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“Word spread far and wide, and many people arrived to see the great Okeus take on the warrior Ukinim. They brought offerings to the god of war, piling them so high they rose into the heavens, attracting the attention of Ahone himself.
“At twilight, Okeus walked into camp. Ukinim’s wife, Ilena, heard the cheers of thenuppinand became furious that her people wanted the god to beat her husband. The contest lasted for hours. The people grew weary, but Ukinim’s strength never wavered and neither did Okeus’s. The sun had begun to rise, and yet the warrior and the god still fought.
“Ilena believed her husband deserved to win. What othernuppinhad dared to challenge Okeus? What othernuppincould stand against him for so long? So she approached the edge of the circle where the warrior and the god were fighting and tossed a handful of dirt into the face of the god, temporarily blinding him. Ukinim took his chance and pinned the god, winning the challenge. Ukinim strutted around the circle, boasting that he was better than the gods.
“Okeus was furious that Ukinim had dared to claim he was his better and that the man had won by cheating. The ground shook and thenuppinscreamed in terror. Ukinim swore he didn’t know his wife had cheated, but Okeus didn’t care. He banned them both from thenuppinand changed them into badgers, forced to live underground except for one day out of the year.”
I rested my head against the cushions of the couch, completely exhausted. “Does it say how we can defeat them?”
“From what I’ve read, a god can kill them.”
“Oh, good. I’ll just ask my good friend Okeus to get rid of them for me. When he springs his surprise.”
He grimaced. “Don’t be so cheeky.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes.” He hesitated. “But it’s vague.”
“What is it?”
“It says that a conjurer with strong power can defeat them and send them to Popogusso.”
I sat up. “A conjurer?”
“Conjurers were real members of the Algonquian tribes and were said to have magical powers. They had a connection to the spiritual world that thenuppinand the priests, the other spiritual leaders, lacked.”
My chest tingled with excitement. “So where do we find a conjurer?”
A hint of a smile appeared as he leaned closer, his face inches from mine. “Ellie,you’rethe conjurer,” he whispered.
“What?” I leaned back. “Does it say how I can defeat them?”
“No.”
“So we’re no closer than we were.”
“Not true. Collin told you it took both of you to banish them. This is singular. I think you can do it on your own.”
A huge weight fell off my shoulders. “David…this changes everything. How?”
“I don’t know. But if it’s out there, we’ll find it. I promise you that.”
I reached around his neck and pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you.”
David pulled back and stared into my eyes, his smile fading. “But next time, don’t run out there on your own. If something happens to you, we’ll all be lost. We’re partners now, remember?”
That was still going to take some getting used to.
Chapter19
When David and I showed up at the inn the next morning, Myra gave me a long hug and told me not to scare her like that again. While I hoped I wouldn’t, I also didn’t offer any promises.
After I helped with breakfast, I told Becky I wouldn’t be able to work with her today.
“Don’t worry about it.” A wicked smile lit up her face as she leaned to the side to watch David talk to his colleagues. “Myra already made arrangements for someone else to help me today.”
“She did?”
