Bridge of Mist and Fog (28 page)

“Wow,” she whispered. “I didn’t know you had it in you. And you’re high, aren’t you?”

“High with another consciousness. The drugs can’t touch me.”

“Do you have to go into rehab again?” she asked him once they stopped to catch their breath.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“So what do we do now?”

Fehin grinned. “Now that Wolf isn’t dead we don’t have to worry about the police. And I have my magic back. Don’t you think it’s time to talk about our destiny? Maybe we should concentrate on the bridge for a change.”

“Does this mean Thule is okay?”

He nodded. “We just changed the future, Airy.”

Airy looked skeptical. “I think we should consult Gunnar.”

Fehin grimaced. “We were just with him.”

“I know but he’s the only one who can explain. What if we’re supposed to be re-doing everything exactly as before?”

“Wolf being alive changes everything. From here on we’re starting over.” Fehin grabbed her hand. “We don’t need to consult Gunnar every time we have a doubt. Let’s head west. There’s a special place in Wyoming where I want to go.”

“Without saying good-bye to Carla? And we don’t have any transportation.”

“We already said good-bye. As to transportation, we have your ring.”

Airy stared at him for a long moment. “What about clothes?”

“You still have money, right? We can buy clothes on the way.”

“Uh oh,” Airy said looking back. “Here comes Wolf and he doesn’t look happy.”

“Do your thing, Airy,” Fehin hissed, taking hold of her arm.

Airy had a moment of panic wondering if she could recreate the one time she’d moved through the ether. Would she be able to take Fehin with her? She was frantic as she watched Wolf blundering toward them and then she concentrated on her love for Fehin and pressed her fingers around the ring. A second later the scene began to blur and then they were in a white-filled space filled with a humming sound.

***

“Where’d you take us?” Fehin asked, looking around. They were standing on a bluff overlooking a valley filled with what looked like the remnants of old castles.

“I don’t know. All I thought was west.”

“This looks like the wild west where they made a lot of cowboy movies. Do you still have your phone?”

Airy reached into her pack and handed it to him.

Fehin fiddled around for a while and then showed her the screen. “We’re in northern Arizona, close to monument valley. I like this mode of travel,” he said, grinning. “Saves time and money.”

“Why are we here? Is this something to do with the bridge or is our destiny to keep going back in time to fix what we mess up?”

“We fixed it, Airy. We haven’t messed up anything else that I know of. As to the bridge, I’ve had some insights.”

“I’d love to hear them.”

Fehin had turned to scan the valley and didn’t seem to hear her for a moment. “You know what’s weird?” he said, his gaze landing on her. “ I don’t feel Wolf in my mind anymore. I guess what I had to do was defeat him in some way. I didn’t need to kill him at all.”

“Maybe that’s because we went back in time and you were different.”

“You might be right. The drugs didn’t affect me the same way either.”

“It was like you didn’t have them in your system. I still don’t get why there weren’t two sets of us.”

Fehin raised his eyebrows. “I’m sure Gunnar had a lot to with that.”

“So he got rid of our older selves and replaced them with us?”

Fehin chuckled. “The drug-free thing would indicate that. I’m still disgusted with him but I’m not questioning him anymore.”

“I’d watch what you say. He tends to hover around in the ether listening in on conversations.” Airy shaded her eyes to look up at the endless expanse of blue. “I’ve never seen a landscape like this. It’s so open. And the color of the sky is amazing.”

“The red hills down there are unbelievable,” Fehin said, pointing into the distance. “I read about this place. The Anasazi lived here 1500 years ago.”

“Where’s the closest town? I need to buy a pair of sunglasses.”

“By normal means or…?”

“I think we should hitchhike. I wouldn’t want to appear out of thin air.”

Fehin laughed.

They hitched a ride with a Native American man headed into Kayenta, sharing the back of his truck with a cage of chickens, two large but friendly mongrel dogs and several burlap sacks filled with feed. In town they found a Motel 6, checked in and then went to find some sunglasses.

***

Early the next morning Fehin woke her. “I want to explore those rock formations down in the valley.”

Airy yawned and rubbed her eyes. “What do you hope to find?”

“There’s a brochure on the table about cliff dwellings. I’m hoping they left some energy behind.”

“1500 years later? I doubt it, Fehin. What about the insights you mentioned yesterday?”

Fehin smiled. “The bridge is us, Airy. We’re the bridge.”

“We decided that a long time ago but it doesn’t help anything.”

“If we follow our hearts we’ll discover what it means.”

“Follow our hearts down to monument valley?” Airy laughed. “You mean your heart.”

“You’re the one who brought us here. Why do you think this is where we ended up?”

“I don’t know,” Airy said, exasperated.

“Airy, we have to stop thinking and try and feel. You told me it was love that allowed you to travel to the future. That’s what I think the bridge is all about.”

“A bridge to love?” Airy scoffed. When she moved to get out of bed Fehin grabbed her.

“I don’t know if it’s a bridge
to
love. It might be a bridge
of
love.”

“That might be true but it doesn’t explain how to do it.”

“Why are you being so logical all of a sudden? Our destiny isn’t about logic and neither is this.” Fehin pulled her close and kissed her. When he released her he watched her face.

“More please,” she said.

Fehin smiled and kissed her again and this time he didn’t stop there.

***

The restaurant table in front of them was laden with eggs and toast and pancakes. “So what you’re saying is we have to go to monument valley and explore the cliff dwellings before we can decide what the bridge is?” Airy asked, stabbing a pancake with her fork. She brought it to her mouth and stuffed it in.

“Will you stop thinking? Just be quiet for a while and let this place seep into you.”

Airy felt a jolt of irritation. She finished the rest of her breakfast without saying another word, watching Fehin read the brochure he’d taken from the motel room.

“If I specify a place do you think you can take us there?” he asked a few minutes later.

“I have no idea.”

Fehin pointed to a place on the map provided inside the brochure. “I want to go here.”

“Now?”

Fehin thought for a moment. “I want to spend the night there. That way, when we arrive no one will see us.”

“Just the ghosts of the Anasazi,” Airy said sarcastically.

Fehin glared at her. “I hope so,” he answered.

Airy finished her tea, trying to sort through her muddled thoughts. Why was she so irritable? She felt as close to Fehin as she always had, in some ways even closer. She wasn’t worried anymore about their blood ties and he was happier now than he’d ever been. And then she got it. This bridge was supposed to be a joint effort, which meant that their combined abilities would come into play. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it here but to her it didn’t feel right—it wasn’t the place where they would fulfill their destiny.

“Fehin,” she said, looking over at him, “What about Wyoming?”

Fehin glanced up from his perusal of the brochure. “I read about an ancient medicine wheel. It’s in Bighorn national forest.”

Airy immediately got goose bumps up and down her arms. “That’s it. That’s the place.”

Fehin stared at her. “You feel it?”

Airy nodded, rubbing her arms. “We can wait if you want. I know you want to explore, but I think the medicine wheel is where we’re supposed to be.”

Fehin lowered his gaze. He didn’t say anything for so long Airy wondered if he’d forgotten the conversation. When he finally looked up at her again she noticed a different expression in his eyes.

“I have to admit I can feel it too,” he said, rubbing his arms. “Maybe that’s why you’ve been so weird. Sorry for pushing the monument valley thing.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It just seemed strange that I wasn’t excited about being here. I figured wherever it is would excite both of us. But I still have no idea why or what we’re supposed to do when we get there.”

Fehin grabbed her hand excitedly. “We’ll figure it out.”

“We need camping gear since I left ours on the bus heading to Terra Haute, and I need some warmer clothes. I think I’d like to travel by bus again.”

“Are you sure? It’s a long way from here.”

“The trip will give us time to talk. And the scenery is spectacular.”

Shopping took up the morning hours and in the afternoon they hopped on a tour of monument valley. Early the next morning they boarded the first bus of many that would take them to Wyoming.

51

The campfire had burned low and Airy was cold. She huddled close to Fehin trying hard not to shiver.

“Get in the sleeping bag,” he said.

“But I like the fire. I love sitting out here under the stars.” She looked up. “It’s amazing to think how many galaxies are out there.”

Fehin rose from the log and went over to the cheap two-man tent they’d purchased in Kayenta. When he came back he wrapped her sleeping bag around her shoulders.

“Thanks.”

They were camping in Bald Mountain campground not far from the medicine wheel. The hike up the mountain would be arduous since the medicine wheel was at the very top at 10,000 feet.

“I’ve never seen this many stars,” Airy said, looking up.

“No ambient light here. I would have thought the sky in the Otherworld would be similar.”

“Too many trees. This is wide open.”

On the way on the bus they talked about rituals they could do, ancient ceremonies that might help them realize their goals. They’d discussed purchasing drums or flutes or even buying an Indian peace pipe. Fehin had read a lot about Native American culture and brought up ceremonies that included peyote, ones that had to do with fasting, and several that required chanting and dancing. They discarded the peyote one right away because of Fehin’s addiction problems and then eliminated the fasting one because it required several days of no food. For some reason they both felt that the first of April was when it needed to happen. As far as chanting and dancing neither one knew what that meant.

Airy brought up ceremonies her grandmother and great-grandmother had participated in, naming a few of the gods and goddesses involved. In the end they scrapped all of them, agreeing that it was up to them to come up with something entirely their own.

Fehin poked at the embers, sending up a stream of sparks. From where they sat he could see several other campfires. It was very quiet with an atmosphere of respect, as though the other campers were here for the same reason Fehin and Airy were. And yet he knew that couldn’t be true.

“What do we want to achieve?” Airy asked suddenly.

“Achieve? All I can think about is bringing love to heal the earth. What about you?”

“I’m still caught up in the bridge thing. It has to connect something with something. What are we trying to connect?”

“People with the earth?”

Airy nodded. “Human beings have placed themselves outside the web of life. They think they’re separate and act as though they can control the rest of it when in reality they’re ripping it apart. And think about all the poor and homeless we’ve seen. They feel completely powerless in this society.” She turned and made a face. “I can’t imagine having the power to pull this off.”

Fehin put his arm around her shoulders. “Why don’t we wait until we’re there? Maybe the medicine wheel will tell us how to proceed. After all, it’s a sacred site. This may have nothing to do with power.”

Airy stared into the distance. “Somehow we have to reweave people back into the web.”

Fehin nodded. “That’s a good way of putting it. I hope the natives aren’t having ceremonies tomorrow. I asked the ranger, but you never know.”

“Why here, Fehin?”

Fehin shook his head. “I think it’s because of what you said—the web of life thing. In native cultures they don’t talk about connection because everything’s already connected. This is a sacred pre-Columbian site and the tribes have been using it continuously for fasting ceremonies, vision quests, and a bunch of other rituals. I’m sure the energy up there is amazing.”

“It called to both of us so it has to be right, doesn’t it?”

“Are you doubting this?”

Airy turned, her eyes reflecting the firelight. “Just nervous, I guess. You know our money is nearly gone.”

“Have you checked your bank account lately?”

“No, but once they figure out what I’m doing they…”

“Remember, Airy, we’re in the past now. Maybe they aren’t angry anymore.”

Airy scoffed. “How they feel about you hasn’t changed. And my phone is nearly dead and I don’t have a charger.”

“Why do we need a phone?”

“Carla asked me to keep in touch.”

“That was before we came back. Carla may be pissed now that we took off without saying good-bye.”

Airy’s eyes went wide. “I don’t want her to be mad at us! The last thing she knew I was heading to find you—she must be worried sick. We should have gone back, Fehin.”

Fehin’s brow furrowed. “I feel bad now that you put it like that, but it’s too late to do anything. Why don’t you call?”

“It’s after midnight back there.”

***

When the phone rang the next morning Airy came instantly awake. She reached for it, her worried gaze going to Fehin who was now awake too.

“Airy? Where are you?”

Carla sounded frantic. “Carla, I’m so sorry. I’m fine. Fehin’s fine. We’ve had quite an adventure. I would have called sooner but once you hear what happened you’ll understand.”

She was still talking when Fehin pulled on his jeans and left the tent to make the fire.