52. Chapter 52
Chapter fifty-two
Day 24 Denali, Alaska
His muscles bunched and straining, Aiden fought to move something, anything: his arm, his hand, even a finger. But Benioko’s unseen power wrapped around him, throughout him, locking his muscles in place and his body in stasis. The only thing he could move were his eyes.
Jesus, am I still dreaming? This can’t be happening. Hell, I can’t even open my mouth.
“ Taounaha.” It was Wolf’s voice. The title sounded like a protest—guttural and shocked.
“This I like even less than you, Betanee. But time has fled. He is needed. He must listen and learn.” The shaman’s voice was thin and strained, but his gaze caught Aiden’s and held it like a snare. “The Kalikoia spirit gifts were bestowed upon the Hee'woo'nee to repel the elder gods' jealous shadow children. They were gifted to defend us against the younger gods' envy and spite.”
Whatever invisible power Benioko wielded came with effort. And that effort was already showing in the crevices carving up his face and the crackle in his voice.
How long could the old man maintain this invisible fist around him?
“Some among the Kalikoia, those necessary to keep the tribe strong, are double-gifted. I am one.” Benioko continued, his voice cracking. “This, the swaddling, is the first talent the elder gods bestowed on me. The second, the ability to see and hear the Shadow Warrior and cross the veil, while living, and enter the Shadow Realm, came later. That talent, the Taounaha gift, did not manifest until the mouthpiece before me began his journey to the web of his ancestors.”
What the hell did any of this have to do with him?
Aiden concentrated on his little finger, willing it to move. He was rewarded with the faintest of shimmies. He wanted to look at Wolf, see if any of what Benioko was saying was news to him. But his neck wouldn’t turn.
“You, too, are double-gifted,” Benioko continued.
Double-gifted? Bullshit. His one talent was trouble enough. He didn’t need a second one fucking up his life. He went back to concentrating on his finger, urging it to move. It responded with another shimmy, a stronger one this time.
“Even the youngest of the Kalikoia know the purpose of their gifting and how their talents are meant to be used.”
Bully for them!
His finger wiggled freely now. He turned his focus to his hand.
“Your first gift, that of foresight as a means to riches, is meant to profit the Hee'woo'nee. ”
Foresight as a means to riches?
Shock dragged Aiden’s attention back to the Old One’s words. That sure described his Midas touch. How did the old man know about that? Someone must have tattled. But who? Only two people knew of his talent for acquiring money. Kait and Demi. Neither would blab to Benioko. Had Wolf guessed what Aiden could do and told the shaman? While that seemed the most likely scenario, it didn’t feel right.
“The gift of succor, the one you squander so recklessly, is prized among the Kalikoia.”
“No shit?” To Aiden’s surprise, he managed to push the snarky question out of his paralyzed mouth.
With a disapproving grunt, the Old One opened his arms and gestured widely around him. “How do you think such things are possible?”
Such things? The old man couldn’t be talking about his quarters. The shaman lived an austere lifestyle. His table was from the sixties. His couch was even older than that.
His disbelief must have showed on his face, because Benioko elaborated.
“The base. The scientists. The labs. The equipment.” He shot Wolf a dry look. “All the flying toys.”
Aiden frowned. He’d wondered who funded Shadow Mountain. The costs associated with running this place must be astronomical.
“No way,” This time the protest came easily. He glanced down. He could move his hand now and his feet. Whatever talent Benioko had used against him was dissipating. “There’s no way this base is run off lottery winnings, stock increases, or horse races. Not without attracting attention.”
His father had insisted on using their gifts sparingly, lest their sudden influx of wealth lead to unwanted attention. Acquiring the kind of money to keep Shadow Mountain operational was certain to catch someone’s eye.
Benioko shrugged, as though the answer was obvious. “Those with the gift of succor knew to buy Microsoft, Amazon and other stocks when each share sold for pennies. These shares are worth billions now and carefully harvested. Those with the succor talent have always shared their visions with the Hee'woo'nee . The riches foreseen are harvested and turned over to the Hee'woo'nee council, where the money is dispersed.” The shaman’s voice turned grim. “This is the way it has always been. Until your father and now you. The elder gods are not pleased with your usage of their gift.”
Well, fuck them. Maybe they should have tagged their gifts with instructions.
“I use the gift for the greater good.” Well, mostly. A burning sensation spread through his chest, almost like shame.
“This is known. It is not enough.” Benioko’s voice flattened. “Your talent is meant to provide for the Hee'woo'nee in our battle against the younger gods. You use it for other purposes. Therefore, your gift brings you no ease.”
Aiden’s jaw set. To hell with that. If the money he foresaw only went to the Kalikoia, what would happen to his foundation? To the people it helped? “The money I get from my gift goes to charity. It helps people.”
Benioko inclined his head with a regal nod. “This is known. There are enough riches for both purposes. But future foresights must also be gifted to the Hee'woo'nee .”
Talk about ironic. He was being scolded by entities he didn’t believe in.
“Fine.” He expelled a relieved breath when his legs agreed to push his chair back from the table. “Even though I don’t believe in your elder gods.”
The Old One cackled. “They do not care.”
Aiden glanced at Wolf, who had the strangest look on his face. Half stunned, half horrified. What the hell was going on with his big bro? The realization he could turn his head distracted him. He lifted his arm, then stood up. His body was under his control again. Time to get the hell away from this not-so-toothless shaman.
Wolf slowly rose to his feet as Aiden skirted the table. That strange expression was still on his face, but it had gravitated more toward horrified than stunned.
“You said he was double-gifted.” Wolf shot Aiden a quick, searching look. He seemed to push the next question out, but in such a tense tone, he obviously didn’t want to know the answer. “What was he gifted secondly?”
Benioko broke contact with Wolf’s gaze and stared at the surface of the table for several seconds. When he looked up, he looked drained, and regretful. “You know this, Ho'cee.”
“No!” Wolf’s voice was so tight it vibrated in his throat. “He has not accepted our ways. He does not know our ways. He is not prepared. You cannot ask this of him.”
“ I do not ask this of him. Just as Old Joseph did not ask it of me. We do not choose our gifts.” Benioko shook his head, fatigue darkening his filmy eyes. “Nor can we refuse them. You know this, Ho'cee. So it has always been. ”
Aiden stopped at the kitchen door and turned to stare at the two men behind him. Benioko still sat at the table. But Wolf stood frozen beside the chair he’d vacated. Aiden couldn’t see his face, but his brother’s muscles were tense, his feet braced, his shoulders rigid and pulled back.
Something was wrong.
And Aiden suspected it had everything to do with him.
“This cannot happen. Another must be chosen.” Wolf’s voice hardened.
Aiden’s eyebrows rose. He’d never heard his brother speak so harshly to the shaman.
“It has already happened. He transitions now,” Benioko retorted.
Benioko turned his head toward Aiden. Pity folded the old man’s face. Even beneath the film in those ancient eyes, Aiden could see sympathy.
The shaman felt sorry for him?
What the hell?
His mind flashed to those weird-ass dreams—the foggy terrain with its otherworldly, twisted landscape, the strange beings with their elongated limbs and death mask faces. Ice crashed over Aiden’s head and pierced his gut.
The conversation suddenly felt ominous.
“What are you two yapping about?” Aiden asked, trying to ignore the overwhelming certainty that his life was about to go off the rails.
He thought about their earlier conversation. There had been something about him having a second gift, one Wolf was horrified by. Something about him not being prepared. Something about him transitioning.
Transitioning? Into what?
Those damn dreams shot into his mind again. He suddenly remembered something else the old man had said. How his second gift—the gift of the Taounaha— had not manifested until the mouthpiece prior to him had died.
The ice migrated from his gut to his chest, chilling his entire body.
Fuck, no. Benioko is not dead. That can’t be what they’re talking about.
Although, the Old One didn’t look well. His skin was close to gray, his body thin…his eyes vague…
Stretchy limbs…white faces…gaping mouths .
“What do your elder gods look like?” Aiden asked, his voice hoarse. The ice encased his entire body now and froze him from the inside out.
A sound broke from the old man; a cracked, dry husk of a sound. Resignation rode his eyes. “You know this. They have called to you for many cycles.”
Wolf grabbed the back of a chair, as if he needed stability, as if he’d suddenly gone weak. “Cycles? He’s seen them for many cycles?”
“ What ?” Aiden asked, the question breathless, like he’d taken a double tap to the chest. “ When?”
Although he knew… elongated limbs, white, screaming faces.
“Your dreams.” The old shaman confirmed Aiden’s suspicion.
Fuck that.
His body one big charley horse, Aiden squared off against the old man. “How the hell do you know about my dreams?”
The knowledge of his dreams hadn’t come because of Kalikoia gods, or the Shadow Realm. It couldn’t have. There had to be a simpler answer to how Benioko knew.
He’d told no one but Demi about the damn things. And she wouldn’t have told anyone. Then it hit him. His quarters must be bugged. That would explain how Benioko knew about the damn dreams.
The old man drew himself up until he sat tall and stiff in his chair. “I am the Taounaha, the earthside eyes and ears of the Shadow Warrior. I have seen him summon you while you sleep. Soon he will summon you during your waking.” He suddenly cocked his head, his eyes losing focus. Stillness claimed his frail form. His face went taut. “It begins.”
Aiden hadn’t yet processed Benioko’s first statement when the old man uttered the ominous warning.
“What begins?” Christ, when had what become his favorite question?
“The beginning to the end.”
Wolf’s phone rang.
The timing of the call felt menacing, like an exclamation point to the shaman’s dire warning.
“Go,” Benioko said, before Wolf even accepted the call.
His brother glanced at Aiden as he lifted the phone to his ear. Whatever news came down the line was bad enough it shifted Wolf’s expression from shell-shocked to grim.
“On my way,” Wolf said after a few seconds of listening.
“What’s going on?” Aiden asked before Wolf even lowered the phone. Not that he wanted to know. He’d barely recovered from Benioko’s first proclamation, not that he believed it. Not that he believed any of it.
There was no fucking way he was the next Taounaha.
Wolf shook himself. Pivoting, he strode toward the kitchen entrance, where Aiden waited. With each step, his face hardened. “That was the lab—Faith. She says the nanobots we retrieved from Kuznetsov are vibrating.”