Chapter 51 - Naman

Clark's first instinct when he saw those symbols was to assume that the cave paintings weren't Native American at all, but even making that assumption didn't answer many questions in his mind. Had someone from Clark's planet made those paintings? Why? If they were advanced enough to build ships and travel the galaxy, would they still be painting on cave walls? Probably not—maybe someone from his planet had visited Earth many years ago and had met a Native American tribe. That sounded weird, too, though.

Lex took Clark back to the mansion to talk about it. As they headed back, he was quiet and didn't offer any suggestions beyond what Clark had already thought about; Clark wasn't sure if it was because he was thinking about the caves, or because his mind was still occupied with worries about his father. Maybe it was both.

When they were back in the study with the door closed behind them, Lex said in a low voice, "There's a local Native American tribe, the Kawache people. I've tangled with them a few times in the past; I'm the last person they're going to want to talk to."

"Why?" Clark almost regretted asking as soon as he did. People in Smallville really hated Luthors; Lex didn't like to talk about it.

But Lex remained fairly calm as he said, "My father wanted to build a new LuthorCorp complex over some of their land. I'm not exactly on the best terms with them."

"So you knew about the caves?"

"Only a little. I'd never actually looked to see them for myself."

"And you were just going to pave them over?"

"Like I said, Clark, it was my father's project. Not mine. And stop giving me that look—it wasn't as evil as you're thinking. That complex was going to create over a thousand jobs."

"And that's more important than these caves?"

"If you'd asked me yesterday, I would have said yes. Food on the table for a thousand families, Clark."

"Oh. Right." Clark rubbed the back of his neck. He still wasn't used to thinking about the jobs that way. Clark talked a lot about Lana to Lex; in return, he let Lex teach him some things about business economics. "But . . . it's their history, isn't it?"

"More importantly, it's yours."

"I'm not more important than a whole Native American tribe's history."

Lex gave him a look. "A record of Earth's contact with an alien species. That could be the most important thing we ever find in our lives."

Clark squirmed. "Maybe. So, what are we going to do about it?"

"Well, I'm cancelling the LuthorCorp complex project, to start. From there, I'd consider meeting with Joseph Willowbrook—he's the chief—but I don't think he'll want to speak with me. Not about what that cave means, anyway."

"So . . ."

"So you need to talk to him."

Clark's dad was not going to like this. "Why me?"

"He'll talk to you. Say you almost fell into the cave, and you were looking around at the paintings from above, and tell him you'd like to interview him about some of the legends."

"What if he doesn't agree to meet?"

"Then sweeten the deal. Tell him you know about LuthorCorp's plan to destroy the caves, and say you're going to give them some good press in the school's newspaper."

"Or I could just say I know you, and I'm hoping to talk you out of it."

Lex shook his head. "Leave that out of it. He might think you're a spy for me or something."

Clark raised his eyebrows. "People do that?"

"Clark, you have no idea."

Clark didn't end up having to resort to the school newspaper story, which was good, because it would have meant getting Chloe involved, and she would have a billion questions about the caves and the Kawache people and why Clark was interested in it all.

After school on Monday, Joseph Willowbrook met him down in the cave that Clark had fallen into. It turned out that the Kawache people hadn't known where to find that portion of the cave; they were grateful to Clark for stumbling into it.

Clark had a hard time keeping his eyes off the cave walls for long enough to hold up the conversation, but he forced himself to look into the chief's eyes by the dim light of their flashlights. "So, Mr. Willowbrook, what can you tell me about the caves?"

"The caves illustration are an important part of the Kawache people's history and culture. I've been searching for this painting my entire life." His eyes were on the two-headed creature, as well as the paintings that surrounded it.

"What is it?"

"According to the legend, a man came from the stars and fell in love with the mother of our people. Out of that forbidden affair, the Kawache people were born."

Clark felt his heart start to speed up. It sounded so much like how he had come. This could be what he'd been looking for. Could that person have been from the same planet as Clark? Had he had powers? Apparently, he'd had kids. Did that mean Clark could have kids, with a human? Would they have powers, too? Did the Kawache people have powers?

Clark forced himself to calm down. He was getting ahead of himself. Lots of cultures had theories and legends about aliens; that didn't make them true. Then again, those symbols really looked like the ones in Clark's ship . . . "Do you know which star he came from?"

"The legend only tells that he left one day and flew back into the sky, promising he would send another."

"Oh. Did he send someone?"

"Well, that was five hundred years ago. He's a little late. But that's what this legend is about."

"This one?" Clark pointed out the painting.

Mr. Willowbrook nodded. "Our ancestors have passed down this story for generations. It's the legend of Naman."

"Naman?"

"It was prophesied that Naman would fall from the skies in a rain of fire. They say that Naman will have the strength of ten men and will be able to start fires with his eyes."

Clark felt like he'd just been hit by Lex's car again.

Mr. Willowbrook shone his flashlight on a higher point on the wall. "The legends promise that one day, Naman will protect the entire world." He shifted the beam over a bit, to the two-headed creature. "Ah, and here's the legend of Naman and Sageeth."

"Sageeth?"

"He's like a brother to Naman. But one day, he'll turn against Naman, and together they'll be the balance between good and evil."

So if Clark was Naman . . . no, he didn't want to think about who Sageeth might be. It wasn't worth it. But this was definitely what he had been looking for. He switched the topic. "These, uh, these symbols seem to make up some sort of alphabet."

"That's the strange part. Our people don't have a written language. I've seen a symbol here or there on artifacts, but never in a pattern before."

"So you don't know what they mean?"

Mr. Willowbrook shook his head.

That was disappointing—it meant the Kawache people wouldn't be able to help him translate. Maybe Lex could find someone else who could, a linguist or something. "Well, would it be okay if I took some photos of the walls?"

"With anyone else, I would be hesitant to allow it. But you're the one who found this place, and we are eternally indebted to you. You are free to photograph whatever you like."

"Thank you, sir." Clark took the new phone Lex had given him out of his pocket—it had a camera in it—and his eyes skimmed over the wall as he tried to decide what to take pictures of first. His eyes fell on the octagonal impression. "Um, Mr. Willowbrook? What's that octagon?"

The man's eyes grew wide, and he walked over to the impression, gently touching the edges with his fingertips. "I had believed it was a myth . . ."

Clark wanted to ask what the difference was between a myth and a legend, but he didn't think that would go over very well. "What is it?"

"Legend has it that when Naman comes, he'll bring with him a key."

"A key?"

"An octagonal disk. When placed inside this wall, the secrets of the Kawache caves will be revealed to him."

Clark blinked a couple of times. "Oh!"

"But most people who tell the legends leave that part out, and details about this part of the legend have been lost to time."

"I see." Clark sighed.

"Perhaps with time, we may be able to uncover more of the stories. You've already led us one big step closer, Clark."

"I really appreciate your time, Mr. Willowbrook."

"It was a pleasure meeting with you, Clark."

They took a different walkway out of the caves. Mr. Willowbrook offered to have someone give Clark a ride to wherever he needed to go, but Clark turned him down, and they parted ways. As soon as the man was out of sight, Clark raced to the mansion. He couldn't wait to tell Lex about this.