Dance of the Bones

He was still spooked from the bat encounter when something rustled in the nearby undergrowth. He stopped cold and waited, holding his breath. Suddenly a small herd of javelina burst out of a clump of manzanita, darted across the road in front of him, and clattered noisily down the hill. The fact that the javelina were well known to be terrified of humans didn’t help. In this case, Gabe was the one who was frightened. The desert seemed to be full of scary things tonight.

If he asked Lani why the desert night didn’t spook her, no doubt she’d tell him that it was because I’itoi was with her. Right. And she’d probably say that’s why she knew things that other -people didn’t. What was the big deal about that? Gabe knew things, too, and I’itoi had nothing to do with it. For instance, he doubted I’itoi had been whispering in his ear last year when he had seen two of his junior high teachers, Mrs. Cadell and Mr. Ramos, together and realized that, although married to other -people at the time, they were also in love with each other. When the affair had become common knowledge, the scandal had rocked the whole school district—-and especially the teachers’ compound where both families lived. None of that had come as a surprise to Gabe. He had kept his private knowledge to himself both before and after it had become public. And it was the same way now with the new principal, Mrs. Travers.

He could tell there was something wrong with her, although he didn’t know exactly what. It was a sickness of some kind, and one she didn’t want anyone else to know about. That was probably the reason she kept such a close eye on him and made his life miserable—-because she suspected that he knew something he shouldn’t.

At last Gabe reached the spot where the rutted two--wheeled track intersected with Coleman Road. Walking was easier now because the bladed dirt surface was smoother. The problem, of course, was that it was also far more traveled. He had taken no more than a few steps when he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching from behind.

It wasn’t that late, only about ten or so, but still he worried. Some of the -people out and about at this time of night could be dangerous. The best case would be for the car to be filled with a bunch of Indians, high school kids maybe, out partying in the desert. That wouldn’t be so bad. No doubt they would offer him a ride. But what if the -people in the car turned out to be a bunch of smugglers? Gabe knew that the bad guys who brought drugs and -people across the nearby border were often armed and dangerous.

Then, of course, there was the last possibility, that the approaching vehicle would belong to the Border Patrol. If one of the Shadow Wolves picked him up, they’d no doubt turn out to be friends of Lani’s husband, Dan Pardee. Questions would be asked and Gabe’s answers would no doubt lead to more derision about how the tribal chairman’s son had been picked up out in the middle of the desert, walking around wearing a ratty old Navajo blanket. That would be good for a laugh, especially from Luis Joaquin.

Not wanting to risk that, Gabe vaulted over the low dirt berm that lined either side of the road and ducked down into a patch of mesquite. Losing his balance, he fell backward against a clump of cholla that had been invisible inside the mesquite. When his full weight landed on the cholla, three--inch--long spines shot through the blanket into his shoulder, backside, and back. Spears of pain took his breath away, and it was all Gabe could do to keep from screaming.