Raven Stole the Moon (40 page)

David charged through the ring of kushtaka and took off into the cavern. As he ran, he had an idea. He knew that his shaman pouch, the source of his power and energy, would attract the attention of the kushtaka. It would have to. After all, it had a kushtaka tongue in it. They would be able to find his pouch even if they couldn’t find him. If he took off his pouch, maybe they would follow it. David would lose his powers, he knew. He would no longer be a shaman. But as a regular person, he could reduce his energy to practically nothing. Maybe his pouch would be enough of a distraction.

Running full speed, David jerked his pouch off his neck. He held it for a moment and tried to infuse it with energy. He concentrated on it and sent it his power. Then, as he reached the pool in the river that he had seen earlier, he threw his pouch
ahead
of him as far as he could and dove into the water.

It was cold, icy water. David swam under the surface to the far edge of the pool, which was quite deep. There was a rock that projected out from the edge of the pool, and David could remain submerged while holding himself in place next to the rock. Then, with his breath running out, he took the flashlight from his belt, unscrewed the lens mount on the front and the battery lid on the back, and emptied the tube. It wasn’t a flashlight anymore. It was a snorkel. He put one end in his mouth, extended the other above the surface of the pool, and then he breathed.

He tried to neutralize his thoughts as he waited. Would they find him? From under the water, he couldn’t see or hear anything. He had no idea what was happening. He just had to wait.

Above the surface of the water was confusion. The kushtaka scrambled around the cavern looking for their prey, but they turned up nothing. The kushtaka shaman was furious, a fury that was only intensified when one of the kushtaka presented the shaman with David’s pouch. David was in the cavern, the kushtaka shaman knew, it was just a matter of finding him. The kushtaka shaman positioned himself near the mouth of the cave while the other kushtaka continued searching.

David had no idea how much time had passed. His body temperature was dropping. He had no idea how much longer he could survive in the cold water. It was all about meditation and self-control. He thought it was slightly funny that one of the shaman’s rituals was to bathe in ice water every morning. It was to build strength of character, he was taught. But was that the real reason? Or was it because on any given day one might have to hide in an icy stream from the kushtaka?

He realized his mind had been wandering when he saw the kushtaka on the shore above him. It hadn’t noticed him, but it had obviously been drawn to David’s thoughts. The kushtaka stood above David, within reach, but didn’t look down at all. It scanned the area at eye level and then moved away.

David relaxed with relief. A close call. Then, suddenly, the kushtaka reappeared, this time looking straight down into the water at David. David’s heart jumped. But the kushtaka still hadn’t seen David. It was looking at the surface of the water. It was drawn to something else. What? The flashlight. Of course. It could see the top of the flashlight sticking out of the water. It was too late to pull it under the surface. David would have to take his chances.

The kushtaka reached for the flashlight, and David didn’t know what to do. If the kushtaka touched the metal tube, it would be burned and then all hell would break loose. David had to stop the kushtaka now. He would have to preempt his discovery. As the kushtaka reached for the flashlight in David’s mouth, David reached out of the water and grabbed the creature around the neck, pulling it into the pool. Then, swiftly, before the kushtaka could struggle, David stabbed the kushtaka with his knife, plunging the blade deep into the kushtaka’s chest and puncturing its heart, killing it instantly.

Now what? The flashlight was gone, somewhere on the bottom of the pool. David lifted his head out of the water and looked around. Had he made much noise? Did they notice the splashing? Apparently not. No one was running toward him. He looked to the mouth of the cave. The kushtaka shaman was still there. The room was still alive with other kushtaka searching. David had to get out now, while he still had the element of surprise. And there was only one way he could do it.

He dragged the dead kushtaka onto the bank of the pool. It was a large one. Maybe large enough. There was no way to know until he had done it. So David began to skin the kushtaka.

It didn’t take long. The coat of fur easily detached itself from the flesh below. There was a lot of blood, but who could see it in the darkness? Within a few minutes, the kushtaka’s hide was separated from its body.

David let the dead kushtaka slip back into the pool, where it sank to the bottom. No more fatty waterproof shield to keep it afloat. David stripped off his boots and jeans and quickly wrapped himself in the bloody hide, covering his arms and head as best as he could. Then, hunched over, he started to make his way toward the cave entrance.

Without a thought in his head, David got lucky. Some other kushtaka were leaving the cave at that moment, and David slipped in with them without attracting any attention. Then, hiding himself in the group of kushtaka, David made his way past the kushtaka shaman. The shaman looked them over briefly but didn’t bother to check each individual kushtaka. He didn’t see that keeping to the back, positioning himself behind the others, was David, wrapped in a kushtaka shell. And off they went, up the cave entrance, up to the world again.

Once on the surface, David split off from the others and made his way to the beach. It was evening and the woods were growing darker. David kept the hide on him. Not for disguise but for warmth. The kushtaka hide was the only thing he had to wear.

As he followed the shore, David thought of his home. He wanted to be safe inside, sitting before the warm fire as the chilly night fell. He wanted hot food and coffee and to fall asleep to the crackling music of burning wood. Buoyed by his thoughts, which at last he was free to have at will, David picked up speed until he was jogging down the beach. He may have lost his shaman powers, he noted, but at least he was still a man.

J
ENNA LOOKED AT
B
OBBY
lying on the ground, David’s shirt wrapped around him like a shawl. So pretty. He had fur on him. A thin coat of fine hair all over his face. She opened the shirt a little. The hair was all over his body. And then she noticed some fine hair on her arms, too. She shivered. It reminded her of being in the tunnels with those things. Those ugly animals. They told her she would grow to like it. Soon, she would see them as beautiful and humans as ugly. God forbid.

She scanned the area for an idea of which direction to go, and she saw something. Not a path. Not a sign. No. Something much more frightening. It was a person. There was someone there. A dark figure watching her, who quickly disappeared behind a tree. Jenna stood perfectly still and listened carefully. She heard it. Movement. Sounds. They were out there. They were back.

She had failed. She had stopped for a minute, but it was a minute too long. She had blown her head start, and now the forest was alive with movement. What could she do? She felt like giving up. Turning herself over to the kushtaka authorities and asking for mercy.

But she couldn’t give up without trying. She had to make an effort. For Bobby. She had to muster her energies. David’s words ran through her head. Trust the woods. Clear your mind and trust the woods. She quickly climbed to her feet and hoisted Bobby to her hip. She took several deep breaths and chased all the thoughts out of her head. Then she suddenly took off, bursting through the woods in the opposite direction of the figure she had seen. She ran, carrying Bobby, as fast as she could. She could hear them after her. She could see them around her. Above in the trees, behind the bushes, but she didn’t stop. She had outrun one of them before; she could do it again. She had no idea where she was, but she had faith in David. She had to. There was no other choice. The path would be clear, she said to herself; it would be made clear to her.

But it wasn’t clear at all. The forest got denser as she ran. Moving through the branches carrying Bobby was more and more difficult. She was tired and spent, but she had to keep going. She had to find the way, had to take Bobby to the place that David told her about.

So she ran and ran, even though the forest was impassable. The branches beat at her arms and legs. She couldn’t see where she was going and the woods seemed to get darker. She couldn’t tell if the kushtaka were still after her; all she could hear was her own panting. So she stopped to get her bearings. To find a way out. The forest was still moving around her. But they weren’t closing in. Why weren’t they attacking her? She could hear them out there—what kept them away?

She set Bobby down against a tree. All around her, fallen logs and heavy branches blocked the way. It seemed like she was in a box made of trees. There was no way out.

But then she heard it. Barking.

Jenna listened closely, and, sure enough, it was a dog. She could hear a barking dog in the distance. Maybe that was her sign. She closed her eyes and tried to do what David had told her. Clear her mind. Trust the woods. Trust herself.

She opened her eyes and looked around. In front of her seemed to be a break in the underbrush. The woods were a little less thick than everywhere else. Maybe that was it.

She picked up Bobby and moved toward the break in the bushes. As she pushed her way through, the leaves seemed to part and form into a path.

Now the dog was louder. It was coming from straight ahead
.
She headed in that direction.

The path was narrow at first, not much of a path at all. A trail of damp earth. She followed the barking, and as she walked, the path widened out until the branches no longer beat against her arms.

The forest grew less dense, and the sunlight streamed through the branches and reached the ground. Jenna looked around. It was beautiful. And the smells. Jenna noticed the smells for the first time. Cedar and cinnamon. The underbrush was speckled with little purple wildflowers growing in patches.

The barking dog was very close now. Jenna knew she would see him soon. And as the trees faded away, she passed through some tall grasses, and after the grasses she was on the bank of a river. A wide, fast-flowing river. On the other side was a dog barking at her. She had found it.

Jenna set Bobby down near the water. She didn’t know what to do next. The river was too swift to cross. It was too deep. But there was a canoe on the other side. Someone was there. And as Jenna watched, people seemed to come out of the woods on the other side of the river and stand on the banks, looking across. More and more people. They looked and waved. And then there was an old woman who emerged from the woods. She went to the canoe and motioned to two men, who pushed the canoe into the water. The old woman and the two men paddled across and landed the canoe before Jenna and Bobby.

The old woman, heavyset with white hair and gray eyes, stepped out of the canoe. She looked so familiar. Jenna knew her. She must know her.

“Gram?” she said.

The old woman smiled at Jenna. She knelt before Bobby and touched his face. His eyes opened.

“Come on, now,” the old woman said. “Get up.”

Jenna watched in amazement as Bobby blinked several times and then climbed to his feet, seeming a little shaky. When he was standing, again naked, Jenna noticed that he had a tail. A little furry tail. But then the old woman patted it, and the tail disappeared.

“Up with that. You don’t need that anymore,” the old woman said.

When Bobby turned to Jenna again, his eyes were blue like they used to be. The old woman took Bobby’s hand and led him toward the canoe.

“Come with us, Mommy,” Bobby said.

Jenna took a couple of steps toward the canoe, but the old woman stopped her with a wave of her hand.

“Can’t I?” Jenna asked, but she knew that it wasn’t an option.

The old woman shook her head, and then spoke to Bobby.

“She can’t come now. She’ll come later.”

Panic swept across Bobby’s face. He pulled away from the old woman and ran to Jenna.

“Come with us, Mommy.”

Jenna took Bobby in her arms. She didn’t want to let him go, but she had to. Finally, she picked up David’s shirt and helped Bobby put it on. She rolled the sleeves until his hands finally emerged. It wasn’t much of an outfit for a little boy, she admitted to herself, but he still looked sweet in it.

“I can’t come now, baby,” Jenna said, looking at Bobby. She straightened Bobby’s tangled hair with her hand. She wanted to go with him. With all of her heart she wanted to go. “I’ll come soon. You go with Gram, now. She’ll take care of you.”

Bobby looked toward the river. The old woman smiled at him and held out her hand. Jenna gently nudged Bobby, and feeling it must be all right, Bobby went to the old woman.

The old woman picked Bobby up and set him in the canoe, getting in after him. The two men pushed the canoe out into the river, and before they turned it around, Bobby waved.

“Bye, Mommy. Bye.”

Jenna waved back as the tears started down her cheeks. Bye-bye, Bobby. Be strong.

When the canoe reached the other side of the river, its passengers got out and, with one last look and wave, disappeared into the forest, leaving Jenna alone on the bank of the River of Tears, across from the Land of Dead Souls.

E
DDIE WAS STARING BLANKLY OUT THE WINDOW WHEN HE SAW
Jenna trudging up from the beach, looking a bit worse for the wear. Eddie had mixed feelings upon seeing her. He was happy that she was safe and coming back, true. But he was also very nervous about how it would all turn out.

He was alone as he watched her. It was late afternoon and Robert was in the kitchen heating up some soup. Eddie thought briefly of running out to Jenna. He could carry her away and hide her in the woods so that Robert couldn’t find her. She would belong to Eddie then. Eddie, and no one else.

But what good would that do anyone? Who would benefit? And then again, why was Eddie so sure that Jenna would leave him? Maybe she would want to stay. Live in Wrangell with him, happily ever after, as she would put it. Have a few kids and teach them to be careful of the kushtaka.

Robert came out of the kitchen holding a spoon.

“It’s ready, if you want some,” he announced.

When he got no response, Robert followed Eddie’s glance out the window. He saw Jenna and ran to the door.

“Wait,” Eddie said, stopping Robert. “It might not be her.”

Robert hesitated a moment.

“It’s her,” he said, and he threw open the door and raced down to Jenna.

Eddie watched as Jenna collapsed into Robert’s arms and Robert carried her back to the house. Seeing them come through the door together, Eddie suddenly realized how the story would end. It was exactly like that Joey guy had said. Jenna wasn’t going to stay with him. It just doesn’t work that way. Eddie quietly retreated to the far corner of the room, surprised at himself for his own unrealistic dreams.

Robert was everywhere at once, placing a chair next to the fire for Jenna, finding a blanket to put over her. Jenna was too exhausted to do anything but receive Robert’s assistance. Then, finally, it seemed as though everything had been done. Jenna was warm and bundled and comfortable, and Robert stood before her like a puppy dog waiting for a command.

“Is there any food?” Jenna asked.

Food. Of course there was food. Hot soup. Robert rushed into the kitchen to get it.

Jenna stared into the fire. She could feel Eddie’s eyes on her, but she didn’t know what to say. Neither did Eddie. After a moment, Jenna stood up.

“I’d like to take a shower,” she said.

Eddie nodded and watched as Jenna left the room.

R
OBERT KNEW THAT
J
ENNA
didn’t need the soup that instant. It wasn’t as if she could eat it in the shower. But Robert couldn’t wait any longer. He had so many things he wanted to say to her. He needed to talk now.

He let himself into the bathroom and sat quietly on the toilet seat, setting the bowl of soup down on the sink. Jenna was behind the white curtain, standing in the porcelain tub under the hot water. Steam hung in the air, clinging to the walls and mirrors. Robert didn’t know if she had heard him come in. She wasn’t making a sound. Just the water running.

“Jenna? I brought you the soup in case you wanted it.”

After a long pause, he heard her answer. Not really a word but an acknowledgment.

“Jenna, I know you’re real tired, but I wanted to talk to you for a minute because I have to tell you how I feel.”

He waited, but there was no response, so he went on.

“I’ve been doing so much thinking since you left, especially up here when I was waiting for you to come back, and I need to tell you that I could never make it alone. I need you with me. And not only for this past week. Since Bobby died we haven’t really been together, and I want to be together again.”

He stumbled. This wasn’t it. He wasn’t saying what he really wanted to say. He was nervous.

“Shit, this isn’t coming out right. It’s sounding like it’s all about what
I
want, and that’s what it always sounds like, I know. I’m always worried about how
I
feel and how things affect
me
and I’m not worried about the larger picture, which is
you
. So I just wanted you to know that I know this now, and I’m ready to act differently.”

Robert stood up and took a step toward the tub.

“Jenna, you’re the most important thing in my life. I may not show it, but that’s because I’m an idiot. Bobby was the most important thing in my life, too. And when we lost him, I didn’t think. I was wrong. I pushed you away. I should have held you closer because I still had you. We could have gotten through it together. But I didn’t do that. I didn’t. And I know it’s too late. I can’t change it now. But, I’m sorry.”

He was at the curtain. She was inside. He couldn’t see her, but he knew she was in there, separated from him by a white piece of plastic.

“I just wanted to say that I know this now. And if it’s too late, if I screwed the whole thing up and pushed you away too far so you won’t come back, I wouldn’t blame you. But I wanted to explain to you that I understand what happened.”

He waited for something. A sign. A stay or a go. But she didn’t say a word. He shrugged to himself and went to the door. He looked back one last time before he turned the doorknob. Why didn’t she say anything? Why didn’t she look at him?

Then he heard a sob. He pulled back the corner of the shower curtain and saw Jenna, huddled against the wall, her arms pulled tightly around her, her face buried in her hands, as if she was trying to fend off something, to protect herself from something. She was curled up into a ball, crying. And when he saw her there, his heart went out to her, and she must have felt it, then, because she unfolded herself and reached out her arms to him, and he stepped into the tub and held her, the water falling over them both. And standing under the hot water, at last welcomed by Jenna’s open arms, Robert could control himself no longer. He burst into tears and cried, holding her tighter than he had in years, as tightly as he did when they first met, as tightly as he had when he first realized that he loved her, so long ago. Everything else seemed to fall away. There was no pain, no anguish. Just relief, and the feeling that they had found each other again. Just as they had found each other before.