Read Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance Online
Authors: Lorraine Kennedy
Hanging up the phone, Laura peered around the room as if
she was not quite sure of where she was.
"What was that all about?" Kenny asked from behind the
counter.
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"I just got through talking with Mrs. Lambert at the Nugget
Saloon. She acted as if she had never heard of me."
"Maybe she forgot?" Kenny shrugged.
Laura shook her head. "She said she never heard of
Duccini or the
Sungmanitu
."
Kenny smiled. "She must be playing with you," he stated
the obvious.
"Maybe," Laura grudgingly agreed as she was digging in
her purse for Detective Gates' phone number.
It seemed an eternity before someone picked up.
"Hi ... this is Laura Ellison. I was working with the Duccini
Corporation up there about a month or so ago."
There was a long pause before he said anything. "I'm
sorry, Miss Ellison, but I never heard of Duccini."
"They were clear-cutting in Beaver Creek, but had to cease
operation when there
were several murders...." Her voice trailed off.
"Murders!" he was astounded. "A month ago there was an
epidemic of rabies in the animals of that area, and several
people were killed. Could that be the situation you are
referring to?" he asked.
Laura was stunned into a silence. This could not be
possible!
"Maybe so." She decided to let it go. "What I'd like to know
is if I can get a message to a member of the
Sungmanitu
Tribal Council in Beaver Creek."
"The
Sungmanitu
... in Beaver Creek?" Detective Gates
seemed to be at a loss for words.
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"Miss, is this some kind of a joke! Beaver Creek is a ghost
town, and the only Indians we have around here are the
Shoshone and Arapaho. At one time there were some there,
but they are long gone."
Laura's vision fogged and she swayed. "I'm sorry ... I must
have the wrong town," she stuttered.
She looked to Kenny in dazed confusion. "It did really
happen, didn't it?"
"You know it did." Kenny looked as spooked as she felt.
Laura dialed Jessup's number in Louisiana. She prayed he
would be there. A few moments later, she hung up. If it were
not for the child growing within her, Laura would have
believed herself as mad as her grandmother had been. For an
instant, she wondered if indeed insanity could be passed on
genetically.
"Well?" Kenny prodded.
"He wasn't there, but his sister said that as far as she
knew Jessup had never been to Wyoming in his life." Laura
was dazed.
"You know that cannot be true. This has to be some sort of
cover up." He was angry.
"I wonder just who's doing the covering?" Laura bit at her
lip.
The desert winds swung the trailer's door to and fro,
banging it against the exterior aluminum, cracking the
stillness of the quiet afternoon. Dust flew into the air, playing
a game of tag with the breeze.
Something was wrong!
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Laura knew this the same as she knew her own name. A
sense of foreboding twisted around her throat—tightening
until she felt her life's breath would be cut off completely.
Somewhere in the recess of conscious thought, she wondered
if her grandfather had experienced the same feeling on that
night so many years ago.
Aware that she was in the thralls of some sort of panic
attack, Laura fought it off. With forced, deliberate
movements, she entered the trailer.
A prevailing emptiness greeted her when she walked
through the door. Laura's heart jumped into her throat.
Something had happened to her grandfather! The
knowledge was like acid, eating her from the inside out.
A hasty search of the trailer revealed nothing but what she
had already known, her grandfather was gone. A half-packed
suitcase rested on his bed and on the stove a pot of coffee
had simmered dry.
Could he have gone for a walk and forgotten about the
stove? Was he losing his memory? Questions rampaged
through her mind, anything to keep from thinking of her
grandfather being in danger.
Twice a day, he went to a place close by to pray. Laura
moved fast through the brush to this location. There was no
sign of him, or that he had even been there recently. On the
hilltop, Laura scanned the rocky landscape looking for
anything that would give her a clue—a trail to follow.
The horizons were empty of all but the desert creatures.
Where else could he have gone? The Kiva, Laura thought.
Maybe he went to investigate the Kiva?
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She approached the pit house cautiously—some extra
sense warning her of an unseen danger. She wanted to call
out her grandfather's name, but her tongue felt thick and she
found herself unable to utter a word.
Laura never heard their approach, but she felt them, felt
the air stir behind her, felt the blood lust in their souls. She
dared not even breathe as she turned slowly. Three of them
stood behind her, their arms folded, their eyes burning with
hate.
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The blackness threatened to encase him once again, but
he continued to claw his way to the surface. He struggled to
open his eyes, but his eyelids were so heavy. The diminutive
light that was able to creep inside—sent shards of pain into
his head.
It was too much effort. Much easier to surrender to the
sweet numbness of nothingness, but he was not to be so
fortunate as to slip into oblivion. Her cries, her pain still
crawled into his head to torture him.
She was trapped in a building of stone and there were
cats, so many cats—their fierce claws leaving trails of crimson
on her ivory skin.
"Justin! Wake up! You have a visitor." It was his Aunt Ida's
anxious voice that pulled him from the shadows of his
nightmare.
He fought to come alive, but found he just could not bring
himself back to the land of the living—not completely.
Justin half registered his aunt's fretful whispers. "He has
tried to wake up a few times, but can't quite get past this
semi-comatose state. I'm afraid he lost too much blood. The
doctors say he may not even be the same—if he does come
out of it," she explained to some unseen presence.
A gentle hand rested on his forehead and he was jolted by
an invasion of light, flooding first his brain, and then seeping
into the veins that would carry his lifeblood through the rest
of his body.
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His eyes flew open, but his vision rippled as if he were
looking through water. As the seconds ticked by, the room
took on dimension. He could feel the softness of his bed and
the warmth of the blanket that covered him.
"Gatekeeper of
Coyopa
'," he whispered.
"That is so." The spirit's voice soothed Justin's aching
temples.
"I must be in the land of spirits," Justin concluded.
"No, you are very much alive, and I must say, slacking in
your responsibilities."
Justin would have smiled if he'd had the strength.
"Your woman telephoned, asking about the
Sungmanitu
."
This brought Justin to further alertness.
"Though she gave no indication, I believe something is
wrong. I have sensed that the
Baalam
have gone to the
desert to find her."
"What would the Jaguar People want with her?" Justin tried
to rise, but his aunt gently pushed him back.
The Gatekeeper shrugged his shoulders. "That is what you
must discover, but you have got to be aware that she's in
grave danger."
Again, Justin tried to rise, but Ida once again prevented
him from success. "You can do nothing in your condition. You
have to regain your strength and heal," his aunt scolded.
Justin fought to overcome the peaceful slumber that
beckoned him, but his strength ebbed and he succumbed to
rest.
The emerald bed of grass was softer than feather down,
and the tinkling waters of Gold Springs were successful in
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easing some of his inner turmoil. Justin never tired of peering
at the beauty of Gold Springs—given its name for the gold
dust that lined its bottom, lending the appearance that the
crystal clear water flowed on a bed of gold.
Coyopa
'! No place on earth could match its beauty or
serenity. To the white man the name meant Valley of Light,
and it was, though the city existed in the realm known as the
Outerlands
, a place between worlds.
Outerlands
was a
mystical plane that existed within the same physical space as
the natural world, but within another dimension—a dimension
populated with those who could not exist in the natural world.
Outerlands
was vast, with many realms and lands, and in
this mythical plane was also the path to the land of light,
where not even the citizens of this dimension could venture
until it was their time.
Coyopa
was a kingdom unmatched by any. A sacred place
reserved for the
Sungmanitu
, the keepers of the Earth
Mother.
Justin felt the weight of not only his responsibilities to his
people, but to the earth as well. These others, they had the
power of the shape-shifter, but they used it for evil. He knew
well that these creatures could walk a path of destruction that
would devastate the balance.
Laura! What did they want with her?
Could it be they were using her for bait? As it always did,
thoughts of her brought anew the agony of loss. The pain of
not having her near tore at his heart, as his wounds had torn
his flesh.
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The expertise of their doctors had been the only thing to
save him from the stomach wound. In the outside world, he
would have died. The days had passed excruciatingly slow,
but he had regained enough of his strength to journey to her
home, if for nothing else, to reassure himself that she was
okay.
The council was to meet soon, and would discuss the
possibility of Justin traveling to New Mexico. Though he was
their leader, primordial law dictated. For a
Sungmanitu
leader
to journey abroad, there must be a matter of grave
importance.
The Gate Keeper had promised to speak on Justin's behalf,
so there was no doubt that the council would agree. The
Gatekeeper never involved himself in the governing of
Coyopa
'. The fact that he had in this instance was alarming.
This was a matter of great importance to the spirits.
Against the backdrop of a New Mexican sunset, the Harley
negotiated the road at speeds that flaunted safety. Where in
this vast desert land would he find her?
The road sign up ahead announced that the Glass
Mountain Trading Post would appear in two miles. Kenny
Begay would not have been his first choice of an information
source, but so far he had not found a living soul at the trailer
her grandfather occupied.
The sound of a bell jingling alerted Glass Mountain's sole
employee that someone had arrived.
"I'll be right out!" Kenny called from the storage room in
back.
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Leaning against the counter, Justin studied the dusty
contents of the store. Laura hadn't been exaggerating when
she had explained her humble beginnings. The population of
the reservation did indeed appear to be amongst the poorest
of the nation, but that held true for most reservations.
The astonishment on Kenny's face when he came into the
room was worth a thousand words. Justin had to struggle to
keep his amusement at bay.
"Relax Kenny ... you are not seeing a ghost." A smile
played on Justin's lips.
"I thought you were dead." Kenny was still staring at him
in wide-eyed amazement.
Justin smiled and shook his head. "I was fortunate. The
spirits smiled upon me and decided I was still useful."
"You are looking for Laura?" Kenny assumed correctly.
"I have been out to her grandfather's several times. No
one seems to be there, but her truck is there. I thought you
might have some idea where I can find them?" Justin
explained.
"I haven't seen either of them all week and I have no clue
where they would have gone without the truck." Kenny
maintained a safe distance from the other man.