Qaletaqa by DelSheree Gladden Read Free Book Online Page B

ready to defend himself.”
    Harvey rubbed his fingers in little circles
over his temples. “How am I supposed to figure out where he’s
taking her? I don’t know anything about your legends.”
    “This won’t take knowing about Tewa
mythology,” I said quickly. “The answer won’t be in a legend. It
will be on a map. You need to find places where the forest meets
the desert. Once you have some ideas, Uriah can help you narrow
them down.”
    “Maps, I can do maps. I’ve hiked all over
Colorado using nothing but maps, and I work as a mountain guide,
but there are thousands of deserts and thousands of forest in the
world. How am I going to narrow that down?” Harvey asked.
    “It will be in the Southwest,” Uriah said.
“He’ll stay in the Southwest, where he’s most familiar, but
probably not in New Mexico. He’ll most likely expect me to know my
own state the best.”
    I chuckled to myself at that thought. Before
my father drugged me with the Shaxoa’s potion, Uriah had been away
from our small town few enough times that he would need only one
hand to count the trips. Unless the Matwau was waiting somewhere in
the valleys and mesas just outside San Juan, Uriah would have as
much hope of being familiar with some random spot in New Mexico as
he would be with any patch of desert in the Sahara.
    “Well, that’s something to start with, I
guess.” Harvey looked down at his worn out tennis shoes as he
considered Uriah’s plan. “How will I get in contact with you if I
find something?”
    “Do you have something I can write on?” Uriah
asked.
    Harvey ducked into the kitchen and returned
with a little notepad and plain yellow pencil. He handed them to
Uriah expectantly.
    Uriah began scribbling down the number I had
learned by heart on my drive from San Juan. Handing the pencil and
notepad back to Harvey, he said, “This is my cell phone number.
Call it anytime you need an update on what we’re doing or if you
have something to tell us.”
    “Are you sure about me staying behind? I
can’t stand the thought of Melody being alone and scared,” Harvey
said.
    “I’m sure, Harvey. You staying here is the
best way to help her. I promise,” Uriah said.
    “Does your phone have GPS on it?” Harvey
asked.
    Uriah shook his head. “No, but it has the
internet, if that helps.”
    “Here, take this with you,” Harvey said after
grabbing a small device and charger off a shelf. “It’s Melody’s
cell phone. It has full GPS capabilities on it. We use it when we
go hiking sometimes. If I find anything on the maps, I can give you
the coordinates and you can use the phone to find the right spot.
Keep the phone on while you have it so you can let me know where
you are if you need to.”
    “Thank you, Harvey,” Uriah said. “We’ll find
her. I promise.” Uriah’s hand came up and squeezed Harvey’s
shoulder. Harvey clenched his jaw in fearful determination.
    Taking his wallet out of the back pocket of
his jeans, Harvey stuck the paper with Uriah’s phone number inside.
He began folding the creased brown leather back up when he suddenly
stopped. His fingers went right to the little plastic envelopes in
the center and removed a wallet sized picture from the first
plastic cover. He held the photo out to Uriah and I held my breath
as I waited for his reaction.
    Uriah put his hand up, turning the offered
picture away. My heart leapt at the gesture.
    “Keep it,” Uriah said. “I already know what
she looks like.”
    An unwelcome heat spread through my chest at
his words. He already knew her, knew her well enough never to
forget her brilliant green eyes or soft auburn waves. How tight of
a hold did the bond already have on him? I wondered. Did he even
realize the danger he was in? The two wrapped up their plans as I
stood next to Uriah, not hearing anything beyond my own trembling
thoughts.
     
     
     
    6: Answer

     
    I closed the driver’s side door of my old
pickup and sank into the seat. When we had pulled up