Mintikwa and the Underwater Panther

by JR Green

  Willow reached for the lip of Mintikwa’s boat and drew it to theirs. She held it fast.

  “He’s here!” she shouted, turning to Saul and smiling. It was a feeble smile, though, tipping him off that something was terribly wrong.

  Mintikwa lay in the bottom of the boat, but his nephew was in dreadful shape. He was nearly naked, stripped down to his waistcloth. Bruises of various severity, ages, and sizes littered his body. One on his left side was almost black. His leg was swollen at the ankle. It was an animal bite, Saul realized. Mintikwa lay on his side, twisted so that he faced the sky. Something had pierced his chest. It was a deep and wicked wound. On his forearm were several long thin gashes that had turned an angry red.

  “He’s been tortured,” Saul said, nearly choking on the words. “My boy,” he said, shaking his head. “What have they done to you?”

  For a moment, with brewing rage, Willow could only think of the Soulless, but she quickly realized they weren’t likely responsible. The Dark Ones were not known to torture people. Instead, they offered a swift death. Then she thought of something else, another people that Crow had warned her about. They were back, he had said. Had Mintikwa run into the Maulsa?

  “I should never have left him,” she said.

  Willow turned to Saul, fearful and unsure what to do next. Then she turned back to Mintikwa and jumped into his canoe.

  Saul grabbed the boat to keep them together. Tears flowed down his cheeks. He didn’t bother to wipe them away but reached for his nephew. Saul put a hand at his neck. The boy was chilled, but he could feel his heart beating.

  “He’s alive,” he told her. The words buoyed them both with newfound hope.

  Willow reached for her old friend and lifted him to her. She held him close, rocking back and forth. She was crying too, tears flowing freely over her cheeks and leaning in, whispering to her friend that everything was going to be okay.

  Saul jumped into Mintikwa’s canoe, abandoning his own. He sat down, took up the paddle, dug in, and headed for home. He jabbed at the water with his oar, and the river seemed to respond. The current grew stronger and sped them back to town.

  Later that day, Saul took Mintikwa up into his arms. Lifting him out of the beached canoe, he carried him up the muddy riverbank. Willow led the way.

  They brought Mintikwa to a healer, one whom Saul trusted. They took him into the lodge and lay him in bed. The healer immediately lit sage bundles and set them all around Mintikwa. Then he walked around the bed, chanting and talking to the spirits, summoning the help of his own unseen allies. The healer assessed Mintikwa’s condition, his expression grave but determined.

  “At least no bones are broken,” he said, touching the place at his side. “His ribs have seen better days, but they remain intact.”

  He pointed to Mintikwa’s leg. “That is a snake bite,” he said, eyeing it more closely. “And by the size of it, I’d say it was Underwater Serpent.”

  Willow thought of the snake that she and Mintikwa encountered, roiling among the water lilies. She moaned involuntarily, imagining the horror of being attacked by that creature.

  “How he got away from a snake that big is a mystery to me,” he said. “I’ll be anxious to hear of it when he wakes up.”

  The healer gently touched the wound at Mintikwa’s chest. He cringed. “It’s deep,” he said. “To the bone. A very clean cut.”

  He stepped around Mintikwa and leaned in, puzzling over the marks on his forearm. “These wounds are strange to me,” the healer said, speaking from a lifetime’s experience in treating battle wounds. “The weapon which cut him here—,“ he said, looking at Saul and then Willow. Waving a hand, he said, “Pray you never encounter it.”

  “Will he be okay?” Willow asked, fearing what answer she might hear.

  “He will live,” the healer declared. “But I have much to do.”

  The healer immediately set to work. “Now, where is my cattail root?” he said, looking about. “Ah. There it is.” Smiling, he reached and grabbed a clay pot and then leaned over Mintikwa again.

  Curious as to what he was doing, Willow peered around to watch.

  He began cleaning the injuries, cleansing them first with water and then dabbing a mixture into them. The mixture was gelatinous. He carefully spread each wound open and packed the gel inside.

  He caught Willow looking. “Nothing like it,” he said. “To ease the pain and stave off the bad spirits.”

  “We’ll go now,” Saul said, bowing. “Thank you for tending to Mintikwa.”

  The healer nodded. “It is my honor,” he said.

  Saul motioned to Willow. They left the healer’s house, leaving him to do his work.

  The priest came to see Mintikwa, the same one who had visited them at the sweat lodge ceremony. As before, Saul greeted the priest. He was cordial and did not object to his checking on the health of his nephew, but he grew ever more suspicious when the priest didn’t emerge right away. In fact, he had been in there way too long.

  “What’s going on?” Mintikwa’s mother asked.

  Saul shook his head. “Mintikwa’s journey has brought the attention of several of those in power. Now we see to what extent. Keep a close eye,” he told her.

  When the priest finally emerged, Saul immediately smelled sabotage. Something had happened.

  He and Mintikwa’s mother rushed to confront him.

  “What did you do?” Saul asked boldly.

  “Consulted with the boy,” the priest said, shaking his head. “I have relieved him of a great burden.”

  Saul stepped forward.

  The warrior who accompanied the priest moved to block him.

  “Stand aside,” the priest said.

  Saul didn’t move.

  “Return the sacred bundle to Mintikwa,” Saul said, guessing as to what had happened.

  In one swift motion, the warrior pulled a club that had been hidden in his shirt sleeve and swung it toward Saul’s head. Saul dove out of the way, tumbled to the ground, tucked at the last moment, and, using his momentum, struck the warrior on the leg. The impact brought him to the ground. Like lightning, Saul’s fist slammed into the warrior’s face. With his other, he quickly disarmed the man. Bouncing back up, he stood before the priest.

  “Now,” he said. “Return to Mintikwa what is rightfully his.”

  Wide-eyed, the priest held up his hands. “Please,” he said. “We have no intention of stealing. The boy gave it to me freely, you see. I only wanted to relieve him of this burden.”

  Saul raised the club.

  The priest looked to his guard, but the warrior was out cold.

  Defeated, he reached into his robe and carefully withdrew the pouch. He tossed it to Saul, scowling.

  “I warn you,” the priest said as he walked away. “This is a matter for Meteor Man-being society.”

  Saul tucked the sacred bundle into his shirt. “Always remember,” he told the priest. “The manitou bypassed you and your society. He chose Mintikwa. Never forget that.”

  The priest turned and walked down the hill.

  Saul and Mintikwa’s mother ducked into Mintikwa’s healing lodge.

  “Are you okay?” Saul asked.

  Mintikwa looked up sleepily. “What happened?”

  “The priest took your sacred bundle,” Saul said.

  Mintikwa raised himself in his bed. “I didn’t even know. They were here, talking with me. I must have dozed off. Did you get it back?”

  Saul pulled the bundle from his shirt and gently lay it in Mintikwa’s hand.

  “Your vision has gained the attention of powerful people,” his uncle said. “We’ll have to be careful from now on.”

  “I have something I need to tell you,” Mintikwa said.

  “What is it?” Saul asked, sitting down next to Mintikwa.

  “I went to Eddytown,” Mintikwa confessed.

  Saul nodded. “I suspected as much,” he said. “In the days following your departure, my mind raced. What with the ques
tions you had just before you left, I should have seen it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mintikwa said, now as much to his mother as his uncle. “I should have told you.”

  “And we likely would have tried convincing you not to go,” he said. “Who knows what was best.”

  “No need to be sorry,” his mother said. “You have followed your heart. That’s all we ever wanted you to do.”

  Mintikwa stared up at the elm bark ceiling of his home. It was midmorning, but he was still in bed. He desperately wanted to get outside, but his mother and uncle insisted that he rest one more day. Mintikwa was bored out of his mind.

  He heard some commotion toward the entrance to the longhouse. His mother was speaking with someone. They were silhouetted against the bright opening, and he couldn’t quite see who it was. It grew quiet, and then someone was walking toward him. It was a girl, he realized.

  Willow came into view. When she caught sight of Mintikwa staring at her, she smiled.

  “Hi,” she said gingerly.

  “Come over,” Mintikwa said, sitting up and motioning her closer.

  “How are you doing?” she asked. There was considerable hesitancy in her voice.

  “Bored beyond all hope,” he said. “Until now.”

  This made Willow laugh, and her mood briefly lit up. “You look so much better,” she said. “Soon, you’ll be back on the river.”

  Mintikwa nodded. He imagined spending the whole day on the water, fishing again. This time with Willow. That did sound pretty good, but he wasn’t sure how she would feel about it.

  “Hey, I’ve wanted to talk with you about something,” Mintikwa said.

  “What about?”

  “Just don’t mention it to anyone yet,” Mintikwa said.

  “Alright,” she said. “But what is it?”

  “I want to go back to Eddytown.”

  “You want to go back?” she asked. “Already?”

  “I have to return,” he said. “There really is no choice.”

  “Given what you found there, we might be better off taking on the Soulless.”

  “I disagree,” he said. “Our destiny lies north. But what I wanted to ask you was, will you come with me?”

  Willow stood before him, thinking.

  Mintikwa feared she would say no. He expected she was about to tell him that she would be joining her father in reigniting the war with the Soulless.

  “Yes,” she said finally. “Yes, I’ll go with you.”

  Mintikwa was surprised, and then he was relieved.

  “I can’t imagine going back there without you,” Mintikwa said. “But honestly, I thought you’d say no.”

  “I’m glad you asked,” Willow said. “I’m anxious to see the old town. And to see for myself, just to make sure it wasn’t the lack of food that skewed your brain into seeing all those things.”

  Mintikwa laughed, but then he quickly grew reflective. “Some of the details are fading. Sometimes I wonder if it was all real.”

  They grew quiet. She seemed to grow restless. Something was bothering her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Tell me,” he insisted.

  “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

  She knelt next to his bed and reached for his hand. “I’m so sorry,” she said with a pained look on her face. Mintikwa suddenly realized that she was blaming herself for everything that happened since the attack, for the torture he endured.

  “Look here,” Mintikwa said, taking on an authoritative tone. “None of what I went through was your fault. There is no need for you to be sorry. I had to go through all that,” he said. “Uncle Saul was right. The Rite’s choice of totem was all wrong for me. You were right. Remember? You were sure that Beaver was wrong too.”

  She nodded. Brushing away an unbidden tear, she smiled.

  He laughed, thinking of the moments before the attack. “You knew I lost my mind after I saw Great-horned Serpent. It was my fault for compelling you to leave,” he said. “You were right. Beaver was obviously not right for me.”

  “You really saw him?”

  “Who?” he asked.

  “Great-horned Serpent,” she whispered.

  Mintikwa nodded.

  “And Underwater Panther?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Of that, I am sure.”

  “You had quite the vision quest,” Willow said, her mood enlivened again. She reflected. “But I didn’t leave because you wanted to take Beaver as a totem and go home.”

  “Why then?” Mintikwa asked.

  “I had to escort Laughing Crow south,” she said.

  “Who is Laughing Crow?” he asked, puzzled.

  “The Soulless,” she said.

  Mintikwa was shocked. “He’s still alive?”

  Willow nodded.

  “And you escorted him south?”

  “I did,” she said.

  “Without killing him?”

  “Believe me. I wanted to,” she said. “But I honored your wishes.”

  “You were protecting me,” he said. “At the same time, leaving me be. So that I could get on with the vision seeking. What was it like, being with Soulless?”

  “Painful,” she said.

  “Willow,” Mintikwa said. “They are no longer our enemy.”

  Her brow furrowed. She shook her head, not wanting to hear it. The seeds of this conversation were sown just after the Soulless had attacked Mintikwa. “What does that mean?” she asked.

  His thoughts turned toward the trauma he suffered, and immediately he felt sick to his stomach.

  “You were right, Willow,” he said. “We are not alone in the sixth world. There are others besides the Soulless. And the Dark Ones do have a new enemy, as you suspected. So do we.”

  “The Maulsa,” Willow said reluctantly.

  Mintikwa’s eyes went wide. “How do you know?” he asked and then thought of the council and the Meteor Man-being Society. “Does your father know?”

  She shook her head. “No,” she said. “I don’t think anyone among the people knows. Crow told me. But I didn’t really believe him at the time. Until now.”

  “The Maulsa are already powerful. We can’t afford to fight the Soulless anymore. Even if we can’t make peace with them. We won’t have the resources to fight two wars.”

  “Are you sure there will be a war with the Maulsa?”

  Mintikwa was sure. “Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind. They are vicious people. They hold no quarter. It’s like Underwater Panther said. They are at war with the earth. How can we avoid standing up to people like that?”

  “Did you see them?” she asked.

  Mintikwa nodded. He touched his chest, just above the wound given to him by the Maulsa brute. He thought of the woman and her drawing blood out of him, about her disrespect for his sacred bundle.

  “They are a brutal and wicked people,” he said.

  Willow was silent for a while.

  Mintikwa realized he had grown tense. He leaned back and took a deep breath.

  “I did learn something from him,” she said. It took a moment for Mintikwa to realize she was talking about the Soulless.

  “Well, you do know his name, so that says a lot,” Mintikwa said, jokingly. “What else did you learn?”

  “Apparently, Soulless actually eat those mussels that you’ve been collecting all these years.”

  Mintikwa thought of what the Panther said. “So it’s true,” he said. “The Soulless have known for a long time.”

  “What?” Willow asked.

  “They’re no longer poisonous,” Mintikwa told her.

  “That’s exactly what he said. I didn’t really believe him. I thought he might be delirious, and expected him to be holding his belly in pain, or dead, the next day. When he didn’t, I attributed it to how different they are from us. What makes you so sure they’re not poisonous for us?”

  “Underwater Panther told me,” Mintikwa said. “And I ate the
m too.”

  Willow made a face. They really disgusted her.

  “I had to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made it back. They are the answer to our shortages.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying we have to start eating them instead of fish,” he said. “All of us.”

  Willow made a face. “No way could I eat those,” she said. “How do you expect to convince anyone to eat them?”

  Mintikwa didn’t know the answer. “I don’t know,” he said, honestly.

  Suddenly, Willow remembered one thing more that she had learned from the Soulless. The most intriguing thing, really. “Do you know anything about a talisman?” she asked.

  “A talisman?” he said. “What talisman?”

  Willow leaned in. “Did your father or grandfather ever speak of a talisman?”

  “No, Willow.” He told her, unwanted anger surfacing. Mintikwa had always been sensitive to the subject of what they may have imparted to him, and hearing Willow ask of it bothered him. He was surprised at her and himself. She had never asked about them. And so he was never bothered before.

  “Your uncle?” she pressed.

  Mintikwa shook his head and looked away. But then suddenly, he remembered the Panther speaking of a talisman. Funny, he had almost forgotten about it. Underwater Panther wanted him to find it. It was in a ruined city to the east.

  “Wait! Yes,” he said, blinking away his surprise. “I’m sorry, Willow. I had forgotten about it, but yes, Underwater Panther spoke of a talisman from the fifth age. What do you know about it?”

  “Not much,” she said. “Crow was looking for it. It’s the reason he attacked us, I think. He thought you would know of it because you are a descendant of Great-horned Owl.”

  Mintikwa was shocked. “How could he possibly know that?”

  Willow shook her head.

  Mintikwa had a sudden and very uncomfortable realization that Crow must have been the one eavesdropping on him and Hare in the woods.

  Willow stared down at the floor, seemingly uncomfortable with his sudden excitement. “I’m sorry, Mintikwa,” she said. “I didn’t get enough information out of him. This is all … it’s just too much … too much to think about.”