Chaos Bites by Handeland Lori

Author:Handeland, Lori [Handeland, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Urban, Paranormal, Fiction
ISBN: 9781429925914
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2010-04-27T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

I swore I could still smell him—on the sheets, on my skin. I passed my hand over the bed where he’d stood, hoping to feel the warmth from where he’d lain, though that could easily be explained as my own body heat. What couldn’t be explained was the tiny icon I found there.

Flicking on the bedside lamp, I shoved my hand beneath the glow. In the center of my palm lay a coyote carved in turquoise—a totem, a fetish, an amulet, a talisman, who knew? But it hadn’t been here before, and I hadn’t brought it with me.

My gaze fell on my laptop, and I was across the room booting it up before I took another breath. A few clicks of the keys and I was surfing for an answer.

I’d encountered amulets before; they protected the wearer from trouble. Talismans brought good fortune. But totems and fetishes I knew very little about.

I skimmed a few Web sites. Totems watched over a particular group of people—usually a family, a clan, or a tribe—and were carved to depict the animal spirit associated with them. Totems were most often used by the Ojibwe but had been found in European, African, and Australian cultures as well.

I discovered that while the Ojibwe had once dominated the Upper Midwest from northern Michigan through South Dakota, and could easily have left something like this in the area, though doubtfully on my bed, they did not carve totems out of turquoise. Turquoise was found somewhere else.

In the land of the Navajo—the Apache, the Zuni, and Pueblo, too, but considering I was dealing with a couple of Navajo skinwalkers, we’d just stick to Navajo carvings for the moment.

Navajo didn’t carve totems but fetishes, ascribing mystical qualities to the inanimate objects. According to the light research I was able to do in ten minutes on the ’Net, a fetish gave the wearer increased powers. The carving was often kept in the medicine bundles of Navajo shamans and used in their ceremonies.

A fetish made of turquoise was especially powerful, because the Navajo believed turquoise a sacred stone that increased communication between the wearer and the supernatural.

I rubbed the tiny coyote between my fingers. “In that case, I’ll just keep you close by.”

When I left the motel, the sun had just crept past the long navy-blue line of the horizon, turning everything from violet to molten gold. I tucked the fetish into the pocket of my jeans. Who knew why Sawyer had left it, but I was certain I’d soon find out. One thing I’d learned since becoming leader of the light—everything happened for a reason. I might not like the reason, but there was always a reason.

Since I’d taken care of the necessities by having coffee in my room, I didn’t bother to stop for breakfast. All I wanted was to find the Old One and do what needed to be done.

Less than an hour later I approached Inyan Kara. I’d seen the mountain on the horizon within minutes of leaving Upton behind.

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