Billy Buckhorn and the War of Worlds, page 29
With an extra burst of strength, the serpent blew out its breath toward Thunder Child for an extended length of time. But the result was the same. Nothing happened. His anger turning to rage, the Snake Priest remembered another group he needed to deal with.
“I’ll be back to finish you off in a minute,” the Underworld dweller said. Then he refocused his attention to the south. Flying directly toward the gathered remnant of the Serpent Society, he demanded, “Where are my Horned Serpents? They were due here long ago!”
No one in the group spoke.
Hovering above and in front of the group, he focused on one. “Redcorn, you’re in charge of the Uktena that’s leading the others here. Where are they? What happened to them?”
“Something got them off course,” the nervous man replied. “Try as I might, I can’t get the creature to respond to me or even acknowledge my control.”
“Anyone else got an explanation for this?” Monkata asked as his anger grew. “How about you, Jonna Boudreaux? You’re one of Molok’s most trusted followers. What do you have to say?”
“My Horned Serpent followed the others as expected,” she replied weakly. “But they all seem to be waiting at the Cliffside Cave for a signal from someone outside the society.”
“You worthless excuses for medicine makers!” the serpent rider yelled. “What good are you? I never want to see your miserable faces again. Yehcoah!” he commanded one more time, and the beast responded as before.
The conjurers turned to flee, but their last-minute attempt at escape was futile. The seven unprotected mortals, once part of a dark and powerful force, perished where they stood. Their bodies were immediately dehydrated of all fluids, leaving behind nothing but desiccated carcasses.
The sound of people gasping in horror reached Monkata’s ears. The presence of Lisa, Chigger, and the others had escaped the Snake Priest’s notice until that very moment. He set his gaze to the west, looking for the source of the sound.
That was when Cecil realized the terrible thing that might happen next.
“Quickly, to the interpretive center,” he told the elders, “We must provide a shield for them.”
Moving more quickly than a group of aging elders could expect to, the thirteen ran for the interpretive center.
“Stand in a circle around them and link arms,” Cecil instructed as the out-of-breath group arrived.
Facing outward, the elders encircled the group of civilians, as Thunder Child had called them. They braced for the next deadly breath, which came quickly. Thankfully, again it produced no results. Failing once more, the Snake Priest screamed at the top of his lungs in frustration.
Then he thought of Blacksnake and his army waiting to the north. He started to prompt his flying ally to move in that direction when some sort of motion in the west caught his eye.
Only Thunder Child expected what happened next.
A tall, muscular male figure emerged from the western edge of the field and stepped into view, carrying a short copper sword in one hand and a shield in the other. His gold-fringed regalia glistened in the faint light as he looked up at the Winged One and Monkata.
“My brother,” the man shouted, “you asked for a rematch here on the land where you were defeated long ago. So here I am. Come and get me.”
“It’s the Sun Chief!” Thunder Child exclaimed loud enough for Cecil and the others to hear. “I thought he’d never show up!”
Cecil had long ago given up on the possibility of ever finding the Sun Chief’s spirit, so his appearance was surprising and confusing. “How?” the elder shouted back.
“I’ll explain later,” Thunder Child said.
Monkata nudged the serpent, and the beast quickly covered the distance from the interpretive center to his brother’s position.
“At long last,” Monkata said. “I’ll relish this moment the rest of my life.”
Swooping down, the Winged One expelled a breath from his lungs that was aimed right for Shakuru. Again, it had no effect.
A troubled and perplexed Monkata hovered above his twin.
“Your Underworld weapons and wizardry can’t harm me,” Shakuru announced. “They only work on mortals made of flesh and bone. My physical bones still lie in that cave where your Aztec coyote friend put them. This body I’m in now formed when Thunder Child activated the Sky Stone. Nothing within your power can harm it.”
“I don’t know how you escaped the Aztec magician’s spells in the cave,” the Snake Priest said, “but this isn’t over.”
“Get off that hideous beast, come down here, and face me man to man,” Shakuru shouted.
Ignoring his brother’s taunt and turning northward, Monkata signaled Blacksnake to release the Shadow Zone army that he commanded. The Cherokee sorcerer uttered a string of unintelligible words to the horde, and the Underworld brutes rallied, running toward the center of the field.
That was when Thunder Child noticed a low-lying cluster of twinkling stars, which seemed to linger while others had faded as the light of dawn grew brighter. They appeared to be burning brighter and becoming larger. But he soon realized they weren’t getting brighter or larger. They were getting closer.
In the next instant, the stars were racing toward earth with fiery trails behind them. But instead of crashing into the ground like meteors, they transformed into warriors carrying weapons, who landed feetfirst on Cahokia’s soil.
Thunder Child recognized Tecumseh as the leader of this celestial war party. The man acknowledged the teen’s presence as dozens of other Star People began to arrive. Many of those Thunder Child knew from historical photos or paintings. There was Sitting Bull, the Lakota chief; Red Cloud, Oglala Sioux; Chief Joseph, Nez Percé; Dragging Canoe, Cherokee; Osceola, Seminole; and Geronimo, Apache. Many, many more dropped from the sky and stood ready to fight.
Immediately jumping into action, they fired arrows, threw spears, and pitched tomahawks toward the shadow fighters. Blacksnake, originally displaying vicious intentions, watched helplessly as his untrained, inexperienced squad suffered serious losses.
“I thought you said weapons couldn’t stop them,” the sorcerer yelled to Monkata.
“Physical weapons used by mortal humans from the Middleworld absolutely cannot harm them,” the Snake Priest responded. “I didn’t expect there to be Upperworld weapons wielded by Afterworld warriors on this battlefield. This changes everything.”
As the hand-to-hand battle raged between the residents of opposite worlds, Thunder Child called out telepathically to his own secret weapon, the giant metallic-winged bird waiting in the Piasa Cave near the river.
The Tlanuwa, roughly the size of the Winged Serpent, responded immediately and came to the teen as easily as a pet dog answers the call of its master. Monkata, absorbed in watching the battle between the warriors and the shadows, didn’t notice the arrival of Thunder Child’s raptor.
After mounting the bird, Thunder Child prompted the magnificent creature to lift off. As it rose, it screeched loudly, sounding much like a red-tailed hawk. The sound immediately caught the Snake Priest’s attention, and he prodded his serpent to confront the new adversary. With Yonaguska’s help, Thunder Child had practiced many aerial combat maneuvers and was prepared for this very encounter.
The flying serpent’s built-in defenses included a mouth full of sharp teeth, a set of antlered horns, clawed back feet, and a talon tip on the top of each wing. The Tlanuwa’s defensive equipment included impenetrable metal feathers, strong grasping claws, an indestructible beak, and a remarkable agility in the air.
Add to that Thunder Child’s Lightning Lance, and the combination was awe inspiring.
“Let’s do this!” Thunder Child uttered to no one in particular, and the action began.
He quickly had the giant fowl rising higher into the sky, which gave him the upper hand over Monkata and the serpent. Diving down toward the Underworld duo, the Tlanuwa targeted the serpent while Thunder Child targeted its rider.
Midflight, the teen activated the Lightning Lance, and a bolt of lightning passed from the sky through the tip. Redirecting the electricity, Thunder Child propelled the amplified charge toward the Snake Priest.
Monkata was woefully unprepared for any of the counterattacks mounted by Thunder Child, the medicine elders, and the Upperworld. He’d planned to first destroy Shakuru at Cahokia with the help of Coyotl’s Aztec sorcery and then unleash the eight Horned Serpents on anyone and everyone who got in the way of his master Underworld takeover strategy.
The possibility of this aerial battle had never entered his mind, nor had the thought of practicing for a classic midair dogfight.
Lightning from Thunder Child’s lance hit the Snake Priest squarely in the chest, knocking him from the beast’s back and onto the ground several feet below. As he lay on the turf trying to catch his breath and regain strength, the confrontation continued above him.
Free of the Snake Priest’s weight and control, the Winged Serpent fully engaged in the aerial conflict. Thunder Child realized he also needed to give the Tlanuwa free rein to act and react as needed in the struggle. A quick mental message gave the bird the freedom to maneuver as needed as Thunder Child clung to the creature’s back with one hand and his lance with the other.
The two winged beasts circled one another as they rose higher in the atmosphere, each seeking an advantage. When none was found, the metal-winged bird charged for the snake beast, which responded by flipping backward to repel the attack claws-first. The Tlanuwa mirrored the move, also coming in with claws extended.
Locking talons, the two began a midair tug-of-war as they twisted and twirled in a dangerous ballet. Flapping, flailing wings failed to keep the pair afloat, and they tumbled toward the ground. At the last possible minute, the Tlanuwa released its grip and momentarily glided parallel to the earth to regain aerial speed.
The greater density of the Underworld serpent caused it to crash into the ground. From a source deep within, the grounded beast emitted a loud growling hiss expressing its pain and anger. Then, scrambling to quickly recover, it once again launched itself skyward.
Suddenly, the purple crystal in the creature’s tail began to glow as the tail seemed to take on a life of its own. The added power from the tail propelled the serpent toward its opponents with incredible speed. Just as the winged beasts prepared to engage again, the tip of the reptile’s tail hit Thunder Child from behind. He was knocked off the Tlanuwa, and his Lightning Lance flew from his hand.
As the teen hurtled toward the ground, the metallic-feathered bird disengaged from its foe and sped to the rescue. An extended wing buffered the fall, allowing Thunder Child to safely step onto the grassy field.
Now’s my chance, Monkata thought to himself.
Standing up on the spot where he’d fallen, he drew his dagger, readied his shield, and called to Thunder Child with a sneer, “Over here, boy! Let’s see what you can do without your little lightning stick!”
“Not so fast,” a voice called from behind Monkata. He turned to find his brother standing a few yards away.
As the twins faced off, Thunder Child retrieved the Lightning Lance and signaled his metal-feathered friend.
Above him, the two winged ones had continued to fight. Using the edge of one of its metal wings, the Tlanuwa slashed a gash in the Winged Serpent’s neck before responding to its master’s call.
Purple blood gurgled from the monster’s wound, and it withdrew from the fight momentarily. This gave the Tlanuwa time to pick up Thunder Child and return to the sky.
On the ground, Monkata quickly executed magical formulas to enhance the powers of his own dagger and shield. Both objects began to emit a purplish glow, and the Snake Priest was ready to do battle. Warily, he approached his brother.
In the sky above, Thunder Child recognized an opportunity and took it. He spurred his bird to action, and the pair quickly climbed above their wounded winged opponent. Having gained a superior position, the Tlanuwa dive-bombed the purple-and-green monster, allowing Thunder Child time to trigger his Lightning Lance.
In response, the Winged One surged upward toward his descending foes—too late!
A bolt of electricity struck the serpent right in its open teeth-rimmed mouth, blasting through the back of its throat. Purple blood and tissue exploded from the gaping hole.
Choking, gurgling sounds erupted from its windpipe, but its wings somehow continued to operate. It was as if the beast was in autopilot mode for a few beats before the wings got the message there was serious trouble in another part of the body.
A few seconds later, the wings quit functioning, and the heavy reptilian body plummeted to earth only a few feet from the Snake Priest.
The impact shook the ground beneath Monkata’s feet, distracting him from his face-off with his brother. Backing away from Shakuru, the Snake Priest remembered he had one more weapon in his arsenal: the Owl Clan and their collection of dangerous, hungry creatures.
“Release the banished beasts!” he called to Thomas Two Bears and the Night Seers.
But no response came from that direction. Only silence. The Snake Priest looked for any signs of activity or movement there but couldn’t see or hear anything.
Still hovering above the scene, Thunder Child heard sudden war cries from Tecumseh’s warriors. Shouts of “Hoka hey!” came repeatedly as the fighters broke through a final line of shadow soldiers who’d been protecting Benjamin Blacksnake. The teen’s searching eye found Tecumseh in the melee just as the warrior thrust his spirit spear into the sorcerer’s black heart.
That thrust not only ended Blacksnake’s short-lived reincarnation; it also ended the very existence of his Shadow Zone army. The horde of dark denizens of the Underworld all felt that thrust at the same time. One minute they were engaged in battle, and the next they disintegrated, ceasing to exist at all.
In utter shock and disbelief, Monkata also witnessed that moment. How could things have gone so seriously wrong? What happened to his mighty conquest of the Middleworld?
“Now it’s my turn,” Shakuru declared. “A chance to face off, just like you wanted.”
Monkata turned back to his twin just in time to see a glint of morning light reflecting off Shakuru’s copper blade right before it struck him in the side of the neck. Dark purple blood spurted from the cut, and the Snake Priest struggled to remain upright.
Wide eyed, disillusioned, and defeated, he weakly spoke one last time. “A curse I cast upon all our living descendants, brother,” he whispered. “I will, at least, be remembered for that for all eternity.”
“You will be remembered for nothing!” Shakuru replied, adding, “As you die, so do your conjured accomplishments.”
The Sun Chief struck a second blow to the same spot as the first, decapitating the Snake Priest. Monkata’s head fell to the ground in one direction as his torso and legs toppled in the other.
It was over.
As Thunder Child and Shakuru watched, the bodies of Monkata and the Winged Serpent disintegrated into piles of ash. Puddles of their purple blood that had pooled on the grass seemed to just drain into the ground.
All was silent for a moment before joyous cheers erupted from the interpretive center. Everyone who’d gathered there rushed onto the grassy field in celebration. Thunder Child, Shakuru, and the spirit warriors congregated at Cahokia’s center field in a silent moment of mutual appreciation.
“We shall meet again,” Shakuru told his victorious fighting companions. “You can be sure of it.” And to Thunder Child, he added, “Thanks to you I can finally join my relatives on the Path of Souls. Call on me anytime. I am forever at your service.”
With that, the incarnated spirits dematerialized, breaking into thousands of tiny glimmering particles that drifted upward before disappearing.
Feeling elated and exhausted, Thunder Child mounted the Tlanuwa, and together they flew a victory lap above Cahokia as members of the Underworld Takeover Prevention Team celebrated on the ground.
or two weeks, Thunder Child wanted no interaction with anyone, and no one understood why. Everyone in the teen’s support circle wanted to celebrate the incredible outcome of the frightful and tumultuous time.
The teen spent most of those two weeks visiting familiar places in the backcountry of the Cherokee Nation. Favorite fishing spots. Well-worn trails he’d walked with his grandfather. The woods where he’d hunted with his bow. The places he’d gathered medicinal herbs. The areas he’d perfected his blowgun techniques.
He realized he was looking for normal, the feeling of normal—what life was like before the lightning strike, before his death and rebirth.
He’d been putting it off, but finally on Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, he visited the cemetery where his grandmother and grandfather were buried. Their bodies lay side by side in the Live Oak cemetery located on the old stomp grounds. But, of course, he knew they weren’t anywhere near that plot of land.
“Well, as you probably know, it’s all over,” the teen said, looking at their tombstones. “Thunder Child did his job, and Billy has returned—and I’m glad.”
“We know every detail of every event,” Awinita said as her spirit came into view.
“We were there every step of the way,” Wesley said as he, too, appeared.
“Grandma! Grandpa!” Billy yelled. “It’s so good to see you again. Where have you been? I needed you so much!”
“We realize that,” Awinita replied. “But Creator let us know we needed to step back and allow you to carry on with only a few little assists every now and then.”
“We always believed in you,” Wesley added. “And you didn’t disappoint.”
“We are with you always,” Awinita added.
After their brief spirited conversation, Billy did feel like things were getting back to normal. In fact, he was ready to end his life as a hermit and join the whole UTP Team at the barbecue they’d planned for later that day.
As he drove toward the cookout, several ideas began forming in his mind, including a project he wanted to launch. It felt like the concept came directly from his Buckhorn elders.
