2031
Hosteen licked his lips, looking at Jill and then Jacinda in turn. His lips twisted in distaste for a moment. "Skinwalkers kill and consume living things. They feed on them. Animal. Man. Anything of flesh. But in doing so, somehow, they can take the form of it. We can only hope that it is just the form and nothing else. Especially that it is not any of their abilities."
He didn't look all that certain.
The room was truly silent now. Jacinda could envision it. Tracking one of these would be difficult. You might be on its trail as a wolf or a man and then you encounter it as a harpy or drainaka. Or even something as innocent as a an old woman.
Jill must have had the same train of thought. Her voice was soft, unsteady. "Is there a way to recognize them?"
He hesitated, opened his mouth, then paused, chewing on his words. "The truth is, it depends. They always have the same size. They can't change that. When the people have seen them from a distance, they have looked like large dogs or wolves or coyotes with especially long legs. But if they take the form of a man or woman, you would not know. As an oni they would look small."
Jacinda felt a bit of relief, but that was dashed away all in the next moment. "In whatever form, though, they are deadly. If you are close enough to truly recognize them, it is too late for you."
She was going to ask a question, but Jill jumped in. "Where do they come from?"
Jacinda thought the question odd. Who cared? Where did any of the things they hunted come from? They were. That's all that mattered. But she didn't say anything.
Hosteen sighed and shook his head. "I do not know. They were here when we arrive in this land. The Hopi know of them."
For some reason, the name was filled with contempt. "They have their own stories. The Utes too. Apaches. Others."
He shrugged.
Silence. Again. Only this time, it was palpable. Despite his calm, Hosteen was clearly uncomfortable speaking of this. Well, they had a job to do. Jacinda cut the silence. "Sooooo.....How do we kill 'em?"
she asked cheerily.
And despite everything, Hosteen laughed. This time Jacinda didn't feel embarrassed. The laugh was not cruel. It was hearty and there was warmth in it. Maybe even appreciation. She looked at Jill and saw a grin. It was the first time she'd seen her smile. It lit up the room. She should do that more often.
Jacinda felt a smile spread across her face as well. Maybe it was just everyone cutting the tension with laughter. Release. Whatever it was, Jacinda was glad of it. She kept Jill's gaze for a moment, shrugging slightly as if to say 'Hey, I can't help it.'
Hosteen answered. "They are flesh and blood. They can be killed, though not easily. They are no tougher than oni, really. The danger is their ability to get close to you without you knowing."
Jacinda nodded. Ok. This was something she was interested in. Evidently, Jill felt the same. "Where do we begin, father?"
He nodded, becoming somber. "Over the last year, I have been called on to do four singings. Hózhóojí, The Blessing Way. Anaa'jí, The Enemy Way. Hozho needed to be restored, evil driven away. Four deaths. Four bodies chewed on. Four. A sacred number. And I knew something was wrong. I asked and they answered. Yee naaldlooshii were seen in the form of a bear and a wolf. And..."
his voice became still, "in the form of the dead person."
Any humor that had been left fled. Jill and Hosteen seemed frozen. Jill nodded slowly, swallowing. Jacinda didn't understand. He had said they take the form of whatever they kill. So it wasn't exactly a surprise they look like the dead person.
Still, she kept her mouth shut, letting whatever was going on between them finish. Well, she meant to. It just stayed quiet for so long that finally Jacinda had to speak. "Ok. Well, that's where we'll start."
Mercifully, that seemed to break the spell. Jill nodded more forcefully. A small smile returned to Hosteen's face. "Good."
" He seemed glad it was done. He stood with a sigh, stretching out his back. "I need sleep. It has been a long day. Good night."
He went to his daughter and said something to her before kissing her on the cheek lightly.
Jacinda rose and took her cup to the kitchen to wash it. Jill went to the stove and put the rest of the stew into a storage container. While she was bent over putting that into the refrigerator, Jacinda reached around and took the pot from the counter and began washing it as well. "You don't have to do that,"
she said quietly.
Jacinda twisted around, her hands sudsy and wet and flashed her a smile. "It's ok. If I'm gonna be here a while, I gotta kick in the with the chores."
Jill smiled back. Not as large as before. But there was more warmth than at the beginning. She nodded. They were quiet as they cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. It wasn't big and they were sometimes in each other's way but she didn't mind. It had been a long time since she'd been around other people. She liked the closeness.
And she didn't mind the quiet either. Not this time.
When she was done, Jacinda went to her bags and got out a pair or sweats and a t-shirt. She changed in the bathroom and washed her face. Patting her face dry, she looked at herself in the mirror, studying. She was 30 years old. It seemed strange to realize that. Her face was still fresh looking, though maybe a bit more weathered than when she was a girl.
On her own for 10 years. In hindsight, she was proud of herself. She had been a child when Regan had been killed. Didn't know anything. And, she admitted, there was still a lot she didn't know. But she had survived. Not only that, thrived. Mostly, anyway. Being a hunter was a lonely life. There were the occasional teams she worked with. But they were usually already formed. Or those that might have been partners were called away. Seth was like that, suddenly becoming daddy to his niece Rune.
In the end, always temporary. Never any room for her. Oh well.
She opened the door and walked down the hall. Jill's door was open. She was sitting on her bed in her own pair of sweats. And her hair was loose and free as she combed it. She almost looked like a different person. Relaxed. Happy. At peace.
Jacinda smiled at her and it was returned. "Good night,"
was all she said, before heading for the couch. The snap and crackle of the logs in the furnace were comforting as she drifted off to sleep.