Blood of the Rainbow (24 page)

Sara never realized Jared was so fluent in his native language. It seemed odd in their day. The other Indians she had come across, no longer used it. Most of them had left the old ways behind. Jared and his family were an obvious exception.

Myra locked her cell and crawled on the four-wheeler. “Come on, let’s get back before Jared goes on a war path. He’s upset.”

Sara crawled in behind Myra again and put her arms around Myra’s waist. “He didn’t seem upset to me.”

Myra scoffed. “That’s with you. I’m his little sister, remember?”

“Why is he so upset Myra?”

“I’ve already told you more than I should have, or at least he thinks I have.”

“But you haven’t told me anything I wouldn’t have found out on my own anyway.”

“Yes, I have. I told you about the book. Very few people know about it. If I hadn’t told you, especially with the book being out of print, you would never have found out about it on your own. Only locals know about it. Granddad didn’t go national.”

Ah
,
Jared’s grandfather obviously is the author
. “And why would that upset Jared?” Sara was getting more and more confused by the moment. After reading Jared’s dream diary, how could anything in this book affect or influence Sara?

“Sara, in order to keep the peace in the family and not put you in an awkward position with Jared, I think it’s best if he answers your questions about this, unless he tells me differently. Jared loves you, and you apparently love him. I wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that – no matter what. Jared has waited a long time for you. Try to be a little more patient with him. I’m sure he’ll tell you everything if you ask him.
Make
him understand how important it is to you to
know
these things, and don’t let him side-step you.”

Myra kick started the ATV and headed back to the barn.

Chapter 12

Myra and Sara made a quick trip to the house. Myra wanted something to drink before they went back to the hospital. Coffee in the cafeteria wasn’t much better than their food. It bordered on horrible. After tasting one of their donuts, if that’s what you could call it, Sara agreed. It tasted more like a puff of flour with a bit of sugar on top than a donut.

While Myra made their drinks, Sara made a quick trip upstairs. She wanted to move her precious book to a safer location. One that Jared was sure not to bother - among her personal possessions. By the time she’d done that, Myra was waiting for her.  They changed vehicles again, getting back in Myra’s Roadster.

For no apparent reason, Sara felt dizzy and nauseated. She drank some of her Coke, thinking it would help. It didn’t. In fact, the more she drank, the worse she felt. She felt odd. Things around her seemed different. Colors were more vivid and textured, than Sara had noticed before. She took some deep breaths, to try and quell the nausea, but that wasn’t helping either. Sara’s headache had gotten worse too. She blamed it on the blazing sun.

Myra was quite; she wasn’t saying a lot. When they
did
talk, their conversation was brief, and didn’t involve anything to do with Jared’s people, or the book. The one Myra was unaware, that Sara already had.

------------

They were about five minutes from the hospital when Myra’s cell rang again. She pulled to the shoulder and got out of the car. Sara couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could tell Myra was getting upset.

Myra jumped back in the car. “Hang on to something, and make sure your seatbelt is secured. We’ve gotta hurry. That was Jared.” She waited for a break in traffic, and then pealed down the highway. “It’s Granddad, he’s dying,” she softly said, her eyes glossing with tears.

Sara and Myra ran from the elevator to the old man’s room. Things around Sara still seemed strange. Her legs had pins and needles, as if they’d been asleep. When she and Myra got to his room, the rest of the family were in there, along with his doctor. Tom was in the corner, holding Nadine and trying to keep her calm. She was almost in hysterics. Jared was by the bed, trying to assist, but it didn’t matter. The old man was beyond help.

 Within seconds of their arrival, it was over. Jared’s grandfather never suffered, or even struggled for breath. His heart stopped beating, and he slipped away. No matter what Jared or the doctor did, they couldn’t revive him. Time of death was called, and Jared pulled the sheet over the old man’s face.

Jared hugged his mother and father, and then walked over to Sara. He stood there. Staring into Sara’s eyes for a while as if she might disappear. His eyes filled with tears. Sara’s were glazing over because it hurt her to see him upset. He didn’t say anything. He took her in his arms and held her, his body shaking with silent tears. Sara wiped her eyes. “I’m so sorry Jared.”

“I love you Sara. Please don’t ever leave me – I need you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Jared. I’ll stay with you as long as you want me to.”

“Then you’d better be planning to stay forever.”

Although she didn’t realize it, Sara staggered. “Sara, you’re pale, are you ok?” Jared was worried.

“I’ve got a headache, and I’m a little dizzy and nauseated. I think all this adrenaline is getting to me.”

“Do you want me to get you something for your stomach? I can ask Dave to write you a prescription for….”

Sara held up her hand forestalling him. “No, I’m fine. I just need to sit down for a few minutes. You could see if they have some ginger ale though. That usually helps to settle my stomach.” Sara was trying to keep her face as straight as possible, so he wouldn’t realize she was faking.

“Wait here, I’ll get you some.” Jared kissed Sara’s forehead and left.

Sara waited until Jared was out of sight before she relaxed the muscles in her face, reflecting how weird and miserable she felt. 
Oh God!
What’s happening to me?
Sara started thinking fast.
Could it have been the sandwich at lunch? Surely not. If it had been the sandwich, Myra would be sick too, and she seems healthy. It’s the adrenaline Sara. Everything is just happening too fast.
You need to calm down. If you don’t, you’re not going to be any use to Jared or his family. Just breathe Sara - breathe
.

Sara closed her eyes, trying to take her own advice. She took some deep breaths, resting her head against the back of the chair. She heard a shuffle of feet near her, and immediately tried to look lively. From the worried look, in Jared’s eyes, Sara’s acting wasn’t convincing.

“Here, sip on this.” Jared wiped Sara’s face with a cool cloth. “I grabbed this from one of the nurses. She said we didn’t need to bring it back.”

“That feels nice.” Sara wondered if it were the nurse who’d tried to flirt with Jared earlier.

Jared pressed the back of his hand to Sara’s forehead. “You’re a little warm, but it could just be the heat. Have you been drinking plenty of liquids while you were out with Myra?”

“Yes Jared,” Sara chided. “Just let me sit a while. Go - be with your family. I’ll be fine here.”

“No, I’m not leaving you like this!”

Sara was adamant. “Jared, I’ve got a slight headache and an upset stomach. You need to be with your family.”

Jared sighed. “All right, but I’m just going to say goodbye, and then I’m taking you home.”

------------

Another five minutes past. Sara sat in agony, desperate to feel better. Nothing helped.

Jared came back. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Dad gave me his keys. He and Mom are going to ride to the funeral home with Myra.” Jared lifted Sara from the chair, put his arm around her waist, and led her outside.

He drove to a nearby lake. They walked down to the edge of the water. Sara felt a little better, but her head still felt like it wasn’t connected to her body, and the hurricane in the pit of her stomach kept churning away.

Jared picked up some flattish stones, and started skipping them across the water. As Sara watched, the stones seemed to be moving in slow motion, skipping across the surface of the water. She blinked her eyes, and shook her head to clear it. Jared hadn’t said anything since they left the hospital. “How do you make them skip across the water like that?”

Jared’s eyes widened. He furrowed his brow. “Sara, don’t you remember? You skipped stones with me at the river by Lucy’s house. You just put it in your hand like this, pull your arm back, and flick your wrist like a sling shot,” he explained as he tossed another one across the lake. “You don’t remember when we did that?”

Sara looked at Jared, confused. “We did?” she asked, her voice trailing off as she watched the rock. As it bounced across the water, the rock looked as if it left a faint bluish trail behind it. Sara rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Things were getting weirder by the moment.

Jared passed her a couple of the stones from his hand. Sara flicked them across the water, watching them bounce across the surface. The more Sara watched the display, the more fascinated she became. The trails behind the rocks were changing to different shades of the spectrum. Even some not visible to the naked eye. She threw the ones Jared had given her, and then reached down for some more. “That is so cool!” she remarked, with glassy eyes.

Jared watched her in surprise. “Most girls can’t skip stones that well. What’s so cool?” he asked, more concerned.

“Yeah, well, I’m not most girls,” Sara said and tossed a couple more stones. Now, not only the trails were changing colors, the lake was too. Each time the rock touched the surface of the water, it was as though the lake was changing to different shades and shapes of kaleidoscopic colors.

“I know….”

Sara tired of watching the stones. The swirling mixture of conflicting colors was starting to make her more dizzy and nauseated. “Jared, why don’t you want me to know about your people?”

“Cause you don’t need to – not yet anyway,” he said and tossed another stone.

“What do you mean, not yet? Is there some test I’ve got to pass before you let me in?”

“You
are
in Sara!”

“No, I’m not! I know you’re keeping things from me. What deep, dark family secret are you keeping from me? Are you like the characters in ‘Twilight’? Are you a vampire, or are you going to change into a werewolf, and try and eat me,” Sara said, half joking.

Jared didn’t say anything. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds. Sara could see the muscles in his face tensing up. She walked in front of him, so she could see his eyes. “You’re not – are you?”

Jared took a couple of deep breaths and slowly opened his eyes. “I’m
not
a vampire, and I’m
not
a werewolf,” he said, seriously.

“Why do I sense there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”

Jared scoffed and closed his eyes again, looking away from Sara. “What makes you think that?”

“Because of the way you’re acting. Is it because of me? Is being with me going to get you into trouble? Have I disappointed you in some way? Is that it? You’re going to say you can’t be with me, because it goes against tribal law or something, aren’t you?”

“No,” he said through clenched teeth as though it annoyed him. “You have
not
disappointed me. If anything, you’ve surpassed my expectations. Being with you is as natural as breathing for me. It always has been. It doesn’t go against
any
of our laws. Do you honestly believe it would matter to me, if it did?” He pulled her into his arms.

“I don’t know – would it?”

Jared lowered his face and kissed her, softly, gently, and long. Sara felt her knees giving away. “No….”

“Then why won’t you tell me? If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask Myra.”

Jared pushed Sara back and moved away from her. His tone turned to ice, his jaw set. “Myra will
not
tell you anything. I have forbidden her to!”

“And what makes you think she has to listen to you?”

Jared’s attitude didn’t waver. “She
has
to!”

“Why?” Sara was getting agitated.

Jared ignored her question, and picked up a few more stones, skipping them across the water. He slung the stones so hard; one of them went to the other side of the lake, slamming against a pine tree with a loud thud. The eagle, resting in the top of the pine, took to the air in alarm. Sara gasped and jumped. Jared breathed deeply again, regaining control. He changed the subject. “You know, Granddad used to bring me fishing here when I was a boy. He tried to share the stories of our legends with me,” he sighed. “I told him he was scaring away the fish.”

“Jared, it wasn’t your fault. You were just being a kid.”

“When I turned thirteen,” Jared continued without prompting. “He brought me here for one of his talks, and tried to tell me all the things I needed to do to be a good Navajo. What I needed to do to prepare myself for the day, I would find you. I called him a stupid old man. Now, when I want to know about these things, he’s gone, and I can’t ask him. I was such a stupid moron!” He kicked at the loose rocks under their feet, venting his anger again.

Sara’s heart was breaking, tears streamed down her face. What could she say to make him feel better? The only thing that came to her mind was something prosaic. “We’re all like that, at that age.
We
don’t want people telling us anything because we already know it all, or at least we think we do.”

“Yeah, well, I should have paid more attention to him. I want to be what I should be for you. I don’t know what to do. How to explain things to you, without chasing you away forever.”

“What do you mean Jared? What could you possibly say that would chase me away?”

Jared shut his eyes again, tears sliding down his cheeks. “I shouldn’t be weak like this Sara! I’m supposed to be strong, but I’m not – I’m weak. I knew this was coming. I knew he was getting old. I was too busy trying to build a future that I let my past slip right through my fingers. I’m a failure at what I am Sara!”

“You are
not
a failure Jared! Look at yourself, and all that you’ve done, all that you’ve
accomplished
with your life. How can you possibly think of yourself as a failure?”