by Jenna Kernan
As she fretted, he dreamed. His thoughts flowed to her like a strong current in the ocean. He marveled at these two infants, the firstborn of their two races. But primarily he wondered if together he and Jessie might add to their numbers.
Her eyes widened and she stared at him. His smile was devilish and his eyes glittered with promise.
He leaned close to her and whispered into her ear. “I hope the next ceremony will welcome our child to this world.”
Jessie could not keep from glowing with hope at his wish.
Beside her, Tuff seemed in his element as he chanted in Lakota. Jessie knew this language and was happy she could understand his words, for she thought she had never heard a more lovely prayer.
Into our midst comes new life.
We welcome you to this world of light.
Here you will find belonging and respect among your own.
Your mother and father will protect you until the wheel
turns round and it is your time to protect them.
And so the circle forever spins.
May the Great Spirit watch over you
as you walk your path.
Walk in beauty.
Mitakuye Oyasin. *
Tuff’s voice was low and sweet and resonant. Jessie stood close to Nick, who draped his arm about her.
Jessie found herself smiling at the prayer as she stared down at the infants. These children would carry a grave responsibility for they must protect both those who walk on two legs and those who walk on four. She hoped their path would be smooth.
Nick leaned in. “They have not come for an easy journey. These two have come because they are needed.”
She was not startled that he knew her thoughts. She had become accustomed to this bond. It was a comfort and a wonder to her.
Michaela offered her baby girl to Jessie with the bright smile of a proud mother. Jessie cradled the infant to her breast and waited as Nicholas accepted the boy child from Sebastian. Jessie was not surprised to see the tears shimmering in the great bear’s eyes. Though even in human form he was huge and mighty, here he was still vulnerable as any new father, hopeful that his children would be happy on this earth.
She knew he wondered if they would be Skinwalkers like him or Seers like his wife. They had spoken at length and at last decided that only time would reveal what would come.
Sebastian spoke to his son first. “I welcome you to our family and give you this necklace as a reminder that you are of the Bear Clan and will always be a part of me.” He slipped the necklace over his son’s head. It looked enormous on the baby, who tried unsuccessfully to grasp the new trinket. Sebastian turned to his daughter and offered her a similar gift. “I offer you this gift from the earth, so you will know always where you come from and that you are loved.”
Jessie shifted her charge to allow Sebastian to slip the long bear-claw pendant over the baby’s head.
Tuff shook a rattle and Jessie and Nick faced him.
“What name do you give to this child, Gray Hunter?” asked Tuff.
Jessie stared in surprise, having never heard Nick’s given name.
“He is to be Dances with Moonlight.”
Tuff smiled and used his thumb to smudge red earth onto the boy’s forehead. “Welcome, Dances with Moonlight.”
He turned next to Jessie. “How will this one be called?”
“She is to be Night Sky Woman in honor of her birth beneath the stars.”
Tuff repeated the smudge on the girl. “Welcome, Night Sky Woman.”
He turned to Michaela. “How will they be called by those outside the family?”
“My son is Blake,” said Michaela. “And my daughter is Samantha.”
Tuff shook his rattle to the sky.
“Sun, moon and stars, make welcome these new souls who walk the earth and follow the Red Road.”
Terminology
DREAM WALKER *: A NIYANOKA with the ability to visit another person’s dreams and work mental and/or physical healing during the visitation. The human visited has no memory of the visit.
CIRCLE OF GHOSTS: The final home of all ghosts who once led evil lives and are punished when HIHANKARA pushes them from the SPIRIT ROAD into the circle, where they drift for eternity in endless circles. This ghostly prison is presided over by NAGI. Some ghosts are eventually released from this prison by the prayers of those who live a pure life.
GHOST: The remains of humans after they have left their earthly vessels.
HALFLING: Any creature with one SPIRIT and one HUMAN parent.
HANWI: The moon is a reflective female SPIRIT who warms MAKA when the WI is absent.
HEYOKA: A SPIRIT of chaos who is a double-faced
SPIRIT with a split personality and emotions. He represents joy and sorrow, war and peace and all other opposites. Humans who see WAKINYAN (THUNDERBEINGS) become living HEYYOKAS and do the opposite of what is expected.
HIHANKARA: The crone who guards the SPIRIT ROAD. If the soul has walked the RED ROAD and has led a righteous life it bears the proper tattoos and is allowed to pass. If it has led a wicked life, she pushes them from the road and allows it to fall into the Circle of Ghosts.
HUMANS: Mortal creatures without firsthand knowledge of the SPIRIT WORLD or SPIRITS.
INANOKA *: Mortal beings born of a human female and the SPIRIT TOB TOB. They are SKINWALKERS who shape-shift into the animal of their mother’s tribe at will and maintain all attributes of that animal while in human form. They are called HALFLINGS and live an average of four hundred years. They are despised by NIYANOKA for being beasts and possibly because they live longer. They protect animals from capricious SUPERNATURALS. Each animal is gifted with a different power.
BEAR: Has the ability to heal all injuries and wounds.
WOLF: Can track anyone on earth by their scent trail.
RAVEN: Is the only creature who can travel the Spirit Road and speak to the souls in the Spirit World.
BUFFALO: Is a creature of sacrifice that can absorb injuries, illness or grief into its body and then heal at a rapid rate. They are not healers and must feel all the pain they take from the one they relieve. It is said they can raise the dead, but only at the expense of their own life.
KANKA: Old woman sorceress. She travels in dreams and helps people purify themselves. She can see the past, present and future and is a SUPERNATURAL.
MAKA: Mother Earth, holds the female power of birth and is a sacred SPIRIT.
MITAKUYE OYASIN: A closing for a blessing. It literally means “All my relations included” or “We are all related” and reminds us that humans are connected to everything of the earth.
NAGI: This shadow creature is the ghostly guardian of the CIRCLE OF GHOSTS and is a SPIRIT.
NIYAN: SPIRIT BEING that teaches man to understand the cycle of life and death and the return of the body to MAKA (the earth) as the spirit returns to the SPIRIT WORLD. NIYAN is a SPIRIT.
NIYANOKA *: Mortal beings born of a union between NIYAN and a human. They are called SPIRIT CHILD and are charged with protecting humans from the interference of SUPERNATURALS and SKINWALKERS. In addition, they consider them selves shepherds of mankind, working for their benefit, helping them walk the RED ROAD and preparing them for the SPIRIT WORLD. They have a life span of 300 to 400 years.
PEACEMAKER *: A NIYANOKA with the power to influence the moods and emotions of those nearby. They are highly persuasive and sought after for their ability to assist in all forms of negotiation. Since their suggestions are difficult to defy and their proposals hold such influence, their ethics must be above reproach.
RED ROAD: The RED ROAD is a metaphor for the correct way to live. One who walks the RED ROAD exists in balance with all things of the earth, behaving in a manner that is both proper and blessed.
SEER OF SOULS *: A NIYANOKA member of the Ghost Clan, thought to be extinct. Such a HALFLING has the ability to see not only SPIRITS but earthbound souls in the form of disembodied GHOSTS. They have the power to speak to GHOSTS and t
o send them to the SPIRIT ROAD for judgment. See: Hihankara
SKINWALKERS: Another word for INANOKA, the Halfling children of TOB TOB, the SPIRIT bear. Legend says these are animals who remove their skin to masquerade as humans, but their ineptitude often reveals them.
SPIRITS: All these creatures are immortal.
SPIRIT CHILD *: Another name for NIYANOKA, a HALFLING child of NIYAN and a human parent.
SPIRIT ROAD (SKY-ROAD, SPIRIT TRAIL, WAY OF SOULS): The Milky Way that is the path leading to the SPIRIT WORLD. Those without the proper tattoos are pushed off the trail and wander endlessly in the CIRCLE OF GHOSTS. Souls without the proper markings have led an evil life on earth and do not merit entrance to the SPIRIT WORLD.
SPIRIT WORLD: The home of all ghosts that have successfully crossed the SPIRIT ROAD.
SUPERNATURALS: There are eight SUPER NATURALs, including KANKA. They are immortal but less powerful than SPIRITS. They live on earth.
THE BALANCE: This refers to the balance of nature, the fragile connection which the LANOKA protect from careless or malevolent damage by supernatural creatures, NIYANOKA and HUMANS, who all tend to feel a certain entitlement to the earth.
TOB TOB: Translates as “Four by Four,” meaning a creature that goes on four legs. This great SPIRIT bear has wisdom and healing powers. TOB TOB is a SPIRIT.
WANAGI: The soul of a dead person, a GHOST.
WAKAN TANKA: The Great Spirit, the Great Mystery, creator of all. A holy immortal entity who is more than SPIRIT.
WAKINYAN THUNDERBEINGS (THUNDERBIRD, THUNDERHORSE): The power of electric energy on earth. Lightning comes from the opening of the THUNDERBIRD’s eyes and thunder from the beating of the THUNDERBIRD’s wings and the drumming of the THUNDERHORSES’ hooves. WAKINYA are SPIRITS. They also cause clouds, hurricanes, tornadoes and storms. They are known to strike dead any human foolish enough to lie while holding a sacred pipe.
WAY OF SOULS: (See SPIRIT ROAD)
WI: The sun. WI represents power and sustains life. He is a great teacher and a SPIRIT.
WONIYA: The soul of a living person.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0217-7
GHOST STALKER
Copyright © 2011 by Jeannette H. Monaco
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*The Trackers
*Mitakuye Oyasin is Lakota for “All my relations included.” It is traditionally used as a closing for a blessing to indicate that all things are connected.
* These terms/beings are fictional and do not exist in LAKOTA LEGEND.
Table of Contents
Books by Jenna Kernan
About the Author
Letter to Reader
Dedication
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Copyright
