Shaman Winter by Rudolfo Anaya Page B

was describing was Owl Woman’s Calendar of Dreams! He looked at Lorenza and the look on her face told him she, too, was stunned.
    Is it possible? His look asked, and she nodded.
    â€œWhere did you find it?”
    â€œAt the Raton incident. The cop shot Raven’s accomplice, a second state police car came up, and Raven fled.”
    â€œUnbelievable!” Sonny said. Raven had taken the bowl when he kidnapped Owl Woman.
    â€œIt’s believable all right!” Doyle snapped.
    Eric continued, “I recognized a few of the glyphs on the bowl. The ankh sign. A tree. The sign for infinity. And something that reads like an explosion. A sunburst, much like our Zia sun. And near the radiating sun the glyph of a bull. Sonny Baca, Matt figured. He knew you had chased Raven. And perhaps Raven is chasing you.”
    â€œWhat do you think?” Matt Paiz asked Sonny.
    â€œYes, that’s Raven’s method. He leaves clues. Where’s the bowl now?”
    â€œIt’s sitting down at TA-Two with the pit.”
    â€œCan I see it?”
    Eric looked from Paiz to Doyle. “Do you think you can read the glyphs on it?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Sonny replied.
    He did know that the inscribed bowl was the Calendar of Dreams that belonged to Owl Woman. Maybe Raven interpreted the sun symbol as a sign for the apocalypse of time. Time would come to an end unless the Calendar of Dreams was returned to the people, the heirs of the dream of peace. It was just a stroke of luck that a state cop had stopped Raven near Raton and stumbled onto the bowl and the plutonium.
    And, Sonny thought, looking out the window at the gathering clouds of the afternoon, the time of the winter solstice is upon us. Raven has it all figured out.
    â€œIt’s important,” Doyle said. “If you can read any part of it, it might give us a clue about Raven and what he’s up to. We need to know who funds him.”
    â€œThat’s why we called you,” Paiz added.
    â€œI’ll try.” Sonny nodded. “One stipulation.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThe bowl belonged to my grandmother—”
    â€œWhat?” Eric arched an eyebrow.
    He looked at Doyle, who shrugged.
    â€œThen you did know something about this?” Doyle asked.
    â€œIt’s a long story,” Sonny explained, “but I need to return the bowl.”
    â€œDo you expect us to believe—” Eric’s voice rose in irritation, but Paiz held up a hand.
    â€œCome on, Sonny, level with us. If the bowl really belonged to your grandmother, does that mean you can read the glyphs on it?”
    â€œNo.”
    Eric shook his head. “The bowl doesn’t mean anything to us, as long as we have the plutonium. If it belonged to your grandmother, as you claim, you can have it. What’s your grandmother’s name?”
    â€œOwl Woman.”
    â€œWhere does she live?”
    Here, Sonny thought, in my heart. In me. In my dreams, in Raven’s nightmare.
    â€œHere,” he said, looking out the window at the plateau that sloped into the valley. Here in La Nueva México, everywhere.
    Eric didn’t understand, but he reached for his parka. “I don’t care if we believe you or not, Sonny. The important thing is for you to look at the bowl and see if it has clues about Raven. Come, let’s go.” He walked briskly toward the door.
    â€œI’ll drive with Sonny and Lorenza,” Paiz said, and took the back handles of Sonny’s chair.
    Eric glanced at Doyle, nodded, and they headed out the building. They were immediately flanked by security guards armed with automatic weapons, dressed in protective vests and headgear. Outside, Eric and Doyle boarded Eric’s Jeep.
    â€œI’ll be at TA-Two with these three persons,” Eric said to the captain in charge. “Stand by.”
    The captain saluted and pulled back, as did the guards around him.
    â€œFollow us. Stay