by TM Simmons
Channing froze at the fierce scowl on Nenegean's face. Her eyes glowed red, her gaze laser-focused in the direction where the engine noise grew louder. Channing unsuccessfully tried to stifle her terror at what Keoman would encounter when he emerged from the woods.
When it appeared, the snowmobile skidded sideways and threw up a spray of ice and snow. It halted, and the man in the black snowsuit already had an arrow notched in the crossbow aimed their way. Channing dropped to the ground just as the twang of the release rang out.
The arrow flew across the clearing.
But Nenegean wasn't there. The arrow thunked harmlessly into a tree trunk past the mound of gravestones.
Channing swallowed her fear and leveraged herself onto an elbow in order to see out of the indentation her falling body had made in the snow. The snowmobile rider had another arrow in the crossbow. His head slowly turned from right to left as he scanned the clearing for Nenegean.
Channing didn't see the entity either and dared hope she had fled. Then she and Keoman could leave and regroup for another day.
The entity hadn't left. Channing caught a brief glimpse of brown buckskin in the trees, where Nenegean circled behind the man.
"Behind you, Keoman!" she shouted.
He ignored her and stepped off his snowmobile. He reached for something behind the plastic windshield, and the clearing was small enough to see him draw out a handful of additional arrows. He carefully walked around the snow sled, re-armed crossbow held at the ready as he dropped four arrows. One pointed in each of the four directions, forming a circle to protect him. Then he motioned for Channing to join him.
She surged out of the depression and started across the snow. He watched her for a moment, then turned away to search for Nenegean again. Channing slipped and fell, drawing his gaze back to her. He shook his head and gestured at her to hurry.
Channing rose and walked more carefully toward him. She was within a few feet of him when he swiftly turned toward her, the crossbow aimed directly at her chest.
She had no time to drop before he pulled the crossbow trigger.
The flash of brown in front of Channing saved her from certain death.
She was already falling, and when she hit the snow on her stomach, she slid sideways and stopped beside Nenegean's moccasin-clad legs.
Why had Keoman tried to kill her? She refused to believe that thought even as she stood up behind Nenegean.
The entity unexpectedly swept Channing into her arms. Instantly, they were inside the underbrush beyond the clearing, protected by a huge tree trunk.
Channing peered around the tree, but Nenegean jerked her back.
"Gaawiin!" Nenegean ordered, telling Channing no, to stay behind the tree.
Channing's confusion disintegrated. Even though the man in the black snowsuit wore a knit wool mask, Channing had seen enough to realize it wasn't Keoman. This man was shorter, heavier in the thighs and legs.
Oh, god, he must be the pedophile Nenegean had been trying to warn them about or find herself. She recognized that snowsuit as the one the man who broke into Nodinens' house had worn. She'd seen it somewhere else, also. Where?
"Maji-manidoo," she said to Nenegean. "The evil man."
The entity nodded. She swayed, and Channing gasped when she noticed the arrow embedded in her stomach. She couldn't recall if Kymbria had taught her the word for hurt, but she did remember 'sick,' a word fairly close to what she wanted to say.
She pointed at the arrow and asked in concern, "Ninaakoz?"
Instead of answering, Nenegean placed Channing's hand on the arrow shaft.
"I —" Channing hesitated. Nenegean couldn't touch the arrow. It would poison her even more.
Steeling herself, Channing yanked the arrow free and threw it deep into the underbrush.
"You might as well come out!" the man yelled. "I've got enough protections with me to get close enough to both you and that monster! I won't miss the next time!"
Channing knew that voice and frowned as she tried to place it.
"Radin!" she whispered to Nenegean. Forgetting the entity didn't understand English, she went on, "It's a man from the tribe named Radin. I was with him when we found the first two children you tried to save from danger."
"Neejawnisug," Nenegean said. When she followed that up with, "Children," Channing realized the entity had picked up a word or two of English as they tried to communicate.
Nenegean glared through the trees, and Channing noted the body language. She was steeling herself to attack.
"Radin maji-manidoo," the entity said with a snarl, and the identification of the man who had escaped detection for so long clarified in Channing's mind.
Radin was a trusted tribal member. He had been called to repair an alarm system he had disabled himself at Nodinens' home. He would have been welcomed anywhere, had plenty of chances to choose his victims. As part of the search effort, he also knew when and where he could take a child with the least danger to himself.
Nenegean took a step, but Channing laid a hand on the entity's arm. "Wait."
Past the tree trunk, Nenegean faced certain death — or more properly, a destruction which would negate any hope of her raising from the dead a second time. As soon as Radin eradicated Nenegean, Channing had no doubt she would be next.
"Nibowin," Channing said, indicating death waited for them in the clearing.
Nenegean laid a hand on her chest. "Odjitcag," she said, telling Channing that she was a spirit, could not face death again.
Channing shook her head in denial, searching her mind for the word to say a form of death could still happen to the entity.
"Mudjimushkeeki," she said, then in English, "Bad medicine."
Nenegean cocked her head as though trying to absorb Channing's meaning. She looked towards the clearing, then back at Channing with a puzzled frown.
"Midè?" she asked.
"Gaawiin, gaawiin, no, no," Channing said. "Maji-manidoo. Bad medicine to you —" She laid a hand on Nenegean's chest. "—as well as children, neejawnisug."
Understanding gleamed in Nenegean's dark brown eyes, but she shrugged as though it didn't matter if she faced destruction.
Channing touched her own chest, hoping the entity could see that Channing would also be killed, along with Nenegean. "Nibowin."
"Ah," Nenegean said.
"I have an idea, but it might not work," Channing said aloud.
Try, sounded in her mind in a voice she understood came from Nenegean. Astonishingly, the entity had somehow picked up an additional comprehension of English. She hadn't spoken aloud, so perhaps that communication only worked telepathically between them.
Channing quickly recalled the prayer Kymbria had been adamant she learn if she attempted to find Nenegean. She clasped Nenegean's hands in hers, ignoring the arctic feel snaking up her arms.
"Mino-dae/aeshowishinaung. Tchi mino-inaudiziwinaungaen," she said, then repeated in English, "Fill our spirits with good. Upright then may be our lives."
She heard Nenegean's voice in her mind along with the English words. She couldn't let that amazing observation distract her. She needed to focus.
"Nanaukinumowidauh matchi-dae/aewin. Zhaugootchitumowidauh matchi-dodumowin," she said. "Defend our hearts against evil. Against evil prevail."
She and Nenegean repeated the prayer again, then a third time.
"I'm coming after you in ten seconds!" Radin yelled. "I'm not going to prison! Those little brats deserved whatever they got!"
Bile rose in Channing's throat at his admission of indeed being the pedophile they sought. From the vindictive look in Nenegean's eyes, she, too, understood. They stared at each other, no need for words now. They would go out there together to punish this evil person. Either destroy him … or die.
In a blur of motion, Nenegean raced from the trees. Channing flew after her, almost as though her feet couldn't slip on the ice-covered snow. Or perhaps she was protected by the prayer.
Expecting the arrow, Neneg
ean dodged it. She couldn't get past the four arrows on the ground, though, and stalked Radin in a circle.
The arrows wouldn't stop Channing. With Radin's frantic gaze on Nenegean as he fumbled for another arrow from the quiver behind the windshield, Channing approached from behind as quietly as she could. He dropped the first arrow, and when he bent to retrieve it, Channing lunged.
She grabbed the collar of Radin's snowsuit in one hand, the back of the wool mask with the other. Swiftly, she flung him to the ground and shoved with her foot. She'd neglected to release the mask, and it dangled from her fingers. Any doubt as to who had attacked them disappeared as Radin spun across the ice crust, beyond the arrows, his face frozen in fear.
With a horrendous howl, Nenegean was on him. Radin screamed in terror as she threw the bow aside and lifted him as though he weighed nothing. She held him over her head while he twisted and turned, trying to escape. Then she slammed him to the ground. His body disappeared into the hole it made through the ice crust.
A groan of pain escaped the hole, silenced when Nenegean dragged Radin free and raced across the clearing to the grave. He gathered enough breath to shriek again, the sound cut off when Nenegean slammed his body onto the stones, back first. No way would the padded snowsuit prevent mortal injuries. Nenegean was far too strong.
Imagining the bones breaking, Channing closed her eyes. They opened again in shock when Radin pleaded for help. He was still alive.
Nenegean tossed his body off the grave. It spun over the snow crust, legs slapping helplessly. Channing covered her mouth. His back had been broken, paralyzing him from at least the waist down.
Nenegean was far from finished. She sprang at Radin as though she were a cat torturing a mouse. She jerked him up and shook him violently. then threw him on the stones once more.
A sickening crunch shattered the air, and Channing couldn't suppress her expectation that his skull had split, spilling brain matter onto the stones. He yelled in agony when Nenegean lifted him once more.
She held him in front of her, face to face. Radin's arms still worked, and he pushed ineffectively at Nenegean's shoulders. She opened her fang-filled mouth, and he desperately hit at her jaws with his fists, screaming his panic. She gnashed her fangs, then feinted at the desperately squirming man.
Holding him with only one hand clasped in the front of the snowmobile suit, Nenegean threw back her head and howled. The eerie malevolence crawled over Channing, and she covered her ears. Her gaze, though, remained riveted on Nenegean and Radin.
Nenegean looked back down at Radin. Channing was close enough to see the glare of revenge on the entity's face.
"Maji-manidoo," Nenegean said around a wicked growl. With her free hand, she tore one of Radin's arms off and tossed it away.
Channing wouldn't have thought Radin had any breath left to shriek, but he did. He swiveled his head to stare after his arm as blood soaked the side of his snowsuit.
For only an instant, the unwise impulse to try and stop Nenegean, treat Radin's injuries and attempt to save him, crossed Channing's mind. Self preservation won. She didn't dare interfere. She had actually freed Radin from the circle of arrows so the entity could wreak vengeance on him. If she turned traitor to Nenegean, she might suffer the same fate as the evil pedophile.
The next limb Nenegean tore off was a leg. Radin's scream was weaker this time, although he still hadn't given up his ineffective desire to fight.
Nenegean grabbed the man's hair in one hand, maintaining her hold on the front of his snowsuit with the other. She forced his face to stare straight at her again and opened her fang-filled mouth. Radin's final shriek was cut off when, with only a preliminary gnash of her fangs, Nenegean tore out his throat.
Nenegean spit the glob of blood and tissue to the side. Radin's head flopped uselessly, held on by only a thin sliver of muscle and skin as Nenegean systematically ripped off his other arm and leg. She tossed those, too, across the clearing as though they were useless trash.
"Useless trash from a useless man who deserved to die," Channing mused. Despite her vow as a doctor, she couldn't muster even a hint of sorrow over Radin's fate.
Nenegean held Radin's blood-soaked torso aloft. She ripped her fingers from the gash beneath his throat, down his torso. Channing finally had to turn away. A few seconds later, when the body thumped to the ground, no amount of repugnance could keep her from looking. Nenegean kicked the torso aside. It slid toward where the arms and legs laid in a tumbled mess, Radin's penis and testicles dangling from his rictus contorted mouth. Intestines cascaded from the pelvic area like gray snakes.
Channing forced the nausea down her gorge, replaced by the deep satisfaction she took in the punishment and demise of the human monster.
"I only wish Nenegean could have made him suffer even longer," she whispered.
As do I, Nenegean responded. But he is gone now.
"Thank you, for myself and all the future children he would have harmed," Channing said aloud.
Nenegean bowed her head for a moment, then quickly looked back up. She stared into the distance behind Channing, and then Channing also heard the engines.
"Go!" Channing said. "Escape!"
Nenegean didn't move, except for turning her blood-covered face toward the grave. Then she slowly glided across the clearing and stood beside where she had buried her children.
Two snowmobiles raced out of the woods. Both of them slid to a halt, one on each side of Channing. Keoman leaped off his and grabbed her in his arms. "Are you hurt?"
She shook him away and surged at Gagewin.
"Don't you dare!" she screamed. She knocked the bow and arrow he held pointed at Nenegean aside. The arrow tumbled harmlessly to the ground.
Channing pointed at the pile of Radin's torso and body parts.
"Do you see that?" she asked angrily. "That was the monster who's been hurting the children. He even admitted it to us. Taunted us with that as he tried to murder us! Do you realize who killed him? Her! Nenegean! Waweikum!"
Channing realized her mistake immediately. Nenegean no longer knelt at the grave. She'd heard Channing's angry shouts at the two men after she prevented Gagewin from shooting another poison arrow at her. In her heart, Channing understood Nenegean intended to protect her, the woman who had become a friend.
The brown blur of motion threw Gagewin one way, Keoman another. Gagewin wound up in a tangle of underbrush, and Keoman slammed into the trunk of a huge white birth. Nenegean lunged for Keoman first.
"No!" Channing stumbled through the crusted snow after Nenegean. The entity had Keoman over her head, prepared to crush him against the tree or a large boulder beside them. Blood running down his face, Keoman struggled weakly, his body still stunned from the impact. Channing frantically waved her hands to get Nenegean's attention.
"Daga! Gaawiin!" Eyes red and fierce in her murderous expression, the entity looked at Channing. "Please, no, Waweikum," she said desperately. She pointed at Keoman, then Gagewin. "Beshwaji, friends."
Nenegean's red eyes dimmed, but only to a slightly less brightness. She studied her as Channing approached. For some reason, Channing noticed the lack of smell around the entity now and realized it had been missing from the time they entered the clearing.
Keoman twisted in Nenegean's hold. He had to weigh at least three times the entity, yet she held him as though he were a sack of feathers. His blood stained the snow at Nenegean's feet, his movements sprinkling more around them.
"Get back, Channing," Keoman said with a groan when he managed to bend his head and see her in front of them.
She ignored him and spoke quietly to Nenegean in English. "He is my friend, Waweikum. My heart will be heavy if you kill him. I promise you that he will not try to harm you if you let him go."
Keeping her gaze on Channing, Nenegean dropped Keoman at her feet. Keoman had sense enough not to try to move.
For you, Nenegean said between their minds. Then she looked over at where Gagewin walked back towards them. T
hat one, too?
Instead of answering, Channing called, "Gagewin! Are you going to try to harm her again?"
Gagewin halted beside where the bow had landed. He held his arms out to his sides and kicked the bow across the snow. "I will try to let you talk to her, Channing. However, we must make her see she needs to join our ancestors."
"I understand, Gagewin."
When Keoman stood up, Channing realized Nenegean had left again. She hadn't gone far. Channing pointed at where Nenegean knelt by the grave once more. "That's the grave of her children," she explained to the two men. "She's mourning them. Whatever happens now, I'll not allow you to destroy her after what she's done for us."
Keoman wiped at his face, smearing the blood. The wool cap he'd worn lay over by the birch tree. Rather than retrieve it, Channing bent and gathered some loose snow from one of the footsteps around them. She rubbed it on Keoman's face until it was clean.
"Bend down a little," she ordered.
He complied with a sigh of resignation. She pushed his hair back to expose a cut in his scalp from when he hit the birch. The blood had already quit seeping, but she laid some snow against it for a few seconds anyway.
Done with her duty to care for the wounded, she asked, "What do you want to do now?"
"We might as well try to reason with her," Keoman said.
"All right," Channing agreed.
The entity ignored them as Channing led them toward the stones. "Did you find the last missing child?" she asked as they walked.
Gagewin nodded. "Keoman realized there was something not right about Radin. I sent men to search his house, and the child was there. Alive."
"Thank god," Channing murmured.
"Nenegean still has to be eradicated," Keoman said quietly. "We can't allow her to stay."
Channing whirled on him. "If you try to kill her, I'll jump right in front of every arrow you aim. And if you try to tie me up, I'll curse you to your dying day!"
"Channing," he cautioned.
"Wait," Gagewin told them. "Channing is right. We cannot repay what Nenegean has done with punishment."