Shaxoa's Gift (17 page)

“You mentioned what the dreams said before,
but tell me again with as much detail as you can remember. The
smallest thing might be important,” Kaya said.

“She said that she saw me as a young man,
fighting my way through a forest while creatures were attacking me.
She said she didn’t know what they were, but they must be the
things you told me about early, the things the Matwau can call on
for help if he needs it, right?”

Kaya nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I think
you’re right about that. And I think Quaile knew exactly what they
were, too,” she muttered. I had to agree with her, though it didn’t
make me very happy. I shoved away thoughts of Quaile’s lies and
continued.

“She thought I was searching for something,
but I couldn’t find it because of the creatures chasing me.
Whatever I was trying to do, the creatures were afraid of it, and
were trying to stop me. Then her vision changed. I was standing in
a barren desert valley, surrounded by the creatures, but this time
there was a man on a hill above me. He had a woman with him, but it
wasn’t Claire. She was his captive, and he wanted to me to try and
rescue her.”

“The woman is your Twin Soul,” Kaya said with
surety, “and the man is obviously the Matwau.” Kaya looked up from
her notes and fixed her eyes on me. “The final location of the
dream could be anywhere in the southwest, so that isn’t very
helpful. What worries me most is that the Matwau is baiting you in
the dream.”

That tidbit had bothered me as well. When the
creature had been hunting Daniel, he had merely wanted to kill him
before Daniel could reach Claire and form the Twin Soul bond. “Why
would he do that?” I asked.

“I don’t know, Uriah,” Kaya said.
“Unfortunately, the Matwau’s existence has largely been kept secret
by leaders who believed as Quaile did that the people should only
be told what was absolutely necessary. I have very few details
about the creature, but I do know that he’s bound by certain
rules.”

“Talon and I have suspected as much,” I said.
“None of the scouts have seen any sign of the Matwau since we left
San Juan.”

“Scouts?” Kaya asked.

I hadn’t realized that I’d failed to mention
the others to her. I knew that I had told her about the animals
coming to my aid several times before, but I hadn’t thought to tell
her that they were still helping me. “Sorry, I guess I forgot to
mention that. There are wolves and coyotes scouting the area around
Hano. They’ve been travelling with me ever since San Juan, most of
them anyway. Does that bother you?”

“Not at all, but it is very interesting,”
Kaya said. She looked startled at the revelation.

“Why is that interesting?” I asked. I knew it
would have been interesting to just about anyone who didn’t know
what Kaya knew, but why would the scouts surprise her?

“In all the stories I’ve heard about warriors
who can speak with animals, the link between animal and warrior is,
at best, tenuous. The animals will come when called, but they
couldn’t be held for very long. The fact that these animals are
willing to follow you so far and continue to protect you is very
unusual. It may be another piece to the puzzle,” Kaya said.

Making a few more quick notes, Kaya muttered
to herself about looking into what I had just said. “Well, Quaile’s
visions seem pretty straight forward,” she said.

“They do?”

“You’ve already figured most of them out
yourself, Uriah. The only real questions left are time and place,
but I suppose there’s really no way to pinpoint that. Let’s go back
to the Matwau abducting this woman,” Kaya said. I felt like I was
sitting in a classroom with a very determined teacher.

“What do you know about the rules binding the
Matwau?” I asked.

“I know that he isn’t allowed to touch anyone
until the bond has begun pulling two people toward each other.
Normally this doesn’t give him much time, but if he’s given more
than a few hours, he usually wins. It’s quite a compliment to you
that you managed to get Daniel back to Claire,” Kaya added before
getting back to her original point. “Also, the Matwau is only
supposed to be allowed to harm one person, not both. His goal is to
keep the bond from ever forming. He only needs to get rid of one
person to make that happen.”

Kaya recited the details as if she were
talking about ingredients listed on a cereal box. I had seen her
emotions bubble up several times since meeting her, and I was
astounded that she could discuss the Matwau so calmly. I had to
suppose that, despite my story, the Matwau was still just something
she had read about. I could hardly fault her for failing to fully
realize the depravity of such a being.

“So what would make the Matwau break those
rules and capture my Twin Soul, just for the purpose of drawing me
to him?” I asked. I knew that the creature hated me for interfering
in his hunt for Daniel, but could that really be the only
reason?

“I don’t know how he could even manage to
break the rules. From what I read, those rules are absolute, not
something the creature could set aside for his own pleasure,” Kaya
said. “There must be something else, something that would allow him
to break out of the pattern.”

“But what?” Bits of phrases and images seemed
to creep into my mind. They were not messages from Talon, who was
sitting quietly at Kaya’s feet, but simply my mind dredging up what
I did not want to think about.

More than once, I had been told that I was
more than I knew, that I was meant for something I couldn’t
imagine. When the Matwau had begun his hunt, I was his quarry, not
Daniel. Daniel had proven to be an added bonus for the Matwau, or
would have, had he gotten to him. I was terrified to think that
whatever power or status I held was putting others at risk. What if
the woman from Quaile’s dream died simply because the Matwau
believed me to be something I hoped I wasn’t?

“I’ll have to research this a little more,
Uriah. I feel like there is something I have read or heard at some
point that would explain all of this, but I just can’t seem to
remember it,” Kaya said. Sighing with frustration, she set down her
notepad. “But I will, don’t worry.”

I wasn’t worried. Even having only known Kaya
for less than twenty-four hours, I knew that there was nothing
short of death, and possibly not even that, that would stop her
from finding the answers she wanted.

“Now, what about your dreams?” Kaya asked.
Her pencil was ready once again.

“My dreams are just dreams Kaya, bad dreams,
but nothing special,” I said. I was not in the mood to discuss what
my mind dredged up while I was sleeping. Some of my dreams were
entirely too private. Pretty much any dream involving Claire over
the past few nights wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss out loud.
The other dreams were more terrifying than I wanted to admit.

“Feel free to leave out anything about
Claire,” Kaya said with a giggle.

Someday I would learn to control my
expressions better, I promised myself. It was very frustrating
having everyone know exactly what I was thinking because I couldn’t
keep a straight face. “Fine,” I grumbled, “if you really think it
will be useful.”

“I do.”

“Aside from Claire, I have been dreaming
about the Matwau every night since coming in contact with him,” I
said. “He’s always hunting me, but at the same time I’m hunting
him. It doesn’t always make sense.”

“Are the dreams taking place anywhere
specific?” Kaya asked.

“It changes. Sometimes it looks like the
desert, sometimes the forest, and sometimes places I don’t think
are even real.”

“It doesn’t matter where you go, the hunt
will continue. The Matwau will not give up his prey,” Kaya
said.

I hoped she wasn’t right about that. All I
wanted was to take Samantha’s potion back to Claire and live my
simple life with her. I would face the Matwau again if I had to,
but I was terrified that I would encounter him again before I could
get back to Claire. She promised she was fighting the bond, but for
how long? How long could she possibly last against something so
strong? Time was something I felt had forsaken me the moment the
tainted tea had touched Claire’s lips. Talon quietly reminded me to
have patience from where he was stretched out on the floor. Taking
a deep breath, I turned my attention back to Kaya’s questions.

“In some of my dreams, it’s only me and the
Matwau, but I can feel the other creatures lurking close by. Every
once in a while we have actually caught up to each other and
fought. The first time the Matwau was winning. He had me pinned
down and was about to gut me like a fish when I woke up. The next
few times, it seemed like I could remember the previous dreams. I
had learned from his mistakes, and I was able to use them against
him. I was winning until he called in his lackeys. I woke up before
they could tear me apart,” I said. “I suppose that means I’ll never
be able to beat him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kaya said. “You had
him as good as beat when he attacked Daniel. You could have
finished him off if Daniel hadn’t been injured so badly.” Kaya
paused, cocking her head to the side as she contemplated the
dreams. “No, I think these dreams are not foretelling your doom,
but offering you a chance to prepare yourself.”

“What?” I was no psychologist, but I didn’t
think the subconscious worked quite like that. “How is my mind
teaching me something I don’t even know?”

“I don’t think these dreams are simply dreams
wrought from your fears. I think they’re being sent to you to help
you prepare. Quaile obviously should have already done that, but
she chose not to for whatever reason. I think they’re being sent by
someone who knows the Matwau and what he is capable of.”

“The Great Spirit?” I asked. My mind was
reeling at the thought. I wasn’t even sure what I believed about
the Creator. Was it a person, an animal, a spirit? Was the Great
Spirit the Mole who had led the Tewa people from underground and
into the light filled world above as I had been taught as a child?
Matwau and Twin Souls beside the point, I wasn’t really ready to
believe that one yet.

“The Great Spirit, the Creator, Mole,
someone,” Kaya said. “Someone is sending you these dreams to
prepare you. I don’t think you’ll be able to avoid the Matwau for
long, Uriah.”

“What about the woman?” I asked.

“I think he will capture her and use her to
draw you out, just like Quaile’s dream showed.”

“And I’ll have no choice but to go,” I said
with a sigh.

“Exactly,” Kaya said. “I am still bothered by
that, though. He shouldn’t be able to search her out like that, or
try to harm you both. I need more information. I’ll have to search
my books and notes tonight.”

“Just tell me how I can help,” I said.

Kaya shifted nervously. Her unexpected lack
of confidence surprised me. I had no idea why she should suddenly
be nervous. Watching her carefully, I tried to meet her eyes, but
Kaya dropped her gaze to her notes. I was tired, as usual, and her
odd timidity irritated me when it shouldn’t have. Kaya had already
helped me more than I had any right to expect. “What is it?” I
asked. I cringed when I heard the harsh tone of my voice.

“I might be able to understand better if I
could see the vision for myself,” she said. Bringing her gaze up to
meet my eyes, she looked unsure of how I would react to her
request.

Relief washed over me when I realized that
was all she wanted. “Can you do that?” I asked.

“With your permission I can.”

“You have it. Do whatever you need to, Kaya,”
I said. “I trust you.”

Kaya smiled warmly. She knew that wasn’t
exactly the easiest thing for me to say after having dealt with
Quaile. “Thank you,” she said.

“What do you have to do?” I asked.

“Just sit still and give me your hands. It
will be easier if I’m touching you.”

I eyed her curiously. Quaile hadn’t needed to
touch me.

“I am not as used to this as Quaile is,” she
said. A faint blush touched her copper cheeks. “I’ve had the
ability since I was a child, but it only came in random spurts.
I’ve only tried putting it to serious use in the past few years.
Physical contact helps me concentrate.”

“Oh, uh, okay then,” I said. “Go ahead.”

Reaching out, I placed my hands in hers. I
was surprised to feel the slight tremor in her hands. She was
scared or nervous, neither of which seemed to suit her. Reminding
myself that she had only been the shaman for two years, I told
myself there was nothing for me to be scared of. Her cool fingers
pressed into my palms.

I watched Kaya close her eyes, and followed
suit. I had no idea what to expect. I had felt nothing when Quaile
had been wrapped in her vision in the Council House. Hoping that
more was happening for Kaya than was for me, I waited as my
breathing fell into a slow and steady rhythm.

The shock of cold that ran through my body
forced my eyes open, but I didn’t see Kaya or her living room
anymore. Gnarled trunks of piñon and taller trees surrounded me.
Only a hint of autumn’s miraculous change of color was visible in
the taller tree’s leaves. What undergrowth there was still looked
green and vibrant, but most of the spring flowers had already
gone.

A sudden rustling put me on edge. Unable to
control my actions, I felt my body turn towards the noise. The low
growl was echoed several times over. They were all around me. One
by one they made themselves visible, fangs dripping with hunger,
eyes wide with fear.

“We must not let him escape,” one of the
creatures hissed. I was shocked to hear them when they hadn’t
spoken aloud. I could hear their thoughts just as I heard
Talon’s.

“The master wants him alive,” another one
said.

“Alive does not mean uninjured,” the one with
the razor sharp smile said.