Uktenas prefer submerging in bodies of water, especially during the daylight hours. It is there that they feel closer to their Otherworld home. The best time to lure them away from their underwater shelter is during twilight, the time of day when the veil between worlds is thinnest.
Down through the ages, many shamans, sorcerers, medicine people and priests misunderstood an Uktena’s powerful energies, and so they conjured malicious spells or performed heinous acts trying to destroy these magnificent serpents. We do not abide by this belief. Instead, we trust in the Creator’s purpose for placing the Uktenas in these mountains. We endeavor to guide them safely to an alternate reality until there are those who have enough purity of thought and magickal prowess to join with the great Uktenas once again for purposes of spiritual lightwork.
Reading the passage was enough to solidify an idea that had been floating around Aishling’s thoughts: to coax it back into the other realm, its realm.
Resolved in what to do, she quietly placed her grimoire and magical tools into her backpack. After making sure Lance was still asleep, she placed her amulet inside his shirt pocket. He roused some but didn’t wake up. As she paused and watched him sleep, she vowed to let nothing happen to him and to do whatever it took to save Morrigan and Kelile.
The drumming and chanting spilled across the morning air as she slipped out the front door.
She ran.
And rested briefly.
And ran.
And rested.
Her home was a couple of miles from Redhawk’s, and she struggled with exhaustion because of the weight of her backpack, lack of sleep, and tired, stressed muscles. She planned to visit the Garden of Life and Death and summon her mother. Ma would tell her how to take the Uktena back to its dimension.
As she came around the last curve before her driveway, she halted, almost tripping. In her yard were two police cars. She slipped into the trees off the road and hid. What was going on? Had the state tracked them down or had Redhawk turned them in?
Now she wouldn’t be able to go to the garden.
She gritted her teeth and fumed about the hurdles she kept encountering. All she had ever wanted to do was find Ma. She pounded her left leg with her fist. And now, her best friends—her family of heart—were in tremendous danger because of her. They might die because of her! Why had Ma sent her to that cave? Had she misunderstood Ma? What should she do?
Determined to save the others, she decided to go to the lake and summon the Uktena without Ma’s help. She’d take it back. But could she find the Suti Stone when she did?
She’d have to.
“What are you doing, Aishling?” Lance.
“No! Why are you here? Go back. You need to go back.”
“What are you going to do?”
She hesitated.
“Aishling?”
“I’m going to return the Uktena. It’s the only way. You’re not stopping me. I’m going to summon it and take it back. I’ve got to do this before it hurts anyone else.”
“I’m going with you.”
“No, Lance. Please go back. I have to do this alone.”
“I’m going with you or I won’t let you go.”
She noticed he was wearing her amulet. He believes in me.
“Aishling, we can’t do this if we don’t help each other.”
After giving in to him, she summarized what the passage in her grimoire had revealed about the Uktena.
“But … how do we get it back to the cave?”
“By going to the lake’s edge and summoning it with my bell and obsidian stone.”
“Why did you come here instead of closer to the gateway where it came through?”
“I wanted to go to the garden and talk to Ma first. I thought she’d tell me what to do. But the policemen …” Is there some other way to contact Ma?
“Aishling.” Lance tugged on her backpack. “We should get closer to the portal. We’d have too far to go from here.”
While studying his forestry map, Lance said, “Look, the portal is around here.” He pointed at the map. “That’s less than a quarter of a mile from the lake. Let’s go to the lake there and summon the Uktena.”
Still daylight when they arrived, they would have to wait. They spread a sleeping bag under the shade of three silver birch trees and sat next to each other, leaning back against the trees.
Gazing out over the water, Aishling tried to remember what Ma had taught her about birch trees. No visions or memories came to her.
It was peaceful next to Lance, at least until she thought of Kelile and Morrigan. Then she became too fidgety and sat up, wondering how to find the Suti Stone.
“I’m not asleep,” Lance whispered. “Just resting.”
“Lance, what about the fire? We’ve got to take something into the cave to build a fire.”
He jolted up. “I can’t believe you still want to find that stone! Look what’s already happened to Kelile and Morrigan. They may die, Aishling.”
“I want to find it so we can heal them,” she answered, an ache ripping through her chest. Didn’t he realize she was doing it for the others?
He huffed, shook his head, and frowned. “What do you plan to do?”
“Take the Uktena back, find the stone and use it to heal Morri and Kelile. I know it will work. I know if I can find it, it will heal them. I know it, Lance.”
Without a word, he stood and began picking up twigs and dry grasses. “Does it have to be a big fire?”
“I don’t think so.”
After collecting what they needed, they rested again.
Soon, Aishling drifted in and out of happy thoughts. She was lying next to Lance on a sun-drenched meadow, laughing and holding hands with him. She was helping Ma tend their vibrant Garden of Life and Death. She was twirling with Da among lights and rainbows… .
She panicked when she awoke and it was dark. “Oh no! What time is it?”
Lance shot up, checking his wristwatch with the flashlight. “Just after ten. Will it still work?”
“It has to.”
He remained still, staring up into the starscape.
“Are you okay?”
“Look at the moon.” He pointed to the western sky. “See how the dark part forms sort of a ‘D’? That’s a waxing moon.”
“When dead moon awakens,” Aishling said.
“How… ? Yes. I was going to say that. How did you know?”
“I don’t know how I knew it. It just came out. Maybe we were both taught that before.”
“But I don’t remember it, Aishling. None of this makes sense to me.” He wrapped his arms around his knees. “Remember the first day Morrigan came to Herald Home?”
“Yes.”
“And you two were late for dinner?” She nodded. “That was the first time I felt like I already knew you from somewhere.”
“That was the first time I felt that way about you.”
“But, how?”
“I don’t know.”
He looked at the moon again and exhaled. “Well … I guess we better see if this works.”
“It has to.”
“Aishling …” He moved his head close enough for her to see his eyes. “I …”
Is he going to kiss me? Her heart skipped several beats. She placed her hand on his arm and said, “I’m so glad you’re with me.”
He nodded and rested his hand on hers, his warmth lifting her energies. Then, grasping her hand in his, he said, “I am too.” He gazed into her eyes briefly then shook his head. “I guess we better do this.”
They stood and folded the sleeping bag. Lance stored it on the bottom of his backpack while Aishling took out her obsidian stone and bell. Once she secured her backpack on her shoulders, she walked to the water’s edge. This has to work.
She submerged the obsidian in the water then rang the bell.
Nothing.
She did it again.
Nothing.
Again—doubt seeping into her thoughts.
Tears blurred her vision. She tried once more.
Nothing.
“Oh, please!” she cried, hoping with all her heart.
A breach erupted in the water, followed by a crashing sound.
Lance grabbed her arm, and they ran.
“It’s coming ashore!” he yelled.
She glimpsed a large, dark mass slipping out of the water as she continued ringing the bell.
It was following them.
As they neared the thong trees, Aishling realized the Uktena was gaining on them, so close it might soon be able to lunge on top of them. Could they stay ahead of it?
But the serpent slowed, now following in pace behind them.
“Lance, it wants to go back. That’s what it wants!”
They spotted the large stone Kelile had used to mark the gateway.
Lance halted, picked it up, and balanced it with one hand against his side. He clasped her arm with his other hand as she rang the bell. They sprang through the portal. While he quickly set down the marker stone, a moment’s doubt intruded her thoughts. What if the Uktena can’t follow without touching her? She vigorously rang the bell, hoping the sound would be enough.
Midway to the entrance of the cave, she whirled around in time to see its horned head glide through the portal. This triggered a flashback, and she saw the Uktena’s horned head slither up her front porch.
“Come on!” Lance tugged on her.
Afraid she’d lose one of her magical tools, she tightened her grip on her obsidian and bell as they pawed their way along the dark tunnel leading to the rainbow cavern.
“I can’t get my flashlight to come on,” Lance said, nudging her along.
Unable to see, she began fretting. Was the Uktena still behind them? Would it lunge on them?
At once, she realized Lance was no longer near. She stopped ringing the bell.
“Lance!” she shouted.
“Keep going. I just dropped the flashlight. I’m right behind you.”
“No!” Fear gripped her heartbeat. Her hands shook uncontrollably. She almost dropped her magical tools.
“Go! I hear it coming!”
Though weak in her knees, she continued ahead a couple of steps, but stopped, wanting to wait for him.
Hissing whispers echoed through the tunnel, the serpent’s call! Another flashback sent her memory reeling back to the night of the fire. She saw herself in her bedroom clasping her ears, screaming for Ma, but the protective fire had already been summoned.
Before she could process the memories, a screech followed by a loud thud froze her inside out. Tremors surged through her like electrical shocks.
“Lance!” she shouted, unable to move.
He moaned, and then all she heard was gagging and gurgling, as if his life force was bubbling out of his body.
The smell of rotten eggs choked her. A dragging sound moved closer. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t respond. Couldn’t breathe. An eternity eked by while she waited for the Uktena. Her only thought was of regret. She hadn’t protected Lance, hadn’t saved Morri and Kelile.
Closing her eyes, she waited for the strike.
Nothing happened.
The dragging faded, moving ahead and away from her.
Still too scared to move, she wrestled with herself and what she knew needed to be done. She must get Lance, must find the Suti Stone and get out of there!
But, she wanted to run, get away. No! I’ve got to get Lance, save Lance and Kelile and Morri!
She could only mouth the words, “Lance, where are you?” She tried again, “Lance?” Again, louder, “Lance?” What if he’s already dead? Oh Goddess, I can’t do this. She wailed. I have to. It was the only way to get him out.
Determined, her shivering subsided enough for her to move. First, the back of her hands, brushing against the tunnel wall. Then, her legs, inching back in the direction of Lance.
When she saw a dim light—a flashlight!—lying on the ground, she lurched for it and used it to find him.
“Oh, Goddess!” His body lay humped against the cave wall like a discarded corpse. “Lance, please don’t be dead. Please, say something!”
The bite marks on his neck and right shoulder weren’t deep or as horrific as Morrigan’s had been. And he was breathing heavily and moaning, not unconscious. Not dead! Had the amulet helped? Hope cracked a tiny opening in her fears. But now, she must figure a way to get him into the cavern so she can find the Suti Stone and heal his bite.
When she sighted his backpack next to his left leg, she gagged. His left shinbone protruded through the skin. She clinched her lips and covered her mouth, swallowing back vomit. How would she get him into the cavern now?
Instinct took over, and she clamped her fears. She’d have to go to the cavern herself, find the stone, and bring it back.
Aishling groped for as much hope as she could muster for her healing ritual and used the obsidian to shower his bite marks and leg with healing and loving light. He stopped moaning.
Whispers escaped from his mouth, “Go. Hurry.”
After placing him in a protective and repelling circle, she removed her amulet from his neck and placed it around hers. She stuffed her backpack with the twigs, dry grasses, knife, and flint from his pack before slipping hers on again. With the obsidian and bell in her right hand and flashlight in her left, she was ready.
Her heart pounded at breakneck speed, and she gasped for air. “Stop!” she commanded her shaking hands. I can … I can do this. I can do this.
As she stepped out of the protective barrier, fear bound her feet in place again. Every cell in her body was suffocating. She was close to fainting. “No! I have to do this!” she ordered herself. She gasped for air, pried her feet up, and moved toward the cavern entrance.
The flashlight flickered on and off, becoming dimmer and dimmer again. She plodded ahead by nudging along the tunnel wall. Her fears subsided to a bearable burden. But when she reached the doorway to the cavern, her heart leaped into her mouth, fighting to escape her body. What if the serpent waited for her on the other side? What if it was poised and ready to strike?
I’m the only one who can save them. “I have to do this!” she whispered and inhaled a haggard breath. She stepped through the doorway.
The dazzling crystals embedded in the walls of the cavern, now lighting her way, were old friends welcoming her home. The Uktena wasn’t there. She rushed further into the cavern and to the far wall, waiting, watching, gasping for more air.
Where was it?
Cautiously, she slid along the wall until she reached the opening of the side chamber. Leaning around enough to peek into the grotto, she saw the last of the Uktena’s body slide into a pool of water beneath the waterfall.
Now!
Working quickly and quietly, she created a wide protective barrier around herself and prepared for building a fire. After she opened her water bottle and placed it next to the dry grasses and twigs, she was ready.
She picked up the knife and flint and closed her eyes, picturing the day when Lance taught them how to make a fire.
She struck at the flint, creating a couple of sparks. Though the dry grass ignited, it only smoked.
No fire.
She tried again, and again, and again.
“Oh no,” she said aloud, after her seventh try. By now, she was whining. Flailing her arms in a frenzy, she knocked her water onto the grasses. “No!” she cried and tried to separate enough dry grass out from the wet.
But all of it was wet. She would have to get more.
After grabbing her obsidian, bell, and flashlight, she ran through an archway.
This tunnel was different, though. Huge formations of columns and boulders lay scattered here and there, causing her to zigzag. No, this isn’t right. Oh Goddess! Help me! She spun around, barreled back through the doorway into the cavern… .
And came face-to-face with the Uktena.
She screamed and dropped the flashlight.
In one swift movement, she transferred the bell into her left hand then shoved her right hand in front of her, revealing the obsidian. With her left hand, she rang the bell, and rang, and rang.
The Uktena reared back. This gave her enough time to dash for her protective circle. Just as she stepped within it, the serpent rammed against it, bounced off, and shrieked.
She collapsed to the ground and cried out, “Why? Why?”
The Uktena coiled itself around her circle and laid its horned head down. She tittered for moments before her berserk giggles stopped. Now what? She became dazed.
Time clunked by while she fiddled with her amulet, fiddled with her obsidian, fiddled with her bell.
She studied the translucent bands of triangular shards around the Uktena’s body, dully shimmering like peacock feathers. She hadn’t noticed that before. But wait. A vision, memory, or dream flashed in her thoughts. From a time before—not the last time they were here, but a time before that! Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to focus the broken scene, but only caught glimpses of something undulating through the trees around her house. Was it the Uktena? The scene drifted into darkness. She couldn’t retrieve it.
Upon opening her eyes again, she gazed at the tunnel archway where she had dropped the flashlight. She remembered the first time they had come. Lance had marked the correct entrance with his backpack. I should have done that.
The rainbow crystals appeared to be glowing brighter. At least she had some consolation in her newly formed prison. How long would the Uktena stay there? How long would her safety boundary hold up? Is this how she would die, withering away, no food, no water? Or would the Uktena break through and kill her? She tittered again, on the verge of hysteria.
The great horned serpent closed its eyes. Was it going to sleep? “Oh Goddess, will it never leave?” she ranted.
It opened its eyes briefly before closing them again, her answer.
How long could Lance hold on? She must do something. Was there some kind of magick or spell she could do?
As she stretched her thoughts, she remembered a dream from a few weeks ago. She had been trapped below the water in this dream, and she knew she would soon drown. But she heard a soft voice saying, “Breathe. Breathe through your pain. Breathe through your grief. Breathe through the water.” Breathe? What good would that do?
Dead Moon Awakens: A tale of Cherokee myth and Celtic magic (Mystic Gates) Page 21
