Welcome to Virtue Falls
Founded 1902
Your Vacation Destination on the Washington Coast
Home of the World Famous Virtue Falls Canyon
Population 2487
Every time Sheriff Kateri Kwinault drove past that sign, she grinned. If Virtue Falls was world famous for anything, it was for an earthquake, a tsunami, and some very messy, well-publicized murders.
And if she was famous for anything, it was surviving the earthquake and tsunami and recovering enough to become interim sheriff. Even better, she was running for the office in a race so close she got lip from every old fart in town. Of course, the old guys in this town gave everybody lip, especially a female, half-Native American law officer. Apparently that was part of the Old Fart Code.
Her cell phone rang; she glanced at the car screen and pulled over to the curb. In a town of eccentrics and loners, Rainbow Breezewing was the undisputed wise woman, and she always required all of Kateri's attention. "What's up, Rainbow?"
Rainbow whispered, "I want you to come to the Oceanview Café and arrest the Rosen kids."
"What did they do now?"
"They're eating lunch."
Kateri laughed. She remembered how much Becca Rosen had cried when she found out she was having triplets. Zeke Rosen had taken to staring vacantly into space rather than prepare for the impending onslaught of three infants. Once the babies arrived, the beleaguered parents had done their best, but no one could ever truly be prepared for changing that many diapers every day. Now Becca looked like she hadn’t slept in 8 years (and she probably hadn’t). “You can’t blame the parents on this one. Having triplets isn’t on anyone’s bucket list.”
“It’s like those kids have never eaten in public before. Except they come in every. Single. Saturday." Rainbow spaced the words for maximum dramatic effect. "Watching them consume fries is better than watching a contraceptive commercial.”
"Whatever works. You didn't really call me to complain about the Rosen kids, did you?"
"No." Rainbow's voice got grim. "There's a situation at the camp on the reservation."
"The boys' and girls' camp?"
"It's the only one out there."
"What kind of a situation?"
"Come on over. You can help me clean melted Velveeta off the metal napkin holders and I'll fill you in."
"How could I possibly resist an invitation like that?" Kateri hung up, put the car in gear and headed toward the heart of town and the Oceanview Café.
As always during the summer months, the place was packed. Tourists came in for the pie. Locals came in … well, they came in for the pie, too. And the fresh made donuts. And the coffee. Dax owned the place and his cooking was the stuff of Northwest legend.
Rainbow was the stuff of Northwest legend, too. She was the waitress at the Oceanview Café. She dressed with wild originality, she changed her hair color to match her mood, and she knew everything that happened in town. She knew everybody who wandered through. She made the old farts toe the line and the children of Virtue Falls adore her. Even the Rosen kids adored her. They didn't have any manners, but they adored her.
Deputy Bergen sat at the old farts' table, listening to them complain and nodding as if he agreed with their every word. Maybe he did, but Kateri suspected he was trolling for votes; he was her opponent in the race for sheriff and while he did his job competently, he really wanted the job. He lifted a hand in greeting.
Kateri gave him a wave back, then slid onto a stool at the counter and watched Rainbow wipe greasy fingerprints off two of the metal napkin holders.
"Did you think I was kidding?" Rainbow demanded.
"Not at all."
"Be careful not to put your foot in the puddle of maple syrup."
Kateri tried to lift her boot. It held, then released with a sticky sound. "Too late," she said.
Rainbow whisked away to rinse the towel in hot water.
Deputy Bergen came over and sat next to Kateri. Before the election, they'd been friends and sometimes still were; like now, when in a low voice, he asked, "Is Rainbow dressed like a hobbit? Or Han Solo from the first Star Wars trilogy? I can't tell."
"Best not to ask," she murmured back.
Rainbow returned and bore down on the steaming towel, using elbow grease to remove dried ketchup spots on the counter.
"I thought you were headed for home," Bergen said to Kateri.
"Rainbow called. There's a crisis."
"I've been sitting right here the whole time." Bergen glared balefully at Rainbow. "I'm capable of handling the same stuff Kateri is."
Rainbow threw the towel into the sink behind the counter. "It's not your kind of crisis."
He got very still and unbending; offense radiated from him. "What does that mean?"
Rainbow leaned forward and rested her ample cleavage on the counter.
He lost all that starchy affront, cleared his throat and looked at the ceiling.
Rainbow grinned at Kateri. Making men uncomfortable always gave her an alarming amount of pleasure. “Marie came in earlier. She needed to get away from the camp.”
Bergen stopped staring at the ceiling long enough to say “Marie? Camp?” He looked at Kateri to see if she was following along.
“You know Marie Cardinal," Rainbow said. "She lives on the rez, she's married to Nathan, the camp director, and she comes into town whenever she can’t deal with his long-winded stories or the kids running and shrieking. Two weeks of camp is a long time."
"Right. I know her. And I know the camp. I went there as a kid." At the memory, Bergen hitched himself forward and grinned. "I had a great time!”
“It helps that you can pee standing up,” Rainbow said sarcastically.
Bergen blushed. The man was so modest. "Sandra and I were talking about sending the girls out next summer. Is the camp having problems?"
“You could say that. Marie said that the kids are scared. They keep telling Nathan that there’s a guy out in the woods watching them.”
"A man? Stalking the kids?" Bergen put his hand to his service pistol and stood. "I'll go."
Kateri put her hand on his arm. "Wait. Rainbow, is this a real man, or…?"
Rainbow straightened up and got serious. "He comes at night. He can't get past the protective circle. They catch glimpses of him pacing, back and forth, back and forth."
"So he's a spirit," Kateri said.
Bergen sat back down. "Right."
“That’s creepy." And not at all what Kateri was expecting. “Does Marie think it’s true?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Marie doesn't believe in the magic of the ancient gods, but she was tense. Uneasy. She said that teens don’t usually want to act like wussies in front of each other, and she can’t think of a good reason why they would — or could — invent this tale."
"Maybe the older kids are trying to scare the younger ones." Bergen had no imagination.
"They're all scared," Rainbow said. "The older girls are petrified and the older guys are jumpy."
“Do you want me to head out there and investigate?” Bergen made the offer, but it was at most half-hearted.
“This really isn’t your area of expertise," Kateri told him.
Rainbow nodded sagely. “That’s true. Kateri knows a lot more about woo-woo than all the rest of us put together.” She straightened her hobbit vest. “I think Kateri’s connection to the tribe might get them to open up more anyway.”
Bergen let out his held breath. What a relief to not get wrapped up in the inexplicable. He liked rational, reasonable issues, like traffic tickets and drug cases.
“I’ll stay on duty tonight, then," Bergen said.
Kateri had no doubt he would make himself very visible to the Virtue Falls citizens, and if he got the chance mention that she was out on the reservation. That made him look so much more responsible. But she needed him tonight, so she said, “Good plan. I’ll head out to the reservation. Thanks for the tip, Rainbow.”
“You’ll let me know how it goes?” It wasn’t really a question. Rainbow loved a good story.
"Sure."
Dax slapped his hand on the bell. "Order up!"
"Gotta go do my job." Rainbow chucked Bergen under the chin and headed back for pick up. "Good night, sweetheart."
Bergen blushed again.
Kateri stood. She checked her service pistol, adjusted her bullet-proof vest, made sure she was ready for a fire fight in case the "spirit" turned out to be all too human. In a conversational tone, she said, "You know, Bergen, Rainbow only shows off because it makes you uncomfortable. If you turned the tables, she'd run scared."
"Really?" Bergen's eyes narrowed on the waitress as she served hamburgers to a group of hungry hikers.
"Really."
Rainbow headed back toward the kitchen, eying Bergen and smiling flirtatiously.
Bergen intercepted her, clasped her in his arms, bent her backwards and pressed kisses all over her horrified face.
The noise in the Oceanview Café dropped to zero.
He planted a sloppy kiss right on her astonished mouth, stood her up, leaned close and in a deep, sexy voice said, "Later, darling." Hitching up his belt, he strode out of the café.
Whistles and shouts followed him out the door.
Rainbow stood, eyes wide, staring after him. "Wow," she whispered.
"Wait until Sandra hears about this," Kateri told her.
Rainbow looked at Kateri in alarm. "She'll kill me."
"Pretty much." Kateri chortled all the way to her cruiser. She might just have helped Bergen win the election, but damn — that was funny.
Kateri gathered her supplies and waited until early evening to drive out to the camp. As she passed through the gates, she saw that the basketball court was showing its age. Weeds were creeping through the concrete, especially through the enormous crack left by the earthquake. The basketball net was hanging by only a few of the hooks on the rim, and the pole was leaning slightly.
She doubted the basketball court would be fixed any time soon. The reservation wasn’t rolling in the wealth. To a certain extent, the rez had been lucky. The land faced an inlet away from Virtue Falls Harbor, while the earthquake had caused damage — most of their homes had suffered — the tsunami didn’t directly hit tribal lands.
Well, of course. Native Americans legend had warned of disaster if land-hungry Americans built Virtue Falls where they did, but did those folks listen? Nooo. It was all, "Those silly, superstitious Indians…" right up until that tsunami came ripping through the harbor. No one had believed in the Frog God, either, until Kateri…
No one believed in the Frog God even now, except Kateri. He'd made the earth move and he'd made the ocean rise. He had taken her. She had seen him, and he was a fearsome god, and she feared him and the powers he had given her. But those powers were the real reason she'd chosen to come rather than send Bergen. Once you've been killed and resurrected by an ancient deity, not much surprised you.
To her right, Kateri could see the red cedar longhouse, its planks tilted to ventilate the interior after a warm afternoon. Nathan was proud of the longhouse; building it had been his idea and the tribe used it as a meeting hall, community center and as the campers’ lodging.
All seemed quiet. Normal. Until she crossed the line drawn deeply in the dirt road, the line meant to protect the camp. Here she could smell a change in the air, hear the distant voices of the ancestors, feel her connection to the People. The age of the earth inside the circle was different. Its memories held the knowledge of the old ones, the long ago bear hunts, the campfire rituals.
The elders had drawn it around the longhouse, the campfires and the canoes made of hollowed out cedars. But who, or what, would want to bother a bunch of kids and a few Native American camp counselors?
She pulled up to the longhouse and parked, and waved at Nathan.
Nathan was one of the reservation leaders and an enthusiastic camp counselor. Marie always said the summer was his favorite time of year because the kids came from the cities without their phones and their TVs. They went on hikes, they learned how to tie knots and paddle a canoe, to tell poison oak from the ferns and, for the first time in their lives, they got to see the stars. Best of all, they had no choice but to listen to his stories. For him, a high school history project had blossomed into a love of his tribe and their memories. Now he was the resident historian and expert on traditions for the tribe, and every night, he regaled the campers with tales of the ancient ones, the Native Americans that settled the land centuries ago. By the end of the first week, most were high-fiving Nathan on their way to their sleeping bags in the longhouse.
When Nathan wasn’t around Marie would also tell the tribal women that it broke her heart a little to see him with the kids. They weren’t able to have children of their own, and she knew he wanted to pass on the verbal history of the tribe.
As Kateri approached the longhouse, the smell of cedar made her feel nostalgic, and she smiled at Nathan as he came out to meet her.
“Kateri! Welcome! What brings you to our humble dwelling?” Nathan was a kind man, quick to smile and joke around. Even if the camp kids rarely admitted it, they loved his jovial nature. And Marie loved his sun-darkened skin and the way his bark brown eyes danced whenever he told stories by the campfire.
Right now, Kateri thought the cheeriness seemed forced. Nathan was usually the friendliest of men, but tonight the smile didn't reach his eyes. “Just thought I’d come out and see if you’ve bored any of the kids to death.”
“Marie keeps me in check more after one of the kids dramatically snored at me two summers ago." Nathan chuckled. "That punk.”
Kateri smiled, then sobered and got to the point. “Well then, I’m here to check up on a report of a creepy guy in the woods, watching the kids.”
Nathan hid his surprise well. “That’s not really police business, is it?"
Kateri raised her brows at his thinly veiled hostility. He was right. She wasn’t tribal police — she didn’t have a great argument for jurisdiction in the camp. “It’s not strictly law enforcement business, but no one likes to hear about a bunch of scared teenagers. Besides, Nathan, a creepy guy watching the kids…that's something to worry about.”
Nathan shrugged.
“Have you seen a guy hanging out in the woods? Or is this kids spinning tales because your stories of the ancient whale hunt traditions are so boring?”
“It’s true that their attention spans aren’t what they once were. Kids now are expecting every story to be four minutes or less, like a music video.” He sighed. “But, no. They’re not making it up.”
“That’s why you drew the circle.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes, I asked the elders to help. We let the kids watch us and they even listened to the extra protections we put on the camp. Although I suppose they couldn’t understand anything we were saying, they did seem to relax a bit after we finished the ritual."
Kateri heard the hesitation in his tone. "But?"
"But that night, one of the girls, Lily, said he was out there again, watching.” He lifted his hands and let them fall. “I’ve tried to figure out how to calm her, calm them, but if this doesn’t let up, we’re going to have to contact their parents. I can’t have a huge group of kids dealing with nightmares and jumping at every sound from the woods. This camp is supposed to be about teaching them wilderness skills, but they’re too scared to do the nighttime woods walk or the canoeing.”
“Because the canoes would have to go outside of the protective circle?” Kateri guessed.
“Exactly. I can’t protect them from the water. No one can.”
“The water has always had a power beyond our people's control."
Marie came out of the longhouse and joined them. "Kateri, you're looking good. How are your injuries?"
The scars from the Frog God’s claiming still crossed Kateri's body, marking her as his own, and she flexed her hands, once so broken, and rotated her tense shoulders. "When I crossed the border into the rez, my scars started burning." As soon as she articulated her discomfort, it grew worse.
He was near. He was watching.
"That's … not normal?" Nathan asked.
“No. And I don't like it." Understatement. "Do you mind if I talk to the kids?”
“Don’t you think that’ll just scare them more, knowing the sheriff takes their reports so seriously she comes out with her badge and her gun?" Nathan was such a guy. He didn't want to admit he couldn't handle the situation. But what she suspected was happening … he couldn't. Maybe no one could.
But she had to try. “You might not like that I come out with my badge and my gun" — relations between law enforcement and Native Americans were traditionally fraught with tension — "but I think knowing that someone with the power to protect them has come out to hear their reports will make them feel better."
“Nathan, I agree with Kateri. They aren’t responding to our attempts to protect them, so perhaps their urban version of the law,” Marie nodded towards Kateri’s police uniform, “will calm them down.”
“Okay,” Nathan nodded, running his hand through his hair with an exasperated sigh. “I’m willing to try anything at this point.”
Kateri snorted. “Gee, thanks.”
Nathan smiled for real this time. To Marie, he said, "Are the kids done with dinner?"
"Yes," she said, "and they're cleaning up under Naira's supervision."
Naira was Marie's sister, and she helped out every year.
Nathan started toward the fire pit. "Then let's get the campfire roaring before it gets dark."
Kids never change, really. These teenagers were the same as the kids in Kateri's middle and high school, the same as she had been, the same as her friends and enemies. They were alternately loud, dysfunctional, sweaty, cruel, ashamed, wise, lonely, awkward, too adult and blatantly childish.
Speaking quietly, Nathan and Naira pointed out each kid in turn, so Kateri could observe them before they noticed her.
Sitting closest to the fire were Jessica, Avni and Emily, the popular girls. They all wore the same mauve nail polish and stylish cowl-neck sweaters and thin black leggings, a silly choice for camping in the woods. Kateri could hear smatterings of their conversation, and it was as vapid as she remembered overhearing at the high school lunch table.
“Mrs. Harton actually snapped at me because I didn’t turn in my English paper on time,” Avni whined. “I mean, it’s not like the due date was that firm.”
Jessica tossed her blonde bob around her shoulders. “She’s so annoying. She acts like English class is important or something.”
Emily nodded. Kateri guessed she was the newest to the popular group since her thick brown hair didn’t have expensive highlights in it … yet.
Naira noticed Kateri’s expression and hastened to say, “They’re a good group of girls once you get past … all that.”
Staring pointedly at the popular girls were Joe and Bryan, the oldest boys of the group and clearly jocks. They tossed a football back and forth with their T-shirt sleeves rolled up to show off their muscular arms. Their masculine posturing was epic, but something about Joe felt off, like he was trying too hard to prove himself. He was big for his age, bulky. She wouldn’t be surprised if he was already taking steroids. And she sensed a current of anger running beneath his easy smile. She’d have to watch out for him. Young men who hated the world made up a good portion of the criminals she dealt with on a daily basis.
Marie went to sit with the younger, co-ed group. They were playing a rapid-fire card game, flinging cards onto the middle pile, and they looked up and smiled at her before turning back to their game. If Kateri’s own childhood was any indication, it was Speed. She remembered being amazing at that game…
…If only she still had that kind of hand-eye coordination.
According to Naira, the card players ranged in age from ten to twelve and included Mariah, Samson, Kelly and Aidan. Kelly was beautiful with long chestnut hair flowing down her back, deep green eyes and a ready smile. Mariah was plain and serious. Her long black braid was smooth, and her eyes were a deep chocolate color, framed by naturally dark lashes. She was biting her lip in concentration as she slapped the cards down in front of her.
Holy shit! Mariah was Kateri at the same age. Native American heritage, fierce competitive spirit…
Samson was the dorkiest of the group, trying to hide his acne with one hand. Aidan was small and lithe, elf-like. His light hair fell haphazardly over his brow, and he continuously tossed his head to get the long bangs out of his eyes.
Nathan pointed to the last of the group, a girl standing nervously on the edge of the fire circle, watching the woods. “That’s Lily,” he said. “She’s been uneasy since she arrived, and she wakes from nightmares every night. We can’t get her to tell us what she dreams about, though. She’s quiet.”
Kateri studied Lily. She looked to be about eleven, was very tall, and Kateri guessed she must have recently gone through a growth spurt because Lily slumped as though she were trying to appear smaller. Her wide tawny eyes were hidden behind thick glasses, and she was studiously keeping her mouth completely shut over a set of new braces that made her speak with a slight lisp.
Nathan nodded toward the group. “They’re the same as every group of city kids we get. They’re polite enough, but they don’t really respect the camp or the leaders. Joe has tried to pick fights with Samson and Aidan already. Jessica has pulled Mariah’s braid and made horse noises. The usual bullshit.”
"You love them."
"Of course. No matter how jaded and cynical they are, I firmly believe every child should smell wood smoke from a campfire at least once in their lives." Nathan helped them to learn about the old ways and gave them knowledge of basic wilderness survival, even if it was just for two weeks.
"Where is this bunch from?"
"Southern California."
"Big change from home. They don't seem too nervous,” Kateri said. “They don’t seem particularly tense to me.”
“Wait,” Nathan replied ominously.
To the west, the sun was sinking lower, the shadows growing longer. The trees at the edge of the camp darkened to a deeper green until they seemed almost black. The temperature began to drop and the wind picked up, blowing through the tall grasses in the field behind the fire circle. The clouds went from rose and marigold highlights to cerulean to deep indigo within moments, and the wisps raced across the horizon as the darkness gathered. The woods came alive with nighttime creatures as the moon rose from behind the clouds into the clear night sky.
The change in the group amazed Kateri. The popular girls stopped nattering, and Jessica chewed her mauve nail polish off. Bryan and Joe abruptly stopped tossing the football. The card game came to a halt, Mariah and Aidan gathering the cards up while checking behind them every few seconds. All of the kids, including Joe, gathered closer to the light from the campfire.
Lily seemed especially panicked. Her eyes scanned the tree line and then, as darkness gathered, the line drawn in the dirt..
Swiftly Kateri assessed the situation. They were clearly frightened of the night, although that had to be fairly common among younger teens. But she had never seen a group this on edge. Usually some bantering and jokes accompanied Nathan's evening story.
Kateri turned away from the fire, too, and looked beyond into the gathering shadows. She smelled the rich scents of fresh growing evergreen, or old rotting leaves, of forest and sea and air. She felt the pain of her old injuries, the warning given her by their ache and their burn. She gathered her courage and her inspiration, and in a low voice said to Nathan, "I'll tell them the legend of the Frog God.”
"You're going to scare the hell out of them."
"I'm going to warn them." Kateri took a breath. "Play for me."
Nathan nodded, grabbed his wooden and deerskin drum and went to sit near the fire with Marie, Samson and Aidan. Naira had set up a cloth-wrapped folding chair near the log pile, and she took her place there to monitor the fire pit.
Kateri looked around the log pile near Naira and found a long thin stick. Picking it up, she began to walk in a circle around the kids and the fire, dragging the stick through the dirt and leaving a deep impression. The kids focused on her, their nervous murmuring finally stopping.
Joe said sarcastically, “Oh good, the cops are here! We’re saved!”
“I imagine she’s here to take you in, Joe,” Avni said sarcastically.
Jessica joined in. “I bet Nathan brought in the reinforcements. Did you run out of stories, Nathan?”
Nathan wasn't ruffled. “My dear, I never run out of stories. But Kateri here is the sheriff for Virtue Falls and surrounding area. As a fellow member of the tribe, she knows all about our gods, including one of the most powerful beings on earth – the Frog God.”
Bryan guffawed. “The Frog God? Seriously?”
Nathan continued as though Bryan had not spoken. “Actually Kateri is a true expert on the Frog God. After the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Virtue Falls, Kateri was washed out to sea. So, unlike the rest of us, she has met the Frog God in the depths of the ocean, been imbued with his powers and lived to tell the tale.”
“What kind of powers?” Samson said with trepidation.
“The power to make you listen for a while. A power I don’t appear to have tonight,” Nathan retorted. “Anyway, she’s heard about our protective spells and the reason for them, and she wants to help us out. Please give her your attention before we head off to bed.” Nathan picked up his drum and began play the drum in a slow, intense beat.
The kids settled onto the wooden benches surrounding the fire. As the beat and the increasing darkness surrounded them, the kids’ sarcastic and confused grumbling died away. Kateri moved to stand by the fire and in her mellifluous voice began the legend of the Frog God:
Long ago when the world was new, the most beautiful maiden in the world ran free in the woods, not wanting to tend a fire and a family, but wanting only the independence to come and go between her tribe and the wild places. She avoided her chores of gathering berries and shellfish so she could swim in the inlet and run barefoot in the woods. …
In the woods, the owls were grew quiet. The bats hid in their caves. No sounds of deer or wolves disturbed this clear, moonlit night. …
One day, as the maiden roamed the wilderness alone, she met the most handsome man in the world. His hair was dark, his body was strong, his eyes were wide and intense. She was his equal in looks, and soon she found that he was graceful like a deer. He swam the inlet faster than she could, and he ran through the forest barefoot without a scratch on his dark limbs.
At first she was bewitched by his charisma and his romantic words. Within hours, he convinced her that she was deeply in love with him. …
Lily watched Kateri, her eyes large and afraid, straining to hear each word. She almost seemed to know the tale, to know what came next. …
But gradually the maiden realized the handsome one watched her constantly. He watched her while she slept, while she ate, while she wandered through the cedars and swam in the cold waters.
She knew what he wanted.
He wanted to catch her, hold her, fence her, never release her.
But the maiden did not want to be caught. …
The darkness seemed to bear down on the group, the fire at the center of the ring of benches the sole focal point. Nathan’s drumbeat was soft, constant, hypnotic. The teenagers were still, hanging on Kateri’s every word. …
The maiden turned to an old friend for help, a man who had long wanted to love her. Her friend told her this beautiful man was a sorcerer who would trap her and eventually consume her.
At first, she did not believe him. Perhaps he said this only to possess her for himself.
But as the days went by and the mysterious man continued to haunt her, she could see the truth in her friend’s words.
Then she feared the handsome one.
She asked her friend how to free herself from this powerful sorcerer. He left the tribe and searched the world over for the answer, and when he found it, he wrote the words on a piece of birch bark. …
The beat of Nathan's drum rose to the heavens and shook the stars. …
But before he could deliver his message, the sorcerer found him. They fought, and her friend, the only one who knew how to vanquish the sorcerer, was killed. His body was found in the waves that washed on the shore.
There was no sign of the birch bark message.
Knowing she would not survive once the sorcerer possessed her, the maiden ran away, far to the south. …
The popular girls clung to each other and whimpered. …
The sorcerer pursued the maiden.
She feared he would capture her and keep her forever. Fear drove her, and she ran faster and faster until she rose in the air and joined the sun.
Every day she rode the sun, her protector, as he passed through the sky, out of reach of the sorcerer.
In despair, for he loved her as well as he could love, the sorcerer walked to the seashore and into the ocean. He shrugged off his human form, became the ugly thing that he truly was, and sank into the depths. He is the Frog God, the most powerful being at the bottom of the ocean.
At the mention of the Frog God, the wind picked up, ruffling the cedars and stirring the meadow grasses. …
For most days and months and years, the Frog God sits in the ocean and watches angrily as the maiden and the sun ride through the sky above him. He dwells in darkness, for without the maiden he cannot become what he had hoped to be. Possessing her, he believed he could become the most powerful god of the land, beloved by all the people who dwell in the longhouses and along the shores of the Pacific. …
As the wind whipped around them, Aidan and Avni shivered, and the kids moved even closer to the fire and to Kateri. …
Years pass. In the dark depths, the Frog God’s desire for the maiden grows. And grows. When his need becomes too great, he heaves his huge body off the ocean floor and leaps, trying to catch the sun. His ascent causes the ocean floor to shake. And when he lands after each unsuccessful attempt, the seas rise and eat the land. …
Kateri could feel his presence, his eyes on her, his ancient anger ever-present. She would not allow him to overpower her, no matter how much her scars burned. Defiantly, she allowed the drumbeat to envelop her again. …
Sometimes, when the Frog God despairs of ever reaching the maiden, he steals onto the land in the night, changes back into his human form, and walks the earth, always searching. Seeking the most beautiful woman in the world. …
One by one, Kateri gazed at the girls, and her eyes were strange, green, otherworldly…
Whenever he is able to find her, he watches her and he entrances her. If she falls in love with his fierce beauty and his practiced charm and walks with him in the forest, the next morning her body is found rolling in the waves.
But sometimes the most beautiful woman in the world is not unguarded. Sometimes she recognizes the Frog God in the deep green eyes of the handsome one. Sometimes she knows the protective incantation of the people to keep him from possessing her. And sometimes there is a man who would save her from the sorcerer and the certain death. When this man appears, the sorcerer fights him, using his age-old knowledge of weapons and tactics. Only the most trained and determined warrior can survive and save the woman from the Frog God’s charms.
But without the protection of the incantation or a great warrior, the beautiful maiden is doomed to become the Frog God’s own, destined to die and join him in the sea forever.
Kateri finished her tale.
Nathan's drumming slowly died away.
Into the tense silence, Lily asked, “What’s the incantation? The one that will protect her from the sorcerer?"
Kateri walked to the log pile and grabbed a log, seemingly at random. She placed it on the fire and watched the flames envelop the wood. She nodded to Nathan.
He took up the drumbeat again, faster, deeper, louder.
Kateri stood near the heat of the fire and recited the incantation in the language of her people, using her knowledge of the old ones.
The teenagers sat entranced, listening closely even though they could not understand a word she said.
When she had finished the protective spell, she glanced at the log and when it began to turn a greenish color, she raised her arms and shouted the final word, the word that would bind the spell to this place.
The fire exploded in high red and blue flames, green sparks shooting far above the fire pit.
Screams erupted from the teenagers, from Marie, from Naira. Even Nathan stopped drumming and gazed at Kateri with admiration.
“Whoa!” Mariah said, holding her hand to her chest. The end of her braid was wet where she had anxiously chewed on it during the story.
“How did you make it do that?” Aidan asked in amazement, flicking his bangs off his forehead for the fiftieth time.
Kateri looked at the group mysteriously. “Old Native American magic.”
They continued to stare at her open-mouthed.
She laughed. “I put chemicals onto the log before I put it in the fire,” she confessed.
“That’s lit,” Bryan said quietly.
"Yes, it lit and…" Okay. That wasn't what he meant. Kateri was beyond keeping up with current slang. It changed much too frequently, and she was from the days when you just said “cool” and moved on with life. Instead, as Naira led the kids in a round of applause, she gave a small bow to the crowd.
Nathan continued clapping and moved to stand next to Kateri. “Thank you so much for that fascinating story, Sheriff! Anyone have questions?”
Aidan raised his hand and asked in a very serious tone, “How big is this Frog God? Because I visited New Orleans a few years ago and ate frog legs, and I bet the Frog God could feed us all for a good long while.”
Mariah and Emily started giggling first.
Naira guffawed from her chair by the fire.
Soon the whole group was doubled over with mirth.
As the laughter died down, Jessica jumped up. “Well, now that it's safe to leave the circle — it is safe, right?"
The adults nodded.
Jessica continued, "— I seriously have to pee.”
“After that? I'm surprised you didn't wet yourself!” Samson said.
Everyone laughed.
He grinned and for a moment forgot for a moment to hide his acne.
Jessica stuck out her tongue at him and gathered Emily and Avni to head to the wooden bathrooms on the other side of the longhouse.
"Take the younger kids," Marie called.
"Yeah, yeah," Jessica said, ungracious as only a popular teenager could be. But she turned on her flashlights and led the younger kids towards the bathrooms. Bryan followed them with another high-beam flashlight. For all his earlier show of sarcasm and football-throwing prowess, he seemed to take pride in keeping the camp kids from being too scared. As they left, Samson and Aidan excitedly recounted the fiery explosion.
Behind Bryan, Marie and Naira followed arm-in-arm. They enjoyed this part of the evening at camp, when everyone was sufficiently exhausted from the day’s activities that they brushed their teeth quickly so they could fall into their sleeping bags.
Nathan clapped Kateri on the shoulder. “Here’s hoping that did them some good! I know I enjoyed hearing someone else tell a story for a change.” He winked at her.
“Liar! Don’t worry, I won’t enter your territory too often.”
Nathan winked, then turned to grab his drum. He strode towards the longhouse to ensure everyone got into bed safely.
Lily stayed behind, warming her hands by the flames, her eyes darting around nervously.
Kateri waited until the sounds of the other kids faded before approaching her. Kateri looked into the fire. “Are you all right?” She knew that if Lily were anything like she had been at that age, not looking directly at her would allow Lily to speak more openly.
Come to think of it, Kateri was still that way when it came to telling secrets or discussing fears.
Lily started softly. “During your story about the Frog God, I could see two dark green eyes shining out of the darkness." Her voice gained volume until Kateri no longer had to strain to hear her. "Looking right at me.”
Without a hint of surprise, Kateri asked, “Where?”
Lily mutely pointed to the edge of the forest behind the fire circle’s benches. The firelight didn’t reach that section of the trees, and it was so dark under the cedars, Kateri couldn’t make out any individual trunks.
She did not see any glowing eyes.
But then … she didn't quite look.
Kateri turned back to Lily. “I believe you."
Lily furrowed her brow. “It has to be my imagination. Even if he was there, the Frog God only wants the most beautiful woman in the world. He was probably staring at Avni or Jessica.”
"But you believe he was there."
Lily nodded.
“It’s not for us to know what the gods think or want. I simply tell their stories. The tales of the ancient ones have been handed down for generations. That doesn’t make them true.”
Lily took a shuddering breath. Her bravado wasn’t convincing, but she managed a small smile, trying to mock the moment a bit.
“Are you friends with Jessica or Avni?” Kateri asked.
Lily laughed shortly. “Um, no. I was friends with Avni in elementary school, but then I got glasses and my parents got divorced, and well, I guess I was too much trouble for her.”
Kateri nodded. “Getting older is hard on everyone.”
“I know,” Lily said. “But if she was going through something difficult, I would help her.”
“Not everyone is as brave as you. Some people keep their feelings hidden behind mauve nail polish and highlights.”
Lily laughed for real this time. “I wouldn’t mind a little nail polish from time to time. But I play piano. It chips off the moment I put it on.”
Kateri warmed to the subject. “Are you any good?”
“I know I’m supposed to be modest and say no. But yes. I’m really good. When I’m practicing alone anyway. Recitals are awful.” Lily shuddered.
Kateri felt scars burning, a sure sign that Lily was even now being modest. Lily was a piano prodigy, Kateri was sure of it. “I remember. But playing piano in public is like everything else. Practicing might not make it an easy task, but it will help you feel prepared to fight the jitters and show them what you’ve got. Speaking of practicing” — she pivoted subjects smoothly, — “let me tell you the incantation to protect against the Frog God.”
“What if he isn’t real?”
“Then you’ve learned something useless. It wouldn’t be the first time.” Kateri grinned at Lily.
"Like my California state history course? What am I going to do with the information that 'The Los Angeles Angels' when translated to Spanish literally means 'The The Angels Angels?'"
Kateri ran it through in her mind. "Wow. You're right. Interesting factoid."
Lily stared in disgust; teenagers were gifted at showing disgust.
"Sorry! Are you ready?"
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
Kateri repeated the incantation, one phrase at a time, and Lily repeated it after her. When they finished together, the fire flared again, more quietly this time.
“How did you add chemicals to the logs?” Lily asked. “I didn’t even see you do it.”
Kateri didn’t answer because she hadn’t added anything to the logs. Not this time. Instead she said, “Don’t worry. You know the incantation now, and like you said, the Frog God probably isn’t real. I guess if I want you to take away something from this whole night, it would be to never allow a man, especially a stranger, to convince you that you’re in love before you’re sure of it yourself.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Kateri saw Naira coming back from the longhouse. “Someone is looking for you,” Kateri said.
Lily looked down at the dirt and sighed. “I’ll remember what you said. Thanks for talking to me.”
“Thanks for keeping me company,” Kateri replied.
“Lily! There you are. Better hit the head before lights go out!” Naira called.
Lily waved goodbye to Kateri and headed outside the fire circle. She didn't hesitate to step over the line in the dirt.
Kateri waited until Lily and Naira were out of hearing distance before she said, “Joe, no one likes an eavesdropper.”
Joe came out of the shadows beyond the firelight. “I wanted to see what she would say. Every night, Lily has been freaking everyone out with her nightmares.”
Kateri mocked him. “I doubt a guy like you puts much stock in what she says anyway.”
Joe scowled even more. “I don’t.” He stalked toward the fire and stared into the flames. “Lily lives on my street. Always has. She’s always been a loner. She reads all the time,” He sneered as though this were the most detrimental thing you could say about a young woman. “Everybody picks on her, and she just takes it.”
He hadn’t said he didn’t like Lily. He seemed almost annoyed with her for being an easy target. But he was hard to read with the flames flickering in front of his face, turning his dark cheeks a flushed red and flaring in the darkness of his deep brown eyes.
“You don’t believe Lily then? About the man in the woods watching her?” Kateri moved to the other side of the fire pit so she could see him straight on.
Joe shoved his hands into his pockets and glared at her. “I believe her,” he said angrily. “I believe her because I’ve seen the creepy stalker at the edge of the woods. But c’mon, I don’t believe that he’s this Frog God of yours.”
“You think it’s just a story? Some silly Native American legend?” Kateri asked softly.
Joe looked at her as if she were pulling his leg. “Yes! Besides, you told Lily it wasn’t real."
"I said probably wasn't real."
"That's what I said. Hopefully it worked to calm Lily down, so she’ll stop ruining the camp for everyone else. I heard Nathan earlier. He’s going to send us all home early because Lily is such a wimp.”
“The legends are often based in fact, but perhaps I told you the legend of the Frog God because there are lessons to be learned from it.”
Joe just raised his eyebrows at her, daring her to find a lesson in the story of a giant frog jumping up to catch the sun. “Yeah, I heard what you said to Lily about falling in love. Not much of a lesson."
Kateri sighed. He was so angry. How did he get to be this way? What had life served up to him? Either way, his attitude towards Lily wasn’t something Kateri could ignore, and this was her only chance to steer him to a different future. She knew she couldn't change his whole mindset. Too many people had tried to do that with her when she was a teenager, and even when she recognized that they were right, she still fought, trying to keep the upper hand in a world that tried to crush the life out of her. “That’s not your lesson. That’s hers. Look, the Frog God knows something you don’t. In a few years, Lily is going to be the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Joe snorted.
“Do you look the same as you did when you were eleven?” Kateri said sarcastically.
Joe sobered quickly, but his stance didn’t soften. Inside his pockets, his hands clenched in clearly defined fists.
“I didn’t think so.” Kateri continued. “What’s more, Lily will do amazing things."
"How do you know that?"
"The Frog God chooses his obsessions based on more than mere looks. Which may be why he’s able to see her for what she is and what she will be, as opposed to you who can only remember her glasses and her braces and her bookworm persona. She'll earn an Olympic medal in karate, or win the Nobel peace prize, or be concert pianist. Where will you be, Joe? What will you do?” Kateri glared right back at Joe. What could she do to make this kid pay attention, change his ways, reach for his dreams? “When the Frog God comes back for her, will you be ready to defend her?”
Joe made a face. “You’re not serious.”
"I’m dead serious.”
"You can't be." He got madder. "He doesn't exist."
"Then how am I able to do this?” Crouching down, Kateri touched the dry earth by the fire pit.
Beneath her palm, the fires from below flared. The cool earth buckled and heaved. The trees slapped their branches and flapped their tops. Screams rose from the bathrooms and the longhouse. Kateri rode the ground waves, anticipating each buckle and swerve.
Joe yelled. "What the hell!" He stumbled. He sat down. Put his hands flat to the ground to hold himself in place. Yelled again. "How could you do that? No. No! Damn it, no."
She lifted her hand from the earth. She stood. The shaking stopped.
Nathan stepped out of the longhouse. "Kateri! Do you mind? We're trying to calm them down, not shake them up!"
Joe sat cross-legged, looking incredulously between her and Nathan.
"I'm done," she called, and waved Nathan back inside.
"You didn't do that," Joe insisted. "You can't do that. That's impossible. How could you do that?"
Kateri dusted off her fingers and looked down into his eyes. "Do what?"
"No. I don't believe it. No. Are you serious?"
But he did believe it. She could see that in the appalled terror and awe that lit his face. "Am I serious about you? I’m not sure. Perhaps you won’t be around to protect Lily. Who knows what will happen to you? All you are is a jock, right? What kind of trajectory is that when less than 1% of football players even get drafted?”
“What do you know about it?” Joe shouted. “I’ll make my father proud!” Much more softly he whispered, “I have to. He'll kill me if I don't.”
There it was. The reason for his hostility, the reason why he hated Lily's nightmares and wanted so desperately to stay at camp. He feared his father. He feared his abuse. He wanted to stay far away.
“Okay, Joe, I understand." Kateri held up her index finger. "Before you say I don’t, please remember that you have no idea what my own father was like."
"A mean bastard?"
"Cold. Cruel. Manipulative. I came out all right, but it took major work."
"At least you can create earthquakes."
“I went to hell to be able to do that. You don't want to go there."
"I grew up there."
She couldn't call him a liar. She didn't dare say he was exaggerating. She didn't know what his life had been. "What can you do?" she asked. "Not just football. There must be something you enjoy, something you’re really good at.”
His answer was quick. “Math, especially geometry. I want to be a civil engineer one day, build bridges and roads. Travel away from home, from … just get away from where I'm from.”
“It sounds to me like you have a great back-up plan, in case football is too much of a long shot.” Kateri smiled.
Tentatively, he returned her smile. “Not much of a back-up plan when there’s a crazy lady running around creating earthquakes. I’ll have to make my bridges extra strong.” He looked suddenly serious again. “I’m sorry I yelled a minute ago. Life gets … hard sometimes.”
Kateri cocked her head to one side, fascinated that this young man was full of so many conflicting thoughts and emotions. "Think about what I’ve said. About you and about Lily. About protecting her. That’s all I ask. Okay?”
Joe seemed surprised to not be in trouble for his outburst, so he stood and put his hands back in his pockets, and headed to the longhouse and to bed.
After Joe trudged away, Kateri pulled logs from the wood pile and built up the fire until it was tall and hot. The kindling at the bottom was long gone, turned to ash. The logs glowed orange under their bark covering.
She scanned the surrounding woods, but the glowing eyes, if they had ever been there to begin with, were gone.
Kateri took Naira’s place by the fire. The chair was none too comfortable, but it was better than the wooden benches, and she might be able to sleep a bit. She needed to keep the fire going until morning. It would give the children a sense of protection and keep her from getting freezing in a night where the low was predicted to be in the fifties.
She dozed off and on until the sun began to rise, then woke with a start. It was a beautiful sunrise, the kind missed by most as they slept. And indeed the camp was still slumbering. Who could blame them? When the sun rose at 4:30am, as it did in the Pacific Northwest in the summer, few could claim to see the golden clouds and the moment when the sunlight touched the trees and the fields, turning them a burnished emerald green.
When the sun finally filtered through the trees and shone brightly upon the longhouse, Kateri rose stiffly from the folding chair. The air smelled like cedar and seashore, like dirt and smoke. Like camp. She was alone, and all was quiet, still. Even the morning birds sounded subdued, barely chirping. The fire smoldered, without active flames, just the glow of the lower logs as they disintegrated into the fire pit.
She stretched her arms above her head in a sun salutation and reached towards her toes. The popping of her spine both alarmed and satisfied. Sitting up all night should be a job relegated to the young and uninjured. She rubbed her eyes, then walked across the sunny field behind the fire pit. She moved stealthily, watching the parameter, listening for any sound that might signify danger.
When she reached the area Lily had pointed to, the place where she had said the glowing eyes were watching her, Kateri crouched down, her gaze still scanning the area, to pick up a freshly fallen red cedar branch.
There, at the edge of the circle, she whispered under her breath the words that would once more banish the Frog God to his cold and watery kingdom.
When she had finished, the fire behind her gave one last valiant flare.
Then, and only then, did she step outside the line and use the swooping cedar branch to brush a man's clearly defined footprints from the dirt.