Spirit of the Lake

by Paty Jager

  Dove walked to the opening of the tipi and pulled the sticks out that held the hide together. She stood on her toes and still could not reach the farthest ones.

  “Let me help.” Wewukiye stood so close his breath warmed the back of her neck.

  She stepped away, and he removed all but the last four sticks. Even his height could not reach them. He knelt.

  “Sit upon my shoulders.”

  She stared at him. The thought of sitting so intimately on his shoulders stirred like a covey of quail in her belly.

  “It will be the quickest way to finish the task.”

  She stepped behind him and swung one leg over his shoulder. His large hand wrapped around her thigh. Heat rose from where his hand lay so close to the part of her body Evil Eyes defiled. Before she could extract her leg, Wewukiye stood. She swung her other leg over his other shoulder and clung to his head with her hands.

  She leaned, her small bulge resting against the back of his head as her trembling fingers drew the last sticks from the lapped hides.

  “I have finished.” Her voice croaked like an old woman’s. Her body pulsed where it touched his wide shoulders and strong neck.

  He knelt and slowly released her legs. She hopped back as though a snake coiled on his sunshine hair.

  Never fear me. I will always protect you. His words floated through her head like an inviting chant. Dove watched him as he folded the flaps back. How did they speak to one another without moving their mouths? Uneasiness at her acceptance of the fact weakened her legs.

  She dropped to her knees at the edge of the structure and tugged on the stick holding the hide to the ground. Work would help her put things right. The stick clung to the earth. She wiggled and freed the wood as Crazy One knelt at the stake on the other side of the entrance. They met at the back of the tipi and piled their sticks together.

  In unison, Crazy One and Dove grasped edges of the opening and began folding them back until they met again at the back of the structure. Wewukiye stepped between them and pulled the hide down the frame, folding until it formed a large bundle at his feet.

  He picked up the bundle and carried it to the horses as though it weighed no more than a bundle of firewood. Dove watched his efficient movements.

  “Does my uncle not walk strong?” Crazy One winked.

  Dove huffed and set to work taking the poles down one-by-one as Crazy One walked around the edge of the structure unwinding the leather string anchoring each pole to the next at the top.

  Dove placed the last poles in the indention of their lodge, and glanced around. Some families had left and others had their animals loaded and ready to start for the Anihm, winter, camp. She darted a glance at her father’s lodge. Only the poles remained in the indention. Their belongings, people, and horses were gone.

  A pang of regret sliced her heart. Since living with Crazy One not a single member of her family had tried to talk with her or even smile at her. Their leaving without making sure she and Crazy One would soon follow should not have ached. But it did.

  Crazy One put an arm around her shoulder. “Are we family now?” She nodded and grinned her toothless grin.

  A large warm hand squeezed her shoulder.

  “We will take care of you and the baby.” Wewukiye’s gaze searched her face. “We are all you need.”

  He stepped away when she wanted to ask if that meant he would stay with her even after the baby arrived.

  Wewukiye held a horse by the mane and motioned to Crazy One. The woman walked to his side, and he set her atop the horse with little effort. He moved to another horse and held out his hand.

  Dove joined him. His gaze warmed and filled her with good thoughts. She took his hand. He squeezed her fingers and drew her next to the animal. Sensations tingled up her arm and landed in a warm radiance around her heart.

  “If you become tired or uncomfortable tell me. We do not have to remain with the rest. I can get you to the Anihm camp.”

  She nodded.

  His strong hands settled on her sides, and he placed her on the horse lightly like drifting snowflakes. Gentle hands remained as his gaze lingered, dipping from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes. His long perusal filled her with elation and thoughts of touching her lips to his.

  “Do you feel the fingers of cold?” Crazy One asked, breaking the spell.

  “Yes.” Wewukiye stepped away from Dove. Her nearness made him lose sense of time and place. Luckily, only a few Nimiipuu remained, and they hurried to catch up with the band.

  He took his time digging in the pack he’d prepared. He pulled out a white wolf fur—one his brother wore as the spirit of the mountain—and wrapped it around Dove. The cold Anihm winds rolled down off the mountainside.

  “This is beautiful.” Dove smoothed a hand over the white fur.

  He nodded and caught Crazy One’s wink. His niece had given him the wrap worn by her mother.

  He mounted the horse. Something he had not done other than in another’s body since the Creator made him a spirit. Elation exploded in his chest sitting atop the animal’s back. He urged the horse forward with a squeeze of his legs and relished the art of riding once again.

  Dove maneuvered her horse in behind him. Crazy One, leading the pack horse, came behind her. All husbands and wives traveled this way. He shook his head. It could not be. He was a spirit and she a mortal. His thoughts should not shift from his duty—Keep Dove safe and help the child enter the world so Dove could prove the White man’s disloyalty.

  They traveled over small rolling hills and valleys covered with yellow grass waiting for the snow to blanket it until the warm winds and sun of El-weht. Topping the small hills, the other members of the band could be seen gradually bunching up.

  Dove rode up alongside him. “Is it safe for us to remain this distance?”

  He did not detect fear in her voice. Did she finally trust him?

  “There are few White men in this area. And other tribes are also moving to their Anihm homes. We are safe and do not have to fear others watching and disapproving.” Like now with her riding by his side rather than behind him. He preferred her at his side where they could speak to one another.

  She nodded and smiled. “It is a freedom I cherish these days.” She pulled the wrap closer around her shoulders.

  “Do you wish to stop and rest?” If she caught cold or did something to harm the baby he would forever believe it his fault.

  “I am fine. Do not worry over me. I will tell you if things are not right.” She smiled. Her eyes glowed with health and determination.

  “You are now the strong woman who will defeat the so-yá-po.” His words faded her smile and eyes.

  “Do you really think this baby”—her hand massaged her belly—“will save my people?”

  “I cannot tell beyond your life, but for what is to come through the next seasons, yes.” He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. “It is why I was sent to save you.”

  Her eyes closed, and she leaned into his touch. Her cold cheek skipped happiness to his heart like a rock skimming across the water.

  “I am glad you did. I see now that it would be an injustice to have allowed Evil Eyes to weaken me.” She opened her eyes and gazed into his. “It is your strength that I cling to and hope to use to one day stand on my own.”

  She sighed deep and long. “I only wish when I do, you do not leave.”

  The whispered words struck his heart like a thousand arrows. He had to tell her he was a spirit soon, before she fastened the rest of her life to him.

  As if conjured up with that thought, Sa-qan screeched above them. His sister would not understand the need to show this woman his true self.

  “Do I not see my aunt?” Crazy One said and stared into the gray clouds building into a dark mass.

  Snow would soon fall. Wewukiye scanned the area for a place to settle for the night. Sa-qan circled a clump of trees ahead. Qe`ci`yew`yew, sister.

  “We will spend the night over there.” He
pointed to the trees. “It feels like snow will cover us by morning.”

  Dove nodded and ducked her face into the fur of her wrap. The air blew cold, as a sprit he did not need the extra layers. The elements did not bother him. He, after all, lived in a lake when not roaming the Nimiipuu territory.

  What would Dove think if she knew he was the monster of the lake all the grandparents warned the Nimiipuu children to be wary of if they were not good? He chuckled.

  The story started soon after the Creator made him a spirit of the lake to keep watch over the Nimiipuu and their supply of fish. With his spirit form coming from his name, bull elk, he did not think before emerging from the lake in his elk form. He scared the children playing at the lake’s edge. They told the elders who used the children’s fear to keep the children well-behaved.

  They entered the cover of the trees. Yellow and orange leaves fluttered to the ground, building a cushioned floor. Dead limbs scattered around the area for easy firewood.

  He stopped and dismounted. Dove’s horse halted beside him. Wewukiye wrapped his hands around her waist and eased her to stand before him.

  She wobbled a bit when he loosened his grip. “Was the ride today too much?”

  “No. I have not ridden a horse since…” Her cheeks darkened. “The attack.” She grasped his hands, pulling them away from her body.

  He clutched her hands, holding her in front of him. The instinct to protect her overwhelmed him. “Promise, if you do feel things are not right you will tell me.”

  She nodded and he drew her against his body, wrapping his arms around her, and breathing in her essence. Her body relaxed, and her arms wrapped around him.

  Her small hands pressing against his back ignited urges dormant for seasons upon seasons. Fire shot through his limbs and jolted his need to mate. The idea nearly sprang his arms wide open. It took all his concentration not to shove her from his hold.

  He eased his arms away from her and turned to help Crazy One from her horse. The old woman’s eyes sparkled. Is she not the one for you?

  Her words rushed through his head, and he shot her a hard glare. I cannot have these thoughts. She is mortal.

  Am I not mortal? Was not your brother mortal? She held out her arms, and he placed her on the ground.

  Could he love Dove and the two of them remain in their own worlds? He watched her moving about the trees gathering sticks. Her body though covered in long moccasins, a long heavy blanket dress, colorful wool shawl, and the white fur still excited his senses. The image of her naked body, etched in his mind from saving her, further ignited him. Her cleverness and strength also fueled the urge to be more than her guardian.

  He wished her to be his.

  Forever.

  Pú-timt wax pá-xat

  (15)

  Dove watched Crazy One start the fire while Wewukiye went in search of a small animal for their meal. He insisted she should eat more than kouse bread and dried salmon and berries. Crazy One waved him off and smiled at her.

  He had left before she could ask him how it was she heard his voice in her head and he heard her thoughts. During their ride she had thought hard and could not determine if she had dreamed the exchange or if living with Crazy One had made her a little bit muddled herself.

  “Will my uncle bring nourishment?” The old woman shook her head. “Is it not true the mate of a woman with child will not fare well when hunting?” She waved a chunk of bread at Dove. “Do you need to eat?”

  Dove took the bread, easing the gnawing in her stomach. “What do you mean? Wewukiye is not my mate. He will be fine hunting.” The thought of being his mate set well in her mind. But they were not husband and wife. Nor could they be until the council witnessed the proof of Evil Eyes’s deceit. She stared forlornly into the fire. Nothing Wewukiye did indicated he planned to stay around after the birth.

  Crazy One chanted under her breath and spun a piece of bread around and around in her hands. She could question Crazy One about the voices, but her pattern of speech would make it hard to understand the truth.

  Dove chewed her bread, pulled the wolf fur tighter around her shoulders, and dreaded the cold of the encroaching night.

  «»«»«»

  Wewukiye shifted into his elk form and loped away from camp to speak with Sa-qan. He preferred man form for holding Dove and his elk form for moving about and carrying out his duties on the mountain.

  He stopped beside a large boulder and watched the spiral of smoke from their camp seep from the grove of trees below. Dove would question him this night about the voices. Her sharpness and inquisitive nature would not let her wonderings go any longer.

  A waft of air ruffled his hair and the click of nails on stone directed his attention to the boulder. Sa-qan balanced on the rock and carefully tucked her wings against her side.

  “Why do you camp so far from the others?” She peered with such intensity, he shuffled his hooves.

  “We do not travel as fast, and I prefer keeping my distance from the band. They distrust me. I do not wish to be watched.”

  She nodded and the breath he held slithered out between his teeth.

  “It is wise to not raise their suspicions. Should they find out the truth, you will no longer be able to remain and help the woman.”

  The thought of abandoning Dove before the baby arrived hit him like the clash of antlers during rut. From his antlers downward, his whole body jarred.

  He glanced at the spiral of smoke at their camp and then at his sister. “I have conversed with Dove without words.”

  Sa-qan stomped across the boulder, putting her beak to his nose. “That is not wise. To put thoughts into others is only for the survival of the Nimiipuu.”

  “I did not put thoughts. We spoke.”

  Her small eyes widened to twice their size. “She answered your thoughts with her own?”

  Wewukiye nodded. Mortals took direction this way, but never had one communicated back. From their first meeting, her body and mind connected with him, making him wonder at her powers.

  “Then she holds much power. Now I see why you have been compelled to help her. You have experienced her power.” Sa-qan walked to the peak of the boulder and faced him. “Will you tell her you are a spirit?”

  “I will have to. She has mentioned my staying with her after the child is born. I cannot walk away without her knowing why I must.” He knew the next months would bring them even closer together, and he already did not want to leave her or the child yet to come to this earth.

  Sa-qan nodded. “With her power, she will understand.”

  Wewukiye spotted a dark shape crossing a knoll they’d traveled earlier. “Who is that? We are the last of the band. I made certain.”

  “It is Evil Eyes. I spotted him before the sun rested.”

  Hatred burned in his chest. Fear for Dove should the man stumble upon them shook his clenched muscles. “I must return to Dove and Crazy One. If he stops for the night let me know. Otherwise, I will keep a vigilant eye.”

  Sa-qan tipped her head and leapt into the dark night.

  With a last glower at the White man, he ran through the dead matted grass toward the grove of trees. This man would not harm Dove again.

  «»«»«»

  Dove ate the handful of dried salmon and berries Crazy One offered. How would Wewukiye kill an animal? She never saw him with a weapon or a pouch to carry items to make a snare.

  Her ears picked up the faint sound of running hooves. “Crazy One, someone on horseback approaches.” Fear slithered through her body. Where was Wewukiye?

  The old woman smiled and continued spreading her blankets on the ground near the fire. A small pile of wood to replenish the flames during the night sat at the end of her blanket.

  “We should hide.” Her gaze darted through the trees, searching for a log or boulder to hide behind until they knew who approached.

  A figure stepped from behind a tree and she shrieked.

  Wewukiye ran forward, dropping to his knees be
side her. “Are you well? What has frightened you?”

  She stared at his familiar, concerned face and sunshine hair. She swiped her hand down his golden locks, relief warming the icy fear that gripped her moments before. Dove slapped a hand against his hard chest.

  “You scared me! I heard running hooves. I searched the darkness of the trees, and you stepped out scaring me.” She glanced over his shoulder. “Did you hear the horse?”

  His face paled, and he peered over her head. “I did not hear a horse.”

  She spun toward the direction he returned. The same direction she’d heard the sound. “How could you not when you came from the same area of the running animal?”

  “Are you sure you heard a running horse? Perhaps it was some other animal. I did chase up an elk.” His eyes gleamed willing her to believe his story.

  She sighed. If he did not hear a horse, maybe she had heard something else and in her nervous state believed it to be a horse. She was hearing things again, only this time it was not his voice.

  “Tell me how I heard your voice in my head this morning.”

  He stood, spreading blankets next to each other on the ground by the fire, opposite Crazy One’s bedding.

  He did not speak or glance her way. Did not ask if she wished to lie beside him. Though her heart thrummed at the prospect of spending the night beside him.

  The cry of an eagle sliced the air. Wewukiye peered into the sky and smiled.

  He held out a hand, helping her rise to her feet. They walked to the blankets, and with care, he helped her lie down. He reclined beside her, rolling her to her side and cupping his hard, warm body behind her. With him against her back and the fire tended by Crazy One at her front, she would remain warm all night.

  “We can speak with thoughts because you hold great power.” The whispered words warmed her neck or she would have believed they were in her head again. Her body nestled snug and warm against him while her mind raced. Powers? What powers?

  “I do not understand.” She tried to turn in his arms, to search his eyes for the truth.

  “Shh…” He held her firmly against him with an arm protecting the bump in her belly. His lips grazed her neck.