Thunderstone

by Barbara Pietron

  Jeni blushed. Yes, but not the reason you’re thinking. “It’s not that Mom, I was just trying to be considerate.”

  She turned away with a bowl in her hand and nearly dropped it when she saw Tyler picking up a map from the kitchen table. He was watching her, and when their eyes met, he gave her a hard stare and raised one eyebrow. He’d obviously heard their conversation.

  Now she’d have to avoid him or he would grill her about what she was up to.

  Fantastic. This night just keeps getting better and better.

  When you carry the medicine, sometimes you have to carry it a long way.

  —Buffy Sainte-Marie, Cree

  Chapter 13

  Six family members in two cars headed for the casino; Jake and Josie rode with Tyler, in his car, and Jeni and two of her aunts in the other car. The good news—Jeni had eluded conversation with Tyler. The bad news—she had about forty-five minutes to figure out what to do when they got there.

  The black skies defied the orange readout of 7:22 glowing from the car’s dash. Marsh grasses whipped in the wind on either side of the road while lightning put on a show on the western horizon.

  No rain yet.

  The tension of the coming storm weighed heavily on Jeni’s chest. Or was it just her nerves?

  She ran various scenarios through her mind. Once they arrived at the casino, she’d somehow split from the group. Then she’d return with the news that…the ceremony was private—or even better—cancelled.

  About halfway to their destination her aunt asked if she wanted to try Ice again. Jeni got out her phone, thinking about what she would say to him if he actually did answer.

  She pressed send.

  After a brief burst of static, the call dropped.

  She had an idea.

  “Ice? Oh, I’m so glad I got through, I’ve been trying you for hours.”

  Jeni listened to dead space for a few seconds.

  “Mmm. The weather—that’s what I figured, too. So guess what? My aunt is giving me a ride out to the reservation.”

  Pause.

  “Yeah, we’re on our way to the casino now. Where is this thing going to be? Is it nearby?”

  Jeni was almost glad she hadn’t reached Ice. She imagined how confused he would be.

  “All right, great. That’ll be a lot easier. Okay, see you there.”

  Jeni’s aunt craned her neck to see Jeni in the rear view mirror. “No directions?”

  “Just keep following Tyler. Ice said he’ll meet us at the casino.”

  Okay, she’d bought herself a way to separate from the group. Then what? Time was ticking away and she wasn’t sure what her next move should be.

  Jeni supposed some people would find her situation exhilarating. They were freaks. She was not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl. She wanted a map, a plan; at the very least—an idea.

  She had nothing.

  ***

  Ice looked at his watch in despair. He wasn’t going to find the stone today. This “shot in the dark” search had become literally just that due to the premature darkness. He had to get much closer to the lakes, which most of the time meant getting out and walking to the shoreline.

  He jumped in his Jeep and yanked the door from the wind’s grasp, slamming it closed. As soon as the engine was running, he shifted into drive. As he bumped over the access road to Lester Lake, he considered his options.

  What he would like to do was call it a day, give up, and go spend time with Jeni before she left tomorrow. Unfortunately, that wasn’t one of his choices. He was a medicine man, like Nik said; he had responsibilities.

  With a grim smile, Ice admitted it had felt good when Nik told him outright that he was a medicine man.

  Suddenly he slammed on the brakes, raising a brown cloud of dust that the wind stole immediately. He snatched the list off the seat next to him and clicked on the map light. “Symbolism and dual meanings,” Ice muttered scanning the pages.

  Don’t let the facts get in the way of your intuition.

  That’s where he went wrong!

  He’d scribbled down all the data and then took off without pausing to look at it with the eye of a medicine man. Ice took a deep breath and slowly released it. His hand crept to his forehead, combing the hair away from his face as he read each lake name. He ignored the circles and the criteria, simply turning the names over in his mind. Near the bottom of the second page, a name nearly jumped off the paper at him.

  How did he not notice when he wrote it down in the first place?

  Owl Lake.

  Ice spread out the county map on the steering wheel and located Owl Lake. It was at least thirty minutes south—the wrong direction.

  With his cell phone continually losing a signal, he’d had no luck reaching Jeni or the tribal council office; which meant he didn’t know when or where to meet Nik. He could make some educated guesses though. All the deaths had occurred in the same general area. And as for time—Ice leaned forward and looked through the windshield at the sky—the storm would determine that.

  If he drove west right now, he could be at the State Park in half an hour and be certain to rendezvous with the storm. If he went to Owl Lake first, it would easily be over an hour before he met up with Nik. He might miss the storm, plus there was no guarantee he would find the thunderstone at Owl Lake.

  Ice didn’t know what to do. Both choices included risk.

  He sat back and closed his eyes. Clearing his mind, he consulted his heart.

  A minute later, he was on Route 64, hoping he’d chosen wisely.

  ***

  Since Jeni had never been in a casino, she recoiled from the cacophony of voices, bells, and ratcheting slot machines that greeted her when she stepped inside. Her heart pounded up high in her throat, the way it did when she had to talk in front of a group. Knowing her voice would waver when she spoke, she hoped the noise of the casino would cover for her.

  “Okay, I’ll go find Ice, you guys wait here.” She took off before anyone could protest and lost herself in the crowds.

  Once out of sight, Jeni scanned the surroundings to determine the best place to find someone who might be able to help her. She’d already decided to go with the story that the “tribal event” had been cancelled. But while she was here she wanted to find out what she could about Nik and Ice.

  At the back of the room Jeni spied a hulk of a man standing in front of a door. He wore the Men in Black uniform—a well-tailored suit and dark sunglasses. Her knees turned to Jell-O and she compelled one foot to move in front of the other.

  “Excuse me sir.” He didn’t even glance down at her. “I’m looking for Nik…ah…” Jeni still didn’t know either Nik or Ice’s last name.

  “Whoever you’re looking for is not inside.” The guy still didn’t look at her.

  She tried again. “I’m looking for the medicine man, Nik. I don’t expect him to be here—I just thought someone here might help me find him.”

  Something she said got his attention. “How do you know Nik?”

  “I’m a friend of his apprentice, Ice. That’s who I need to talk to Nik about.”

  She thought she saw the corners of the guy’s mouth twitch into a semblance of a smile as he eyeballed her from head to toe. His scrutiny totally creeped her out.

  Without another word the man produced a ring of keys and turned to unlock the door. Pulling it open, he motioned her into a corridor and stepped in behind her. The definitive snap as the door latched in the quiet hallway caused Jeni to jump. Her stomach churned uncomfortably and she wondered if she’d just made a big mistake.

  “Follow me.” The man took about three strides and opened a door on his right.

  Jeni reluctantly trailed after him.

  He flipped on a light and ushered her inside an office. The room contained only bare bones of a
business space—a desk, phone, two file cabinets, and a mostly empty bulletin board—no personal pictures and no computer. She stepped to the side warily, staying close to the door. Her instincts screamed that this was a bad situation.

  He took off his glasses and eyeballed her. “Friend of Ice, you said?”

  Not trusting her voice, Jeni nodded.

  “Lucky bastard,” he muttered rounding the desk. He picked up the phone receiver and punched a button, his eyes trained on Jeni. “Hey, it’s Derek. Is Nik around?”

  Jeni looked away uncomfortably and pretended to study the bulletin board.

  “He left the council office a little while ago.” The man said, phone still on his ear. “Did you have a message for him or something?”

  Jeni started to shake her head then stopped. “Is Ice there or did he leave a message?”

  The guy—Derek—rolled his eyes. “Look, I’ve got better things to do than track down your boyfriend.”

  “No, no, that’s not it at all. Please, it’s important.”

  “What about Ice,” he barked into the phone. “Yeah, the apprentice. Right.” He hung up the phone. “Nik left a message for Ice.”

  “What...what was it?”

  Derek stepped around the desk and Jeni scooted toward the doorway. “Maybe you could give me a reason to tell you.”

  Jeni didn’t like the way he stressed the word “give” or the way his eyes traveled over her. “I’m a priestess,” she blurted out.

  He laughed. “Are you now?”

  “Yes.” She did her best to keep her voice steady. “Please, people have already died. I need to help Nik and Ice…” Jeni backed into the hallway, her heart thrumming like a cornered mouse.

  In two long steps Derek was in front of her, his left hand pressed to the wall next to her shoulder, blocking her escape to the casino. “The message,” he said softly, “is short.” He brought his head alongside hers.

  Jeni pressed into the wall behind her and turned her head away. She could hear him breathing in deeply through his nose.

  “It said, boat launch, ISP,” he whispered. “Now, I just did you a favor…”

  Did he think he was persuading her…? Jeni shuddered at the feel of his warm, moist breath on her neck.

  Then it was gone.

  She saw him reach to his hip with his right hand.

  Jeni ducked under his arm and ran for the door. Heart racing, she fumbled with the handle. Before she could open it, Derek was behind her. He reached around her, slid a key into the lock, and pushed the door open.

  She glanced up at him and saw he was holding a two-way radio. He poked the keypad without looking at her.

  She fled.

  Jeni hardly noticed the crowds and slot machines as she wove her way back to the entrance. She no longer cared about the ruse she’d been weaving. Or Derek. Nik’s message for Ice had invoked all the images from her premonition.

  They’re going after it tonight. Alone. It’ll happen just like I dreamed.

  Jeni’s aunt Jessie stood at the service desk. She heard her aunt ask about a tribal ceremony. The woman behind the desk frowned and shook her head.

  Jeni drifted over, her mind in a fog.

  Jeni’s aunt spied her. “Where’s Ice? No one seems to know anything about this ceremony.”

  Before Jeni could respond, a voice spoke up behind her. “That’s because it’s not a ceremony—it’s a teen thing—some kind of social event.”

  Jeni turned, eyes wide.

  Tyler?

  “Did you find Ice?” he asked Jeni, one eyebrow arched high on his forehead.

  “No. He must not be here yet.” She narrowed her eyes, wondering what his angle was.

  “Well, the…event…is for teens and young adults, so call Ice and tell him I’ll drive you there.” He stared hard at Jeni then turned to their aunt. “I wouldn’t mind meeting some hot Indian girls.” He grinned. “I guess that means you’re stuck here gambling.”

  “Sorry Aunt Jessie, I didn’t know…” Jeni stammered.

  “It’s all right Jeni, go and have a good time.” Her aunt smiled reassuringly.

  Tyler looked around. “I’ll let Jake and Josie know they’re riding back with you,” he said to his aunt.

  Jeni stood there numb with disbelief until Tyler returned and grabbed her by the elbow, “Let’s go.”

  Will you ever begin to understand the meaning of the very soil beneath your feet?

  From a grain of sand to a great mountain, all is sacred.

  Yesterday and tomorrow exist eternally upon this continent.

  We natives are guardians of this sacred place.

  —Peter Blue Cloud, Mohawk

  Chapter 14

  You’re a lousy liar,” Tyler said as they weaved through the parking lot.

  “Excuse me if I haven’t made honing that skill a priority,” Jeni spat back at him.

  When they reached his car, Tyler opened the driver’s side door but Jeni stood with her arms crossed over her chest. “Where are we going?”

  “Get in.”

  A gust of wind blew Jeni’s hair across her face and she tossed her head so she could see her cousin. She knew her only choice was to go with Tyler; still she wanted him to know he couldn’t push her around. “Tell me where we’re going.”

  “Can we at least talk in the car instead of shouting over the wind?”

  “Fine.” Jeni yanked the door open and climbed inside. She wasn’t sure why she was so furious. Hadn’t Tyler just gotten her out of a major jam?

  He plugged the key into the ignition but didn’t start the car. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Do you want to know? Think about it before you answer, Tyler.”

  The problem was he already knew too much. And he was in a position to either help or hinder—a situation Jeni found excruciatingly frustrating.

  Tyler let his head drop back on the headrest with an exaggerated exhale. “Just tell me.”

  Jeni relayed her conversation with Ice over breakfast that morning. No beating around the bush; no sugar coating. There wasn’t time for games.

  “And here I thought that after you ALMOST DIED you’d leave this alone,” Tyler said.

  “You don’t get it, do you? Once I was marked for…elimination, I became a part of this. Whoever tried to kill us knew I was there for the statue. If I’m a threat to this monster, then I have a responsibility to help fight it.” Jeni’s eyes welled with conviction. She looked out the side window.

  Tyler sighed. “Where?”

  “The boat launch at Itasca State Park.”

  They drove west, intermittent lightning exposing the gray skies. Heavy, dark clouds rolled in and packed together like spectators for a sporting event.

  Jeni noticed Tyler’s left leg jiggling when he wasn’t shifting gears. He reached and turned on the stereo, letting the CD that was loaded play, but kept the volume low. “So what do you know about this supposed monster?”

  She thought back to the day Ice told her about the being her statue represented. It seemed so long ago. “They call it a manitou, or spirit; a being of power. Ice said it was…uh…not inhuman…other-than-human I think is how he described it. They call it the underwater lynx. You remember what my statue looked like?” Tyler nodded and she continued. “It’s an enormous feline monster with horns and scales.”

  Jeni shivered. “In my dream, it looked like a huge lizard or a dragon maybe.”

  Tyler grunted.

  “I guess a long time ago some of the medicine men would seek its help, even though it was a dangerous thing to do. In one of the stories Ice told me, the monster asked for the medicine man’s son as payment for his help. The guy became a great medicine man but he lost all his sons and his wife.”

  “So it’s greedy and devious,” Tyler said.

 
“Definitely.”

  “And the theory is the monster tricked a guy into going after us?”

  “I guess so. Ice said in most of the stories the manitou tricks people so he can kill them—not so they can do his dirty work. But then, he’d never been imprisoned before.”

  There was no further conversation; each of them lost in their own thoughts. Like Stormchasers, they raced into the heart of the fury, rolling into the parking area of the boat launch thirty minutes later. A single truck was parked in the lot. Jeni’s heart sank as soon as she saw it—it was a pick-up truck. Ice wasn’t here.

  Tyler pulled up next to the truck and Jeni recognized Nik inside. When the medicine man rolled down his window, she did the same.

  “I thought you weren’t coming?” The look of surprise was out of place on the medicine man’s face.

  Jeni rolled her eyes. “It’s kind of a long story. Have you heard from Ice?”

  “Not for a long time. You?”

  She shook her head. “No signal.”

  Lightning flashed, followed by distant thunder. Nik looked into the sky. “It’s good you’re here. We can’t wait much longer.” His eyes flicked to Tyler for a second. “Cousin, right?”

  Jeni nodded.

  “Why don’t you get in so we can talk?”

  Jeni closed the window. “You can go back to the casino if you want,” she told Tyler. “I’m sure I’ll be fine with Nik.”

  Tyler just shook his head with a smile that held little amusement. “No, I can’t. Not only are we supposed to be together at some event but, once again, I’m responsible for you.” He opened his door. “Besides, it looks like you’re a man down.”

  Jeni shook her head as she watched Tyler climb into the passenger side of the pick-up truck. She would never understand her cousin. If Nik was surprised by Tyler’s presence, he didn’t show it. Once Jeni plopped down in the backseat, the medicine man began speaking without preamble.

  “This site was chosen to imprison the manitou because it’s on sacred land. Located here are burial mounds built over eight hundred years ago by ancestors of American Indians, perhaps even my own ancestors. It’s well-known among my people that at sacred sites the membrane between the real world and the spirit world is stretched thin. This is why the guardians were able to protect our people even after death.”