Shadow Bones
There were diamonds in that old family mine, Skye Blackbird was sure of it.She'd be able to prove it, too, and fulfill her Ojibwa chieftain father's dream, if it weren't for paleontologist Jake Baxter, who was searching for dinosaur bones in the very same spot. When sabotage occurred at the dig's site, Jake wasn't sure if it was angry locals or a rival paleontologist who had done it.But someone didn't want the earth disturbed, and as the body count mounted, it appeared that same someone might also want to add him and Skye to the tally….
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Jakeâs gaze swept her. âYouâre Skye Blackbird, the medicine woman? You look too modern to believe in herbs and roots.â
âA typically uninformed comment. If we give our bodies the natural substances God made for us, weâd all be a lot better off. Even an Indiana Jones type like you.â
Instead of the comment irritating him like sheâd planned, he grinned, a lazy smile full of self-confidence. âIâm glad you noticed.â
Skye glared at Jake. âIâd like to persuade you to abandon the idea of digging here. Youâll disrupt my mining and destroy the environment in this area. There are less fragile places on the island to dig. I suggest you look around.â
âI have a feeling about this spot,â Jake said. âIt could be a huge discovery. Iâm sorry you donât approve, but your mother owns the land, so I donât think you have anything to say about it.â The final sentence was uttered with a gentleness that didnât extend to the grim look in his eyes.
COLLEEN RHOADS
loves to convey the compelling truth of Godâs love and grace through her fiction. Colleen and her husband reside in Indiana when theyâre not traveling the globe looking for new adventures to write about. Visit her Web site at www.colleencoble.com. She loves to hear from her readers! You can e-mail her at [email protected].
Shadow Bones
Colleen Rhoads
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
âII Timothy 1:7
For New Life Baptist Church
The place Iâm most at home this side of heaven
Dear Reader,
Iâve always loved Indiana Jones and wanted to write an exciting male lead like him some day. I hope you like Jake Baxter as much as I liked writing him. He and Skye Blackbird make a good pairâonce they figure it out!
Ancient history has always interested me, and I love old secrets that play out in peopleâs lives. Though Eagle Island is imaginary, the Ojibwa legends and lore are very real. Iâve been fascinated with my research into the legends of the Great Lakes. I hope you enjoy the excursion! Watch for the third book in the Great Lakes Legends miniseries coming soon.
I love hearing from my readers. Visit me at www.colleencoble.com and e-mail me at [email protected].
Contents
Prologue
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
Prologue
Wilson New Moon hummed as he walked through the meadow with his balsam airplane. He loved to watch it soar into the clouds. Sometimes he was tempted to throw it with all his might and see if it could reach heaven.
The preacher said God was in heaven, and Wilson was curious about that. Did God sit on a throne? Did He like balsam planes? A big man, Wilson knew he wasnât smart like other men. Heâd once heard a teacher say heâd always have the mental capacity of a twelve-year-old, but Wilson didnât think that was so bad. Twelve was practically an adult.
Wilson knew he wasnât supposed to be here. The mine area was off-limits. Thatâs what his mother said. Wilson didnât quite understand what off-limits was, but his mom said the mine was dangerous. He wasnât a scaredy-cat, though. He loved this particular meadow in the springtime. Mushrooms would be popping up any day now. He could take what he found to the hunting shop in town and sell them for enough to buy material to make more planes. This one was getting tattered, and The Sleeping Turtle in town needed more of his creations to sell.
He let the wind take the plane and shouted with exhilaration as it soared on the breeze. Capering in among the wildflowers, he screamed with the wind. He wished he could be a plane himself.
By the middle of the afternoon, he was exhausted. He tucked his plane under his arm. Maybe he should leave it here instead of hauling it to his cabin. Wilson had seen a cave around here somewhere. He scrabbled through the underbrush.
There it was. He uprooted a shrub and revealed the opening back into the mine. It was bigger than he rememberedâbig enough for him to explore.
Smiling hugely, he got on all fours and crawled inside. This could be his hiding place. He could play tricks on other mushroom hunters from here and scare them away.
He heard a sound, and his blood boomed in his ears. He looked behind him and saw a black face atop a figure dressed in black. White teeth bared, the creature reached for him.
A scream tore from his throat, and Wilson backpedaled as quick as he could. It was Asibikaashi, the Spider Woman. Weaver of dreamcatchers, Asibikaashi had always terrified Wilson. Though the Ojibwa were encouraged to protect and revere her, he wanted nothing to do with anything that had eight legs.
The shriek that issued from his mouth hurt his ears. He turned and ran for his life. Every moment he expected to feel the silken thread of the Spider Womanâs web entangle him and the sharp sting of her teeth entering his back. He didnât dare look behind him as he ran for safety.
