Down at the river, Augustus, Chigger, and James began to smell a foul odor. At about the same time, they heard splashes in the water. The Horned Serpent had arrived. The three humans froze in place and held their breath. They dared not move.
Soon the beast’s head came up out of the water. He hissed as he studied his surroundings. He saw nothing that made him suspicious. The video camera sitting on its tripod was odd to the beast but not threatening, so he ignored it. He looked up toward the cave. That’s where the unseen signal came from. The dark crystal called to him from there. Finally, the gem would be returned to its rightful place.
This was the first time either Chigger or Billy’s dad had seen the creature. Its scales seemed to constantly change colors. Sometimes they were white; other times they seemed blue or green. And the antlers on top of his head almost looked like those of a deer. In the middle of the beast’s forehead was an indention where the diamond used to sit. On either side of the indention glowed a red eye. The eyes were burning, filled with death.
Before exiting the water, the serpent extended his tongue and licked the air. As with all reptiles, this is where he had his sense of smell. That’s when Chigger saw the beast’s fangs and teeth, sharp and yellowed and dripping with saliva. Chigger shuddered at the sight.
Luckily, everyone in the Paranormal Patrol had rubbed themselves with dirt and green leaves. That prevented the serpent from detecting their human scents.
Satisfied that the coast was clear, the beast slithered out of the water and up the craggy cliff.
That’s when Chigger finally remembered to send the second signal up to the crystal room. Dr. Stevens had run a small black wire from the campsite up the cliff. It continued into the upper room. To one end of the wire was attached a small trigger. On the other end of the wire was a red light. Chigger pushed the trigger, which turned on the light.
The Falcon Priest, wearing Billy’s body, saw the signal. He knew the serpent was entering the cave. Time to take action. He quietly moved down the path toward the lower cavern.
Once the serpent had entered the cave, James and Chigger quietly climbed the stone stairs. They followed the beast into the darkness. But they had no trouble knowing where the beast was. Its fiery eyes glowed red. And as it slithered along, its scales crunched against the loose dirt on the cave floor. James began videotaping in the cave, using the camera’s night vision.
Downward the beast moved toward its precious dark crystal. At last the stone was in his sight. Soon it would be rejoined to his tail.
At the same time, the Falcon Priest in Billy’s body stepped out on the ledge. He removed the diamond staff from the tube. Holding the staff up over his head, he turned toward the west. He silently called to Grandfather Sun, asking the Old Man to appear. Then, loudly, he began to speak his ancient language. Again, he asked the Grandfather to shine forth.
Suddenly a wind arose from the west. The clouds above began churning and swirling. To the amazement of James and Chigger, layers of clouds began to part. Dark ones moved away, replaced by white fluffy ones. But they didn’t fully part. They still blocked the sun.
Thankfully, enough light reached the diamond to activate it. It began to glow dimly.
At the same moment, down at the bottom of the path, the beast suddenly turned. He, too, felt the power of that gem as its brightness grew.
Quickly the Falcon Priest carried the staff down the lower path. As he did, he loudly proclaimed the sacred words. Upon seeing the brightly shining diamond and hearing the ancient words, the serpent fell under a spell. It was the same spell that had captured him so long ago. He stopped moving.
The spirit version of Billy hovered nearby, watching the action. It was very odd to see himself, his body, doing things without him. He was in two places at the same time! Until now, he believed that was impossible.
Chigger thought this would be a perfect time to take a picture. He pressed the camera’s button. It was an automatic camera, so the flash unit popped up. A second later, its bright light flashed in the darkness. This startled everyone—even the serpent.
It awoke from the spell and looked around. Quickly the creature saw the diamond in the staff and headed toward it. The priest in the Billy suit started chanting the spell faster and louder.
Suddenly, the clouds in the sky finally parted. Rays of bright sunlight streamed into the lower area of the cave. A few of those rays struck the diamond. The gem ignited as if it had been set on fire. A heavenly brilliance filled the cavern.
The light reached the Horned Serpent and filled his eyes. He grew still as the chanting and the unearthly radiance filled his mind. The priest drew closer to the beast, chanting more powerfully with each step. Soon he was dangerously close to the monster. But by that time it was back under the priest’s spell. The serpent stared blankly at the diamond.
The priest continued his chant and headed down the path. The beast remained fixated on the stone and followed the priest each step of the way. The priest led the beast through the open stone door. Turning to the right, the priest walked along a raised platform next to the lower lake. The beast slithered into the dark liquid with ease. Chigger remembered that the fluid was like a thick tea filled with herbs that made the serpent fall into a deep sleep. There, in that ancient sleepy-time tea, the Uktena floated in a daze.
The priest made his way back to the stone door in the cave and stood in front of it. Reading from the symbols carved into the stone, he began the sealing ceremony. His commanding voice echoed throughout the cavern.
Chigger looked up at the ceiling. The bat colony had settled back in its place. The bats, too, grew still and quiet as the chanting came to an end.
Just before voicing the final words of the spell, the priest stepped back from the door. He completed the ceremony with a closing word.
“Aho,” he said, the way countless generations of Native people had ended prayers down through the centuries.
With that, the stone door swung shut all by itself. A sucking noise flowed from around the edges of the door. It sealed itself closed once again.
“It is finished,” Billy the priest said, uttering words in English for the first and only time.
The diamond on the staff stopped glowing as the ancient stick fell to the cave floor. Billy’s body collapsed on the floor beside it. James and Chigger were enveloped in darkness and engulfed in utter silence.
Neither one moved for a long moment. Finally, Chigger pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on. His first concern was the condition of his friend.
“Billy, are you all right?” he called as the beam of his light searched the floor.
In a few moments the light fell on Billy’s unmoving body. Both James and Chigger rushed to him. James felt for a pulse on his son’s neck. He touched the scar left on his son by the lightning strike four months earlier. The weblike scar pattern was hot to the touch. Upon a closer look, James saw that it was glowing. It looked like a hot net of lava had splattered on Billy’s neck.
“Help me get him out of here,” James told Chigger. “We’ve got to see what’s wrong with his neck.”
Together, the two Paranormal Patrol team members struggled to carry Billy out of the cave. They set him down on the ledge. Wesley and Augustus joined them as James felt for a pulse on the boy’s wrist. Finally the man relaxed.
“I found a pulse,” he reported. “It sounds strong and regular.”
He looked more closely at the weblike pattern on his son’s neck. It had stopped glowing, but it was still red. It looked like it had looked right after the lightning strike.
A few moments later, Billy stirred. He opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by the members of his team. He sat up and looked around.
“I’m back,” he said with a smile. “Now that was some strange stuff.”
“Are you all right?” James asked. “The scar on your neck is glowing.”
Billy reached up to feel the scar.
“Ow!” he yelped. “It’s sore. It feels like it did when I was recovering in the hospital. Energy from the Falcon Priest must’ve caused that.”
He stood up under his own power and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Then a realization began to settle in. Their mission was complete. The plan had actually worked!
“I’ve had enough of this place for a while,” Billy said. “I think it’s time we get out of here.”
“First we have to decide what we’re going to do about this place,” Augustus said. “We can’t just leave it for someone else to accidentally discover.”
They all knew he was right. The serpent must never be released again.
“Can’t we dynamite the cave entrance?” Chigger suggested. “That should do it.”
“We can’t,” Billy said. “We need to have access to a part of the cave.”
“What for?” Chigger asked.
“I learned something while I was in the upper room with the Falcon Priest,” Billy said. “I think I’m supposed to put that space to use.”
“How are you supposed to put it to use?” Billy’s dad asked.
“Billy’s going to reconnect people to their loved ones who’ve died,” Wesley answered. “Just like the original Falcon Priest did. Billy is now his apprentice.”
They all looked at Wesley.
“And you know this how?” James asked his father.
“You forget that I’ve been connecting with the spirit world for a long time,” Wesley reminded him. “Not like Billy can, but in my own way. So I pick up on things.”
“Grandpa’s right,” Billy confirmed. “They’re expecting me to carry on that work. It’s a little like what they’ve been doing at the Live Oak Stomp Grounds.”
“But this is more powerful,” Wesley continued. “It’s from the original source.”
The Paranormal Patrol was silent. They needed time to absorb these new ideas. Quietly they set about the task of packing up to head back home. The decision about sealing the lower cavern would have to wait.