Darkness Echoes: A Spooky YA Short Story Collection

by L. A. Starkey

  “Back the story up, please. How exactly did you get the wolves to let you join their pack?” Black Tongue crossed his arms over his chest.

  Lina looked back and forth from Walking Buffalo to Nine Fingers. Nine Fingers nodded his head. “I spoke to them and asked them to help us.” The room exploded in angry voices intermixed with laughter from Hard Head.

  “She believes us to be stupid.” Dog Leg’s lip curled up over his teeth.

  “Listen to her.” Walking Bear stood up. “Nine Fingers and I would not make this story up. We saw it with our own eyes. I watched her speak to the alpha wolf. They understood her. She does not lie!”

  “You would defend her in front of us?” Many Scalps asked his son.

  “Yes! I would, and I will. You have no idea what is out there. Nine Fingers and I have seen and battled the Skin Walker. He cannot be killed. My lance is buried in his heart, yet he does not die. He spreads evil like a spark before a fire. He kills for the enjoyment and power it brings him. Lina is the only one who can help us destroy him.”

  “How? How can she destroy him?” Walking Bear would not meet his father’s stare.

  “We don’t know yet. I have faith in Lina. When the time comes she will know what to do.”

  “What do we do with her in the meantime?” Many Scalps watched his son’s expression soften as he looked at Lina.

  “She will be my wife.” That announcement set up a new round of angry voices.

  “She cannot stay here. She will bring the wrath of the Skin Walker down on us.” Black Tongue stood and waved his arms at her. “Keeping her here will lead to death for our tribe. I feel it.”

  “What say you, Nine Fingers? What do you see?” Walking Bear ignored Black Tongue and looked to Nine Fingers.

  The charged atmosphere in the hut sucked the breath from Lina. Nine Fingers had never been her supporter. Nine Fingers looked upward at the tiny puffs of smoke that escaped out of the round opening in the thatched roof. He watched them ascend, counting.

  “One, two, three, four...five...six.” The fire went out. “It makes no difference if she stays or goes. Our fate lies not in her hands. The fire that comes is not of her making, rather she is the one that will stop it from spreading.”

  “It is decided. She stays as my wife.” Walking Bear grabbed her hand and pulled her outside in the bright sunlight.

  “I think that went well.” Walking Bear smiled, his teeth white against the dark brown of his skin.

  “You must have heard a different conversation than I did.” Lina shook her head, her hair resting around her shoulders.

  “Nope, we heard the same one!” He grabbed her twirling her around and around until they fell dizzy in a heap on the ground. “I will ask Cloud Walker to perform our joining ceremony next week.”

  “That soon? What will I wear?”

  “I don’t care what you wear. You could be naked and I would be happy.”

  “Walking Bear!” She slapped his arm. He sidestepped out of her way.

  “I have someone I want you to meet.”

  “Who?”

  “My aunt, Star Watcher, my mother’s sister. She is like a mother to me.”

  “What happened to your mother?”

  “She died of a fever in my second year. I can’t remember much about her. Star Watcher is the only mother I remember.”

  They reached the outside of a weathered tent. “Star Watcher. Are you there?” The flap opened, and a woman straightened up and held her hand to Lina.

  Her eyes had the same golden rim around the dark iris as Walking Bear’s. “Your hand is cold, child. Come in.” She held open the flap of the tepee as they ducked their heads and sat around the popping, sparking fire.

  Star Watcher looked from Walking Bear to Lina and back to Walking Bear.

  “When is the joining ceremony?”

  “How did you know?”

  “You can hide nothing from me, Walking Bear.”

  “Next week.”

  “Why the hurry?” She raised her eyebrow at Lina.

  “Lina is not with child.”

  “I didn’t think that, and it wouldn’t matter to me if she were. All that matters is the happiness I see between the two of you. Lina, you shall stay with me until the ceremony. Where are your belongings?”

  “I don’t have any.”

  “Well, that’s not a problem. We will find you more clothing.”

  “What about me?” Walking Bear asked.

  “You stay with your father.” Star Watcher’s tone was firm.

  Walking Bear’s shoulders fell. “Lina and I have been together for many moons. I do not want to leave her.”

  “Then you may sleep outside.” Star Watcher turned her head. The declaration was made.

  Walking Bear slept outside of Star Watcher’s tepee every night. He would press his hand against the outside hide of the tepee, and Lina would press her hand from the inside against his. They would fall asleep with the thick buffalo pelt keeping them apart.

  The next day, Lina looked up as the gaggle of giggling girls approached her. Their voices were a delightful sound to Lina. She stood up from the banks of the river, her face rosy from her face washing.

  “Hello,” one of them called to her.

  “Hello.” She waved them over. They surrounded her like a hive of bees, touching her skin and hair.

  “Whath your name?” a small girl with missing front teeth asked.

  “Lina. What’s your name?”

  “Little One. I don’t like it. I like your name.” The girl crossed her arms and pouted.

  “Well then, I shall call you Mai. It means Bright Flower.”

  Her face brightened. “It’s perfect. I am Mai!” She danced around the older girls.

  “What does your name mean?” The girl who asked, looked to be around Lina’s age with dark brown hair, high cheekbones, and round tan eyes.

  “Life. Lina just means life. And you are called?”

  “Dancing Waters which means dancing waters.” They all laughed, and Lina joined in.

  “I have missed the company of other girls.”

  “Walking Bear wasn’t enough of a companion for you?” Lina turned to the girl who said the harsh words.

  “Stop it,” hissed Dancing Waters. The girl walked off in a huff. “Don’t mind Blue Cloud. She is angry because she thought Walking Bear would marry her.”

  “She is very pretty.”

  “On the outside, but on the inside she is dung.” Mai covered her tittering mouth with her hands.

  “Little One! Do not repeat that again or I will tell your mother, and she will whip you with a stick.” The girl who spoke carried a sleeping baby, wrapped in deerskins.

  “I’m Gentle Rain. Nine Fingers is my partner. This is our son.” Lina peered at the baby’s face, stroking his soft cheek. “He reminds me of Nine Fingers. What’s his name?”

  “He doesn’t have one yet. Nine Fingers calls him Fierce Cry, but that will change as he gets older.”

  “I like Fierce Cry. It’s a strong warrior name.” Gentle Rain smiled at Lina.

  “Is it true that you and Walking Bear are joining next week?” Dancing Water asked.

  “Yes. I have nothing to wear.” Lina hung her head. “All I have are these clothes, made for a man.”

  “You will wear my ceremony dress.” Gentle Rain pulled Lina’s hair back from her face. “And Star Watcher will fix your hair.”

  Lina walked back to the tepees with the girls, swinging Mai’s hand back and forth. Walking Bear had watched the entire interaction. He had no intention of letting anyone hurt Lina, including his own tribe members. Nine Fingers walked up to him and stood by his side.

  “How much time do we have? I know that you know. Tell me,” Walking Bear asked.

  “Six moons until our tribe’s fire is gone.” Nine Fingers lowered his head.

  “That’s all? We have to figure out a way for Lina to remember what her life was before her parents were killed.”

&nbs
p; “How do you remember things, Walking Bear? What’s the first memory you have?”

  Walking Bear closed his eyes. “My mother, she was in front of me playing and running. She swooped me up in her arms and twirled me around and around. The air smelled of wildflowers and warm grass, and the sun made her eyes golden.”

  “When do you remember it?”

  “Whenever I smell wildflowers in the sunshine, I think of her.” He was melancholy as he always was when he thought of his beautiful mother. “That’s it! I need to take Lina back to where her tribe was. Something there will trigger her memory.”

  “Remember, Walking Bear, there are good memories, and there are bad ones. We must hope for the good.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Anything that she can recall will help.”

  “I will go with you.”

  “No, Nine Fingers, you must stay here and help prepare the tribe. They need an escape route for any that may survive and hidden supplies. Find a place where they may regroup and defend themselves.”

  “Where should we go?”

  “Scout around, look for caves and canyons. Take Thundercloud and Fast Arrow with you. You will know it when you see it. I just wish I had your power to see in the future, Nine Fingers. It would help me on this journey.”

  “You are not without your own power. You are the son of a medicine man. Your father and his father all through time have been mighty medicine men. Your blood flows with abilities you do not yet realize. When the time comes, call on the Spirit Warriors of our ancestors. They will protect you.”

  “Will I see you again, Nine Fingers?”

  “That I do not know.” Nine Fingers put his hand on Walking Bear’s shoulder. “I will always be your brother, no matter what happens.”

  “And I yours.”

  Chapter Eight

  “You are beautiful!” Mai pronounced as she clapped her small brown hands together and twirled around Lina.

  Lina smoothed the deerskin across her curvy hips and ran her fingers over the downy feathers on the neckline of the dress. Her hands went to her hair.

  “Keep your hands off of it. You’ll make the flowers wilt.” Star Watcher walked in a circle around her, carefully smoothing unruly strands of Lina’s hair back into the silky circle of braids. Lina’s black glossy hair was the ideal backdrop for the vivid yellow buttercup blossoms that Mai had picked.

  “I wish I could see them.”

  “You have to take our word for it. You are lovely.” Dancing Waters reassured her. “Walking Bear will not be able to take his eyes off of you.”

  “Or his hands.” Gentle Rain raised her eyebrows up and down as the girls gushed with laughter.

  “I don’t know how I will ever repay all of you for your generosity. The dress is beautiful, and I can’t believe you made it just for me. I have never had anything new before. At least not that I remember.” She hung her head as her eyes filled with tears. “As a child I dreamed of my wedding with my parents standing next to me. I don’t have them, but I have all of you, and I am grateful. Thank you.”

  Star Watcher wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “No crying. Today is a joyous day. Today we celebrate!”

  Star Watcher started the chanting and everyone in the tepee joined in. The singing continued as they made their way out of the tepee and through the village, up the hill. The other women, young and old, joined them as they walked. They linked arms in a long chain on either side of Lina, some chanting, some singing. The tune was melodious and upbeat. They continued until they came to the large flat outcropping of rock that overlooked the creek and tepees below them.

  Lina stood self-consciously as all eyes turned to her. She searched the crowd as it parted until finally she spotted Walking Bear standing in front of Cloud Walker. His eyes latched onto hers, and it was as if invisible bonds pulled them to one another. Lina walked quickly to his outstretched hands. She put her hands in his catching her reflection in his exquisite, unusual eyes. Walking Bear drank in her beauty, mesmerized by her dark eyes, high cheekbones, and her smooth skin that begged him to touch her.

  “Walking Bear!” Cloud Walker’s voice brought Walking Bear back to reality as the gathered throng chuckled and whistled, and Lina blushed.

  “My people. Today is a day of great joy and happiness as Walking Bear brings Lina that their hearts may be joined together. It is not easy to find the other half of your heart. We are blessed to share in their joy and to welcome Lina to our people.”

  Lina and Walking Bear did not hear the rest of what Cloud Walker said. They continued to be lost in each other. They heard nothing, and their world consisted of only themselves. The sun seemed to shine only on them, the breeze only touched their skin, and the scent of flowers only wafted to their nostrils. They were alone in a world full of people. It was the way it should be and what everyone gathered wished they could experience or if they experienced it, only wished they could to hold onto.

  The congregated crowd was quiet as Walking Bear twined his hand in the braid on the back of her head and pulled her head to his, his kiss as gentle as the warm breeze that flitted around them.

  The party went on all that night even after Walking Bear and Lina were escorted to their new home. Walking Bear had made a beautiful tepee, the largest one in the tribe, for Lina.

  “Why do we need such a large tepee?” Lina questioned.

  “For all the children.” Walking Bear smiled. They were finally alone, although the sound of the festivities was ever present. Lina looked around the tepee and shivered. Walking Bear pulled her to the fire and wrapped his arms around her until the trembling was driven away by a deep sea of red heat.

  “Are you worried?” Walking Bear was gentle as he pulled each of the wilted yellow flowers out of her hair and then unbraided her hair, his big hands delicate, his motions deliberate.

  “No, I am never worried when I am with you.” Lina melted into his naked body, her hair a cloak around their bodies. From the opening in the top of the tepee, the moonbeams illuminated the intertwined couple sharing their piece of paradise.

  The daybreak found Lina on one elbow tracing the contours of Walking Bear’s face like she was trying to memorize it. Walking Bear opened one bleary eye.

  “Good morning, wife.” Lina dropped her hand and sat up, pulling the robes around her bare body. “Lina, what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t want to leave the tribe.”

  “You and I will be together, and we will come back to them as quickly as possible.”

  “I know, my love.”

  Walking Bear pulled her on his lap as he sat up. “What are you afraid of?”

  “I’m scared that we will leave, and when we come back they will all be dead. I want to belong somewhere, Walking Bear. I want our children to have what I don’t have—a mother, a father, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles.”

  “The only way to save our people is to figure out what you know.”

  “We are risking everything, Walking Bear, on a thread of hope.”

  “Yes, but it’s the one thread that can give our tribe a chance.”

  “When must we leave?”

  “Tomorrow before the sun rises. We will say our goodbyes tonight.”

  “No...I can’t. Just let us go and remember them as we do and not with their sorrowful faces haunting us.”

  “You want to slip away and not let them see us? Lina, it may be the last time we ever lay eyes on them.”

  “It’s important for you to have closure, Walking Bear?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Then we shall say our goodbyes this evening.”

  “I love you, Lina, for all time, I will love you.”

  She curled up against his strong chest, content for this short period of time that they could call their own.

  The night was gloomy, the moon obscured by the fast-moving clouds, as Walking Bear and Lina bade farewell to their tribe.

  “The time that Lina and I have dreaded is here. This is not goodbye, bu
t only farewell for now. We will be back as soon as possible.”

  Mai dove out of the people and wrapped her arms around Lina’s waist. “I’ll miss you. Will you really come back?”

  Lina squatted down in front of her. “Of course, I will. Dry your tears. I’ll be back in time to swim in the river with you.”

  “Promise?” Mai’s eyes lit up.

  “Promise.” Lina hugged her tightly.

  “Nine Fingers, take care of our tepee and our people. Remember what I told you.”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “I remember.”

  The people touched Walking Bear and Lina as they walked amongst them, believing their touch would stay on them and lead them back.

  Try as she might, Lina slept not one wink that night. She tossed and turned until Walking Bear pulled her next to him.

  “Can we just leave now? Do we have to wait?”

  “No, Lina, we do not have to wait, we can go now.”

  They picked up their traveling packs, and Walking Bear picked up Lina’s. “You have your knife?”

  “Yes.”

  “Remind me to teach you how to use it.”

  “I know how to use it!”

  Walking Bear opened the flap to the tepee, and Lina took a furtive glance around the tepee, their tepee, their home. They slipped silently through the village to the horses. Walking Bear helped Lina on her horse, and he swung himself on his frisky mustang. They walked the horses past the guards on the hill. Nine Fingers stood next to the final guard. His horse whinnied at their mounts.

  “Let’s go.” Nine Fingers threw his bow and arrow over his shoulder and rearranged his pack on the horse.

  “No, we agreed that you weren’t going,” Walking Bear objected.

  “You said I wasn’t coming. I never agreed.”

  Lina looked form one to the other. “What’s going on?”