uncle?”
“Close your eyes, and allow everything thatsurrounds you to touch you. Don’t be afraid. You’re safe here,” he assured her.
Ella did as he asked, wondering what he expected from her. As she quieted her senses and forced herself to relax, she felt an odd stirring that made her flesh prickle. It was a unique sensation, like electricity running in waves over her skin. The second she opened her eyes, it disappeared.
Haske smiled and nodded.“So what I’ve heard about you is true. You do have the gift.”
She wasn’t sure what to answer. The sensations that had coursed through her had probably been attributable to that odd incense. “I’m a good cop, uncle, and I’ve learned a lot about people. Believe me when I tell you that I’ll fight whatever disrupts the harmony of the Dineh, ” she answered.
Haske’s eyebrows knitted together. “You don’taccept it? I would have thought…” He shook his head, then shrugged. “No matter. It’s yours to use or not. Now tell me how I can help you.”
“Do you know who might have wanted to kill the man who taught stories of our people’s past?” she asked directly. Then, seeing the startled expression on Haske’s face, she chided herself for bluntness. At least she’d remembered not to use the name of a deadman in Haske’s home. “I’m sorry to bring such talk here, to this place”—she gestured around the hogan—“but in truth, I can’t think of a safer place.”
Haske’s expression relaxed somewhat. “The herbs and the protection that surround us here are as real as the gun you wear at your waist,” Haske answered.
Ella tugged at her cotton windbreaker, making sure it covered her weapon. She felt self-consciouswearing it here, but she had no choice. Regulations were regulations.
Haske took a long, slow, deep breath. “Trouble has come to our people again. You felt it when you attuned yourself to your hidden senses a moment ago. There’s an imbalance, as if the evil is waiting, and growing as it does. The death of the elder triggered disharmony like a wave across a lake. Those people on the bus felt itsforce and even that man in Farmington. We are all in danger now.”
Haske’s words were making her skin crawl. She tried to shake off the feeling. “Have you heard of any skinwalker activity, uncle?”
“No. But there is danger surrounding us, and it is close at hand. It’s pressing around you and me right now.”
“Do you think someone is after you?” she asked, prodding for clearer answers.
Haske shrugged.“I’m not worried about myself. I’m ready to join my ancestors when it’s my time. But you still have much to learn and much to do.” He paused. “Your brother helped my wife many years ago when she was ill and I wasn’t here. Out of respect to him, I will sing a blessing over you.”
He began the words of a chant. The song filled the hogan with a feeling of power so strong it became an almost tangiblepresence. It was as if the elements were amassing themselves protectively around them. As the last note faded, he released a pinch of corn pollen into the air. “May your trail be in pollen,” he concluded.
Ella thanked him, knowing that there was no higher blessing. Pollen increased individual power, and it cleared the path of danger. Pollen signified sustenance, light, and life.
Ella returnedto her Jeep with a smile on her face. It was a ceremony she’d seen performed hundreds of times, yet it still made her feel refreshed, renewed somehow.
She started to drive toward the station, but then changed her mind and took the turnoff leading home. She’d stop there for dinner, then go back to work.
Shortly after seven, Ella walked inside her home, scratching Dog as he got up to greet her.She called out to her mom, and received an answer from out back. Rose was gathering a freshly washed bedspread from the clothesline.
“I’ll be inside in a minute,” Rose answered. “A letter arrived for you today. It’s on the
“Close your eyes, and allow everything thatsurrounds you to touch you. Don’t be afraid. You’re safe here,” he assured her.
Ella did as he asked, wondering what he expected from her. As she quieted her senses and forced herself to relax, she felt an odd stirring that made her flesh prickle. It was a unique sensation, like electricity running in waves over her skin. The second she opened her eyes, it disappeared.
Haske smiled and nodded.“So what I’ve heard about you is true. You do have the gift.”
She wasn’t sure what to answer. The sensations that had coursed through her had probably been attributable to that odd incense. “I’m a good cop, uncle, and I’ve learned a lot about people. Believe me when I tell you that I’ll fight whatever disrupts the harmony of the Dineh, ” she answered.
Haske’s eyebrows knitted together. “You don’taccept it? I would have thought…” He shook his head, then shrugged. “No matter. It’s yours to use or not. Now tell me how I can help you.”
“Do you know who might have wanted to kill the man who taught stories of our people’s past?” she asked directly. Then, seeing the startled expression on Haske’s face, she chided herself for bluntness. At least she’d remembered not to use the name of a deadman in Haske’s home. “I’m sorry to bring such talk here, to this place”—she gestured around the hogan—“but in truth, I can’t think of a safer place.”
Haske’s expression relaxed somewhat. “The herbs and the protection that surround us here are as real as the gun you wear at your waist,” Haske answered.
Ella tugged at her cotton windbreaker, making sure it covered her weapon. She felt self-consciouswearing it here, but she had no choice. Regulations were regulations.
Haske took a long, slow, deep breath. “Trouble has come to our people again. You felt it when you attuned yourself to your hidden senses a moment ago. There’s an imbalance, as if the evil is waiting, and growing as it does. The death of the elder triggered disharmony like a wave across a lake. Those people on the bus felt itsforce and even that man in Farmington. We are all in danger now.”
Haske’s words were making her skin crawl. She tried to shake off the feeling. “Have you heard of any skinwalker activity, uncle?”
“No. But there is danger surrounding us, and it is close at hand. It’s pressing around you and me right now.”
“Do you think someone is after you?” she asked, prodding for clearer answers.
Haske shrugged.“I’m not worried about myself. I’m ready to join my ancestors when it’s my time. But you still have much to learn and much to do.” He paused. “Your brother helped my wife many years ago when she was ill and I wasn’t here. Out of respect to him, I will sing a blessing over you.”
He began the words of a chant. The song filled the hogan with a feeling of power so strong it became an almost tangiblepresence. It was as if the elements were amassing themselves protectively around them. As the last note faded, he released a pinch of corn pollen into the air. “May your trail be in pollen,” he concluded.
Ella thanked him, knowing that there was no higher blessing. Pollen increased individual power, and it cleared the path of danger. Pollen signified sustenance, light, and life.
Ella returnedto her Jeep with a smile on her face. It was a ceremony she’d seen performed hundreds of times, yet it still made her feel refreshed, renewed somehow.
She started to drive toward the station, but then changed her mind and took the turnoff leading home. She’d stop there for dinner, then go back to work.
Shortly after seven, Ella walked inside her home, scratching Dog as he got up to greet her.She called out to her mom, and received an answer from out back. Rose was gathering a freshly washed bedspread from the clothesline.
“I’ll be inside in a minute,” Rose answered. “A letter arrived for you today. It’s on the
Similar Books
