I examined my bracelet and double tapped the armor icon. Snikt. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Schlik. Dang it formed over my clothes and within seconds black armor covered me from head to toe. I took a couple of experimental steps. The armor fit perfectly and was effortless to move in. The heads-up display was awesome. The battle computer provided an easy flow of visual data and tactical information. “I love it.”
“It repels bullets, laser blasts and is space worthy too,” Jake said.
“Good. Getting shot sucks.”
“Get your butts to the shuttle,” General Jones ordered.
“Yes, sir.” Jake teleported us.
We appeared in the shuttle. I took one look at the command console and shazam! I knew how everything worked. “Can I drive?”
The General’s eyebrows shot up. “Drive?”
“Fly the shuttle.” I retracted my helmet. “Jake showed me how.”
“Did he now?”
“Mind meld.” Jake quickly guided me to a seat behind the pilot’s chair. “In a couple of days, I’ll take you out for a test flight.” He fastened my battle harness. “Okay?”
I grimaced. I really wanted to try out my new skills, but now wasn’t the time. “Okay.”
Jake dropped into the pilot’s chair and fastened his harness. “You ready to go into space?”
“I am.”
Jake’s hands flew over the console. With a roar the shuttle catapulted out of the landing bay. An endless fall of stars filled the viewscreen.
Whoa! I’d always dreamed of going into outer space and visiting other worlds. I just didn’t expect it to happen like this. The shuttle swung around giving me a bird’s-eye view of Earth. It really did resemble a big, blue marble with white swirls.
“I sent the crime scene photos to your bracelet, CeeCee. Look them over and tell me what you see,” General Jones instructed.
“Yes, sir.” I tapped my screen and frowned. Our serial killer had attacked a Navajo guide and his tourists with a sword. Which he had conveniently left behind. The big question was why. The victim’s mutilated heads were lined up on a boulder and bloody body parts were strewn in every direction. “I think killing his partners pissed him off.”
“I want to know where he found Testavorrs and how they ended up on Navajo land,” General Jones said.
Jake interjected, “It’s isolated and there’s very little technology. It’s the perfect place to hide out.”
The General grunted in agreement.
I scrolled through the pictures. “His rage is growing and if we don’t find him soon, there will be more bodies.”
“We’ll stop him,” Jake promised.
Monument Valley filled the viewscreen. It was a flat, sagebrush covered desert interrupted by clusters of majestic, red sandstone buttes. The valley is sacred to the Navajo people who have lived here for over five hundred years. Their predecessors were the mysterious Anasazi who left behind petroglyphs to document their lives. Tourists still came from all over the world to see this natural wonder.
Chapter Six
East and West Mitten Buttes resemble two gigantic mittens with their thumbs facing inwards. Jake landed the shuttle at the base of the west butte and shut down the engines.
Once the landing ramp was lowered, I followed General Jones out and stared in shock at the unearthly rainbow hovering over the crime scene. Oh, no! I rushed over to officers Nez and Yazzie. One look at the sick horror on their faces and I knew. “Elder Benally?”
Officer Nez nodded. “Yes.”
I took off running. That murdering bastard was deliberately targeting shamans.
Jake scooped me up and teleported. There was a flash of black and we were standing next to the boulder with the heads. “Is Elder Benally still on this plane of existence?”
I opened my psychic eye. “Yes, he waited for a shaman to come. Put me down.”
Jake dropped me on my feet. “Be careful.”
I walked over to where Elder Benally’s ghostly form awaited me. A headband held back his long gray hair. He was wearing a red western shirt and jeans. A turquoise necklace hung from his neck. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“I can but showing is more effective,” Elder Benally answered in a flat, dead voice. He placed his hand on my forehead and wham! I was there as a large man in Coletti battle armor suddenly appeared on the hood of the tour jeep. An ugly scar dissected the man’s face. Before we could react, the murderer swung his sword.
A cry of agony broke from me as the sword bit into our neck. For a brief second, I watched our life blood splatter across the windshield and then everything went black.
Muscular arms cuddled me, and Jake’s worried voice penetrated the blackness. “C’mon buttercup, wake up. You’re mine now. Do you hear me? Mine. My mate for all eternity. How do you feel about that?”
His mate? My eyes snapped open. For all eternity? With a growl, I punched Jake in the mouth.
Jake rubbed his jaw. “There you are.”
“You’re such a jackass.”
“I know, but I’m your jackass.”
Everything came rushing back and I gasped, “I’m not dead.” I felt my neck. “And I still have my head.”
“You do.” Jake helped me up. “You okay?”
A shudder shook me. “Elder Benally shared his death with me, and I never, ever want to do that again. Where’s that dammed sword?”
Jake grimaced. “It’s impaled in the woman’s chest.”
“Did you get a good look at the suspect?” General Jones inquired.
“I did.” I flashed Jake and the General the image of the murderer.
“It’s Cantor,” General Jones snarled.
“Who’s Cantor?”
“A renegade Coletti warrior who escaped from the Vesta penal colony. Jivo had tracked him to Earth,” Jake answered.
His arms folded across his chest the General studied the heads. “Is Elder Benally still here?”
I looked over at the shaman and scowled. “Yes.”
“Good.” The General’s gaze settled on me. “Find out if there’s anything else he can tell us.”
“Yes, sir.” I stomped over to Benally. “What do your shaman senses tell you about the man who killed you?”
“He is coyote. This trickster is filled with deceit and rage. We are a threat to him, and he will keep on killing our people until he is stopped,”
