At last, we had a path to follow in our quest for answers—and Emily might be the key. I felt a measure of hope for the first time in a while. Perhaps we could find a way to defeat Balthazar.
As night descended, blanketing the tribal encampment beneath a field of stars, Roman and I sat dining apart from the others. A slight chill hung in the air, and I huddled beside him for warmth. The ground beneath my butt was brutal and unforgiving to the touch. Or maybe I was just nervous about the fire ceremony tonight. I had no idea how one consulted with the Great Spirit and if said spirit would bestow information on us.
And I was suspicious of Grey Feather. His behavior had been shifty in the teepee—avoiding eye contact, drifting into his own thoughts, and not answering the questions directly. At times, he seemed evasive, like a 21st-century politician.
Maybe I was simply paranoid. At this point, I had a lot to be paranoid about, if the darkest of the dark demons was after me.
“So, Emily believes that her father’s journals will give us answers about the time traveler he met twenty-eight years ago?” Roman said, plucking a piece of bison meat from his dish with his fingers. He popped the morsel in his mouth and chewed.
“That’s what she said.” I wiped the juices of the meat I’d consumed from the corners of my mouth with my fingertips. “I honestly can’t believe it. I was at my wits’ end with all the questions without answers we face and the utterly dire reality of being hunted by a crazy, blood-lusting demon. I’m so relieved to have a direction to follow at last. We’ve got to head to Weston Hills as soon as it’s feasible.”
“I agree. And hopefully, we’ll get more answers tonight at the fire ceremony,” Roman said.
“When will it start?” I asked, setting my empty basket on the ground.
“I’m not sure. I was told Earth Bear will come and get us and prepare us for the ceremony.” Roman’s gaze flitted beyond my shoulder, and he pointed. “There he is now.”
Anxiety ratcheted up inside my stomach, churning the delicious food I’d just consumed.
“A-ho!” Earth Bear said, lifting his hand in greeting. Behind him stood Leaping Deer, the healer who had cleansed Emily and me of our sorrows in the creek.
“A-ho!” Roman said, making the same gesture.
“Come. We must prepare you to meet the Great Spirit. Little Moon, you will accompany Leaping Deer. Swift Hawk, you will be with me. We shall attend the ceremony together when your hearts and spirits have been purified individually.”
I nodded, unsure of what such a purification entailed.
“Come,” Leaping Deer said to me, her expression somber. “We must purify your body.”
She turned toward a different structure—one made of hides but lower to the ground, with no opening at the top.
It looked like the framework had been fashioned of willow branches crisscrossed one another. Set near the creek, the structure stood apart from the other teepees.
Another similar lodge sat on the other side of the creek.
In the gloom of the night, I made out Roman, Marcellious, and Earth Bear crossing the stream in a shallow section, presumably heading toward the other hut.
I followed Leaping Deer, trepidation shaking my limbs.
When we stood outside the leather-covered structure, Leaping Deer said in her native tongue, “Remove your clothes.”
I let out a slight cough and scanned my brain for the right words.
“Right here?” I managed in Sioux.
“Take them off,” Leaping Deer said, gesturing impatiently. “Nothing can stand in the way of your prayers here in the sweat lodge.”
Whoa. I’m going to partake in a sweat lodge? This was an honor.
I looked around me in all directions and saw no onlookers, so I stripped. I folded up my deerskin garments and set them neatly near the door. Next, I removed my weapons and tucked them beneath my clothing.
“Good,” Leaping Deer said. She lifted the flap of the dwelling and motioned for me to enter. “Come.”
I stooped and made my way inside.
Red hot stones glowed brightly in a pit in the center of the lodge.
Laughing Maid sat naked, her legs tucked by her side, near a basket lined with moss that held water. She looked up when I entered, her face cast in orange and yellow highlights from the glowing stones, and smiled at me.
