<<Previous  | Story Intro | Return to Stories | Next >>

 A Shadow Past

Chapter One:

Casey made her way to Daniel’s office, balancing the Starbucks coffees in their cardboard holder. Daniel had stopped to talk to Jack, and since Casey wanted to continue working on the database, she didn’t hang around past the initial hellos. Coming down the hallway, she saw the door already open. Considering how early it was, Casey was surprised to see Jessie sitting at the worktable, pencil in hand, studying the pad in front of her. Jessie was obviously in ‘the zone’ as she was oblivious to her arrival, but nearly jumped out of her chair when Casey set her stuff down.

"You okay, girlfriend? I didn’t mean to startle you."

Jessie pressed a hand to her chest, the adrenaline rush not a particularly pleasant sensation. "I wasn’t expecting anyone here this early."

"I wasn’t expecting to be here this early, either," Casey groused as she went over and turned the computer on. "Mornings shouldn’t officially start until noon. But, as long as I’ve got my coffee, I’ll deal with it." Casey held her cup out in Jessie’s direction. "You want to share?"

"No, I’m fine."

That caught Casey’s attention. The only time Jessie said no to coffee was when she was sick. Walking around the table, she peered over Jessie’s shoulder. "What are you working on?"

Jessie sighed as she leaned back in the chair. "I’m making notes of what the shaman told us when we went on the mission to Nahane."

Casey looked at the distinctive writing on the pad. Frowned as she scanned the list. "Animals?"

Jessie reached out and ran her fingers over the words, almost as if she was trying to connect with them. "Totems. Some Native Americans believe there are nine animals that guide us, positively or negatively. The types may change over time, except for the guardian. That one stays the same. The inhabitants of Nahane evidently hold the same beliefs."

"Looks like you’ve got more than nine there."

Jessie pushed the pad closer to Casey. "This first set here is my totem. The second set is Cam’s."

Casey read through them, and was struck by how much the descriptions sounded like her two friends. Pointing at the paper, she asked, "What’s this third section?"

"That," she sighed, "is a yee naaldlooshii."

"Uh, you wanna put that into English?"

Jessie couldn’t help but grin. "You’ve been hanging around Jack too much." Leaning her head to the side, she stretched the tense muscles in her neck. "The third set is a totem for something…someone…who’s going to try to break the bond between the wolf and the raven."

Casey sat down on the edge of the table, an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed.

"Sorry, girlfriend. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. According to the shaman, Cam’s guardian is the wolf, and mine is the raven. They…we…share a bond. This," she said as she pointed to the page, "represents yee naaldlooshii, which means a skinwalker, a dark witch for lack of a better term. The shaman said it’s someone who’s jealous and wants to break the bond."

"Sounds charming."

"Well, it’s only part of the problem. According to Thoyetlini, this person is the second of three shadows."

"Okay, you lost me again."

"Maybe I do need that coffee," Jessie said as she stretched again. "Thoyetlini said there are three shadows that’ll try to come between us. One is something that happened in the past, the skinwalker is the second and exists in the present, and then there’s a shadow in the future, which apparently is a biggie compared to the first two."

Casey went and grabbed a cup, pouring half her coffee into it before handing it to Jessie. "Do you think there’s anything to what this shaman told you?"

Jessie gratefully took the mug from Casey, savoring the aroma before taking a sip. "I don’t know, Case. Part of me wants to say it’s all a bunch of bullshit, but when I go through what he described, and the way it felt…" Jessie shrugged her shoulders. "And then there was the wolf and raven when we were heading back."

"Wait a second; a wolf and raven…as in, the real thing?"

Jessie nodded. "Cam and I were heading back to the gate after talking with Thoyetlini when we saw it—a huge gray and white wolf." Her expression changed, staring off into the distance as she recalled the sight. "He had the most beautiful silver eyes. The next thing we saw was a large black raven swooping in, landing next to the wolf." Jessie started giggling. "That crazy bird turned around and nipped the wolf’s tail, then started clucking like she was fussing at him for scaring the hell out of us."

Casey’s emerald eyes had grown wide. "What happened then?"

"Well, if I didn’t know better, I’d say the wolf grinned at us before turning around and disappearing. The raven followed him into the forest."

Casey rubbed her hand over the goose bumps on her arm. "I have to admit, that is pretty freaky. So, three shadows…any idea what the first one is?"

Jessie closed her eyes, the nightmare she had had the night before skirting the edges of her memory. "No, not really. It just seems real important for me to decipher these totems."

Casey reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "Drink your coffee, girlfriend. That boost of caffeine ought to help some. And if you need help with anything, let me know. I’ll be working on the computer most of the day, so I can take a break whenever."

"Thanks Casey." Jessie took another sip of the strong coffee, closing her eyes momentarily to enjoy the simple pleasure, not to mention the happy endorphins her body released in response to her getting her caffeine fix. Turning her attention back to her notes, she scanned what she had written down.

Jessie went through the list several times, but nothing in particular jumped out; if anything, she felt like the darned thing was taunting her and her inability to solve the puzzle. Getting frustrated, Jessie pushed the pad aside and turned her attention to the stack of folders she needed to go through, the minute details giving her something else to focus on.

<<Previous  | Story Intro | Return to Stories | Next >>