One Day in a Small-Town Desert, chapter 10, page 1

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Chapter 10: Classy Reunion



Vata Kılímí sighed as the injured young man walked away from her, his gun pointed at the blonde girl named Fírí. Sometimes reason and a stern voice weren’t enough these days.

She could still sense Pí‘oro nearby, so thankfully he hadn’t been shot in the gunfight. He was more agitated than ever, though.

The gunman was obviously the Zhíno who Fírí had been so afraid of. The girl’s nightmare had come true and now it was up to Vata to end it, settle her down, and heal the young man’s grievous wounds. She needed a coherent plan.

Névazhíno, please help me. Your troubled human animals need Your assistance.

She started shuffling down the hall after the two youths, her wrinkled bare feet scuffing along the moist soil. Zhíno had tried to insult her by calling her “Nuvíní,” the High Goddess of Earth. Nuvíní’s familial troubles were legendary, but Vata chose to believe that She was blinded by love, not from age-induced stupidity. Furthermore, Vata felt a deep connection to the earth goddess, thanks mainly to Her intermediary, Névazhíno.

The corner of her mouth twitched upward. With the crossed circle of Nuvíní painted repeatedly on the walls, Zhíno was anything but observant or intelligent.

As Vata entered the circle of braziers, the tingling touch of the God of Animals coursed down her spine. The horse, lying on the dirt in front of the altar, twitched its legs, as if dreaming of racing through the endless countryside. A meter to the left of the altar, the injured man stood, his handgun shakily pointed to the location behind the altar out of Vata’s view, from where crying could be heard.

He glanced up at Vata and asked, “What do you have to tie her up with?”

Still smiling, Vata shook her head. He evidently was still under the false impression that she was willing to sacrifice the girl. In order to disarm him, however, Vata would delay the disabusing of that concept.

She dropped the smile and fixed Zhíno with a glare, the energy of Névazhíno swirling through her blood. “First, dear, hand me the gun.”

“But--”

“She won’t go anywhere,” Vata interrupted. She stepped forward, her hand extended. Her head swam with the realization that Névazhíno was indeed with her; this swelling of power was not merely the lingering aftereffects from the sacrifice. “Give it to me now.”

The young man looked down at his pistol, a crease upon his brow, then to the sobbing Fírí, then back to Vata. Supported by the Love of the Universe, she imparted all of her will and determination into her gaze, all but threatening Zhíno to give her the gun. He stared straight back at Vata with his own steely gray eyes, tense and motionless.

In the back yard, the animals had become quite agitated, as if multiple people were being less than kind to them. It was a strong possibility that the police were searching the yard for this young man. He was a menace to society, that was for sure, but no prison would change that. Only Vata and the love of Névazhíno could heal his body and spirit. The only problem was that with all the police in the yard, selecting an animal for the sacrifice to the Love of the Universe would be nearly impossible.

After most of a minute of their tableau, a grin of mild insanity returned to Zhíno’s face.

He lowered his weapon.

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