“Do you mean the transition or the healing?”
“The transition,” Livvy said, stretching out her legs. “Because time here and there aren’t the same, there’s no way to tell about the healing itself.”
“Got it,” Marvin said. He nodded and looked at her hopefully. Normally, she would have been glad for the confidence but not today. Of her own ability, she was still sure. Of the fact that Marvin and Emma needed help, she had no doubt. But the Hopi Underworld was not hers and Marvin’s faith might not be deserved. The choice to help, however, had been abundantly clear.
“I wish I could offer a guarantee,” she said, quietly. “Unfortunately, there’s no such thing. But I’m going to do everything I can.”
“I understand,” he said, his face falling ever so slightly. “Is there anything I can do?”
She glanced around the room and then at the spot on the floor where SK would have been. Without him nearby, she was a bit nervous. Although Marvin wasn’t an intercessor, at least he could be trusted.
“Watch for any electricity and … don’t get in the way of it,” she said. “Make sure Emma isn’t in the way of it either.”
His eyes widened but he nodded.
“All right,” she said and lay down. “See you when I’m back.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
THE PLAZA WAS dark, lit solely by stretched rectangles of light that spilled from the nearby windows. Livvy’s eyes adjusted quickly and she gazed up at the clouds. As expected, they were already streaming in the direction she’d find Emma. As Livvy got her bearings, she saw there was a dark street that went in the right direction but, as she peered into it, she saw something moving. The village had appeared empty but Livvy now knew shamans might show up at any time. She backed up a pace and raised her hand above her head as thunder rumbled in response.
Suddenly, the white puma bounded from the street into the plaza and slowed to a walk. Its white fur sparkled, even in the dim light. Livvy dropped her hand.
I almost called down lightning on my own spirit helper!
This was obviously going to take some getting used to.
As the enormous cat crossed the plaza, Livvy marveled at the rolling of its powerful shoulders and its silent approach. When it drew closer, Livvy realized its eyes were a brilliant green. Once it passed her, rubbing its flank along the outside of her right thigh, Livvy dropped to one knee and felt it circle around her back. She put out her left hand and felt its warm and downy fur pass beneath her fingers as it came to the front and took a seat. They were eye to eye.
Livvy stroked its forehead and ran her fingers through the impossibly fine hair behind its ears as it slowly blinked its eyes.
“You know,” she said quietly. “I think I’m supposed to give you a name.”
As Livvy looked into its eyes, she recalled the name whispered after her in hallways. Bruja blanca, they had said–the white witch.
“Puma blanca,” she murmured. “Blanca for short.”
The puma placed its enormous paw on her knee.
“I’ll take that as a yes and I’ll also take it that you’re a girl.”
Up above, lightning flashed and a clap of thunder caused them both to look up.
“Right,” said Livvy, standing. “Time to find Emma.”
Instead of heading back down the street from which she’d come, Blanca stood in front of her, head pointed in a different direction.
“No, Blanca, not there,” Livvy said as she pointed to the sky. “We follow the clouds. Emma will be this way.”
Blanca, however, had either not heard, didn’t understand, or didn’t care. She trotted off in a different direction.
“No, wait!” Livvy called after her.
She stopped and looked back at Livvy, then gave her head a strange but familiar movement. Come this way was the clear message.
Above, lightning flashed in subdued bursts within the dark mass as it continued to stream away down the street. Great. Two spirit helpers, two directions. Blanca took off at a trot.
Again Livvy thought of the Nahual and how easily her spirit helpers had worked with one another. She glanced at the clouds and then in the direction Blanca had gone.
Maybe I need to show her what to do.
Livvy raced after the puma, moving at top speed. To her surprise, as she approached, Blanca sped up. She covered ground in great loping stretches, like a white wave flowing along the street. The village was rushing by and Livvy couldn’t tell where they were but suddenly Blanca came to a stop and crouched. Livvy skid to a stop behind her, next to the ragged corner of a dark, stone building. Livvy had been about to speak but something in Blanca’s absolute stillness told her now was not the time.
Following her stare, Livvy peeked around the corner. Not far from where they hid, a light emerged from a raised platform where a rough wood ladder poked up through an access hole. It creaked and vibrated against the rim of the opening. Someone was climbing up from below.
A great hissing and gurgling sound filled the air and Livvy reflexively ducked. Both she and Blanca looked up to see a giant raptor swiftly spiraling down. With its wide wings bent upward, it swooped in with a great whoosh and flapping, then hopped awkwardly as it landed. Only when it neared the light did Livvy see its featherless red head and round black eye–a vulture. Blanca lowered her head as her ears laid back and her whiskers twitched, but she remained silent. Although Livvy didn’t know why they were watching, Blanca had obviously brought her here for a reason.
The ray of light from the kiva dimmed and disappeared, then brightened again. Whoever was coming up the ladder was almost at the top. Livvy tensed. A man’s head appeared and then his torso. He was climbing slowly because he was carrying something. It was a shallow ceramic bowl that he set on the ground as he emerged. He was dressed in jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt and wore his long black hair in a ponytail. When he turned around, Livvy could see he wore a smoke quartz crystal pendant. He was a shaman. The vulture was his spirit helper.
As if in confirmation, the man spoke to it. “Tonight,” he said as he picked up the bowl. “You will eat well.”
The giant bird hopped over but the man held the bowl out of its reach.
“No. We must do this right.”
The bird made the strange gurgle hiss again from deep in its throat.
“I know,” the man said. “We have waited long, but trust me, this is the meal that will feed us for years.”
The man was coming closer to their location but stopped about halfway. Livvy crouched lower and tried to back into darker shadow while Blanca remained stock still. Livvy looked at his face, heavily pockmarked and angled, even gaunt.
The man reached into his front pants pocket and drew out something that looked like flour. He sprinkled a little in one direction, tossing it out lightly, then made a quarter turn, and tossed out more, until he’d done it four times. The bird waited patiently, outside the reach of the scattering dust.
Finally, the shaman set the bowl down and Livvy saw what was inside–raw meat, red and lumpy, and swimming in a puddle of blood. She almost groaned, although it was probably the right diet for this type of bird. But as she stared at it, recognition sank in. Though she hadn’t intended to be a surgeon, medical school had included dissection. What lay in the middle of that bowl was a heart–a human heart and it was still beating.
“Come, my friend,” the shaman crowed, lifting his hands in the air. “Let us feast and grow old.”
Suddenly, Livvy realized what they were seeing and why Blanca had brought her here. In a blink, her hand was in the air. That was Emma’s heart and they were about to eat it. She stepped out of the shadows.
“Lightning!” she screamed.
CHAPTER FORTY
IN THE REAL world, Marvin had nearly dozed off. Though his hearing wasn’t what it used to be, his sense of smell was fine. Something was burning. He jerked his head up.
Olivia lay on the floor in front of him and Emma in her bed.
Jo
Jo sat up and made a tiny whine.
Marvin looked left and right just in time to see a tiny wisp of smoke disappear above an outlet next to the door. Moving as quietly as possible, he stood next to it. Jo Jo followed him, sniffing the air as his nose twitched from side to side.
As Marvin bent down to take a closer look, the outlet flashed and popped. He and Jo Jo both jumped. Another pop came from the wall behind Emma’s bed. He knew there was an outlet there but couldn’t see it. What he could see, though, was a faint purple flicker. In fact, all the outlets had started to glow.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
LIGHTNING STREAKED OUT of nowhere and crashed onto Livvy’s outstretched hand as a waterfall of brilliant purple sparks flowed down. The shaman, his vulture, and the stone and adobe buildings all around them were suddenly awash in the brilliant glare.
The sorcerer screamed in terror as he stumbled backward but the vulture only took that as its opportunity to dive at the ready meal. Although Livvy had raised her hand and pointed at the bird, ready to strike, she knew it was too close to Emma’s heart to risk the bolt.
Blanca shot forward in a white blur. Where the vulture had just been, only a few large feathers remained. The bowl wobbled and spun in place but it still held the beating heart. As the shaman continued to cringe, Livvy lowered her arms, dashed forward and scooped up the bowl and its contents.
“Earth,” she heard the shaman yell as the scene in front of her went suddenly brown.
The dirty haze started to swirl and Livvy heard Blanca roar.
Was she in trouble?
Livvy raised a hand to the sky, clutching the bowl to her chest. “Whirlwind!” she said.
The swirling of the dust stopped, suspended in midair, and then rushed up into the funnel descending from the clouds. Even before the thick haze had completely lifted, Blanca appeared at her side.
Livvy searched for the other shaman but only saw the ladder being hurriedly pulled down the access hole. He had meant for the dust storm to hide his escape. The vulture was nowhere in sight. Livvy looked up to the clouds which were streaming away, the whole sky moving. Now was the time to find Emma. As though they shared the same thought, she and Blanca took off at lightning speed.
Whether this was the way they had come or not, Livvy had no idea. In no time, they were at the plaza and, just as quickly, they were through it. Livvy ran, cradling the heart in the bowl as Blanca easily kept pace beside her. The clouds suddenly froze and Livvy skidded to a stop, right in front of Coco.
“Coco,” Livvy said, a little surprised.
“Good,” Coco said. “You’ve come.”
Blanca had not managed to stop quite so quickly but promptly trotted back. They had arrived at the east edge of the mesa near Coco’s home. She sat comfortably on several thick blankets that were spread out among a group of dark green plants. In full bloom, their white bell-shaped flowers dangled from the tall central stems. Beside her lay an emaciated old woman, her skin so thin that the blue veins stood out like tattoos.
“Oh Emma,” Livvy whispered, kneeling next to her.
Coco reached out to Blanca who came over and put her head under the woman’s hand.
Livvy stared at Emma, searching the weathered and lined face. If she tried hard enough, she could imagine the bright eyes and smile. She looked down her entire length. She was going to be tall.
“I assume you’ve brought the heart.”
“I have,” said Livvy.
She released the bowl from where she’d clutched it and held it for Coco to see. The heart lay in the middle of it, still beating.
“Any time you’re ready,” said Coco.
“Right,” said Livvy. She set the bowl down. “You might want to give me a little space.”
“I’m fine right here,” said Coco, smiling. “Don’t mind me.”
Livvy raised her eyebrows but gave her a nod. Blanca took up a seat next to Livvy.
“Okay, then,” she muttered, glancing at Coco one more time.
It was strange working with an audience.
She gently lifted the heart from the bowl with one hand and felt it quivering with its regular beats, strong and steady. She looked up to the sky, as did Coco and Blanca. The cloud mass stretched from horizon to horizon but directly above them it was boiling and flashing with internal eruptions of lightning. A slow but steady rumble of thunder felt as if it were flowing around them. Her spirit helper was more than ready.
“Lightning,” she said.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
THERE WAS NO choice.
Marvin had watched the electricity building in the sockets but now it began to creep outward. Sporadic at first, the bright purple tendrils crept slowly but steadily into the room. Despite the fact she’d warned him, he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
“Sorry, Jo Jo.”
He led the dog out of the room by the collar and closed the door.
He spun around and surveyed the room. Olivia might be below the level of the outlets and Emma might be above but he couldn’t take that chance. The purple glow behind the bed flared for several seconds but then died down.
He got down on hands and knees, gripped the edge of the yoga mat and slowly dragged it closer to the center of the room. If he was going to move the bed, he’d need to get Olivia out of the way first.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
THE LIGHTNING BOLT shot down, nearly vertical, and crashed onto Livvy’s upturned hand. Brilliant purple sparks poured down in a circle but Coco seemed not to be bothered and Emma never moved. Blanca snapped at a few, as if she were trying to catch fireflies, but soon ignored them and lay down.
Livvy felt the energy coursing through her body. She looked at the heart in her other hand. It glowed and quivered with the surge of energy. Careful to orient the organ correctly, Livvy turned her hand over and lowered the heart into place over Emma’s chest. As she continued to channel the lightning strike, she firmly pushed the heart down. Sparks exploded from the point of contact and swirled around Livvy’s hand. Emma’s chest began to glow. Livvy kept pushing and felt the heart sink inward.
Emma convulsed.
“No,” Livvy said.
She came up on her knees and leaned down on Emma as the sparks grew brighter. “Come on,” Livvy muttered.
Emma’s eyes fluttered as she convulsed again, more violently.
“No, you don’t,” Livvy said.
She swung her leg over Emma’s torso and straddled her midsection as Coco scooted back to give her room. Livvy straightened her arm over the heart and pushed down. Emma convulsed again and her mouth opened in a wheezing groan.
“You’re losing her,” Coco warned.
“Like hell I am,” Livvy yelled, as she channeled more lightning.
The bolt brightened to a white hot blaze on the hand above her and now Emma’s entire upper body glowed.
Livvy closed her eyes and saw the little girl, smiling–and she pushed the heart down. She saw Marvin’s worried face and his gnarled hands gently tucking in the comforter–and she pushed harder. Livvy squeezed her eyes tight against the rising heat in her own chest and saw Emma bury her face in the fur of Jo Jo’s neck–and Livvy pushed with all her strength. She felt her arm quake, heard the crackling of electricity, and then her palm landed with a thump on Emma’s chest. Emma screamed.
Livvy opened her eyes and lowered her up-stretched arm. The darkness of the night returned as the lightning receded into the clouds. Breathing hard, Livvy left her hand on Emma’s chest and felt for her pulse. Emma was laying still now, her eyes closed, her breathing labored but becoming less so. Her heart throbbed furiously but it was strong and regular.
Blanca stood and nudged Livvy’s side. Livvy ruffled the hair behind her ears as Blanca purred. At that, Emma’s eyes slowly opened and Livvy realized she was still sitting on her. She moved to the side and knelt, waiting. Emma’s eyes drifted to Coco, then Blanca, and finally to Livvy. She smiled. If the sparkling half-moon eyes hadn’t given her away,
the smile would have. Livvy smiled back.
“You’re not old, are you?” Emma asked.
Coco chuckled and stood.
“Good work, Lightning Shaman,” she said, as she turned and headed to her kiva.
Livvy lightly touched Emma’s nose and winked. “I’ll see you on the flip side.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
LIVVY TOOK OFF the goggles and stared up at the ceiling until it came into focus. She hadn’t realized it was painted with sparkly, pink, neon stars. Slowly, she sat up and realized that she’d been moved and the bed was nearly on top of her. She looked at Marvin, who sat in a chair at her feet.
“Is she … is she…” he said.
“She’s going to be fine,” Livvy said.
Marvin got up and helped her. “Really?” he said.
Although he was helping Livvy to stand, he was staring at Emma’s face.
“Really? Was it a two-heart?”
Livvy picked up her bag and took the water bottle from it. “It was a two-heart,” she said, opening the bottle.
“Who was it?” Marvin asked, his voice deeper.
Livvy drank water as she thought about his question. Although she didn’t know the name of the dark shaman, a description would likely be enough. But what good would that do? Marvin’s devotion to his granddaughter could lead to a confrontation, one that might escalate with retaliation in the Multiverse. Livvy finished the entire bottle.
“I don’t think they’ll be bothering her again,” she said. “If they do, you let me know.”
There was a bumping and scratching at the bottom of the bedroom door. Livvy hadn’t realized it was closed. She opened it and Jo Jo pushed through and went to the bed.
Marvin tore his gaze away from Emma. “There was electricity in the outlets, just like you said. It was–”
Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman Books 1 -3 Page 68
