A Little Mistletoe and Magic: Ho Ho Howls Romance Holiday Edition

by Marianne Morea

  Jenny’s happy faded a little. “Not yet. Sam said the doctors think it could be another day or two. They’re watching her closely, but steady vitals are a good sign.”

  “What do you want to do about Talan? We said Tess came first.”

  Jenny stepped back from Jack, but held both his hands. “Cancel. It can wait.”

  “I’ll leave a message for Talan later. Yesterday was their big celebration, so he’s probably hung over.”

  “Please don’t tell him you said that. I want my sweat untainted, thank you very much.”

  “Talan’s a shaman, Jenny. Everything he does is untainted, even hung over.” Jack winked.

  He wrapped his arms around Jenny’s waist, and her stomach growled. “Now that’s attractive.” He laughed.

  “I can’t help it. Talan said I had to fast. I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night.”

  “When Talan said fast, he meant have breakfast the day of, but nothing heavy or processed afterward, but we’re cancelling, you can eat whatever you want. How about I clean up and go grab us all some lunch? If Sam is on his way back, I know he’s going to be hungry.”

  “I want a cheeseburger with the works from the Brasserie.”

  “Now you’re talking. Waffle fries, too?”

  Her mouth watered. “Of course. You’re only going to steal half, anyway.” She laughed at his feigned shock. “I still don’t get why I had to fast in the first place.”

  “It’s a ritual, Jen. I’ll let him explain.”

  “And that whole moon time rule. Sounds a little misogynistic to me.”

  “First Peoples are the least misogynistic of all. The moon time rule is for health reasons. Both physical and spiritual.” He pecked her cheek. “If you’re that skeptical, maybe it’s best we cancel after all.”

  Sam stood in the doorway. “Cancel what?”

  “What are you, part cat?” Jen laughed. “We didn’t hear you come in. Everything still good?”

  “Better than what I see in here.” Looking around the room, Sam pursed his lips. “Those shelves aren’t plum, and neither of you answered my question.”

  “Those shelves are original to the room, so of course they aren’t plum. I haven’t gotten to them yet.” Jack moved the ladder out of the way.

  “And?”

  “Jack is cancelling our visit to see Talan. I was going to do a sweat lodge, but Tess isn’t out of the woods yet.”

  “No, she’s not,” Sam agreed, but he still shook his head. “She also wouldn’t want you to cancel your plans. If anything changes, you guys will be, what? An hour away?” He looked at them both. “Go. I insist.”

  “What about you?” Jenny asked. “You said you didn’t want to be alone.”

  “I’m a big boy, Jen. I’ll be fine. I’ll keep myself occupied taking over Jack’s work while you’re gone. At least you know it’ll be done right.”

  Jack rolled his eyes. “Ha. Ha. Just for that, I’m leaving you all the plumbing to do.”

  “I though Sam was slotted for that anyway?” Jen smirked.

  “Exactly.” Sam nodded. “Now go pack your overnight bags, and I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

  “We’ll be back Christmas Eve, I promise.” Jenny pecked Sam’s cheek. “Keep us posted on Tess.”

  ***

  “You sure you don’t want a bite?” Jack ate with one hand, and drove with the other.

  “I’ve got my granola bar and water.” She watched him pop a waffle fry into his mouth. “You just had to order the lunch I wanted.”

  He held a fry out to her across the center console. “One won’t hurt your sweat.”

  “No processed or heavy foods, remember?”

  “How about I buy you the best steak dinner around, afterward? Baked potato, butter and sour cream, the works.”

  She took the fry from his hand. “Yes to all of the above.” Chewing, she looked out the window watching the signs for tribal lands wiz by. “How big a tribe are the Manachaw?”

  “Very small. Only about five hundred people, though they share an ancestral kinship with the Onondaga. That’s how Talan and I are distantly related.”

  “So your ancestry is Onondaga.”

  Jack nodded. “Four generations ago, but yes.”

  He clicked the left directional and turned onto the main reservation road. A large, decorative wooden sign welcomed them to Manachaw Territory.

  “Is that the tribal insignia?’ she asked, referring to the pretty red and blue looped emblem on the sign.

  He nodded. “It’s their totem.”

  “As in poles?”

  “Sort of, but not.”

  Every sign post they passed had the same symbol. “The center image looks like a wolf’s head.”

  “The wolf is symbolic to the Manachaw. Talan’s full name is Talan Ęhní'da'. It means Sun Wolf.”

  As they continued down the road, there were signs for the Manachaw First Peoples Center and the Tribal Police. Jack stayed straight, passing the turn-off.

  “I thought we were meeting Talan at the Tribal Center?”

  “Talan asked that we meet him at his house. Hospitality is a big part of Manachaw culture. Talan insisted we stay with him rather than in a motel.”

  Small houses dotted the side of the road, many in tough shape. “Jack, is this going to put Talan out? I have to say I’m a little taken aback by the state of things around here.”

  “Why?”

  “I always believed tribes made bank on their casinos, but it doesn’t look that way from here.”

  “You’re seeing the truth up close and personal. Sovereignty doesn’t always equate to prosperity.”

  “Things shouldn’t be this way.”

  He shook his head. “No, they shouldn’t, but it’s not something you should bring up. You’re an outsider, Jen.”

  “Maybe we should thank Talan for his offer and just keep our motel reservation. I feel like we’re imposing.”

  “I’m clan, Jenny. Even distantly so, I can’t refuse. It would be an insult, especially when Talan is doing this sweat as a favor to me.”

  Jack turned off the main road and continued down an unpaved side street that ran parallel to a large pond.

  The houses were mostly small, double-wide and single-wide trailers, until they got to the end of the street.

  They pulled into a narrow driveway set between two cut stumps carved into two rough animal shapes.

  “Is that a wolf and a cat?” Jenny asked, craning to look out the window as they passed.

  “Yes. The wolf is the symbol of the Manachaw, but the ghost cat is Talan’s spirit guide.”

  “Ghost cat?”

  “It’s another name for a mountain lion.”

  Talan waited for them at the end of the long gravel drive. He didn’t look anything like what she expected. The man wasn’t the wizened old medicine man she envisioned, even with the gray in his long dark hair. He wore it pulled back except for a single thin braid woven with colorful thread. Dressed in faded jeans and a thick flannel jacket, he waved as they pulled up to the house.

  “Cute cottage,” Jenny commented, getting out of the car.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Talan replied. “Jack and I cut and shaped the logs ourselves. It took an entire spring and summer to build, but this cabin is as solid as a rock.”

  “So were the calluses on my hands afterward.” Jack grasped Talan’s forearm, before the two men hugged. “It’s good to see you, old man.”

  “You, too, my brother.”

  The porch wrapped from the front of the cabin around one side, and Talan led them around to a set of sliders. “The front door sticks, besides it’s easier to bring wood in for the fire through here.” Made sense with a pile of split logs stacked high along the side of the house.

  “I’ve given you my room, Jenny. Jack and I will bunk in the living room.”

  The cabin was one floor, and it was clear from what Talan said, the place had only one bedroom. The living room was spaci
ous with its peaked ceiling, and there was a decent-sized bathroom and kitchen.

  “There’s no need for you to put yourself out, Talan. I appreciate you letting us stay with you. Just point me to a couch, and I’m good.”

  He shook his head. “You are the one planning a vision quest. You are the one who will need their rest tonight. I am simply the water pourer, and Jack will keep the fire. You will be doing the hard work.”

  Jenny read Jack’s face and his look said don’t argue, so she didn’t. “Thank you, Talan. You are most gracious.”

  She must have hit the nail on the head because the man inclined his head. “And you are most welcome.”

  Jack put both their overnight bags in Talan’s bedroom, while Jenny took in the rest of the place.

  The cabin was decorated with beautiful woven wall-hangings, two of the largest on either side of the fireplace. A large dreamcatcher decorated with raw wool, colorful threading and feathers hung above the mantle. The furniture was worn, but well cared for, and the place was spotless.

  “Why don’t you both freshen up, so I can give you the grand tour.” Talan motioned toward the bathroom.

  “It wasn’t that long a drive, so I’m good. Plus, I’ve been fasting since last night.” Jenny’s hand involuntarily went to her stomach as it growled.

  Talan raised an eyebrow. “I hope you weren’t Googling about sweat lodge protocols, because some of those sites are a little extreme. All I ask is that you eat lightly three to four hours before we begin. It’s so you don’t throw up in the extreme heat.”

  “So the moon time rule isn’t a thing?” she asked, but Talan shook his head.

  “That is an actual rule. A woman’s body goes through its own natural purge during her moon time, both in body as well as in spirit. It’s inappropriate to demand more.”

  Jenny didn’t know what to think. Was it a rule because men were just uncomfortable with the idea, or was it truly for spiritual reasons? There were still religious sects who believed women unclean during their moon time, but she didn’t get that vibe from Talan or his explanation.

  “Come. There’s much I’d like to show Jenny before her preparations begin.”

  She hesitated. “Aren’t we doing the sweat tonight?”

  “My dear, the river stones must be heated from dawn until dark, and while they absorb the fire’s energy, you must build your lodge.”

  Jenny looked at Jack. “You’ll see. It’s not as hard labor sounding as you think.”

  The three of them piled into her car, with Talan in the back seat. “Let’s go to the Tribal Center. I think Jenny should see the history of what she’s doing and why.”

  The center was a beautiful building, and clearly built to encourage education about First Peoples, but also tourism.

  “There is so much to show you, so you understand,” Talan began, “not just your own spiritual journey, but the kernel of why we journey in the first place.”

  Jenny walked past the pictures and illustrations of the Manachaw. The timeline set from the inception of their tribe to modern day. The tools and traditions, until she got to a drawing of a sweat lodge.

  “The illustration looks exact as from centuries past, doesn’t it?” Talan asked.

  “Amazing, yes.”

  “The sweat lodge was a teaching gift from the spirits to First Peoples thousands of years ago, to help improve their lives. It is a sacred place to explore, develop and enhance our relationship to All That Is. An accelerator to spiritual growth. The ceremony is a powerful way to commune with the universe and the spirits. It cleanses us, heals us and helps us to grow.”

  “There are totems in this photograph.” She squinted closer. “1870.” She looked from the photo to Talan. “I thought totems were a pacific northwest thing.”

  He nodded, impressed. “They are and they aren’t. The Manachaw settled in New York ages before it was New York, and we are connected to the original six nations. What people aren’t aware of is we were also connected through intermarriage to the six nations of the pacific northwest. It’s where we learned to carve totems from the tall cedars.”

  “I wish I could see an actual totem.”

  Jack looked at Talan and the old man inclined his head. “You’ve just been granted permission to walk where no outsider has walked.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “My dear, I am going to take you to a sacred place. A place of worship, and of kinship. After that, I think we’d better feed you before you fall over.”

  Her hand went to her stomach again. “Am I that obvious?”

  “Nah,” Jack grinned. “Your belly is just that loud.”

  “There’s a bonfire tonight, ending the last of the Solstice celebrations. There’s always a barbeque. We could eat there.”

  “Looks like you’ll get your cheeseburger with the works after all, Jen.”

  She spared a glance for the bare trees and the wind bending the lighter branches. “You two do realize it’s late December, right? Not exactly barbeque weather.”

  “First Peoples have been cooking over open fire for millennia. What’s a little wind and cold?” Talan winked. “But if you’d rather not, I understand.”

  Lifting her hand, she shook her head. “Nope, I’m game. I will bundle up. Who says you can’t eat a hamburger while wearing gloves?”

  “It’s a bonfire, Jen. You’ll be toasty. Trust me.” Jack took her hand, and the three of them headed back to the car.

  The drive to the Manachaw sacred grove wasn’t long. Ten minutes tops, but it was as if they entered a different world.

  The trees were knotted with strips of cloth and colored string. Bottles hung from branches as well, clinking in the cold breeze.

  “Spirit bottles,” she murmured as they got out of the car.

  “Very good. One of our members married a woman from Louisiana, and they were her contribution to our sacred space.”

  “What are those pieces of cloth and string?” she asked.

  “Prayer ties.” Jack stopped with her under a bare tree, reaching to touch a lower hanging strip. “They are how people manifest their prayers in this realm. Some people even tie offerings inside little bundles. Tobacco and such. Gifts for the spirits.”

  The whole place took on a different feel as they walked. They entered a grove, with twined vines forming a circle. Four totems stood evenly spaced around the perimeter. They were eighteen feet high if they were an inch, and right away Jenny noticed the ones showing a wolf totem and a ghost cat.

  “You seem to recognize the two that mirror the ones in my driveway. Those totems are very personal, both to me as well as the tribe. Totem poles are a traditional way of telling the stories of a clan. They illustrate our history and our legends. Of the lessons taught by the spirits. These are set at the points representing the four elements and the four seasons. Each has its place in Manachaw lore.”

  A soft wind chilled Jenny to a shiver, but the moment she followed Talan into the vine circle, she warmed. The sacred space was like spring. The same as she felt when Jack showed her the hidden falls.

  “Have you heard of Animism?” Talan asked, lifting his face to the totem of the wolf.

  “Not really. Though I’m sure I could venture a guess.”

  “Animism is a belief based on the spiritual idea that the universe, and all natural objects within the universe have souls or spirits. It is believed that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants, trees, rocks, etc. This is a core premise for all First Peoples. In this space, right here and now, you feel the culmination of those souls, of those spirits.”

  Jenny closed her eyes and sent her senses out. A dull hum vibrated against her skin, and a soft whispering purr-like sound kissed her ear.

  Her arms lifted on both sides as if weightless, and her chest seemed to fill with light. She opened her eyes, only to find herself five feet off the ground.

  “Jack!”

  In an instant, panic replaced whatever light held
her suspended. Her breath failed, and she dropped like a stone, but Jack got there before she hit ground.

  She blinked in disbelief as she caught her breath. “What happened?”

  “You levitated.”

  “I did not.”

  “Jen, I just caught you. You levitated. Your feet floated two meters off the ground.”

  She stared at nothing trying to remember. “All I recall is focusing on the wind. I felt strange. Shaky. Then hot and floaty, like when I had pain meds in the hospital.”

  Talan’s face was unreadable, but there was interest in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me this one had the sight? Only those in touch with the spirit world can channel their energy. Magic runs in her blood.”

  “In touch with the spirits?” She shook her head. “I have the odd intuition and flash of images. Jack calls it second sight, but it’s nothing I’d take to a casino.”

  Talan didn’t reply. Instead, he walked out of the circle the way they came.

  “Was it something I said?”

  Jack watched his friend walk away. “You mentioned casinos when I specifically asked you to steer clear of the topic. It’s a very sore subject with Talan. He’s old school, and since the money doesn’t benefit the entire tribe, he’s not a big fan.”

  “But I didn’t say your casinos. I didn’t mean anything other than not to trust my sight.”

  “He’ll realize that. Just give him a minute.”

  “I’m sorry, Jack. I’ll apologize to Talan, though I have to say I’m a little thrown by his channel the spirits, magic talk. It makes me uncomfortable. I’m just getting used to being a little clairvoyant. Between the hidden falls, and now this, I don’t know what to think.”

  “Just remember what you told me that night at the falls. Deep down you believe magic exists. You’re somewhat clairvoyant. Okay, done. What you need to understand is there are levels within the inexplicable. Think of it like a paranormal onion. The more layers you peel, the more you experience, and you’re just scratching the surface.”

  Jenny considered him, sparing a glance for Talan. Was this scaring the crap out of her? To be honest, not as much as she thought. It was exciting. Like finding out you’re related to royalty. Would it change her day-to-day? Probably not, but it was still pretty cool. If the deeper layers scared her, she always had Jack to hold her hand. She hoped.