My vision blurred again, and then I saw Adam’s hand waving frantically in front of my face.
“What’s wrong? You just stopped walking and stared. You wouldn’t answer me. Are you okay?” He looked as if he were getting ready to throw me over his shoulder and go running to find help.
“I’m fine. Just have a little bit of a headache, but I’m okay,” I tried to sound reassuring as I looked at his worried face and took a deep breath.
“You’re a terrible liar,” he said. “What did you see?”
So much for pretending. “How do you know I saw anything?”
“I know. Now tell me.” He crossed his arms across his chest and waited.
“I saw you at the campfire, at my house, and in the woods. I felt your fear, then warmth, and then I heard you think something was wrong,” I concluded, leaving out the “love” part, in case maybe he didn’t want to know I had heard or felt that particular word.
“You can see, hear and feel what I’m thinking?” His mouth dropped open.
“It appears so, yeah,” I said.
“None of the others could do all three.”
“What others? There are other people that do this?”
“They are called the Seers. For every generation of Keepers, there is one Seer. So far, they have had either the gift of sight, sound, or touch. Never all three. Jenna White Hawk is the Seer for my father’s generation. She has Sight. She is who I want you to meet today.” He laced his fingers into mine and we started walking again.
“Jenna. Erik’s mom?” I asked. The petite, happy, little waif of a woman that I had met earlier didn’t seem the type to be dubbed something as ominous sounding as the Seer.
“Yeah, Erik’s mom. She told us that the Seer for our generation would not be from our tribe. The elders were not happy about that, being as the powwow starts in a couple months, and there will be at least one other tribe in town then. They aren’t thrilled with the idea of the clans mixing, but I don’t think they have anything to worry about with them,” he said, looking over at me. “I think it’s you. You are our Seer.”
“Me?” I squeaked, tripping over a root in my astonishment. I caught myself before I fell. “But I’m not Indian. Well, not entirely. My great-grandmother was Cherokee. All that’s in me is from her. There’s nothing of the Wighcomocos tribe in me at all.”
Adam nodded. “I know that. I don’t know how you have The Sight, but I do know you have it. I haven’t told anyone else, since I wanted to make sure. I knew something was going on the day I felt your pull when I came to your house. I didn’t know who you were; I just knew you were there, and that I had to see you. That’s a trait of tribe, buy it’s never happened before with outsiders. I thought maybe I was just going crazy, and then I saw you that night at the campfire. Your spirit was hovering around the flames. I still didn’t tell anyone, but Erik knew I had seen something. Today, I knew where you were and I knew you needed me. You’ve heard, felt and saw my every thought, which is something that I’ve never even heard of. We need to tell Jenna, though she probably knows. I think she was going to say more until the elders got upset thinking about the other tribes. She didn’t say anything else about her Sight after that. She’s waiting.”
We reached the edge of the reservation, when I saw that Jenna really did seem to be waiting. She was sitting on her front porch. She smiled at us as we walked up. Erik came out of the house, letting the screen door slap shut behind him as he walked over and sat next to his mother. When he saw me with my t-shirt torn and blood on my hands, his usual happy-go-lucky grin left and something animal came into his eyes. He jumped from his chair and over the porch railing to land mere inches from us in a crouch. His nostrils flared as if he smelled the blood.
“Yours?” he asked Adam, his dark brown eyes wide.
“Yeah,” Adam replied.
“So, she knows.” Erik stood up to his full height and looked down at me in wonder.
“Yeah, she knows,” I repeated, grinning at him.
His smile returned and he threw an arm around my shoulder, giving me a quick squeeze. “It’s about time. Now maybe he’ll quit bellyaching and ask you out. The rest of us are getting tired of listening to him. He gets cranky when he can’t figure something out.”
Adam gave him a cold stare. Erik dropped his arm from my shoulders, but kept his grin in place.
“Enough, boys. Erik, take Adam and show him the new parts you got for your bike,” Jenna said, getting up from her chair on the porch. “Nikki, come on in, we’ll get you cleaned up and get you a fresh shirt.”
As she herded me toward the door, I looked back over my shoulder, to see Erik punch Adam in the arm as they walked towards the little garage.
“Okay, old man, tell me everything. What did she say? What happened? Did she bloody you? And if she did, what did you do to make her so mad? That was a lot of blood. You know, if you needed help, you should have called. I was just kidding about the cranky part,” I heard him chatter non-stop as they walked away.
“Boys, especially my two,” Jenny shook her head as she opened the screen door for me to step inside.
She led me through the little house to a small bedroom with a small bathroom that set over to the side. “You’ll find what you need in there. I had Erik leave you a shirt on the bed. You’re a bit bigger than me, so there’s one of his in there. It may be a bit big, but it should work. Go clean up, and then we’ll answer your questions. I know you must have quite a few of them.”
I went in the bathroom and found a washcloth with a fresh bar of soap lying by the sink, as if it were there just for me. I looked into the mirror. My shirt was half hanging off me. I had torn it in a way that had bared my stomach. It kind of looked like what Jane wore on Tarzan, I thought, amused. I scrubbed my hands. They were streaked a brownish red with dried blood. I watched as the water turned bright and scarlet as it swirled in the sink. After scrubbing all the way up to my elbows, I got it all off and splashed water on my face. I pulled the shirt over my head and threw it into the trash bin beside the sink. I found the shirt on the bed right where Jenna had said I would. I picked it up and smiled. In bold print across the front it said, Sure you can trust the government, just ask an Indian. The solemn picture of Sitting Bull stared back at me.
How did she know we would be coming today? And how did she know I was going to need a shirt? I wondered as I pulled the fresh shirt over my head. It came halfway down my thighs. I tugged my hair out of the collar, untangling the curls with my fingers.
I found Jenna sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a Coke. Looking at me in the huge shirt, she rolled her eyes. “Erik and his sense of humor. Did you find everything else you needed?”
I sat down across from her and she slid me a can of soda. “Yes. How did you know?” I asked, popping the top and taking a drink. I hadn’t realized I was thirsty until then.
“I saw you before you moved back. The Seer of the current generation will find the Seer for the next when they have their first vision. I saw you moments before the police came to your house. I watched your eyes lose their innocence and then I knew you had seen your first vision. I am sorry for your loss, Nikki. I knew your father. He was a good man.” Her eyes filled with sympathy and her hand came over to squeeze mine.
My mind flashed back to moments before the doorbell rang. I saw my father, driving in our black SUV as he headed toward home. He wasn’t far away, only a couple miles from home, when a gravel truck ran a red light. I felt his panic and heard the tires squeal as the brakes tried to stop in vain. I saw the blood on the windshield; my father slumped over the wheel. I heard his last thought, I haven’t told my girls I love them today. Who will take care of my girls? I had known before I heard the doorbell. The doorbell still haunted my worst nightmares. I had stood motionless, while my mother screamed and fell sobbing to the floor. But I already knew. I stood stripped of all emotion. I knew he would never come home again.
I looked back into Jenna’s face as tears filled h
er eyes. “You poor baby,” she whispered.
“Did you just see all of that?” I asked, uneasily. That experience wasn’t something I had ever planned on sharing with anyone.
“Yes. Sometimes the Keepers or the Seer will project their emotions so vividly that you can’t help seeing them. If they feel strongly enough, you will be forced to see. I think your father loved you so much and his feelings for you were so strong that it forced you to see. I am sorry that your first sight was something so hard.”
“What was the first thing you saw?” I asked, ready to change the subject.
“I saw my husband, although he wasn’t my husband then. When we were about your age, a group of us would go out to the lake to fish. Before we left, I had a vision of him tripping, and landing in the lake. I knew he couldn’t swim. All day I watched him, I followed him barefoot wherever he walked, ready to jump in and save him. He didn’t understand why I was so close to him all day and turned around to tell me to leave him alone. When he did that, he tripped and in the water he went.” She grinned, “Of course, I was ready to save him and dove in and drug him back to the bank. He still likes to blame me for his landing in the water. It wasn’t long after that, he became a Keeper, one of the Six. I saw that before it happened, but I didn’t tell him. By then, I knew what I was and was afraid to tell anyone. Eventually, the Seer before me explained everything to me, as I’m explaining it now to you.”
I frowned. “The only other person I have seen or heard has been Adam and I think the other boys while they were wolves. I can hear Adam’s thoughts, but I don’t think he wants me in his head. Why can I hear him so clearly? It’s as if he’s speaking out loud most of the time.”
“He’s feeling something very strongly and projecting it to you. Knowing Adam, he’s trying to figure things out. He’s thinking hard. That’s why you’re picking it up. Plus, you’re new at this. Before long, you’ll be getting everything from the Six until you learn to control it. I’ll teach you how to channel, so it doesn’t catch you off guard. There are times that you won’t be able to control it. You’ll be locked in if the other person’s emotions are not under control,” she explained.
“Adam told me I was the only one that could see, hear and feel. Am I the only one who can do all three?” Questions kept popping up in my head as I tried to figure it all out. My brain was on overload.
“The first Seer of our tribe, who lived hundreds of years ago, was said to have all three gifts. She wasn’t from our tribe. She appeared one day in the mountains, in the form of a wolf -the color of untouched snow. The Keepers thought it was a message from the Wolf that had given them the stone. When they came up to where they had spotted the wolf, there stood a young girl with white skin and hair, and eyes the color of a pale, blue sky. They named her White Wolf and took her into the tribe. They raised her as their own. It is said she could predict anything from drought to war with another tribe. She lived to be over a hundred years old and her sight stayed with her to the end. Her last vision came to her on her deathbed. She saw a young girl, one like herself, who would come into the tribe without the blood of the tribe running through her veins. When she died, our people saw the white wolf at the edge of the village again. When they returned later, her body was gone and the white pelt of a wolf lay in its place.
When one Seer sees the other for the next generation, her sight starts to fade. She won’t see as clearly. White Wolf was the only one who kept her gift her whole life. My sight has faded, and I cannot see what reaction the elders will have now. I am hoping that they will remember White Wolf when they learn of you. I hope they remember her prophecy.”
Voices drifted in from the front porch, announcing the boys had finished inspecting their motorcycle parts. Jenna smiled and stood up. “They’ve stayed away as long as they could, I suppose. Adam is worried about you. Let’s go see what they are into.”
We went back out onto the porch to find that Ed, Tommy and Michael had shown up as well. They all moved, leaving me a spot on the steps next to Adam. I smiled as I dropped down and sat beside him.
“Well, Mom?” Erik asked, looking over at Jenna, “Is she?”
“You guys are looking at your new Seer.”
“Ha. I knew it. I knew it when I saw her drawing Ed’s wolf in art class,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. Then he looked down at me. “Nice shirt, by the way.”
I stuck my tongue out at him and his grin stretched even farther.
“Hannah is going to be very upset,” Ed said, in his usual philosophical manner.
“Hannah?” I asked, perplexed, “Why would she be upset?”
“She thought she was going to be the next Seer, since she is the only other girl our age other than Penny,” Erik explained.
“What about Penny?” I asked.
“Penny doesn’t have it, I would know,” Erik shrugged.
“How would you know?” I asked. This was getting more confusing by the second.
“A trait of tribe,” Ed said, going into his teacher mode. “When one of the Six finds his other half that will complete him, he just knows. Or so I’ve heard. Erik, what is Penny doing right now?”
“She’s in her room, close to the phone, I think. She was in the garden with her mother, but she’s moved inside. She might have seen you guys come,” Erik replied.
He had just finished speaking, when the phone rang inside the house and we listened as Jenna went back inside and answered it, “Hi, Penny. Yes, they’re all out here. Yes, just visiting. Nikki’s here with Adam. Sure, tell your mother I would love some tomatoes.”
We all listened to the conversation and my mouth dropped as I realized what it all meant. I glanced over at Adam. His sneakers hadn’t even gotten tied in his hurry to find me, the laces were still dangling. He turned and looked me full in the face, watching my expression. He always knew where I was. The air sparked around us. His eyes softened as he stared at me.
Erik laughed, looking at us. “Yeah, Hannah’s going to be pissed.”
“She’ll have to get over it,” Adam whispered.
“Adam, I hate to run you and Nikki off. If you’re planning on walking her home through the woods, you’ll have to get started soon to get her back before dark. She won’t be as fast as you, you know,” Jenna said, coming back out of the house. “Come back anytime you’re free, Nikki, and we’ll work on channeling so you can choose when and what you want to see.”
Adam stood up and reached down for my hand to help me up. His hand was warm and solid when I took it and stood. Erik whistled. The cousins grinned, their dimples showing deep in their cheeks. I turned and thanked Jenna, who gave me a big hug.
We walked back into the woods the way we had come earlier. My mind was still reeling from everything I learned. There was still so much that I didn’t know.
“Why does everyone keep calling the Keepers, ‘the Six’? There are only five of you,” I pointed out.
“There are only five of us, one is missing. There have always been six Keepers. We think maybe one of the other guys, Darren, may be our sixth. His dad, Reuben, is the only one of the elders that still is a Keeper. Reuben rarely runs with us anymore. He isn’t as strong as he used to be, which means he hasn’t passed on his gift yet, but it won’t be long. So far, the wolf’s gift has always been passed from father to son during a full moon. If Jenna told you about how the Seers sight fades as the one comes to take her place, it works the same way with the Six. Reuben’s wolf is getting weaker. He’s starting to fade,” he explained.
“Oh, there was just a full moon last week. I saw it when you were searching for the lost hiker. I guess you guys will have to wait for the next one.” I said, then stopped as I felt the tiny splats of ghost-like raindrops that hadn’t fell. “We’d better hurry. It’s going to rain soon.”
“How do you know that? Never mind. Dumb question. I already know the answer.” He grinned when he saw the large, dark clouds overhead moments later.
“We’re going to get wet,” I said
staring up at the sky.
“Maybe not,” he looked down at me, “I could carry you. I’d have you home in a matter of minutes.”
“Carry me?”
The black mist had already rolled down him and he sat there staring at me. The wolfish smile on his face showed off his razor sharp teeth.
Sure, carry you. I’ve never done it before, but if you hold on tight, I don’t see how it would be a problem. His shoulders did a small twitch that resembled a shrug. Just get on my back. We’ll go slowly at first to see if it works. Worse case scenario, it doesn’t work, and we get wet.
Well, it sounded logical, I thought, as I crawled up onto his silky back. My feet dangled several inches from the ground. Unsure where to hold on, I wound my fingers into the soft fur between his shoulders, where the collar of his shirt should have been had he been wearing one.
“I have a question,” I said as he began an experimental walk, “I don’t mean to sound crude, but where do your clothes go when you shift? Your shorts were there when you shifted back earlier, so where did they go just now?”
They’re still there, I guess. It works better when you shift with no clothes, though sometimes that’s not possible. As long as you wear clothes close to the same color as your wolf, they tend to blend in. That’s why I wear black most of the time. You can wear other stuff, but your fur ends up looking kinda weird when you shift in them, he snorted, amused.
Erik, for example, he continued, loves tie-die stuff. We were called up to help look for a lost hiker on the trail last year. We split up to cover more territory. Erik was wearing a tie-die Mickey Mouse shirt and forgot to change. He found the hiker, who had fallen over a small embankment. He switched back when he realized his mistake, and managed to jerk off his shirt and hide it in a hollow tree, but not before the hiker had seen his wolf. When Erik reached him, the hiker told him he thought he may have hit his head and that he was going to need medical treatment. He said he had just seen a huge gray wolf with a neon colored chest in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears.
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