“I guess not,” I answered.
She let go of her right shoe and pushed her feet off the bed, letting them dangle over the side. “Listen, when Nuria met up with Minder she was guarded. I wasn’t sure if she would even help us. Minder was freaked out. Sika had been trying to talk her into another attack. It had something, to do with the scientists. It wasn’t legal. There was late night chatter regarding the creation of explosives, ending their lives for what they had done to them. I never found out if they even knew where these people were! I don’t know what they had intended for our group. I’m sure it wasn’t good,” she said, shaking her head.
“Well, Cavin will want to hear about this! Cal, we have to tell him!” I said, standing up.
Cal ignored me and got up from the bed. She headed to the door, then stopped halfway there and turned around facing me.
“Can I borrow your copy of Little Women?”
“Of course, you can,” I answered.
She walked over, grabbing it off of the shelf. “Thanks, I haven’t made it to the library yet.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied, as I approached the door. “Are we going to do anything about what happened?” I asked, placing my hand on the handle ready to exit.
“I’m not ready, to confront them. You,-- you weren’t forced to live with them,” she stammered. “It wasn’t bad at first. They treated me as a part of their tribe. Then several weeks past. I asked about seeing my mom again. Then you, or when I could go back home. I tried to run away, but Sika caught me. Towards the end of our time there he started abusing Minder. He asked her why she was protecting me, the enemy. I gathered, they thought they could use me as a bargaining chip.” She shuddered. “Minder protected me from Gladiator, and Gavin a few times. She didn’t want to be a part of the group anymore. Gladiator and Gavin took orders from Sika due to fear. They’re scared of him. They immediately do what he asks. As far as Du-Vance, if they killed him, I don’t know.”
Chapter 16
(Dan)
I placed the last dish from breakfast in the dish rack to dry. Then sat down to discuss what had been weighing on my mind. “So, Tri, It would be helpful if you’d consider coming to a clan meeting. I’m not insisting you join us permanently.”
“Why not?” Eva interrupted. “The bandits are in our custody now. Cal’s back home, and there is nothing we can do about Lang or Du-vance. Those cards, have been played.”
Minder rolled her eyes at Eva. “While that’s true, we still need to be leery of Sika. I won’t be going alone to confront him again. His actions confirmed the need for the trial. There’s no way we will get any information out of them without force or threats. I’m not sure which Cavin plans on using. Let’s hope he has a plan of action, other than a discussion.
Tri nodded. “I have to agree with you on that. What happened during the time you were with Sika? Did you see him attack anyone from the tribe? Do you know anything about Du-Vance’s death?”
“Dang girl. You said you didn’t want to get involved,” I chided.
“Dan, I do care about our daughter, Cal, and the clan. I’m just apprehensive of it, overriding my entire life again. The only reason I’d become involved would be for the protection of our daughter. And yours, Eva,” she said, nodding to her.
Eva pulled Tri into a side hug. “I’d appreciate it if you would do that, for us. Cal and Starla are connected. You know what that means.” Eva let her hand fall onto the table. Then grabbed her drink. She sipped her leftover cold coffee.
“What does it mean?” asked Nuria.
Tri put her hand to her forehead. Then began to rub it in circles. “ Eva and I may have to demonstrate to our children how to protect each other. Starla and Cal are linked.”
“Do you suppose that’s why Nayla was acting so off at the emergency gathering?” asked Minder.
“Most likely, she could teach them herself. It is more useful to have guardians of the past or ones who used to be active, help guide them in the process of discovery,” stated Tri.
“Dan, did you know about this?” asked Nuria.
“Personally, I doubted, I could convince Tri, to come back to the tribe at all. Have I convinced you?”
Tri pushed her chair away from the table standing up. “I’ll come to one meeting to discuss the possibility of assisting. Don’t expect me to be a part of the trial. I’m doing this for Starla and Cal. I know how important it is for her to solve this Du-Vance mystery. I support her decision to be a guardian. For now, I’m only her mother. After the training and the trial, I’ll make my decision as to if I’ll rejoin the tribe.”
“Fair enough. Nuria, do you and Cal want to stick around for a bit or do you have plans for the day?” I asked.
“Maybe I should tell them what is going to happen in the next couple of weeks,” suggested Eva.
I shook my head. She was really, going to push Tri’s buttons with this one. She’d started doing just that towards the end of Tri’s era with our tribe.
My wife stifled a foxy throaty grunt. “We’ll get to that after the meeting. It will all occur soon enough. Dan, let me know when Nayla wants Eva and me there for the first session, and, or meeting. You know, which, ever comes first.”
“Ok, so should I leave now?” I asked, backing away from the table.
Nuria gave a quick laugh. Then put her hand to her mouth to stop herself. “Sorry,” she said, holding up her hand.
“Should I go get the girls?” asked Tri.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay for a bit,” said Eva. “Nuria if it’s OK, I’ll bring Cal to the cottage afterward.”
“Sure, that’s fine,” she gave in.
“Excuse me,” I said and pushed my chair away from the table. I stood up and walked over to my wife. “I hope you’re OK with all this. It is a lot to take on.”
“It’s for Starla,” she said, taking my hand in hers.
“I have to meet with Owl and Rascal today. Jenson is also a factor. I can’t keep leaving him out of this.”
“He’d be pretty upset if you did,” said Tri.
“Yeah, she adores that boy,” I replied.
Tri leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. “Now, go!” she said, pushing me away.
“Nuria, Minder, do you want to tag along?” I asked heading towards the back door.
“I’m going back to start a lesson plan for Cal. Minder you can go if you want.”
“Nah, but I have to get going. I’ll see ya later.”
“Yep,” said Eva.
I held the door open for Nuria and Minder. Then waved goodbye to Tri. Then shut the door behind us.
Chapter 17
(Starla)
A cold wind rushed past me at the bottom of the stairs. I paused to look over my shoulder. Nothing. Could Nayla be spying on us? I shrugged it off. Cal and I turned away from the front door, taking a right into the hall, then another right into the kitchen. Mom and Eva sat at the table drinking coffee. I grabbed two cups out of the dish rack and filled mine up. Then added the cream and sugar I’d taken off of the counter. Did Cal drink coffee? They were chatting about maintaining a garden of all things.
“You want some?” I asked Cal, holding up a cup. She shook her head and then went to sit down next to her mom. I turned sideways at the counter so I could see what was happening at the kitchen table. Then took the creamer pouring it in my coffee. I stirred.
“Hey, where’s Nuria?” asked Cal.
“She’s working on your lesson plan for tomorrow. Minder had to leave. She didn't give a reason, and Dan’s on his way to chat with Rascal. He mentioned contacting Jenson. What have you girls been up to?”
Cal held up the copy of Little Women I’d given her. Then set it on the table.
“Ah, a classic! That’s a good choice. You could do a book report on that or even a research paper on the author,” Eva suggested.
“I guess if it counts towards school it would be worth it. I'd rather write a book report than complete a math lesson,”
she replied.
I laughed, “We have one thing in common there. I can’t stand it! I never can seem to figure out algebra.” I took the spoon out of my coffee cup placing it in the sink. Then gripped my coffee cup and took a few sips.
“It’s not that I don’t excel in it, but the time it takes to work out the problems using the long hand method. Nuria insists on it! I’m not sure when I’ll ever use it. Especially if I’m going to be primarily in the clan,” she stated.
I nodded to her and then joined them at the table.
My mom chuckled. “Well, you may have to use it when they harvest the crops. They still do that, don’t they?”
“Kaya has a small garden. Everyone is responsible for a particular crop. You know corn is one of our staples. We hunt too, for small game such as rabbits.”
Eating a rabbit? I’m not sure I could stomach such a thing, I thought. Eva rambled on.
“Did you two have a discussion concerning what happened when you were missing?” she asked, drumming her fingers alongside her cup.
“Bits and pieces,” replied Cal.
“You can’t just keep holding it back honey.”
Cal’s face got red. She got up pushing her chair away from the table.
“We’re not leaving yet. Please sit back down,” Eva urged.
“Starla, can you get me that coffee now?” she asked.
I went to stand up, but my mom interrupted me.
“Let me,” offered Tri. She moved to the counter and began to prepare Cal’s drink.
I turned to face Eva. “We should be doing something. Cal, did you tell her what you told me?”
“She knows all about the god sacrifice thing. The massacre at River Rogue. Gosh, the bandits wouldn’t shut up about it! How it was such a victory for them. I don’t even want to recall the details. It was awfully gruesome.”
“That’s not what’s important. It’s what you said they'd planned.” I gave Cal a stern look. Then turned to gaze at my mother, then Eva. “The bandits wanted to seek revenge against the scientists,” I blurted.
My mom raised her eyebrows. The cup in her hands shook. Gently she steadied herself before placing it next to Cal.
“Starla, you spoke of going after them yourself,” replied Tri, sitting back down.
“Yes, Mom, but not to kill them,” I insisted. Jez! I’d startled her with my statement, yet she seemed against the whole idea.
“This trial is about Du-Vance, not the scientists,” Tri replied.
“Then why did dad say, he wanted Jenson on an assignment to locate them?” I asked.
“Considering the circumstances, it’s a side project. He figured it would keep Jenson busy. Most likely he’ll be doing research first. Then when the clan plans on initiating a retrieval or combat, against them, if needed, everyone will know. Right now, we must find out what happened to Du-vance. I’m not sure what we’ll do if we don’t come up with any answers. Cal are you sure you haven’t forgotten, anything? That you remember everything, that happened while you were in their custody?” asked my mom.
“For real! You think I would keep it from you, if I had the answers?” she replied.
“No, but when a child goes through a traumatic experience he or she doesn’t always recall what occurred. I did have to take psychology for my basics in college. Have you been meditating at all on this?” asked my mom.
Cal turned to me and rolled her eyes.”Meditation is a bit hokey, don’t you agree?” She fiddled with her heart necklace. Cavin must have given it back to her.
“I used meditation to find you. It’s helped me solve cases. I wouldn’t call it hokey. It could give you perspective on what happened to you. I bet Nayla will have us use it in training.”
“Isn’t it boring, sitting with your eyes closed?” asked Cal.
“No, you concentrate on a place, a person, or a memory. You pull out images from it. If you focus on what you know, then there are times when you can uncover the unseen.”
“Nah, I don’t believe you,” she replied.
“Say you have a dream. You know there was a fox in it, but not who he or she is. You can pinpoint details of him or her. You may end up visiting the spirit of the animal, or hybrid if the fox is part human. It’s a different experience for each of us, I suppose.”
“You astral traveled, didn’t you?”
“I,... I have. You know this. When I came to save you and said I’d be back.”
“This is great! Mom, you didn’t tell me she knows how,” exclaimed Cal.
“I only am aware of how to astral travel, using reflection. I can’t touch people without my body present. My mental powers are goofy. I did manage to get through the Thunderhead Bay ordeal. You can’t just, poof, jump out of your body, can you?”
“Not that I know of,” Eva confirmed.
“You could teach me,” suggested Cal.
“That’s not such a sizzling idea. The last time I meditated, Nayla invaded. She crashed my party, fearing an entity of some type might get in. She’d never warned me before. I promised her I wouldn’t attempt it without notifying her at least. She requested I wait til training. Then she’ll teach us how to block unwanted spirits from entering our sacred space,” I replied.
“When did this happen,” asked my mom.
“Yesterday, I came home from having my hair done. I wanted to contact Cal. I... I was upset she wasn’t going to be at the dance with me and Jenson,” I said, my voice shaking in an unsteady manner. “She should have been able to, but the bandits ruined it. If you only hadn’t been captured. All the things that could have been, for you, for me, our friendship,” I stopped mid sentence. Then rubbed my eyes. They had begun to tear up. I was not going to cry, no, not now. I’m fine.
“It’s OK. I’m here now, I’m all right,” said Cal. She reached out and touched my hand patting it reassuringly. “You know you could have just called.”
“I didn’t have your number. I thought I could contact you, if I meditated. Then a part of me wanted to break free from everything. I had this urge to run. During the meditation, I found myself running in a field. I’d entered my fox form, mentally. Once I arrived Nayla, poof-ed, out of nowhere telling me it wasn’t safe.”
“Nayla was right to warn you,” admitted Eva.
Cal fidgeted in her seat.
“How are we supposed to block spirits? Especially, if we’re searching for one we’ve never met?”
I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Messing with Nayla is not a grand idea. When I saw her, at the emergency meeting, she was acting out of character. She’s sassy, but she took it to the extreme. Something’s bothering her. Nevertheless, I trust her wisdom. She’s able to sense when something’s wrong.”
“But, how do we know if it’s them or not?”
“Who?”
“Bad spirits,” replied Cal.
“We don’t. Until Nayla teaches us,” I answered.
“Maybe we should pay her a visit. You mentioned wanting to go-”
“Not today,” said my mom, standing up from her seat. Eva handed her the empty coffee cup she’d been holding. I pushed mine aside near my mom without a word.
“Cal, you have to finish up that homework from the other day. Minder’s preparing a few more assignments also. If you want to be able to meet your goal for your studies, we should get,” she pressed. Then pushed herself away from the table.
“Mom, we do need to meet with Nayla. If not today, when do you suggest we go?” I asked.
“Cal, Eva, when will you be free? I’m in no hurry to visit. I promised Dan I’d come to a meeting soon regarding your training Starla.”
“You did! Mom, that’s amazing, fantastic, great,” I sputtered.
“Hold on a Sec,” she said, rinsing out the cups in the sink. “This is only going to be temporary. Eva and I, are contemplating on assisting in your training.” Mom opened the cupboard putting away the mugs.
“Why? What do you know about being a guardian?” asked Cal.
> Eva laughed, “Well, honey, you’re looking at her.”
My mom smirked at this, almost half blushed!
“Shut-up! You, were a guardian? Then why is Starla one, and not me?”
“It’s how the cards fell. No, need to be jealous of Starla. The two of you are like yin and yang. After training you’ll be inseparable,” noted Eva.
“Yeah, similar to us until the bandits threatened our daughters. You’re braver than me,” said Tri, pointing a finger at Eva. “If Starla, had been captured by the bandits, I don’t know if I’d be letting her train. I imagine I’d be running for the hills.”
“See, that’s why I was the guardian, and she was the link,” whispered Eva.
“Then how come I’m the guardian?” I inquired.
“You fit the bill. Your mom knew it, Dan knew it. I had to keep my mouth shut. You and Cal needed protection at the time.”
My mother nodded in agreement.
“So, When,” I pressed.
“Monday after Myth class. Your dad’s talking to Rascal today. Owl’s there too, plus he needs to contact Jenson,” replied my mom.
Cal and Eva began to get ready to leave.
“So, I’ll see you, Monday? You know you should tag along.”
“Yeah. Mom, is it OK?”
“If you finish your lessons. Nayla would wonder what happened if you didn’t show up inquiring sooner or later.”
“You got that right,” added my mother. She walked to the kitchen door, peering outside.
“Are you looking for anything strange?”
“No, Fern next door has just been pretty inquisitive of our comings and goings. I’ve got to keep an eye on that lady.”
I laughed. “Mom, come on, they are old people, pretty harmless if you ask me,” I said standing up from my chair.
“Not if they find out we’re foxes,” Tri replied.
“Probably not,” Eva added. “Come on Cal, let’s go. You two take care. I’ll be expecting a call soon, eh?”
Spirit Guide (Myth-Series Book 2) Page 7
