Shaxoa's Gift Read Online Free Page B

being around other human beings
sent a shiver down my spine. Two days ago I had been happily
engaged to Claire, dreaming of the day we would be married. Now, I
wandered the desert with a thin promise from a woman who had
already betrayed me twice. I had one last chance to rescue Claire
from the embrace of the Twin Soul bond.
    My childhood had been filled with Tewa myths
and legends, but finding out that they were more than simple
stories was too much to bear. I could hardly look at the casual
passerby and not want to shake them, scream at them that they were
the ones living in the fantasy, happily thinking that there was
nothing more supernatural to their existence than the power that
made text messaging a part of everyday life.
    If Twin Souls had been the only myth to come
to life, perhaps I could have handled that, but with one came more.
Not only could the woman I cherished be torn away from me by a man
the universe deemed a more perfect match than I, but Shaxoa’s
potions truly produced wicked results, shape shifting monsters
fought my every effort to save the woman I loved, and stories of
men boding and communicating with their animal brothers were
manifesting themselves as if commonplace in the modern world.
    For the last, I was actually immensely
grateful. As I struggled to rein in my emotions, my cougar
companion was searching the desert hills for my pursuer. Talon had
been the first to offer me his help, though even he did not know
why he was drawn to me. I felt safe knowing that every animal in
the area had been alerted to the dangerous Matwau’s presence. Even
though the Matwau had lost its chance to destroy Daniel before the
Twin Soul bond could form, he had made it perfectly clear that he
would come back for me.
    I sighed in frustration. There were still so
many unanswered questions. Why was the Matwau after me? Why were
Talon and the other desert animals compelled to help me? Why was I
able to speak so clearly with the animals now when I had never been
able to before? And why were so many people and forces telling me
that I could never be with Claire?
    I had wanted to stay and demand answers from
Quaile, who had set off this whirlwind of change. After facing her
betrayals twice, I was not sure that I would be able to believe her
words, even if she had been willing to offer up an explanation. The
leather necklace Quaile had given me hung around my neck, the woven
pendant brushing my chest.
    She told me to give it to the shaman in Hano,
and I would not be denied the help I was seeking, but would I be
denied answers? Perhaps a different shaman, one not so connected to
what had happened, would be more forthcoming. I desperately hoped
that would be the case. I needed answers as much as I needed
help.
    Images began filtering through my mind,
showing the landscape barren, just as before. Talon’s messages were
not spoken with words, but with images, showing me what I needed to
know. The first time I had experienced the communication two days
ago, it had confused and frightened me. Now it seemed as natural as
breathing. Most of our conversations now flooded into my mind with
ease, the pictures interpreted so quickly that my mind registered
them as simple words.
    Although every desert animal I came in
contact with was immediately drawn to my aid, Talon was the most
intelligent and understanding. He was able to empathize with what I
was feeling and offer the sage advice I was often in desperate need
of. Without Claire in my life, his presence was one of the few
things keeping me from rushing off to the Matwau and seeking the
death he had promised me.
    “Do not think of such things,” Talon warned.
His thoughts were clear, even though I knew he was more than a mile
away. It was not that Talon could actually read my thoughts as much
as hear them. It seemed that whatever I thought was projected out
to him, regardless of whether I wanted it to be that way or not.
Perhaps one day I would learn to control my thoughts a