Old Bones (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  Mia nodded and asked, “What does he think I am?”

  “You are a lowly female demon of the lizard clan. Your eyes are the color of some reptiles he wishes to keep on the positive side of. Here they eat frogs and lizards.”

  “How nice. He’s not going to eat me is he?”

  “No, you are under my protection.”

  “How big of you,” Mia said and hissed.

  He-who-has-eye-of-eagle stepped away from them and gripped his spear and growled at her.

  Mia thought how amusing it would be to morph into a dragon and see how the man would like that. But she needed the traveler to return to her time. She would play this bizarre game as long as it suited her.

  They climbed the stairs. When they had reached the top, they waited while the large stockade doors were opened. They were escorted inside to a small plaza lined with huts. Mia assumed these accommodations were for the lesser of the chief’s staff. Women worked at cook fires while men toiled on, attaching arrowheads to the straight branches. Spears where fine for close fighting, but it would be the bow and arrow that would change the face of this world, and those who were good at it would rise in the ranks of the chief’s army.

  The women were treated as possessions. Many were groped and fondled by the men without regard for their feelings in the matter. Many had children at their feet while they worked. The smaller babies where watched over by the older women of the household.

  “Chauvinism reigns,” Mia spat.

  The traveler did not respond. They did not wait long. Soon a runner from the top terrace addressed He-who-has-eye-of-eagle. He turned to the traveler and said, “You have been granted permission. Come.”

  Mia followed them to the next set of steps. As they rose above the line of the stockade, she looked around her. The city stretched out for miles. Beyond the city were clusters of villages and beyond that cultivated farmland. She scanned the sky looking for the large black bird. Instead of the bird, Mia saw the supernova. The star was so bright, Mia could see it in the daylight just above the horizon. “It’s in Taurus,” she said, not caring if she was heard by either man.

  The traveler heard her and stopped his climb. He looked down and asked. “Why do you stop?”

  “It’s the supernova.” She pointed to the star.

  “At night it rides the moon, Mia.”

  He-who-has-eye-of-eagle looked at what the lizard demon was pointing at. He made note of her interest and sweat rolled down his back. Did this demon have something to do with the new star? If she did, she would have to be watched. The chief had something planned to honor the star in the great plaza. The young women and girls were being collected today. There was opposition to the sacrifice from the temple of the goddess, but that would be taken care of this evening. He didn’t like that He-who-walked-through-time had returned, and that he returned with a female demon from the underworld did not bode well for the chief.

  Mia turned and waited for the men to resume their climb. She made eye contact with He-who-has-eye-of-eagle. She could see his hatred from behind his eyes. Mia morphed slightly, letting a long forked tongue leave her parted lips before she hissed at him.

  “Mia, let’s not start a fight on the stairs. I don’t want to go through history known as He-who-fell-down-the-stairs protecting his lizard girlfriend.”

  Mia laughed, morphed back into her own persona and smiled at He-who-has-eye-of-eagle until she saw the man’s shoulders ease and the grip on his weapon slacken. He turned, and they continued the climb until they stood at the edge of a beautiful terrace. Beyond the stone inlayed pathway was the chief’s house. To each side stood tall poles fashioned out of mighty cypress trees with images cut into them.

  Mia saw to her amazement on the right was a large Birdman and on the left a beaver atop a turtle. No wonder the large bird was speculated about. He was their god.

  “Mia, my image should be here. It has been removed and replaced with friend beaver and brother turtle.”

  “They aren’t your people, why would your image be here?”

  “I had won the chunky match. I and my warriors beat the best of all who came to the matches. The old chief commanded an image to be erected of me.”

  “But that chief was killed was he not? The new chief has shown no allegiance to you. You are not safe here, I fear.”

  “But I am a god!”

  Mia looked in alarm as He-who-has-eye-of-eagle raised his spear. “Here they kill gods! Watch your back,” she warned.

  Mia pulled as much energy as she could and turned herself into a mighty dragon and moved between He-who-has-eye-of-eagle and He-who walks-through time. She concentrated and blew a stream of fire at the attacker until the wood of his spear caught fire and he dropped it. Several men moved out from the back of the thatched palace and up from the stairs. Mia moved quickly and blew a ring of fire around her and the traveler. But fire would not stop the spears and arrows that were being aimed at He-who-walks-through-time. Mia coiled herself around him and willed herself to be iron in order to act as a shield.

  The men hurdled the flames and walked menacingly towards them, raising their spears and pulling the strings of their bows.

  A thunderous sound of flapping wings proceeded the darkness caused by the shadow of an immense bird. This sudden appearance in the sky caused chaos amongst the warriors.

  “Stop, our god approaches,” He-who-has-eye-of-eagle called to his men.

  The bird circled the plaza before landing. It closed its feathers, and when it opened them, Mia was shocked to see the familiar sight of a wild-eyed farmer and her own naked body standing there.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  “Who dares to strike a god?” Judy challenged. She stamped her foot and a rumbling began beneath the mound. She watched as the leader of the men took a step forward.

  “I am He-who-has-eye-of-eagle,” the man said proudly.

  “Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Judy sneered. “What right do you have to treat a god this way?”

  “My chief says this man is no god of ours. His blood shall bathe the ground before our sacrifices.”

  Murphy had moved to where Mia stood, still coiled around the traveler.

  “What’s she saying?” Mia hissed at the farmer.

  The traveler answered for him, “She has challenged our host, demanded an explanation.”

  They watched as the tattoos moved on Mia’s body. They formed feathery wings that were always in motion. The gray lady who had control of Mia’s body was generating energy of some kind.

  “Judy says to wait for the sign and run to the temple of the goddess. She will meet us there,” Murphy told them.

  “Who’s Judy, and where’s the temple?” Mia asked.

  “The gray lady,” Murphy said. “I don’t know where the temple is.”

  “I know the way,” the traveler assured them.

  Judy and He-who-has-eye-of-eagle faced off. She grew in size and unfurled her wings. The silence of awe stilled even the insects. In the distance they heard birds flying. It began with a simple flutter of wings and grew until the eastern sky was black with the approach of birds.

  “Let He-who-walks-through-time leave here unharmed or I will bring down a plague upon your people. Your chief, who cowers behind closed doors, will not thank you when the birds peck out your eyes and eat your liver. Let it be known, I will no longer allow the sacrifice of women and children. Any man that harms a woman will suffer in the underworld.”

  “She has made an edict. I worry she has gone too far. God’s don’t make edicts in our time,” the traveler whispered in English.

  “You are no god! You’re an impostor!” Eagle-eye bellowed.

  Judy rose and narrowly avoided getting hit by the spear Eagle-eye tossed. She swooped down, sunk her talons into his shoulders and rose with him. The bowman lowered their bows, not wanting to risk injuring their commander.

  “Time to go,” Murphy said.

  Mia looked around them, and all eyes were on the
approach of the birds. Mia morphed back into her persona before following Murphy to the great stairs. The traveler took one last look around and felt shame. Mia sensing this said, “He who runs away today lives to fight another day.”

  Murphy questioned Mia’s use of the phrase, but it seemed to move the traveler to action. They moved through the stunned crowd whose eyes were on the approach of the birds. They had made the stockade when the warriors began to give chase. Murphy took his axe and cleaved the gate in two. The traveler stepped through the hewed cypress and continued down the stairs.

  Mia and Murphy waited for the traveler to catch up to them.

  “Which way?” Mia asked.

  “Follow me.” The traveler led them away from the markets and the huts, towards the river where a building had been placed high on an earthen mound. They heard the panic behind them as the birds descended upon the city.

  Judy dropped Eagle-eye on the top of the chief’s palace before landing on the ground of the mound. She stomped the ground again, and a hole formed. From the hole emerged thousands of roaches. She knew the birds would go for the insects. She had promised them that when she summoned them. No livers or eyes would be eaten on her watch. She lifted up again and flew towards the temple of the goddess, praying Mia would reach there before Judy’s hold on her body faded. As a gray lady, she could exist indefinitely in spirit form, but the nature of controlling a flesh and blood being was exhausting. The shear amount of physical changes that she had to maneuver in order to become a bird cut deeply into her energy stores.

  “What a grand adventure,” she said to herself. “One to remember forever.”

  Mia and Murphy stood behind the traveler. He had been stopped at the entrance to the building by the temple guards.

  “I am He-who-walks-through-time. I request asylum for me, my demon, and the demon of the bird goddess,” he said in the Cahokian tongue.

  A beautiful woman of middle age strode out of the dark depths of the building, nodded to the guards and they stepped aside.

  Mia, wishing she had taken a crash course in Cahokian, followed them inside not knowing if she was welcomed or not.

  Murphy watched for any sign of aggression from the guards and was pleased when they were accepted. Of course they couldn’t see him or Mia, but in this tricky world you never knew.

  “I am the keeper of the goddess stone,” the woman began. “We are few in number. Many of our acolytes have been taken from us in preparation for the sacrifice. I fear the chief fears my power and will move against us soon.”

  “I thank you for allowing us in.”

  “The bird woman told me of your predicament. I welcome you here.”

  “It seems that a lot has changed since I last walked the fields of Cahokia. I did not think I slept so long.”

  “The good chief fell and with him his beliefs. It started with a whisper of his growing weakness. This whisper became a roar and his advisors fled. Soon he was dead, and the slaughter of his family began. We have hidden his first-born daughter here but fear our walls will not hold back what is to come.”

  “I stood upon the terrace and was shocked to see my image gone.”

  “They pulled that down and danced around the burning embers. I am surprised they let you get that close to the palace. Who are the people you have brought with you?”

  “I, in my arrogance, took the clothed woman from her time. The man with the axe came with the bird woman. They came to take her back.”

  The keeper of the stone goddess sighed. “You have behaved badly.” She turned and gazed over at Mia and motioned for her to come forward.

  Mia walked over and bowed her head in reverence to the woman’s position.

  “Tell her I welcome her here,” she said.

  The traveler complied.

  Mia looked at the woman and said, “The time of women is not now, but in my time we have risen. We are owned by no man. We choose who we marry and who we worship. I fear for you in this time.”

  The traveler scrunched up his face and started to translate.

  The woman smiled and nodded knowingly. “It is good to know our struggles will lead to something better,” she said.

  There was a commotion at the door. A young woman ran in. “A large bird has landed.”

  The woman rose gracefully and went to the entrance. Mia blinked as the setting sun blinded her when the flap made of buffalo skins was raised. She heard the guardian of the goddess stone talking, and then a clipped familiar voice responding. The conversation went on for some time. By the time the flap was lowered, the light had blue dots dancing in front of Mia’s eyes. It took her a while to be able to see again. When she could, she was looking at her own body staring down at her.

  “Hello, you look familiar. Did you have a nice flight?” Mia said annoyed. “If I get freckles on my butt, you’re in a world of trouble.”

  Judy laughed at Mia. She turned around and smiled graciously at the Cahokian woman who handed her skins to put over her nakedness. Once she had settled in her garments, she turned back. “It’s about time you came back home, isn’t it, Mia?”

  “What about you?”

  “Our hostess told me that there is a girl who has lost her mind in grief. I will reside there.” She nodded to the keeper of the goddess stone. She signaled, and a young woman was led in and laid down at her feet. Judy lay down next to her.

  Mia took a moment to draw as much energy as she could before she lay down into her body.

  Murphy watched as a pale gray mist rose out of Mia, moved over the young Cahokian maiden and lowered itself into her.

  Mia opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Murphy willed his hands to be solid and helped her to rise.

  The maiden sat up and stared at Mia, her words came slowly as Judy became used to her new body. “It’s time we got you back to your time, before you start a bloody revolution.”

  “What about the girl?”

  “This poor child is huddled in fear. The horrors that she has faced have been extreme. It will take a while, but I shall heal her. If I leave her here she will die.”

  Memories of the papers Mia read while she was a child filled her head. “This temple will be burned to the ground, the women slaughtered, given no decent burial and all images of the goddess smashed.”

  “I know. All we can do is assist them to escape. If we fight their cause, history will change if we win; history will change if we lose.”

  “It doesn’t seem right. Every time women rise, men kill them in fear.”

  “Sometimes what is right for the moment is not right forever.”

  “That sounds like Angelo claptrap to me.”

  Judy sighed. “Mia Cooper, Angelo and I have the same heritage, believe in the same dogma. You may have noticed our wings?”

  “We will talk further on this. Let’s not worry our hostess by fighting,” Mia warned.

  Judy turned and spoke in the language the body she inhabited was more familiar with, “My young friend warns you that you must flee the temple. Take your charges and move away from this city of male domination. All is not well here, and it will soon come to an end.”

  The keeper of the goddess stone rose. “I have seen this coming for some time now. I will heed your warning. But right now, take the old chief’s daughter with you when you leave. Live on with the memory of us. It is not necessary to be remembered on a wall or carved into a tree. What is important is to be remembered here.” She placed her hand on her beating heart. “He-who-walks-through-time, remember my words and carry them close to your own heart.”

  ~

  Cid, who spelled Ted on the webcam watch, opened his eyes wide. One moment there was one black bird, and now there were hundreds of them depicted on the wall of the cavern. “Ted,” he shouted, “Come in here!”

  Ted arrived breathless. “What? Is it the portal?”

  “No, dude, but we have more birds.” Cid pointed to the screen. He had taken a screen shot of the image.

  “I hope that’s a go
od thing?” Ted said and typed a few commands in and scanned the web shots of the picture cave. “Holy shit.”

  Cid scanned the screen and gasped as he saw the addition to the mural. There facing Red Horn’s sons was a bird with breasts.

  “Rather crude depiction, but those look like my fiancée’s tits,” Ted said. “Next there will be scrawled for a good time call…”

  “Honestly,” Cid said and shooed him away. “Let me get back to work.”

  Ted hopped out of the truck and pondered how he was going to explain to Mia’s father that his daughter was flying around 1050 AD with her breasts hanging out.

  ~

  They slipped away from the temple of the goddess after night had fallen. The traveler carried Judy who resided in the body of the chief’s daughter. Mia lumbered on behind, all too conscious of the weight of her mortal frame. Running barefoot and stepping on sharp stones brought out the worst in her temper. By the time she had reached the river, the traveler had learned more colorful phrases than he had listening to the people who walked the streets of St. Louis for the last century.

  “Soap,” Murphy said and pointed to Mia.

  “Yes, I know, I stink like a rabid buffalo. And my hair, how the fuck did I get purple hair?”

  “Mouth.”

  Realizing Murphy meant he was going to wash her mouth out with soap, Mia spat, “You and whose army?”

  He glared at her and shook his head.

  They crossed the river in silence. Mia, who had a big enough problem rowing a boat on Big Bear Lake, was happy when Murphy fleshed out enough to take the paddle from her and take them across the great expanse of the river.

  They hurried to the traveler’s encampment, and to his dismay, he found it abandoned.

  “It looks like they moved on in a hurry,” Mia said. After not finding any cooking pots, she surmised, “I don’t think they were attacked.”

  “They must have gotten word of my disgrace,” the traveler said sadly. “I am no longer their god.”