The Guard Changed at Dawn

Chapter 6

Yakima Mountain Range, Washington

She was tired, more tired than she'd been in her entire life. She needed help desperately and hoped the person she'd contacted would come soon.

Onida had been raised a guardian for the Yakama people. Officially, she was Yaotlapialistli; one who guards against evil. Through the years, however, the Indian word had been dropped for the simpler guardian. Her abilities for the position presented when she was only three years old. At that moment her pre-schooling and training was handed over to her people's medicine woman and current guardian. While she continued to live with her parents, she didn't attend school with the rest of the village children. She was taught exclusively by Álxayx. Álxayx was in her fifties when she started Onida's training; old by guardian standards. But guardians had become a rarity by the time Álxayx was born.

Álxayx's name meant "moon" in the Yakama language. She was so named because her calling was established at birth, when she was born in the darkness of a new moon. It was a time of awe and magic. Baby Álxayx had waved a tiny hand and sparks of light lit the village. The villagers marveled and praised the Great Father God for giving them a guardian to protect them. Joy and celebrations went on for three months.

However, since that celebrated time, no other guardian child had been born until Onida.

As a child, her schooling had been a hybrid education of reading, writing, math and world studies, as well as lessons tailored to her guardian skills: herbalism, energy manipulation, energy medicine and aura manipulation and transformation. The lessons were interesting, challenging and somewhat frightening. Most of all, they were lonely.

Onida didn't play with the other children in her village. Though she tried to join in at tribal meetings and celebrations, the children were wary of her and afraid. She didn't go to their school, her teacher was the tribal medicine woman, and her unusual coloring all combined to keep her from fitting in. Though Onida had the tanned, golden skin of the Yakima people, her eyes were the cool, water blue of her Norwegian father's heritage, and her thick, long hair was a dark honey blond. Since the Yakima had black hair with brown or black eyes, Onida stood out. Not only was she a "freak" because of her schooling, she was considered white by the village children, who called her sáxi. No matter how hard she tried nor how friendly she was, they weren't having it.

Onida was six when she came home from a children's tribal celebration of nature in tears.

"What is wrong, áan latít (sunblossom)," her mother had asked.

"They won't play with me," Onida cried.

"Who won't play with you?"

"The village children." Onida burst into fresh tears.

Her mother pulled her onto her lap and rocked her until the tears stopped. "It's all right, áan latít. We will find you some friends."

"But why don't they like me?" Onida sniffed, tears refilling her large, blue eyes.

"It is not you, átawit (love); they do not know you. It is that you have abilities they do not understand, and what they don't understand, they fear."

"But I'm not scary," Onida stated with watery indignation.

Her mother had smiled. "No, átawit, you are not scary. You are my sweet, talented daughter, and I am so proud of you. You will be a powerful guardian one day, and have many friends."

Years later Onida could confirm that her mother had, unfortunately, overestimated her "friend" quota as an adult. She was still held at arm's length by most of her village. But as a child, her parents did intervene. If her mother's people wouldn't accept their daughter, then maybe her father's people would.

Her father was Johan Skogstad. His great grandparents had migrated from Norway to America in the 1930's, and then to Washington state soon after. Along with many other immigrants of Norwegian heritage, his great grandparents had settled in White Swan, Washington near Mount Rainier in the Yakima Mountain range. In fact, many Norwegian migrants lived in numerous small towns at the base of the mountains. For decades the townspeople and the Native American villagers had lived in harmony. That harmony had undergone an unsettled shift when Johan fell in love with an Indian girl named Angeni Yazzie. Both sets of parents had objected to the union. But Johan had argued they didn't live in the dark ages – it was the 20th century and he should be allowed to marry the woman of his dreams.

Reluctantly, the parents agreed, and Johan and Angeni were wed in an unusual double ceremony: one in the town celebrating Norwegian traditions, and one in the village with Yakama traditions. They were married for two years when Onida was born.

After the new community center in White Swan was complete, Johan enrolled Onida in the twice-weekly indoor volleyball class. When classes started, both Johan and Angeni took their daughter into town to play indoor volleyball with the town's children. The town's children didn't know anything about Onida's gifts and abilities. Their only concern was whether she could hit the ball over the net. When they discovered she could, they welcomed her with open arms.

It was during these volleyball games that Onida met Marius Rosten. She was twelve and he was thirteen. He was what her father called a Black Norwegian because of his blue-black hair.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, there had been a large migration of people from India to Europe, with many settling in the Scandinavian regions. Through the centuries there was a natural mixing and mingling of peoples, bringing about black haired Norwegian's amongst the native blonds. Marius, with his black hair and ice blue eyes, was perfect in Onida's eyes. He was a middle blocker on his volleyball team, and she was an opposite hitter, and they often squared off against one another. One of the things she'd loved about Marius from the moment they'd met was that he never played down his skill in deference to her. He played just as hard if she was the opposite hitter or if a boy played the position.

One afternoon toward the end of the season, his team was paired against hers. She made a perfect dig shot against his serve, and his teammate had missed the return. It was the winning point for her team.

Following the match, Marius walked up to Onida and said, "Not bad, for a girl."

Onida immediately lifted her chin and retorted, "Damn good shot for anyone, girl or boy."

Marius grinned. "You're right. Want some Kool-Aid?"

Onida returned his grin. "You didn't make it, right?"

Laughing, Marius shook his head. "No, my mom did. Come on."

In the years following, Onida and Marius were nearly inseparable. They spent summers hiking in the nearby mountains, swimming in the ponds, attempting to capture the wings of hummingbirds on camera, and learning the joys of kissing and getting to second base. Throughout high school Onida went to all Marius' track and field meets, and traveled to Renton, Washington near Seattle to watch him compete in the state trials.

High School and Beyond

The biggest challenge to their relationship was when Marius moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington on a track scholarship. Though he wanted Onida to go with him next year when she graduated high school, there was no way Onida could leave the reservation and abandon her guardian training. She was set to enter a new phase in her instruction. Intense and difficult, the training often left Onida with headaches, migraines, nose bleeds and sometimes, muscle spasms. Her mother and father were deeply concerned for her welfare, and brought their concerns to the tribal elders. What followed was two weeks of meetings, closed door sessions with Álxayx as well as Onida, and intense inquiries into what was needed to keep the Yakama safe. Finally, it was Onida who went to her parents and said she wanted to continue. Her people needed her.

The years Marius was away at school were lonely ones for Onida. Though she had some friendships with the girls who had played volleyball with her, often their jealousy that Marius had chosen her kept them from welcoming her friendship with open arms. When Marius returned for the summer after his freshman year, the pair had spent June and July absorbed in one another's company. In fact, they were so involved that Álxayx rapped Onida's arm more the once during their lessons to pay attention. Unfortunately, that was the only summer that Marius returned.

Though Marius' letters were sporadic during his sophomore year, Onida had chalked it up to increased studying. When she heard from the girls in town that he was dating a girl on the track squad, she didn't believe it. Then, he didn't come home for the Christmas holidays, citing a heavy study load. When he didn't return for the summer, Onida was broken hearted. But instead of giving in to grief, she had held her head high and focused more on her lessons. She spent many solitary hours hiking near the forest, cooling off in the pond during the spring months, reading books on metaphysical manipulation and practicing her abilities.

Through the junior and senior years at U-Dub, Onida continued to write. Since Marius' letters were few, she spurned the endearments of earlier communications and began to write more of life in White Swan and the village, telling humorous tales of the townspeople and the villagers. She yearned to ask whether Marius' feeling towards her had changed, but was too proud to bring the subject up. She wouldn't beg for reassurances. Instead, she fell back on their friendship. After all, friendship was where they started. If their romantic relationship was over, then friendship was where it would end.

After four years, Onida went to Marius' University graduation along with his parents, clapping as hard as anyone when his name was called. When he gave a sunshine-blond a huge hug and kiss on the cheek before jumping off the stage, Onida froze. The embarrassed glances from his parents told her they knew the girl. She forced a smile onto her face and willed her hands to continue clapping.

The meeting with Marius near the stands following the ceremony felt a little awkward, though he gave her a hug and thanked her for coming. She smiled and said she was happy for his achievement of graduating magna cum laude.

After several moments of small talk, Marius said, "I'm staying in Seattle."

"More school?"

Nodding, Marius explained, "I want to be a teacher, so I need to get my teaching credential. I want to teach middle school."

"That's a tough age," Onida remarked.

Marius smiled. "It is. But it's also a fun age. The students have enough kid in them to make learning exciting and fun, and enough teen to be sassy and audacious."

Onida laughed. "Audacious, huh? I see that college education has made a positive change in your vocabulary."

"I know, huh? Gotta show mom and dad I learned something."

"I think the magna cum laude made that clear." Onida glanced away for a moment, before asking in as casual a tone as she could muster, "Where do you want to teach?"

Marius shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'll need to see where a position is available. White Swan is there, of course. And I love Seattle. The market downtown is amazing, and there's the Arboretum, several museums, and great ale houses…"

"Should have known it all comes down to the beer," Onida quipped humorously.

"Not really," Marius said with a smile. "I'm not much of a drinker. But I do love the hangouts. They're casual and relaxing. Not much hiking or swimming around campus."

Onida opened her mouth to respond when the blond Marius had hugged earlier ran over. Her parents followed at a more leisurely pace, stopping to converse with Marius' folks.

"Marius!"

"Elisa," Marius said. "This is Onida. She's a childhood friend from my home town. She came to see me graduate."

"Onida… That's an unusual name. Is it Italian?"

Onida was finding it difficult to respond. Marius had introduced her as his childhood friend; not his girlfriend. Marius knew this girl well enough to hug and kiss her on stage, but he hadn't talked about Onida in four years? Swallowing hard, she forced a smile onto her face and said, "No, Native American."

"Seriously?" Elisa exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What tribe?"

"Yakama."

"Wow, that's so exciting," Elisa gushed enthusiastically. "I'm a history major with a concentration in Pacific Northwest history. I would love to talk with you about your tribe and family."

"That would be difficult, as we live several hours from here. We flew in today by Cessna."

"Oh, that's too bad," Elisa murmured. Turning to Marius, she said, "Are you planning on joining us at Earl's on the Ave? The whole gang is coming." Glancing back at Onida, she said, "You're definitely invited too. We're going to party all night!"

Onida immediately said, "No, but thank you for the invite. I'm due to fly out soon. In fact," she glanced at her watch, "I need to be at the airport shortly." Smiling, she held out her hand to Elisa. "It was a pleasure meeting you. I'm glad Marius has such good friends here in Seattle." Turning to Marius, she nodded and said, "Good luck on your future studies. You're going to make a great teacher."

Turning, Onida walked away on legs that felt like jelly. She heard her name called, but ignored whoever it was. She just couldn't deal with one more thing. Quickly she pulled her phone from her pocket and texted Chetan Martin, a tribal member who had served a tour as a helicopter pilot in the US Army.

Chetan, which meant hawk, had always been fascinated by all things that flew, both bird and man. As early as thirteen he had taken flying lessons from an aging local farmer named Nils Stein, and by fourteen was the sole pilot of the old man's Rockwell Thrush crop duster. In high school he joined a High School to Flight School program sponsored by the US Army, and was flying helicopters for the Armed Forces following his graduation. Since his honorable discharge, he had his own flight school set up near Yakima. He flew members of his tribe for the price of gas, thus he'd agreed to fly Onida and Marius' parents from the Yakima Air Terminal to Seattle for the graduation.

Though Onida had planned on spending the night, she asked Chetan if she could leave now.

"Onida!"

It was Marius.

"Onida, stop!"

Finally Onida stopped just as Marius grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?" she snapped, yanking her arm from his grasp.

"Why didn't you answer me?"

Onida rolled her eyes. "I have a flight to catch, and you're obviously busy." Forcing herself to calm down, she used her considerable spiritual and mental energy to keep her feelings under control.

"I wanted to talk to you," Marius said.

"Since when?" Onida asked calmly.

"I know I haven't been the best at writing, but keeping up my GPA has been brutal the last couple years. I needed to maintain my grades so I didn't lose my scholarship. School has never been the easiest for me, you know that. You tutored me through several subjects in high school. And my parents didn't have much money to help me out, something you also know. Most of my time has been spent studying, working a part time job, and running all around Seattle with the track team. Everything else got left behind. But still, you wrote; even when I didn't write back, you wrote. I wanted you to know I read each and every one of your letters so many times the paper is worn thin. My roommate laughs every time I pull one out. He says I should have them memorized by now. I loved them and am so grateful for news and stories from home. I counted on them to keep me grounded, to keep me going forward when I was more tired than I could say."

"Marius!" Elisa shouted from where she was standing near her and Marius' parents. "Everyone's waiting!"

Onida glanced over his shoulder to the girl beyond. "I think you're being paged."

"She can wait," Marius said.

Onida's eyes flicked back to his. "What do you want, Marius?"

"I wanted to tell you thank you. I wanted to tell you I thought about you every day. I wanted to say thank you for everything…" he broke off.

Onida swallowed the lump in her throat. He was saying goodbye. Nodding, she fought her emotions until she could say, "You're welcome." Slowly she turned and started away again when Marius took her arm. "Marius," she ground out. "What are you doing?"

"I'm asking you to marry me."

Onida stared, certain she'd misunderstood.

"I'm trying to tell you that through all the studying, through all the schlepping of dishes and pouring of thousands of coffees, cappuccinos, lattes and espressos, through the miles of grass stains, mud, puddles, rain, snow and hail, you were there with your letters, telling me our world was still there; that you were still there."

Onida felt the tears flood her eyes and willed them away. "I thought… you didn't … you broke up with me," she stated.

Marius' eyes widened. "I what?"

"You broke up with me," Onida said again.

"I did? When?"

Onida gave a derisive laugh while choking back a sob. "You stopped writing, you never came home. You didn't even call. Who does that?"

Marius stepped forward, but stopped when Onida backed away. "I'm sorry I didn't handle this going away to college thing great. There was so much more pressure than I ever thought possible. I thought I was prepared for it all, but I wasn't. The classes were tough, and the amount of time needed to train was double that of high school. Then working and studying, the track meets throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, down to California… I was more stressed and tired than I could say. I tried to write back so many times, but the words just wouldn't come. All I could do was read your letters over and over again, clinging to every word and phrase to keep me grounded."

"But you didn't come home."

"I worked every summer so I could afford clothes and books. During the school year I washed dishes in the cafeteria so I could eat for free."

Onida frowned. "But, why didn't you just say something?"

"I thought I had, in my letters," Marius said, confused.

Onida thought back to the letters she'd received during Marius' first couple years of college. She hadn't read them in more than a year and couldn't remember the details.

Her cell buzzed and she looked down to see Chetan's text reply; he was ready to fly out when she was.

"Marius!" Elisa shouted again. "Are you coming or what?"

"Hang on!" Marius shouted back.

Onida stepped back. "Go," she said.

"But…"

"I need to go home," Onida said. "There's too much…" she waved her hand at the milling students, at Elisa and a couple other people who were laughing and talking back near Marius' parents. "I know you've got a couple more years of school. Try to write, maybe come see me. Right now, I just need to be away."

Marius nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay. Please, go back and read my letters. They'll tell you everything you need to know just as yours told me. And Onida? I'll ask you again soon. Be ready to answer." Leaning over, he gave her a full on-the-lips kiss before turning and heading back to his parents.

Onida had been home for a week before she felt steady enough to pull Marius' letters from the box beneath her bed. His marriage proposal had shocked her and she was still trying to sync her impressions from the last two years with his actions of a week ago. With an eye to paying closer attention, Onida started slowly rereading all the letters she'd received.

The first few were unsurprising; it was crowded in Seattle, there were so many more people, the campus was huge, he missed her, more of the same. It was the later ones that yielded clues she'd overlooked the first times she'd read them; so caught up in her own loneliness, she'd missed his.

There are so many people here, I feel like a lone salmon swimming upstream against the current…

Working in the cafeteria is an eye-opener. Yeah, I get to eat for free, but do I really want to…?

The subjects are so much more difficult than high school. I wish you were here to help me make sense of them…

My brain feels empty. Finding words to tell you about school just won't come. I hope I don't sound like an idiot in this letter.

One in the morning and I just got in from work. Got a track meet in Portland tomorrow- bus leaves at six. I'll sleep on the way there…

I came home from work late and reek of coffee. Does anyone like this much coffee smell? I think all my sheets smell like coffee even after a wash…

I fell asleep in Elementary Education today. Second time that's happened. Justin hit me with his text book because the pencil-to-the-head method didn't work. Long days…

And then, in one of his later letters:

My coach put us in training groups today. My group of middle distance runners are Justin, William, Richard, Amanda and Elisa. I think Elisa and Richard are a thing, though they're not being obnoxious about it. Good thing, cause who wants to see your training partners sucking face behind every tree?

Finally:

It's been awhile since I wrote. My head won't hold a thought. Gotta get back to homework since I'm on duty at the coffee shop until two in the morning…

Onida groaned and dropped her head onto her arms. There were hints all through his letters that he was overwhelmed, exhausted and overworked, and she had been so consumed with her own loneliness that she'd completely missed his. How could he ever forgive her?

Thoughtfully, she tucked all Marius' letters back in their box and tied the whole thing with a large, pink ribbon. As she slid the box back under her bed, she had an idea.

Smiling, she opened her top dresser drawer and pulled out her lockbox. Opening it, she pulled out a wad of bills and counted her cash. She had more than enough.

Next she texted Chetan and asked if he was able to fly her to Seattle immediately, let her stay for an hour or two, then bring her home.

Two minutes his return text held a row of question marks, but said yes.

Smiling, Onida said she'd be in Yakima in one hour.

You realize it's after midnight, Chetan texted.

It's important, Onida typed.

You're the boss," Chetan wrote back. One hour.

Onida wrote a quick note to her parents and grabbed her purse. Soon she was speeding down the rural highway in her 1999 Jeep Cherokee. An hour later she pulled into the small, private airport owned by Chetan and rushed for his plane.

"What's got your tail feathers on fire?" Chetan asked as he helped her into the passenger seat.

"I'm getting married," Onida replied, a huge grin on her face.

"Does he know?" Chetan asked after tightening her seat belts.

"He asked, so I'd say yes."

"Congratulations!"

Chetan climbed into the pilot's seat and started the engine. Leaning over, he said loudly, "Two hours and you're in Seattle. You need a ride to campus?"

"Already made arrangements for an airport shuttle. I should be back in an hour and a half. You good with that?"

"Already filed a flight plan to return soonest."

Onida grinned. "Thanks."

Three hours later Onida was right outside Marius' apartment. Since he was in graduate school, Marius and his track mate William had lobbied successfully to get their own small apartment within the graduate dorm house. Their track successes and excellent GPAs along with glowing recommendations from former teachers and coaches had gone a long way to getting them one of the two graduate apartments within the graduate house. The apartments weren't glamorous by any means. They consisted of four rooms: two small bedrooms connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom and a small kitchen large enough for a fridge, oven, table and two chairs. Marius had been ecstatic when the graduate housing administrator had told him the news his and William's application had been approved.

Getting inside the house had been easy. Onida had used her energy to pop open the front door and walked in. The place was deserted at four in the morning. Even the late studiers and partying stragglers were tucked safely in their beds. When she reached Marius' room, she knelt and opened her purse, pulling out several items: coco bean, eagle feathers, the ayahuasca plant, morning glory and crushed Azurite stone. The last was the most important ingredient, as the Azurite stone is deeply powerful. The user receives an intuitive ability from within that enhances awareness and understanding within the physical and spiritual worlds. Added to Onida's own energy manipulation and energy placement abilities, it would be most effective.

Placing her agate stone, bowl and pistil on the floor, she murmured ancient Yakama enchantments under her breath as she carefully ground all the ingredients together. After exactly two minutes of grinding, she leaned over and spit carefully into the bowl, then pricked her finger with a silver pin. She murmured a few more words, then let one drop of blood fall into the bowl. As she continued to mix and grind the ingredients together, a gentle golden glow began to emanate from the agate bowl.

When a shimmering column of golden light about a foot tall hovered above the bowl, Onida took a pinch of powdered Howlite stone and blew it into the column. Howlite is a breathing stone. It helps the gifted user focus on their goal with increased clarity. Reaching up, she took the shimmering light in her hands and began to shape the column. When she finished, she smiled. Motioning with her hands, she directed the column to slide under the door. When it was fully inside Marius' graduate dorm apartment, she put one hand on the door, closed her eyes and directed the column of energy to go to Marius.

After two minutes of maneuvering, she sat back on her heels and giggled softly. Quickly she packed up her things, cleared away any sign of her presence, and left the building.

When she reached the airport, Chetan looked over and said, "The mission a success?"

Nodding once, a hug smile on her face, Onida said, "Let's go home."

It was almost seven in the morning when Marius groaned and shifted onto his back. He'd only been able to get five hours of sleep after a late night at the coffee shop, and his body was protesting. He'd never understand why everyone in Seattle seemed addicted to coffee. Marius liked coffee. It had been the staple of his high school years. But Seattle was obsessed with more than coffee; they were obsessed with how many different ways they could dress it up. He just didn't understand why a simple cup of coffee with cream wasn't good enough.

Eyes still closed he rolled onto his side and pondered the idea of skipping his curriculum class and getting more sleep. Of course, this was his usual morning ritual, and he hadn't missed a class yet.

A soft warmth bathed his face and light shone gently through his eyelids. Smiling, he nuzzled deeper into his pillow until he realized his back was to his dorm window. Why was the sunlight in front of him? Opening his eyes, his mouth dropped open and he shoved himself upright in bed.

Hovering right beside his bed, a shimmering Yes floated several feet off the floor. Slowly a grin spread across his face and he gave a loud shout of joy.

"Shut up!" William yelled from across the hall.

"I'm getting married!" Marius shouted.

"Congratulations! Now shut up!"

The Present

Onida's training had been extensive and thorough when she'd stepped into the guardian position over forty years ago.

For decades, guardians had passed their duties on to the prospective guardian when they were in their mid fifties. When guardians were born, the current guardian would train them until they were ready to assume their duties, then the current guardian would retire and the new guardian would take over. Most guardians served the Yakama community for thirty years. Unfortunately, during the later part of the 20th century, there were fewer children born with guardian abilities, so current guardians stayed on duty for longer periods of time.

Álxayx was in her seventies when she passed away from a brain aneurism. She and Onida had discussed the changing of the guard prior to her death, and plans were that she would turn the position over to Onida when she turned seventy-five. Unfortunately, nature took matters into it's own hands.

Thus, Onida stepped into the guardian position when she was twenty-four. She and Marius moved into the guardian house and Onida took up her duties.

Those days were a heady blend of euphoria because of her upcoming wedding, of living in her own home for the first time, and taking up the duties of the guardian to the Yakama people. Everything was new. Her parents and fiancé were a steady support for her during those early days. Now, she wished they were still there to lend their strength. Those years seemed a lifetime ago, and indeed, they were. Now she had forty years of hard work, sorrow, lows and highs under her belt. And she was the last.

For the last twenty years she had watched and waited and prayed for another guardian to be born. But that hadn't happened. Her village had dwindled since the turning of the 21st century. With the younger generation moving to the cities for school, opportunities, excitement, there were fewer children being born in the village. Though there were other Yakama tribes nearby, there were less than thirty-five hundred Yakama living near White Swan in the shadow of the Yakima Mountains. Some of the younger generation returned for tribal gatherings, but not many.

The Yakama chief, Samuel Adcox, still presided over the monthly Tribal meetings though he was seventy-two years old. She'd known Samuel all her life, had been there when the tribal council voted him chief of the tribe. She loved his dedication to the Yakama people as well as his sense of humor. For the past thirty years, she met up with him once a week for coffee at the small diner in White Swan. During those first years, they'd spoken of protecting the village, what he could do to help her with her duties, about a new guardian and what needed to be addressed at the monthly tribal meetings, other topics. And through the years those discussions had lapsed into friendship for them both.

Onida wound her long, thick hair into a coil and pinned it haphazardly to the top of her head. Retrieving her cup of hot coffee, she moved through the comfy living room and stepped out onto her balcony.

She walked to the railing and took a deep, cleansing breath of fresh, mountain air. The view spread out before her was truly breathtaking. It was spring, and the wild flowers in the meadow were peppering the green with pinpoints of color. The lush meadow paved the way to the dark, green forest that nestled at the base of the Yakima Mountains. Once she had loved this sight. But that was before; before her husband had been killed, before her parents died, before the tragedy she never allowed herself to think about. The last forty years had been a work of revenge, desperation and duty, and she was tired.

Sighing, she took a gulp of the coffee, hoping to revive her energies.

They were stronger than they'd ever been, and she couldn't contain them for much longer. Since no new guardian had been born, Onida had known she would need another way to deal with the threat before they escaped. The last several years had been spent searching for someone strong enough to eliminate the threat all together.

She took another sip of coffee and thought back over the last five years.

Her plan had been to set aside an hour each and every day to search for someone who could help. With the strength of the looming threat, she couldn't afford to be away from her post for more. During that hour she'd focused on the United States like a map and used her energies to search for an aura, a psychic, a powerful tribal healer, anyone who could help. It was a long, tedious process. One by one she bypassed shamans, healers, psychics, telekinetics, others with abilities she knew weren't strong enough to fight the ones she guarded. One year, two years went by and she continued her search. Then, two years and three months after she began her search, she found him.

The sighting had been so unexpected she'd been shocked into immobility. The power of his light had blinked like a super nova, then winked out. Stunned, she'd sat there frozen with her mouth hanging open until she realized she wasn't following the remnant afterglow of his light! Growling in frustration, Onida hoped her foolishness hadn't lost her this chance to find the person. That day she'd spent far more than her allotted hour searching for his light, but with no luck. In frustration, she finally stood and staggered into the kitchen for a refreshing cup of coffee. It was time to go on duty. She would need to search again tomorrow.

The months flew by as she looked for him. She used every ounce of her aura reading and energy manipulation skills to their fullest to seek him out. Other psychic auras flew past in a galaxy of psychic stars, but she kept her focus on the super nova. When she would get discouraged, she told herself that she was a professional with years of experience under her belt. She needed to trust that her prodigious skills were enough to find him despite the millisecond she'd experience his aura. But his essence was proving very elusive. Now it had been over a year since she'd caught that one glimpse of his power and she still hadn't found him.

She had just begun to seriously despair when she caught another quick flicker of his aura. Using all her energy and skill, she clung to that ribbon of aura, following its single thread. She had no idea how much time had passed before she was finally able to get a tentative lock on his psyche. Not willing to break away when her connection was so tentative, she did, however, pull back just enough to get herself some water and a power bar. Her energy was at a dangerously low ebb and she needed to refuel.

Focusing again, Onida gently reached out and touched his aura with a feather of light. He was asleep. That was the only reason she was able to find him. From the strength and power of his blocks in repose, she knew his waking blocks were beyond titanium; they were kryptonite. It was then she knew it had been a stroke of incredible luck and God's grace that she'd found him at all. She allowed her energy to hover near him as she familiarized herself his blocks, until she knew she could find his aura again. Then, keeping an energy lock on his aura, she divided her power to familiarize herself with his surroundings. There were spaces around him, large spaces, but no sense of water expanse. She felt life from trees and meadows, though not many mountains. He was probably in a land bound area rather than a coastal state. She couldn't pinpoint exactly where, but she'd found him and could find him again. That was good enough for now.

Gently pulling back, she dropped into the nearest chair, breathing hard. Picking up a nearby glass, she drank some water and considered the situation. She wasn't psychic, but she needed to connect with him. Her need was desperate, and one short hour a day wouldn't be enough to connect with such a powerful warrior and get him to trust her.

Time was desperate now. Reviewing her days, she crossed out every afternoon activity. To be free to woo her warrior, she needed to start her guardian preparations four hours early. She needed to set up enough barricades and strongholds so they didn't know she wasn't actively blocking their way from the barricade. She needed to be clever, creative and covert, or she would die. But finding her piitl'iyawilá, her warrior, would save her village and the world.

Setting those plans into action had been two years ago. Everything in her life, her coffee meetings with the tribal chief, her presence at the monthly tribal meetings, her visits to the village school, volunteering at the White Swan Health Clinic were all put side as she attempted to connect to their only source of hope. It was frustrating work, for his sleep patterns were erratic and inconsistent, and that made her attempts to connect pitiful. Some nights she would spend the entire precious two hours seeking him out, only to find a wall of steel so high nothing could get by. But there were enough nights when he was asleep to give her hope. So she reached out and brushed light and hope, brilliance and need against his aura. It was painstaking work, and for nineteen months, two weeks and one day, every time she thought she'd managed to open a keyhole, the proverbial door slammed in her face.

Nineteen months, two weeks, one day. When she finally dragged herself to bed just after dawn, she was nearly out of hope. She'd spent almost two years pinning all her efforts on a person she'd never met, whom she didn't know, and she was nowhere. She was starting to doubt herself, to doubt whether it had been wise focusing on this one person. Maybe she should have moved on and sought out someone else from the hundreds of auras she'd passed by. Even as that notion taunted her she knew this man was special, that it was likely he was the only one strong enough to help. Yes, she was pinning all her hopes on him. But she had to believe, to have faith, that he was the one.

As she climbed into bed, the exhaustion pulled at her muscles, and new aches and pains made themselves known. Lying back with a groan, she was almost asleep when she could have sworn she heard Álxayx say, Stop hounding the poor boy, páshxá. Let him come to you…

Onida sat straight up in bed with a gasp. Why hadn't she thought of that before? She gave herself a mental rap on the back of the head. She'd come up with a plan and had been so painstakingly militant about sticking to it, so careful to cover her tracks, she hadn't left any room for revisions. Álxayx would be so disappointed in her. It was a rookie mistake, one she shouldn't have made. She was tempted to get back up and work out a new plan, but she knew she needed sleep more. Forcing herself to lie back down, she willed her body to relax, and shut her eyes.

After six hours of sleep, Onida rose, ate breakfast and got ready for the next night. She made all her preparations for keeping the evil at bay with even greater care than ever before, and waited impatiently for night. Her plan was to stop trying to get in. She needed to convince his subconscious that she wasn't a threat so he would let her in. Only then, maybe she could get a message through.

It took nearly a month before she felt the barrier soften, if only for a moment. It took another month before she was able to light his defenses enough to convey an image of darkness. In the last week she'd been able to convey an image of the field and the evil within the forest. She didn't know if he was getting the images, or if he was dismissing them as dreams. From the power of his abilities, she didn't believe he would dismiss the images, but she couldn't be sure. She suspected the evil ones now knew she'd been tricking them into believing she was constantly on duty. Their energy felt different, more malevolent. Time was dangerously short.

Then came hope.

Two nights ago this powerful man somehow tapped into her energy transformation power and pulled himself into the middle of the cage. She hadn't realized he was there until he'd called out. Her surprise had nearly resulted in his being wounded or captured. It was only through quick action that she was able to push back the darkness. His anyone there? had been music to her ears. She wasn't psychic, but figured if he had used her power to bring himself to her, that his abilities would enable him to hear her. I need … help… she whispered.

Then, suddenly, she felt them push. They knew; knew she had found a warrior.

She was about ready to pull out when she heard his voice; Where are you? Marshaling her thoughts and energy, she forced an image of the Enchantment Lake Basin, Wenatchee Mountains, Washington.

They were attacking her in full force now, and she needed to disengage with the stranger.

Pulling her energy quickly back into her body, she heard one finally thought before she severed the connection: hang on…