew said.

  “What do you think?” James asked.

  “I think a couple of the dogs should go in with us,” Dalton said. “It will show the Lakota we are united from the beginning. We don’t want them to think there’s any daylight between us and the dogs.”

  “Shannon?” James asked. “Are you okay with that?”

  “Let’s hope the Lakota don’t do anything stupid,” Shannon said.

  “I want Nate with us too,” Dalton said.

  “I agree,” James said. “He might pick up something from the Lakota we might miss.”

  “Do we go armed?” Dalton asked.

  “I think side arms would be okay,” James said. “But maybe we should leave them with the horses when we go inside.”

  ****

  The Colters headed to the Lakota village when the sun was directly overhead. They rode side by side, husband and wife. Nate trailed the others with Banner and another dog equally as massive and intimidating.

  Wood smoke rose from all the cabins they passed. The Lakota village was clean and well ordered. It was obvious these people cared greatly for the appearance of the village. Even the streets had been swept. They seemed to be going out of their way to make a good impression on the Colters.

  James noted the cattle in a corral they passed and wondered why they were there. It was odd given the abundance of buffalo in the area. Ahead they saw several of the people they’d met that morning. They were standing on a porch of a large and impressive building. The Colter group pulled up in front of the building and dismounted. Banner and the other dog walked up next to James and stood staring at the people on the porch.