Race to the Sun

by Rebecca Roanhorse

  “You’ve brought me some powerful gifts. I will use them to make tools for my weaving,” Spider Woman says, her long delicate fingers brushing the white shell. “They are proof that you climbed the sacred mountains and engaged with their guardians, who are good but not always kind—they don’t like strangers much. Particularly the human variety. You were brave to face them at all.”

  We all sit up a little straighter at being called brave, but we slump down again when Spider Woman shakes her head.

  “That’s why I’m so sorry about what I have to tell you. There is no map.”

  “No map?” I moan. “That can’t be right. We came all this way. We spent all that time going to the mountains.…”

  “If we don’t have a map, how will we find the Rainbow Road that leads to the Sun?” Davery asks.

  “And if we don’t get to the Sun, we won’t get the weapons we need to fight the monsters,” Mac says.

  The corners of Spider Woman’s eyes crinkle. I feel like she’s trying to decide something.

  My stomach tightens and I feel my cheeks heating up. I’m pretty sure I know how this is going to go.

  “It’s okay if you can’t help us,” I say quietly. “We’ll just leave—”

  “Cheii’s older now,” Spider Woman says. “It’s been a while since he trained anyone, and he’s forgotten.” She waves a hand. “You don’t need a map of the Glittering World. You’re already here.”

  I frown, looking around the trailer. The fading couch, the heaps of wool and assortment of looms, the dishes piled next to the sink. “Uh, no offense, but if this is the Glittering World, it isn’t very big on the glitter part.”

  “I honestly thought there would be unicorns,” Mac adds, echoing my own views on the matter.

  “Okay,” Spider Woman says with a slightly insulted sniff. “Maybe not in my house. Come with me, all of you.”

  We follow her to the back door. She opens it to reveal the canyon beyond. The bright sun is setting, and the landscape is bathed in glowing light. Raindrops from an afternoon shower cling to the pine trees’ needles, sparkling like crystal ornaments on a Christmas tree. The horizon pulses with pinks and oranges and reds before fading into a dark purple. And everywhere around us, the air smells of fresh pinecones. It’s magical, and I hadn’t even noticed.

  “Do you see it now?” she asks me, her voice soft.

  “Yes,” I say, feeling breathless. “It is a Glittering World!”

  She wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me to her side for a brief hug. “Our world is full of beauty, Nizhoni. Just like your name says. You only need to look around to see it.”

  “But how do we find the Rainbow Road?” Davery asks.

  “That I can show you. There’s a trailhead just across the canyon. But it’s only safe to travel during the day,” she says. “At night it is too unpredictable and has been known to lose people.”

  “Lose people?”

  “Yes. I’ll take you there tomorrow, when the sun rises.”

  Worry squeezes my chest again. Mr. Yazzie said we had four days to rescue Dad, and tomorrow would be the third already. We only have one day left to reach the Sun and convince him to give us weapons. What if we don’t make it?

  “Is it far to the Sun?” I ask. “We don’t have much time, and I was really hoping we could go sooner.”

  “It is not a long distance,” she says, “but the road is hard. You must endure four trials in order to reach the Sun.”

  “Trials?”

  “But since you were able to defeat the monsters on Black Mountain, I’m sure you will be able to pass the Rainbow Road’s tests.”

  I groan. “Why is everything a test?”

  “All good things come through hard work,” she says. “If something is too easy to get, it isn’t worth much, is it?”

  I don’t know about that. I once got a coupon for a free popcorn and bag of gummy bears at the movie theater and that was pretty good. But I don’t think that’s what Spider Woman is talking about.

  “Come inside now,” she says. “You can help me make dinner.”

  My stomach growls at the mention of food. I haven’t eaten anything since I had a sugar-free cookie with Black Jet Girl.

  “Do you know how to make bread?” Spider Woman asks me.

  “Is this another test?”

  She laughs. It’s a really nice laugh, nothing like what I expected a spider to sound like. Especially one known for eating children.

  “No, but it’s good to help out when you’re visiting family.”

  I feel a little brightness spark inside me. “Are we family?”

  “All Diné are related in one way or another, so we should always be helping one another.”

  I can’t help smiling as the spark inside me expands. RC said we were extended family, too.

  “Okay, I’ll try. I’ve never made bread before,” I admit.

  “Not even frybread?”

  “My dad never showed me. He said it was ‘struggle food.’” Then I’m embarrassed that I said something bad about him.

  But she only nods. “Your dad is right. Frybread is not traditional, but there’s no shame in it. Your ancestors created food out of nothing, like magic. Flour, water, and baking soda were all they had, and they made something delicious. Now come inside and I’ll show you.”

  We go back in and get to work. Spider Woman tells Davery to check on the beans she already has soaking on the stove and then get the cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes out of the refrigerator. She gives Mac a knife, along with a warning not to cut his fingers off, and he grins and grabs a tomato. Within seconds, he’s nicked himself, and Davery takes over the slicing while Spider Woman finds Mac a Band-Aid and demotes him to stirring the beans. Davery grates the cheese and chops the lettuce while Spider Woman and I work on the bread. She helps me mix the flour and baking soda and supervises as I add warm water a little at a time until the dough is sticky and elastic in my hands. We stretch it into flat circles about the size of a small plate and then plop them, one by one, into the hot oil. The bread sizzles as it puffs slightly into perfectly round golden deliciousness. Spider Woman has me grab each piece with tongs and set it on a paper towel to drain. When she says so, we pile on all our ingredients and sit around the table.

  “This is so good,” Mac says as he stuffs his mouth. “I can’t believe Nizhoni made the bread.”

  “Hey!” I protest as I take my own bite. The beans have soaked through the bread just enough to make it soft in the middle but not soggy, and the edges are still crisp. The cheese is melty and perfect. I can’t believe I made it, either, but I’d never admit that to Mac.

  “I think your sister has more talents than she realizes,” Spider Woman says as she eats her own Navajo taco.

  “Oh, yeah, she’s also really good at catching basketballs with her face!”

  “Mac!” I throw a bean at his head, which he narrowly avoids.

  “And what are you good at, Mac?” Spider Woman asks.

  “I’m an artist,” he says proudly. “I can draw anything, and I make my own designs, too. I’m also handy with a water sprinkler.”

  “And you, Davery?” she asks.

  “I know things.”

  “He knows everything,” I add.

  He grins. “Not everything, but I am curious about stuff, and I have a good memory.”

  “Quite a formidable team,” Spider Woman says, giving us all a nod of approval. And we all sit up a little straighter, feeling powerful under her praise.

  Afterward, we take our dishes to the sink and wash them, putting them on the plastic rack to dry. Then I wander over to look at one of the looms. The rug in progress is a combination of browns and tans. It reminds me of the desert.

  “Would you like me to teach you how to weave?” Spider Woman asks as she joins me.

  “Maybe another time,” I say. “I kind of have a lot going on right now, what with the monster-killing duties and all.”

  “I understand. But weaving
can soothe the mind as well as the soul. There is beauty and harmony in it.”

  “This one’s my favorite.” I brush a hand across another rug, red and black, with a white zigzag lightning pattern.

  “Your mother liked that one, too.”

  My hand freezes. In fact, my whole body does.

  Spider Woman nods. “That’s right. Your mother loved this color combination, too. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you like the same rug.”

  “When was she here? Recently?” I try to keep my voice calm.

  “No, no,” she says. “She saw another version of this rug years ago. Like I said, she came though this way once.”

  “What for?”

  “She was seeking the way to the Rainbow Road. Same as you.”

  “When was this?”

  “Oh gosh.” Spider Woman pushes her reading glasses up on her forehead and scratches her nose. “That must have been…hmm, ten years ago, maybe?”

  “My mom left us when I was three.…”

  “About the same time, then,” says Spider Woman.

  I’ve always thought Mom just abandoned us. But if she came here seeking the Rainbow Road, she must have been going off to fight a monster just like we are. Maybe she’d been trying to protect us.

  “You might be the only person I’ve ever met who knew her,” I say. “I mean, besides my family.”

  Spider Woman frowns. “Well, she seemed like a very nice lady. For a monsterslayer. They can be a little rough around the edges. But your mother, if I’m recalling correctly, was quite lovely.”

  “I wouldn’t know. She never came back.” I drop into the weaving stool next to the loom.

  She tilts her head to look at me. “Are you having a moment?”

  “You have no idea.” I want to hear more about my mother, but a wave of exhaustion comes over me. Against my will, my jaw cracks open in a huge yawn. I cover my mouth, embarrassed, but Spider Woman only laughs.

  “I think it’s time you got some sleep,” she says.

  “It has been a pretty busy day,” I admit. “And last night I slept on a rock.”

  She laughs. “I think I can do better than a rock.”

  Spider Woman has an old trunk full of blankets and sleeping bags. Mac immediately goes for the Spider-Man one. I look over at our host and she winks at me. “Peter Parker is a total fave,” she says.

  Davery and I pick plain old sleeping bags in a green camping color with a red plaid lining, and we roll them out and hunker down on the floor. It’s like a sleepover. I take the still-snoozing Mr. Yazzie from my hoodie and lay him next to me on my pillow.

  “He sure is sleeping a lot,” I say, a bit worried.

  “Horned lizards are reptiles and need the sun to warm their bodies so they can move around. It’s totally normal,” Spider Woman assures me.

  After she says good night, we all lie on our backs, looking at the ceiling and talking quietly. “I miss Dad,” Mac says wistfully. “I wish he’d at least call and let us know where he is.”

  Davery looks at me and clears his throat loudly with an Ahem!

  I roll my eyes at his obviousness, but he’s right. It’s time I told my brother the truth.

  “So, Mac,” I start, “I don’t want you to worry, but Dad hasn’t called us because, well…” I take a deep breath. “Because I think Mr. Charles is holding him against his will.”

  Mac sits bolt upright, his face twisted with worry. “What does that mean? He’s been…kidnapped?!”

  “But he’s alive,” I assure him. “I heard Mr. Charles talking, and he said he needed Dad to help convince us to do something. So as long as we’re out here fighting, Dad will be okay.” I don’t tell him what Łizhin had said: His fate depends on your success.

  “You don’t know that for sure,” Mac practically wails.

  “I know we can’t let him down, and Dad will be fighting, too. I have to believe he’s going to be okay. And we have Mr. Yazzie, and the heralds and the guardians, and now Spider Woman helping us. We can’t lose.”

  He sniffs and swipes at his teary eyes. “Okay,” he says morosely. “As long as we stay together…”

  Mac flops down and buries himself in his Spider-Man sleeping bag. I can tell this is all too much for him, because soon enough, he’s fast asleep and a thin trail of drool is leaking out of his open mouth. So gross. But I still lean over and give him a pat on the shoulder, careful not to wake him.

  “Nizhoni,” Davery whispers, “you know that line from the song, Four days to find you are not alone? You just said it. We have each other, Mr. Yazzie, the beings from the Four Sacred Mountains, Spider Woman, and the Diyin Dine’é.”

  “Yeah, and…?”

  “I think the song is reminding us that this is a team effort.”

  I fold my hands behind my head and gaze up at the ceiling. “I like that,” I tell him.

  Davery says, “I do, too. I think you’re right and we’re going to win.”

  But after he falls asleep and I’m alone with my thoughts, I can’t help but think about my mom.

  She never came back.

  And that means she lost.

  Spider Woman wakes us up bright and early. So early that when she opens the blinds to let the morning sunlight in, there’s no sunlight. Even worse, I can hear the soft patter of rain.

  “Why are we awake if the sun isn’t even awake?” I ask, groaning and pulling the sleeping bag over my head.

  “If you want to catch the Rainbow Road, you must be there in time to greet the dawn. That’s when the Diyin Dine’é will see you and open the road to you. Not just anyone can travel on it, you know.”

  I pull the cover off my face. “Why do the Diyin Dine’é have to see us?”

  “Well, they want to make sure you’re the right ones. It would do no good to show monsters the way to the Sun.”

  “Can they refuse us?” Davery asks, sitting up with a jaw-cracking yawn. “The Holy People, I mean.”

  Spider Woman taps her cheek, thinking. “Technically, I suppose so. But they usually don’t.”

  “But they could?”

  “Well, of course. They can do anything they want.”

  I reach over to check on our horned toad friend. I’m worried that he hasn’t woken up yet, but his chest is rising and falling, so I know he’s alive, at least. “What should we do about Mr. Yazzie?”

  Spider Woman lifts his sleeping form in her cupped hands and peers at his face. “I think this little cheii should stay with me a bit longer. I’ll send him along to meet you at the House of the Sun when he feels better.”

  “Wait, you can get to the Sun without going through the trials?” Mac asks incredulously.

  “Mr. Yazzie can, yes. But you can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  She laughs. “Hey, I don’t make the rules. All wannabe heroes have to go through four trials. I suppose the Sun wants to make sure you’re worthy of wielding his weapons.” Spider Woman looks at the clock on her kitchen wall. “We better hurry up! Sunrise won’t wait for anyone. You can eat breakfast on the walk across the canyon.”

  Breakfast turns out to be Spam and scrambled eggs wrapped in a fluffy tortilla. Spider Woman offers us a green chile pepper to go with it, and we each take one, munching on the hot pepper between bites of the salty goodness of canned meat. Rain clouds keep the sky heavy and a light mist falls around us. Not enough to soak us, just enough to make my hair fall flat around my face. Despite the delicious breakfast, walking through the rain in the dark is no fun.

  Spider Woman leads the way, and it’s a good thing, because she seems to know every twist and turn of the narrow dirt path. It must have rained heavily during the night, because the red dirt has turned into red mud that sticks to the sides of our sneakers and makes a sucking sound when we walk. Spider Woman is wearing big brown lace-up hiking boots, so she doesn’t have the same problem.

  “This Rainbow Road better be worth it,” Mac mutters as a fat raindrop lands on his burrito. He sighs and chews a soggy
bite.

  “Water in the desert is a blessing,” Spider Woman says cheerfully, slowing down a bit so we can keep pace. She’s wearing a headband with a cave explorer light on it, and the beam bobs and weaves through the darkness, a beacon for us to follow.

  After a while, she pulls up abruptly. “Here we are!’ she exclaims. “The start of the Rainbow Road!” She holds her arms out wide, the big smile on her face illuminated by the headlamp.

  We look around. It’s still dark, but I can tell in the lightening morning that there’s nothing here. No cool tower like Spider Rock, no petroglyphs like I saw while flying in on Łizhin’s back, and definitely nothing that looks like a rainbow.

  “How do you know?” I ask.

  “What, you can’t see it?” she asks us, dropping her hands to her hips.

  “No,” I say.

  “Not really,” Davery admits.

  “See what?” Mac asks.

  “Huh.” She shrugs, looking unconcerned. “Anyway, this is as far as I go. Good luck!” She turns like she’s going to go back down the path we just came from.

  “Wait!” I shout. “You can’t just leave us in the middle of nowhere in the dark.”

  “You’re not in the middle of nowhere. You’re in the middle of everything. Now just…” She looks up at the sky. The rain has started to dissipate, and the gray clouds look thin and wispy as the sun starts to rise. “And here it is.”

  “Look!” Mac shouts, pointing to the ground at our feet. And just like that, as the sun breaks through the clouds and catches the puddles, a bright path banded in the colors of the rainbow appears under our feet.

  “Whoa!” I say. I jump up and down a few times, and the rainbow road stays in place.

  “See?” Spider Woman says, laughing. “You’ll be fine! And now you’re ready to go. Just remember to stay on the path.”

  “What happens if we don’t?” Davery asks.

  “Best if you do,” Spider Woman says. “There’s danger all around, and people have been known to disappear after going astray.”