“What is that supposed to mean?” She blinked to stay focused. “You had something to do with the death of my grandfather, didn’t you? And Matt Donovan. Did you have that faithful bodyguard of yours, Wo'itsa, kill them?
There was no reaction from Mukua.
“You don’t have to talk to me, old man. One way or another, I’m going to get to the bottom of what’s going on, with you and with that snake thing.”
The elder cackled. “You think you know so much, yet you know nothing. You’ve rejected the old ways all your life. You fought against your grandfather’s teachings, and ran away when you could no longer tolerate it.”
Kendra swallowed. She continued to stare at the old man. How did he know all of this about her? She shifted weight to keep from tensing. Her body language was not going to give away how accurate this old man was in what he’d said. She’d not even had time to digest anything that had happened in the last hour or so since she’d woken up in this wilderness.
“I can give you the life you’ve always wanted, not the life your grandfather tried to impose on you,” Mukua continued. “You like living in New York, being a police officer, no?” He swept his free hand out in front of him and gestured into the forest. “You can forget all this ever happened and lead that life. A normal life. You need not concern yourself with the Sky People, or hear any more references to the old ways.”
Kendra gritted her teeth and didn’t reply. She wasn’t going to fall for the old man’s mind games. She pushed him against a tree and released her hold on his arm.
“Sit and rest here while I decide where we’re going.”
She ran her fingers through her hair and turned her back to the old man. Inhaling a deep breath, she closed her eyes momentarily. The crisp air was infused with the scents of the forest – the smell of pine, and fresh earth. Birds chirped in the branches overhead, a woodpecker drilled at a tree, and several squirrels chattered their displeasure at the human intrusion.
The wind rushed through the top canopies of the lodgepoles, and several trunks groaned as they swayed. The sounds and smells brought a sense of peace, lulling her to relax. Instantly, her eyes opened, and she wheeled around to face the old man.
“I have some questions.” Kendra stepped up to him. He still stood, looking at her intently. His wrinkled face cracked more as he smiled. A faint nod was his invitation for her to continue.
“How did this happen? How is time travel even possible?”
Mukua’s raspy laughter invaded the peaceful sounds surrounding them. “It is ancient medicine of which I cannot speak.”
“Ancient medicine?” Kendra scoffed. Had she landed in the middle of some fairy tale now? First her nightmares and dreams, and now this?
“You don’t seem to want to believe in the Sky People, so you will not believe anything I tell you about the vessel, either.”
“I’m listening now.” Was it possible that this old man could give her the answers she needed? The ones she should have gotten from Matt Donovan or her grandfather?
“You have strong puha, Natukendra’eh, yet you do not know what to do with it. Your grandfather did not teach you well at all.”
“Teach me what? That the Sky People were real? How I need to reconnect with my ancestors?” She scoffed. “And for what? He believed, and so did Matt Donovan, yet both of them are dead.” Her voice rose with every word she spoke as anger pushed to the surface. “That’s how much the Sky People helped them.”
“As I have said, you can leave it all behind you. Forget about the Sky People. Your dreams will no longer torment you. Go back to the life of freedom you had when you left your grandfather’s home.” The old man held out his hand. “Give me the vessel, and it can all be forgotten.”
Kendra stared at his outstretched hand. Could he really make her forget? Several weeks ago, her life had been normal, and she’d been at peace. Until she’d met Matt Donovan, who had to bring up bears, wolves, and Sky People.
Her eyes lifted to the old man’s expectant gaze. She blinked, then shook her head. She was a cop, a detective. Three people were dead, and her gut refused to accept the official circumstances of their deaths. She spun on her heels and moved away from the old man, toward the creek.
Her hand went to her jacket pocket, and she dug out the carving of the snakehead. It wasn’t safe in her pocket. If she handed it to the old man, there’d be no need to worry about it anymore. She held it up, letting the sun’s rays catch in the shimmering red stones. What was this thing, and how was it possible it could send someone through time?
Mukua knew the answer. She turned back to the old man and froze. He was gone. Kendra swore under her breath. Her eyes scanned the area. How could an old man vanish into thin air like that? She dropped her gaze to the snakehead in her hand. This thing had something to do with it. She stuffed it into the front pocket of her jeans. It would be safer there than in her jacket pocket.
What are you going to do now, Kendra? If you’re stuck in another time, where are you going to go?
Her heart raced as the reality of her situation sunk in. How was she going to get back to where she belonged? She hadn’t seen the last of Mukua, that was for sure. Maybe she should have given him the snakehead, and she could be back in her apartment right now. Instead, she was stuck in the wilderness, alone, in another time, and with no idea where to go or what to do.
This may be one case that’s way over your head.
A leaf rustled behind her. Kendra spun around, but not quick enough. A man with long, dark hair rushed up to her. Before she could react, a hand came up and grabbed her by the arm. She pulled and twisted, and yanked her arm free of her jacket in an effort to get away. The momentum sent her forward. She tripped and fell, and her head connected with something hard. The man leaned over her, the anger in his eyes matched only by the snarl on his face. Then his image faded and was replaced by darkness.
Chapter 9
Kendra groaned as the relentless pounding in her head worsened. Her hand came up to touch her throbbing temple, but her arm refused to cooperate, feeling as if heavy weights had been tied to her limb to keep it from moving. What was going on?
She shifted weight. The action sent a new jab of pain, which originated at her hip and shot straight down her leg. Forcing her eyes open, she stared up at a wide expanse of sky rather than the familiar popcorn ceiling in her bedroom. Judging by the orange hue of the clouds drifting by, it was sometime in the early evening.
She mentally shook her head. Why was a detail like the color of the sky the first thing to come to mind, when she should be thinking about how she’d ended up unconscious outdoors? She moved her eyes slightly without changing the position of her head for fear the movement might aggravate her headache even more.
The glow of the late-afternoon sun extended to some nearby hills that were covered by a dense forest of pines, making everything around her appear to be shimmering like gold. The sound created by countless Chorus Frogs increased in volume as her mind began to clear. She’d loved listening to them in early summer as a child whenever Kunu had taken her into the wilderness.
“Where am I?” Her voice was feeble and raspy, a testament to the dryness in her mouth and throat. Maybe she hadn’t even spoken and the words were only in her head. Something definitely wasn’t right. Why wasn’t she in her bed in her apartment?
Bracing for the onslaught of more pain, she raised her head, which instantly brought a hot jab to her temple. Kendra hissed, but gritted her teeth and blinked to focus. A short distance away, the blurry image materialized of someone sitting by a low-burning fire.
“Kunu?” Her whispered word was lost among the rhythmic croaking of frogs, which seemed to close in on her from all sides. The sound was oddly mesmerizing and relaxing. Maybe she wasn’t even awake, and this was another one of her odd dreams.
The man poked a stick into the fire, sending up small glowing embers, then he raised his arms above his head as he removed the fringed leather shirt he wore. A slight
breeze made the long strands of his raven hair brush against his bare back.
Kendra blinked, then squinted, focusing on the image rather than the throbbing in her head. That man definitely wasn’t Kunu. He was much too young and . . . masculine. The golden glow of early evening seemed to accentuate his bronze skin tone and defined the movement of his shoulder muscles and along either side of his spine. The guy shifted his position slightly, bringing his profile into view. Kendra sucked in a quick breath.
Wo'itsa. The wolf.
Memories of her confrontation with him came rushing back. She touched the side of her head and held back a hiss. This was no dream. Hitting her head on a rock or other hard object after he’d grabbed her had been all too real. She moved her head to look around. The old man she’d apprehended – or rather, kidnapped – wasn’t here, at least not that she saw. He’d vanished shortly before she’d been ambushed by his bodyguard.
What’s going on, and why is it happening to me?
All these years, Kunu had been trying to tell her about Sky People and time travel, and she’d never believed him, dismissing his stories as ancient fairy tales. Deep down, maybe she’d wanted to believe in the stories, but she had become stubborn because she’d resented his constant reminders that she was different from the other kids. The relentless teasing that she wasn’t full-blooded and that her parents had abandoned her had made her bitter to anything the old man had said. The more he’d tried to teach her, the more indignant she’d become.
Kendra’s heart began to pound strong enough to pulse in her ears and choke out the sounds of the frogs. Her head throbbed even more. If the stories Kunu had told her were true, then so was her grandfather’s warning about the wolf. And if Wo'itsa was the wolf Kunu had been referring to, she was not safe. But why, exactly, was this guy dangerous to her? He’d seemed rather reluctant to fight with her earlier. Her fingers touched the side of her head.
He seems to have changed his mind.
If he hadn’t attacked her, her head wouldn’t feel as if it was about to split open.
By the fire, Wo'itsa appeared to be examining his arm. He dipped his fingers into something spread on a bed of leaves, then smeared whatever it was across his bicep. His body visibly tensed and it even sounded as if he let out a quiet hiss. Was that blood?
Kendra looked away. The guy clearly hadn’t noticed that she was awake. Why should she care about an injury he’d sustained? Maybe she’d been the one to give it to him. Good. He’d surprised and attacked her, which had caused her to fall and hit her head in the first place.
A slight shiver passed through her as a cool breeze drifted over her bare arms. The tank top she wore wasn’t doing anything to keep her warm, and it seemed as if the temperature was dropping by the minute.
Where was her jacket? She’d peeled it off in an attempt to get away from her attacker when he’d grabbed her. She glanced around, then cursed under her breath. Her jacket was lying next to Wo'itsa’s weapons, which were less than an arm’s length away from him. The knife she’d taken from him was back in its sheath at his hip.
She rested her pounding head on the hard ground and closed her eyes. What she needed was a plan. Not a second later, Kendra’s hand shot to the front pocket of her jeans. She expelled a quick breath of relief. The snakehead was still there. Good thing she’d decided to stuff it into her jeans pocket rather than leaving it in her jacket where it could easily fall out.
The snakehead was undoubtedly what the guy was after. If he had searched her for it while she was out cold, he would have found it. Maybe he wanted to treat his wound first before frisking her. He probably figured she’d be out for a while longer. She raised her head to glance in his direction.
Wo'itsa wrapped something around his arm, then fully turned his back to her again. Indecision gripped her. What to do? A twinge of fear sent a rush of adrenaline through her. She pushed the unsettling emotion aside. This was no time to be afraid. Admittedly, she’d never been in this kind of situation before. On the street, she knew what to expect from most people, even criminals, but if she was truly in another century, the game had changed.
I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, Kunu. Seems like you were right and trying to tell me something all along. I just need to figure out now what that was.
Maybe she could make an escape while the wolf was occupied with dressing his wound. Her gaze drifted into the trees. Where was she going to escape to from here? Where and when was ‘here’ in the first place? She had nowhere to run, and now she didn’t even have a weapon. Her pretense of confidence would only last so long before she crumbled in defeat.
She shook her head. She’d never backed down from any kind of difficulty or danger in the line of duty before. All her life, she’d had to fight twice as hard for anything she wanted.
Kids on the Rez who were bigger and older had bullied her, and called her names. She’d learned not to let them back her into a corner even though their words and taunts had hurt. Later, while she’d lived by her wits on the streets in L.A., she’d had to prove how fearless she was in order to not get hurt by those who thought they were tougher than she.
As a result, she’d never let anyone get close to her. It wasn’t worth it. No real friends and no attachments. She only needed to rely on herself. It had become a way of life. It was how she’d survived on the streets and how she would survive this latest challenge.
Her hand went to the snakehead in her pocket, but she didn’t remove it. It was safer to keep it concealed for now. If only she knew how that thing worked. Was it possible it could send her back to her apartment?
Kendra gritted her teeth. Without really knowing, it was too risky to try to figure out how to trigger it again. What if she ended up in some other time that was even more dangerous than where she was now?
Besides, the cop in her refused to let her tuck tail and run before she had some answers. Clearly, Kunu’s warning had been real. The elder, Mukua, wanted that snakehead, and he wasn’t going to get it until he supplied her with some evidence that he deserved it. Somehow, she was going to find out who had killed her grandfather and Matt Donovan, and why. All she had to do now was think hard about all Kunu’s teachings and remember something he’d said that might come in useful.
Take the snake to find the bear but beware of the wolf.
The snake was in her jeans pocket, that much was obvious. The wolf was already a threat to her, but where was the bear she was supposed to find, and how would she know when she’d found him?
Since the wolf she was supposed to watch out for had turned out to be a man, it was safe to assume that the bear was also a man. Her dream came to mind, the one where Matt Donovan had been a bear. Had she already met the bear?
She frowned. Kunu had said to take the snake to find the bear, not that the bear would lead her to the snake. Matt had wanted her to have the snakehead. He’d given it to her himself, but he was dead, and just like Kunu, she’d ignored that he was trying to tell her something.
My closest friend, someone I considered a brother, had scars that looked exactly like your tattoo.
Bits and pieces of Matt’s conversation with her at the coffee shop came back. With everything she’d experienced so far, it seemed rather obvious now that Matt Donovan had time traveled at some point in his life. That snakehead in her pocket, which had belonged to Matt, along with some of the things he’d said, was proof. Who was he, and what did any of it have to do with her? Why had he wanted to give that thing to her? Maybe his family-man persona had been some clever cover-up.
Kendra closed her eyes for a moment to let her mind go back to her conversation with Detective Donovan. He’d said his friend’s scars had been made by a grizzly and ran down the length of his back. Her gaze drifted to where Wo'itsa was still tending to his arm. There were no obvious scars on his back.
He’s the wolf, not the bear. You can’t trust this guy.
For now, it was safer to heed Kunu’s warning, at least until she could dig up some answ
ers about what was going on. In her dreams, there had always been two bears. If there was someone else she could go to for help, how would she even find him or know where to look? Matt’s nameless friend could be anywhere in time, but he seemed to be the only lead she had at the moment for some answers.
Kendra lifted her head and eyed the man sitting by the fire. He flexed his arm and made a fist. Clearly, the wound was bothering him. Hopefully it hurt as much as her head. This might be her chance to get away.
Kendra rolled to her stomach, paused, and waited for some reaction from Wo'itsa. He seemed to be completely oblivious to her. She rose to her knees, then stood, but remained in a low crouch while swallowing back a twinge of nausea. Her eyes went to the woods. If she could make a run for it, she could hide before Wo'itsa realized she was awake.
Her gaze fell to the knife at his belt. She needed a weapon. She also needed her jacket, or she’d most likely freeze once the sun went down completely.
Maybe . . .
Kendra leapt to her feet and ran at the guy sitting on the ground several body lengths away. There was no thinking involved. She’d taken him by surprise before. She could do it again. If she was going to have a shot at survival, she needed her jacket back and something to use as a weapon.
She jumped to wrap her arms around Wo'itsa’s neck in order to wrestle him to the ground and take his knife from him again. Before she made contact with him, however, he moved quicker than she could blink. Unable to stop her forward momentum, Kendra stumbled and fell, almost landing in the fire.
Not a second later, her opponent had rolled her over and was on top of her. Wo'itsa grabbed her wrists and straddled her. He sat on her knees, effectively immobilizing her. His long hair fell forward, framing his face as he stared down at her. Kendra gritted her teeth and pushed against the hold he had on her arms, but it was no use. Without the element of surprise, she was defenseless against him. He’d clearly outwitted her this time. No doubt he’d been expecting her to attack and had only been biding his time.
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