Chapter 41
As Lucky led Tempest across the river bottom, he kept watch, not only with his eyes but with his senses. They were at the center of the spiderweb now. He could feel it tighten around them, drawing them inward.
Spread out to the north and west, the Mounds cast long shadows in the last rays of the sun. Crawdaddy, Haig, and who knew how many others were out there, but it was a big area. Lucky figured Crawdaddy would ride from one of the central Mounds to another in his hunt for the Soleil Wheel. And Tempest.
But Lucky wasn’t going near the ceremonial center. He’d been in the area before he went to Delaware Bend and he’d spoken with the farmers. A Choctaw Freedman had led him to the Mound set at a distance from the others. It rose to a rounded peak with three smaller attached rounds spreading southeast. Animals had dug into one side and exposed artifacts from an ancient culture. He’d touched a string of freshwater pearls and a broken piece of pottery, and then the farmer had reverently put them back and re-covered the hole. If the Soleil Wheel was anywhere, he figured it would be in that burial Mound.
“Are you seeing ghosts yet?” he asked.
“No. It’s very still and quiet here. Peaceful.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “And yet, there’s power, a subtle hum that vibrates over this whole area. I can feel it up and down my spine. Do you?”
“No, not like that. But I feel the energy, deep and old.”
“That’s what Crawdaddy wants, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think he can get it.”
“Why not?” He glanced over at her in surprise.
“This was a religious ceremonial center for hundreds of years, and the power feels as if it’s permeated down deep into the soil and rocks and water.”
“What about the Soleil Wheel?”
“It might be at the center of the power.”
“Do you suppose the ghost of a Grand Sun guards it?”
“A what?”
“Their primary chief, or leader, was called the Grand Sun.”
“Over time, there must have been hundreds of them, so it’s possible. Yet I wonder why there would be a guard. It’s so peaceful here, as if the people grounded their energy deep in the Earth and simply went away.”
“I suppose that’s possible.” He rode close to her. “I’m taking you to the burial Mound. If Crawdaddy ever found it, he’d loot it, pick over the contents like a dead animal carcass, sell what he didn’t want, and keep the rest.”
“Is that the Mound ahead? It’s big. If the Soleil Wheel is in there, how will we ever dig it out?”
“First, we need to know it’s there. If it is, we’ll lead Crawdaddy away. Later, we’ll come back for it.”
“If it’s near the surface, we may need to go ahead and get it to keep it safe.”
With the sun nearing the horizon, Lucky stopped his horse in the shadow of the Mound. “They can’t see us here from the ceremonial center.”
“I don’t notice anything. I’m not sure I’m going to be any help.”
“Let’s walk up close.”
He quickly dismounted so he could help her, but she was already down and walking toward the Mound. He ground-tied both horses, and then followed her at a distance. He watched until she turned and beckoned him forward.
“No ghosts. Nothing,” she said.
“How is that possible?”
She shrugged, glancing around. “No Moon Rattler, either.”
“Surely we didn’t come all this way for nothing?”
“I don’t know.”
Suddenly loud shrieks and frightened cries broke the stillness in the ceremonial center.
Lucky grabbed her hand. “Stay low.” He led her up the side of the Mound until they reached the top. He hunkered down so he was less likely to be seen. She knelt beside him.
“Oh,” Tempest said in a breathy voice. “There they are.”
“Who?”
But his words were forgotten as he watched a torrent of fire blaze up from the eye of the ceremonial center as if a tornado was connecting heaven and Earth. A dozen or so men on horseback hollered and struck their mounts with reins and spurs as they galloped away in all directions. And the entire area appeared bathed in a fountain of blood.
“What an astonishing sight,” Tempest said.
“I bet it’s scaring people for miles around. And Crawdaddy’s lost his men. I hope he took off with them.”
“You asked about ghosts.” She pointed toward the funnel of fire. “There they are.”
“Where?”
“They are the fire. I see people swirling and weaving and flying with long wings on their arms.”
“Will that set the crops and fields ablaze?”
“I doubt if it’s a fire that burns. Do you suppose they’re doing that to run off Crawdaddy?”
“Maybe. He wants to steal their power, their bones, and the objects buried with them. But how would they know?”
Tempest jerked around and looked at him. “What did you say?”
“How would they know?”
“No. You said, ‘They’re Grand Suns. They know all.’ ”
“I didn’t say that.” He clasped her hand. “You must have attracted a ghost.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “You asked about the Grand Suns. Now we know they are still here.”
“And they’re creating that fire tornado.”
“I don’t see a ghost, but I’ll try to communicate.” She squeezed his hand. “We’re here to protect the Soleil Wheel. Is it here? Will you help us find it in the Mound?” She hesitated. “Watch the Grand Suns.”
“I am. I can hardly believe my eyes.” Lucky was so focused on the amazing sight that he could hardly think of anything else.
“I mean that’s what I heard in my head.”
He glanced at her, and then frowned as the Soleil Wheel on his chest started to burn. He rubbed at it, trying to ease the discomfort.
“I feel it, too.” She massaged the place over her heart. “Lucky, what is happening to us? I thought I was only going to speak with ghosts.”
“I wish I knew. I didn’t bargain for any of this.”
“What do we do now?”
“See if the ghost will explain what is happening here.” He leaned forward to get a better look at the fire funnel that continued to light up the sky. He would probably never see anything like this again.
“I’m not hearing anything. And . . . Lucky!”
Caught off guard, he turned to see her sliding off the Mound. No. She was being jerked off the side. He leaped to his feet, cursing his distraction, and reached for her.
But he was too late.