Did you lead the way by using a gun?
He looked down at his own goggles.
By using a machete?
The appearance of the Pahaana had seemed predestined. ‘A miracle’ was how he had described it to anyone who would listen–an omen of good things to come. In truth, it hadn’t been a miracle. It’d been hard work. His laughable missions to preach the Hopi way outside the mesas had only ever had one real purpose–to flush out the Pahaana. But then, so many things fell into place: the tablet fragment, Rigel, the strange crops, and, of course, the presence of all the tablets in one place for the first time. He felt the weight of them in the leather bundle in his lap.
Franklin’s staccato laugh burst above the rest of the din and Celestino realized what had been bothering him since they’d left the plateau. The Pahaana was enjoying the violence.
Suddenly, Franklin was squatting next to him.
“Locked and loaded,” Franklin said.
Celestino didn’t look at him.
“We’re right on target,” Franklin continued as he put a hand on Celestino’s shoulder.
Although he didn’t say anything, Celestino finally turned to glare at him.
Franklin removed his hand. “Look,” he said under his breath. “We did what needed doing.”
As Franklin stole a sideways look at the other shamans, Celestino became aware of the quiet in the kiva. The other shamans had finished their preparations. They sat on their mats, goggles in hand or close by. All eyes were on them.
“It’s done,” Franklin whispered. “Your troops need you.”
Celestino could have laughed. He didn’t need to be told that. In fact, at this point, he didn’t need the Pahaana at all. But he’d deal with that when he got back.
“You need to destroy the old world,” Franklin hissed.
Under any other circumstances, Celestino would have shoved Franklin away, but his people didn’t need to see dissent. These weren’t troops, they were shamans. And he didn’t need to destroy the old world, he needed to give birth to the new one. It was time to finish this. He pointedly ignored Franklin, picked up his goggles and held them up for the other shamans to see. With an audible click, he turned them on.
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
THE LIGHT FROM the cell phone was blinding.
“Maybe another hour,” SK said. “That’s as long as this’ll last.”
Hunched over, Livvy pressed her upper back against the stone slabs that covered the opening of the burial chamber. She held her breath, used the strength of her legs, and pushed up. She put her palms on it as well and kept pushing but the giant rocks didn’t move, not so much as a millimeter. She exhaled and bent down over her knees, breathing hard.
“I can’t move them,” she said, between breaths.
“I know,” SK said.
The light of the phone went out.
“I have a different idea,” he said in the darkness. “But it’s risky. You might as well sit down.”
“I can do that,” she said, reaching out a hand toward where she’d last seen him.
She felt his shoulder and then his hand held hers as she lowered herself to the dirt floor. He was freezing and she realized with a start that he’d begun to shiver. He didn’t turn on the cell phone light.
“We’re not getting out of here without some help,” he said.
Livvy nodded and then realized he wouldn’t see that. “Right,” she said quietly.
“And we know that the tablets will soon be in the Multiverse,” he continued.
“Right,” she said again.
“If you were to go to the Multiverse, you could see the tablets but, according to what you’ve described of the Hopi Underworld, you’d see other shamans.”
“So, I could ask them for help. Maybe I’d see Dale or his grandmother. Dale knows where we are and I could describe it to Coco.”
Livvy paused.
“But I don’t have my goggles,” she said.
“Right,” said SK, squeezing her hand in both of his. “Which gets me to the risky part.”
She waited though she sensed where this might be going.
“The goggles aren’t the only way you’ve reached the Multiverse. I found you here because of a dream we shared, in the Multiverse. You traveled to the Multiverse when you were unconscious after the lightning strike.” He paused and continued in nearly a whisper. “You fell unconscious when we kissed at my condo.”
“Right,” she whispered. “And the dangerous part is the shattering thunder that would happen here,” she looked up at pure blackness, “in this burial chamber under those rocks.”
“We’d have to move toward the edge,” he said, his voice louder again, “into a corner where there should be more structural integrity. Even so, there’s no way to predict which way those slabs will fall.”
There was silence for a few moments.
“Risky,” he said.
Her mind raced over the various ways to enter the Multiverse she’d heard about before the advent of goggles. Hallucinogens were often involved but, even if she had any, she wouldn’t want to use them. Exhaustion, gained through constant drumming or dancing, could do it but would take too long. Even sensory deprivation, for which this place was ironically ideal, would take too long. There wasn’t time for that now, not if she were going to see that tablet, help Coco stop the Fifth World, and find a way to send for help. SK was right.
“Which corner?” she asked.
“Behind you,” he said. “The two walls that meet there are part of the exterior structure. They’ve got to be more than a foot thick.”
The light from the cell phone came on and SK pointed behind her and to the right.
“I think your head ought to go right in the corner.”
“Okay,” she said, scooting backwards. As she got closer, she hesitated and looked around.
“I’m pretty sure that’s going to be the safest place,” SK said, still standing in the center.
“It’s not that,” she said. She didn’t know quite how to say it. “It’s just we’re in a burial chamber,” she continued. “You’re freezing, I can’t stop thinking about poor Leon, or where Dale has gone…”
“It’s not the best time for a kiss,” he said.
She exhaled and nodded.
Then the light went out and SK turned it right back on again. He came over, squatted down next to her, and looked directly into her eyes.
“It’s the best chance we have. Your power lies in the Multiverse, as do any allies. Plus, speaking for myself, it’s not ever a bad time to kiss you.”
She had to smile.
“And it won’t hurt to try,” he said. “It’s either that, or see if Franklin or Celestino will come back for us. Or maybe Dale will come to his senses in time.”
As he finished those last words, his entire body trembled in a shiver. She immediately reached out a hand to him.
“I’ll be all right,” he said, as the shiver ran its course and finished.
She knew that wasn’t true. Without blankets, a source of heat, or replacements for his wet clothes, even shared bodily warmth wouldn’t be enough.
“Gods, SK,” she whispered. “What have I gotten us into?”
“Hey,” he said. “I made my own choices, number one of which is to be with you.”
He took her hand. “We’re a team,” he said quietly.
“The Lightning Shaman and the Water Baby,” she said.
And that’s a good team, she thought. If they couldn’t do this, who could? She gave his hand a squeeze before letting go and then scooted backward the rest of the way toward the corner. Although the chamber was too small to lie out flat, she reclined her head back. She touched her toes to the opposite corner, her knees bent. Just before the light winked out, she watched SK as he laid on his side next to her. She heard him settle down.
“I guess we don’t, you know, need the light,” he said, and cleared his throat.
Was that nervousness in his voice?
“Liv,” he whispered. “You know I’d never suggest this if I didn’t think it was the last possible option.”
She felt his hand on her shoulder and turned to him in the dark.
“Last option,” she repeated, trying to lighten the mood. “You sure know how to make a girl feel wanted.”
She had felt him getting closer but he stopped.
“Liv, I didn’t mean I wouldn’t want to–”
“I know, SK, I know,” she said.
Then it was his turn to laugh a little.
“Well, you can’t say I don’t know how to show a girl a good time.” She felt his hand on the side of her face. “It’s not every day you get to kiss someone in a burial chamber.”
She had to laugh, in spite of herself.
“I know,” she said quietly. Gently, his hand turned her face away from him as he moved closer to her. “It’s not as if–”
Then she felt his lips on her neck.
She sucked in a breath.
“As if what?” he asked quietly.
His lips and warm breath brushed against her skin. He lingered there for a moment and then she felt his nose behind her ear. Again, his lips brushed her neck in a light kiss. Her heart began to pound and she closed her eyes. She started to roll toward him but she felt his hand slowly push her shoulder back down.
“Relax,” he whispered into her ear.
Relax?
His cheek brushed hers and then his nose and there he stopped.
Though she tilted her chin up toward him and could feel his moist breath on her lips, he didn’t kiss her. She waited, held her breath, and then opened her eyes to the utter darkness. He shifted his weight and then his lips were on the other side of her neck, just below the jaw.
“You were saying?” he whispered hoarsely against her throat.
He pressed his lips down harder and moved more quickly as he worked his way back to her face. She could hear his rapid breathing match her own. Again, his cheek brushed against hers but she wasn’t going to wait this time. At first she wasn’t sure who had kissed who but then it didn’t matter.
The place, the time, everything but the feel of his lips on hers, fell away. Suddenly, she realized she’d wrapped her arms around him, felt the weight of him pressing into her. In the very next moment, though, she felt a familiar heat quickly blossom in her chest. Even as she parted her lips to warn him, she realized she could see his face. In the sudden silence that descended over them, Livvy saw SK duck and curl his body over her. Then the air exploded.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
DALE COULD SEE the flashing red lights before he’d even gotten off the main route. He’d driven like a mad man, not caring about who heard him in Canyon de Chelly much less who’d see him on the mesas.
She said Leon was dead.
The truck screeched to a halt behind the crowd that had gathered as people jumped out of the way. Some shielded their faces from the headlights and others from gravel the tires had kicked up. There were yells of protest until they saw who it was. The looks on their faces! Anger, recognition, and then pity.
No. Please don’t let it be true.
He left the engine running and the door to the truck open as he rushed by them. The flashing red lights of an ambulance and tribal police vehicle reflected off nearby windows and washed cyclically over the adobe walls surrounding the plaza. There were various clusters of onlookers but where were the paramedics?
Then, at the far end of the plaza, he saw yellow police tape. One of the alleys was cordoned off. He changed direction and ran.
“Leon?” he yelled.
A police officer turned toward him. Someone he recognized from Third Mesa, wearing the olive green jacket of the tribal police. He ducked under the tape just in time to catch Dale.
“Dale, hold up,” he said.
Dale struggled to free himself but another police officer emerged from the alley and quickly joined the first.
“Dale!” yelled the second.
“Leon!” Dale screamed. “Is Leon okay?”
He strained against them to look into the alley. Flashes of light popped. They were taking pictures.
“Dale, take it easy,” said the second cop. “We can’t let you in here.”
“I might be able to help!” he screamed, grabbing him by the arms.
“No,” the two cops said, a gut reaction to what he’d said.
“Nobody can,” said the first cop. “Leon is dead, Dale. I’m sorry.”
“But…” Dale moaned and the fight went out of him.
He pushed against the man but not hard. Olivia had said it. The faces of the crowd had said it. Now the police.
“Please,” said Dale. “Please just let me see him.”
The two men shook their heads.
“No,” said the first cop. “You don’t want that.”
“No,” agreed the second quickly.
There was a metallic rattling behind them. A paramedic with his box came toward them.
“Coming through,” he said, never breaking stride as the first cop lifted the yellow tape so he could pass under.
He jogged to the back of the ambulance and opened the door. The metal clacking and clattering, like a grocery cart on the sidewalk, got louder. The two cops stood aside as two more paramedics guided a gurney between them. Strapped to it was a black body bag, with a large body inside.
“Leon?” Dale whimpered, his voice shaking, barely audible over the sound of the gurney. “Leon?”
He stared at the glistening black plastic, as it reflected the crazy lights. His eyes bored into it as though he’d see right through it. As it passed by, he couldn’t help but look at Leon’s face but–
“No!” he screamed.
The body in the bag couldn’t have a face. It didn’t have a head.
A young black man in a dark jacket with bright white letters that said “FBI” followed the gurney. Off to the side, he carried a black plastic bag in a latex gloved hand. He had looked at Dale when he’d screamed and now held the bag behind him, out of view. He ducked under the tape and followed the gurney to the ambulance.
A wave of nausea washed over Dale and he put a hand to his mouth but he couldn’t stop watching. The wheels of the gurney folded underneath itself as it met the edge of the ambulance with a loud snapping sound. The two paramedics lifted together and slid it into the back. One of them climbed in. He turned and took the black plastic bag from the FBI man. The second paramedic hopped up and closed the doors behind him.
Suddenly, all the lights–the police and ambulance lights, the flashlights, the windows on the plaza, the headlights–began to swim and flow into one another. Dale felt hot tears rolling down his fingers which were covering his mouth. He couldn’t breathe. He stumbled a few steps toward the wall at the entrance of the alley and vomited. His entire body convulsed.
The engine of the ambulance started up, jolting him back into awareness. He wiped his mouth on his jacket sleeve and whirled around. Instead of seeing the ambulance, though, he was confronted by the FBI man. Dale stepped around him and watched as the crowd near the ambulance parted. The red light lit their faces as it slowly passed by. Then the brake lights brightened briefly before the vehicle picked up speed and left the plaza, headed toward the main road.
The crowd began to disperse. Dale looked across the plaza at the building where Celestino had stood. The memory of the scene came back in every detail. Had it only been this morning? Celestino had been standing on that roof with the tablet in his hand. He had preached purification.
“Dale?” the FBI man said, holding out his badge in a black leather wallet. “I’m Special Agent Dukes.”
“Where are they taking him?” Dale asked.
“To the hospital.”
“The hospital?” Dale asked, unable to keep from hoping. “Is he–”
“No,” the man said quickly. “He’s dead. I meant the hospital morgue.”
Dale tri
ed to nod.
“Over here,” the man said, taking Dale’s arm.
In a few moments, Dale was sitting on the edge of the back seat of some type of sedan. Someone handed him a bottle of water.
“Drink some,” he said.
It sounded like one of the cops. Numb, Dale simply did as he was told.
“Can’t this wait until tomorrow?” said the cop.
The question was met with silence. Finally Dale looked up at the agent. Behind him was the roof where Celestino had stood.
Purification.
Only one person had ever harped on it. Only one had ever threatened it.
“The guy’s in no state for questions,” said the cop.
Dale stood up. “Actually,” he said, though his voice shook. “I am. In fact, I’m ready for some answers.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
THE LITTLE CHILD’S high-pitched squeal was not one of delight. Despite the plaza of the Underworld having once been full of playing children, Livvy knew that scream had nothing to do with play. It had been a howl of pain. As she spun around to locate the source of the cry, she tried to get her bearings.
Instead of the buff dirt floor of the plaza, she stood in an enormous expanse of green rushes. Like an ocean, it spread in every direction, off the mesa, into the distance, to the very horizon.
The sunflower had grown to the size of a redwood tree. Like the great orb for which it was named, its huge, round face occupied its rightful place in the sky, petals radiating outward. Behind it, the sky filled with clouds.
Finally, she saw the ancestor and realized with a start that there were two. The children lay sprawled on the ground at the base of the sunflower. The ground there was clear of the tall rushes and formed a large grassy mound around the stalk. A few feet away, a round column rose up from the mound. In fact, there were four columns, one in each cardinal direction and they appeared to be made of solid rock.
Celestino, surrounded by fellow shamans, had been crouching next to one of the little bodies but now stood and turned toward her. His face was pained, angry.
Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman Books 1 -3 Page 78
