The PureLights of Ohm Totem (22 page)

How did I defend myself so well against the Coyote?

The River Ohm raged next to the Large Boulder, bringing a heavy breeze that ruffled Coda's fur. He stood in front of Nova with his head down.

“I'm right here, Coda. I'm not the grass under your paws.”

He looked up with an embarrassed grin and saw that Nova was smiling. This relaxed him. He felt like an equal in the moment, not beneath her. She gestured for him to follow her. They walked to the edge of the river and stared into the wind. The twinkle of light danced off the water rapids in front of them.

As they sat in silence, Coda thought about the coyote that had fled from him the day before saying, 'It's him!'

Nova peered across the rapids. “Yesterday, Coda, you were focused.”

Coda nodded.
I was focused? How does she know?

“When you're focused, Coda, not even a coyote, a lion, nor Crepus Dim has a chance against you.” She shook her head at the river. “The river is high today.”

“Why did the Coyote say, 'It's him'?” asked Coda.

“What do you mean?”

“When the coyote ran away, he said 'It's him'. They were talking about me.”

“You look and defend like Orion. You do a lot of things that remind us of Orion. He was a black panther, just like you.”

“Who's Orion?” A splash of water landed on Coda’s nose, tickling it.

“Orion was one of the few VioletLights in Ohm Totem, just like me. He had mastered his life, and was very aware and awake to The Great Spirit. He was the first to see Crepus for who he really was. Orion and his tribe were the first to challenge Crepus.” Nova pointed her nose toward the north. “It ended in bloodshed.”

“What happened?”

“Orion's tribe, the Ionna Tribe, was destroyed, caught off guard by the Dim’s violent techniques. Orion came out unscathed, but his tribe was lost. Many were taken and turned into Dims. Many others died under the claws of Crepus and his minions. Orion came to me shortly afterwards and explained everything that happened. He taught us the Art of Defense. He knew it was one of the only things that could help us, but he hadn't fully learned it until after his tribe was decimated to nothing. He claimed he had learned it from The Great Spirit.

“He vowed to protect the rest of the tribes in Ohm Totem. He ran from tribe to tribe, doing his best to teach what he knew. Those tribes that fully learned the technique were the only ones who survived—the Sihu and the Zola Tribe. However, before we mastered the Art of Defense, many of our tribe-mates perished in battle.”

Nova looked down at her paws, saddened by this memory. “Orion left Ohm Totem nearly five thousand moons ago. Crepus claimed that he killed Orion, but it's not true. I know that Orion left, but for what reason, I don't know. He was there the night I interpreted the Windstorm Prophecy. I didn't see him, but found his fresh tracks next to the Sihu Forest. I looked for him for many moons, but I couldn't find him.” Nova looked intently at Coda. “Until now.”

Wow
, thought Coda. He wanted to meet this amazing VioletLight. “Where is he?” asked Coda.

“He's done something none of us have done before, but how he did it and why, I don't yet understand.”

Confused, Coda asked, “Done what?”

“He entered life as a human, rather than as a PureLight.” She shook her head, “How he did that and what he sought as a human is a mystery to me.”

She peered deeply into his eyes. “What I do know is that his name is now Coda.”

Coda's head snapped back.
Me?

“Yes, you. And if Crepus finds out, you'll be targeted. He's intelligent. He'll figure it out some day. Hopefully, not soon. We must get you to remember what you once taught us. You remembered your teachings when you faced the coyote. Just tap into that memory and go from there, alright?”

Coda was stunned. “Me? How could I be Orion?”

Nova didn’t reply. Her placid demeanor didn't lesson the shock that ran through his veins as his mind went in circles. This couldn't be. Could it? He tried to remember his life back at the Cornell Forest, but his mind was too hazy, too amped up with excitement and bewilderment.

Coda shook his head, “I don't know. I think I'm just Coda.”

“What if you did know?”

“Huh?” replied Coda.

“What if you did know? What if you knew you were Orion? Then what?”

Coda's brows furrowed and he bit his lower lip, “I guess I'd know how to do the Art of Defense?”

“Yes, you would.”

Coda looked at her with a blank expression. “Well, I don't know the Art of Defense.”

Nova tapped her tail on his back. “You do.”

“But, if I was Orion, then I'd remember it, right?”

“That's right.”

Coda nodded, “Okay. But I don't remember it.” He giggled. He was beginning to think this conversation was silly. He wasn't Orion. That much he knew. “So, I'm not Orion.” How could Orion become him? That didn't make sense. Was Nova playing a game with him? A game he didn't know how to play?

“Are you sure you don't remember the Art of Defense?” Nova's tone was a little sarcastic, but not in a way that poked fun, but in a way that stated she was a little surprised. She curled her tail around his shoulders.

He began to speak, then stopped. He was going to tell her that he didn't remember anything and never would, when suddenly a memory flashed in his mind. It wasn't a memory of Orion. It was a memory of yesterday, when he had faced the coyote. He remembered how he'd turned into something more confident and more skilled than he'd ever been before. The Art of Defense was an extension of himself. It was easy. He controlled every aspect of his opponent, turning the situation from certain death into a group of fleeing Dims.

Nova slowly nodded her head. Coda could tell she knew his thoughts. Coda's expression changed and he lit up.

“Yesterday!” he blurted out. He dug his claws into the grass. “How did I know how to do that? I've never done anything like that before.”

“Ah, but you have,” Nova smiled. “Just remember who you are, and everything will make sense.” She turned and strode away, leaving Coda to stare at the river alone.

The water danced with the rays of sun as it sparkled off the rapids.
Remember who I am? What does that mean? I’m just Coda
—
aren’t I?

A gust of wind blew and the long grass beside him brushed his fur. He took in a deep breath and stood up. He froze.
What was that?

He glimpsed movement in the tall grass on the other side of the river. A second later it stopped.

He sat back down, narrowing his eyes. There it was again. The grass rippled, as if someone or something moved through it. He wondered if it was the wind, but none of the grass on the other side of the river moved. It was just this clump.

Coda focused on the clump of grass some more. A fluff of fur emerged. Was that a tail, or some type of plant he'd never seen before? A plant that only grew in Ohm Totem? An instant later, the fluff of fur disappeared inside the clump, hiding it from view.

Coda lifted himself by standing only on his two hind feet to get a better view. Still, he couldn't see what was in the clump of grass. He gave up. What harm was it anyway? He gently dropped back down on all fours. As he turned to walk away, he heard a loud rustling sound over the churning rapids. A pitter-patter of small feet ran through the grass. He was still amazed by how well he could hear as a panther.

Quickly glancing back, he watched something shuffle and violently shake the grass. It was running north, directly for the Fog. A loud owl's shriek filled the sky and several owls lifted out of the trees that bordered the Fog. They flew down toward the shape, and Nova, as quick as a jet, ran past Coda, leaping over the wide river, landing softly on the other side.

How did she do that?

She dashed forward, in pursuit of whoever was running through the grass. Her reflexes and speed outmatched the small creature. Nearly to the Fog now, the small figure zigzagged through the long grass, trying to shake Nova. It wasn't working. Nova seemed to know its moves before it even knew its moves. She drew closer.

The owls dove, but did something that shocked Coda. They attacked Nova. Three of them grabbed her fur while the others fluttered in front of her, blocking her from the Fog. One owl was on her tail, another on her shoulder, and one on a hind leg. A moment later the Fog lifted and the small retreating figure was gone.

But Nova! She was being attacked, forced down by the owls.
Why would the PureLights attack a PureLight? Especially Nova?
Coda looked back at the meadow, hoping that Muna and the rest of the students were on their way to stop the owls. He saw that they were practicing the Art of Defense and had no idea that Nova was in trouble.

“Hey everyone!” yelled Coda. All heads turned. “Nova needs our help!”

Muna's eyes widened. She gestured for everyone to follow her, but Muna and the students were too far away. If Coda didn't do something now, then Nova might get hurt. He gazed over the river and saw Nova lying on the ground. Her head in her paws. She was facing the Fog. The owls stood around her.

Is she dead?

Coda jumped into the river without hesitation, splashing into the running rapids, feeling the warm water soothe his body. It was surprisingly warm, giving him a rush of energy that he didn't know he needed.

He soon realized that looking at the rapids from the shore was much different than being in the rapids. They seemed huge. As they bubbled around him he kicked his feet, doing his best to keep his head above water. A wave smashed against his head, pulling him under. He accidentally took a large gulp of water, and when he resurfaced a second later, let go a ferocious cough, only to go under again as another rapid pounded on top of him.

His back paws hit the bottom of the river and he pushed off, allowing him to lift higher than he would have. He took a deep breath, then raised his arms just as another wave crashed on top of him. He realized, however, that he didn't have arms. He had legs and paws and he wasn’t used to using them as tools for swimming. Regardless, he doggy-paddled toward the opposite shore, determined to help Nova, but the river's current was too strong for him. His heart sank when he realized the current was taking him downstream. Then he heard yelling from the shore. It was Muna and the students.

Coda started to panic. Was he going to get out of here alive? He kicked hard with his back legs, but the water was relentless. It was pounding and it surged, pushing him further and further downstream. He paddled and paddled and closed his eyes, wishing himself to the other side.

That didn't work either.

Panic took over his body. His throat closed up and his nerves shot icy adrenaline into his muscles. Instead of pushing him onward, the cold adrenaline anchored his thoughts to death. He wasn't going to make it. He felt his energy quickly draining with each struggling movement. There was no way to make it to the shore. He was stuck in the middle of a large, fast-moving river.

A splash against his face forced his eyes to open. He glanced left and right, realizing that he was gaining ground on the opposite shore, but hopelessly out of sight from Nova and the attacking owls. Determined, he pushed onward.
I've got to get to the shore!

A slight change in the current pushed him to the left. And, under his hind paws, he felt the rocky river bottom. It was shallow and he was able to hold his footing. He slowly made his way to the shore, making sure that every paw step was steady before he took another.

“Do you need any help?”

It was Muna. Coda was surprised to see her, to say the least. She was standing on the shore a couple of feet from him.

“What? How...” Coda was too tired to say anything else as he stumbled onto the shore.

Muna gestured upstream. “It's very shallow just past the boulder where the rapids begin. I just walked across.” She smiled and held out her paw. “Need a paw?”

Coda heard the crunch of pebbles beneath his paws, then shook his head no. He was on the shore now, inching his tired body toward the grass a few yards away. Reaching the grass, he fell on his side, and looked up at Muna. “Did you help Nova?”

She looked over her shoulder, then looked back. “Did she need help?”

Coda lifted his head, and stood up on shaky legs. “Yes. That's why I yelled. We've got to go. She's being attacked.” His words were tired and barely audible.

“Let's have you rest, Coda.”

Coda shook his head furiously.
Doesn't she care about Nova?

Coda tried to stand up, taking several shaky steps forward. A worried Muna followed his halting steps.

“Coda? Nova’s just fine. You rest now, alright? I'll bring in some extra Prana so you can get your energy back.”

Prana?
wondered Coda. He shook his head. He must not have heard her clearly.

Muna gestured for Coda to sit down. He ignored her, deciding to drag himself further up the riverbank anyway. He was determined to find Nova.

Muna padded up to his side. “Please sit. You're not going to get far if you don't let me help you.”

Coda’s tail dragged on the rocky shore. “Nova's in trouble. We have to help her,” he pleaded. His legs shook. He was drained of energy. Each breath felt like ice stabbing at his lungs. Panting hard, striving with each weak muscle at every step, he took a couple more steps. Finally, his legs gave out and he lost balance, falling flat onto his chest. He hugged the rocks in desperation, doing his best to push himself up. His eyes were half-closed with weariness.