by TM Simmons
"What?" he asked with a wry chuckle as he sat back down. "Now you're also a psychiatrist?"
She smiled in return. "Actually, we did study psychiatry as part of our medical training. And I'll bet you studied human behavior yourself, when you trained for your own life's path."
"A lot of good that does me now. My abilities are a gift I was born with. I always thought I would just keep on developing them, not lose them."
"From what I'm reading in these records, you suffered a horrifying trauma. You were lucky to even come out of that coma. Things like that can also have a deep effect on the mind." Keoman started to speak, but she held up a hand to halt his interruption. "I know you had some counseling during your recovery. And you probably had some counseling after you returned here, perhaps from someone you studied under over the years. What I'm trying to figure out is whether your headaches are due to something physical or mental."
Keoman sighed. "I've done a lot of my own research on these things. Dr. Anderson prescribed various drugs, but I also tried different holistic herbs, some that Nodinens or others in my tribe recommended. Hell, I even smoked pot and got some peyote from a friend. Nothing worked and still gave me a decent life. A life not clouded in fog."
"I wish I had some good news for you, but I don't see anything that Dr. Anderson missed. And since I'm not a holistic doctor, I don't know much about the herbs."
"So you just called me in here to say you're as stumped as everyone else?"
"I guess," she admitted. "But what you've told me does add to your medical history beyond your written records. As I told you when I arrived, I did do some research on the culture here in the Northwood. Part of that was to help me decide if I would like living here."
"You should have come up in the summer rather than the winter. Our winters have to be a shock to someone from Texas."
Channing laughed. "I totally agree. But back to the matter at hand. Have you tried deep meditation?"
"I'm a Midé," he said in an affable tone. "What do you think?" Before Channing could answer, he went on, "The problem is, lots of times these things come on when I'm not in a situation where I can relax and go into a meditative state, let alone a deep trance. By the time I'm anywhere I can let go enough for that, the current migraine's got a deep hold on me. So there's no chance to get rid of them that way."
"Have you ever been somewhere you could relax when one of your migraines hit?" she asked in interest.
"Once or twice. With my training, I can sink into meditation quickly. And yes, it did help. It didn't totally prevent the migraine, but it was less severe and over faster."
"When we were out in the woods and you fought Nenegean, your migraine hit hard, but it didn't seem to debilitate you for too long. By the time we were back in town, you didn't appear to be suffering from it."
"It was still there," he admitted. "I popped some pills on the way to town. So after fifteen minutes, it was manageable."
"Have you tried keeping a diary of what you were doing when the migraines hit? Writing down whether or not it was a severe one or a lesser one?"
Keoman appeared to be contemplating her suggestion. "You're leaning toward them being more mental than physical then? I've sort of felt they were due to the trauma of the wreck and coma."
"People with minds like yours, minds that deal with another dimension and the people and things that inhabit it, have different mental abilities than most people. Especially people who have worked to develop and expand that gift. There aren't many para-psychologists, but it has started to become an accepted part of some practices."
"A para-psychologist?"
"A psychologist who believes there is a difference between paranormal experiences and psychopathic phenomena. Psychopathic phenomena are the mental illnesses nearly all these doctors treat. Para-psychologists believe there are certain medical, psychological and psychiatric disorders that can't be explained by currently available theories of genetic or environmental influences. That they have to be treated differently. Studies of these patients seem to be a way to expedite the brain-mind relationship."
"Sounds interesting," Keoman mused.
"Grant knows a para-psychologist," Channing said. "With your permission, I can ask him to put me in contact with that doctor."
"On one condition," Keoman said with a smile.
"And that is?"
"You mentioned that relaxation might help me. I can't think of anything more relaxing than getting away on a dinner date with a beautiful woman."
Channing studied him. "You know, I've never treated a patient by helping him relax on a date with me."
Keoman laughed. "Believe me, I'm not asking you to dinner as part of my medical treatment."
"Good," she said. "But I warn you, I didn't bring any 'date' clothing. So a burger and fries would be fine."
"Not on your life. You do have a passport, don't you?"
"I did bring that. Why?"
"I know a really nice restaurant just across the border." He glanced at his wristwatch. "And yes, it is a dress-up place. There's a little dress shop on the town's main street, a few doors down from the bakery. You've got plenty of time to go there and find something to wear."
"You've never seen me shop for a dress," she said with a grin. "I don't shop much, and when I do, I'm picky, picky. And besides, I'll need shoes and maybe a matching purse, and —"
Keoman held out his hands to halt her. "All right, all right. Still, you've already said I'm the last patient today. So you can close up early, too, and go shopping."
She couldn't seem to stop smiling. She had never been asked on a date, then discussed what type of dress she needed to buy. However, for some reason, the conversation with Keoman flowed naturally.
Chapter 27
Late that night, Keoman helped Channing into her coat while they waited for the valet to bring her rental car around.
"That was a wonderful meal," she said with a sigh. "And very good company. I enjoyed tonight."
"I'm glad," he said as the valet drove up. "And you were right about the relaxation. Plus…." He put his hand on her back as they walked out the door. "I was right about the company of a beautiful woman being a good thing for me."
She smiled as she settled in the car, and Keoman tipped the valet. He got behind the wheel and said, "I'm glad we didn't drive my truck. This is a much better way to take a lady on a date."
She laughed. "Just don't hit a moose driving back. You aren't on my rental insurance."
"I didn't think of that. Do you want to drive?"
"No. We'll just take our chances. I'm enjoying being treated like a woman tonight."
"I'll remember that," he said with a wink.
Just before they entered the main highway, Keoman pulled to the side. She raised an eyebrow in inquiry, but thought she already knew why he had stopped. She met him halfway. The kiss began tenderly, but quickly turned heated. Had it not been for the gearshift on the console, she would have been in his lap.
They both broke the kiss at the same moment. Keoman laid his forehead against hers.
"We've got a long drive, so —"
Channing groaned and reached for her coat pocket when a cell phone shrilled. Then she realized it wasn't her ring tone. Keoman was already retrieving his coat from where he had tossed it on the backseat.
"I hate these things," he muttered as he pulled the phone out. By then, the ring tone had ceased, and a soft ding signaled a voice mail. He frowned at the display and hesitated, a finger hovering over the screen.
"Want me to help you with the voice mail?" Channing asked with a giggle.
He handed her the phone. "If you don't mind. I'd probably lose it. The only reason I brought this with me was because I promised Gagewin."
Channing studied the phone. It was similar to hers, with a touch screen, and she soon had the message playing. A short message. All it said was, "Call me immediately."
The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it until Keoman said, "G
agewin. Hell, something else happened. Let me call him."
Their conversation was as short at the message. When Keoman disconnected, the dash lights illuminated his face well enough for Channing to see the strain.
"We need to get back. She's taken another little girl." He dropped the car in gear.
It was nearly a two hour drive to Neris Lake, and Channing was well aware he would try to get there faster. She didn't speak and break his concentration on the road until a half-hour into the drive.
"Did he say who the child was?"
"Daisy's granddaughter, Sunni."
Channing whispered a prayer for Daisy and her family, then remained silent as they sped through what had been a wonderful night. At one point, Keoman glanced in the rearview mirror, then back at the road. She turned slightly and saw a gorgeous display of Northern Lights playing on the horizon behind them. Green and violet spiked high, then expanded until they covered the entire skyline before they faded and reformed. The brilliance danced as though to music, a scene that would have been captivating, had they not been involved in a time race.
Sitting on some lover's point watching this display would have been a terrific ending to a perfect evening, she mused guiltily.
She could also think of another way she had been hoping the evening would end. After the tribal members returned home, Nodinens had rented Grant another cabin, and she had privacy again. She dismissed that selfish idea also.
A faint scatter of lights ahead of them indicated they were finally nearing Neris Lake.
"Can you call Gagewin for me?" Keoman asked. "His number's in my phone."
She retrieved the phone, and before she dialed, she asked him, "Do you wane me to sync it so you can hear through the car speakers? You won't have to take one hand off the wheel to talk."
"Whatever that is, it sounds like a good idea," he said. "Go ahead."
She changed the phone settings, then used the car's touch screen. A moment later, a dial tone buzzed through the speakers, then the phone rings.
Gagewin answered immediately.
"We're almost to Neris Lake," Keoman said. "Where do you want me to meet you?"
"A tree's down across the power lines at the tribal headquarters," Gagewin responded. "I'm at home, waiting for you."
"Channing's with me. I need to drop her off."
"No," Channing said, knowing they'd already wasted too much time. "Go on to Gagewin's. I can get back from there."
"Dr. Drury?" Gagewin said in a puzzled voice.
"It's something called sink on the car," Keoman told him, continuing before Gagewin could say anything else, "and I'm only about two minutes from you."
"All right," Gagewin said.
Within those two minutes, they pulled up in front of a huge log cabin surrounded on the edge of the cleared land by deep, dense forest. As Keoman reached for his coat, Channing asked, "Do you mind if I come in for a minute and get any updates? Maybe find out where Daisy is, so I can see if there's anything I can do for her or her family?"
"Of course. And I'm sorry the night had to end like this. I hope we can do this again, when we can take our time afterward."
She leaned over and kissed him. "You've got a deal."
"Sealed with a kiss," he said, smiling. "I like that."
She didn't wait for him to courteously open her door. When she joined him in front of the car, he again placed a hand in the small of her back, and they hurried side-by-side up the cleared walkway. A doeskin bag hung from a hook on the door, one much larger than what Keoman had given her. The sight of it reminded her that she had left her own protection pouch at the cabin, not wanting to wear it with the new dress. She had assumed being with Keoman would keep her safe.
Keoman didn't knock. He opened the door and steered her inside. A large living area encompassed the front of the home, and two men were deep in conversation in chairs in front of a river-stone fireplace containing merrily blazing logs. They looked up as Keoman and Channing approached, and she recognized Gagewin and Radin. Radin's face bore signs of deep strain, and the floor lamp beside his chair illuminated his red-rimmed eyes.
As he rose to meet them, Gagewin said, "Would either of you like something to drink?"
"Water would be good," Channing said, and Keoman added his request for the same.
By the time they were seated on a couch, Gagewin was back with two bottles of water wrapped in napkins. Channing opened hers and took a long swallow.
"What happened?" Keoman asked. "Where did Nenegean take Sunni from? Her bedroom?"
"You'd think so," Gagewin replied, while Radin stared blankly into the fire. "But Daisy and her daughter took the child to that new children's movie playing in town. Then they decided it wouldn't hurt Sunni to have a sundae before they went home. When they were walking from the car to the house, Nenegean came around the side and grabbed Sunni."
"Were Daisy or her daughter hurt?" Channing asked in concern, ready to get to her feet and leave.
"No," Gagewin assured her. "Her mother was carrying Sunni, who had gone to sleep on the drive home. Nenegean was on them before they even noticed her. The entity pushed Joyce to the ground and disappeared with Sunni before Daisy even realized what was happening."
"Daisy's probably lucky she didn't try to attack Nenegean," Keoman said.
"Daisy wouldn't have cared," Channing told him. "Not when her granddaughter was in danger."
"Is anyone on the way to the cave where we found the other children?" Keoman asked Gagewin.
Gagewin stood. "You and I will go there. I've sent everyone else to other areas, and also to help in the search for Annalise."
At Annalise's name, Radin jerked around to stare at them, a look of fear mixed with sorrow in his expression. Without noticing she had seen him, he stared back at the fire.
"I need to go to Daisy," Channing said. "I'd like to at least offer whatever comfort I can."
"I'll give you the address for your GPS," Gagewin said, then asked Radin, "Are you coming with us, Radin?"
The other man jumped to his feet. "Uh … yeah, of course. I mean, I guess. If I won't be a hindrance. I probably should stop by a drug store first. You know, this …." He glanced at Channing and didn't finish his sentence.
"We probably need someone at the tribal headquarters to make sure the electric company gets out there," Gagewin said. "We don't want a huge plumbing bill, if our pipes freeze."
Radin headed to the door. "I'll take care of that, then."
"Wait a minute," Keoman called. "You follow Channing first. I don't want her driving alone right now."
"I—" Keoman's glance at her warned this could quickly turn into a heated argument if she tried to refuse Radin's company. "All right," she conceded.
Radin grabbed his coat from a rack inside the door. "I'll wait in my truck."
"Sorry," Gagewin told Channing. "Even though you're a doctor, you're a woman. And he was embarrassed to tell you that sometimes he suffers from stress diarrhea."
"I could have given him something," Channing said. "But whatever he gets at the drug store will probably be just as good."
It seemed ludicrous to be discussing Radin's illness when there were more important things to worry about, and the topic was dropped. Once outside themselves, Channing programmed the address Gagewin gave her into her GPS. As the other man walked toward his vehicle, Keoman leaned inside Channing's and ran his finger down her cheek.
"Be careful," he said. "Please."
"I will," she promised.
He closed her door, then joined Gagewin. Channing waited until they had pulled out before she drove over beside Radin's vehicle and rolled her window down, indicating for him to do the same.
"Are you all right to wait a while to get to the drug store? I need to stop by my cabin and change clothes."
"Go ahead. I'll follow."
Chapter 28
At the entrance to the resort, Radin flashed his headlights behind her. Channing pulled into the driveway and waited until he stopped
beside her, their windows open again.
"I really need to get into town," Radin said. "You'll hurry, won't you?"
"Go ahead," Channing replied. "I'll just be a minute here, and then I'll head straight to Daisy's."
Radin didn't bother to argue. He backed quickly out and turned toward Neris Lake.
For a second, Channing debated whether this had been a good idea. Then she decided she would just run in and grab a set of clothes to change into at Daisy's and pick up her medical supplies and doeskin pouch.
The office was dark when she drove past, which could mean Nodinens had gone to her own home or was with Daisy. Probably the latter. The elderly woman went wherever anyone needed her. Channing had already noticed Nodinens pushed herself beyond her physical limits at times. She would be there for anyone during a personal crisis.
Even without Alan, the resort's maintenance man Nenegean had killed, the sidewalks and driveway were cleared. Given the closeness of this community, other men had probably pitched in without being asked. However, Channing had forgotten to turn on her outside light when she left. Instincts honed in city living, she gripped the door key in her hand before she got out of the car. She glanced across at the cabin Grant had rented, unsurprised to see those windows dark, also. He would be with one of the search parties.
Key an inch from the lock, she noticed the small gap in the door. Locked doors were also second nature for her, and she didn't hesitate. She turned back toward the car. Her shoulder inadvertently brushed against the wood, and the opening expanded.
The stench hit her, and she halted. Slowly, she turned back. She recognized that smell. Nenegean had been here, perhaps still was. The odor reeked too potently to be an after-effect of the entity's visit. She needed to get back in the car at once. Let someone know where Nenegean was.
But what about Sunni? The thought of the little girl froze her in place.
Channing's mind shrieked Run, and she wished she hadn't allowed Radin to leave.
Why was the entity here alone inside her cabin? Or had she left the little girl alone in that isolated cavern?