Jude Stephens (7 page)

I just shrugged it off until Cheve said, “Though you
don’t have any passion for him.”

That got me riled. “It’s none of your business who I
have passion for. So just stay out of it.”

Cheve swiftly grabbed hold of me and pulled me into
his arms. I did nothing as he lowered his soft full lips to mine.
The minute his mouth touched mine, flames of desire licked through
my veins. As he pulled me tighter against him I felt my body react
in an almost violent way. When his tongue had barely slipped
between my lips, I felt the stirrings of an orgasm build. What was
happening to me? I couldn’t believe how fast my body reacted to his
touch. As swiftly as it begun it stopped and Cheve stepped back,
clearly unaffected by our brief kiss.

“
Your passion is most definitely
my business, Orenda. As a matter of fact, your passion and the lack
of control of your passion are all about my business. I’m your
Sensay instructor.”

With that little announcement he went below to help
Mark. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. Cheve my
instructor? My mind was whirling. What exactly did that mean? I was
still standing in the same place when the guys came back carrying
two backpacks. Cheve, rather rudely, shoved my backpack at me.

Mark went to take it but Cheve said, “Orenda needs
to learn to carry her own burdens.”

Mark glared at him, and I said,
“Its okay Mark.”

Cheve hopped off the boat and waited for us to
follow.

“
Wait. I need to get
Bullet.”

Cheve looked puzzled. “Bullet?”

With the mention of his name Bullet came around from
the other side of the boat. Cheve’s eyes widened. “So it’s true
then?”

“
What?” I asked.

“
That you are the one of whom the
prophesy speaks. You walk with the great wolf spirit.”

I sighed “I’m not sure why everyone keeps saying
that. All I know is that Bullet just showed up a few days ago and
he is my friend. Be nice to him.”

Cheve snorted, “Nice? I will revere him above all
other beings.”

I rolled my eyes. For some reason all of the people
around me lately were a bunch of drama queens. We began our trek to
the village and the path was eerily just like the one from my
dream. I decided to ignore that and instead press Cheve for
answers. “Why and how are you going to train me?”

“
Are you asking me my
qualifications, Princess?”

I didn’t like the way he said “princess” and could
feel myself developing the red glow of anger in my belly.

“
You are angry with me. That is
the first thing we will need to work on, that and your out of
control libido.”

“
Hey! Who do you think you are?”
He stopped walking and stared me square in the eyes.

“
I think I am your Sensay trainer.
The one who will teach you what you’re going to need to know in
order to stay alive. I’m also the one who will protect you with my
last dying breath for like it or not, you are the hope for The
Evolved that walks this earth.”

With that he began walking again. “I will help you
master your senses by pushing them to the limits and finding your
breaking point. You need to be able to identify the exact point
that sends you over the brink and harness it. It is kind of like
building up your body strength at the gym. Each time you go, you
add a little extra to your workout.”

“
Okay, so that explains the how,
now tell me why you are qualified to train me in this.” I was a
little annoyed at myself that the question came out a bit
spitefully. I was really letting this guy get to me.

As if knowing exactly how irritated I was he smirked
when he said, “I am able to communicate with Great Spirit warriors.
They have honored me by teaching me many things including how to
master control over emotions and senses.”

My mind was trying to wrap itself around this
information when I asked him, “When you communicate with the
Spirits, is it like a dream? Or is it like you lose yourself for a
while?”

“
In the beginning, which I’m sure
you’ve experienced, it is very much like a dream though things can
manifest.” He pointedly looked at Bullet.

I had to ask him about the recent fugues plaguing
me, “That’s the way it started for me, but the last few days it
happened while I’m awake. I seemed to go into a trance like state
where I saw my parents and it was like they were giving me
instructions on what to do.”

Before Cheve could answer, Mark
chimed in for the first time, “I don’t like it, and she gets very
weak and exhausted when it happens.”

Cheve gave me an, I told you so look “You’re more
advanced than I thought. With time, you won’t be weak when you walk
in the spirit planes, and eventually you will be able to call upon
them anytime you want.”

“
Will you also teach me about my
heritage and why everyone seems to think that I’m fulfilling some
sort of prophesy?”

“
No, your grandmother will teach
you those things. I’m more of a ‘hands on’ teacher.” He said the
last with a leer.

I didn’t like this man, I decided as we continued to
walk. Amazingly we were walking through the same meadow as in my
earlier dream and when we came to the top of the hill we were
looking down on a village of longhouses. As we began to walk down
the hill people emerged from the long huts. They lined either side
of the road and as we walked through, it was just like in my dream.
As I passed they averted their eyes and bowed their heads.

It felt weird. I couldn’t help but have doubts that
I was this great princess. I felt like an imposter. It was at that
moment that I saw the elderly lady. She was standing at the
entrance of a longhouse that stood apart from all of the others. As
in my “dream” she was dressed traditionally in deerskin.

I felt something inside me ache and moving on
instinct, I went before her and fell to my knees, took her hands in
mine and began to weep.

She let me cry for a couple of minutes and then
pulled me to my feet. “Khe:awak, my daughter, welcome. We have been
waiting a long time for you. Come, let us go inside and talk.”

She led me into the long hut. I turned to make sure
that Mark was okay and saw him being led away by Cheve.

“
Your protector will be fine.
Cheveveyo will make sure he gets settled.”

She led me over to the remains of a campfire.
Despite her age she easily sat down on some blankets. “During these
warm summer months we build our fires outside, but here in the
longhouse it is still the center of a home where we gather to talk.
I know you have a lot of questions, Khe:awak, and I will try to
explain all to you.”

A young girl appeared and handed us each a glass. By
the smell I could tell that it was apple cider.

“
Thank you Sarah.” The girl smiled
shyly and left.

“
I will begin at the beginning.
There are, as you know, many different species on this planet. What
you’ve recently learned is that there are species the rest of the
world knows nothing about. These are The Evolved. The beings that
stay for the most, part hidden. Yes, there have been some mistakes
made.

Every so often one of The Evolved will be uncovered,
but it is easily enough dealt with as myths, or legends. Take, for
an example, your vampires.”

At my startled look she said with a wink, “Do not be
startled by my knowledge of this. You will find that I have the
gift of seeing. And I also have the gift of understanding. Love is
love. It is without thought, without reason. And it is a powerful
force. One must follow it to wherever it leads.”

She stopped and took a long drink. “Your vampires
are a good example of legends. There is usually some truth to a
legend, and that works to the advantage of all of The Evolved.
There are some evolved that are closely guarded. The Sensay is one
of them.

“
They have been closely guarded
because for the world to know about them, even in legend, is
dangerous. A Sensay has the power of the earth. You are one with
nature. The earth speaks to you. You are one with all of the
beings. All living beings are attuned to your senses.

For these reasons alone, you would be hated, feared
and… she looked at me long and hard, “hunted. I’m afraid in your
case there are some added complications. A long time ago, before
you were born, there was a gathering of all nations. Great warriors
and spirit walkers gathered in the desert of New Mexico. There was
a great sweat lodge built and those gathered were told by the Great
Spirit that a great Sensay would be born to a wise one. Great
powers would be bestowed upon her. She will unite all beings. She
will bring peace and happiness to the world. You, my Khe:awak, are
that Sensay.”

For a few minutes I let her words settle upon me. I
wanted to jump up and deny them, but there was a deeper emotion
rolling around inside me, one that recognized the truth.

“
But how am I to do this? I know
nothing of my powers nor am I anything special. I’m afraid I don’t
know what to do.”

“
You will be taught, by me and by
Cheveveyo, but mostly you will learn from the spirits and from
inside yourself. Your instincts will be your greatest
instructor.”

I was silent for a few minutes absorbing all she had
told me. I was tired and longed to be by myself to process all I
had learned today, but I had an undeniable need for her to tell me
about my family.

“
Are you my grandmother? Was my
Mom your daughter or my Dad your son?”

She looked sad and I hoped I hadn’t upset her by
reminding her of their deaths and was just getting ready to
apologize when she said, “Neither. I am not your grandmother, I am
your mother.”

Chapter 8

I sat frozen. I could not comprehend the words she’d
spoken. Oh, I heard them all right, but I couldn’t make any sense
of what they meant. “My what? What did you say about my
mother?”

“
Orenda, I am your birth Mother.
You are my khe:awak, my daughter. The Sherman’s were your adoptive
parents.”

“
No! I don’t believe you. They
were my parents. I loved them. I don’t even know you. Why are you
telling me this?” I jumped up and made my way towards the door. I
had to get out of here, but when I got to the doorway Bullet was
blocking my path. “Move Bullet!” When he didn’t budge I tried to
push him out of the way.

“
He won’t move. He wants you to
listen to me.”

“
I don’t want to listen to you.”
Not because I thought she was lying to me but because I didn’t want
to hear what she was going to tell me.

“
I had to protect you. There were
people looking for you. They would have taken you and used you for
their own sick purposes. That or they would have destroyed you in
order to make sure the prophesies don’t come true. I died a little
inside the day the Sherman’s took you away.

“
I gave you to them. They were
good people, whom I could trust to keep you safe. Jay Sherman had a
quarter Seneca blood running through his veins. He understood the
importance of keeping you hidden. You grew up in middle class
America just like thousands of other children. There was no way
they could find you.”

She gave a small bitter laugh “But they did, didn’t
they? They found you and the Shermans.”

I turned at the sound of grief in her voice. It was
something I couldn’t ignore. “You loved them too?” I
questioned.

“
Oh yes,” she said as she wiped
tears from her eyes. “They were beautiful spirits those two, and so
much in love. It was a shame that they couldn’t have their own
children. They brought you to see me a few times. That was all the
contact we could afford. I saw how much they adored
you.”

I didn’t know what to say. I knew she wasn’t lying
to me but I had trouble thinking of her as my mother.

Hesitantly I asked her, “Um, there is one thing I
want to ask. If you’re my Mother then why do you look so….”

“
Old?” she filled in for
me.

I felt my face flame. “Well, even Cheve thinks you
are my grandmother.”

She sighed. “It’s true; I was
older when the great spirits blessed me with a child. I was almost
fifty. Your Han’nih, your father, could hardly believe it when I
told him. He was a good man. He died before you were born in a car
accident of all things. He was stuck over on the mainland during a
brutal snowstorm. He was anxious to get back home to
me.”

I kept quiet. She seemed to be lost in some sad
memories.

When she spoke again it was with a surprisingly
strong voice. “It was after that, that I knew you were going to be
a special child. I began having visions. The Great Spirits told me
that my unborn child would be a Sensay. Not only that, but that the
child would have the power to unite all of the earthly beings.

They told me that I was to keep you safe at all
costs, for there would be many who would do you harm. It was also
at this time that I got my gift of seeing. That, more than
anything, kept me strong. I was able to at least see you in visions
from time to time.”

Hearing of her visions gave me the nerve to say,
“I’m not sure but I may be having visions too. I’ve had a few
instances where I seem to go into a trance like state.”

She shrugged “It’s possible, but we will talk more
on this tomorrow. You look like your are very tired, Khe:awak. I
will show you to your house.”

“
Am I not staying with you?” I
asked looking around the large longhouse.