Chapter 15: The Council

The night was full of activity at the cabin. The boys sat near the fire as they listened to the adults talking at the table. The wind had lessened and the snow had stopped once Sarah and Ralph ran into the forest. The Yeti's were in pursuit of the beast pushing him in the opposite direction of Ralph's and Sarah's trail. Jack arrived and Jamison greeted him at the door.

"Well my friend, we have a tale to tell you." Jamison took Jack's parka and hung it near the fire.

Robert paced the floor as he thought about the chain of events he had witnessed. Jack wandered over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "My friend, tell me what has happened tonight."

"The old one, The White Buffalo Lady came to Sarah." Robert said. His expression was one of disbelief. "I thought they were only a myth."

Jack stared at Robert for a moment, "You mean, the legend is true?"

"We have five dead wizards to prove it." Robert began to pace once again. "What am I going to tell council in the morning?"

"Tyrone met me on the way here and he told me that his troupe was pushing the Wendigo south again." Jack rubbed his tired eyes. "He had said that Ralph would probably take Sarah to the Hovel of Elders because of the black arrow."

Jamison quickly turned to the group, "Why would he take her there?"

Jack stood staring at Robert and Jamison. As soon as he he regained his head, he said, "The White Buffalos Woman presented a black arrow?" His eyes searched his friend's faces assessing the news in disbelief. The men's conformational nod sent Jack to the fire.

Jack pulled out his drum and began to consult the ancestors about the meaning of the event. Everyone watched as Jack as he synced his soul with the collective ancestors. In his usual practice, spirit began to speak, "There is more to occur. Dragonfly will tell the tale of the arrow. Listen and learn." Jack stopped drumming and all eyes turned toward Dragonfly.

Over the ridge of the table, a grayish boney hand raised his black arrow over the side and set it set onto the table. He climbed up into the corresponding chair to draw attention to himself. He took a deep breath and said, "Before man arrived here, ten arrows were forged of lava to defeat evil. They were divided amongst the 10 tribes of the eastern lands. When their tower fell, the arrows were split up and traveled in different directions. One by one, us first dwellers collected them and placed them into guardian ship until the wielder returns. Tonight's event shows that she, the Wind Witch, has indeed returned."

Robert paused and considered Dragonfly carefully, "Where are the other arrows being kept?"

Dragonfly hissed, "I do not know where others lie." He scratched his ear and continued, "There are many of us first dwellers. Some are monster like and some are peaceful."

There was a knocking on the window pane, Markus turned and walked to the window. Snow scattered from the sill when the bird fluffed its wings. Markus grabbed the letter from the beak of the owl. Once his beak was cleared, it began to squeal and Verna walked to the cupboard and opened the door to grab a piece of meat and took the treat to the bird. The bird danced on the window sill scattering the remaining snow and flew to rest on a warm space next to the fireplace.

Markus presented the envelope to Jamison. "We knew this was coming."

"Dear Mr. Jacko,

You and your company are required to meet with the council at 1 pm. Friday Morning. Please arrive early and be prepared to relay important events of the evening. Families of the fallen have been notified of their fate.

Respectively Yours,

Mistress Mannerage."

******

Mary woke and began to cook breakfast. The smell of bacon lofted through the air and the coffee pot began to bubble and brew lofting the lovely smell of strongly brewed coffee mingled with lovely morning smells. Markus scuffled through the room and settled himself into his chair. With a glance at Sarah's chair with a worried expression.

"Jack had told me last night that he trusted Ralph. He confessed to having Ralph keep watch over the cabin. Jack had a vision that more protection was needed. He didn't expect the White Buffalo Lady to appear." Said Mary as she settled herself in the seat near Markus and held his hand and patted it lovingly.

"Robert, Jamison and Dragonfly will go to the council meeting today." Marcus scratched thoughtlessly at his beard in his thoughts.

******

The three men walked down the hallway to the chamber door. They watched people come and go out of the chamber. Their anxiety increase as they watched weeping mothers of the deceased passed by them as they exited the room. As the last family was leaving, the little man waved them to enter to room.

"Mr. Jacko. This collaboration is out of control. Five, five dead wizards. Five morning families. What has happened?"

Jamison walked to the chair provided for him and sat at the table. His companions joined him sitting at each side of him. Dragonfly stood on the chair so he could be seen by the council. Jamison took a couple deep breaths and began to collect his thought.

"There are many details of the day. The old crone, Shining Sun, had a very upsetting lesson for Sarah. Sarah's emotion caused a snow storm to hit and we all settled into rest for the evening. We are still not sure why Sarah woke in the night but she did. The chain of events are unclear but Sarah went out in the storm."

Markus cleared his voice, "Peter woke and saw his medallion glowing so he came in to wake Mary and I. He showed us the glowing medallion and we rose to get ready to defend the kids. As we dressed, we could see Sarah through the window walking towards a white light hovering near the old crone's house."

Dragonfly spoke, "I arrived at the time when the white light turned into a massive white buffalo."

Robert shook his head, "it was an amazing sight to see the beast of the legend appear before you like that. The old Crone and Jamison were kneeling and Jamison was yelling at Sarah trying to get her to get herself under control."

Jamison butted in, "She is the wind so she can control it. I was instructing her to create a protective boundary to protect herself from the wind. Shinning Sun and I watched Sarah kneel and form a snow circle around her. No wind or snowflake touched her and was surrounded by a glowing light of swirling snow. It was obvious that bubble protected from the raging storm."

"The old one came to Sarah." said Dragonfly. "I was amazed to witness the transformation of the buffalo turn into the White Buffalo lady. I told Sarah to keep her eyes lowered and not to fear."

"The death of the men came at this time. If they looked upon the lady with lust, they all burn up from ill intent and desire for her. Obviously, those five men lusted in her beauty and the loss was instant." Said Jack.

"Many of us knew not to look upon her but we needed to see the chain of events occurring. Howls of the yetis and the screech of the Wendigo was sounding over the blowing wind. Yet, we knew we had to witness the event and let the yeti's do their job." Said Robert.

Dragonfly hissed, "Then, with lowered eye, I watched the ancient one's beautiful glowing hand lower the black arrow and place it in front of Sarah. I am the keeper of one but Sarah was gifted another. There has never been two together in a long time. Then the White Buffalo lady told her not to fear Ralph for he was coming to get her."

Jack shifted in his chair, "I watched the campaign of the Yeti's circle in on the Wendigo. The beast slashed at them but their fur is so thick, they only lost fur with very little damage to their being as they pushed the beast out of the area. Anyway, by the time I turned around, Ralph had already grabbed Sarah and ran off with her into the woods."

The council was listening intently to the chain of events. An owl swooped down and dropped a letter in front of Robert. He opened and read it silently, "Robert, it is confirmed that the yeti is heading towards their Council with Sarah in tow."

He laid the envelope on the table, "She is being taken to the council of the yeti's."

Dragonfly crouched on the table top then stood on his feet and shifted back and forth as in thought. "My ancestors are from the old dwellers, a time before man. Two men, it is said, were descendants from the lost tribes of the far east. They settled here and their numbers grew throughout the nation. They say that each man had an arrow in their keep. They battled and one slew the other. My great grandfather was given the task to protect the arrow and swore to protect surviving family of the first brother. Before the battle was done, there was a curse set by the dyeing sibling saying, 'Two battle, one will win, others will come and destroy the victor and their descendants.' My kind have watched this destruction occur over time. Children, women, and young men have lived and died according to that curse. My kind had made friends with the victor, and this arrow was placed with us for protection. Generations have passed and the slow destruction has been occurring. If she is being taken there, there must be a reason. Ralph wouldn't take her there if it wasn't needed."

Jamison leaned back in his chair and scratched his head and ran his fingers down the full length of his hair. "One thing is clear, the beast couldn't get through the protective barrier. What is strange is, he did not burn up the moment he hit the shield. He just bounced off it. The children are safe while they remain inside the barrier. However, I worry about Sarah being away from the cabin."

Jack sideways smile emerged, "There is nothing to worry about. Let's say, yeti's are capable of great things when they are protecting another. Sarah is in safe hands."

The witches and wizards sat and listened closely. Finally, Mistress Manarage spoke. "Why are the arrows so important?"

Dragonfly lowered himself to stand on the chair and stood to look at her, "I am sorry Mistress, we do not know. They never miss their mark, so clearly, they will be needed in the near future." Dragonfly lowered himself down in his chair. The only thing visible was his grey ears pocking over the top of the table.

Mistress Manarage tapped her long fingernails on the table top. "How do we stop the beast and destroy it?"

"All we know is that the true name of the Wendigo is the key. We need to find out the true name of Father Unis." said Jack.

With a wave of a wand, Mistress Manarage summoned her owl and it landed in front of her. Her hand stretched out and stroked the brown feathers of the raptor. "We will have Father Lyons search the records at the Vatican for his name. This may take a while."

"Thank you Mistress Manarage, Jade is still at the boarding school and we will have her search there too." Said Robert.

After a moment, the two leaders penned a note to their inside people. They requested that records to be researched to look for names of previous fathers. The owls jumped across the table and grabbed the envelopes and flew up through an opened window in the room. Jack, Jamison, and Robert watched them fly away.

"There's hope on the winds, now, let's see if there is help on the way." Said Robert as he placed his coat about him. "This is the best that we can do until we get more information."

With that, the council dispersed. Dragonfly had fallen asleep and Jamison picked him up and carried in his arms. "Poor guy, he ran for miles and has been up all night watching the cabin. I guess rest had caught up with him. Let's take him back to the cabin. He can rest there."