by TM Simmons
Nodinens began whispering a chant in words Channing didn't understand.
Mino-dae/aeshowishinaung
Tchi mino-inaudiziwinaungaen
Nanaukinumowidauh matchi-dae/aewin
Zhaugootchitumowidauh matchi-dodumowin
Nodinens glanced at Channing and quickly back at the woman as she whispered in a trembling voice, "I will teach you this. It is for protection against evil. It says,
'Fill our spirits with good,
Upright then may be our lives
Defend our hearts against evil
Against evil prevail.'"
As she spoke, the Native American woman halted and looked around. She didn't seem to see Channing and Nodinens, although something had her attention. When Channing studied the windows more closely, she realized there must be a layer of one-way film on them. They could see out, but for privacy, those outside couldn't see in.
Next, Nodinens sang a wordless tune. The woman outside clapped her hands over her ears, as though she heard but didn't want to. Nodinens raised her voice in a stronger tone, and the song grew more audible.
The woman turned in a circle, staring around as though in pain. Then she threw back her head and screamed an agonized sound that penetrated the glass barrier between them. Chills chased up and down Channing, feathering the hairs on her arms and neck, and her stomach clenched in alarm.
She couldn't stand not knowing what was going on any longer. "Nodinens," she demanded in a low voice. "Is that Nenegean?"
Nodinens kept on singing, even louder now, but she nodded an affirmative response. Outside, the woman threw her head around as she raced in a circle, seeming to search for the cause of her obvious agony. Once, twice, she circled the cleared area, her screams escalating to anguished shrieks.
When Channing noticed Nodinens sway as though weakened, she wrapped an arm around the elderly woman's shoulders to support her. Without halting her song, Nodinens reached over and took Channing's free hand, clenching it.
All at once Nenegean collapsed, but only for an instant. As soon as she regained her feet, she raced into the woods, still flying on top of the snow.
"My god," Channing breathed when the woman disappeared. Her own legs weakened, and she sat down on a loveseat, pulling Nodinens down beside her. "What would she have done if you hadn't been with me?"
Nodinens sang for another fifteen seconds or so before she stopped. When she looked at Channing, fear swam in Nodinens' brown eyes, a mirror of the terror inundating her.
"I do not know," Nodinens said quietly, answering Channing's question at last.
Channing stared back. "That thing is evil. Dangerous."
"Yes," Nodinens agreed. "We must find her and send her back to death. We have to cross her over correctly in order to make it last, or she will come back."
"Do you have any idea why she came back this time?"
"Maybe," Nodinens said. "However, I need to be sure before I put the thoughts into words. Then I will tell you more."
"But —"
"She will not return here now," Nodinens said in a steadier voice. "You will be safe. She knows there is protection against her here."
"Maybe you're right, but I still think I'm going to send for some protection of my own."
"You have someone who can do that for you?"
"My ex-husband," Channing explained. "Although we're divorced, we still stay in contact. Grant's spent most of his career working with entities similar to Nenegean."
"I am also going to have Keoman stop by tonight," Nodinens said. "He will have something for you. Tomorrow, you will have to go out and see Birdie, and I do not want you to travel places alone. I will go with you."
Mind on other matters, Channing only paid slight attention to the other woman's prediction. Thoughts of Grant crowded other thing out.
Her ex-husband had tried not to bring his work home during their marriage, or even tell her too much about it. However, at times he needed someone to talk to, especially when things he was involved in deteriorated, became life-threatening. Now and then the nightmares got so bad Grant refused to sleep in their bed. Nights when she found him wandering, she had offered him someone to confide in, and he had admitted that it helped to tell her at least some of what he had to deal with.
They had loved each other deeply once. She wouldn't have married him if she had thought what they had was less than a true, forever love. However, he had closed himself off after Rose died, as she had. They existed separately, working through their heartache in spheres of loneliness rather than sharing happier memories, which might have helped them past the despair.
Although she knew each of them dealt with their own form of guilt, her infrequent attempts to break through the walls around them were feeble. Eventually, she realized she and Grant had perhaps been too much in love. They had devoted their free time to each other at first, then Rose, the result of which left them with no close friends. When she at last tried to stir herself toward some manner of healing, Grant had refused counseling. Every offer she made to share their grief after that was met with rebuttals. She eventually resolved to give him space to work things out on his own, until one day she came home to find the house emptied of his things. The divorce papers he served on her immediately after that negated any hope of reconciliation, especially when he refused to talk to her unless she signed them. She finally gave up on their marriage. It was only a chance encounter that led them back into the friendship they had now.
Channing realized Nodinens was waiting for a response.
"I'm really not used to having a babysitter," she said, although she smiled at Nodinens to take the sting out of her words. "But I'll admit, the things Grant dealt with never came close to our home. He was always out on assignment somewhere when he handled stuff like that, and all my knowledge was hearsay. It will take him a day or so to overnight me some of the protections he uses, so I'll be glad to use whatever Keoman has until then."
She frowned as she remembered what else Nodinens had said. "How do you know I'm going to get a call to help a patient tomorrow? Your gift again?"
"Partly," Nodinens replied. "But I also know through our tribal grapevine that Birdie's daughter has been trying to get her mother to come in to the doctor. However, Birdie is afraid she will be told something she does not want to handle."
"Some patients are like that. And I'll be glad to go and see her."
Chapter 13
By the time Channing called from her cozy cabin to belatedly check out of the casino hotel, the shorter Northwood day was waning. She unpacked and examined her surroundings. Immediately, she realized she would have to thank Nodinens and offer to pay for the groceries her landlady had stocked. She was still full from the gathering after Yancy's memorial service, but Channing noted the bag of salad fixings someone had prepared and left in the refrigerator. A note affixed to an oven-proof container gave instructions on how long to heat the contents, a luscious-smelling stew.
Channing headed for the shower, but halted when headlights flashed in front of her cabin, indicating another vehicle driving up. By the time she got to the front door and drew back the curtain beside a window, Keoman and a man she didn't recognize were getting out of an older pickup.
She opened the door before they could knock. "Hi. Is something going on?"
The two of them entered the cabin while she held the door open in welcome.
"No one's hurt or needs your medical skills." Keoman introduced the man with him. "This is Gagewin, our tribal chairman." Keoman didn't add a last name.
The man held out a hand as he unobtrusively examined Channing. "I'm pleased to meet you," Gagewin said, "and glad you're here."
"Thank you," Channing responded. "But … well, not to be impolite, but why did you both need to see me? Nodinens said Keoman would be by, but not anyone else."
"Nodinens sent us both," Keoman explained. "She performed a blessing chant, but I've brought you something." He handed her a small, white leather pouch attached to a th
ong made from the same material. "I'd like you to carry this when you're anywhere outside your cabin. Plus, if you don't mind, we're here to do another blessing."
Channing fingered the pouch. The material felt wonderfully soft, but when she started to open the drawstring, Keoman put his hand over hers.
"It works better if you leave it closed and keep the medicine inside," he said.
"I understand." Gagewin raised an eyebrow when, without protest, Channing hung the pouch around her neck, so she asked the other man, "Did Keoman tell you about my ex-husband?"
"Yes," Gagewin answered. "And I see you do believe."
Quietly, Channing responded, "I've heard too much from Grant not to take stuff like this seriously. You just tell me what to do, or where to stay out of your way, and perform whatever's necessary. I saw Nenegean. I don't want anything to do with her. I do wish you would tell me a little more about her, though, so when I call Grant and ask him if he has any additional protections, he'll be able to make a rational decision about what to send."
"We can do that," Gagewin agreed.
The two men returned to the truck briefly, then for the next half-hour, prepared the elements for their ceremony and performed it as they chanted and walked through the cabin. Keoman explained the herbs they were using and what they were doing. She had never been with Grant when anything like this ceremony was performed, but he had told her once about having one done when they needed to eradicate a dangerous entity. At one point, Channing whispered a respectful request for permission to follow along. Both men indicated agreement, and she could feel the change in atmosphere as the men moved through the cabin.
The sage and sweet grass smoked in the turtle shell Keoman carried, dissipating before it choked them and leaving behind a pleasant, lingering odor. Gagewin used a small drum and rattle. He alternated between the soft drum beats and shaking the rattle to accompany the chant he sang. When finished inside, they motioned for her to stay and went outside. She could see them most of the time as they walked entirely around the cabin.
The men returned and remained quiet as they repacked their ceremonial supplies in a satchel. Last, Keoman handed her a small container of the ashes he removed from his turtle shell.
"You need to place these on your fireplace mantle yourself," he said. When she carried them over, he followed and laid a smooth stone beside the container. "This is a fetish that's been blessed in another ceremony. They will both work together. But you still need to be careful."
"Grant told me that a person's faith in the protective elements has as much to do with how well they work as the blessing ceremonies used to consecrate them," she said. She hesitated a moment as she glanced over at Gagewin, then shrugged and continued, "Maybe he might offer to come up here and help. Would that be amenable to you and your tribe?"
The two men shared a glance, and it was Gagewin who answered. "Another white man helped when we had the windigo problem a few months ago. So yes, we do accept assistance from people who are trained and know what they're doing, as Caleb McCoy was. I would like to talk to him first, though, before he goes to the trouble of making a trip here. I wouldn't want him arriving as an FBI agent, but only as a believer."
"Would you like me to call him now?" she asked.
A phone rang. It wasn't the tone for her own cell, and Gagewin pulled his from a shirt pocket.
For some reason, Keoman explained, "He got his phone from the truck before we came back inside. We don't allow them to interfere with a cere—" Keoman halted his explanation abruptly when Gagewin's expression morphed into one of agony.
"No," the tribal chairman whispered as he glanced over at Keoman. He staggered on suddenly unsteady legs, and Keoman and Channing hurriedly guided him to the sofa, as Gagewin continued to listen to whoever had called. After he sat down, Gagewin pushed the speaker button on the phone so they could all hear.
"—about half an hour ago," the man on the other end of the connection was saying. "And we haven't been able to find Walt."
"Please," Gagewin said in a tortured voice. "Keoman is with me. Tell him what you just said, Radin."
"Keoman?" Radin asked.
"I'm here," Keoman said. "What's happened?"
"Nenegean took Lark," Radin replied abruptly.
Keoman stiffened beside Channing. "You're sure?"
"Sandy saw her leaving as she came home from her shift at the casino. We're at the house now. You both need to get here — wait. I think…." Only a second or so later, Radin continued, "That's Walt staggering out of the woods. He's hurt."
A woman screamed in the background, and they heard footsteps racing across a floor as she said, "I told you my husband wouldn't have left Lark alone!"
"Get here," Radin said. "Fast." He disconnected the call.
As Gagewin stood and the men started to the door, Channing said, "I better go with you. It sounds like her husband needs medical attention. But I'll have to have some stuff from the office. Can you leave me directions?"
"We've got medical supplies in my truck," Keoman said. "Hurry and get your coat. We'll be outside."
When Channing got in her car, Keoman only waited until she had the engine running before he turned around and raced out the driveway. Channing hurriedly started after them, but another large pickup cut in front of her from beside the office cabin. She recognized Nodinens' truck, and when they emerged onto the two-lane road, she found it just as hard to keep the elderly woman's vehicle in sight as the one ahead of it. Mostly, she followed taillights, barely seeing them ahead of her when the other trucks turned at intersections.
The piles of snow and trees beside the road flashed past, and Channing had to trust Nodinens not to lead her into a dangerous situation ending in a high-speed wreck. When she found herself gaining on Nodinens' taillights, she let off the accelerator, instinctively knowing there was a curve or intersecting road to navigate.
Ten minutes later, both sets of red lights in front of her brightened and the drivers turned into another driveway. Channing parked at the end of at least six other pickups in addition to Keoman's and Nodinens'. No one waited for her. She opened the car door and sprinted after them, glad she'd thrust her feet into the fur-lined snow boots Nodinens' had thoughtfully left in the cabin for her.
The home was a story-and-half split level, painted white with dark red trim. She entered into a living area, where a stiff quiet met her ears despite numerous people there. Several men and women she didn't recognize sat or roamed the room. A kitchen was visible through a doorway arch, and two more women glided silently back and forth past it, one with a large can of coffee in her hands.
Her patient lay on a sofa to her left, a towel held to his head. Sandy, their waitress from the casino bar, sat beside him, clutching one of his hands. When Sandy glanced up, Channing nearly lost herself at the agony in the other woman's eyes.
Sandy didn't even appear to recognize Channing, but Keoman led her over to the sofa and set a satchel down as he said quietly, "The medical supplies I have are in here. Let me see if I can get Sandy out of your way."
"Leave her," Channing said just as softly. "I'll work around her."
She gently touched Sandy's shoulder and asked, "Do you know what happened to your husband?"
Sandy blinked up at her. The lazy eyelid motion as she spoke indicated to Channing that the woman might be going into shock herself. "He … I … it hurt him. His head…."
Channing knelt beside the sofa and lifted the towel-wrapped ice pack on Walt's head to examine a large knot. The blow also split his scalp, and blood still seeped.
Keoman's medical satchel contained a plethora of what a doctor might need. Channing listened to what Gagewin and Keoman were discussing with another man as she worked to clean the wound before she sutured it. At one point, she wiped at what at first appeared to be dirt in the nasty head gash. The tweezers she used drew out a piece of bark.
"He must have been knocked on the head with a branch," she murmured.
"I told them," S
andy said around her tears. "Walt probably just went out to check the meat he had in the smoker. He wouldn't have left Lark alone. She was probably tagging after him." Sandy gulped on a sob. "Walt always took time to dress Lark for the cold whenever he took her outside with him."
Mind on her patient, Channing inattentively patted Sandy's knee and said, "If you have a weak stomach, you might want to leave for a minute. I need to sew some stitches to stop this bleeding."
"I'll stay," Sandy said staunchly, although when Channing glanced up to check the validity of her words, tears tracked down Sandy's white cheeks beneath tortured brown eyes. The grip Sandy had on Walt's arm was desperate, nails digging into her husband's flesh.
"Then you could help me," Channing said. "I'll hand you some things I'm going to need, and you can have them ready."
Sandy nodded and reluctantly released the death grip.
Chapter 14
Radin accompanied Keoman and Gagewin when they went outside to try and find Nenegean's trail. Burning wood odor still feathered in the air, although the top of the smoker had been removed. Someone had taken the meat into the house, probably one of the relatives gathered inside. The three men easily followed Walt's path from the small patio to a covered stack of wood by a metal storage shed. One piece of wood lay beside the smoker and the indentation in the snow showed where Walt's body had fallen, then been dragged behind a small pine tree.
No other footsteps marred the inch of new snow. As Keoman expected, there wasn't any evidence of Nenegean. Beings like her could race across the land without leaving a trace.
"She hit my son on the head with that piece of wood," Gagewin said as they reentered the house. "Has your doctor said whether or not we need to get him to a hospital?"