156
saddlebag dispatches
Wasape! The remembered name like a lightning strike in the center of his chest. That was the rank stink that both terrified and comforted. They had found the home of The Great Bear. Rocks skittered against one another in a small avalanche and he turned toward the cave’s mouth. A man-sized shape, darker than the night at its back, appeared, rising from below, pushing itself up and striding into the cavern. Wind fluttered the black robes at the figure’s ankles. Montega cringed, felt again the stripes laid across his back, wounds still bloody and sticking to the coarse fabric of his shirt. He fondled the empty revolver, cursed his fear of this man who was both mentor and tormentor. “It’s over, boy.” Brother James said. “You will not shoot me.” Montega lifted the pistol, steadied the empty gun with both hands. “Go back. I have nothing more to lose.” “Perhaps not. But if you kill me, your sister will be found and punished for your sins.” A scream exploded the darkness, shook the ash from his soul. Niabi howled her answer to the black robes offer into the night. “Fire the gun, Montega. I will die with a smile on my face.” A great cry of pain and courage filled the cavern, tumbled out into the night, a prayer for salvation that awoke the gods. Montega fumbled the empty gun, turned to stare at Niabi. At their backs, from deeper in the cave, a rumbling erupted, like the growling of the mountain itself. Brother James edged backward, closer to the mouth. His voice trembled. “Now, children. Do not force me to shoot you.” Niabi’s laughter echoed. “Come, come! Bring your dead white god to meet Wasape, Protector of the Osage People.” At the very lip of the cave, Brother James called out. “Daughter, you speak with the ignorance of your sex. Come now, you must trust me. Let us all return to the safety of the school where we may pray for your soul.” The air filled with the stink of the Great Bear awakened from slumber and moving fast in their direction. The soles of Montega’s feet shivered with