Shaxoa's Gift

by Gladden, DelSheree

  “I know a little about Quaile,” Kaya said. “I’ve only been the shaman in Hano for two years. The woman before me was named Naomi, and she knew Quaile very well. They did not get along.”

  I could believe that.

  “From what Naomi told me about Quaile, she is a wise woman, but not a trusting one. She seemed to believe that she should decide what those under her care should know and do, and what they shouldn’t.”

  I grunted in annoyance and Kaya took it as an acknowledgement that she was right about Quaile.

  “Naomi believed that Quaile’s untrusting nature was because Quaile was much more limited in her abilities than she led everyone to believe,” Kaya said. “I thought that seemed a little unfair at the time. What do you think?”

  Considering how Quaile had handled the situation with Claire and me, I was inclined to agree. “I think that’s a fair assessment,” I said.

  “Why don’t you tell me what happened with Quaile to make you feel so strongly about her,” Kaya said.

  Kaya already knew how Quaile had denied us the right to marry, but I told her how Quaile had lied about my chance to save Claire, and her later betrayal when she revealed the potion needed Daniel’s blood. Kaya pursed her lips, and I doubted that Kaya would have made the same choices. When I mentioned Quaile’s dreams, Kaya moved to the edge of her chair. Not wanting to answer questions about those at that moment, I quickly changed the subject to the strange way Quaile had been able to repel the Matwau.

  “How did she do that?” I asked.

  “Shaman are granted certain protection given to them by the gods,” Kaya said. “Calling on animals for aid is one, placing a person under her protection is another, and protection against the dark gods’ agents is the other.”

  “The Matwau isn’t one of the dark gods?”

  “No, Uriah. The Matwau is the dark gods’ most secret creation, not one of the dark gods himself,” Kaya said.

  “Are there more…more of these creations?” I asked. I thought about the multiple creatures hunting me in Quaile’s vision. Thinking of facing the Matwau again was terrifying enough. Thinking I might have to face a whole host of similar creatures made my knees weak.

  “Yes, but the Matwau is the greatest. The others will aid him when he needs their help,” Kaya said. “I am curious about Quaile’s visions, though. I’d love to discuss them a little more, if you don’t mind.”

  I groaned inwardly. I did not want to talk about the dreams. I did need answers, but I was scared of what I would find. I wanted a little good news before delving into Quaile’s dark dreams. “Maybe after we talk to your sister,” I said.

  Kaya looked disappointed, but she didn’t press the point. Given my history with Quaile, I could see that she understood why I was hesitant to put myself out for more betrayal. I didn’t think Kaya would deceive me, but I was still worried about what she might interpret from Quaile’s visions.

  Glancing at the clock, Kaya said, “It’s only two thirty. Samantha said she would meet us at six o’clock.” Kaya took in my appearance with a grimace. “You look a little road weary. You can take a shower and put on some fresh clothes if you like. You’re more than welcome to take a nap, too.”

  My expression must have been amusing to Kaya. A playful smile lit her face. The thought of showering in a woman’s house I had only known for a few hours was enough to make me blush wildly.

  “I won’t peek at you, Uriah,” Kaya said. Her laugh was clear and youthful, reminding me of Claire. “Talon can sit outside the door if you don’t trust me.”

  Looking at Talon, he already had an answer ready. It was tinged with amusement as well. “She does find you handsome, but a little young.” Talon seemed to laugh, although I wasn’t sure whether a cougar could actually laugh or not.

  “Go on,” Kaya said. “The bathroom is at the end of the hall on the left. There’s a spare bedroom right across the hall, too.”

  Grabbing my pack from where it sat on the floor next to my feet, I stood and made my way down the hallway. I didn’t really think Kaya would care that I was showering in her home, but I couldn’t help checking over my shoulder before stepping into the bathroom. Kaya had already left the living room. I wondered what Claire would think. Talon made the same half growl, half laugh noise again. I closed the door on him.

  The small room was a creamy yellow and perfectly clean. Kicking off my dust covered shoes I was quick to strip off the rest of my clothes as well. It felt good to be rid of them. Turning on the shower, I let the water heat up while I brushed my teeth thoroughly.

  When steam began to cloud the mirror I stepped under the water, washing everything away. The dirt and grime were the first to go, the unpleasant memories the last, and those never really left, only receded. I let Claire fill my mind and pretended not to notice when the tears mixed with the water. “I’ll be home soon, Claire,” I whispered to myself. “Just hold on a little longer.”

  I imagined that I could hear Claire’s response. It was filled with love and hope. “I’m waiting,” she would have said. “I love you. Come home to me soon.”

  Feeling better in more ways than one, I emerged from the bathroom. Talon had remained quiet the entire time, leaving me alone with my thoughts. He was a good friend. I knew he’d most likely heard every jumbled thought and precious memory I recalled, but it no longer bothered me. It was a relief to know that he understood me so well.

  “She didn’t come near the bathroom,” Talon teased.

  I shoved his head away. “I never thought she would,” I said. “I’m just not used to showering in strangers’ houses, okay?”

  Talon snorted and stalked down the hall. “Go to sleep. I’m going to go out to hunt, but I’ll wake you when it’s time to meet the Shaxoa.”

  Ducking into a room across the hall that looked like a guest room, I was more than happy to accept the invitation. I truly wanted to avoid any more of Kaya’s questions until I knew for sure that my journey to Hano had not been in vain. I was heartened by the fact that Kaya seemed extremely confident, even oddly proud of her sister’s knowledge, but I would not be satisfied until I had the potion, or herb, or whatever it was, in my hand.

  Collapsing on the bed, my eyes closed only a second before sleep took me.

  11: Tip the Balance

  Claire was beside me immediately. Her sweet smile pulled me close to her. My arms closed around her supple body, feeling the familiar aching pain that always came when I touched her. It felt so good to hold her again, even with the pain. I whispered how much I loved her in her ear. Claire pressed closer, her body fitting perfectly against mine. My fingers ran through her silken hair, each stroke sending a puff of lavender fragrance into the air. I breathed in the scent, never wanting to move.

  “It’s time to go,” Claire said softly, not wanting to leave any more than I did.

  “Go where?” I asked.

  Claire’s melodic laugh skittered through the air. “To the Elders, silly. They can’t marry us if we don’t show up.”

  Marry us? My head suddenly felt too unsteady to be properly attached. Had I really done it? Had I broken the Twin Soul bond and released Claire? Her waiting smile was all the answer I needed. Everything was perfect. Claire let go of my hand with a smile and disappeared. The scene around me melted into something new.

  My mother stepped in front of me, touching my clothes, checking my hair which was much shorter than I remembered it being, and fussing over a hundred other minute details. I stared down at my clothing. The traditional Tewa wedding clothes felt so natural to me, which seemed odd since I had never worn them before. Not everybody wore the ceremonial dress. I hadn’t really thought about whether I would wear them or not. All I cared about was being with Claire.

  Claire would have been beautiful dressed in white, the pure snow colored fabric against her copper skin, but if I was dressed in the traditional clothing I imagined she would be too. I tried to imagine what Claire would look like in her doeskin beaded dress, but all I co
uld see were her milk chocolate eyes gazing at me lovingly. I tried to step away from my mom, but she only told me to stand still. I waited impatiently for her to finish before finally stepping toward the door.

  We stood in front of the Elders. Samuel Atcity stepped up to lead the ceremony. He glanced at Claire with a smile then turned to me with a confused look on his face. “Uriah, what are you doing here?” he asked.

  My face wrinkled. “What do you mean? I’m here to marry Claire,” I said.

  Samuel shook his head. “No, Uriah. Claire is not marrying you today. Claire has already found her Twin Soul.”

  I felt him approach. The world seemed to fade and turn bleak as Daniel stepped up to Claire. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, looking out of place at the gathering, or at least he should have. As I turned back to Claire I realized that she no longer wore her Tewa dress, but a close fitting white gown and shimmering veil. I turned back to Samuel, wanting an explanation, but he had changed as well. Wearing a dark suit now, he turned away from me with a sad frown.

  Someone grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away. Tearing my arm out of their grip, I grabbed Claire and spun her to face me. “Claire, what’s going on?”

  Claire smiled, but with pity now, instead of love. “I’m sorry, Uriah, but I can’t marry you. I don’t love you anymore. I hope you can understand,” she said. Leaving me alone, Claire took Daniel’s hand.

  The hand grabbed my arm again. Anger snapped my restraint, turning my body to face the one attempting to control me. The face was familiar, but unknown at the same time. I stared at the man. His face moved and changed constantly. I gasped. This was no man. Only then did I realize how hot my arm was where his hand gripped me. With that realization came the pain. The Matwau laughed with evil glee.

  I tried to pull away. I tried to find Claire and bring her back to me. I tried to run, but he held me tight. I knew then that I was dreaming, but it did me no good. I was at the mercy of the beast, forced to play his sinister games until I woke. I ran and fought, over and over again, praying that I would wake soon.

  ***

  “Uriah,” a voice called as someone shook me. “Uriah, are you okay?”

  It took me a moment to realize the dreams had ended. Relief nearly brought tears to my eyes. I forced them back and blinked away the remnants of my nightmares. Blurred vision was the best I could get at first. The face looking down at me in concern was unfamiliar and I pulled away. She held her hands back from me. A deep breath finally cleared my mind and eyes, and I realized it was only Kaya kneeling by my bedside.

  “Uriah, is everything alright? You were thrashing and yelling. I didn’t mean to startle you, but it looked like you were having a bad dream,” Kaya said.

  I rubbed my hand across my face roughly. “Yeah, I was. Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize, Uriah.” Settling into a chair near the bed, she looked over at me. “Do you want to talk about it? I’m pretty good with dreams.”

  “No.” I shook my head to emphasize the point. “They weren’t dreams that need interpreting. They were just regular nightmares.”

  She didn’t look convinced, but she let it rest for the time being. I had already partly agreed to talk about Quaile’s dreams later. Maybe she planned on bringing this up then. There really wasn’t anything to discuss, though. Dreaming of losing Claire and facing the Matwau and his minions weren’t coming from anything more than primal fear.

  “How long was I asleep? Is it time to see your sister yet?” I asked.

  “No, you only laid down about an hour ago.”

  Was it really only an hour? I felt like I had been watching Claire get stolen away and getting attacked by the Matwau and his creatures for days. The dreams were so real, too. I could feel it every time their fangs or claws sliced into my skin. Every time I kissed Claire before she was ripped away from me was precious agony. It hurt in my dreams more than ever to touch her, even worse than it did the first time I accidentally brushed up against her in the hallway, but I would submit myself to that kind of torture a thousand times over losing her.

  Kaya asked if I wanted her to leave so I could go back to sleep, but falling back into dreams wasn’t what I wanted right now. Yes, Claire would be there, but moments with her were greatly outnumbered by me getting ripped to pieces. Remembering the pain of touching Claire, questions began to form on my lips. Answers about how to save Claire couldn’t be answered yet. Maybe a few others could.

  “Kaya, wait, can I ask you about something?”

  Poised to get up, she sat back against the chair. “Sure, go ahead.”

  “You seem to know a lot of stuff Quaile doesn’t,” I started, “or at least you’re willing to tell me things she isn’t.” I pause, trying to find the words to explain my reaction to Claire. The silence stretched on for much too long.

  Kaya smiled at me knowingly. “Uriah, a cougar has been hanging out in my living room all day and you’re being chased by a creature of the dark gods. Whatever you want to ask me, just ask. I’m pretty good with weird.”

  “This may be a stretch, even for you,” I said.

  “Try me.”

  I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking after everything I had already told her. No need to make her wait. I needed answers. “Ever since I have known Claire, I’ve had a strange reaction to her. I can’t touch her without it hurting me.”

  “Hurting you? What do you mean?” Kaya asked.

  “It physically hurts me to touch her. It doesn’t matter whether it’s skin to skin contact or through her clothes. I touch her and immediately feel pain,” I said. “Not only that, but I feel like my strength is being stolen. And that happens even when I’m only near her. I don’t even have to touch her and I start feeling really weak.”

  Kaya’s brow drew together as she thought. Her fingers tapped idly on her leg. “Anything else?”

  “Uh, yeah, actually,” I said after a moment. “Usually I’m really good with animals, which I now realize is because of the whole talking to them thing, but if I’m touching Claire when I’m around animals they won’t behave at all. It’s like they can’t hear me, or feel me, or whatever it is, if she’s touching me.”

  “That is…”

  I cut her off, remembering one more thing. “Claire is the only person I’ve never been able to control, too.”

  “What?” Kaya demanded. “Control? What are you talking about?”

  My face flushed under her accusing tone. I momentarily forgot that I hadn’t mentioned that part of my fantastic abilities to her earlier. There was a reason I hadn’t. A very good one. I wanted to avoid giving her the impression that I could, in any way, make her help me against her will. That jump in logic seemed to have been made in her head as soon as the word slipped out of my mouth.

  “I…it doesn’t always work, but sometimes I can make people do things, like the first time I really talked to Claire a guy was about to punch her. I told him not to and he instantly backed down. I could do it with Claire’s dad pretty easily, too. It was the only way I got him to agree to let us get married.” I watched her expression change very slightly. I just wasn’t sure what it was changing into.

  “How do you do it?” she asked.

  I stared at her. “Really? You’re not going to comment on how weird that is or question whether I’m lying? You just accept it?”

  “I told you, I’m good with freaky stuff like this. Look at everything else you can do. Why would one more power surprise me? I have a feeling you’ve only scratched the surface of what you can do, Uriah.”

  A cold chill rushed through me. I really hoped she was wrong about that. My head was already threatening to fall off. I didn’t need anything else to tip the balance.

  “So, tell me how you do it,” Kaya asked after a moment.

  I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I didn’t even believe Claire that I was doing it until recently. I just tell someone they’re going to do something, and they do it. Usually.”

  “Usually? What does tha
t mean?”

  The urge to squirm under her gaze bites at me. It was different when I didn’t believe I could control anything. Admitting that I had used it knowingly left a slimy feeling in my gut. “I tried to force Claire’s brother, Cole, to go back when he tried to come with me to find Daniel, but he refused. It was weird because I’d told him to do things before and he always did it. And I almost couldn’t convince Claire’s dad to let us get married, either. He looked like he was fighting the pull to give in pretty hard, but he couldn’t win. When I found Daniel, I tried telling him he had to come with us right off the bat and he didn’t listen at all.”

  “Well, that’s not surprising. Twin Souls who are being pulled toward each other can’t be affected by any power other than the bond,” Kaya said matter-of-factly.

  “Oh…that’s good to know, I guess.”

  “The others, though, why couldn’t you control Claire’s brother, and why did it almost not work on her dad?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I think it had something to do with their conviction or love for the person. I told Cole to go home, but he refused to turn his back on Claire. With her dad, he really wanted to keep us a part, but when I said Claire deserved to be happy he finally broke.”

  “Are Claire and her brother close?” Kaya asked.

  “Yeah. They fight and stuff, but they’re really close.”

  “So making him abandon her when she was in trouble…”

  “He would never do it. He would hate himself if anything ever happened to Claire because he didn’t help her,” I said. Cole was an irresponsible punk a lot of the time, but he loved Claire. He would always be there for her.

  Kaya leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “Claire and her dad, I already gathered that they don’t get along, given the poisoning incident, but do you think he cares about her? Does he love her?”

  Claire wouldn’t agree with me on this, but I said, “He does. He doesn’t show it, ever, but I get the feeling that whatever reason he thinks we shouldn’t be together, he thinks he’s doing the right thing by her. He wants her to be happy and safe. He just doesn’t seem to think I can do that for her.”