I'm coming for you, Makah'Alay. I can't wait for our reunion. The Grizzly's voice was getting louder and stronger.
And the only thing that could stop one of the oldest, deadliest creatures to ever walk the earth was a tiny slip of a woman who slept on his couch. If it wasn't so pathetic, he'd laugh.
From the doorway, he glanced back at her. Her features pale and relaxed, she breathed so lightly that she didn't even appear to be alive. How could someone so small stand against a creature who made Ren appear dainty and frail?
Grizzly would eat her alive.
It didn't matter how strong she was. If the Guardian didn't return to battle Grizzly, there would be no hope for any of them. Even if she reset the calendar, it would change nothing.
Evil would not be denied. Having once served it, he knew that for a fact.
With a heavy sigh, Ren went to clean up.
* * *
Dressed all in white with an eagle's feather tied in her dark hair, Kateri followed a path through a dense forest. The scent of pine hung thick in the air, stinging her throat. She didn't know why, but she'd never cared for that smell.
"Because your father told you to fear it when you were a baby. Though you don't remember him, you remember his words of warning."
She paused at the sound of her grandmother's voice. "Grammy?"
Her grandmother stepped out of the woods in front of her. "It's so easy to lose your way, child." She gestured to the trees around them. "When you're in the middle of something and you're surrounded by so much that overwhelms you, it's easy to focus on the wrong thing."
"I don't understand."
Instead of answering, her grandmother rushed forward as a wolf ran at Kateri.
Gasping, Kateri fell back.
Without hesitation, her grandmother drove the wolf off until it was just the two of them again.
Her grandmother faced her with a stern glower. "Now do you see?"
Yes, she did. "But this is just a dream."
"Dreams are the mind's way of dealing with reality, Waleli. It's why they're so important, and why we need to remember them." Her grandmother started away from her.
"Grammy?"
Follow me. The voice was in her head and didn't come from her grandmother's lips.
Kateri rushed forward until her grandmother stopped at the edge of a field. There she saw a strange stone building in the middle of a thriving, ancient town. Though different, it reminded her of a Mayan pyramid. It was cut at a sharper angle with a more rounded top, and had things that appeared to be windows in it. Never had she seen the like. Fernando would be impressed to see this.
The people moving around it looked to be Native Americans, but their clothes were unlike anything she'd ever seen before. They were more stylized, and dyed bright colors with exquisite beadwork. Many of the people wore feathers either for jewelry or hair accessories. And while the women had no makeup whatsoever, the men who appeared to be warriors had their faces heavily painted.
She didn't know what her grandmother was trying to tell her about this town until the warrior who'd saved her stepped out from the building. Another man, a few inches shorter, trailed behind him. The man at her warrior's back had his face painted white with brown buffalos on his cheeks, meanwhile his was painted black. Two red stripes cut sharp angles from his eyes to his jawline. Another red mark went across his brow with white dots placed above it.
They came down to stand in a small courtyard at the base of the stairs as if they were waiting for someone else to join them.
Others filed in from all directions until they formed a small army of men. Most of them were heavily armed with blowguns, atlatls, or spears. A few with those vicious war clubs.
But not her warrior. His sole weapons were a simple bow and a short knife that was tucked into his boot.
"They'll be here soon," the shorter man said.
Her warrior nodded. Dressed in a very thin black buckskin jacket and pants, he wore no shirt beneath it. And well he shouldn't, given how chiseled and rigidly defined his muscles were. The front of his long black hair was pulled back to the crown of his head, where it was held by a thick leather cord, the ends of which were attached to a black and white feather.
He wore the bow crossed over his back, and a small quiver of arrows at his waist. Even though he was surrounded by fierce warriors, he stood out. Not just because he was the tallest, but because of the way he watched those around him. As if he expected an attack at any moment.
And who could blame him? Contempt bled out of the expressions of the others whenever they glanced in his direction. Why did they hate him so? Was he so evil that they couldn't stand to look at him?
Turning, he spoke to the man beside him with short, rapid hand gestures that made no sense to her whatsoever.
The man arched a brow. "Why would you think that?"
Her warrior shrugged.
Suddenly, silence fell over the gathered warriors as the doors opened. Moving with slow, deliberate strides, four older men who were dressed in the cloaks of priests descended from the building. Each of them had a different feathered headdress and mask. One appeared to be a deer, complete with antlers. Another was a white buffalo, followed by a black bear, and lastly a gray wolf. They also carried ornate feathered fans.
The oldest began speaking in a language she couldn't understand. But after a second, the words became clear.
"It has been decided and agreed upon. For his bravery against the mighty boar and for saving his brother's life, Coyote will lead us after the death of our chief, his father. Word has been sent to the Deer clan that we will welcome their strongest daughter to be his wife. So let it be done and may we grow even more prosperous under the leadership of Coyote and his bride, Butterfly!"
Kateri heard those words, but it was the expression on her warrior's face that held her real attention. He looked as if someone had just kicked him in the stomach.
The man with him started forward, but her warrior grabbed his arm and shook his head sternly.
"They should know the truth," his friend said in a fierce whisper.
"They don't c-c-c-care." His stutter stunned her. She'd have never expected that from a man so predacious.
"It's not right! You saved Coyote. How can he take credit when you're the one who was almost killed defending him and his stupidity? But for you, he'd be dead now."