Demons of Eden: Book Summary
The book opens with the group about to ambush a group of prairie pirates, known as the Red Cadre. They wipe out three of the four pirates and rescue a woman. She tells them that she is from the ville of Amicus.
The surviving pirate refuses to tell them the information that they are looking for and Ryan promises to leave him alive to the wolves, so that his passing will be quick, but very brutal. The pirate spits at Krysty and Ryan loses his temper, blowing the man’s brains out.
Several days before encountering the pirates they left the redoubt that they encountered the very first time back in Pilgrimage to hell.
They take the wind wag and run for it. Felicity, the woman they rescued leads the way. As they travel, they see four wags coming up behind them, all loaded with land pirates. The woman’s husband was named Spotted Hawk and they dump his corpse because they have no choice and must lighten the load. When they reach Amicus, they meet the leader of the ville, Mose Autrey, who welcomes them.
They’re taken to the tavern to tell their story of how they rescued Felicity from the Red Cadre and the pirate leader Hatchet Jack. While inside the tavern, they meet a huge indian named Little Mountain. The native man tells him that he knows Ryan, then leaves.
They learn that Amicus was set up ten years before as an experiment. The pirates, the Red Cadre used to winter in it until they attack a group of Cheyenne. The pirates were ambushed and then were forced out. They have wanted to return for years.
That night when they are sleeping, Ryan has a dream about a wolf who can talk to him. The dream disturbs him greatly. In the morning, Hatchet Jack sends word that he wants to talk to Ryan at noon. Ryan does go to the meeting, the others follow to cover his back. Ryan, the day before found a map on the corpse of one of the pirates. He took it and Hatchet Jack demands that he return it. Ryan offers to trade it for the corpse of Spotted Hawk, but since the pirate doesn’t have the body, the trade doesn’t take place. Hatchet springs his trap.
They escape the trap and make it back to the ville no worse for wear. They then discuss their options. Some of the townsfolk want to turn Ryan and his friends over to the pirates. Mose lets them know that it won’t work as there is too much blood between the pirates and the townsfolk.
One man refuses to stay. He tells them that he is going to go and parley with the pirates, might even try to join up with them. The townsfolk just let him go. Later on, when they are watching the pirates prepare for the attack the man that left is sent back to them, scalped and tied on the back of the horse.
They work on preparing the defenses for the ville during the night. They set up kegs of black powder in the pass just in case they need to bring the pass down.
As they predicted, Hatchet Jack attacks. In the first wave, the pirates lose seven men. After that, they use the vehicles as cover and launch a second wave. The attack is brutal and a number of the townsfolk are wiped out. They are forced to retreat to the ville.
Ryan goes to the kegs to set them off and try and wipe out the pirates. Ryan encounters Hatchet Jack and they fight. He demands that Ryan return the map. Felicity comes in and shoots Jack, killing him, but not before he kills her in return. Ryan Detonates the gunpowder. The blast wipes out all but a half dozen of the pirates and they flee.
Ryan pulls out the map and burns it before Hatchet Jack’s dying eyes. They then return to the ville. The ville lost a full third of it’s adult population and they spend the day tending to the wounded and trying to clean up after the battle.
The next day Touches the Sky arrives. He lets the group know that the surviving members of the Cadre have been dealt with. Joe wants the group to come with him back to the fabled Ti Ra Wa and help him fight off a terrible enemy.
Ryan agrees to help Touch the Sky and they plan to leave at sunset. Touch the Sky offers them as much gold as they can carry in return for their help. That evening, Ryan runs into a beautiful native woman named Sisoka, and her wolf friend, a big gray named Blood Sniffer. She want’s Ryan to turn away from the quest. When he refuses, she orders the wolf to attack Ryan and kill him. The wolf doesn’t succeed, and both of them escape.
Before leaving, Ryan confronts Joe about the encounter. He discovers that the girl was a spy sent by the wolf soldiers, the enemy that he asked the group to help them fight. Mildred treats his wounds and they stay one more night for some sleep.
They set out before sunrise and hit the trail. Late in the day they pass the remains of some of the Red Cadre, and also spot a herd of Buffalo. Just before dark when they are crossing a river, they are attacked by the Wolf Soldiers and Touch the Sky is wounded slightly.
Mildred, following Joe’s instructions, treats the wounds with medicine in his pouch. They then travel another hour before finally making camp.
The next day they come across a small shack where a ancient black doomie lives. She has a white flag up, indicating to the locals that she wants to trade. They discover that she has a huge mutie cougar as a companion. Doc and Mildred go to see her. Her home is set up like a seers. While inside they are attacked by Wolf Soldiers. They are killed and the old doomie gives them flower. When they ask what she wants in return, she tells them that she was paid. Turns out that she is a cannie as well as a doomie.
After the encounter they come across another herd of buffalo. Joe and Jak share the hunt and down one of huge beasts. Joe skins the beast for them and they all partake with the feast then make camp for the night.
Two days of travel finally bring them to the valley where Ti Ra Wa is located. Joe spots some wolves on the ridge and gets Ryan to shoot to kill. Ryan deliberately misses and scares the wolves away, but at the same time it alerts the Wolf Soldiers to the fact that Joe has returned. Inside the pass Joe uses a gold wafer that has a Crystal embedded in it. He tells the others that he contacted his people and that help is going to be on the way.
Before help can arrive they are attacked by the Wolf Soldiers. The blasters turn the tide of the battle and they are able to capture Sisoka’s wolf Blood sniffer. Also at this time Little Mountain and his friends arrive.
Everyone is escorted back to the city. It is amazing and takes their breath away. At the same time the city is almost alien to all of them, as no one has ever seen anything like it before. They are given a place to sleep and brought food. As usual, a young indian woman takes a great deal of interest in Jak.
Before going to sleep, they witness a cerimony led by Touch the Sky. They don’t understand what is happening so after it’s done Joe explains what it was for. They then retire for the night.
Little Mountain summons them to talk to the wolf, Blood Sniffer. Joe is in the cavern when they arrive and they use the Gold disk with the Crystal embedded in it to talk to the wolf. Ryan learns from the wolf that Joe is lying to him and his intentions are not what he stated. Joe shuts the wolf up so it can’t communicate any further. Ryan still wants to learn more, and in the end the wolf promises to lead them to the wolf soldiers.
Later on, Ryan and JB go with Joe to try and are lead by Blood Sniffer to the Wolf Soldiers territory. After they pass a wolf they are attacked. They try to run for it. But Ryan is captured, and JB is nearly killed by a wolf.
Joe is the only one who escaped and he makes his way back to the compound, and tells the others that he is sure that Ryan and JB were killed.
When Ryan awakens, he finds that he has been tied to a rack and is naked. Sisoka and Blood Sniffer are there. She tells him that he is to be judged for his actions. It’s decided that he is going to have to fight for his life. The only warrior that steps up to fight him is the wolf Blood Sniffer. Ryan is given the skin of a dead wolf as his only protection. They fight but to a standstill. They then accept him into the Wolf Soldiers tribe.
Before the fight occurs JB wakes up and makes his way to the compound. He meets with the others and surprises Mildred who was crying because she thought he was dead. Joe then comes in and takes all their weapons and gives the blasters to the warriors to try and train them how to use them. At the same time he lets the others know what he plans to do to defeat the Wolf Soldiers.
They cut through their rawhide bindings just as the young indian girl Sunlata comes in. Jak tackles her but she doesn’t struggle. Instead, she offer to help by stripping off her clothing and letting Krysty wear them so she can get out and use the gold disk to try and contact Ryan. She is able to contact him and informs him what Joe plans to do.
Blood Sniffer leads Ryan back to the city. After sneaking in, he knocks out the young guard and helps his friends escape. They then go to Joe’s home and retrieve their weapons, and at the same time, they take Joe captive.
They decide to take some horse and Joe is able to panic the horses and uses the confusion to slip away. After calming the animals, they head over to the Wolf Soldiers.
Joe begins his plan and sets fire. He then takes his people and attacks. The wolf soldiers are forced to enter the caves. During the fight Jak is injured but not too badly. They go deeper in the caves, passing a boneyard before making it into the very heart of the caverns.
Shortly after they arrive, Joe leads his warriors enter. Ryan injures Little Mountain in the fight and then JB kills the big Indian. Joe shoots Ryan in the wrist and they go at it, hand to hand. During the fight, Krysty gets hit in the chest with a arrow and it nearly kills her. Despite his fear for his lover, when Sisoka impales Touch the Sky with a lance, Ryan is able to toss his body into the heart of the cavern where he disappears. During the fight, the wolf Blood Sniffer is killed.
They spend the next seven days in the caves using the energy of the earth to heal Krysty as well as their own wounds. Another three days pass before Krysty is strong enough to travel. Sisoka informs them that they are no longer welcome in the valley and that they must leave. They do so.
End of Demons of Eden