Anger at what?
“Is that all?” asked Franklin, a challenge in his tone.
Victor’s eye actually twitched. “Oh no,” he said quietly. “I’ll find that tablet. One way or another.”
He and Franklin stood staring at each other, neither blinking. Franklin gave a small nod and, as he turned to take his seat, Celestino saw what the other men couldn’t–a satisfied grin.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
“WHAT DO YOU mean me?” asked Livvy. “How am I going to find Celestino?”
“It’s something I’ve never been good at,” Dale said, lifting the crystal from around his neck. “I mean, I’ll try, but it’s not really my thing.”
He got up from the chair and went to the middle of the small floor space in the hotel room and sat down.
Livvy cocked her head at him, still not understanding.
“Using a crystal to search,” SK said.
Now Livvy stared at him.
“Of course, you’ll need a crystal,” he said.
He knew she’d left her amethyst with Min.
She pulled out the crystal Coco had given her.
SK’s eyebrows went up.
Dale whistled.
“A new crystal,” SK said, nodding. “That’ll help.”
“It’ll help?” she repeated, looking at it. Coco had never really answered her question. “So, shamans use these?”
Dale laughed but quickly stifled it as both she and SK stared at him.
“You’re not joking?” he asked. “Seriously?”
Livvy shook her head and looked down at the crystal resting in her palm. “No, I’m not. I’ve never actually used a crystal.”
“They’re for seeing,” said SK. “It’s not something you’ve ever needed.”
“How do you know what’s causing someone’s illness if you don’t use your crystal?” asked Dale.
“From a medical history,” she said, as though it were a given. “Min, SK, or I get a detailed medical history from the patient or family. From that, it’s pretty obvious.”
She thought about that for a minute. It’d be obvious to someone like her, someone who’d been through medical school. Was a crystal the way other shamans figured out what to do?
“The crystal can help you to see an ailment,” SK said. “But it can help shamans to see more than that. It might help you to see someone who is missing.”
“Really?” she said.
“Really,” SK said. “Even in L.A., there are shamans who work with them.”
Of course he’d run across it. He knew hundreds of shamans, from every part of the world.
She looked down at the crystal and tried to imagine how it would work.
“I take it you’ve never done it?” said Dale.
Livvy shook her head.
“Time you did,” SK said, nodding toward Dale.
Until Livvy had networked goggles in L.A., shamans had been kept apart–their territories, their clients, their practices. Even with the network, she’d only met a handful of other healers and she’d never had a mentor.
Livvy got up and took a seat opposite Dale. SK settled down next to her. Dale placed his crystal on the carpet in front of him. It was a smoothly cylindrical pendant that appeared to be made from a banded stone, alternating jade green and amber-brown, interspersed with tiny stripes of white.
“Arizona tiger eye,” said Dale. “A combination of serpentine and tiger eye that’s local. Two crystals in one.” He looked up at her. “Like me.”
She laid her crystal on the carpet as well. It glittered like a rainbow, seeming to catch every bit of light that was in the room and then project it back out again.
“A crystal of many colors,” said Dale, without taking his eyes off it. “I’ve never seen one before.”
He looked at her expectantly.
“Oh,” said Livvy. “I’m afraid I don’t know what it’s made of.” She looked between Dale and SK. “Is it important?”
Dale gave a little shrug. “I suppose not,” he said. “The proof of the piki is in the eating.”
“I don’t understand,” Livvy said.
“It’s a play on…” Dale’s face became serious. “Never mind. It’s not important.” He refocused on the crystal. “Poosi,” Dale said. “That’s the Hopi word for ‘eye’. Povosqa is the word for shaman. It literally translates as ‘one who does seeing’.”
He paused to let it sink in. Then he picked up his crystal. “This is a ruupi, a crystal. Shamans are also known as ruupi’yyungqam or crystal owners. A shaman isn’t a shaman if they don’t have their crystal and use it to see.”
“Okay,” said Livvy nodding.
Dale set his crystal back on the floor and stared at it. Then, he bent down lower over it. He looked up at Livvy and frowned. “It’s not going to happen if you don’t try.”
“Try what?” Livvy said. “We don’t need the goggles or something else to enter the Multiverse–I mean, the Underworld?”
Dale straightened. “Of course not,” he said. “That’s just for curing.”
“Right,” Livvy said. “Of course not.” She stared down at the crystal. “So, just look at it,” she said.
“Pretty much,” said Dale. “A shaman can use their crystal to focus the inner eye, the one behind the eyes. An ordinary person, even if they had this crystal, wouldn’t see a thing.”
As often as she’d worn her amethyst or even this pendant, she’d never thought to gaze into it, like a crystal ball.
“Okay,” she said again and focused on her crystal.
It wasn’t a hard thing to do. The play of light was fascinating. It was almost as though a tiny sun was inside and every wavelength of light imaginable was being produced.
Dale leaned down over his as well, as though they were bowing to one another.
As she watched, the crystal of many colors lived up to its name. At times, she could even see through it to the texture of the industrial carpet below. As she tilted her head and compared the floor to what she was seeing, she realized it wasn’t the carpet at all.
Dale exhaled, sat up, and wiped his forehead.
“Gods that’s hard,” he said, sitting up. “I didn’t see anything.”
“It’s a landscape,” Livvy said. “Not texture. It’s a landscape. The desert landscape.” She bent lower and let her eyes defocus. It wasn’t the physical eyes that were seeing. It was like hang-gliding as the view changed, the horizon grew closer, and ground rushed by underneath.
“Where?” asked Dale quietly.
“I don’t know,” Livvy whispered, starting to breathe harder. “It’s the southwest I suppose. It’s ….” She paused. “It’s so far away.”
It was like trying to recognize your neighborhood from an airplane. And it wasn’t even her neighborhood. With only the gentlest of pressures, Livvy became aware of SK’s hand on her knee.
Suddenly, the altitude dropped. A wave of vertigo washed over her and she gripped SK’s hand without taking her eyes off the crystal. She realized she was sweating and the muscles in her neck were straining.
“I’m in a canyon,” she whispered. “The walls of it rise up vertically. Orange and red in the bright sun. The tops of the plateaus are flat but, in the canyon bottom, there’s a tower made of rock. It’s as tall as the plateaus but isolated, needle thin.”
“Canyon de Chelly?” Dale blurted out. “Spider Rock?”
Livvy blinked at the sound. The vision disappeared. Although she had the feeling it would have continued, it was gone. She felt light-headed and the room started to spin. She closed her eyes and slowly sat up. It was quiet and she felt SK put his other hand on top of hers. Eventually, the room stopped turning.
She opened her eyes and looked at SK. “Thanks,” she said.
He smiled and nodded.
“Are you sure it was Spider Rock?” Dale asked.
“Am I sure?” Livvy said. “I wouldn’t know one rock outcropping from another although … it did look pretty distinct. And
kind of familiar.”
“I’ll bet,” said Dale. “It’s only one of the most famous landmarks in the Southwest. You’ve probably seen it in movies or commercials or something.”
“Okay then,” Livvy said, taking her crystal. She cautiously stood up, wary of the vertigo returning, but it didn’t. SK stood as well.
Dale remained seated.
Livvy looked down at him. “Canyon de Chelly, you said. Spider Rock. Great. Let’s go.”
Dale picked up his crystal and put it back on. “I’m afraid it’s not quite that easy,” he said, getting up.
“Why not?” asked SK.
“Canyon de Chelly is on the Navajo reservation.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
“TELL ME ABOUT your hip,” SK said.
He was glad to have a few moments alone with Liv. Dale had gone to borrow a truck. They’d apparently need higher ground clearance to go off road.
Liv sat on the edge of the bed while he stood in front of her, holding her hands. The words came tumbling out of her, first about her hip and then the second vision quest. Maybe it was the excitement of a second spirit helper or just being away from L.A. but she was bubbling over. He watched her face and found himself smiling, even at points in the story that didn’t warrant it. She was happy.
It seemed so long ago that they’d sat on Alvina’s couch and learned that Liv’s power to save life in the Multiverse had come at the cost of her ability to make life in the real world. Though she adored children, she wasn’t going to have any. It had all seemed so hopeless.
Maybe that’s the difference. Maybe now there’s hope.
“Anyway, that’s where my phone is, with Coco,” she said. “That’s why I wasn’t in touch.”
“And that’s why I’m here,” he said, smiling.
“The dream,” she said quietly.
“Right,” he said. “The dream.”
He’d known immediately he had to come here–not a doubt in his mind. He made phone calls from the car–Min, Mamacita, and also Mayet. Mamacita hadn’t liked it but Mayet was good, another water baby. She would have to keep an eye on him, make sure he didn’t overstep his bounds.
“I’d never heard that a shaman and an intercessor could share a dream,” Livvy said. “You know, see exactly the same thing.”
“I’ve never heard that either but, then again, we’re not your average shaman and intercessor.”
“No,” she said, with a little smile. “I guess we’re not.”
She gazed steadily into his eyes and, as always, it felt like looking into the ocean. Her face became serious.
“In the dream,” she said. “You kissed me.”
Without meaning to, he squeezed her hands.
She was quiet for a moment.
“And?” he said.
“And I was wondering…” She looked down at their hands and bit her lower lip. “You know what,” she said suddenly. “Never mind.”
What? Should I not have kissed her?
“Liv, I was worried about that and if I made you uncomfortable–”
“What? No. No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Oh,” he breathed, relieved.
“No, I was thinking maybe we could try it now, in the real world.”
He stood very still.
“It’s just that it feels like something’s changed,” she plunged on. “I don’t know, ever since the dream.”
That much was true–the shared dream had been a surprise. He reached up and lightly laid his hand next to her cheek. She covered it with her own.
“How will we know if we don’t try?” she asked.
The light in the room had faded as the sun moved behind a nearby building. He let his thumb drift over the soft skin of her cheek and down toward her lips. The gentle curve of a small smile appeared there. He knew the edge of his hand must be near her jugular because he felt her pulse now–so fast it almost fluttered. As a reflex he thought to check her breathing but he could already see it was shallow.
“SK?” she whispered.
He purposely avoided her eyes. He took a deep breath and shook his head.
“It’s too risky,” he said lowly, still shaking his head, though he didn’t back up.
He couldn’t step away. From the moment she’d left, he’d thought of nothing but being with her. He’d driven hours with his stomach in a knot. He wasn’t going to let her go now if the Multiverse depended on it but, if he looked into her eyes, there’d be no stopping.
It was as if she knew.
She reached both hands up to his face and only then did he realize he was still shaking his head. He looked into her eyes. They were as deeply green as he remembered but that wasn’t what made him go still. She had never been able to hide her feelings. He read them now as clearly as if she’d spoken–the sad smile, the tiny tremble of her chin, the circles under her eyes. It was pain that he read in her face and he knew exactly how that felt.
He kissed her.
Without hesitation, without thinking, he kissed her hard. He circled his arms behind her back and pulled her in. His heart started to hammer as he felt her breathing quicken and she kissed him back. A sweet and familiar scent filled his nostrils but, even as he felt her hands slip around his waist, an alarm went off in the back of his mind. It smelled like rain.
Then there was quiet.
He pulled back as fast as he could.
As he held her at arm’s length, her eyes flew open. They were as bright as a reflected sunset but he knew the curtains were drawn.
“Liv!” he said.
She didn’t blink and seemed to be looking right through him, completely unfocused.
“Liv!” he said, shaking her. “Liv!”
She blinked–once, then twice, and the light faded. She didn’t seem like she was going to pass out but he kept his hands on her shoulders just in case. She gave her head a shake, sucked in a deep breath, and finally focused on him.
“SK?” she asked, slowly.
Like a return from the Multiverse, her lips were dry.
“Hey you,” he said.
“Hey,” she said, smiling a little.
“That was a close one,” he said.
“What happened?”
“I’m going to get you a glass of water,” he said, studying her face. “Can you sit here?”
She sat up straighter. “I can do that,” she said.
He rushed to the bathroom and fetched a glass of water. “Here,” he said. “Not too fast.”
When she’d finished, he set it down on the table behind him.
“What do you remember?”
She frowned for a few seconds, closed her eyes, then opened them and shook her head.
Same as last time, he thought.
“What did I miss?”
“Oh, the usual. You know, a certain devilishly handsome dwarf swept you off your feet.”
Livvy smiled and laughed a little. He took her hands in his.
“And he might have kissed you,” he continued.
He watched her face as she tried to concentrate and at least remember the kiss.
“That was right before the part where he told you he loved you.”
She became still but looked in his eyes, a little smile beginning. “Did he?” she asked.
“Oh yes,” he said with a nod. “You’ll have to take my word for it.”
She seemed to be watching him and, for several seconds, he wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at. But it didn’t matter. Her smile said everything.
“Take your word for it,” she said finally. “I can do that.”
They might have been like that for minutes–SK didn’t know–but eventually her smile faded and she grasped his hand a little harder.
“We need to find that tablet,” she whispered.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
DALE QUICKLY DISCOVERED there was hardly any clutch left on his uncle’s old Chevy. The truck felt massive as it rattled along the mesa edge, back to the hotel. He slowly dr
ove by his place, again, but Leon's car was nowhere to be seen.
Dale couldn’t stop seeing his face.
That look on his face in the plaza.
He gripped the wheel harder and down-shifted, though he needn’t have. The engine revved too high and he let the truck slow to a near crawl as he stared out the side window.
Why? Why in front of everybody like that?
The right tire ran off the pavement and into the dirt. He looked forward and jerked the wheel left.
Because I’m a fool.
He thought of Olivia and SK–how they looked at each other, touched each other–as though the rest of the world didn’t matter.
Is that what real love looks like?
The truck was rolling to a stop. He slowly stepped on the gas.
He knew what love didn’t look like–that look on Leon’s face.
He shifted and the truck picked up speed.
He’d make it up to him. He’d be the person Leon deserved.
He shifted gears again and gunned the engine, still looking down every side road.
Where had he gone?
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
“YOU DON’T NEED to stay,” said Celestino as he peered at the laptop’s screen.
Franklin had been dancing from one foot to the other for fifteen minutes, trying to keep warm. He’d pulled on a black ski cap and, with his hair tucked into it, he looked almost normal.
“I’m fine,” he muttered.
Too bad, thought Celestino.
He sat back and reached into his pocket for another cigarette. He’d prefer to be alone. This was his quiet time, his chance to observe and to contemplate the part he was to play. He flicked open the lighter and lit up.
The small motors in the base of the telescope quietly ticked as they tracked the star that had yet to appear over the horizon.
“So, what are we looking at?” asked Franklin, bending over to look at the screen.
Celestino snapped the lighter shut. “Here,” he said, around the cigarette. He stood up. “It’s easier on the horizon.”
He took a long drag and then pointed to the east in the darkening sky. “There,” he said. “Orion is starting to rise.”
Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman Books 1 -3 Page 71