Spirit Journey: Historical Western Cowboy Romance Novel (Dawson Chronicles Book 3) (8 page)

Skip took Annie from Peanut.  “I’ll hold on tight.  Don’t worry,” he whispered.

“I’m not,” she whispered back.

As they moved through the passageways, the natural splendor of the caves held them in awe.  Box work patterns in the limestone rock ceilings overhead created intricate artwork that had been caused by the recession of the warm sea that had once flowed over the area eons before.  Skip stopped walking whenever he wanted to look at it, mindful of the baby he carried.  He wasn’t taking any chances that he would trip while holding her.

Holding up his lantern, he surveyed the spectacular sight while smiling.  Following his gaze, Annie saw it, pointed at it, and babbled.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful, huh?” Skip said to her.             

Black Fox smiled and looked back at them, thinking how nice Skip looked holding the baby.  She chattered back to him and clapped her hands.  The chief thought it appropriate that one so little was along with them, as though she brought even more good medicine to them.  Perhaps she did.

Runner had warned them that it would be cold inside so they’d put on more clothing.  Peanut had put a warm hat on Annie and Skip kept her wrapped up well in her baby blanket.  Reckless began humming a song of thanksgiving and soon all except Peanut and Jaylyn joined in.  Although they didn’t know it or how to sing it like the others, they appreciated the song’s beauty.

As the melodic sounds reverberated off the walls, Peanut listened to Skip sing with conviction and thought about what Mike had said about not needing Lakota blood to have a Lakota heart.  Though she might be a white girl who’d been a stranger to them, Black Fox’s family had never made her or Jaylyn feel like outsiders; they’d been taken in and cared for immediately.

Peanut had never experienced such a sense of belonging before.  She doubted that many people would be allowed along on such a holy journey and she was almost grateful to Claude for his vile actions.  Otherwise, she might have missed out on it all.  Had that happened, she would have been profoundly sad.

Runner said, “We’ll have to duck through this entrance.”

They followed his direction and joined him on the other side.  They now stood in a large cavern in the middle of which was a beautiful pond.  Their lanterns illuminated the clear water and created a glowing effect in its center.  Suddenly the fox reappeared, barking at them as it stood by another jagged archway.

Runner frowned.  “I don’t remember this room.”

The fox ran into it and then came back out, barking excitedly.

“It does not matter.  We are to follow,” Black Fox said.

He took over the lead, ducking into the room.  It was as large as the cavern they’d just exited, but there was no water, only solid stone floor.  As Reckless came inside, he groaned and almost went down.  Raven and Mike caught him under his arms.

“Here,” he said, panting.  “We are to meet him here.”

Mike and Raven noticed that he was sweating profusely despite the cold temperature.  They helped him sit down and he assured them that he would be all right now. 

Mike said, “Form a circle, everyone.”

As they did, Mike stepped into its center and built a fire using the materials he’d brought in his pack.  He also took out a pipe and a bone rattle with eagle feathers attached to the ornate handle.  The Lennox sisters watched in fascination as he took off his tunic and applied paint to his body, using the appropriate symbols.

The scents of sage and cedar filled the cavern as the fire burned brighter and Mike purified himself with the smoke.  Lighting the pipe, Mike presented it to the Four Winds before taking a puff and blowing the smoke out slowly.  He then gave it to Black Fox, who puffed and passed it to Raven.  Everyone took a turn until it came to Jaylyn. 

“Are you sure it’s all right?” she asked.  “I don’t want to mess anything up because I’m not family.”

Black Fox said, “You became family the moment we found you.  Wakan Tanka brought us all together.  You, Peanut, Annie, and the unborn child are the Four Red Winds and must participate.  Go on and smoke the sacred pipe and do not be afraid.”

Her confidence bolstered, Jaylyn took a small puff, breathing in deeply and letting it out slowly, holding back a cough.  Peanut took an even tinier puff, mindful of the life she carried inside her.  She passed it down the line. 

Mike placed the pipe on its holder and sat down by Raven before beginning a chant, which was picked up by the others.  Eric leaned close to Jaylyn, chanting the words clearly in her ear.  She didn’t know their meaning, but she repeated them as he’d said them.  Peanut did the same and their chanting grew louder, more insistent, until their voices rang off the cavern walls.

Mike shook his rattle hard and they no longer sat in a cavern deep inside the earth.  Their chanting stopped when they realized that they sat out on the open prairie under a vast array of stars as a warm wind blew around them.  Their lanterns were gone, but the fire still burned in the center of their circle.

“Am I the only one seeing this?” Jonathan asked.

Black Fox said, “No.  Reckless and Runner are using their gifts to take us back.”

“Back where?” Dino asked.

“Back to the beginning,” said a voice.

An old Lakota man walked into the fire light.  He was impressive in his light dun-colored buckskin leggings, breechcloth, and red-and-blue beaded tunic.  He wore a long bone breast plate and earrings of wolf’s teeth and red feathers.  His face was lined and weathered, but his midnight eyes shone with vitality as he smiled.

“Some of you know me, but for those who do not, I am Brown Stag.  I used to be the chief of our band.  You may have heard my name.”

He went around the circle, grasping arms with each of them.  When he came to Peanut, he caressed her face and held it in his hand while smiling at her.

“You are the one who has been blessed with the fourth red wind.  Your baby is strong, like his mother.  Do not let your heart be poisoned by hate for the one who hurt you.  He is but an ignorant man who is to be pitied and is not worth your tears or time.”  His gaze moved to Skip.  “There is one who is worthy of you.  Have the courage to open your eyes and heart to him, Peanut.”

He kissed the top of her head and moved to Skip, grasping arms with the wide-eyed young man.  “Are you sure that there is no Lakota blood in you?”

Skip was dumbstruck at first.  “Um, I don’t think so.  Why?”

Brown Stag’s black eyes narrowed a little.  “I think perhaps you should research your lineage further.  You may be surprised by what you find.  You are a good man with a pure heart, much like your father.”

“You know Pa?”

Brown Stag said, “I know of him and he is right.  There is magic in him.  Please give him my regard.”

“I will,” Skip said.

When he reached Black Fox, the chief stood and embraced his beloved grandfather.

Brown Stag said, “I am proud of you, Black Fox.  You have become all I knew you would be and more.  You have done well in setting an example for the young people and have led your tribe with wisdom and dignity.”

“Thank you, Grandfather.  All I know, I learned from you,” Black Fox said.  “You are the one who is most responsible for shaping me.”

Brown Stag released him.  “Perhaps I gave you a start, but you have shaped yourself, Black Fox.”

With tears in his eyes, Owl stood up next. 

Brown Stag took hold of his shoulders and shook him a little.  “My Owl!  You were such a tiny baby and now look at you!  I am so proud of you and all of your children.  You chose wisely in a mate, too.”

“Thank you, Grandfather.  I love them all very much, as I do you.  I think of you every day and wish you were still with us,” Owl said.

“Do not worry.  I am, just not in the way that you would like,” Brown Stag replied.  “Where is my silver-eyed grandson?”

“He could not leave Dawson because he has to give testimony against some evil men who violated a young maiden.  He will be upset that he did not get to see you.”

Brown Stag nodded.  “Yes, but he is doing something very important.  I am proud of him for always thinking of others.  He will be disappointed, but perhaps these will make him feel better.”  He took off his wolf-tooth earrings and handed them to Reckless.  “See that your uncle gets these.”

“Yes, Grandfather,” Reckless said, tucking them into the pouch at his waist.

Brown Stag caught his eye again.  “Do not be afraid of the information that has recently been imparted to you, Grandson.  There is nothing to fear and much to be gained.”

Reckless nodded and lowered his eyes again, concentrating on channeling the power around him.

Brown Stag moved to Squirrel and crouched by her.  Taking her face in his hands, he said, “There’s my little Squirrel.  I remember when you were called Wren and ate so many acorns.  You were such a sweet child, yet strong, and you have not changed.  You have raised fine braves and are a fine woman.”  He kissed her forehead and stood up again.

Striking Snake greeted Brown Stag with great deference.  “It is so good to see my mentor again.  You always stood by me and I will never forget that.”

Brown Stag grasped arms with him, holding the grip.  “You were always faithful to me and did anything I asked of you, even when those things were difficult.  You never let me down.  It is I who am grateful to you.”

Mike stood to greet him.  “It is an honor to meet you, esteemed Grandfather.”

Brown Stag placed a leathery brown hand on Mike’s chest over his heart.  “The white boy with a Lakota heart.  White Horse always knew power when he felt it and it did not matter to him that you were white.  When he first came to the afterlife, he told me about you.  I now see what he meant.  Like Silver Ghost, you have been chosen by Wakan Tanka to be a bridge.  To show others that their religion and ours are not so different.  You are blessed because of your faith in Wakan Tanka.”

Mike felt light flood his body for a few moments.  When it faded, Brown Stag patted his chest and moved on.  He spoke as he kept walking around the circle.

“You have been brought back to the beginning, when no white man’s foot had yet touched the soil of
Paha Sapa
.  There were no people coming to gawk at it or trying to find out how deep it went.  These white men are finding out what we Lakota have known for many years; there
is
no end.  People are not meant to find the birthplace of the Buffalo People. 

“Do not misunderstand me.  I do not blame them for wanting to see such a beautiful place, but most do not understand the sacredness of this land.  The bison came forth from
Wa-shun Wakan
, given to us so that we would not starve.  Wakan Tanka gave the bison to us so that we could make shelter and clothing from their hides, knives and tools from the bones, and use the tendons and sinews for all sorts of things.  There is no part of the bison that we did not use!  We wasted nothing!

“Very few people of any other culture besides ours truly understand why we are angry about being forced out of
Paha Sapa
.  They do not understand why the bison is so important to us.  It is because they ensured our survival for all eternity.  I do not think other cultures would like it if we took away their cattle and other livestock.  How would they live?  Where would their meat and milk come from?  Where would the hides come from for them to make boots and other garments?  How would they feed their children?”  Brown Stag spread his arms wide.  “Look around, my children!  What do you see?”

His eyes sweeping over the starlit prairie, Black Fox said, “The world as it should be: undisturbed and beautiful.  Wild and free, such as our hearts used to be.  The air fresh and clean and not full of smoke or the stench of waste.  Where the sounds of birds and wolf howls are heard instead of the whistles of trains or the motors of automobiles.”

“Yes!” Brown Stag said.  “For this was how Wakan Tanka gave the Earth to us and meant for it to stay.  And this is what we used to see, what used to fill our vision when we lived in
Paha Sapa
.”

A great thundering filled their ears and vibrated the ground underneath of them.  It was a sound Black Fox knew well and he jumped to his feet again, looking towards where it originated from.  His siblings and sons joined him, grinning as a huge herd of bison bore down on them.  An undulating brown sea flowed towards the circle of people, the huge animals snorting and grunting as they ran.

They split, going around the group, and although the ground rumbled and shook, no one was hurt as the bison went harmlessly by.  As the last of the herd passed them, they saw a mammoth white bison slow and stop.  Leisurely, the bull walked around the circle, pausing to blow its warm breath on each of them. 

It stopped completely when it reached Annie, lowering its head so that she could pat its wooly jaw.  Annie squealed a little and blew bubbles at it.  Raising its head, the bison breathed gently on her and then trotted away after its herd.

Brown Stag said, “The White Buffalo has blessed you all with a piece of his spirit.  You are now a part of his family.  He will give you strength, courage, and wisdom in times of trouble.  So do not fear; you will never be alone.”

The sun began rising, casting brilliant gold light over the tall, waving grasses of the plain before them.  The inky sky lightened to a crystalline blue, wispy white clouds floating lazily along on the breeze.  The Ponderosa Pines that covered the mountains gave the impression that they were black in color.

“That which you see in the distance is what we call
Paha Sapa
, what the whites call ‘the Black Hills.’  But there is much more to them than that.”

Suddenly their campfire now sat in a small meadow, surrounded by the trees.

“But up close, they do not look black.  Nor do the meadows, the white cliffs, or streams.  This view of these lands is what we call
Khé Sapa
.  It is a hard thing to accurately say in English.  It is something you must feel to understand completely.”  He let out a deep sigh. 

“I asked Runner to leave home and come here because I knew that you would eventually search for him.  I helped him call to you, to urge you to come on this journey.  To come the way we traveled for thousands of years, not on some iron horse with no heart, no soul!  No, I wanted you to come on our friend, Horse.”  He cut an amused glance at Skip.  “Or in your case, Mule.”

Skip grinned at him.  “You’d like Dash.”

Brown Stag chuckled.  “I am sure I would.  As Runner has told you, even more change is coming to this land, the place where we all began, the heart of this continent.  There are those with good hearts who will try to keep it as it is now, but it will never be the same.  For the Lakota and for all Indians, times are not going to get easier.  I have seen this and I needed to warn you.

“You must keep our stories alive for the coming generations and you must never give up fighting for our people.  One day, I hope that all people will live in peace and we must do our part to help bring that about.  When I say fight, I do not mean with bows and arrows or guns and cannons.  We must fight with our minds and hearts. 

“You young people here do not truly know just how much things have changed because you did not live in a time before reservations and assimilation.  I hate those words!  Land is not meant to be reserved for this person or that!  And it goes against the human heart to be forced to live as someone else does!”