Tying his horse to the post outside the saloon, he headed for the door with an air of confidence that was typically foreign to him. About to enter the establishment—which he figured would reward his good fortune—he stopped abruptly, eying the wanted poster hanging outside the entrance.
A crude drawing of a girl—who looked a lot like the white woman he’d painted up at the lake—seemed to stare out at him from the announcement. The thing that spoke to him the most was that it offered a five hundred dollar reward for any known associates.
Could things possibly get any better for him? Trader John rubbed his chin and smiled. He turned and hurried across the street, giggling as he entered the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff looked up from his desk, but Trader John’s attention was drawn past him and directly up to the wanted poster on the wall behind the lawman.
“That’s her!” he exclaimed, pointing to the poster. “I seen her the other day.”
The sheriff’s face skewed into a shrewd look and then he twisted around glancing over his shoulder. “Well, that’d be kind of hard.” He turned back to look at Trader John. “Unless you’re in the habit of seeing ghosts!” He gave him a swift chuckle and a stern glare. “She’s dead.” His words seemed to fall around Trader John like dust settling from a sand storm. “But she did have a couple of accomplices and that’s who we’re looking for.”
“I’m telling you, sheriff—” He gestured toward Lake Tahoe. “—there’s a woman up at the lake with them Indians, and she looks like that woman up there.” He gave the wanted poster a nod.
The sheriff drew a breath and slanted his mouth with a crooked frown. “Maybe they’re sisters.” He shrugged. “All right...I’ll gather up a posse and we’ll check it out.” The sheriff pushed himself up from his desk.
“What about the reward?” Trader John asked.
“If it turns out that you’re right,” the sheriff said conditionally, making his way around the desk. “You’ll get your reward.”
“All five hundred?”
“All five hundred.” The sheriff’s assurance was accompanied by soft laughter.
PART FIVE
The Awakening
CHAPTER 25
BILLY LET OUT a sigh as he glanced over at Rio. They were in his living room, the pizza box was empty, and they weren’t any closer to finding their way to the treasure.
“So...” She cut her eyes toward him. “How are we going to figure out where the treasure is?”
“Well at this point, the map, even in its entirety, is absolutely no help at all.”
“Billy...” her tone sobered. “We could spend the rest of our lives digging up random spots and never come close to finding the right place.”
“Then we’d better find another way.”
“I’m all out of ideas.” As far as she was concerned, Turner’s goons were the least of their worries. She knew how to deal with them. What she didn’t know how to deal with was the fact that she and Billy couldn’t figure out where to look for the treasure. Not to mention, all the weird stuff that had been going on since she’d arrived in Carson City.
Billy sat silently for a time. When he finally did speak, it was with a bit of disinclination. “There might be a way,” he said with a hint of secrecy. “But it’s kind of unorthodox.”
“How unorthodox?”
“It involves ingesting a controlled substance.”
“Maybe you better spell it out for me.”
“There’s a ritual that’s practiced by many Native Americans. Not so much around here,” he said. “But I do understand that great results can come from it.”
“Okay.” She hated being teased. “The suspense is killing me. Out with it.”
“It’s called a vision quest. You have a better chance of actually experiencing one though, if you use peyote.” He looked at her, much too calmly for what he was suggesting. “Or so I’m told.”
“Peyote?” She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help laughing. “Well, let’s run right on down to the corner drug store and grab—” She threw her hands in the air. “—how much did you say we’ll need?” Her fixed eyes glared at him. “Are you nuts?”
“I think I know somebody...that knows somebody.” His voice was so calm that it surprised even him—considering what he was suggesting. “I think we can get some.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“At this point...” He shrugged, feeling defeated. “I have no clue how to find that treasure.”
“Could you maybe elaborate a bit?” She looked deep into his eyes, as if she’d find a reason inside them to hop on board with his crazy plan. “Give me some idea about what we’d be in for...if we decided to go through with this?”
“Well, we’d need to go somewhere up in the hills or something so we wouldn’t be disturbed,” he said, making it up as he went along. “Then we’ll take the peyote and wait.”
“Wait? Wait for what?”
“Your vision. Sometimes it starts out as your worst fears confronting you.” He cut his eyes toward her. “But eventually a spirit guide will join you.”
“Really?” There was so much skepticism in her tone that, were it tangible, it would’ve been dripping out of the corners of her mouth by now. “And you think this spirit guide is going to tell us where the treasure is?”
“Well, if we get lucky enough to have Maggie or Tajan as a guide…” The confidence in his tone diminished and his voice trailed off. But that mattered little to Rio. Her thoughts were elsewhere.
Centered totally around Tajan. Was it possible? Was there a chance that Tajan could be her guide?
Well hell! Billy should’ve said so in the first place. She didn’t need to hear anything more to induce her to throw caution into the wind. Now she was ready and willing to partake of illegal drugs in the hopes of catching another glimpse of Tajan.
CHAPTER 26
HAVING THE option of peyote dumped in her lap, and the thought of a visit from Tajan had filled her with anticipation and left her tossing and turning. Her inability to get a good night’s rest brought out an unwelcome dream about her past.
Rio’s past. Not Maggie’s.
At the age of eight, her father had sat her down one afternoon after she got home from school and broke the news to her—her mother had left them.
Shocked, Rio sat there for the longest time, thinking maybe it was a joke and her father was going to take it back. Not necessarily because she wanted her mother to stick around—more to the point, she was afraid her father would blame her. She didn’t want him to get mad at her and go away too.
But her father didn’t take it back.
“Daddy…did Mommy leave because of me?” If it was her fault she wanted to know that right away.
She figured that must certainly be the case. Even at the age of eight, she knew how much her mother hated her. But what she didn’t know—was why. She’d tried so hard; she’d attempted anything and everything she could think of to please her mother. But nothing Rio ever did seemed to make any difference to her mother.
“No, honey,” her father reassured her in the softest of comforting voices. “It wasn’t because of you.”
“Is she coming back?” she asked, but deep down inside Rio knew she wasn’t.
“No, honey.” Her father cleared his throat. “She’s not coming back.”
Silent tears fell from her eyes, but they weren’t for the loss of her mother. She was just thankful her father wasn’t mad at her. And should the truth be known; if her father didn’t mind that her mother was gone, then neither did she. What was to miss about the spiteful attitude?
CHAPTER 27
BILLY HAD A serious look on his face as he entered the house through the front door, carrying a brown paper bag.
Rio was on her feet before he’d made it halfway across the room. “You get it?”
“Yeah.” He nodded and laid the bag on the coffee table. “He said we shouldn’t do it alone. So I guess we should have someone wa
tching out for us while we’re under the influence.”
“So…” Rio struggled to breath around the lump clogging her throat. “I’m supposed to trust a complete stranger to not only watch out for me.” She tried reasoning it out so she could convince herself it was something that was okay to do. “But also...not invade my personal well-being while I’m out of my mind?” Her thoughts barely made it out in her shaky voice.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then you’re going to have to trust me when I tell you that I’d never consciously place you in danger.” There was so much determination in his eyes that she almost believed it. “If you want to continue looking for the treasure, this is the only hope we have.”
The only hope? That’s it? They were out of options?
And then there was the warrior. She definitely wasn’t going to see him any other way...unless she died, and she didn’t want to go there.
“Okay.” Rio changed her tune quickly. “What’s next?” She wanted to find the treasure and she needed to see Tajan. She couldn’t explain it or even understand it entirely, but somehow she felt her life depended upon seeing him again.
Billy and Rio sat across from his parents at the elder Tajans’ dining room table. He explained their plan, while Rio tried to ignore the paintings of Maggie and Tajan—mostly Tajan. It felt like they were staring down on her.
“Billy...” The senior Tajan shook his head. “I don’t see how I can be a party to this. You’re talking about performing a ritual that neither I nor your mother approve of.”
“Dad...Rio and I are going to do this thing with or without your support,” he said. “What I’m asking of you is...that you and Mom be there with us when we do. I need to know that you’ll be there to take care of Rio.”
Bill studied his son for a moment. He’d never seen Billy quite so dedicated to anything. Oh sure, he was a hard worker, and he had always done a great job of taking care of himself. But this was different. Bill decided that maybe his sister’s daughter coming into their lives, even though she did have an uncanny resemblance to their ancestor, was perhaps the best thing that could’ve happened to Billy.
His son had always had more than his share of love showered upon him from the family, but that didn’t stop Billy from feeling isolated. No one else in the family had white skin, until Rio happened upon them.
“You and Rio have bonded.” It was a realization, more than anything else, for Bill.
“You could say that,” Billy said with a half-nod. His trademark, and unconscious, gesture when he was trying to play it cool. “I feel a certain kinship with her.” He looked at his mother. “She is, after all, my cousin.”
In the end, Bill and Carole had agreed, with a bit of reluctance, to accompany Billy and Rio on their mission. Even so, after the kids had left, Bill was having trouble with the idea of summoning a spirit guide to help them find the treasure. He had been, and still was, pacing the length of the living room while Carole sat nearby on the couch.
“What will you do?” she asked, hands folded in her lap.
Bill stopped. “I really don’t have a choice.” He glanced at his wife. “Do I?”
“Actually…yes, you do,” she challenged him. “You can either do it or not.” Her summation made it all sound so simple.
“Well unfortunately, what I can’t do...is tell our son what to do anymore.” With that notion he started pacing again. “I don’t want him to do this thing. But he’s clearly made up his mind. And I can’t send our son and my sister’s daughter out there all alone. This thing might turn out to be their worst nightmare.”
“Then again,” Carole said, “maybe they’ll find what they’re looking for.”
CHAPTER 28
ACROSS THE Washoe lands, specific areas had been deemed divine locations long ago and were still widely recognized as sacred sites for conducting consecrated ceremonies. The Tajans had opted to follow tradition and use one of those sites in their attempt to induce a vision quest.
After selecting Hot Springs Mountain, Rio, Billy, his parents and several tribal members—Billy’s most trusted friends—headed out in Jeeps and Pickups. The ride was off-road. They climbed the mountain for more than half an hour after leaving the last remnants of a would-be trail.
Arriving at their destination, everyone emerged from the vehicles simultaneously. The black SUV following the party had not gone unnoticed.
Carole approached Billy. “What about those men following us?”
“They want what we’re after.” Billy shook his head. “I doubt they’ll bother us until we find it.”
The group set up camp in a clearing snuggled securely within a wooded area at the top of the mountain. In no time they had several tents pitched and then began concentrating on forming a five-foot circle made of rocks. In the center they dug a fire pit. They’d brought firewood with them, and now a couple of the guys began unloading it from the truck.
Rio stood alone, leaning against Billy’s Jeep. In her preoccupied state she was a bit apprehensive about their plans, but she was doing a good job of hiding it. She wanted so badly for Tajan to show up in her vision, but she was afraid she wanted it too much. Rio had learned a long time ago not to want things. When you want things you’re vulnerable. She knew nothing good could come from this...but still, she longed to see Tajan.
By the time the sun drifted behind the mountains, a fire was blazing in the pit. Rio might have found the mountain’s summit spooky if she hadn’t been so anxious and preoccupied.
A distinct chill had settled around her so she grabbed a blanket from the jeep and headed toward the fire. She stepped over the rocks, entering the sacred circle and methodically laid out her blanket near the fire.
“God, I’m so hungry.” Her stomach grumbled as she sat down.
Billy was already sitting on the bare ground on the other side of the fire. “Sorry, dear...” He chuckled. “Your dinner is limited tonight.”
“How come we can’t have any food?” It wasn’t so much a question as a complaint.
“Don’t you know anything about fasting?”
Apparently not.
“So what happens if I can’t hold this stuff down?” Rio asked.
“From what I understand,” Billy said, almost laughing. “It’d be really surprising if you did.”
The farther the sun sank behind Lake Tahoe, the cooler the temperatures dipped on the mountaintop. Even so, no one but Billy and Rio was allowed inside the sacred circle, unless the fire needed tending. If that were the case, Bill stepped cautiously over the border, but only long enough to fuel the blaze with more firewood. Once he’d done that, he’d step back out just as carefully as he’d stepped in.
To avoid as much outside contamination as possible, they’d stoke the fire prior to the ingestion of the peyote. The others lingered outside the circle while Billy and Rio choked down about a dozen buttons between the two of them.
Soon, less than half an hour later, Rio wasn’t feeling so hot. She stretched out on the blanket and let out a whimpering moan. “Oh, my God…I think I’m going to be sick…” Rio’s words trailed off.
Carole sat a bucket at Rio’s side without stepping inside the circle. Rio pushed up from the ground and latched onto the bucket, with barely enough time to pull it into her lap before she started vomiting.
Carole passed a moist towel to Rio.
“You okay, Rio?” Bill asked calmly.
“Yeah…” she muttered.
Billy glanced through the fire at Rio. He wished he could go to sleep. Maybe that way he could ward off the nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wondered briefly if it’d been rocks instead of peyote that he’d eaten. Then the sickening sensation emerged and crept up his chest. He gagged and grabbed the bucket someone had placed at his side.
Rio dropped down onto the blanket again and curled up. She closed her eyes and drew her hands up, using them as a pillow.
Billy sat cross-legged
on the bare ground, staring mindlessly into the fire. His eyes had dried up from a lack of moisture. They stung. He lowered his head, closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids.
After what seemed like an eternity, at least to him, he opened them back up and looked around. He was no longer sitting by the fire. Now he was standing on the edge of a jagged cliff. From out of nowhere, Tajan effortlessly climbed up from the side of the ridge.
“Hello, Billy,” he said with a smile. Tajan’s greeting came in perfect English.
“Is this a dream?” Billy asked. Taking a peek over the edge, he saw nothing but a straight drop into darkness that seemed to go on forever. “How’d you do that?” He looked back at Tajan. Billy’s newfound cousin was at Tajan’s side, but she was dressed in Indian garb. “Rio?”
“Close.” The girl shook her head. “But no.” She giggled. “Well, actually that’s not altogether true. We are, after all, one and the same...but I’m here as Maggie.”
“You and Rio are the same person?” The ability to be shocked or surprised by this episode was just beyond Billy’s reach. And so was the knowledge that he had achieved his goal. He was in the midst of a vision quest.
“We share the same soul.” Maggie clarified her relationship to Rio.
Tajan cleared his throat. “There are two things I need to tell you,” he said to Billy. “First, you need to stop hating the color of your skin. Be proud of who and what you are. Secondly, you need to stop blaming Maggie for my death.” His tone softened as his eyes drifted to her. “She died too.”
“But if it wasn’t for her,” Billy said. “You wouldn’t have died.”
“My life was short.” Tajan’s eyes were still on Maggie and his whole face had broken into a smile. “But it was worth a million lifetimes.” His smile faded as he turned back to Billy. “It was my destiny to protect her. It was also my destiny to die with her.”
Billy stared at Maggie. Her resemblance to Rio was uncanny. Every curl of her fiery hair. Every curve defining her face. Every sparkle in her jade-green eyes. He’d never seen anything like it—a resemblance so striking—and he couldn’t get over it.
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