Heart of Ice

by Barbara Pietron

Chapter 15

  "Ice. Come on, stay with me Ice."

  That wasn't Mom's voice.

  Maybe his dad had come. He'd heard his son was sick and came to make sure he'd be okay.

  Ice cracked his eyelids, recoiling at the bright light.

  He closed his eyes again, struggling to make sense of his situation.

  Only one place could be so bright and white—he was in a hospital. Where was his mom? Did he just see Dale? Why was his best friend here?

  Why did Dale look grown-up?

  Suddenly he was enveloped in warmth.

  His hands felt fat and on fire.

  "Ice? Can you hear me?" the anxious voice inquired again. The voice became quieter and close to his ear. "It's not your time, Ice. It's not time to join the Great Spirit."

  Nik.

  Memories of the day began flooding his brain. He fluttered his eyes open and saw the medicine man hovering over him, his forehead creased. The panic in the older man's gaze faded to relief. "You're going to be okay," he murmured.

  The fiery sensation in his hands escalated and Ice moaned. A man and a woman in scrubs approached and Nik stepped back.

  "We've got to get you out of your wet clothes," the man said. He peeled back the top of the blanket and began helping Ice out of his coat, sweatshirt, and t-shirt. The woman prepared an IV.

  A fresh, warm blanket was tucked around his naked torso and the male nurse worked on removing his boots, snow pants, and jeans while the woman told him she was giving him warm intravenous fluids to bring up his body temperature.

  Ice looked at the medicine man. "Did you call my mom?" He grimaced as liquid fire seemed to spread through his arms and legs.

  Nik nodded. "She's on her way. She's gonna kill me."

  Ice thought he smiled, but he couldn't really feel his face. "She's gonna kill both of us."

  "Dale's right next door," the medicine man said. "They're patching up his leg."

  Another heated blanket was heaped on Ice while the female nurse checked his vitals. "You may have flu-like symptoms over the next few hours," she said. "But I think you're out of the woods. A doctor will be by shortly." She smiled and hustled off.

  Alone with the medicine man, Ice asked the next obvious question. "Nesbitt?"

  Nik shook his head. "We couldn't retrieve him. I had to get you to the hospital."

  Ice sighed.

  "He was too far gone, Ice. We couldn't have saved him anyway."

  "Are you sure?"

  "You saw him. He was a Windigo."

  "Yeah," Ice said, thinking about how much Nesbitt had become the creature of his boyhood imagination. "He was a Windigo."

  The sound of the curtain drawing back interrupted them and Ice's mom hustled in. She first barraged him with hugs and kisses, then admonished him. "What were you thinking? You know better." Her words were followed quickly by more hugs and kisses.

  "I'm okay, Mom," Ice assured her, hoping he managed at least a weak smile.

  "Well, I expect an explanation for this," she said, glancing hard at Nik for a moment.

  Ice looked at Nik also, unsure how much the medicine man wanted him to tell his mom.

  "Yes," Nik placated her. "But later. Not here and now."

  Ice's mom planted another kiss on his head. "I brought you clothes." She held up a plastic bag.

  "Thanks, Mom." It was good to see her. Ice felt like he'd dreamt about her or something.

  Nik moved a chair near the bed and Ice's mom sank into it, asking what the doctors said. Ice and Nik were filling her in when the curtain rattled again and Dale appeared. He had a butterfly bandage above his left eyebrow and the eye under it was swollen and beginning to turn black and blue. He leaned awkwardly on crutches.

  Ice's mom looked at him in surprise. "Dale?" She eyeballed Ice and then Nik. "He was involved as well?"

  "They saved me," Dale stated.

  "From wh—" She waved her hand. "Nevermind, we're discussing it later."

  Dale cleared his throat. "Anyway, I wanted to see how Ice was doing." His gazed shifted from Ice to Nik and then back to Ice.

  "I'm on fire, but they're putting it out." This time Ice did feel his cheeks tense and the corners of his mouth lift. "I'm gonna be fine. How's your leg?"

  "It hurts like he… uh… heck." Dale glanced quickly at Ice's mom, then shuffled clumsily past the curtain, his lips pressed tight.

  Ice's mom frowned and he knew she wanted to ask questions, but instead, she got up from her chair. "Sit here, Dale." Then she said to Ice, "I'm going to find a doctor. See if I can take you home tonight."

  At Ice's nod, she touched his cheek and then left, pulling the curtain closed behind her.

  "Do you think she knew we wanted to talk?" Nik asked.

  Ice shrugged. "Maybe. She's kind of scary-good at reading people."

  An unexpected chuckle came from Dale. "I remember."

  "Yeah," Ice met the other boy's eyes. "I bet."

  Nik pulled his chair closer to the bed. "Why and how did you end up on Star Island with Nesbitt?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

  Dale sighed. "I went after him—and actually caught him successfully."

  Nik shook his head in wonder. "But the police have been looking for him. How did you find him so quickly?"

  "Since he attacked that lady, I figured he'd still be in the woods near his house. But rather than look for him, like the cops were doing, I let him find me." Dale held up a bandaged hand. "I've heard plenty of Windigo stories. I baited him like a shark—with the scent of blood."

  Ice gaped at Dale, remembering the blood on the Jeep's steering wheel and on the mat. Nik merely regarded the boy with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

  "I've been hunting and tracking with my dad since I was five." Dale shrugged. "I knocked him out, tied him up, and loaded him in the back of the Jeep." While relaying the story, Dale kept his gaze fixed on Ice's blankets, but now he met Ice's eyes. "Sorry I took it. It's just—when I realized what I'd done…" He exhaled heavily and returned to staring at the bed.

  "You didn't know you were doing it," Ice said quietly. "You had no idea what Great Cloud's necklace was."

  Dale raised his chin and met Nik's eyes. "That's what I don't understand. I admit, I was pissed at Mr. Nesbitt because my physics grade was going to ruin my GPA." His gaze shifted to Ice. "And you were right, I was jealous of Corey. And I was mad at you because you kept bugging me about all of this. But I shouldn't have been able to use the charm, right?" His eyes were on Nik, hoping for an explanation.

  "I'd thought so," Nik answered gently. "But it seems your spiritual ability, regardless of its origins, tapped the open conduit. It's something the Midewiwin need to address immediately."

  "Yeah, before somebody else kills someone just by being pissed at them," Dale mumbled. Before Nik or Ice could comment, he continued. "I thought if I took Nesbitt to the island, to sacred ground, maybe I could save him."

  "That's why you brought the wine," Nik prompted.

  "Yes. To melt his heart of ice." Dale met Ice's eyes. "Like that one story."

  Ice drew in a surprised breath. He'd forgotten about that—even when they discovered the wine on the trail. In one of Great Cloud's stories, a man had been saved from the Windigo curse by forcing him to consume strong wine which melted his frozen heart. Ice looked at Nik who was studying Dale.

  "If you had anything to atone for—and I don't believe you did—the fact that you tried to save him says a lot about the person you are, Dale." The medicine man's voice was firm and sincere.

  A flush crept up Dale's neck and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Anyway, he overpowered me when we got to the camp, dragged me down to the boathouse and sliced a chunk off my leg." His face contorted and he paled at the memory. "I thought I was going to die there." He let his chin drop and his voice became hushed. "I figured I deserved it."

  "I guess it wasn't time for either of us to join the Great Spirit," Ice said.

  After a moment, Dale
raised his gaze. "How did you guys find me? The Jeep?"

  Ice nodded and Nik relayed the events of their pursuit. "Apparently Ice rigged some kind of snare and managed to capture Nesbitt."

  Dale looked at Ice and the corners of his mouth twitched. "You remember how to set a snare?"

  "Of course," Ice replied, grinning. He pulled a hand from beneath the blankets and held up two fingers. "Two snares, because you can't predict the trail your prey will use."

  Dale smiled. "I'll have to thank my dad."

  Nik cocked his head to the side. "I guess that's where the police went wrong; they were on a man hunt." He looked from Dale to Ice, his face serious while his eyes sparked with amusement. "The two of you simply went hunting."

  Each of us must find out for himself or herself what their gift is, so that they can use it in their life.

  Jimmy Jackson, Ojibwe