Billy Buckhorn and the War of Worlds, page 28
After they reached their cruising altitude, Youngblood asked Lisa, “How are we supposed to recognize the Snake Cult members?”
“Chigger told us they all usually wear Winged Serpent medallions,” she said as another thought struck her. “I bet the Night Seers will all be there too.”
“Great—this is shaping up to be an old-fashioned Wild West gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” the marshal said, referring to the famous Tombstone shootout of the 1880s.
“Chigger called it the Showdown at Cahokia,” Lisa replied.
“Sounds about right,” the marshal concluded.
s he and the Medicine Council elders made their way to Cahokia, Thunder Child realized all the far-flung members of the Underworld Takeover Prevention Team might arrive at about the same time.
Ready or not, this is it, the War of Worlds, he thought. I’ve done all I can do. The team has done all it can do. All that’s left now is to pray and hope and fight.
Another thought nagged at him though. Why didn’t anyone find the Fire Crystal? The Sun Chief’s staff and feather cape were there in the hidden cave. But the gem was missing. Did the Society of Serpents put it back on the creature’s forehead? Billy realized he may never know.
As Chigger rode toward Cahokia with the two archaeologists, he told them he needed to take a nap. Hugging his backpack close to his chest, he lay down out of sight in the back of the van. The Fire Crystal had been calling to him since they’d departed for Cahokia, and now he could respond.
Quietly unzipping the bag, he stuck his hand inside and grasped the gem. Holding the precious stone gave him an enjoyable and empowering feeling he couldn’t describe. But, at the same time, it also opened his connection to the Uktena. This gave him a front-row seat not only to what the Horned Serpents were doing but also to what they might be experiencing.
How’s that possible? the teen thought.
The first thing he sensed was confusion among the beasts. An outside source, probably Serpent Society members who’d conjured them, were controlling the creatures, pushing them to rapidly swim northward. But Chigger’s Uktena, the one he was connected to now, resisted that command.
That Horned Serpent suddenly broke from the others who were swimming in formation up the river. It now seemed to move toward Chigger’s position. That realization made the boy release his hold on the gem. The visual connection ceased.
This can’t really be happening. I must be imagining it.
To test his theory, he waited a couple of minutes and then wrapped his fingers around the stone again. He immediately saw what the Uktena saw. It appeared that Chigger’s Uktena had actually been leading the others upriver when the creature turned to look in Chigger’s direction.
Chigger knew the van was traveling on a freeway east of the Mississippi River. Not only did the Uktena look in that direction, but it also turned toward the eastern shore, and the other Uktenas followed.
My Uktena is the leader of the pack!
Chigger’s mind began churning with ideas about what this discovery might mean and what he should do about it. He fantasized about climbing onto the Uktena’s back and riding it up the river. He imagined all the Uktenas following him to Cahokia and then bowing down to him as their leader.
His final fantasy was that of him riding on the back of the Winged Serpent as they flew above thousands of adoring subjects in a restored Cahokia. It felt so glorious!
The ringing of the boy’s cell phone burst Chigger’s imagination bubble. Without looking at the caller ID, Chigger answered.
“I feel like you’re holding something back,” Thunder Child said. “What are you not telling me?”
In total shock, the once mighty Muskrat remained silent for a moment. His secret had somehow been discovered, and he felt ashamed.
“I wanted to tell you, but holding it felt so good, so . . . I don’t know,” Chigger said in an almost whiny voice. “I thought I might be able to somehow help you defeat the Underworld if I kept it and used it myself.”
“But you’ve already done so many brave and surprising things and helped so much,” Thunder Child said in an understanding tone. “It’s time to let me do my job.”
His friend didn’t scold him or get angry, and that was disarming to Chigger.
“You’re right,” he replied. “I’m on my way to Cahokia now with Ethan and Digger. We should be there in a couple hours. I’ll give it to you as soon as we get there.”
“Good,” Thunder Child replied. “I’m looking forward to it. Then I want you and Lisa to go to Cecil’s house in St. Louis to be safe. She knows where it is.”
“Okay, buddy. See you soon.”
After ending the call, Chigger realized he still had some time to possibly put the Fire Crystal to good use. An idea was forming in his mind that might prove to be a significant contribution to the Underworld Takeover Prevention Team. But would it work? He wouldn’t know for sure until events unfolded later at Cahokia.
Thunder Child and the elders of the Medicine Council arrived at the two-thousand-acre Cahokia state park first. At about two hours before sunrise, their caravan headed straight for the site’s interpretive center on the east side of the park. Everyone on the Chosen One’s support team would be meeting there.
During the past few days, while Lisa, Chigger, and various law enforcement agencies had been focused on the hidden cave near Three Rivers, Thunder Child had been very busy with other matters.
One such matter was the adoption of the Tlanuwa. On May 1, Amos Yonaguska had driven his prized, but slightly rusted, 1955 Ford pickup from the Eastern Cherokee reservation to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma while telepathically guiding the metallic-winged bird as it flew in the sky above him.
The elder and the teen had agreed to meet on the remote and abandoned property at Buzzard Bend once belonging to Carmelita Tuckaleechee.
“I was so sorry to hear about the death of your grandfather,” the medicine man said when they met and shook hands. “I should’ve reached out to you sooner.”
“No matter—you’re here now,” Thunder Child replied. “I need all the help I can get.”
The retired Night Seer transferred control of the strange, giant bird to Thunder Child and demonstrated how to command the creature’s every move with his mind. Yonaguska also agreed to remain on site while the teen bonded with the bird and practiced riding on its back.
When it came time for the Medicine Council’s caravan to head for Cahokia, Thunder Child commanded the Tlanuwa to fly to the perfect place to hide. It was another large cave in the cliffs just north of St. Louis right on the Mississippi River. Long ago, the cave had been home to another legendary flying creature, called by the local tribe the Piasa Bird.
Now, with a brilliant star field overhead, the Medicine Council elders parked their cars, trucks, and vans in the interpretive center’s main parking lot. Over Thunder Child’s protests, his parents, James and Rebecca, had driven their son to the site in the family Jeep. It was definitely a dangerous place for them to be.
Many sets of eyes scanned the skies, searching for any sign of the feared Winged Serpent. Many other sets of eyes focused on the ground to the north, searching for signs of the shadowy figures Cody had reported seeing. Everyone wondered why there hadn’t already been an attack of some kind.
Thunder Child was the first to hear the whirring of blades as Lisa’s search team approached the historical site. What first appeared as merely a glowing dot against the dark western sky eventually became recognizable as a helicopter with running lights.
After setting the whirlybird down on flat turf, the pilot killed the engine, and his passengers disembarked. Lisa sprinted across the grass to hug both her boyfriend and her cousin, Cody, who’d driven out from St. Louis to participate in the gathering.
“When we’re done activating the Sky Stone, I want you to get everyone over to Cecil’s house and wait till you hear from me,” Thunder Child told Lisa. “It should be safe there.”
“But I need to stay to—”
“That includes you,” her boyfriend said sternly. “And Chigger, if he gets here in the next few minutes.”
The girl reluctantly nodded.
“If this is going to be such a big damn deal, why haven’t you called for military support or law enforcement backup?” Marshal Youngblood asked angrily. “You’re sitting ducks out here in this field.”
Thunder Child stepped toward the marshal and spoke softly. “Because, as I understand it, bullets and bayonets, wielded by those with physical bodies, will have no effect on our enemies from the Underworld,” the Chosen One said.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Youngblood insisted. “How do you even know that?”
“We know that because reservation police from all across the country have reported it,” James Buckhorn said as he stepped in closer to the conversation. “Cryptid creatures, once thought to be figments of the imagination, have been appearing in rural communities for some time now, but, so far, physical weapons don’t seem to harm them and can’t stop them.”
Cecil interrupted the two men. “No time for chitchat,” he said. “Time to chant.”
The men moved away as Cecil stepped into the center of the gathered group. Then, carrying the assembled Sky Stone, he led the elders and the Chosen One to a central area of the park that had once been part of Solstice City’s main plaza. It was near the very spot the meteorite, the original Sky Stone, had plowed into the earth on that fateful day in AD 1054.
Not knowing when all hell might break loose around them, the group immediately formed a circle in the flat area with the Chosen One in the center.
“Chigger will be here with the Fire Crystal any minute now,” Thunder Child told them. “I know he will.”
“I hope that’s true,” Cecil said. “But in case he’s delayed, we’ll still follow through with our plan B.”
The teen nodded, and Cecil signaled to the group. The elders joined hands and began an Osage incantation they’d learned from the Keeper of the Center just for this occasion. As arranged earlier, Lisa and Cody smudged everyone in the circle with sage as the incantation continued.
Standing in the circle’s center, Thunder Child could feel a wave of positive energy radiating toward him from every direction. One way or another, he knew this burst of added power would benefit him in the coming clash.
The incantation ended, but the swell of added energy remained with Thunder Child. He was about to make an announcement to the crowd when the sound of a honking horn broke the silence, and in the faint predawn light, a pair of headlights approached from the main road.
It wasn’t long before a van towing a boat pulled into the parking lot, where the overhead parking lights were still on. Before the vehicle came to a complete stop, a back door swung open, and out popped Chigger carrying the Fire Crystal.
It was the first time most of the people there had seen the legendary gem, and they saw firsthand why the word fire had been used to describe it. Caught in the glow of the parking lot lights, the pinkish-orange facets inside the crystal seemed to dance like firelight.
“Stand back!” Chigger commanded dramatically as he trotted from the van. “Special delivery for Thunder Child! Fire Crystal coming through!”
At first, Lisa was shocked when she learned Chigger was the one who’d found the crystal, and yet part of her wasn’t surprised at all.
Typical Chigger, she thought.
“I guess you’re running on Indian time,” Thunder Child told Chigger as he approached with the gem. “Not a minute too soon, not a minute too late.”
Ever the showman, Chigger presented the Fire Crystal with a dramatic flair. “Your Spiritual Highness, I present the legendary Fire Crystal, recently retrieved from the Society of Serpents’ hidden cave.”
That brought unexpected supportive shouts of “Aho!” from Native men in the crowd and a series of “lulus” from Native women, which were meant to honor Chigger, the young warrior, for having bravely counted coup on an enemy.
“Enough with the drama,” Thunder Child said sharply. “Give me the crystal.”
Chigger handed over the gem and then retreated back into the crowd.
“I want to thank all of you for your support, but now it’s time for all civilians to evacuate,” Thunder Child announced. “And by civilians, I mean anyone who is not a member of the Intertribal Medicine Council.”
Both Lisa and Chigger stepped toward the circle of elders.
“After all we’ve been through together, I’m not about to miss this!” Lisa said.
“Yeah, and I’m your best friend forever!” Chigger protested. “Doesn’t that count for something?”
Irritated that these two wouldn’t listen to him, Thunder Child exclaimed, “Go, don’t go, do whatever you want to do! I have to focus now!”
“Everyone to the interpretive center!” Youngblood shouted, taking charge of the situation. “Let’s get going so he can get on with it.”
Raelynn, the Buckhorns, the two archaeologists, the two Swimmers, the marshal and his helicopter pilot, Lisa, Cody, and Chigger all headed for the building that sat about a hundred yards away.
Turning his attention back to his primary mission, the Chosen One signaled Cecil. The elders of the Medicine Council encircled the teen, and, when they were all in place, the Keeper of the Center presented the Sky Stone to Thunder Child. With one hand still on the stone, Cecil recited a short prayer he’d been practicing for a long time.
“We welcome our crystal brother back to his home in the Sky Stone,” the elder said in the Osage language. “We humbly ask Upperworld spirits to come forth to join the Chosen One in returning balance to us here in the Middleworld.”
When the prayer ended, Thunder Child inserted the Fire Crystal into the keyhole slot in the middle of the five-piece Sky Stone. Even after hundreds of years, it fit perfectly. He twisted the crystal to the right one-quarter turn, as Cecil had previously instructed.
A sudden blast of energy radiated out from the stone in every direction, accompanied by a sonic boom usually heard when a jet plane breaks the sound barrier. Every elder standing in that circle felt the shock wave, which struck them like a blast of wind in a hurricane.
In the next instant, the stone and crystal flew out of the teen’s hand and shot straight up into the night sky. Within a few seconds, there came an explosive burst high overhead, like miniature fireworks on the Fourth of July. Particles of light lingered in the air, illuminating the ground below. Shortly afterward, the brightness of the stars and constellations high above the earth intensified noticeably.
Thunder Child had never witnessed anything like it before. Light coming from the particles created a glow on the ground that enhanced the faint light of early dawn. But this light was more than just physical illumination. It seemed to emanate from a supernatural source, breaking through the dimensional barrier separating the physical and the celestial.
“You never told me exactly what would happen when we activated the Sky Stone!” Thunder Child whispered to Cecil.
“I never knew exactly,” Cecil replied, wide eyed.
On the fringes of Cahokia’s fields, the soft muted light revealed much that had been lurking in the dark of night.
To the north, Benjamin Blacksnake and his Shadow Zone army became visible. Appearing as a mobile mass of blackness, they’d been lurking in the darkness, waiting for a signal to attack. To the south, the remaining seven members of the Serpent Society were also in standby mode, their silver-and-black medallions visible in the overhead light. They anxiously anticipated the arrival of the eight Uktenas, which were overdue.
To the east, Thomas Two Bears and the Night Seers stood poised and ready to strike, using various forms of their black magic medicine. Behind them, a dozen or so nervous cryptids, conjured and barely controlled by the Owl Clan, were gnashing their teeth and losing patience.
Finally, to the west, Monkata became visible, seemingly ready for hand-to-hand combat. He was sitting atop the massive Winged Serpent, and what a formidable sight the pair presented! The purple-and-green being snapped and snarled as its rider strained to maintain mastery over the beast. The Snake Priest, who also expected the imminent arrival of the eight Horned Serpents, looked to the west toward the Mississippi River.
“The Underworld is literally all around us now,” Thunder Child told Cecil. “I’ve got to create the protection bubble we talked about!”
“Elders, gather round me,” Cecil said. “Make a tight circle.”
Moving in closer, all thirteen medicine makers squeezed together. Then Thunder Child took hold of the warrior medicine pouch he wore and repeated the protection formula he’d learned from Blackfoot medicine man Ryder Heavy Runner. A defensive dome of protective energy began forming over the huddled group.
Just in time too, because that was when Monkata made his first move. With a loud, growling hiss, the Winged Serpent leaped into action. The creature spread its massive batlike wings and propelled the pair upward.
“You puny, pathetic collection of raggedy old relics,” the Snake Priest shouted from his hovering position. “One fatal breath from the Winged One will end you forever!”
He and the serpent glided toward the cluster of medicine elders, who stood their ground, hoping their supercharged protection spell could repel the attack. The flying reptile passed above them, expelling its deadly, foul-smelling breath toward them.
When absolutely no harm came to the medicine makers, the Snake Priest turned his anger toward Thunder Child.
“I suppose you’re responsible for the spell that protects them,” Monkata said. “Pretty good trick if I do say so myself. Let’s see how you handle this!”
Quickly, Thunder Child grabbed his warrior medicine bag with one hand and thrust the Lightning Lance out before him with the other. He uttered the magic words to activate his own protective shield.
“Yehcoah! Yehcoah! Yehcoah!” Monkata commanded, repeating the destructive Nahuatl phrase.
