Spirits in the Park Read Online Free Page A

charm onto the necklace that will call to her father if he comes within fifty paces, a trick Sooleawa the medicine woman herself taught her. Then he will wear the necklace, learn of her fate, and, hopefully, follow her trail, starting at the cave atop the Great Hill. She checks the half a token she keeps in her pocket to make sure it is safe. She’d left its other half in the cave—its magic called out to its brother in her possession, serving as a beacon that was to lead her back to Kieft’s hidden treasure room up on the mountain. But with her pursuer almost upon her, her plans must change. Now she must hope that her necklace leads her father to that cave, where the half token she’d left behind waits to guide him to her, wherever she might be. If she lives, he will find her. If not . . . she pushes away the fear and lays her necklace down, beneath a newly planted elm, and begins to cover it with leaves, all the while checking over her shoulder for signs of he who pursues her. Come quickly, Father, she prays. Come quickly . . .
    The hazy world of the distant past fell away as Rory lifted the necklace from around his neck. His eyes remained unfocused as he shook his head to clear it; the feelings of sadness and fear didn’t lift away as easily as the necklace. He blinked, then started in shock. Someone was kneeling down right in front of him, inches from his face!
    â€œTell me you are really not this stupid, Rory Hennessy,” the figure said sharply. Rory relaxed as he recognized those playful, mocking eyes.
    â€œSoka?” he whispered. Actually, her eyes didn’t seem so playful right then. In fact, the Indian girl looked ready to smack him.
    â€œMy mother told you not to enter the park until she calls you.” Soka’s voice was tight with fury. “And yet here you are. That is bad enough. But this . . . !” She grabbed the necklace from his hand. “This seems like a wish for death. Wearing unknown wampum? You could have died, or your mind could have been taken over by some evil spirit residing in the necklace, or a million other things I do not wish to think about! Did someone hit you on the head recently? Have you eaten any strange berries? There must be some explanation, because otherwise I have to believe you are really that dumb. And then we’re all in trouble, because that means my people’s fate rests in the hands of a nitwit!”
    Soka finished her tirade, sitting back to catch her breath as she glared at him. He couldn’t help noticing how pretty she looked as her fingers tugged at her single braid in frustration. The last time they’d met, she had told him he had a nice nose, moments before her brother, Tammand, started shooting arrows at him. Now here they were, together again, with her brother nowhere to be found, and his heart leaped at the opportunity to talk to her without the fear of becoming a human pincushion. Perhaps the love Olathe felt for her husband still coarsed through him, which was why he opened his mouth and said something dumb.
    â€œYour hair looks nice.”
    Soka blinked, thrown. Rory started to scream at himself inside, aghast at his own stupidity. He really shouldn’t be allowed to talk to girls. But then, finally, Soka’s frown melted away and she began to laugh.
    â€œYou . . .” she began, shaking her head. “Pretty Nose . . . you know you could have died.”
    â€œI don’t know why I did it,” he protested. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”
    She nodded, begrudgingly.
    â€œWell, you are Sabbeleu, and that means you see the true nature of things; this wampum is meant to be worn and you must have felt that.” Soka lifted the necklace to take another look, running her fingers across the beads. “What did you see when you wore this?”
    Rory described Olathe and her sad story. Soka looked thoughtful.
    â€œWe all know how Buckongahelas died,” she said.