Shaman - the Awakening (13 page)

“I guess it would be.”

“Where do you live in D.C?” she inquired, hitting the proverbial ball back into my side of the court.

We volleyed back and forth like a tennis match with the questions and distractions for a couple of minutes, until I finally put an end to it by bringing up Gracie. Nina knew immediately that it was time to get serious.

“We're going to do this differently than what you witnessed with Dianna. Your uncle gave me some instructions.” I laid down the prayer rug on the floor and took out the dream catcher totem and the pipe.

“Do you have a particular herb or inducer that you would like to indulge in,” I asked Nina.

“No; this is your show. I know nothing about it. The skill of being a Medicine Man or Shaman is only taught to those who already have the gift. My spirit is strong –the name Nina means
Strong
in Cherokee – but this is not my path.”

“Your uncle taught me well in the short time we spent on the mountain. He's a great teacher,” I said.

We sat down on the rug together and I instructed Nina to repeat everything I said and did. We began with the learned chant, then smoked from the pipe and began chanting again. After repeating the chant and smoking the drug several times I placed the pipe in the ash tray. I could feel the transcendental state coming on as we continued to chant. Then I found myself in the rainforest again with the panther. I concentrated all my thoughts and willpower on Nina and she appeared next to me.

“What is this place?” she inquired, looking all around and amazed at its beauty. There were so many different brilliant colors and the jet Black Panther stood out and seemed to absorb them all. I was kneeling next to her, petting her. Nina was in total shock and fear of the animal.

“Come on over. She won't harm you. She is a part of me,” I said. Asku didn't have to tell me that. I felt it from my first experience with her and knew it even more after he explained to me the Spirit of the Panther. Then Nina approached slowly and with trepidation.

“Here, pet her,” I instructed. She knelt beside me in awe at the wonders of my totem's beauty.

“This wasn't a part of the dream that I shared with Dianna and you.”

“No.” I agreed. “I told you this was going to be different. Your uncle unlocked it for me.”

“I thought we were going to see Gracie,” she commented.

We are, and the panther will guide us.” I said, petting the large cat. I instructed her to lie down on the jungle floor with me as we transcended into another dream state. Asku had instructed me of the many doors and realms in the spirit world and how the panther would guide me through them.

Then we were in the cool dark room where Gracie was lying on the dirt floor. He hadn't been taking such good care of Gracie as he had with the other girls. She was naked on the dirt floor, tied up and gagged. She didn't have on an adult diaper as the other girls. She was wallowing in her excrement. She didn't have on a blindfold, at least not yet. It was apparent that he had only taken her out of spite. She fit his profile; young and beautiful, but he had also known this would up the ante tremendously. The place was completely dark, except for the light coming in from the silhouette of the door. At least Jessica had had a candle at one point or another. Nina reached out a hand to Gracie, but couldn't connect. She started at the surreal restriction.

“You can't touch her, Nina. We are in her mind right now. We only see what she does, but look around. We might notice clues she missed. Usually I see clearer than the victims because I'm not under the stress and fear of being abducted.” Nina walked around and observed everything within the parameters of what Gracie observed.

Gracie had taken in a lot because she knew of my talents, expecting me to come, and attempted to curb her fears and concentrate, but the subject hadn't left her much to go on. We moved in her mind to when he fed her, but she was blindfolded. He didn't want her to see him at all. He hid in the shadows, but was unable to prevent her from smelling something peculiar. It was something that she hadn't smelled in a long time. She had definitely smelled it before, but couldn't think of where.

“Yes, Nina; we are sharing the same thoughts. That's what happens when you're in dreamscape with another.”

“It's like telepathy,” she said without moving her mouth.

“It's pretty cool, right,” I said.

“I'll say,” Nina replied. After gathering whatever information we could, we departed.

I wasn't suffering from any side effects like when I took those sleeping pills. I didn't feel drowsy or depressed; I felt great physically. My emotional state was still a mess though, because of Gracie's situation. Now was when things got tricky. After sharing such a personal thing with someone, their reaction usually tended to lean towards sex. You have just mind-fucked them even if it wasn't a sexual dream, due to the personal nature of sharing one's psyche. You become one with that person. This was no exception. When we woke up from the trance, I was aroused and peaking on all cylinders, and so was Nina.

We were sweating, excited and filled with unspent adrenalin and a release of the hormones our minds had been tricked into experiencing while stationary. I jumped up and grabbed two bottles of water from the small fridge. I handed one to Nina and went into the bathroom to compose myself. She knocked on the door a couple of minutes later.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure. I'll be out in a minute,” I responded.

I had to calm down mentally and physically. My libido was aroused and standing at full attention. After I calmed down I exited the rest room. Nina appeared to be in full control.

“What happened to you?” she inquired.

“I had a panic attack,” I told her, but she knew I was lying. She felt exactly what I did, and was attempting to play off.

“Look, we can't do that again. It is too risky,” I said.

“Too risky for whom? We accomplished a lot and gathered a great deal of useful information,” she said.

“What do you mean? I saw the same things as briefed everyone on before!” I protested.

“That's why it's good to have a second opinion. Maybe it was the way you explained it before, but I saw more,” she replied. “You see, the dirt floor is actually the ground,” she said.

“And how does that help? There are lots of unfinished basements with dirt floors,” I countered.

“Perhaps there are, but the rest of the layout gave me further insight into what type of enclosure it is. It has no windows and a floor. Did you notice the walls? They were dirt also. There aren't many unfinished basements with dirt walls,” she stated.

“So you're saying it's a cave?” My jaw dropped.
Why didn't I notice that?

“It could be, but there are other elements that she would have come in contact with, and caves don't have doors.”

I could see she was trying to steer me towards a conclusion. “So what are we looking for?”

“Most of the Southwestern Indian tribes built Kivas for worship. They are underground chambers, usually one room structures built below ground,” she stated.

“So we need to narrow down which tribes utilized the Kivas in the Southwest,” I said with enthusiasm, the significance of the find suddenly dawning on me.

Absolutely,” she replied.

This is a big break! Let me inform Steve and Dianna and see how they want to approach giving this information to the FBI, since we are both officially off the case. The A.D. said he would arrest me if I was found anywhere near the investigation,” I said.

“But you're thousands of miles away,” she replied, smiling.

“You know what I mean,” I retorted.

“Alright; I need to go take a long cold shower after that,” she said, grinning at me again as she departed. Whew; that woman really knew how to make me squirm.

After speaking to Steve my mood had dropped a notch. He was optimistic, but still depressed. I called Dianna for some comfort, and we spoke for about an hour. I informed her of our progress. She could tell that I was a bit melancholy after hearing about the team's limited involvement in the case. Gracie deserved better, she deserved the best people handling this. She was one of our own, and a friend.

“Are you going to be alright” Dianna inquired?

“Sure; it's not me that I'm concerned about,” I replied.

“I know. I hate it as well, but we do have an army out there investigating this now,” she replied.

“Yeah, but are they good enough?” I replied.

“Hey, I have to go. The AD is here for the morning briefing. I'll call you later and keep you updated,” she said and hung up the phone.

After the phone call with Dianna I took a long hot shower. It was funny because now I could feel Gracie while I was awake. I could feel her distress deep down inside. My newly acquired abilities placed me in even closer contact with her emotions while I was conscious. At first I was just experiencing them subconsciously while in the dreamscape. I never even noticed it until Dianna witnessed me talking in my sleep and wrote it down. I wondered if she could feel me consciously as well.

After showering I sat down in my bathrobe in the dark and contemplated all that I needed to do to save her. I would have to risk imprisonment, because I never doubted for a second that the A.D. would carry out his threat. He hated me and my methods vehemently. He was old school and was opposed to everything I stood for. I infuriated him even more when I wouldn't play ball with him. I had often seen his scowling disapproval and heard the rage in his voice. That was one of the good things about being a consultant on contract; I didn't have to play by all their rules. I only had to adhere to just enough to remain employed, and since I was good at what I did and valuable, I could even bend the few rules I was expected to follow.

The A.D. had considered it a pleasure to disband our group. He was a power freaks who would shoot himself before giving in to compromise. He was the type who got in his own way and couldn't get pass his prejudices.

I couldn't get to sleep thinking about Gracie. Nina was probably out for the count by now. We had been up all night. I ordered some breakfast and listened to some Coltrane on my iPhone. It was raining outside, so I opened the curtains. I hadn't even noticed how dark it was in the room until I opened them. So much was true about what Asku said about me; my affinity for the dark. I loved rainy days in particular. I don't know how that fit into the Spirit Guide equation, but I had always felt a sense of calmness and comfort during the rain. I enjoyed the cleansing effect that it had, same with the snow. Things appeared to slow down during the rain. There were fewer people outside, and I enjoyed that also.

I ate my breakfast and enjoyed a cup of coffee while looking out the window at the beauty of the rain and nature. North Carolina is a beautiful state, especially in the mountains. This place was special. I was thankful Nina had brought me here, but soon I had to leave. I had to go back to New Mexico and catch a killer. I was even more confident now that I could catch him with my new arsenal of abilities.

Nina knocked at the door around noon. She had been asleep for about five hours. When I opened the door to let her in, she immediately noticed the lighting in the suite. “Wow, someone opened the curtains for a change. It only took a rainy day to do it, but it's still dark in here,” she stated, turning on the interior lights.

“Did you enjoy your rest?” I asked her. “No. not really. I kept tossing and turning. You didn't get any sleep either, did you?” she inquired.

“No. I've got too many things on my mind,” I replied.

“I know, but you need to rest before you fall over,” she said.

I changed the subject. The case, not my personal state, needed to be our focus now. “I informed Steve of our progress, but he had some bad news. He told me he was called backed to Washington since he was suspended and taken off the case. He left on the ViCAP jet at 1000 this morning. Dianna, Max and Amber are remaining in New Mexico to assist the A.D., but they've been taken out of the field and assigned as Special Assistants to the A.D. He wants to keep them close. He needs to cover his deficiencies with them by his side to make any necessary corrections. That just leaves me to find Gracie. The A.D. is too anal and closed-minded to find her with his methods,” I stated.

“What do you mean only you, mister? What about me?” she inquired.

“I figured your superiors would need you back by now,” I replied.

“No. as far as they are concerned, I'm still on the case. My bureau is a little more flexible than the FBI. I'm on a very long leash. Besides; you guys aren't the only ones who are doing good things out there. I've got carte blanche with my cases,” she said.

“I know. You came highly recommended by the A.D. He gave us a background on your accomplishments,” I stated.

“Well, that's not saying much coming from him, now is it,” she replied as we both laughed.

“Well, the first thing we have to do is research the Southwestern Indians with Kivas in New Mexico, unless you already know the information,” I stated.

“No, it differs per tribe and sect in the Southwest. Our people the Tsalagi, are mountain people. We don't have Kivas,” she said.

“Tsalagi means Cherokee,” I responded.

“Yes, but our original name is Aniyawiya,” she replied, then paused for a few seconds and asked, “Why haven't you ever attempted to get back in touch with your Tsalagi heritage?”

“It's complicated,” I replied.

“I can keep up,” she responded as if to say she wasn't giving up on this particular conversation that easily.

“It's like I told your uncle. My people were excluded from the Dawes Rolls. It felt like they didn't want to have anything to do with me, so I felt the same way about them. I am a half-breed in every sense of the word, Nina, and I really don't know where I belong,” I replied.

“You're confused, Chris, but know this: not everyone agreed with the Dawes Rolls Act. My tribe didn't agree with it. The gifts you possess have been passed down through your Cherokee heritage. Your bloodline is strong in Tsalagi, so put your mind at ease and consider yourself family. It doesn't matter what percentage of Tsalagi you are with us.” Then she held her hand to my face to caress it.