Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance (25 page)

BOOK: Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
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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.

210

Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

"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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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

"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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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

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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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

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.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

Chapter Eighteen

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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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

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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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

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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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

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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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

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.

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