Death Chant

by Vella Munn

  “You’re sure it’ll be all right that I stay there?”

  “I’ll have to clear things with Michael, but I doubt if he’ll object.”

  “Why Michael?”

  “He wanted to rent them out. So far, only Dr. Gilsdorf had been willing to pay what he’s asking.”

  “I guess I could pay for a few nights.”

  “Don’t offer. Remember, Michael wanted to work out a mutually beneficial relationship with Dr. Gilsdorf. As long as he suspects you might pick up where Doc left off, my guess is he’ll do everything he can to get on your good side.”

  “You believe that?”

  “His job is to bring as much revenue as possible to the park. Having anthropologists here…seemed like he was hoping Dr. Gilsdorf’s study would translate into increased public interest in the park.” Jay’s mouth tightened. “Instead, he’ll have to convince potential visitors that they aren’t putting their lives in danger coming here. He’d like nothing better than to point to your presence as proof that a murder hasn’t changed anything.”

  “So he’ll want to put a positive spin on what happened to Doc?”

  “Yeah. Look, I suggest you play along as best you can. He’s been pretty volatile since the new fiscal year started. I’ve seen him go off a couple of times.”

  “He loses his temper?”

  “It’s happened.”

  “Do you think he could have—?”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’ll mention Michael’s short fuse to Christian, but it’s a stretch to believe he’d go from being frustrated with Dr. Gilsdorf to killing him.”

  “Someone did.”

  His nostrils flared. “Yeah. Like I said, I’ll talk to Christian, but I just can’t see Michael…the amount of savagery—” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Not talking about what we saw won’t change anything.”

  “You’re right,” he said softly. “I’m not doing you any good by trying to protect you.”

  Hearing you say that does me a great deal of good.

  “So you’re clear on where things stand with Michael?” he asked.

  “I believe so.” She started to ask where this cabin with hopefully hot water was when she remembered something. “Booth is going to be upset when he learns about the robbery. Some of that material might be irreplaceable.”

  “Let Booth worry about that. How about we go to your car and get your belongings?”

  Her car, where the wolf mask lay beneath items Jay was offering to carry. Feeling trapped, she looked around. Instead of providing an escape route, however, the forest closed in on her.

  “That’s all right.” She rushed her words. “There isn’t much. Besides, don’t you have to stay near Doc’s cabin? Just point me in the right direction, and I’ll—”

  “Don’t push me away.”

  “I need time alone.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “To make some decisions.” To put distance between myself and your impact on me.

  “All right.”

  She was trying to decide whether he approved when she heard a faint thumping sound. Talio was walking toward them. Despite his dependence on the cane, he carried himself with pride. Jay hurried to his uncle and offered his arm. Talio shook him off.

  “You’re stubborn,” Jay said.

  Talio’s smile softened his features. “Of course I am.”

  “I take it dispatch was able to get through to you,” Jay said as they joined her. “I asked them to tell you what happened.”

  “It helped explain…”

  Knowing Jay had made a special effort to tell his uncle about Doc’s murder set her on edge. Shouldn’t the investigators be in charge of that kind of thing?

  “Explain what?” Jay asked.

  “The dark energy I’ve been feeling.”

  Dark energy? What are you talking about?

  “How long have you been feeling that?” Jay asked.

  When Talio shot a look her way, she wondered if he was warning Jay not to say anything more. Damn it, they were three Native Americans. Shouldn’t that stand for something, a kinship maybe?

  Of course not. She wasn’t one of them.

  “For weeks,” Talio said. “It keeps getting darker.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Would you have believed me?”

  Maybe she was wrong, but she thought she caught a look of pain before Jay blinked it away.

  “I’ll leave the two of you to talk,” she said.

  Talio held up his free hand. “No, not yet. Listen to me.”

  It had been getting cloudy, but, all at once, the gray sky didn’t seem as oppressive as it had been. “All right.”

  Talio’s stare intensified until nothing else mattered. “You heard Wolf. Saw the spirit.”

  “Did Jay tell you—“

  “No, he didn’t.”

  Instead of shock, she felt a strange acceptance. She studied the man with the weathered face and gray at his temples.

  “I am aware of many things. Before yesterday, I would have never mentioned Wolf to someone who maybe has never walked on this land, but—”

  “What do you mean maybe?” Blood pulsed through her temples. “Do you believe I might have been here before?”

  “Do you?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not,” she whispered.

  “And that causes you pain. Let it come, because that pain will open you to what makes this place special.”

  It took all her strength not to wrap her arms around this man who was saying what her heart desperately needed to hear.

  “How do you know about what she heard and saw?” Jay asked.

  Looking sad, Talio shook his head. “You shouldn’t have to ask me. Did you see it?”

  “No.”

  Jay had spoken so softly she barely caught the word. Studying both men, she realized she wasn’t the only one in pain today.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t.” Talio touched Jay’s shoulder. “Maybe in time—”

  “Maybe.” Jay cleared his throat. “What about Wolf?”

  “You believe she experienced the spirit? You have no doubt?”

  The longer Jay stood there, the more exposed she felt.

  “No doubt,” he said at length.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. If she could trust her legs to do what she needed of them, she would be standing next to Jay, maybe linking her hands with his. Placing his fingers over her tattoo.

  “Winter,” Talio said, “I need you to open your mind to what I’m going to say, to simply accept. Can you do that?”

  Trembling, she nodded.

  “I hope so.” He pointed his cane at a section of log that marked the trail. “But first, I want to sit down.”

  As he made his slow way to the log, she fought the desire to embrace him. Part of what she was feeling was because she missed Doc, but it was more than that. If she had a grandfather, she’d want him to be like this older Hoh. Wise and gentle. Accepting. When Jay sat near his uncle, she joined them, sitting on Talio’s opposite side because that was easier on her nervous system than being close to Jay.

  “I’m not sure how much my nephew has told you about our life here,” Talio began. “There’s more to it than outsiders will ever grasp. Even before you arrived, I sensed you would be different.”

  “Before?”

  Talio stretched out his right leg and started rubbing his thigh. “Yes.”

  The wolf mask? Shock nearly pushed her to her feet. Could Talio have heard the same howl she had when she’d put on the mask? No! She’d been hundreds of miles away.

  “Wolf spirit speaks only to those he trusts and feels one with,” Talio continued. “A few days before you arrived, Wolf warned that things I have long taken for granted were changing. The spirits were already uneasy and had been since Dr. Gilsdorf arrived.”

  No! Don’t say that.

  “I’ve been asking my spirit to explain what was bothering me, but he didn’t.” He agai
n rubbed his leg. “Some of it is my doing. Between recovering from the accident and worrying about my nephews, I’ve been unable to turn my mind and heart over to Eagle.”

  Going by how Talio was speaking, she half-believed the three of them had slipped into the past to when superstition and primitive beliefs had guided the area’s Natives.

  “Our spirits are complex. Real to those with open hearts and minds. That is why those like your anthropologist friend will never fully comprehend our ways. They call what exists for us ‘Native American superstition’.”

  “You’re saying anthropologists are wrong?”

  He chuckled. “About many things. Thunderbird told me to contact you. He put a word in my mouth for you to try to grasp. Days before that, Wolf spoke of change and danger.”

  Danger to whom? “Where were you when Wolf, ah, communicated with me?”

  Talio gave her his full attention. “You are asking if I was near Ghost Totem Ridge.”

  “Were you?”

  He pressed on his thigh with the heel of his hand. “I haven’t gone there since this happened, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t experience what you did.”

  Jay groaned. “You really want to do this, Uncle? You trust her that much?”

  “Trust? It goes beyond that. Not saying anything won’t change what happened.” Talio placed his hand behind his knee and lifted his leg so he could adjust its position. “Winter, yesterday my spirit opened my eyes, ears and heart so I could be one with Wolf. I clear my mind of everything else and let impressions take over. That happens sometimes.”

  “What did you experience?”

  “Wolf. But not just him.”

  As shaken as she was, she again wanted to embrace the older man.

  “In ways beyond my ability to explain,” he went on, “I was there yesterday when you found Dr. Gilsdorf’s body. I heard you cry out and watched as you attempted to close his eyes.”

  “Did you do that?” Jay asked her.

  She’d nearly forgotten Jay was with them. Even now, she couldn’t separate herself from what Talio had just described.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I was so scared, sick with grief, but I didn’t want to leave him like that. He—I thought he’d be more peaceful if he didn’t have to look at his body.” She stood and faced Talio. “What else did you see?”

  If anything, Talio’s eyes were even darker than Jay’s. “Flies. That’s what drew you to the body.”

  Nodding, she clamped her hand over her mouth.

  “Many people would have immediately run, but you didn’t,” Talio continued. “The vegetation in that area is so thick, you probably would have walked past him if not for the flies—unless Dr. Gilsdorf’s spirit reached out to you.”

  “I can’t answer that. But hearing Wolf howl didn’t surprise me that much.”

  “Why not? Maybe yesterday isn’t the first time you’ve heard him.”

  Afraid she’d tell this wise man about the wolf mask, she clenched her teeth. What if he already knew?

  “The howl isn’t the only otherworldly thing that happened up there,” she said, hoping to deflect the conversation.

  Talio’s face contorted as he stood. “You also saw Wolf.”

  Yes. “It was beautiful. Amazing.”

  “Were you afraid then?”

  This wise Hoh would push for honesty from her as long as she allowed it. “I was dealing with so many emotions. Just the same, I felt complete.”

  “Maybe you were.”

  Talio’s questioning tone had her looking at him again. “Maybe.” She was tempted to tell him about her long-running connection with the predator.

  Talio closed his eyes. When he started to lean toward him, Jay straightened him. “I’m letting my spirit in,” Talio muttered, eyes still closed. “Opening my mind to more of its wisdom. You experienced Wolf one more time, later, when you and my nephew were together.”

  Jay muttered.

  “She exposed her soul to something without explanation while you stood there. Ah, Jay, you’re missing so much.”

  And it’s killing him.

  Wondering if she was right, she studied Jay. He wanted to keep his emotions locked up, but his uncle had penetrated the barrier.

  “I’m sorry,” Talio said. “I need to let you live your life instead of wanting to guide you as I believe is best.” He opened his eyes. “Thanks to Jay, I was able to return to the house I was born in. He believes he owes me something for raising him, but my debt to him is as great, if not more.”

  Her chin trembled. “What the two of you have is special.”

  Jay nodded and briefly hugged his uncle. Watching them, she couldn’t remember why she’d wanted to get away a few minutes ago. Both men were complex and multilayered. If she remained around them, maybe in time they’d reveal their cores.

  She didn’t only want that, she needed it.

  “Winter,” Talio said. “You believe you’re here for one thing, but you need to open your mind and heart to more.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Talio’s expression softened. “The spirits are restless. Angry and anxious. When I try to look into the future, I see you. You’re like mist—solitary and searching.”

  “Mist?” Jay repeated. “You told me a lack of clarity can be a sign that someone’s life is in danger.”

  Too much! I can’t absorb any more.

  Talio smiled. “Mist can also mean a person isn’t sure where to walk.”

  “You’re scaring me.” Shocked by what she’d revealed, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

  “Fear is part of the journey.” Talio straightened his leg, only to wince and rub it again. “In your heart, you know it’s time to reach beyond what you’ve always been.”

  Chills broke out all over her. She wanted to race into the forest. At the same time, she needed to stay and continue this conversation. “I have no idea who I am.”

  Talio swept his hand over their surroundings. “Look for yourself. You’ll never have peace unless you do.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Can you spend the night with him?” Jay asked his brother when he reached Floyd.

  “Tonight?”

  “Yes, tonight. I don’t like the idea of him being alone. He’s looking kind of shaky.”

  “Where are you?” Floyd asked. “I thought—I heard about what happened at Ghost Totem. Seger said he heard you called the murder in, so I figured that’s where you were.”

  Seger owned the Forks bar that was his brother’s favorite. Right now, Jay didn’t have the energy necessary to deal with Floyd’s sobriety, or lack thereof.

  “I did, but I’m back at Potlatch.” He stopped looking at where his uncle’s pickup had been kicking up dust and stared in the direction of the cabin he’d directed Winter toward. “I need to stay here for—I’m not sure how long, but it’s going to be a while. What have you heard?”

  “Not much. I was holding off calling because I thought you’d be out of range.”

  Out of habit, Jay listened for more than the sound of Floyd’s voice. He heard music and masculine voices. Wasn’t it early in the day for Seger’s bar to have that much activity? Maybe news of a murder in the park had brought the regulars in to gossip. As for why Floyd wasn’t working—damn it, he’d better not have lost another job.

  “Who was the broad who found the body?”

  She’s not a broad. Holding his temper in check, he briefly described Winter’s relationship to Dr. Gilsdorf and a little about what had brought her to Olympic. He didn’t say anything about what Uncle Talio had told Winter, because Floyd was even less interested in what they called ‘the woo-woo stuff’ than he was—had been.

  Instead of asking about the condition of the body like Jay thought his brother would do, Floyd agreed to head for their uncle’s place before it got dark.

  “You’re sure you’ll be in shape to drive?”

  “Don’t start, damn it. You aren’t my keeper.” Floyd got short-tempered when he was drinkin
g.

  “Look,” he said as calmly as he could, “I don’t want to fight with you. I’ve been through a lot lately.”

  “I’m sorry. Sorry as hell. You saw—everything?”

  “It was easier for me than for Winter.”

  “Winter? Oh yeah, the broad who—”

  “Don’t call her that.”

  “Okay, okay. She freak out, did she?”

  “She held it together better than I would have if someone I loved had been sliced like that. She’s a strong woman.”

  “What’s happening now? They’re going to be investigating, trying to figure out who did it?”

  That went without saying. He was surprised Floyd had brought it up.

  “I don’t believe you’ve met Christian Turney. He’s been working in the park for about ten years and has had extensive law enforcement training. He’s in charge of the investigation. I’ll talk to him once he’s done at the murder scene.”

  “What can you tell him? You weren’t there when—”

  After Floyd cut off his statement, Jay heard him order a beer. Damn. Not good. “How many have you had? Make this your last one.” If you can.

  “Don’t baby me. If I’m responsible enough for folks to want me on the tribal council, I can decide how much to drink.”

  “Who wants you on the council? I didn’t think you were interested.”

  “That’s because you spend all your time in the park or working to keep Uncle Talio’s place from falling down around him. I’ve been speaking my mind about how we should have never let that anthropologist come here.”

  For several seconds, all Jay could do was stare toward where Winter had gone. “I didn’t think that mattered to you.”

  “It didn’t at first, but the more I thought about it, the more pissed off I got. We’ve been pushed around for so long. Now here comes someone who might jeopardize what means so much to us. My friends are saying it was dangerous letting him explore around Ghost Totem Ridge because, well, I don’t have to explain why.”

  No, you don’t. “He won’t be anywhere anymore,” he pointed out.

  “That’s one good thing that came out of someone taking a knife to him.”

  Jay hadn’t said anything about what weapon had been used, but he had mentioned that Dr. Gilsdorf had been sliced. Floyd had simply put one and one together.