Qaletaqa

by Gladden, DelSheree

  Hasty and jumbled scribbling sprawled all over the page. Quaile’s writing was usually very slow and careful. The mess on the page before me was shocking. It was dated the day Uriah and I spoke to the Elders, the day she refused us and started the chain of events that led to this moment.

  Reading the scratchy letters quickly gave me a headache, but I felt like I had found something Quaile truly wanted me to know. The first three pages of the hasty writing described in detail everything that happened at the meeting with the Elders as well as what happened later that night. Her account was interrupted every few sentences as Quaile complained that she thought she would have more time with Uriah.

  Turning the fourth page, I started reading in earnest. Every sentenced revealed her panic. The vision she had seen at Uriah’s birth, the one that had revealed him to her as the Qaletaqa, had been added onto. She had seen that his path to destroying the Matwau had been set that night.

  She didn’t seem to understand why everything had happened so suddenly. She raced through thought after thought, trying to figure out what to do. I think what scared her most what that by this point in her writings she had realized she wasn’t the chosen shaman, but she had no idea who was. She sent Uriah off to face the Matwau without the one integral piece of help he needed the most. I was losing hope in Quaile’s entry telling me anything new, but another turn of the page brought out one of the most interesting secrets of all.

  The Matwau’s origin story. His creation and birth.

  I fell into the story immediately.

  ***

  The gods of light had always had their heroes, men they created to protect their world and their people. These heroes only served half the gods. The dark gods felt their ambitions were not upheld as much as the gods who loved beauty and light. And the gods always strive for balance. They two factions of gods debated much about how to rectify this imbalance. A suitable answer could not be met for quite some time.

  Heroes were born to the earth when they were needed to complete specific tasks. The dark gods argued that they should be able to do the same. The gods of light did not like the idea of the dark gods creating their vile creatures whenever they wished to stir up the people into wickedness and depravity. Such a liberty could be abused too easily.

  One of the gods proposed that a dark creature could only be created when one of their heroes was born to earth, but the dark gods did not want only to try and stop the gods of light’s plans. They had plans of their own which they wished to fulfill. Another of the gods suggested the dark gods be allowed to create their agents whenever they wished but each one could only fulfill a single purpose before its earthly body died. The dark gods rejected that as well because they would then spend too much time designing each wicked creation for its one specific purpose.

  In the end, the two sides finally reached a decision. The dark gods would be allowed a single creation that would aid their plans and desires. One single being that would be granted long life and would hold a wide enough variety of talents so it could fulfill many missions in many ways. But to protect themselves from the dark gods trying to overthrow the balance of the world, the creation had to be subject to certain laws.

  The debate began again about what those laws would be and who would make them. The gods of light insisted that they should be the ones to make the laws, but the dark gods thought that would render their creation all but useless. The wisest of the gods then stepped forward and gave his opinion on the matter.

  “The dark gods may choose but one purpose for their creation to fulfill. It may fulfill that purpose in any way it sees fit, but the law will see to it that it cannot deviate from this purpose in any way.”

  The wisest then sat down, and all those around him began to nod and agree with his balanced proposal. When the agreement was reached, the wisest spoke again. “Choose your creation’s purpose.”

  The dark gods gathered together, and in whispered tones argued about how they could bring the most pain and sadness to the world. One by one, ideas were given and shot down until one suggestion was made that shocked even the dark gods. Still, shocked as they were, they agreed, for it was the one thing that would bring the most misery and prevent the most blessed happiness the people could ever have. The circle broke apart and announced their decision.

  “Our creation’s purpose will be to hunt down and kill Twin Souls before they can form the bond of true and everlasting happiness.”

  Startled gasps and choking sobs echoed around them. Some cried out that it could not be allowed, but the wisest hushed them all.

  “We gave them the chance to choose their creation’s purpose and they have chosen. Now here are the laws. Only one of the Twins Souls may be killed, for the bond cannot form with only one. Only Twin Souls may be harmed by this creation, but even this creature cannot step past the shaman’s blessing of protection.”

  One of the gods of light stood before the gathering, trembling in anger. “We cannot release such a monstrosity on our people. It will rob them of their hope. They must have hope.” The other gods nodded, even the dark gods, for even in their evil machinations they still sought for balance. “We cannot doom our people to an eternity of fear,” the god continued. “There must be the hope that the world will one day be rid of this abomination. There must be hope that happiness and love will endure.”

  The wisest stood and addressed the gathering. “To preserve hope and balance, each set of Twin Souls will be given the chance to destroy the dark gods’ creature. They will be given the power to end his reign, but a sacrifice will be required of them in order to use their power. They must give each other up during their mortal lives. The shamans of our people will be gifted with a prophecy of a warrior that will one day defeat this creature of the dark gods when a suitable pair is sent down to the mortal world. When a warrior strong enough to fulfill that prophecy is sent down, he will bring back hope of happiness and joy to the world.”

  With everything decided, the gathering dispersed and each side went to work. The dark gods gathered up all the evil of the world and formed it into a beast of no determinable shape or size. Into the writhing mass of evil they added every talent and gift they could devise to ensure it would never fail. In secret they added one more very special gift before calling their work complete, a gift that could only be used once to corrupt the animals of the world below and create allies unbound by the troublesome laws. In the end, they looked upon their grotesque work with vicious smiles and called it complete.

  Far away from the dark gods, the gods of light and beauty began work on the gifts that would be given to Twin Souls. Like the dark gods, they added something more. They fashioned another set of gifts to be given to a shaman willing to suffer alongside the Qaletaqa, for they knew he would need more power than they could give him alone. Opposite from their counterparts, they gathered the love and kindness and compassion of the world and formed it into the core of their gifts.

  Each of the gods choose the powers and talents they thought would aid the warrior and shaman the most, but instead of merely tossing them in as the dark gods had, they buried each talent deep within the spirit, ensuring that they would only be fully released at the right time when the commitment to destroy the creature had been made by turning aside from the Twin Soul bond. They smoothed and shaped their gifts until they resembled the hope of happiness which would one day restore harmony to the world. Stepping back, they smiled peacefully at what they had made and were confident the gifts would fulfill their purpose.

  While the gods of light and beauty held their gifts back for those who were worthy, the dark gods were eager to unleash their creation. Carefully, they searched the world for the perfect spot to awaken the monster. The world was big and held many gnarled and grotesque places that would suit such a birth, but the knowledge of the gods led them to a dark forest that ran up to meet the dry desert sand and heat. It was a place of death and pain, where many of the gods’ people had entered battle and lost their lives, making the
piece of desert ideal.

  The dark gods descended and felt the presence of some of their people. Twin Souls who were nearing each other for the first time made the dark gods twitch with insidious glee. These Twins Souls had been born too early, without the newly prepared gifts of the gods of light. They would be helpless. Sickening smiles crept onto their faces. They knew this place would hold special power for their creature, the site of its birth and the site of its first kill.

  Quickly they laid down their sleeping creation. They reached out with their power and woke it roughly. Blinking in the glaring light, it stared at its masters, filled with a desire to destroy. As his senses woke up and attuned themselves to the world, it felt the desire to kill and feed so strongly it’s body writhed and quivered with anticipation.

  “Your name is Matwau, the Enemy. You are the enemy of happiness, the enemy to this world. You know your purpose,” the most evil of the gods said. The quiet steps of two separate humans, a male and a female, reached the Matwau’s ears. Dancing with anticipation, he regarded his masters, waiting for permission to act. The gods smiled.

  “Go, Matwau. Fulfill your purpose.”

  ***

  I closed the journal. Taos. The Matwau had been born, and made his first kill in Taos. That was why he refused to move the location of the battle despite the issue of the prairie dogs. I knew that had to be the reason. A special power. The dark gods said that place would hold special power for the Matwau. What did that mean? Would he be even stronger than when Uriah had faced him in the past? Would it make Uriah weaker? I wanted to scream.

  This couldn’t be easy, of course. Not for us.

  “Claire?” Harvey asked. “Are you okay?”

  Absolutely not, I thought. Every time I turned around it was more complications, more tidbits to crush my hope.

  “Yeah, Harvey, I’m okay,” I said. “I’m just worried.”

  “Worried?” he asked. “Why? What did you just read?”

  “This book has told me a lot, but every time I think I’m about to get the answer I want, all I get is another question.” I sighed. That wasn’t fair. But at least I was aware the special power, even if I didn’t know what it was exactly.

  “What’s the question?” Harvey asked.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. Did he really think he could help? He still kept glancing back at the sleeping Talon every few seconds. I think he thought Talon might decide to eat him at any moment. He couldn’t even accept the least bizarre part of this disaster. How did he think he was going to help with this? Even still, he had come this far. It wasn’t like I had anyone else nearby to ask, anyway.

  “Fine,” I said. “What kind of special power would the Matwau get from fighting Uriah on the place he was born, which also happens to be the place where he made his first kill?”

  Harvey’s brow scrunched together as he considered the question. Talon perked his ears up at the question as well. His eyes grew wide, showing the intelligence that lay inside. I met his gaze and wondered if he knew the answer. He had been able to tell Uriah a few things that Uriah hadn’t been able to find anywhere else before we got the book, like how the Matwau’s creatures were once regular wolves that were mutated into something more evil.

  At least Quaile’s recounting of the Matwau’s origin story was able to tell me that the Matwau wouldn’t be able to create any more allies if Uriah managed to kill them all. That gift could only be used once. It was a small comfort.

  I watched Talon’s eyes dart between me and Harvey, as if he was waiting for someone to speak. Every second that passed made him more agitated. He knew, I realized. He knew, and he couldn’t tell us the answer. Who’s brilliant idea was it that shamans could only send their thoughts to the animals, not hear the animals’ in return as well? Who wouldn’t think hearing the animals would be just as useful?

  “Well,” Harvey said, interrupting my internal rant, “I supposed creating, or waking up, something as powerful as the Matwau would take a lot of…power, right?”

  Talon began nodding frantically.

  “Yes, I think so,” I said.

  “What if that power, I don’t know, is still there or something, like a residue that the Matwau could tap into,” Harvey suggested. He shrugged as if it might have been a silly suggestion, but I was instantly afraid that he was right.

  Turning, I met Talon’s eyes and watched his head nod once, very slowly.

  “The dark gods own power,” I whispered.

  The Matwau was already so powerful all on his own. Would the laws the Matwau was bound by be broken down in the face of a direct link to his creators who were under no such restrictions? Ahiga had come to teach Uriah how to defeat the Matwau. Uriah seemed confident what he had learned would do the trick. But would that lesson do any good if the Matwau’s power became limitless?

  30: An Acceptable Sacrifice

  The call had ended, but I still held the phone in my hand. When I handed Claire the book before she left, I didn’t have a lot of faith that she would find some miraculous bit of information that would make everything easy. I never expected the devastating revelation she uncovered, either. I wanted the throw the phone out the window. I couldn’t stand to hear one more piece of bad news.

  The Matwau already had way more advantages than he deserved. I was struggling to catch up while he kept being handed more ways to crush me. Claire’s last question hung in my mind. Would what Ahiga taught me be enough? In one night, Ahiga had managed to cram into my mind a hundred ways to hurt the Matwau, to get him to the point where I could strike the killing blow. But that was before. Against the Matwau’s own strength, yes, I believed Ahiga’s teaching would be enough. If I had to battle the dark gods’ own power too? I just didn’t know.

  Realizing that I was still crushing the phone in my palm, I loosened my grip and started dialing. There was only one person left to turn to for help. I didn’t want to make the call, but there was no one else. She picked up the phone quickly, but did not speak.

  “Quaile, it’s Uriah. I need to ask you something.”

  “Did Claire read the book?” she asked.

  The book had turned out more helpful than I first expected. I just wished that some of what it held had been good news. “Yes, Claire read the book.”

  “Then you know everything I know,” Quaile said. “Whatever questions you have, I don’t have any more answers.”

  Was it impossible for her to stop being difficult for at least two minutes? With an exasperated sigh, I chose my words very carefully. “You may not think you have any more answers, but I need you to try. Please, Quaile.”

  Quiet leaked out of the phone. The noises of passing cars and the rattling speakers were suddenly drowned out as I waited for her response.

  “What do you need to know,” she finally said.

  I started with the simplest question first. “We read the origin story of the Matwau. Because of Bhawana’s vision and Claire’s dreams we were able to figure out that the Matwau is leading me to Taos. It’s the same place the Matwau was brought to life, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, that would make sense,” Quaile said. “I knew the Matwau had been brought to life near one of the pueblos, but the Pueblo people were, and are, spread over several states. I never put much effort into figuring out where that place was. There never seemed to be a reason to do so, but I always believed it was here in the Southwest, our tribal home. If you believe he’s leading you to Taos, then it is very likely that he is leading you back to the place of his creation.”

  “The story mentioned the place giving the Matwau a special power. One idea we had about that was that maybe it took a lot of power for the dark gods to wake the Matwau and maybe some of that power is still there. Is that possible?” I asked.

  “Absolutely. That’s why many of our holy places are holy to us. Most are either places where something very sacred took place or will take place in the future. When the gods release their power on the world, it lingers to remind the people of what they did
. Normally no one but a shaman could do anything more in these places than sense a sacredness, but I suspect the Matwau will be able to do more than that when he encounters the power of his creators.”

  “How do I fight that?” I asked.

  “The same way you were planning to fight him before, I suppose,” Quaile snapped.

  That was helpful, I thought as I rolled my eyes. So Harvey was right, but I still didn’t have any plan to beat this added power other than simply fighting harder. Great. I was starting to regret ever making this call.

  “Quaile, there has to be something more I can do. I don’t think my power on its own will be enough to battle the dark gods themselves. You have to try to help me figure this out. Please.”

  “Your own power?” Quaile asked, clearly confused for some reason. “Of course you can’t defeat the Matwau with only your own power. You have to give up your bond with your Twin Soul and accept Claire’s help. That is the only way you’ll ever have enough power to defeat that monster.”

  My entire body went cold. I felt my truck slow down. I’m not sure how I managed to get it off the road because I couldn’t think or move, but somehow I ended up stopped on the side of the highway. Realization threaded through me. I knew. The way Claire had been acting, her answers that didn’t seem complete, the obvious lie about her staying behind. I knew she was hiding something from me. I knew, but I didn’t want to admit it.

  “What did you just say?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure it was loud enough to be heard.

  Quaile didn’t answer at first. I felt like I was suffocating as I waited. Finally, she said, “Claire didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “About the bond, how you have to give it up to fully reveal your power, and how it will take more than that. Claire has to give up her power, give it to you if you have any hope of beating the Matwau. It was all there in the Matwau’s origin story. If she read it, she knew all of this,” Quaile said.