Billy followed Mr. and Mrs. Kingfisher to their home to see the pile of bones. They lived near a creek that emptied into Lake Tenkiller. Billy knew this lake was connected to the Illinois River and then to the Arkansas River. That river had taken Chigger and him to the cave where the Horned Serpent had been trapped.
Mr. Kingfisher led Billy around to the back of the house. There, in a far corner of the yard, lay the pile of small bones that had once been their little dog. Billy knew at once that the dog had become a meal for the beast. There were telltale signs, including a trail of withered grass and bushes that led from the creek to the yard. It was the same kind of withered trail they had found at Spiral Mounds, the ancient Native burial site near the cave where the serpent had been imprisoned.
Billy asked the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Kingfisher to come stand with him. Together they formed a little circle around the bones. He said a Cherokee prayer for their dog, which they had named Warrior. Warrior had been their guard for many years, even though he wasn’t much larger than a fat house cat. Billy said the prayer to help the elderly couple mourn their longtime protector. He didn’t say anything about the beast that had surely eaten their little friend.
Next, he gathered up the bones and put them in a bag to take back to his grandfather. He sprinkled tobacco around the area where the bones had been. Then he gave the Kingfishers a packet of tobacco that Wesley had doctored.
“If you hear anything suspicious back here, offer this tobacco to the four directions and say a prayer for protection,” Billy told them. The old couple thanked him for his services, and Mrs. Kingfisher sent him off with a plate of homemade cookies.
In a short while he was back at Wesley’s to report what he’d seen.
“There’s no doubt he’s headed this way,” Wesley said. “He’s coming for the dark crystal. We’d better get together with your father and Dr. Stevens soon. We have to set our plan in motion before it’s too late.”
Billy agreed to talk to his dad about setting things up when he got home that night. The boy spent the rest of the day helping Wesley look after the physical and emotional needs of his patients. Almost everyone had some strange story to tell—unusual happenings, missing animals, ghost sightings, withered plants, depressed feelings. The list went on and on.
Drained by the day’s activities, Billy arrived home in time to have dinner with his mom and dad.
“Your uncle John wants to come by this evening to see you,” Mrs. Buckhorn said at the dinner table.
“Oh no, not him,” Billy complained. “I don’t think I can handle any preaching tonight from your brother the reverend.”
“He promised not to preach this time,” she replied.
“That’s what he said last time,” Billy said.
“He knows it will be the last time he sees any of us if he breaks his promise,” his mom said. “I think he was really shaken up the last time he was here. Now he wants to apologize.”
“That man isn’t capable of making an apology,” Billy’s dad said. “He’s too self-righteous to ever do that.”
“He’s my brother, and I think we should at least give him a chance,” Mrs. Buckhorn said. “I promise to kick him out if he even so much as hints at preaching.”
Billy just looked at her and sighed.
“I promise,” she said again.
“Okay,” Billy said as he finished his last bite of food. “What time is he coming?”
Before his mother could answer, there came a loud knock at the front door.
“I guess right about now,” she said, getting up from the table.
They all moved to the living room as Billy’s uncle, John Ross, stepped inside behind Billy’s mother.
“I’ve come to ask for your help, Billy,” the preacher said. “But first I have something to tell you.”
Billy stood across the room as far away from the man as possible. There was just no telling what he might say or do.
“Jesus said judge not, lest ye be judged,” the preacher said.
“You said no preaching,” Billy’s mother complained.
“I’m not preaching,” John replied, looking at his sister. “I’m confessing. Just give me a minute.”
He turned back to Billy.
“Jesus told us not to judge other people so we wouldn’t be judged harshly by God,” the preacher said. “But all I’ve done is judge. You, your father, and your grandfather. I pointed a finger at what I thought was wrong with all of you. I see now that I should’ve been trying to fix myself.”
“Okay,” Billy said, not sure where this was going.
“You shined a light on the lie I’d been living with all my life,” John admitted. “You revealed the truth about my responsibility for the death of my brother, Luther. I am ashamed, and I ask for your forgiveness. The forgiveness of all of you in this household.”
“We can neither condemn you nor forgive you,” Billy’s dad said. “But we can accept your apology. Right, Billy?”
“Yeah, sure,” Billy replied. “Is that all you wanted?”
“No, I want to ask you for a favor,” John said. “Even though I’d understand if you didn’t want to do it.”
“Grandpa Wesley taught me to always help another Cherokee whenever asked,” Billy said. “Now you’ve asked, so I will help you if I can.”
“Thank you,” John said. He moved further into the living room. Billy moved a little closer to his uncle, as well.
“Can you give my brother, Luther, a message for me?” John asked in a quiet tone. “I’m not sure how your communication with the spirits of the dead works.”
“I’m still trying to figure that out myself,” Billy replied honestly. “But I will if I can. What would you like me to tell him?”
“Just that I’m sorry,” the preacher said. “Sorry that he suffered because of my carelessness. Sorry that I never took responsibility for my actions. Sorry that he never got to live his full life. That’s all.”
“All right, Uncle, I’ll pass along the message the next chance I get,” Billy offered. “I don’t know when that’ll be, but I’ll get it done.”
“Thank you,” John replied, rushing to shake Billy’s hand. “I’d be forever grateful.”
After pumping his nephew’s hand a few times and saying his good-byes to everyone, Billy’s uncle left.
“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Billy’s mother commented. “I think he’s a changed man.”
“Yeah, but how long will the change last?” Billy’s father said. “I’ll wait to see how he acts at the next family dinner before letting my guard down.”
“I think he’s sincere,” Billy said. “When I shook his hand, I didn’t sense any false feelings or see any bad images.”
“I thought your ability to see what was going on inside people had faded,” his mother said.
“It comes and goes,” Billy replied as he headed back to the kitchen in search of dessert.
What Billy didn’t realize is that the message had already been passed to Luther. Billy was an active channel to the spirit world without even knowing it. Ever since his near-death experience, the souls of the departed lingered nearby. Many hoped to send messages to their loved ones on earth.
A couple of hours after he went to bed, Billy woke up to find his grandmother Awinita standing near the foot of his bed. She was in her glowing spirit form, as usual. But she wasn’t alone. Standing beside her was the spirit of Billy’s great-grandfather, Bullseye Buckhorn. He’d been given that name a hundred years ago, when he was a young man, because he was the best with a blowgun in the Cherokee Nation.
“You can tell your uncle John that Luther got the message,” Awinita said, though she didn’t actually speak. Her words were transferred from her mind to Billy’s.
“Luther thinks it certainly took his stubborn brother a long time to admit the truth,” Bullseye added. “But he was glad John finally did. How are you doing, Billy?”
“Fine, Great-grandpa,” Billy said. “I didn’t expect to see you.”
“I’ve been hanging out more with Awinita lately,” he replied.
“What’s going on, Grandma?” Billy asked. “I know you two didn’t show up just to tell me what Uncle Luther had to say.”
“I sent your great-grandfather on a scouting trip, and he’s here to tell you what he found,” Awinita replied.
“I’ve been to hell and back,” Bullseye said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.
“What?” Billy said and blinked, not understanding what his great-grandfather meant.
“Well, hell isn’t really what humans think it is,” he said. “Or where they think it is. You see—”
“No time for that now,” Billy’s grandmother said, interrupting him. “Get on with it.”
“Oh, well, maybe another time, young man,” Bullseye said. “Like your grandma said, she sent me to the lower realms of the spirit world. There was a disturbance coming from there that we in the higher realms could feel.”
“You can do that?” Billy asked. “Move from area to area?”
“Oh yes,” Bullseye said. “Residents of the higher regions can visit the lower layers, not that you’d really want to. But it doesn’t work the other way around. It’s a matter of energy vibrations, like tuning in a radio station.”
That went over Billy’s head. He was still getting used to the whole talking-to-dead-people thing. And he still didn’t really understand much of it.
“Are you going to get to the point or am I going to have to get there for you?” Awinita insisted.
“I’ll make a long story short,” Bullseye said. “It’s a frenzy of dark energy down there. And the reason is this. When the Horned Serpent awoke, his revived energy was noticed. Ancient minions had been assigned to watch over the beast so they could report any signs of his awakening.”
“Minions? What are minions?” Billy asked.
“They’re followers,” Awinita answered. “They do the bidding of someone of great power. In the Underworld, they’re like small, dark ghost creatures.”
“Okay. Who do these minions answer to?” Billy asked.
“In this case, the Dark Priest,” Bullseye said.
“I’ve never heard of the Dark Priest,” Billy said. “But he doesn’t sound good.”
“He isn’t!” Bullseye said. “The Dark Priest led a cult of Horned Serpent worshippers during the Mound Builder period. The Falcon Priest threw them out of their villages. He wouldn’t allow their evil intentions to take hold of his followers.”
“Why did anyone follow the Dark Priest if he was so bad?” Billy asked.
“The same reason anyone gets involved with the dark side,” Awinita answered. “Power. Power over people. Power to make things happen the way you want them to happen.”
“Anyway, the Dark Priest has reconnected with the Horned Serpent, and it’s bad news,” Bullseye said. “He is able to guide the beast from the other side. Help him along his quest to regain the diamond and the purple crystal.”
“If his power is anything like what I saw with Benjamin Blacksnake, then it is bad news,” Billy said. “It’s nothing but death and destruction.”
“You are so very lucky, young man, that Blacksnake—the most evil medicine man who ever lived—didn’t have a chance to suck the very life out of you,” Bullseye said. “Why he could’ve—”
“So you know what’s at stake here,” Billy’s grandmother interrupted. “If the Dark Priest is controlling the Horned Serpent—”
“And if the serpent’s powers are restored through the two gems—” Bullseye continued.
“Then the Uktena will become unstoppable!” Billy concluded.