The Bones of Their Victims
–Alexandra Quick.†John Manuelito dragged each word out as if it were poison on his tongue. –How -â€
Alexandra didn't wait for him to finish. She waved away her Shield Charm and hurled a curse. He blocked it and disappeared. There was no 'pop' of Apparition - he simply sank into the rock.
–What?†Alexandra was startled in spite of herself. Then, remembering her fight with Henry Tsotsie and a furious battle in the basements beneath Charmbridge two years earlier, she threw herself forward, landing hard and rolling to her feet. Four stone hands were grasping the air where she had been standing a moment ago, as if some monster beneath the rock were reaching up to blindly grab at her.
John rose out of the rock a few yards away. Alexandra, in her anger, spat fire from her wand instead of using a Stunner. The flames washed over him and he yelled before he could protect himself with a Fireproof Charm. His own wand shot smoke, and Alexandra blew it back on him with a miniature whirlwind, but not before she'd inhaled some of it. It went down her throat like slimy fingers, and then those fingers were squirming and poking in her guts. She fell to her knees.
John yelled again as a raven's shriek drowned out the sounds of Alexandra choking and gagging. She looked up in time to see John bat Charlie out of the air with a powerful sweep of his arm. The raven tumbled to the ground and fluttered there. Alexandra forced down her nausea, whispered a counter-spell, and hacked everything out of her lungs with a sputtering cough that left a disgusting stream of spit and vomit trailing from her mouth as she staggered to her feet.
Blood dripped down John's face, and smoke curled around his arm and shoulder where Alexandra had scorched him. He had his wand raised already, but the spell he was about to cast died when a rock smacked him in the back of the head.
He swayed but didn't fall. He turned, his eyes black with rage. Alexandra shouted, –Protego Totalus!†just in time to stop the curse John threw at Johnny. It split her Shield Charm into yellow fragments that melted in the wind. Johnny looked terrified, but he was reaching for another rock. Alexandra and John exchanged curses, both of them dazed and unable to fully concentrate. Whenever John could point his wand away from Alexandra between her attempts to hex him, he flung curses at either Charlie or Johnny. It was cowardly and would have left him easier to counterattack, except that Alexandra had to Block his spells to protect the raven and the boy, and Blocking Jinxes were harder when the spell being blocked wasn't directed at her.
Johnny threw another stone, this one jagged and the size of a softball. John Manuelito shattered it with a spell, and Alexandra said, –Levicorpus!†while he was distracted. The Navajo witch somersaulted into the air, heels-over-head, but instead of throwing a spell from his wand, he exhaled, and a cloud of smoke poured out of him as if he had a furnace in his belly. Alexandra backed away, covering her mouth with the thin cotton sleeve of her shirt. She pointed her wand at her familiar and said, –Accio Charlie!†The stunned raven slid across the stone, just ahead of the cloud of smoke, and she scooped the bird up and ran toward Johnny and Trish, before turning to cast another whirlwind spell to blow the smoke away from them.
John said, –Liberacorpus†and released himself from her spell, but he landed with a thud, and rose to his feet rubbing his head.
–You must like getting dropped on your head,†Alexandra said.
–You must like watching people die,†John said.
Alexandra snarled. –I'd like to watch you die.†She flung a particularly nasty curse at him, a crackling ball of spite that Maximilian had warned her could stop even a wizard's heart if he were unwary enough to be struck there.
John wasn't unwary, and it was an easy curse to stop. He laughed and nodded in a gesture that was almost appreciative. –I was surprised that you were the one who came back. I didn't think your brother would turn out to be the weak one.â€
–Fuck you!†Alexandra flung one hex after another at him, even though she knew his mocking laughter was meant to goad her. He deflected them without difficulty, but in the furious onslaught, he couldn't counter-attack. Only when she finally ran out of breath and the red rage cleared from her vision did she pause.
–Maximilian was better than you,†she said, panting, sweat shining on her forehead despite the cold. –And so am I.â€
–This isn't the Charmbridge Dueling Club.†John made a gesture with his free hand. Alexandra raised her wand to cast a Blocking Jinx, but nothing flew at her. Then rock moved beneath her feet and she jumped instinctively. Her Seven-League Boots carried her to the other side of the rock shelf and almost to the very edge. John blinked in surprise, but the rolling waves of stone, like the back of a serpent buckling the surface, tossed Johnny and Trish, throwing them off their feet and pushing them toward the opposite edge.
Charlie squawked and fluttered in Alexandra's arms. She released the raven, hoping her familiar would fly free of the crossfire, and threw another curse at John. He cast a Shield Charm and laughed at her from behind it.
Johnny screamed, –Trish!†The girl went sliding over the edge. He caught her wrist and was almost dragged with her.
–Feordupois!†Alexandra said, and the Deadweight Spell squashed Johnny against the lip of the rock shelf. He barely maintained his grip on Trish's wrist. The distraction of trying to save the teenagers almost cost Alexandra an eye as she cast a Blocking Jinx just in time to deflect a sharp spike hurtling at her face.
–How does one girl cause so much trouble?†John Manuelito was no longer smirking and smiling; he was showing his temper at last. –What are you doing here?†He flung more hissing black spikes at her. They melted against her Shield Charm and she could only pray Charlie was out of the way of the ones that flew past on either side of her, turning to blue-black smoke and leaving a greasy furrow where they struck rock.
–You came after me, so I came after you,†Alexandra said.
He frowned at her, and then Alexandra saw a serpentine coil of solid rock wrap around Johnny, who was still lying on the edge of the precipice trying to hold onto Trish. Alexandra ran past John in a flash, surprising the Indian warlock again with her speed. She reached Johnny in the blink of an eye and blasted apart the animated rock before it could crush him, then whirled to face John Manuelito again.
He had not thrown a curse. Instead, he was kneeling over one of the fallen men.
–Save the sheep then,†he said in a mocking tone, though his expression was angry. –Sometimes wolves have to become sheep.†He spoke in Navajo, and Alexandra saw a knife in his hand. It flashed and then there was blood on the blade.
–Help,†Johnny croaked. Trish was screaming silently, still unable to make a sound thanks to the Silencing Charm. Johnny lost his grip on her and she fell.
Alexandra saw Trish's face receding, like something in a slow nightmare, eyes wide and filled with terror. John Manuelito was moving to another one of the fallen Navajo witches, still holding his knife, and Trish was plummeting to the ground, hundreds of feet below.
Alexandra pointed her wand at the falling girl. She didn't even know if a Falling Charm would work on someone at this distance. She made a wish and cast the spell. She couldn't tell if it took effect; shadows and moonlight played over Witches' Rock and made it impossible to see the falling figure, and Alexandra had to turn back to face John.
He stood in the moonlight holding a knife dripping with blood.
–You would have made a much better sacrifice,†John said. –You were supposed to be the sacrifice. It's what you were born for.â€
–What?†Alexandra raised her wand to strike him down.
–This place really was used by ’Ãnt’įįhnii,†John said. –The bones of their victims are interred beneath the stone we stand on.â€
–So?†Forcing aside her confusion, Alexandra threw a curse, determined to shut him up and defeat him once and for all.
John laughed, then turned and ran for the edge. He leaped before Alexandra could stop him. She ran to the edge and looked down, but she could not see the falling body. He had probably used a Falling Charm on himself; Alexandra threw a few fireballs after him, but the glow they made before bursting against the rocks below didn't reveal her nemesis.
She ran to the first of the men John had squatted next to. She gasped. His throat was cut and blood was spurting out and puddling on the rock under him. A glance to the body two yards away told her John had done the same thing to the second man. He hadn't reached the other two.
Alexandra tried to cast a healing spell on the wound, but all she knew were basic first aid charms; the corners of the glistening smile John had cut beneath the man's jaw came together, but this didn't stem the flow of blood at all. Neither did a Blood-Clotting Spell - there was just too much coming out of him. She ignored Johnny's moaning and sobbing while she looked helplessly at the dying man, and then thought of one other thing she could do.
With a widdershins gesture, she used the bit of Dark Arts that John Manuelito had taught her: a Wound-Relocating Spell. The slash across the wizard's throat disappeared. Blood began gushing from his thigh. She got up and stumbled to the second man. She started to do the same thing again, but saw that the second victim's wooden mask had fallen away, and his eyes were open and unblinking. The blood had stopped spurting from the severed arteries in his throat. Alexandra put a hand on his neck, then over his heart to be sure, and felt failure and frustration.
She returned to the wounded man, tore a few of the animal skins from his body, wrapped them tightly around his upper leg, then cast Blood-Clotting spells until she thought she had probably all but stopped circulation in his leg. She didn't care.
She stood up and looked dully down at the dead man and the wounded man, both lying in puddles of blood.
–Charlie,†she called hoarsely. Relief pierced her numbness when the raven squawked and landed on her shoulder.
–Pretty bird,†she whispered, and walked over to Johnny.
He was crying. –You let Trish die!â€
–Maybe not.â€
–What?†he choked.
Alexandra reversed the Deadweight Spell she'd cast on him, and he gasped as he was able to move again.
–TRISH!†Alexandra yelled. –CAN YOU HEAR ME?â€
Her voice echoed, but the only answer was a distant howl. The werewolves were still roaming the desert, and might be nearer than they sounded. She remembered that she had cast a Silence spell on the other girl. Trish couldn't answer even if she could hear her.
Alexandra nuzzled the raven on her shoulder. –Charlie, can you find Trish?â€
–Pretty bird,†Charlie said.
–I saw her fall!†Johnny wiped his eyes. –It's got to be three or four hundred feet to the ground!â€
Charlie took off. Alexandra went to her backpack and took out the Skyhook.
Johnny stammered: –What - what was all that stuff - I don't understand - this can't be real, it just can't!â€
Alexandra ignored him and walked back to the ledge. Far below, she heard flapping, and then Charlie cawed loudly: once, twice, thrice. There was some other noise, like a scrambling amidst the rocks at the base of Witches' Rock.
–Trish!†Alexandra yelled. –I'm going to throw down the Skyhook. You have to trust me. Pick up the rope and hold onto it. Whatever you do, don't let go. If you don't want to be left down there with the werewolves, do as I say!â€
–She's alive?†Johnny rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and stared at Alexandra in disbelief.
Alexandra threw the Skyhook over the side. It fell with a whistling sound, trailing rope, and hit the ground with a distant thud. Another howl echoed across the desert; this one sounded nearer.
–Trish!†Alexandra yelled. –Pick up the rope! Wrap it around yourself! Hold on tight!†She waited, aware of Johnny coming up behind her. It occurred to her the boy could easily push her over the side, but he just stood there.
Charlie cawed, and three wolves howled in chorus.
–Stand back.†Alexandra closed her eyes as she gripped her wand. –Accio Skyhook!â€
There was a series of bumps, thuds, skids, and a long dragging sound. Rocks showered down the side of the tall rock surface. Then the Skyhook came flying over the side and landed at Alexandra's feet. She almost dropped her wand while grabbing it, and said, –Help me!â€
Stunned, Johnny grabbed it too. There was a heavy weight at the end of the rope. The two of them hauled on the rope - in truth, Johnny did most of the hauling - and at last, a very bruised girl, clinging with a death grip to the rope, sobbing silently and covered in bloody scrapes and torn clothing, was dragged back up to where they stood.
Johnny pulled her away from the edge and wrapped his arms around her, stammering incoherent questions. Alexandra didn't attempt to answer any of them. She almost collapsed against a stone outcropping, rested with her back to it, and ended the Silence Spell almost as an afterthought. Trish's sobs became audible.
Charlie joined Alexandra, perching on her knee.
–Pretty bird,†Alexandra said, reaching out to stroke her familiar.
Trish screamed.
What now? Alexandra thought, regretting she'd taken off the Silence Spell. Then she saw what Trish was screaming at.
Where the dead Navajo witch lay, a black spectral figure was rising from his corpse. It was shadowy and insubstantial, with none of the features of the dead man, not at all resembling the ghosts of Alexandra's acquaintance. Its black and empty face radiated malice.
Alexandra shivered as she rose to her feet. She knew this creature. She had seen them when they came through a portal from the Lands Beyond. Evil spirits of the dead, different from ghosts, malevolent and - more importantly - able to harm the living.
–Chindi!†Johnny gasped, his voice full of horror and revulsion.
Alexandra pointed her wand at it and said, –Anathema jibay!â€
The Chindi howled. The sound was like a moan heard from a distant cave, and the spirit vanished into the night, Banished by Alexandra's spell.
The top of the rock shimmered with a black haze, and then Chindi were everywhere, rising from the stone all around them.
The bones of their victims, Alexandra thought, and she said, –Fly, Charlie, fly!â€
She Banished one spirit after another, trying to drive them away from the other teenagers. Johnny had thrown himself over Trish and was huddling on top of her, but his bravery did little good when the Chindi could fly through him as easily as they flew through rock. They were swirling all around like an evil smog darkening the air and sucking heat out of it. Johnny twitched and shuddered, and his screams were as shrill and hysterical as Trish's. Alexandra's glowing wand seemed to frighten the spirits a little, but she couldn't keep them more than an arm's length away, and after the third time one reached out of the stone and grabbed her legs in ghostly fingers that felt like cold fire, she fell and couldn't stand again. She kept Banishing them, but realized with a moment of acuity and despair that they weren't just coming from Witches' Rock itself. Lying on her side and looking out across the desert, she saw wraiths flying through the air from ridges and arroyos and hills and abandoned hogans. They were converging on Witches' Rock like iron filings drawn to a magnetic needle, like crows coming home to roost. To what purpose, to kill her? She was past the point of caring. She could cast Banishing spells until dawn and still not Banish them all. Already she was shaking and sweating, but the sensation that gripped her was not fever, but coldness and clamminess, reaching all the way to the pit of her stomach. The unliving things were pressing close, sensing her weakness, fearful of her wand but eager to steal her breath from her...
She heard a pop and felt a gust of wind. Then someone bellowed: –Expecto Patronum!â€
A silver flash of light blinded her and drove away the ghosts. There were more pops and more voices repeating the incantation. Alexandra lifted her head with an effort.
Henry Tsotsie stood over her. There were other Indian wizards there too, all wielding wands and facing the mass of angry ghosts, who were swirling around Witches' Rock in a howling maelstrom.
Glowing silver animals were flying through the air, and where they flew, Chindi shrieked and melted away. Alexandra saw an eagle, a deer, a fox. Each one was shining and beautiful as it cut through the Chindi like a stream of mercury through black water. The animals circled around them all, protecting the people and dissolving the evil spirits.
A luminescent jackrabbit scampered across the rock and jumped through a ghost, turning it to dust. It ran to Henry Tsotsie and sat there a moment at his feet, face to face with Alexandra. Its brilliant eyes regarded her without blinking and its luminous silver nose twitched. There was something familiar in that countenance, and then Tsotsie flicked his wand and one of the rabbit's ears flicked in perfect synchronicity with the wand, before leaping away to banish another Chindi.
–Charlie,†Alexandra mumbled. She knew she should be worried about Johnny and Trish, too, but all she could think about was Charlie.
She never quite lost consciousness, although with the chills and the sickness, she wasn't sure if she was delirious or dreaming, nor did she have much sense of time passing. She was aware of someone picking her up. She heard chanting. She thought she saw Indian medicine men and women reaching into pouches for handfuls of glittering powder which they scattered over Witches' Rock and cast off the edge. There was definitely a squeezing sensation which meant she'd been Apparated, which was why she wasn't on Witches' Rock now.
She was lying on a blanket. Heat radiated from red-hot stones lying on coals. She was inside a small, circular room that was swelteringly hot. Several people were chanting. They had been chanting for quite a long time.
Billi Tewawina bent over her and touched her forehead, her chest, her belly, her wrists, her feet. Alexandra wanted to ask questions, but she was afraid she'd disturb the ritual.
She was covered in sweat. She was soaking in it. She wore a dress or a cotton shift of some sort - not what she'd been wearing before.
–You can stand up, now,†Billi said. She offered a hand. Alexandra stood. There were other Indians in the stone hogan. Alexandra didn't know if they were Navajos or Hopis. She wasn't sure if they were wizards either; the sticks a couple of them held were not like the wands Alexandra was familiar with, but much longer and thicker, with beads and feathers attached. The Indians sat on wooden stools and chanted, and one man was beating a drum, while a woman shook a rattle.
Alexandra was not the only one who had been lying on the floor. Arranged around the fire on blankets were Trish, Johnny, and an adult man Alexandra didn't recognize. All of them wore cotton shifts like hers. Trish and Johnny's eyes were closed, and they were breathing deeply as if asleep.
Surreptitiously, Alexandra ran her hands along her front and sides. She could not feel any pockets, or the presence of her wand.
–Your things are outside,†Billi whispered in her ear. –Come on.†She led Alexandra to a wooden door and they stepped outside, into the cold air of the desert beneath a morning sun. The shock after stepping out of the sauna within made her feel faint; Alexandra was grateful for Billi's hand at her elbow, though she managed not to stumble.
They were in some completely different part of the desert, this one all white stones and occasional thorny plants. There were mountains in the distance, as everywhere else Alexandra had seen in Dinétah, but no other familiar landmarks. She could be anywhere in the Indian Territories, she thought.
The only person waiting outside was Henry Tsotsie, sitting behind the wheel of his truck, which was in remarkably good condition considering the last time she'd seen it was after a giant stone snake had flipped it over on the highway.
–Alexandra!â€
Alexandra held out her arms as Charlie flew from the roof of Tsotsie's cab to her arms. She held the raven and took long, deep breaths.
–Henry has your wand,†Billi said. –You might want to wash up and get dressed.†She indicated a second building, smaller than the first, made of wood.
–Was I unconscious?†Alexandra asked.
–You were very feverish, so you probably don't remember much.â€
–That was some kind of a healing ritual? For ghost-sickness?â€
–Yes.â€
–What about Johnny and Trish? And who's that other guy?â€
–They'll be all right, but the boy and the girl were touched worse than you, and they don't have their own magic, so the ceremony will be longer for them. The other man was one of the Aurors who went to get you.†Billi clucked her tongue.
She didn't seem inclined to answer other questions, so Alexandra went into the wooden shack, which turned out to be an outhouse, though a remarkably clean-smelling one. It had a partition separating the toilet from a tub full of hot water and a basket with another set of clean clothes for her. She washed herself off with the cloth provided and got dressed, relieved to find that her magical boots were also in the basket. She didn't see her backpack. She walked outside and realized she was still weak, very hungry, and even more thirsty.
Billi was standing next to Henry Tsotsie's truck, speaking to him through his rolled-down window. When Alexandra reached the truck, the Navajo Auror gestured at her to get in. She did so, making sure Charlie entered as well. Charlie immediately perched on the dashboard.
–You're a brave girl, Alexandra,†Billi said. –Good luck.â€
–Thanks.†Alexandra was nonplussed. –You're sure Johnny and Trish will be all right?â€
–I'm going back inside to take care of them.†The Hopi Healer waved a hand and walked back into the hogan.
Henry Tsotsie hadn't said a word to her yet. He handed her a canteen. Alexandra didn't ask what was in it; she just took it and drank. The water was ice-cold and delicious.
After gulping down half the canteen, she wiped her mouth and asked, –Now what?â€
He took the canteen back. –Now I take you to the Portkey station and send you home, like I was trying to do before.â€
–Just like that?â€
–Haven't you spent enough time in Dinétah? That bird can't sit on the dashboard.†He started the truck.
Alexandra reached for Charlie. –Have you ever tried keeping a raven in your lap?â€
–Keep it off the dashboard or it's going to have to fly outside.â€
–Big fat jerk!†Charlie said.
Alexandra cradled the raven under one arm. Charlie fussed and squawked, but settled down a little after a few minutes, while the truck rolled over hard stones until it reached an unmarked dirt road. They began bumping along over rocks and around sagebrush and thornbushes.
They went almost a mile before Tsotsie spoke again. –I suppose you're hungry.â€
–A little.†In fact, Alexandra was starving. Charlie was making sounds in response to the rumble of her stomach.
–We'll stop to get something to eat. It's about an hour until we hit 64. Are you going to starve to death before then?â€
–What if I was? Would you Apparate us? Or conjure some food?â€
–You can't conjure food. Don't they teach you that at Charmbridge Academy?â€
–Speaking of which, are you going to give me my wand back?â€
She expected him to tell her he'd give it to her when they reached the Portkey station, or not answer at all. She was surprised when, after a moment of silence, he slid it out of a pocket inside his coat and handed it to her.
–Thank you,†she said. She looked back through the window of the cab at the back of the truck, but it was covered with a tarp.
–Your backpack is there,†Tsotsie said. –The Skyhook is in it.â€
Alexandra settled into the seat and let him drive for a while. The desert didn't change much, and it was blindingly bright. She squinted, thinking about everything that had happened the previous night.
–What happened to the werewolves?†she asked at last.
–We rounded them up before they attacked anyone.â€
–What about the Dark Convention warlocks? I mean, the Navajo witches? John Manuelito's friends?â€
–In custody.â€
–And John?â€
Tsotsie pursed his lips. –We're still looking for him.â€
Alexandra closed her eyes and sighed.
They passed a few more hogans and wooden houses, and once a trailer. Occasionally there were Navajos outside watching them go by; once, they had to stop to let a flock of sheep move past. A dog kept the sheep together, and an old man nodded to Henry Tsotsie as he followed the animals.
After another half an hour, Tsotsie spoke again. –What you did was very foolish.â€
Alexandra looked out the window and didn't answer.
–What were you expecting to find at that stone hogan?†he asked.
–John Manuelito.â€
–You shouldn't have gone there by yourself. You should have told me that John Manuelito knew about that place. Yuhzhee Redhorse is dead -â€
–I tried to tell you!†Alexandra snapped. –You wouldn't listen to me! I had no idea what some spot on a map was, I didn't know it was a jail for werewolves!â€
–Not a jail. After they transform, they're free to run and howl outside, but are kept within lines we draw in the desert, and other charms keep any ordinary folk away.â€
–Until the Dark Convention showed up and killed Ms. Redhorse. I saw her killed! If you'd listened to me, maybe you would have warned her, but you just wanted to get rid of me and wouldn't listen to anything I said!â€
–It was very foolish for you to take on a coven of witches.â€
–What would have happened if I hadn't been there?â€
Tsotsie was quiet for a long time after that. Finally, he said, –The witches were going to take the shapeshifters - the lycanthropes - and set them loose near Little Creek or another town. You prevented that.â€
Alexandra petted Charlie, who was squirming beneath her arm.
Tsotsie said, –I don't quite understand why the two men you left unconscious by the stone hogan weren't touched.â€
–I kind of distracted the werewolves. To get them to chase me.â€
–You figured you could outrun them with those magical boots of yours.â€
Alexandra looked down at her feet, then shrugged. –Your werewolves didn't seem to be prevented from crossing any lines in the desert.â€
–Killing Yuhzhee destroyed the wards. Most Navajo magic is tainted by death. Why did you save those kids?â€
–What, I'm going to just leave them to get eaten by werewolves?†When he didn't answer, she muttered, –You really do think I'm just a trial and a pain, don't you?â€
Tsotsie was silent again for a while. Alexandra was becoming very hungry, and she was relieved when she finally saw a small two-lane highway. Tsotsie turned onto it, and the truck picked up speed.
–I was expecting your Trace Office would notice me casting spells and someone would come get me,†Alexandra said. –That was my plan. I'd find out what John Manuelito and his coven were up to out there and then I'd cast some spells and you'd know where I was and show up and arrest him.â€
–That was your plan, huh?â€
Alexandra couldn't read the Auror's expression. –More or less.â€
They went past a sign that said Farewell was ninety miles ahead. Occasionally they passed other vehicles, mostly driven by Indians.
–Finding a runaway teenager was not actually at the top of our priority list,†Tsotsie said. –The Dark Convention - John Manuelito and his fellow ’Ãnt’įįhnii, and some belagana warlocks as well - did a lot of damage all over the Indian Territories last night. They even tried to call Chindi from Orange Rock itself. But they were counting on the few Aurors in Dinétah to be even busier than we were, with werewolves running loose and whatever ritual they were going to perform on top of Witches' Rock. What John Manuelito did wasn't nearly as bad as what they probably planned to do.†Tsotsie glanced at Alexandra again. –He cut one man's throat, but the other one was cut along the thigh. Can you explain that? Your two friends weren't able to give us many details about what happened on Witches' Rock.â€
–John cut both their throats. I used a Wound Relocating Charm on the first man. I didn't reach the second man in time.â€
Tsotsie considered this. –A Wound Relocating Charm is classified as Dark Arts.â€
–You going to add it to the list of things the Wizard Justice Department is going to charge me with?â€
A small town materialized on the road ahead. It wasn't much more than a collection of houses and a gas station and convenience store, but Alexandra's stomach rumbled at the prospect of food.
They stopped at the convenience store. Tsotsie bought her a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of green tea. Alexandra tried not to eat too quickly; her stomach almost rebelled against the food, as if it had been days since she'd eaten last. She'd finished most of the sandwich before they even got back to the truck. She spared a corner of the sandwich for Charlie, whom they had left locked in the cab. The raven devoured the scraps greedily while Alexandra tried not to feel covetous of those last few bites. She began eating the apple. Tsotsie didn't speak again until they were once more on the road with the town behind them.
–It's not your fault Yuhzhee Redhorse is dead,†he said. –She was a friend of mine. What happened last night - a lot of things that happened last night - were terrible. There have always been a few witches making trouble in Dinétah, just like anywhere else, but we didn't realize that John Manuelito had brought so many outsiders here. The Dark Convention is more active in the Indian Territories than we thought. That's going to cause a lot of problems for us... from them and from the Wizard Justice Department.â€
–Oh.†Alexandra wasn't sure what to say. –What do they want in the Indian Territories?â€
–I imagine to stir up old ghosts. Cause trouble, unleash evil magic. Who knows what the Dark Convention wants, or why ’Ãnt’įįhnii do the things they do?â€
Alexandra thought Tsotsie wasn't being entirely honest with her. He was an Auror and surely knew more than he was telling her. But telling her anything at all was an improvement. –So, nobody was killed? Besides Ms. Redhorse, and the dead anteenee?â€
Tsotsie looked at her again. –Some others were killed.â€
–Oh.†Alexandra wondered if the Auror would expand on that, and wasn't surprised when he didn't.
–You did some good,†Tsotsie said. –You saved Johnny Thompson and Patricia Peshlakai. That was very brave.â€
–Are they going to... remember everything?†she asked.
–Did you really threaten to steal their hearts and turn them into beetles?â€
–Only to scare them. I mean, to make them move faster. I was trying to save them from the werewolves!â€
–I see.†The Auror nodded slowly. –Well, you did do that.â€
–They saw everything. Werewolves and witches and Chindi.â€
Tsotsie's face was stone. –And you think they should be Obliviated because they're Muggles.â€
–I don't think that. But the Confederation makes a big deal out of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.â€
–Yes.â€
Alexandra wasn't sure what his tone signified. –I don't like it. I understand why we have to keep magic secret - a lot of people would freak out if they knew magic was real - but I don't like Obliviators going around erasing memories.†She fell into a brooding silence, thinking of Hecate Grimm.
Tsotsie said, in a careful tone of voice, –We try to take care of our own people. We never kept magic a secret, before the Confederation came.â€
Alexandra thought about that. –How will you keep Trish and Johnny from telling everyone?â€
–You don't need to worry about that.†He paused. –We can't hide the fact that two Muggles were exposed to the wizarding world, but my official reports don't need to mention every detail. For example, I didn't list everything you did that wasn't so helpful while you were in Dinétah, like destroying a car engine, assaulting an Auror, and fleeing from custody. So those are things you probably don't need to tell them.â€
–Um, thanks,†she said uncertainly.
–And probably the less you say about Johnny Thompson and Patricia Peshlakai, the better. I am not telling you to lie to anyone, especially not a Special Inquisitor. But there's a difference between telling the truth and saying things that aren't important.â€
–I understand, I think.†Alexandra rolled down the window and tossed the apple core out. Tsotsie frowned at her while she rolled up the window again.
–I'll pay for the damage to Ron Pete's car,†she said.
–Huh.†He grunted. –Will you? You have a couple thousand dollars?â€
She thought about the account her father had given her. She'd have to go to the Colonial Bank of the New World to convert some of it into dollars, but... –If I send the money to you, will you make sure he gets it?â€
–Sure.†Tsotsie was unmoved, and Alexandra sensed his skepticism.
–You don't believe I will, do you?â€
He shrugged. –We're used to white people coming onto the Reservation and making messes we have to clean up.â€
Alexandra slid lower in her seat. –I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble. I just wanted to stop John Manuelito. He killed a friend of mine and almost killed another, and he tried to kill me. I didn't come here to make trouble for you or get anyone hurt.â€
She wasn't sure, but it seemed the hard lines of Henry Tsotsie's face softened a little.
They spoke little after that. They drove through Farewell, came to another highway, and proceeded northeast, entering the mountains and crossing the Colorado border. Alexandra had been nodding off, and Charlie was quiescent in her arms, when Tsotsie said, –Portkey station's up ahead.â€
Alexandra sat up. The desert had been cold but dry, but now they were surrounded by snow. The highway, salted and plowed recently, cut a ribbon of black through the snow-covered rocks around them, but the only thing ahead of them was an unattended highway rest area.
–It's not a public station like in Chicago or New Amsterdam,†Tsotsie said. –It's for official Confederation use only.â€
They pulled off the highway and parked in the lot, tires crunching over snow that had fallen since the lot had last been plowed. There were a couple of other cars there, and a truck. Unlike Henry Tsotsie's truck, the other vehicles had chains on their tires. A couple of people who were checking a map in their car stared at the white-haired girl with the raven in the company of a tall Indian man.
Alexandra tugged at her white bangs. –Can you fix my hair?â€
Tsotsie answered seriously, –You want me to wave my wand right here?â€
–Of course not.†She frowned at him. –I mean before you send me back.â€
–I'm sure Diana Grimm or one of your teachers at that fancy school of yours can undo a little curse like that.†He took her backpack out of the truck and handed it to her.
She snatched it angrily. –That truck driver was right.â€
–Truck driver?†The Navajo Auror glanced, puzzled, at the semi-truck that was sitting by a snow bank on the other side of the small parking lot.
–About Navajo cops.†Alexandra pushed her arms through the straps and cinched the pack on her back.
Tsotsie gave her another one of his long looks, then led her to a pavilion that sheltered a giant road map behind thick plastic, a rack full of tourist brochures, and a small building with men's and women's restrooms and an unmarked door between them.
The Auror paused before the unmarked door.
–You're a dog,†he said.
Alexandra was confused, then she colored. –Are you calling me a bitch?â€
–What? No.†For the first time, Tsotsie's equanimity was ruffled. –I wouldn't call someone that.†He shook his head. –What John Manuelito said about wolves and sheep is true from his point of view - that's how he thinks. There are people who are wolves and prey on the weak, and people who are their victims. But there is another kind of person, the kind of person who protects the sheep from the wolves. The sheepdogs.â€
–Kind of like Aurors,†Alexandra said.
Tsotsie smiled wryly. –You could say that. You're a very brave girl. A troublesome juvenile delinquent, but a brave girl.â€
Alexandra found this almost touching. –If you catch John Manuelito, or find out anything about his whereabouts, will you let me know?â€
Tsotsie's expression went flat again. –Let you know?â€
–You're an Auror. Can't you get a message to me, c/o Charmbridge Academy?â€
He sighed. –When we find John Manuelito, I'll let you know.†He tapped his wand against the unmarked door and it opened. –There are two coffee cans on the top shelf. Make sure to put your raven in the first one before you touch the second.†He caught her arm just before she stepped inside. –If I ever see you in Dinétah again, I'll turn you into a snake and put you in my pouch.â€
Alexandra said nothing when he released her. She stepped inside and found the coffee cans sitting on a shelf over an ordinary industrial sink in a room filled with cleaning supplies, tools, and trash cans.
–Sorry, Charlie.†She knew how much animals hated travel by Portkey. She pushed the protesting bird into one of the cans, and sucked in her breath when the can disappeared, taking Charlie with it. Then she let out the rest of her breath and grabbed the second can, and was yanked through space, away from Dinétah.