Nathan followed Emma as they hiked along the banks of the Little Colorado. When she caught sight of an Indian ruin, she waded across the river. Trailing her to the south bank, Nathan took in the potsherd-littered remains of a place obviously long abandoned.Emma entered the one-room dwelling with crumbling walls, crouched down then began to carefully inspect pieces of pottery. Her hat shielded her face.“I wonder how these people felt about living here,” she said quietly.“Maybe they liked being alone.” He thought a life here wouldn’t be so bad. Solitude, peace, and quiet—all worthwhile pursuits in his book.He heard dirt tumbling overhead and pulled his gun. An Indian man stood on a ledge above them, unarmed but alert. His shirtless torso indicated youth and agility; Nathan immediately sensed a threat.“Emma, get behind me.”She did as he said.“You are the white woman from the river?” the Indian asked, his English clipped with an accent.Nathan assessed the man. He wore a dark blue cloth tied around his head. His jet black hair reached his shoulders and his only clothing was a pair of white cropped pants and leather footwear. Upon closer inspection Nathan noticed a bow and quiver full of arrows at the Indian’s feet, and a rather large knife strapped to his waist.“Who’re you?” Nathan asked, still pointing his gun.“I will not harm you,” he replied. “I have been waiting two days for the woman.”What the hell? “Why?” he asked the man.“An elder spoke of her arrival.” He gestured to Nathan. “But not of you. I do not know who you are.” He nodded at Emma. “Her. I have been waiting for her.”“What’s your name?” Emma asked. “What tribe do you belong to?”Nathan suppressed the impulse to grab Emma and get back to the boat immediately. He wasn’t buying any of this for a minute.“I am called Masito. I am from the Hopitu people.”“I’ve read about you,” Emma said, obviously warming to the idea of contact with the natives. “The Hopi have several villages in this area, don’t they? On mesas?”“Yes.” The Indian nodded, but still glanced at Nathan. “I will not harm you. You can put down the gun.”“Nathan,” Emma said quietly. “I think it’s all right. Let’s hear what he has to say.”Reluctantly Nathan lowered his weapon, but still kept it in hand. The gesture wasn’t lost on Masito. Emma might want to befriend him, but Nathan knew a threat when he saw one. And the Indian’s gaze on Emma bothered him on more than just a safety level.“Pakwa spoke of a woman who would come from the river, not far from our sacred sipapu.”“What’s a sipapu?” Emma asked.“It is a sacred place, from where we entered this world.”“How did you learn to speak english?” she asked.“One of your holy men came among us for a time. I learned from him.”“Who’s Pakwa?” Emma asked.“A wise old woman. I have come to bring you back to us.”“How did she know I was here?”“There are some who hear the whispers of the supernatural with more ease than others.”Emma nodded solemnly. Nathan could barely hide his frustration.“Why must I go with you?” she asked.Masito stared at Nathan. He sensed the Indian withheld vital information.“There is a boy among us. He is very sick. Pakwa has foretold your help.”“A boy?” Dread filled Emma’s voice. “What’s wrong with him?”“We do not know. No one among us has the skill to heal him.”“What makes you think Emma can help him?” Nathan asked.“You are called Emma?” Masito asked her. “To us, you are known as the White Woman Healer, the Bahanas Healer.”“I’m not a healer,” Emma said, but the acceptance in her voice of this entire conversation alerted Nathan that Masito was getting to her.“Perhaps you have not tried to heal yet.” The Indian was determined in his quest.Nathan looked at Emma beside him. Her eyes were focused on the ground as he sensed her consideration of Masito’s request. “Do you know what he’s talking about?” he asked.When she turned her gaze to his, he saw fear, concern, and determination. “I think maybe I should go with him.” Her voice was soft, but resolute.“You don’t even know where he’ll take you.” A sudden anger flared in Nathan. Was she really so stupid?“We will not travel far,” Masito interrupted. “There is a small group of us encamped on the plateau. The boy is there. But we must go now if we are to arrive before nightfall.”Emma nodded in response to the Indian then turned back to Nathan. “You don’t have to come, but I think I should go.”“Why?”“It’s complicated. I’d explain it to you, but there isn’t time right now.”“You’re not making any sense.”“I know. But I believe I’m meant to go with him.”“The hell you are.” He wanted to shake some sense into her, but her closed expression told him he’d already lost her.“You’ll go whether I want you to or not?” he asked.Slowly she nodded.He holstered his gun, but that didn’t mean he agreed with any of this or that he thought she was out of danger. “Then I go, too.”“Can you tell me more about the sipapu?” Emma asked as she trailed behind Nathan. He insisted on being between her and Masito. She didn’t feel that the Indian was a threat, but she worried about the boy of which he spoke.“It is where all Hopi came into the fourth world from the third world.”“So it’s a hole in the ground?”Masito nodded.Emma wiped at the sweat on her brow from the strenuous uphill hike. “Could I see it sometime?”“That would not be proper.”“Oh.” Emma concentrated on her footing. “What is the meaning of the different worlds?”“Our creator, Dawa, brought us from the First World, where we were insect-like creatures, into the Second World. There he changed us into animals. Then he took us to the Third World and changed us into people.”“Why did he do that?”“Because we did not understand the meaning of life.”“Who does?” Nathan muttered. Emma frowned at him as he turned away from her.“What world are you in now?” she asked, trying to catch her breath.“The Fourth World. Masau’u, the gatekeeper, rules this world. He is between the worlds of the living and the dead. He is our guide but he is also the sentry of the dead. We entered through the sipapu.”“Why did you have to leave the Third World?” she asked.“There was too much evil. The people with good hearts rose to the Fourth World. Once there, Yawpa, the mockingbird, sorted everyone out. You shall be Hopi, you shall be Apache, and so on. Corn was passed out, and the Hopi became the people of the short blue corn.”“Does that have special meaning?” Emma asked.“We were slow in choosing, and had to take the smallest ear left. And so we must endure a life of hardship, but it will be a long-lasting life. While other tribes may perish, we will survive all adversities.” Masito’s voice held pride.Emma liked the story. It made an odd sort of sense. Lessons learned lifted people to higher worlds. Perhaps it was true for everyone. She hoped she had something to offer their ill boy. Would he be the same boy from her visions? The Hopi had known she was coming. Maybe it was time she had faith in the unfolding of circumstance. From her own personal experience, she believed in the power of the unseen.Didn’t she?A brilliant sunset played across the western sky as Emma followed Masito and Nathan into the small Hopi encampment. After climbing for several hours, they emerged at the top of a flat plateau filled with pine trees. A strong wind greeted them, pressing against Emma, but she felt she could breathe again. She hadn’t realized how confined she’d felt down at the bottom of the canyon for the past few days, and how much hotter it was down low compared to the cooler highlands.Watching Nathan’s broad-shouldered back, Emma felt relieved he had accompanied her. A sudden wave of discomfort passed through her about what was to occur with the boy and the Hopi people.The boy.Unease filled her and she wondered if this was some kind of test. She’d heard of such things—people who possessed great gifts of spirit and healing who were put through trials to determine their character and fortitude, their patience and courage.Was she about to endure such an inquiry? Did she have latent healing abilities? If she did, she was unsure how to bring them forth.The encampment consisted of several lean-to’s covered with animal skins, the ends flapping in the wind. Emma guessed there must be twenty or thirty Hopi present and not all of them were men. Women and children moved about also. Several fires burned and it appeared the evening meal was being prepared.As the three of them approached, the people recognized Masito but didn’t come forward. Instead, they all stopped their movements to stare at the two strangers accompanying him.As Emma got closer, she immediately felt the scorn and the jealousy coming from the women, mostly the younger ones with hair wrapped in extravagant buns on either side of their heads.“Why do the women dislike me so much?” she asked quietly, stunned by the strength of the emotion permeating from the crowd.“I’m wondering the same thing,” Nathan replied.Emma felt relieved. Then it wasn’t in her imagination, or on the tip of her visionary skills.Masito stopped for a moment and turned to face them. “There was one other thing I did not tell you. Pakwa saw something else. It is why the women in the tribe do not like you.” He looked at her. “You, Bahanas Healer, are also to be my wife.”“Like hell.” Nathan stepped in front of her.Emma felt her stomach drop. Masito wasn’t the desire of her heart. She knew that with absolute certainty. To be joined with him would mean only one thing—she wouldn’t be with Nathan. Her true desire stood before her, defending her. Did she dare hope that Blackmore had feelings for her?“The old woman never mentioned you,” Masito said, echoing his earlier words. He stood face to face with Nathan, taking his measure.Sensing they might go to blows over this, Emma tried to diffuse the situation quickly.
“There must be some misunderstanding,” she said, trying to get around Nathan, but he was a sturdy wall to get past. “I only agreed to see the boy.”Whispers from the gathering crowd echoed around them. Powaka. A chill went down Emma’s spine. She didn’t understand the word but the mood of the crowd told her it wasn’t good.Nathan grabbed her arm and dragged her several feet away from Masito and the Hopi people staring at her. He stood with his back to the gusting wind, protecting her, and looked at her intently. “This is crazy, Emma.”She hoped to God she knew what she was doing.“Who knows what these people will do if you don’t give them what they want,” he said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed they’re a bit superstitious.”He held both of her arms now, the touch warm, electric, but also impatient and worried. Looking into his now familiar brown eyes, Emma finally accepted he was the one, the man from her visions, the lover who touched not just her body but her spirit as well. But the visions were a world confined, not necessarily to be released into this one. Life with Nathan wasn’t a certainty.“I wish I had more time to explain everything to you,” she whispered. “All I ask is that when this is over you remember something.”“What?” He set his jaw in a hard line.“You must forgive your father.”She turned to walk away but he pulled her back to him and for the briefest moment she wondered if he might kiss her. She would have let him.“I stay with you the entire time,” he said, his voice hoarse.Copyright © 2011 K. McCaffrey LLC
