The boy rolled his pants leg down and sat again, staring into the distance. Adi didn’t know what else to say. Suddenly Con turned towards her and asked eagerly, "Wanna tell me about Germany? I’ve never been further then Oklahoma City."
Adi nodded. "Sure. What you want to know?"
Con’s eyes opened wide as he blurted out, "Say something in German.”
Adi laughed. Con’s enthusiasm was contagious. For the next ten minutes, she taught him how to say, "Hello, my name is Con. I’m American and live in Heota. I don’t speak German. Do you speak English?"
Con tried his best to copy Adi’s examples, and their laughter was echoing around the rocks.
“Con!”
Adi’s and Con’s heads swiveled towards an irate woman striding towards them. Adi could barely see her in the fading light, but recognized her immediately as the woman she’d met at the Fishers’ house. The one who had gotten drunk in the middle of the day and dropped the bitchy comment about Honi and Nina. The woman shouted again, “Con! You were supposed to be home hours ago!"
Con jumped up and yelled back, "Sorry, mom!”
He turned towards Adi and said quickly, “That was fun! Will you teach me some more?”
Ali nodded. "Sure. If you want to learn some more German, come over to the Fishers’ house."
Con smiled before running to where his mom stood, arms folded in front of her impressive chest. Adi looked back over the valley as the sun’s golden reflections dimmed in front of her until only the pinpricks of car headlights and illuminated houses in the distance remained.
24
The next morning, Adi was out of the house before the family woke up. By the time she’d arrived back last night, her head still reeling from the discovery of an invisible barrier around the village, things had been back to how they’d been. Jim had barely grunted at her during dinner, avoiding looking at her. His wife had served Adi without any of her previous cheerful chatting. Where she’d placed the food carefully on Honi’s plate, she’d slammed it down on Adi’s so hard the sauce had splattered the sleeve of her shirt.
The only reason why Adi hadn’t protested was that she could tell that with Nina’s return, the family had slipped back under the same strange influence. To be fair, Honi had tried his best to involve her in some kind of conversation, but Adi had been too worried about the situation to pay much attention to his feeble attempts.
She’d excused herself as quickly as she could after finishing her meal and had gone straight to bed. When she’d closed her eyes and sent out her mind, she hadn’t been surprised to encounter the same static barrier. It was easy to find now that she knew what she was looking for.
But no matter how hard she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to relax enough to spirit-walk. Eventually she’d drifted off to sleep. There hadn’t been any dreams to guide her on what to do next. In fact, the connection to the spirit world had seemed oddly fallow.
The wind had strengthened during the night, and by the time Adi reached the edge of the mesa, she was shivering. Behind her, the fir tips were moving, rustled by the sudden gusts. The smell of snow in the air tasted like metal. Dark clouds threatening winter flurries drifted above her at high speed, as if hurried along by an over-anxious shepherd. Through the gaps in the darkness, beams of sunlight fell like golden curtains over the view in front of her. Adi threw her shoulders back and inhaled deeply, savoring the chill freshness, before wrapping her arms around herself.
She wasn’t surprised when she saw Con walking towards her. Adi smiled. The kid was adorable with his eagerness to learn more about the world outside of Heota. Movement just beyond the boy drew her attention. He was still too far away to make out any details, but she thought she saw two shadows streaking towards the teenager.
Adi turned fully towards Con and squinted to make out more details. The boy had stopped and seemed to retreat. She frowned. Something was really off. Maybe it was her instincts as a spirit walker, but she knew that whatever was happening wasn’t good. She walked towards Con, speeding up, and finally breaking into a run when he screamed.
As she watched, he stumbled and fell onto his backside, kicking at something in front of him. By now, Adi was only a few yards away from him, and what had seemed like shadows a moment ago, were the unmistakable shapes of two large coyotes.
The sand-colored animals blended into the background, predators perfectly adapted to their environment. They were beautiful, with fox-like triangular ears and amber eyes. Their sharp teeth flashed white as their lips drew back, and their faces morphed into blatant displays of aggression. These weren’t ordinary coyotes. Not only because of their sudden appearance so close to a human settlement, but also because of their size. Much larger than Alsatians, they circled the fallen boy, whining, and sniffing the air.
Adi shook her head hard to dispel flashbacks of searing pain, of dagger-like teeth sinking into her leg. The scar still hurt when the weather turned, and she slowed her run to a hobble, favoring her uninjured leg. Adi gritted her teeth and pushed through the unwanted memories.
When she got close enough to hear the continuous rumbling growl of the creatures, she shouted, "Get away from him!"
As if he had waited for a signal, the smaller of the coyotes attacked. Before Adi could parse what was happening, the animal pounced and closed its maw around Con’s leg. The teenager’s screams rose in pitch as a dark stain spread below his knee. Jesus Christ, the animal had just bitten him. Adi was frozen in shock, watching crimson soak into the fabric of Con’s dirty jeans. The smell of fresh blood, sweet and metallic, hit Adi’s nose and galvanized her into action.
She pulled her leg back and kicked the beast as hard as she could, her anger overpowering her sense of self-preservation. She wasn’t big, but her momentum and force was enough to throw the animal back. It yipped and staggered before recovering and turning its head towards her, its blood-stained teeth grinning. Both coyotes moved in a circle, with her in the middle.
The predators’ barks and yips were loud enough to make her ears hurt. She was helpless prey, ready to be torn down for the amusement of whoever was pulling the strings on the attack. Except she wasn’t a normal human—she was a spirit walker.
She stopped trying to keep the animals in view and closed her eyes. Both coyotes glowed red in her vision. The only indications that there was something else at play were the snot-green halos around their heads and hearts. They were being controlled by something or somebody else, just as Adi had suspected. She focused harder and drew her anger into a tight ball of energy. Just as the coyote-shaped spirit creatures coiled into an ever-angrier hue of red, ready to pounce, she threw the ball at them. The moment her spirit walker energy connected with the blobs, they stopped and exploded into a shower of red sparks.
Adi opened her eyes. There was no sign of the creatures. They were gone, as if they’d never existed. Con’s whimpers, and the large crimson stain on his leg, were the only signs of what had happened.
The back of Adi’s neck tingled. They weren’t alone anymore. She slowly turned around. Honi’s wide, shocked eyes met hers from the other side of the street. She had no idea how long he’d been standing there. Good. Maybe he believed her now.
Then her eyes narrowed as she saw Nina behind him. The girl schooled her features immediately when Adi looked at her, but Adi had seen the smug, triumphant look before it had disappeared. She still didn’t know for sure what part Nina played in this, but there was no doubt in Adi’s mind that Nina was behind the predators’ attack.
A shrill voice behind them drew their attention. Con’s mother Melinda staggered towards them, the same irritated expression on her face as yesterday. Her face was pale with bright-red spots on her cheeks. She looked a bit deranged, as if she’d partied hard and never gone to bed.
"Con! What the hell did you do now?"
The teenager sat up, his eyes shiny as he visibly fought back tears. Instinctively, Adi moved in front of him.
"Hi," Adi greeted his mother. "
I’m sorry, but I think he got hurt."
Melinda waved away her concern. "Oh, never mind that. He’s always getting hurt."
She moved around Adi with a burst of speed that took her by surprise. Melinda stopped and stared at the stain of blood on her son’s pant leg. Her face scrunched into a disgusted glower.
"For God’s sake, Con. What did I tell you about not running and falling over?"
Adi wanted to defend the teenager. It wasn’t his fault. But what was she going to say? His mother would never believe what Adi had witnessed. Con’s pant leg was saturated with blood. The scent seemed to take on a physical presence. The way it was pushing into her nostrils, clogging the back of her mouth, she had to fight down the urge to retch.
It penetrated even Melinda’s drunken stupor. She suddenly realized that her son had suffered more than a little scratch. She squatted down next to the boy and touched his leg with probing fingertips. He moaned in pain, and she quickly withdrew her hand.
"I think you might need to see a doctor, son."
Con nodded, his eyes closed, and his skin took on an alarming pallor. Honi stepped forward.
"It’s okay, Melinda. Let me help."
Smiling reassuringly at the shocked boy, Honi bent down and easily lifted Con off the ground. He began striding up the main street, calling over his shoulder, "I’ll take him to Doc Russell. It looks like he might need stitches."
Before anybody could say anything, Honi was already several hundred yards away. Only a dark-red puddle on the ground showed the place where two rabid spirit animals had taken a bite out of Adi’s new friend.
25
Con wasn’t a big kid, but by the time Honi had carried him as far as Doc Russell’s house, his arms felt like they were about to detach from his torso. Melinda opened the door, and Honi brought Con inside. The teenager was in shock, his face pale, and his eyes closed. He’d moaned occasionally when Honi had jostled him. Otherwise, he’d been completely quiet. At one point, Honi had stopped to make sure Con hadn’t passed out, but the young man had clung so hard to his neck there’d been no doubt that he was still with them.
Honi wished Adi’d stuck around, although there was nothing at this stage she could have done other than offer her support. He knew she was still pissed at him for not believing her warnings about the spirit animals. Honi sighed. After what he’d just witnessed, he could understand why she wasn’t happy with him.
Dr. Russell had worked all his life at the Lawton Medical Center, but was retired now. Most people in Heota had known him all their lives and didn’t see why they should stop being treated by him just because he was getting older. The doc took it in good spirits and never refused to see somebody in need. Since ambulances didn’t come to Heota, he’d organized a private network of local cars and drivers. They were lucky to have him.
The old man took one look at Con before gesturing to bring him into his medical room. As gently as he could, Honi placed the young man on the narrow examination bed. Con had grabbed his hand and was holding on for dear life. Doc Russell’s silver beard covered most of his chin and mouth, but his ice-blue eyes were more expressive than most people’s entire faces. Right now his eyebrow was raised quizzically as he observed his patient.
“What have you done to yourself now, boy?” his voice boomed in the small room. Con smiled weakly while the doctor examined the wound. Doc Russell’s nose twitched as he bent over the teenager’s leg. For a split-second, distaste flashed across his face, followed by anger. Just as quickly, it relaxed back into a cheerful expression.
“Right, I’m going to have to take those pants off. Could you folks please clear out to give the young man some privacy?”
Honi squeezed Con’s hand before pulling away and standing up.
“I’ll check on you later, okay?”
Con nodded, some color finally returning to his face. He was in good hands—he’d be okay. But Honi needed to talk to Adi. They couldn’t ignore what had happened. Adi didn’t know Honi suspected Con to be an undiscovered spirit walker. Once she knew, she’d know what to do. He hoped.
Back at the house, Honi made a beeline for the kitchen. He’d been about to call Adi for some breakfast when the attack happened. He was starving. When he entered the kitchen, Adi was finishing a bowl of cereal. A glass of water stood next to her. He cleared his throat and waited for her to look up before speaking.
"Con is going to be okay. Doc Russell is looking at him now. His mother is convinced her son found a new and irritating way to hurt himself simply by walking down the street. Poor kid will probably get rabies injections once they find the tooth marks."
He smiled as if he’d made a joke, but he knew it didn’t reach his eyes. He felt tired. When he’d shaved this morning, he’d noticed bags under his eyes, and a line between his eyebrows that hadn’t been there a few weeks ago, made him look older than he was. He pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. When he took her hand, she twitched as if to pull away. Looked like she was still irritated with him. Time to talk.
"I’m sorry I didn’t believe you." Her eyebrows shot to her hairline. She obviously hadn’t expected him to lead with an apology. Honi collected his thoughts and continued.
"I should have believed you. It shouldn’t have taken something like Con being attacked to make me believe you. I’m sorry about that."
Adi nodded. The last of the anger in her eyes drained away.
"Those two coyotes attacking Con… All I could see was you lying there, in a puddle of blood. It was like the worst flashback. I thought I’d lost you.” He picked up her hand and squeezed.
"You nearly died. And today, if you hadn’t driven them off, Con would have died. I’m so proud of you. I couldn’t believe how easy it was for you to get rid of them."
Honi stood and stepped to the window. "I love this place. I grew up here, and as a child, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. You’ve seen for yourself that there are huge problems in Heota. It’s not as bad as it used to be back in the sixties. But it’s still not great. I thought I could make a difference by fighting for our rights. But then I met you."
Honi turned and looked at Adi. His heart nearly stopped at the anguish and love in her eyes. With a few steps, he was standing in front of her, pulling her into his arms. She trembled, holding on to him. He was glad he’d apologized, but her reaction seemed a little over the top. There was something else happening, and he had no idea what it might be. He held her tighter, feeling the tremors running through her slight body. What the hell is going on now?
26
Honi squeezed her even tighter, and Adi melted against him. It was good to be able to let go, let him carry her for even a brief moment.
"I could have lost you then. I might have never known how amazing you are, and how much I love you. Since we got here, I had somehow forgotten that. I’m so sorry, Adi. Yes, I believe you. I trust you."
Cold dread ran down Adi’s back. He trusted her. She was glad to hear him say that, but at the same time, she knew that if he found out the truth, that trust would evaporate like dew in the August sun.
She couldn’t speak for fear that her voice might give away her trepidation. She had flung her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder. Adi felt like sobbing, then confessing, even though it wasn’t her fault. She had made a deal with the queen to save his life, and she would never regret doing that.
But Honi wouldn’t see it that way. He would only understand that Adi had sold herself into slavery to the supernatural being. That she was at the beck and call of the evil creature that had tortured Honi and nearly destroyed them both. No, he wouldn’t understand. And he would never get the chance to understand it, because—Adi shivered—if the queen found out that Adi had told Honi about the contract, she would kill Honi as easily as squashing a bug.
As his strong arms held her tight, and his husky voice whispered promises of love and fidelity into her ear, Adi’s insides grew colder and colder. If she didn’t
tell Honi, and he found out by himself, their shaky foundations built on trust and love would crumble like sand in the desert wind.
Voices near the front door warned them that their little bubble was going to be popped any second. Honi’s lips brushed her ear as he whispered, "Let me talk to them. Will you wait for me in your bedroom? There’s something else I need to tell you."
When Adi nodded, he continued, "To tell you, and then show you how much I love you."
This time the shiver running over Adi’s skin felt a lot more delicious. She nodded enthusiastically and rushed to her bedroom, keen to avoid running into Honi’s parents. Maybe they weren’t spirit walkers, but they might very well be able to see on her face how excited she was to finally make up with her boyfriend.
It took Honi longer than Adi’d thought. She lay on her bed, checking messages on her cell phone. She managed to get a weak signal if she scooted up into the far corner of the room, holding the phone high into the air. She grinned as she read a text sent by Gerald, her German friend. Honi’s voice made her look up.
"You look happy."
She waved her phone at him. "Just catching an update on Gerald’s progress. He says hello, by the way. Seems like he had a run-in with a few spirit animals in Berlin last week, but he was able to ward them off. He’s already growing stronger."
"Glad to hear that. I was a little worried about him, but it seems like he’s doing just fine."
They shared a look of understanding. Being told as an adult that you have special powers was hard. Finding out that you were responsible for another world that you never even knew existed, was worse. At least Gerald wasn’t alone.
Honi stretched out next to Adi on the narrow bed. He kissed her forehead with so much tenderness, she felt herself well up again. He moved even closer and laid his arm across her midriff to pull her against him.
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