The Golden Arrow

Chief Heretchaa eyed his human quarry as he nocked an arrow, its unique golden tip ablaze in the midday sun.  A solitary bead of sweat traced a path down his forehead and across his left cheek, but he ignored it; the success of this undertaking was his only concern.  The Dakota summer skies were clear and blue, but letting loose this arrow would announce that a storm was coming…

              Daniel Moss made a living as a bounty hunter and a supplier of various desired items to the native populations on and off the reservations.  Many transactions were the kind you liked to keep secret.  Once a soldier, he found the military showed no appreciation for his methods of dealing with the Indians, so he spent much of his time coveting what others had…and taking it if he could.  His greed had no bounds.  Moss would allow nothing to come between him and what he deserved, and to that end, he now tracked a savage warrior some claimed moved like a ghost and possessed so much gold he could waste the precious metal on arrowheads.  The newspapers glamorized him as The Golden Arrow across the continent.  Nonsense. Moss was in pursuit of The Golden Arrow, unaware that he, too, was being hunted by a skilled mountain man charged with bringing Moss to justice, a man whose life story tied the three together.

              In this tale of early America's insane lust for gold, one Chief sends a clear message of defiance, using the only weapon he believes the invaders and defilers of the sacred Black Hills will understand—arrows made from the gold itself.  Will this be enough to protect his people? Is it the right decision, or will it lead his people to annihilation?  They all looked to Heretchaa to lead them after his father's murder, but was he ready and worthy of the task?  Would the visiting spirits of his ancestors help guide him along the way?  Did they wish the same revenge he sought?  So many questions, and the answers so elusive.  He must find the way.

Approx 36,000 words