The Legend of Night Wolf

Wind again. No, it was thunder. Stephen’s pals glanced high ward. Not a cloud in the sky. Ricardo listened... The three ladies who’d brought tables and finery whispered to one another, as the thunder neared. One squealed when wine glasses trembled, shook, and fell to earth. Stephen was looking all over for the source of this pounding roar coming closer. Maybe he was the subject of God’s wrath, making mockery of sacred vows. Nah. He’d go to confession. He’d repent, tomorrow. From a blurring of blue sky and tall green trees, hooves driving soil from earth upward to black inviolable legs, rider gripped reins to sharp left, then right and straight dead on forward.

Suspended in motion of running, hooves all four touched neither heaven nor earth yet both in a connection of Divine Power unseen by any of these humans. Night Wolf’s long midnight hair melded with his jacket fringes wild in torrent. The horse’s breath was the heat of sky’s sun, even, paced, deep. His mane was of great large wings spread as an Eagle’s soar after its prey. The three ladies looked that direction, thunder upon them. Skirts flew in three directions of hurry to move among squeals. From the stables Mildred and Claudette emerged running, and crying hands to face. Stephen’s men shouted at one another to “move! Move! Move!” They were tossed like dominoes into each other’s bodies. In a leap of a wind wave taller than any man, rider’s black gloves grasped reins hard. On command, the horse leapt full and clear over the table of cake and fineries. M’siwa skidded to a perfection halt alongside Ashlanne. Dust of earth and leaves waved over Stephen in a smoke mound that blinded him long enough, for the rider to take her up into his arms, up on the horse’s back.

In a gesture faster than the blinking of time, he secured her in front of him on M’siwa’s back and turned sharp and straight as an arrow’s flight from a bow. They were gone, invisible in seconds, the way thunder clouds dispersing strong stormy rain alas sigh, and vanish. The veil drifted on a wave of silence, caught briefly to a tree limb, before a hidden breeze gasped it to earth.