The Shaman Laughs Read Free

Moon could see a form suspended from a branch in the tree. It must be an animal. A fresh deer carcass waiting to be butchered.
    The mists parted for a moment… No… oh no… it was a human being… naked… hanging by the ankles. The face, twisted in pain, was unrecognizable through the swirling mists. The Ute could not tell whether this was a man or a woman… but he had a sense that he knew this person well. In the same way that he knew himself.
    As the thunder rumbled over his sleeping body and the cot-tonwoods shuddered and rattled, Charlie Moon realized that he was struggling in the depths of a strange nightmare. But there was little relief in this knowledge.
    The wretched prisoner called out to him, but Moon could not understand the words. From the darkness, a second figure appeared. But this was neither human nor animal. This apparition had matted hair, short muscular legs that terminated in shining black hoofs. And a great shaggy head. Blood dripped from the grinning lips of the beast, and fire flashed like lightning off the curved horns above its ears. The shaggy figure approached the naked upside-down human being. The right arm was raised—a slender blade of blue flame appeared in the hairy fist. As the dreamer watched in horror, the horned beast began, very deliberately, in the manner of a skilled butcher, to dismember the struggling victim.
    Charlie Moon tried to break through the invisible barrier and come to the aid of this human being, but his efforts came to nothing. The hanging figure screamed and begged and screeched and pleaded. But the beast was without mercy. Now, the human being made one final cry and the pitiful sound was like that of a helpless animal being ripped apart by the claws and teeth of a merciless predator.
    Moon roared in defiance at this abomination; he directed his protests to the heavens that seemed so far away from this dark place. There was no answer from the heavens. But the horned creature paused in its bloody work, then turned to observe the dreamer. There was a slight cocking of the beast's head. A recognition.
    With a spasmodic jerk of his spine, Charlie Moon awoke on his perspiration-soaked sheet. His body was stretched, like the poor wretch hanging from the tree. His mouth gaped… his chest heaved as he gasped for breath like an asthmatic. The big Ute was ashamed; even as a child no nightmare had brought such raw fear. He gritted his teeth and willed the terror to depart. Oh, so gradually, he relaxed.
    The rainless storm of wind and thunder rolled away to the South. But a vicious gust of wind had slammed the branch of an aspen against the window and there was now a short, curving crack in the pane. The cold moonbeam slipped in through the window once more. Refracted by the fracture in the glass, the finger of light painted a cunning geometry onto the pillow, just above his shoulder. It was a short arc… a crescent. A sign.
    Now the circle was closed.
    The Shaman's Home: CaRon del Espiritu
    Daisy Perika sat up in bed, her arthritic fingers clutching desperately at the frayed cotton blanket. Her prayer was a solemn chant. "Oh God… Great Mysterious One… protect Charlie Moon… cover him in the shadow of your wings."
    East of Ignacio, The B uffalo Pen
    The old bull paused, forgetting a mouthful of half-chewed blue grama grass. The cow, unaware of his sudden unease, continued to graze in peaceful bliss. The bison raised his immense head and sniffed as the breeze whipped at his beard. At first, he detected nothing more than the pungent aroma of pifion. He braced his legs, stood perfectly still and listened; there was only the warm whisper of the west wind and the ripple of sweet water over the shining rocks in the river. A deep bellow rumbled in his throat; he blinked and scanned the familiar horizon. He watched the sea of dry grass, thirsty waves rolling and swelling as the breeze troubled the surface of the pasture. The animal raised his head to blink at the thin blue layer