Traitor's Son: The Raven Duet Book #2 (17 page)

Soon they’d be walking on the sandy beach, bypassing the village. Jase didn’t want to meet any more dogs.

“Do you realize what this means?” Raven was bubbling with excitement. “Bear, who has great influence among the neutrals, is going to enforce the edict that none of the others can use ley energy in this world! He’s already forbidden them to threaten you themselves. Without ley power, they can’t manipulate anything that belongs to this dimension. No more mind-slaved bikers! No more attack dogs! We’ll be able to finish healing this ley with no trouble at all, assuming you can reach it through sea and air. You didn’t drop the pouch or anything, right?”

“Of course not.” Jase felt to make sure it was still there as he spoke. “I used some of the dust trying to break the spell on those dogs, but—”

“How much did you use?”

“Not too much.” Jase pulled out the pouch to show her. “I couldn’t touch them, so I thought it would take—”

“It’s half gone! How could you waste it like that?”

“I was trying to save my life,” said Jase, nettled. “I didn’t have any way to get in touch with you, so I had to improvise. There’s plenty left for two more healings. It only took a pinch in the taiga. And it’s not like . . . Ah, you don’t need this for other leys, do you?”

“No,” said Raven. “That dust is matched to the signature of this ley, and healing this ley is all it does. So don’t go tossing it over your car!”

“I wouldn’t have had to use it on the dogs, if I’d had some way to reach you,” Jase pointed out. “How do I get in touch with you when I need to?”

She could hardly deny it was necessary, after today.

“That’s tricky,” Raven admitted. “Even if you bought me one of those pod-stick things, I’d have to abandon it the next time I changed form or went home. And I’ve got to go home soon,” she added. “I want to make sure Bear doesn’t leave any loopholes for them to squeeze through, and that everyone who opposes me gets the message. Once I’ve done that, we can heal the next two nexuses this weekend. And no one will be able to stop us.”

They’d reached the beach while she was speaking, and waves rushed and receded beside them. Jase thought he could find the sea’s life energy without much trouble. Air . . . Well, he’d have time to try again, if he needed to.

“What about my dreams?” he asked. “According to you, I’m not in this world then.”

“True,” said Raven. “But I’m sure I can convince the neutrals that killing you is direct interference no matter where they do it. If they kill my chosen healer, then according to our agreement they give up any right to meddle in this world and I’m free to do whatever I like. If I go now, you’ll be able to sleep sound tonight.”

“So if you can’t use a com pod, how do I get in touch with you?” Jase persisted. “There’s got to be some shapeshifter way.”

“There are several,” Raven admitted. “But I’d have to use ley energy to create any of them, and right now I don’t dare use even a spark! Not if I’m going to win my argument. If you need to talk to me, tie a bright-colored rag to the balcony rail near your window and I’ll contact you as soon as I can.”

That would be easier to explain than a sign saying “Call me,” but . . .

“It’s awfully low-tech,” Jase complained. “Low-magic, too.”

Her clear laugh pealed out. “You don’t have enough magic in your life right now? Besides, you can handle most things yourself. You just proved that, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

Jase brightened. “I did take out all but the poodle, didn’t I?”

“You’d have taken down that ferocious poodle too, in a few more minutes.” She managed to keep her voice sober, but the warm dark eyes danced.

“Hey, that poodle was ferocious! And their shadows . . . What happened to those dogs?”

“Those shadows were the visible manifestation of the aspect of the wolf.” She’d turned serious now. “And inducing that aspect, which all dogs carry, was a necessary part of their trap. Because those dogs, in their true being, would never even bite a human, much less kill one.”

Cold crept over Jase once more. “And in wolf mode they would have?”

“Yes,” said Raven. “But you stopped them. And when Bear saw what they’d done, it tipped the balance in our favor. Without the neutral’s intervention—”

“Jase!” The shout came from far down the beach. He looked up and saw his grandmother emerge from the woods and start toward him.

“Go back to Anchorage,” Raven told him. “I’ll contact you as soon as it’s safe to start the next healing.”

She’d stepped behind him, which was fine for now, but how was he going to explain this near-naked girl to his grandmother?

“If we’re safe now, make it next weekend.” Jase waved to the older woman. “I don’t think I’ll be in the mood to commune with nature for a while. But how are we going to get out of this?”

There was no answer. When he turned to look back, his blazer lay crumpled on the sand.

***

She could have shifted into a sand flea, or even just disintegrated and gone back to her own dimension. If you could “manifest your physicality” whenever you chose, presumably you could unmanifest as well.

Jase folded the jacket over his arm so his grandmother wouldn’t see the rents left by the husky’s teeth, and told her that his grandfather had refused to talk to him, and he’d decided to take a room at the resort after all. He’d go back to Anchorage in the morning.

She protested, but even in the silvery twilight Jase could see the weariness of a shift that had ended at midnight, and the deeper, more painful exhaustion of dealing with the gulf between her husband and her son.

Had he added to that grief? Or was she glad that he was still trying?

It felt awkward, but Jase kissed her cheek in parting. The next time his mother came down to visit Gima, he’d go with her. He might not be able to solve the problem, but he could help them try.

***

Jase fell into a bed at the resort, slept through the night, and reached Anchorage just in time for dinner. He made sure that his father’s firm had no driving jobs for him that weekend, and felt his face heat at the knowing look his parents exchanged. But he was going on a date with Raven, sort of. Maybe he could bring a picnic too, and a couple of soft, thick blankets!

***

Halfway through Friday-morning algebra, one of the school’s councilors pulled Jase out of class and told him that his grandmother was being flown to Anchorage General, and his parents wanted him to meet them there.

Jase broke speed limits all the way to the hospital, but he didn’t care. What could have happened to Gima? The councilor hadn’t known any details beyond the message she’d delivered. His grandmother had looked tired and stressed, but she hadn’t seemed to be ill. Not in pain or out of breath. Even if some remnant of the enemies’ spell had lingered in the village, Jase couldn’t believe anyone would harm his grandmother. There was always the possibility of an accident, but the resort’s medics could treat most injuries. In fact, they could handle everything short of major surgery, and part of the deal his father had made for the resort included medical treatment for all local residents.

So whatever it was, it must be serious.

Jase slammed the Tesla to a stop in the first parking space he found and hurried into the hospital. He was in sight of the information desk when his mother intercepted him. Her mouth was tight with worry, but she wasn’t weeping, and Jase’s worst fear eased.

“What happened to Gima? Will she be all right?”

“Your grandmother’s in a coma.” His mother’s voice was determinedly level. “She didn’t wake up this morning, and when your grandfather couldn’t wake her he called the medics. They haven’t found a cause yet, but her breathing, heart, all her vital signs are stable, and they’re running brain scans now. We should get the results any time.”

She led him into the elevator as she spoke, pressing the button for the sixteenth floor.

“How did this happen?” Jase asked. “She was fine a few days ago.”

“That’s one of the things they don’t know yet,” his mother said. “I just hope your father and grandfather don’t say something unforgivable before she wakes up.”

Jase stared at her. “Surely they’re too worried about Gima to fight with each other now.”

“You’d think so,” said his mother wearily. “But when he first discovered he couldn’t rouse her, your grandfather tried some Native awakening ceremonies to . . . call her back, was how he put it. For some types of coma getting her into medical care quickly doesn’t matter much. But for some kinds,” she finished grimly, “it can make the difference between life and death.”

“Carp,” Jase whispered. “Does Dad know about that?”

“I got him out of the room just before he accused Gramps to his face of killing his own wife through ‘superstitious ignorance.’ And I shut him up, for the time being, by pointing out that waiting a few hours to call the medics might not have made any difference. We’d better hope that’s true,” she finished. “For all kinds of reasons.”

There were tears in her eyes now, and a lump rose in Jase’s throat. If Gima died . . .

He put his arm around his mother, not sure if he was trying to support her or clinging for comfort. It hardly mattered.

They stepped out of the elevator together, and Jase saw his father and grandfather standing on either side of a man with a white coat over his suit.

“ . . . so in a sense,” the doctor was saying, “this is encouraging news. The fact that there’s nothing wrong with her brain, no stroke, no tumors, no neural damage, that means that when she regains consciousness there’s an excellent chance she’ll be all right. We just need to find out why she’s not waking up.”

“I keep telling you!” His grandfather’s voice was hoarse with worry and frustration. “She’s spirit walking!”

The fine hairs on the back of Jase’s neck prickled at the words, and his grandfather went on, “I admit, I don’t understand why she’s not coming back. But unless you’ve got a medicine that can smooth a spirit’s path back to the body, you need to let me do some calling rituals!”

Jase’s father drew in a breath to speak, but his wife wrapped both arms around him, murmuring urgently, and he subsided. His face was gray with fatigue and fear, and Jase almost went to hug him too. But his grandfather looked even worse, unshaven, in rumpled clothes. The lines on his face had deepened as if he’d aged ten years overnight.

And Jase had a terrible sinking feeling that in this case his father might be wrong.

The doctor considered the matter more thoughtfully than Jase had expected. “I can’t see that it would do any harm. If your calling ritual involves any stimulants, even if they’re in smoke form or absorbed through the skin, I’ll have to screen and OK them. The last thing we want is some herbal med reacting with whatever we decide to try. But if it’s just chanting and drums, that certainly wouldn’t hurt her.”

“I need to paint the return path onto her body,” his grandfather said. “The paints are natural, no drugs in them. Nothing to be cleared.”

“If you’re painting on her skin I want to analyze them first,” the doctor said firmly. “There might be physiological effects you don’t know about.”

“There’s an entire world of knowledge he doesn’t know about,” Jase’s father said bitterly. “And I’m not about to stand by while he delays my mother’s real treatment with his idiocy! Doctor, what should we do next?”

“Well,” said the doctor, “before I recommend any treatment we need to find the—”

“I already know why she’s not waking up!” His grandfather’s pallor had vanished, but Jase wasn’t sure the angry flush that replaced it was an improvement. “I can sense the cord of light that binds her spirit to her body and will guide her back. I just don’t know why it’s taking so long this time.”

This time?
Had his grandmother gone spirit walking before? She’d said one of his ancestors was a spirit walker! Why hadn’t she told him she was talking about herself?

“But as long as her spirit journeys, nothing you do will make any difference,” his grandfather continued. “You’re the ignorant ones!”

He’d used the plural, but he was looking at Jase’s father.

“Gramps. Michael.” His mother stepped between them. “It sounds like we’ve got some time. Why don’t you and I get a cup of coffee, Gramps, and you can tell me about these rituals. Jase, take your father for a walk.”

Jase laid a hand on his father’s arm and found the muscles rigid with fury. Lawyerlike, he was masking most of what he felt, but he was about to erupt. And when Gima woke up, the quarrel she’d spent most of Jase’s life trying to mend might have become unmendable.

“Come on, Dad, let’s get out of here. Fresh air.”

For a moment he was afraid it wouldn’t work, but his mother had her own form of power. His father turned and walked away, so abruptly Jase had to scramble after him.

There was a park beside the hospital, where Jase spent the better part of the next hour watching his father pace and rant about “Stone Age superstitions” and “traditions that strangle whole towns.”

This wasn’t the moment to tell his father that Jase had been doing some spirit walking himself, lately. In fact, that day might never come.

They talk about how hard it is for a Native, growing up in a white man’s world,
his father had said to him once.
Believe me, growing up a lawyer in a Native world is no easier.

His father had fought his way out of that world, working furiously to get into law school, and after he graduated, too. And he’d tried to make it easier for other Native kids to follow his path.

Jase couldn’t say he was wrong about that, no matter what his grandfather demanded.

However, this time his grandfather was right. Almost right. Jase’s grandmother’s spirit wasn’t just out walking. She’d been kidnapped.

It was night before Jase managed to escape from the hospital. His father and grandfather had resolved their immediate dilemma by communicating through Jase’s mother. Since the doctor’s next set of tests was scheduled for tomorrow, his grandfather had gone home to collect his ritual paraphernalia for the lab to screen. Jase’s father had chosen to stay in Gima’s room, holding her hand and talking to her.
A white man’s calling ritual,
his mother had said. She was trying to placate both sides, and ended up irritating both of them—though Jase thought she was right.