Voices murmured inside the room. Jeni paused for a moment to listen. Definitely men. She peeped around the corner.
The man in the bed had a lined bronze face. A braid held his gray hair behind his head. Convinced she had the right man, any lingering doubt vanished when she saw the blue stone on the night stand by his bed. She stepped into the doorway and knocked lightly on the open door.
The man looked over in surprise. Before he could say anything, Ice’s head poked around the corner. “Jeni? Wh…How…?”
“Ice. I’m glad you’re here. I’m sorry to intrude, but I think I have something important you need to know.”
Ice frowned. “About what?”
Jeni’s gaze darted from Ice to Nik and back to Ice. “I had a dream.”
Ice took her arm and drew her into the room. Nik was shaking his head. The medicine man did not look pleased. Ice gestured to the chair. The combination of nerves, the stifling warmth of the room, and the smell of bodies, medicine, and plastic made Jeni slightly nauseated. She shrugged out of her jacket before perching on the edge of the seat.
“Did you have the dream stone with you when you had the dream?” Ice asked.
Jeni nodded. “I was looking at it. I fell asleep.” She saw the men exchange glances. “How did it get here? I looked everywhere for it this morning.”
“When it’s used, it returns to the medicine man who found it.”
Nik gave Ice a look that Jeni couldn’t discern and cleared his throat. “What did you see?”
She told them everything she could remember. She locked eyes with Ice. “It was a premonition, wasn’t it?” He nodded but Nik spoke.
“It wasn’t your place to use the stone.”
Jeni felt her cheeks flush. “I…I didn’t mean to.”
“A dream stone shows a possible reality; something that could happen if circumstances don’t change.”
She summoned her courage and looked directly at Nik. “Let me help. If I join you...it changes things. The dream can’t come true.”
“Absolutely not.”
Jeni turned to Ice but he shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
She swiveled her head from one face to the other. “But you have no power over the monster—that’s what it said. I woke it up; apparently I do have some kind of influence. It’s my fault your friend’s dad is dead.” She choked a little as her emotions boiled up. “I should make it right.”
“Calm down.” Nik said. “In your dream, did I have the statue?”
“No.” Her answer was clipped. She’d gone to a lot of trouble to get here, to tell them this, to offer to help, and she was being treated like a naughty child!
“There you go. I have it now—thanks to you.” Nik’s smile, topped by an annoyed stare, only made things worse. “We can handle things from here.”
Jeni didn’t know what to say. She glared at Ice, though she didn’t know what she expected him to do—stick up for her maybe? “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. She whipped her jacket from her lap as she got up. It skimmed the top of the nightstand and sent objects skittering. Jeni grabbed the little plastic pitcher of water before it went over and shoved it back from the edge. Then without further comment or a good-bye, she stalked from the room.
And ran into Tyler. Literally. Standing with his arms crossed and a glower on his face, he blocked her path to the elevator. “Just what the hell are you up to?”
“None of your business.” She dodged around him, not sure if she wanted to scream or cry—or throw up.
Tyler didn’t say anything as they waited for the elevator across from the nurse’s station, but she could feel the anger emanating from him. How long had he been standing in the hallway? How much had he heard? Jeni prayed they wouldn’t be in the elevator alone.
They weren’t. Ice slid through the doors just before they closed.
The silence was palpable. Ice stole sideways glances at Jeni, who stood staring straight ahead with her hands stuffed into her jean’s pockets. Tyler leaned against a sidewall, scowling at the two of them.
“I can drive Jeni back,” Ice offered.
“No.” Tyler was adamant. His fury unnerved Jeni. Their rules of engagement had never encompassed anything beyond rivalry.
Once outside, Jeni stopped on the sidewalk. “Tyler, I…I need to talk to Ice.”
He spun around so fast, Jeni recoiled. His eyes were full of indignation.
“Please?” she added in a small voice.
“Three minutes,” he said, checking his watch. “Talk fast.”
Jeni took Ice’s arm and pulled him away. “I know I shouldn’t have shown up unannounced. It’s just…I was worried. I thought what I saw might happen—tonight even. I decided I wanted to help and I thought Nik would be happy…” she paused for a breath. “Ice, do you believe the statue is all you need?”
“Nik said we can do it by ourselves. It’s better this way—I don’t want to put you in danger.”
Jeni’s face flushed as resentment surged through her. “The way I understand it, I’m the one who put people in danger.”
“Jeni, you can’t blame yourself—you had no idea. Besides, we’re equipped to handle this.”
“Are you?” She shot back. “Is that why Nik’s in the hospital?”
“He was caught by surprise.”
“Mmph. You never answered me—about the statue.”
Ice didn’t say anything.
“You don’t agree.”
“Jeni, Nik is my elder and my teacher; I’ll do what he says.”
“And I’m supposed to just let you and Nik go after this…this…creature or whatever it is, and put yourselves in harm’s way when all this is my fault!” Tears welled in Jeni’s eyes. She angrily blinked them away.
Ice grabbed her by the arms and she looked up into his face filled with hurt and frustration. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tyler take a step toward them.
Ice spoke calmly and quietly. “I told you the truth because I respected you. Maybe that was a mistake, but it’s done. You gave me your statue and I’m grateful, but you need to let this go. Please Jeni, for my sake…” he dropped his hands to his sides.
His eyes pleaded with her.
“Okay,” she mumbled. “Fine.” She tore her eyes from his and quickly walked toward Tyler.
He fell into step beside her. “What. The hell. Is going on?”
Jeni knew she owed him an explanation. She dabbed the corners of her eyes with her sleeves.
Tyler’s silence emphasized his expectation of an answer. When they reached the car, he didn’t even put his key in the ignition.
Jeni sank into the passenger seat. Her conflicted emotions barely allowed her to think coherently. She couldn’t possibly weave some grand tale on the spot.
So she told him the truth.
***
Ice didn’t return to the hospital until it was nearly dark outside. He’d spent the remainder of the afternoon venting his frustration by doing chores at home. Nik thought Ice had really screwed up by telling Jeni the truth. Heck, Ice questioned his own judgment at this point. But he knew in his heart that even if he could go back and start over, he couldn’t deceive Jeni—withhold some information, maybe—but not lie to her outright.
After replaying the scene at the hospital in his head a dozen times, Ice finally called his mom. Getting his thoughts into words and out of his head helped a lot. His mom was always straightforward with him—even when the truth hurt. This time her comments confirmed what Ice already knew and hadn’t yet acknowledged.
He pulled his Jeep into the hospital parking deck. He sat for a moment before getting out, resigned to trust in Nik’s wisdom. He did believe that since Jeni woke the spirit while in possession of the stone figure, she should be able to control it. But if Nik could do the same thing, the medicine man’
s experience made him the better person for the job.
Bottom line: it didn’t matter what Ice thought. He wasn’t making the calls.
He just hoped he could convince Jeni to talk to him again. He couldn’t help but admire her persistence and courage—she’d tracked them down to warn them and to offer her help. Which meant she believed him.
With a heavy sigh he got out of the car and headed for the hospital. As he passed the spot where they’d spoken earlier under Tyler’s hawk-like stare, Ice flashed back to how stunning she’d looked—spots of scarlet high on her cheeks, her green eyes glittering with unshed tears. Her passion evidenced how much she cared which is what affected Ice the most. He’d wanted to take her in his arms but fought down the urge and walked away.
Nik was sitting up in bed, the TV on with no sound. When he saw Ice, he lifted the remote and switched it off. He waved his apprentice to the chair.
“The girl seemed angry,” Nik commented.
“Seemed?”
The corners of his mouth twitched and Nik studied Ice for a long moment. “You care for this girl.”
“Can we call her Jeni, please?” Ice leaned his head back on the chair and looked at the ceiling. “Yeah, I like her. More than I should for the amount of time I’ve known her.”
He raised his head and stared at the blackness beyond the window. “I feel like I could talk to her about anything. She’s different—smart—not shallow, like so many other girls I’ve known. And she seemed genuinely interested in me. In who I am.” He dug his fingers into his hair, pressing his palms to his forehead. “And I went and messed it up.”
“Give it some time. The heat of the moment will have cooled by morning.” Nik leaned forward and touched Ice’s hand. “If she likes you half as much as you like her, she’ll get over it.”
Ice closed his eyes, anticipating the imagery evoked by the medicine man’s touch.
Nik squeezed and then let go.
Ice opened his eyes. Nik’s contact had just provided him with the perfect opportunity to broach an embarrassing subject. He drew in a deep breath and forged ahead. “I’ve wanted to ask you about something…”
Nik raised his eyebrows.
“When you touch my hand like that—I see visions.”
Nik nodded and settled into his pillows.
Ice swallowed, almost chickening out, but he needed answers and Nik was the only person he knew who could help him. “If I touch Jeni’s hand, she sees the visions.”
“Because your abilities are stronger; more developed.”
Ice looked away, scanning the room. “That’s not really the question.” He swiped a hand through his hair. “I…I tried to kiss her and…it wasn’t a good thing.”
“Mmmm…that’s not a common problem. Medicine women are rare in our people and it’s even rarer that a medicine man and a medicine woman want to be together.” He chuckled. “Too much competition.”
“So there’s nothing I can do?”
“Oh, I didn’t say that.”
He had Ice’s full attention.
Nik gazed up at the ceiling for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “Everything in our lives requires balance of our three parts—free soul, ego soul, and body.”
Ice nodded.
“It’s your free soul which travels in dream and vision…”
Ice opened his mouth but Nik held up his hand like a policeman stopping traffic. “Wait, I’m thinking this through out loud.” He returned to his discourse, “The free soul is also instinct and sensation. Your ego soul provides knowledge and reasoning.”
This time when Nik paused, Ice pressed his lips together, waiting.
“When you’re balanced, your ego soul allows visions to happen in its quest for knowledge. However, if your free soul dominated, it would likely abandon the visions in favor of baser instincts.”
Nik looked at Ice as if he expected some reaction, but Ice wasn’t quite sure where Nik was going. “So…”
Nik lifted his hands off the bed, palms up. “One of the animal kingdom’s basest of instincts is to mate.”
Heat bloomed in Ice’s cheeks and he looked down, shifting in the chair. “You’re suggesting I let my free soul dominate?”
“It’s worth a try,” Nik said. “But Ice, there are always consequences to imbalance.”
Ice raised his head and met Nik’s eyes. “Consequences?”
“If your ego soul is suppressed, so is your reasoning and ability to act. Your body will do what comes naturally. It would be easy to lose control.”
“Whoa,” Ice blew out a heavy breath. “So I might…” his eyes grew wide.
Nik narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his apprentice. “It could be a problem for some, but I know you well—aggression isn’t part of your makeup. And remember, though your ego soul is diminished, it’s there. If she resists, your reason should step forward.”
Ice leaned his head down, covering his face with his hand. He exhaled loudly.
“If she’s worth it, and feels the same about you, you’ll work it out,” Nik said. “Like all things, I imagine it gets easier with practice.”
Ice groaned. Great.
He was willing to do what he had to in order to get closer to Jeni. It would be awkward, but he’d have to warn her.
Would she take the risk? That was the question.
***
Jeni sat on her bed, propped up with pillows, book on her lap, thoughts elsewhere. After the fiasco today, she’d looked forward to chatting with Carolyn. But as her friend texted snippets of her day at work, Jeni realized she’d never be able to convey her feelings about the strange things happening here. Even a phone call would fall short. The events unfolding around her needed body language and eye-to-eye contact if the receiver might be expected to believe. No, this conversation would have to wait until she was home. So when Carolyn inevitably inquired about Ice, Jeni simply told her she’d given him the statue and let the subject drop.
A little while ago, not in the mood to put on a happy face, she’d declined joining the bonfire tonight. Her dad warned her that clouds were moving in the next day, bringing rain. “There probably won’t be a fire tomorrow,” he said.
“I’m okay with that, dad. You know too much campfire smoke gives me a headache.” Though she did often get headaches from campfire smoke, tonight it was just an excuse so she could be alone.
She heard a light tapping on the door.
“Yeah?”
Her mom’s face poked into the room. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
“Just thought you might like a s’more. The stuff’s outside by the fire. There’s—”
“No thanks,” Jeni interrupted.
“You might want to hear the end of what I was going to say…” her mom chided, eyebrows raised.
“Sorry, I’m just not very hungry. Go on.”
“There’s someone outside who asked to see you.”
“Ice?” Jeni said in surprise.
“Uh-huh.” Her mom gauged her reaction. “You don’t seem as happy as I thought you’d be.”
“I’m just surprised, that’s all.” Jeni scrambled to get her thoughts straight, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “I’ll come out. Give me a minute.”
Her mom paused at the door, studying Jeni with parental curiosity. Jeni had nothing to offer. She didn’t even know how she felt about Ice right now. Her mom turned and left.
Jeni sat on the edge of the bed for a minute. She hadn’t expected Ice to show up tonight. Tomorrow maybe. If she refused to see him, she’d have to provide an explanation. It would be much simpler to just go talk to him.
She paused by the kitchen window and noticed Ice standing at the edge of the campfire’s glow, shifting from foot to foot. Grabbing a jacket, she quietly exited out the side door.
&nbs
p; The light on the side of the cottage wasn’t on and Jeni stepped into near blackness. She rushed around the corner, slowing once the fire was in sight. Ice looked up before she reached the flickering ring of light. He smiled a tight smile and intercepted her before the others noticed she was there. Except her mom. Jeni saw her watching.
“Hey,” Ice said quietly. “I had to come and apologize. I couldn’t leave things the way they ended at the hospital. I’m sorry.”
Jeni looked at her feet. “I guess I should apologize too. I kinda lost it.”
“Yeah, well, I get it—you were just trying to do what you thought was right. Nik’s kinda old-school I guess. He likes to keep our business private.”
Jeni glanced toward the group at the fire and inclined her head toward the beach. The water prohibited the absolute blackness of the surrounding area. Shades of gray robed the dock and boat. Ice nodded and they strolled in that direction. “You know,” he said, “we decided not to report Kal’s dad’s disappearance.”
“Why not?”
Ice shrugged. “We know what happened—there was an eye witness. The last thing we need is divers in the lake.”
The thought of divers in the water brought forth the image of the creature’s bestial tail as it smacked down on Nik’s body and drew it into the depths. Jeni shuddered. Search and rescue would merely be feeding time.
“Cold?”
“No. Freaked.” They stopped where the lawn ended and the sand began. Jeni glanced at Ice. “Ice, I thought about what Nik said, that he didn’t have the statue in my dream because I hadn’t given it to him yet. That’s not exactly true. I’d given it to you. So why didn’t you have it?”
“Mmmm.”
“I’m afraid—” Jeni broke off and cleared her throat. “What if the premonition went farther into the future? What if something happened to the statue? Nik would still have to do something about the monster, right? What if that’s what I saw?”
Ice turned to face her. “That’s an awful lot of “what-ifs”.” He smiled.
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