Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  Except for straight ahead, Michael couldn’t see a thing. Where had the gray truck gone?

  Murmuring a chant under his breath, he took the first turn away from the houses and hogans and onto a twisting canyon drive. He knew these mountain roads. He’d driven them ever since he’d been a boy of eleven and his father had given in and said he was tall enough to learn to drive.

  Here on the western slope of the Chuska Mountains, forests of tall ponderosa pines, piñon and juniper grew right up against craggy peaks. Those same evergreen trees were also found at the bottoms of steep canyons, and had even managed to flourish around the two-ton boulders that stuck up out of the ground as though some giant had pitched them there like baseballs.

  “Where are we going?” Lexie sat with a stiff back, staring out at trees that seemed to be closing their ranks around them. Sheer cliffs peeked through each small clearing as the truck flew by.

  “We’ve got company,” Michael said with a gesture to the road behind them. “I’m trying to maneuver him to come close enough so I can figure out who he is.”

  “Company?Why don’t you just pull over and say hi?”

  Michael was actually amazed to find he had the wherewithal to chuckle and drive and keep an eye on the clouded back window all at the same time. But staying within the moment and not being caught up with a beautiful woman like Lexie was what he needed to focus on right now.

  “I’m concerned his intention is to hurt us,” he managed, while holding in the smile. “He keeps hanging back, but staying too close for comfort—”

  Michael’s words were suddenly interrupted by a crashing thud just as their pickup lurched ahead. The damned bastard in the gray pickup must’ve rammed them from behind.

  Michael was forced to react fast, trying to keep his truck on the road. Finding himself grasping the steering wheel as if the thing would buck out of his hands, he recalled the times he’d been gentling a horse.

  “Oh. My. God.” Lexie’s face was pale and she seemed to be in full panic mode.

  “Keep breathing and hang on,” he advised as he fought to straighten the truck’s wheels and gain control again. “I’ve got an idea.”

  Watching carefully, he stepped on the gas and raced down the winding road. In a few seconds Michael saw the spot he’d been waiting for. It was a sort of cul-de-sac lane, running off through the boulders and trees that had once been used by medicine men for a holy place of prayer.

  He said his own prayers as he came to the turnoff. Driving as fast as he dared, he waited until the last possible second, stepped on the brake and dragged the wheel hard to the right.

  His pickup made the turn on two wheels, spraying dirt, rocks and pine needles everywhere. He hoped the gray pickup was following close enough on their back bumper to miss the turn altogether. But not close enough to crash into them.

  When his truck finally righted itself, Michael once again braked and managed to make the next curve at the end of the cul-de-sac on all four wheels. Another minute or two and they would be approaching the same road they’d just left. Michael flipped off his headlights and prayed there would be enough daylight left to see where he was going.

  Almost to the place where the path met the dirt road, and through the growing shadows, he caught a glimpse of the spot he’d remembered. There were four building-sized boulders lining the road on both sides. Michael downshifted and jerked the wheel, driving his pickup off the path. He managed to dodge through the pines, coming to a stop directly behind the largest boulder.

  Rolling down his window and snapping off the engine, he held his breath. Where was the gray pickup now? Had it made the turn? Would it drive right past them on the dirt road?

  Turning to check on Lexie, he had to fight yet another smile as he found her holding her breath, too. Her eyes were shut and her fingers were white from grasping the door bar.

  He reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder to give her strength. But he didn’t say a word as he silently listened for the sound of an engine.

  Lexie’s heart was beating so erratically she was afraid it would jump right out of her chest. Why had they been chased and what would happen to them now?

  As her heart rate slowed, she realized there was no noise—not even the sound of her own breathing. She chanced a breath and at the same time pried open her eyes.

  It was dark enough by now that she could barely make out shapes through the front window. What was that straight ahead? A great big rock?

  “Holy—”

  “Shush.” Michael put his fingers to her lips to keep her quiet.

  They sat still for what seemed like eternity. Finally the sound of an engine came through the eerie silence. But the noise seemed to be moving away from them.

  Michael drew in a deep breath. “Guess they’re giving up and leaving.”

  “I thought you wanted to find out who was driving. Why don’t we go after them?”

  He shifted in his seat and smiled at her. “I was curious at first—until things turned dangerous. I won’t take any chances with you, Lexie.”

  Inordinately pleased by what he said, she couldn’t remember ever feeling so cared for and special. Why did he have to do things like that? It was only going to make her life miserable in the end.

  Michael turned on the engine and headlights and eased the truck out between the trees. “I’ll find a way of learning who was driving the gray pickup without endangering our lives. I have a feeling it was someone from the college who’d been following us since we left the campus.”

  “Really? You mean a student?”

  “Maybe,” he hedged as he pulled out on the dirt road.

  “But why—”

  “Fear is a great motivator,” he interrupted. “People will do all sorts of strange things when they’re afraid.”

  “Afraid of us? But why?” Lexie repeated herself as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

  He turned to her and his eyes went cloudy, betraying nothing. “In normal times there’s a high degree of paranoia in Dinetah, Lexie. Traditional Dine live with many realities, and evil is something that’s in their face daily. It surrounds them all the time. These days it haunts them even worse. Times are anything but normal in the Four-Corners.”

  “Are you talking about the new Skinwalker cult you mentioned before?”

  He nodded and turned back to watch the road.

  “So things are worse than usual with these Skinwalker guys,” she muttered mostly to herself. “And this group at the college thinks we’re part of the cult. And now one or more of them was following us trying to—do what?”

  “I’d guess to warn us away.”

  She couldn’t help what came flying out of her mouth next. “If things are this bad on the reservation, can’t a bunch of you Navajos get together to fight off the bad guys for real? I mean, it would be better than letting some screwball college group threaten innocent people.”

  Michael kept driving and stayed silent for a long few minutes. Long enough for Lexie to worry she’d overstepped her bounds again.

  Finally, he cleared his throat to answer. “That’s certainly something to consider.”

  He’d come up with a pretty good nonanswer, she thought. Almost as good as Jack’s when he knew he was in trouble.

  But then what did she know of how best to take care of Dine witches? With every new revelation, she felt more and more as if she didn’t belong here with these people and had better learn to keep her big nose out of their business.

  Lexie decided to get ready for bed early. Michael had fixed them a light supper. Then he’d told her he had work to do, but they should be up and on the road by dawn.

  She’d packed a few things just as he’d said to do, and they’d already loaded the back of the pickup with a bunch of their gear. Now while flipping off the last of the lights in the family room, she glanced around and smiled, noticing the color palette he’d used to decorate his home ran to the hues of nature, exactly li
ke the clothes he wore.

  There were rich browns, matching his eyes. Muted sage greens that brought the outside in. He’d even used touches of sunshine yellow and deep burnt orange like the cliffs she’d seen through the trees today.

  He must be a man truly comfortable with nature.

  Turning, she also couldn’t help but admire his leather couches and the big masculine chairs. They seemed so much like him. A vision came to mind of his broad shoulders, tapering down to those narrow hips and muscular thighs…

  Lexie caught herself before she went too far in that direction, shook her head at the foolish wanderings of her mind and snapped off the last of the lights. There was already a good chance, what with the excitement of the afternoon, she wouldn’t be able to sleep. The last thing she needed tonight was a shot of erotic hormones fizzing through her veins.

  Within a few minutes, her teeth were brushed and the clock set. She climbed between the sheets and closed her eyes, hoping it would not be a long night of tossing and turning.

  “Wake up, Daughter.”

  Lexie blinked open her eyes with a start. “Huh?”

  Twisting in bed to better see the clock, she was amazed the hands were reading four-thirty. In the morning? She must’ve dropped off last night like she’d been drugged.

  The alarm wasn’t set to go off until five-thirty. So what had awoken her now?

  “I need a word, my daughter.”

  Sitting straight up in bed, Lexie let her eyes get used to the low moonlight coming through windows covered only by gauzy curtains. That is, she did until her vision cleared and she found a pleasant looking middle-aged Navajo woman sitting at the edge of her bed.

  Whoa. “Who are you? And where’d you come from?”

  Lexie pulled the blanket up under her chin and stared at the odd woman. Her first thought was that this person might be some nut from the college. Was she dangerous?

  “Calm your fears. I am your son’s paternal great-grandmother. I bring you no evil.”

  Oh right. Another frigging ghost.

  Her nightmare visions were getting to be way too much. Enough with the ghosts, please.

  Sighing in resignation, Lexie got herself together and decided to go along for now. “Did you say you were my son’s great-grandmother? You look awfully young. How old were you when you…uh…died?”

  “My time in this dimension was finished on the day my first grandson came into the world of the Dine. ”

  “First grandson…Michael? You were Michael’s grandmother, but you died the day he was born?”

  Okay, now it was making a little sense. The woman was dressed in the long skirt and long-sleeved blouse outfit most traditional women still wore today. But her shiny ebony hair with no trace of gray was done up in two elaborate knots on the sides of her head. Very old fashioned looking. She must’ve died young.

  “Um, what do you want?” Lexie felt no fear at all. Still, this was a ghost sitting beside her.

  The vision of the older woman smiled and Lexie began to relax a bit. “You have done well to bring my great-grandson to his home. The spirits of the ancient ones watch over him. He is destined to grow tall and strong.”

  Lexie let herself beam back, pleased by the nice image the older woman had painted. “Great, but—”

  “Yet, his future is not assured,” the woman broke in without letting her finish. “The future of all the children of Dinetah hangs suspended between good and evil.”

  “Are you talking about the Skinwalkers?” Lexie had interrupted and knew it wasn’t right, but she didn’t much care for this new twist.

  The ghost frowned and put a finger to her lips. “I have a message. It is for you to help my grandson.”

  “For Michael? Well, I’ll be happy to deliver the message, but I can’t guarantee he’ll listen. He doesn’t want to hear from ghosts.”

  As the spirit reached out and took her hand, Lexie thought it should feel weird, holding hands with a ghost. But she just felt warmth and comfort.

  “Using his good Dine character, my grandson knows the true Way. He is a great warrior who joins with other fine Dine warriors to vanquish the enemy.”

  Now that remark really did bring up some questions in Lexie’s mind. Professor Michael Ayze as a warrior? She wanted to ask about it, but fortunately this time she remembered what she’d been taught and bit her tongue to remain still.

  “Yet my grandson has been floundering recently. He lets distractions deter him from his destiny.”

  Did she say distractions? “Am I the one getting in his way?” All Lexie’s lessons suddenly went right out the window. “Are you saying I’m distracting him from some mission?”

  The ghost patted her hand. “You will be both his greatest difficulty and his greatest joy, daughter.

  “But you must fulfill your own destiny,” the ghostly presence continued. “It will be up to you to bring our messages. You will be known as the Message Bearer. Throughout the ages, in times of greatest peril, there have been those who brought missives from great distances to the leaders of the war council. This role is to be a part of your destiny.”

  She had a destiny? Apparently so. “If being the Message Bearer is only a part of my destiny, then what’s the rest?”

  Smiling again, the ghost placed a gentle touch against Lexie’s chest. “You will know that when your head accepts what is already here in your heart.

  “For now, you must keep my grandson on the right path. He strays when he does not accept the warnings and messages of the ancient ones. Letting his head rule his spirit, he does battle with the wrong enemy.”

  Oh, man. Why did this message seem so confusing? Lexie had to hope all the messages wouldn’t turn out this same obtuse way. If she was destined to keep seeing ghosts, she needed to be able to decipher what they wanted.

  She began to feel growing sympathy with Michael for losing his head, because her own head was beginning to pound.

  Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Lexie tried to gather her wits in order to ask the right questions. She wasn’t sure why, but suddenly it seemed very important that she understand everything.

  When she finally opened her eyes, the ghost of Michael’s grandmother had gone and she was all alone.

  A half hour later Lexie stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Her feverish mind churned in circles, desperately trying to put the things she’d learned together and make some sense of them.

  Let’s see. She got the part about being the Message Bearer okay. That was pretty obvious. The ghosts came, gave her messages and she turned them over to Michael. Sounded easy enough if she could only make him listen. And it would be something she could do to help the Dine.

  Except…She had a gut feeling it wouldn’t be wise to tell Michael about the message she’d just received—not just yet. For sure he would be unhappy knowing a ghost had been in his house. Even if it had been his own grandmother’s ghost.

  Sighing and shoving aside the tiny spurt of guilt about not sharing everything with Michael, Lexie stepped into her underwear and went to the closet to find something to wear for today. Absently, Lexie let her mind sort through the various things the grandmother ghost had said while she sorted through her meager clothing choices. If she couldn’t talk to Michael about his grandmother’s message, then she would have to figure it out all on her own.

  Dine warriors. Those were the first words that had struck her as odd. Warriors. For real? Like an army?

  Something else the grandmother had said seemed off. What was it again? Oh yeah, war council. Warriors and a war council. Was there a war going on she hadn’t heard about?

  Now wasn’t that just a scary thought. A war occasionally caused civilian casualties. Chills ran down the back of her neck when she thought about Jack and the rest of the children getting caught in the middle of a war.

  But Jack’s great-grandmother hadn’t seemed worried over the children’s lives. Her major concern had been more about their futures in a dark world.

&nb
sp; Well, Lexie guessed she would have to give in and ask Michael about the war. Such a huge thing was too important to skip. She’d find a way to ease into it, trying not to upset him too much.

  Looking down at what she’d been doing, Lexie realized she’d dressed herself in jeans, a T-shirt and a flannel overshirt. Hmm. Yeah, the outfit should be fine for trekking out in the desert looking for an old wise man and caves with ancient writings.

  Okay, good start. Now, should she wear old running shoes or brand-new hiking boots? Boots.

  Boots? Shoot. She’d totally screwed up and packed her new boots in the truck last night.

  She glanced at the clock which said it was almost five-thirty. Michael would want to leave in another twenty minutes or so.

  Oh, hell. She’d wanted to be ready on time, and that would no doubt include wearing her boots.

  Jamming her feet into the slip-on moccasins Naomi had given her, Lexie decided Michael would never notice if she dashed out to the truck for a minute. He’d said not to leave the house during the night, but she would only be outside long enough to get her boots and it was almost morning.

  She crept out the kitchen door and waited until her eyes grew accustomed to the dark. Earlier the stars and the half-moon had lit up everything outside her window. But now the vague beginnings of a cloudy gray dawn blocked out almost everything else in the sky. She could see well enough to walk to the pickup, but just barely.

  As she tiptoed toward it, Lexie heard a rustling noise coming from the far side of the house. Was there some kind of animal out here with her? Uh-oh.

  Running full out, she got to the truck in seconds, found her boots and then stopped, keeping still to listen for the noises. She held her breath and clearly heard it again.

  Don’t panic. If the sounds were coming from some nocturnal creature, whatever it was probably would be as scared of her as she was of it.