Part 18: Or Else

Main story folder & table of contents: "Escape From Manitou Island" 
Previous chapter: "Part 17: Face To Face" 

PART EIGHTEEN:
Or Else

ARCH ROCK PRESENTED a rather odd scene, once Charmian, X'aaru, Mani, and Barrington arrived; Thomas and Moon Wolf were already present, as well as Augwak and Pakwa, Niskigwun, Manabozho, and Turtle. Charmian was a little surprised to see Turtle at first, until she noticed how Manabozho scowled as the girl climbed over him, and then she had to keep herself from grinning at his expense. Already Moon Wolf and Niskigwun were speaking, gesturing toward the lakeshore and then toward the west. X'aaru's ears pricked and he wandered over to join them, sitting on the ground and listening intently as they spoke; he looked from one to the other as if watching a tennis match. Charmian climbed off of Mani and headed toward Manabozho.

"Is there any real reason why we have to be here right now?" Augwak snapped; Charmian glanced at him to see that he looked absolutely miserable, hunched in on himself with his bruises still visible; every so often he would put a hand to his stomach and make a face. As soon as he noticed Charmian's attention he grimaced. "I haven't eaten in AGES!"

"Your own fault that you don't accept human food," Charmian said, "and by human food, I don't mean food made of humans," she added, as soon as he opened his mouth.

"The Nebanaubae may be foolish, but they are not stupid," Niskigwun was saying. "And I know of their interactions with this Island. So far, they have mostly limited themselves to the streams and springs. When they travel through the lake, it is beneath the water. None have ever been beached. They are somewhat like my people--they strive to be seen as little as possible. Something must have startled them just as it said."

"They're not above trickery to get their ends met," Moon Wolf countered. "You know as well as anyone that just like the Mishupishus they are of the water."

Niskigwun let out a sigh. "But I have never once heard of a Nebanaubae working alongside a Mishupishu!"

"There is a first time for everything..."

"Do they smell like fur? Or fish?" X'aaru asked, and that earned a pair of odd looks.

"I second the GeeBee's question, as much as I hate to say it," Manabozho grumbled when Charmian reached him. He made a face as Turtle pulled on his feathers and then climbed down his back. "Why are we all here?"

Pakwa clambered over a bit of a rise and plopped onto the ground, sticking a finger in his ear. "To talk about the funny smells," he said, pulling his finger out and looking at it intently. "Right?"

"Sort of," Charmian said, eyeing him uneasily; she let out her breath when he wiped his finger against the ground. "Basically, most of you mentioned something strange on the Island, and I wanted to see how it all matched up."

"I hardly care about a bad smell!" Augwak groused. "It's that BIG fellow who stole my medicine who bothers me!"

Mani's ears pricked and he looked ready to whistle, but it was Charmian who spoke up. "I think they're both related," she said, which caught everyone's attention. "Just hear me out for a minute. We can't be here long so I wanted to try to straighten this all out and make some sense of it." She looked at Niskigwun. "I think you were the first one who noticed anything. You mentioned the Nebanaubae acting funny in the Fairy Realm, then the manitous."

The Michinimakinong nodded, looking puzzled. "They complained of seeing Underwater Lynxes, and of the water 'going bad.' I had thought they were merely being ridiculous, but..."

Augwak frowned. "Hold on! 'Bad'--? What do you mean by bad?"

"As if I know!" Niskigwun retorted. "Nebanaubae are silly creatures! I assumed they meant it just smelled funny..."

"Well, the lake smells plenty funny!" Augwak shot back, and everyone looked at him. "Right before that strange fellow showed up! I remember thinking how useless whatever the bearer of that smell would be for eating! Disgusting reek! It was almost like that of dead fish, only worse, and yet not quite so strong, in a way..."

X'aaru's ears pricked. "Dead fish--?" As soon as everyone looked at him he blushed and lowered his head a little. "Um...that just reminds me of the thing Khiieta and I smelled down in the cave...it was kind of like fish...but kind of not. It was also kind of like wet fur..."

"Yes!" Augwak jumped up and nodded vigorously, pointing at the demon. "FUR! Like a great big sopping dog that needs to be wiped off!"

Mani whistled. Nebanaubae! You did not notice? The Sleeping One smelled vaguely like this, too. Came out of the lake.

They all stared at him now. Then turned to look at Charmian. She rubbed her neck a little.

"There was a Nebanaubae beached on the shore," she said. "We brought it to Croghan Water. It said it and the others were trying to get away from the lake, because the water was going bad. Which is exactly what happened before Augwak was attacked." She lowered her hand. "I think we're in agreement then that all of these things are related."

"Why would somebody attack Augwak, then try to get into our cave...?" X'aaru asked, perplexed.

"I don't think that was the point," Charmian said. "I think Augwak just got in the way, and your cave looked like a good entry point."

"Got in the way of what?" Augwak retorted; when Charmian paused, his eyes narrowed. He clambered toward her and shook one fist. "You KNOW something, fleshling! Out with it!"

Charmian bit her lip. After a brief pause the others gathered around her and all started talking at once. Barrington was the only one who didn't join in the crowd, instead standing where he'd been left and frowning at the proceedings. Charmian held up her hands and tried to get them to quiet down, but judging by the looks on their faces, they'd evidently figured out the same thing that he had.

"Something happened?" Thomas asked.

"Why do you not tell us? Was it the Mishupishus--?" Niskigwun questioned.

"They aren't going to destroy our cave, are they--?" X'aaru cried.

Augwak leapt up and down like an angry monkey. "I just want my damned MEDICINE back!!"

"ENOUGH!!" Charmian yelled, at last silencing them. She shot them all a vicious look. "I'm GETTING to it, okay? I just thought it'd be nice not to freak everybody out, but since nobody CARES about that--!" She took a breath and let it out. "On our way here," she said. "Mani and I. We ran into something..."

She let out a squeak when Augwak pressed his nose to her vest, sniffling loudly. He hissed and hopped back, holding up a hand as if to shield himself. "You SMELL like him!" he cried. "Exactly like him!"

This earned her some very wide-eyed looks. "It's not like THAT!" she exclaimed.

"You met this creature...?" Niskigwun asked, brow furrowing.

The others opened their mouths, but Thomas stepped in front of them and shot them a look before moving toward Charmian. He looked into her face and she shrank in on herself a little, fiddling her fingers.

"Just start from the beginning," he said. "You ran into something...?"

"Sort of." Charmian made a face. "More like he ran into us." She took another breath. "Along the East Bluff. A big wind came up, and all of a sudden Mani couldn't even move. I couldn't move much either. And this big guy appeared right in front of us. He looked a lot like Mudjikawiss," she said, glancing at Manabozho, "only a lot bigger. This is the only thing I can compare him to." When she noticed that she still held their attention, she started gesturing at herself. "He was about this tall...taller even than a GeeBee...and wider across than Mudji...but it was all muscle, every bit of it...he carried a big ax at his side...and wore a bunch of feathers, maybe even more than you, Niskigwun, only they were all long and straight and three of them stood up while the rest kind of hung down...he was all painted up...wearing like a dozen or so necklaces of shells and beads and claws and stuff...and he had a tattoo of a feather on his chest, and one of a shell on his shoulder...he even wore a cowrie shell almost like a Megis, only a lot bigger."

Augwak's eyes grew. "You mean...he's back...?" He started inching back and crept behind Pakwa. "He--he's not looking for me again, is he--?"

"He's not even interested in you," Charmian said. "Just like I told you. He's more interested in finding some other person. You're pretty much a flyspeck to him."

"He said what it is he's seeking?" Moon Wolf asked.

Charmian nodded, then frowned. "Well...sort of. I just don't know exactly who it is. He said he was looking for the most powerful on the Island, but then he said he was looking for somebody named Kabeyun. I guess they'd be the same person, except there's nobody here named Kabeyun! And for some reason the idiot thought I was Kabeyun because he said I SMELLED like him, or her, or whatever!"

She stopped talking as soon as she saw the very strange looks that Moon Wolf and Niskigwun were giving her. She looked from one to the other, almost ready to ask what the problem was, when their heads slowly turned to look off to the side. Charmian glanced this way and saw Turtle still happily clambering over Manabozho...yet the look on Manabozho's face had changed completely. He too stared at her, and she would have sworn that Chakenapok himself had just popped out of the ground and hurled a fireball at him, had she not known where Chakenapok really was. Her brow furrowed.

"What is it?" she asked. She looked back at the others. "What'd I say?"

"Kabeyun," Niskigwun said, and frowned a little. "You mean you do not know...?"

Charmian's confused look grew. "Do I look like I know--? You know who Kabeyun is?"

"All who live here do," Moon Wolf said.

"Well--is he or she on the Island now? Because this big guy was looking for him or her..." Her face started to screw up when they continued staring at her. "What? Would you guys just tell me where this Kabeyun is?!"

"Sometimes here and sometimes not," Niskigwun said. "Nobody knows where he lives." When Charmian just gawked at him he frowned again. "Kabeyun is the name of the West Wind."

Charmian blinked, then lowered her hands, which had started to ball up into fists. "Huh--?" Without thinking she quickly glanced toward Manabozho again, and now the look on his face made sense.

The West Wind...that's HIS father! His and his brothers'! He came to Wenonah...four times...and she had five sons...and died when giving birth to the last...

And the West Wind never once came to see Manabozho after he'd been born...he just went away and never came back...

Her eyes slowly grew, even as Manabozho at last averted his, furrowing his brow at the ground as if he saw something there. Turtle fell off of his back with a thud but he didn't even notice.

"Manabozho," Charmian said. "That's why he thought I was Kabeyun--I was near you not long before I met him!" Her own stare drifted toward the ground, pensive. "He said the scent was close to Kabeyun's...but not quite..."

Niskigwun started shaking his head. "And so--this creature is seeking the West Wind! What for? What is the point of this--?"

"And why seek him here?" Thomas asked with a frown of his own. "Surely he knows he doesn't live here?"

"He had another reason for being on the Island," Charmian said; when they looked at her she didn't meet their eyes. "I'll let you know once we reach the Sky Tree," she murmured in a small voice. "Because I think we'll have to go there pretty quick."

Now the look on Niskigwun's face started to change. "Something has happened, hasn't it...?" he said, in barely a question, then his head sank and he gripped his spear. "I will go through and let Geezhigo-Quae know you are coming..."

He turned and started walking away into the trees. The others were silent for a moment, then Manabozho got to his feet and halfheartedly dusted himself off. Turtle started skipping after him as he headed in the opposite direction from Niskigwun.

Charmian frowned. "Manabozho--? Where are you going?"

"I'm not needed here," he said.

Thomas bit his lip as if expecting this; Charmian's brow furrowed and she took a few steps after him. "This guy said he's looking for your dad! Don't you think we should figure out what's going on--?"

Manabozho cast a glance over his shoulder. "This doesn't involve me," he said, in a voice which clearly told her it wasn't open for discussion. "So I'll be going now."

Charmian's shoulders sank. She felt Thomas touch her arm as she watched Manabozho make his way toward the woods, and she sighed.

"You can't really blame the poor fellow much, can you?" Thomas murmured to her under his breath. "If all that story about him is true."

"I know." Charmian sighed again. "I was just kind of hoping that after last time, he'd be a bit more forgiving toward his family. But I guess what Kabeyun did is a bit much to forgive." She turned toward the rock. "I guess then that leaves the Sky Tree--"

She was nearly bowled over, and let out a startled cry, pinwheeling her arms and planning to turn around and shove Thomas in return. Except that she noticed him take a step beside her, throwing his arms up before his face and grimacing; the wind that spun around them wasn't an icy cold one, so she knew it couldn't be his. She glanced ahead to see Augwak's eyes bug from his head; he let out a squawk and dove into the trees in a panic. Pakwa bared his teeth and dug his fingernails into the ground to hold his place; that was all Charmian got to see before Mani was blocking her, his bulk attempting to shield her from the wind, even though it came from every direction. She grabbed onto his side, seeing Thomas do the same; Moon Wolf joined them, shielding his eyes with only some success.

Charmian twisted her head around to look in the direction that Niskigwun had gone; he wasn't there. She looked in the other direction and saw Manabozho still at the edge of the woods, Turtle clinging to his leg; he was stepping back toward them awkwardly, his own arms over his head. When he meandered off course and took a step to the side she could see the look on his face, the way his eyes were pinched shut and his teeth showing. Then her eyes teared up and she had to blink, and the wind tore around them in a hideous gale before abruptly dying down, so much so that her ears rang. She made a face as she rubbed at them and saw Thomas and Moon Wolf do the same. X'aaru stood nearby, shaking his head and blinking as if dizzy, and Charmian caught sight of Barrington behind him, also blinking. It was the look on the soldier's face that alerted her to something being wrong, and she turned back toward the woods.

Manabozho was standing straight now, also staring into the trees. Charmian's eyes rose and then widened when she saw the figure standing on the trail he'd been about to take, and her fingers dug into Mani's fur.

Manabozho! she yelled in her head, a pointless warning.

Manabozho took another few steps back, rejoining them in the clearing; Turtle clung to his leg the entire way, as the big man followed, stepping forward. He wore the exact same blank look on his face that he had before, and Charmian wondered that he didn't fall asleep, he looked so bored. He halted at the edge of the clearing and didn't even bother glancing at any of the rest of them; his stare stayed fixed on Manabozho.

Then, surprisingly enough to Charmian, he frowned a little.

"You are the most powerful on the Island...?" he said, skeptically.

Manabozho blinked as if confused. Then his feathers flared and he clenched his fists, nudging Turtle back. "Who wants to know?" he challenged, and Charmian felt like slapping herself.

The big man frowned a bit more, looking ready to scowl. "I find it difficult to believe that you are the most powerful here." He looked Manabozho up and down. "You do not even look like a manitou...nor like what you did before...and so who truly do I face now?"

Manabozho clenched his teeth. "He's MANABOZHO!" Turtle cried suddenly, making him jump; the big man simply looked down at her with a disapproving frown. The little girl peeked out from behind Manabozho's leg and gave the big man the most ferocious look she could muster. "He IS the most powerful on the Island, and if you don't believe it, he can just PROVE it!"

Manabozho's feathers practically went out in every direction. "Turtle," he hissed under his breath, and nudged her back again. "I don't need your help, thank you very much!"

The big man looked even more disapproving. "Ma-na-bo-zho?" he echoed, then his eyes narrowed. "You are not Kabeyun."

"Really?" Manabozho glared at him again. "You want to tell me something I don't know?"

It was only Thomas's grip on her arm that kept Charmian from bolting toward him out of pure frustration. "Manabozho!!"

"Yet you smell like him," the big man went on, as if the exchange hadn't taken place. He looked Manabozho up and down again. "Somewhat like him...with the smell of a human as well." He stared at him for a moment, then lifted his arms and crossed them very deliberately. "I see. I had heard the stories that Kabeyun had feelings for some mortal woman...yet I assumed they were merely tales. It looks as if they were not. So you are only half manitou."

"Half is more than enough for me," Manabozho growled.

Turtle poked her head out. "It's what you DO with it!" she added, and he nudged her back again.

The big man's mouth twitched. "Your father was all manitou, halfling, and even he nearly fell before me. I vowed this would not happen again. No one had defeated me before, and no one will defeat me a second time. I come seeking your father...but it looks as if he is too cowardly to show his face again."

"Hey!" Charmian yelled, and she ground her teeth when he didn't even look at her. She cupped a hand to her mouth as if that would help. "I bet Kabeyun's a HELL of a lot braver than you think! If MANABOZHO'S any indication!"

"Yeah!" Turtle popped out a third time and stuck out her tongue. "Just you wait! You won't need to fight anybody else! He's way stronger than you'll EVER be!"

Augwak popped his head out of the woods and waved his arms. "Must you ANTAGONIZE him?!" he hissed between his teeth, as if not to be heard. "Don't you even remember what he DID?!"

"Manabozho!" Charmian called out, seeing one of his feathers flick. "He's here for Kabeyun, then he's here to destroy the Island!" Everybody gawked at her, and Manabozho's own head turned to meet her eyes, his mouth gaping. "If you can beat him, then do it!" she added. "The Island depends on it!"

Manabozho blinked in surprise, then his face set. He turned back to the big man and clenched his fists.

"I'm sorry that you won't be finding Kabeyun here," he said. "Perhaps you're right and he is a coward. But you've found me, and I'm hardly going to sit here while you destroy the Island. Maybe you should go west and try to find him elsewhere."

"West?" The big man tilted his head thoughtfully. "Yes...I suppose this makes sense. He has headed west." He uncrossed his arms. "But it matters little. While I am here, I may as well do what I planned to do."

Charmian sucked in a breath. "Hey--!" she managed to get out, before something thunked against the big man's head, and he blinked. He turned his head to the side a little and Charmian followed suit to see just what had happened. She was surprised to see Barrington still standing behind X'aaru, only he was upright now, holding a rock in his hand. As soon as he saw the big man looking at him he drew his arm back and hurled the rock as hard as he could. Charmian and the others followed its progress until--THUNK!--it struck the stranger right in the forehead, making him blink again. Charmian winced.

Barrington stooped down to pick up another pair of rocks. The others blinked now as well, and the next thing Charmian knew, Moon Wolf had thrown up his hands and fire had started flickering around his fingers. Mani whistled and lowered his antlers as if ready to charge; Pakwa hissed, Thomas braced his own arms, and even X'aaru bristled and started growling. Only Augwak and Charmian hadn't done anything yet; and as soon as she noticed this, Charmian flushed, but held up her own hands, ready to call up whatever manitou she could think of.

Manabozho glared back at them furiously. "Do you MIND?"

The big man simply looked bored again as he crossed his arms. "Hardly the challenge I would have expected from the son of Kabeyun," he said in his bland voice. "You must take after your mother."

Charmian and Thomas both grimaced. Manabozho's feathers all flared and a faint blue glow arose around him, making the air ripple. "Considering what she was compared to my father," he growled, "I will take that as a compliment."

The big man snorted. "Consorting with humans...and turning your back on manitous. I suppose I should not be surprised. This is only what Kabeyun did, himself." He started to turn away. "I do not even see the worth of a fight here. I had hoped to drive Kabeyun into the ground one last time before doing away with this Island...but I see little point in it. I will just go and find him myself, and once he is done with, then I will finish the job. You may enjoy your short reprieve, for that is all the time it will take me to finish him."

"Reprieve--?" Charmian got out, just as Manabozho bolted after the big man, feet flying. He raised his hand, and Charmian felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as some sort of charge built in the air.

"You get him, Papa!" Turtle yelled.

Manabozho's fist swung down and a gale of wind arose--and then vanished, just like that. Charmian's eyes goggled and everyone else's did the same. Manabozho had halted in midair, his body jerking to a stop; only secondly did any of them notice the great hand wrapped around his neck. After a startled pause, Manabozho started making choking noises, and lifted his hands to pry at the big man's fingers, his legs twitching. The big man just stared up at him with a new frown, not heeding his gasps for air. His eyes shifted ever so slightly in Turtle's direction, then back.

"Papa?" he echoed, then lowered Manabozho slightly. He looked at Turtle. "This halfling is your father?"

Turtle blinked, then her lip stuck out and she bobbed her head furiously. "Uh-huh! MY papa! So you better let him go or he'll hurt you BAD!"

The big man stared at her for a moment, then back at Manabozho. His eyes narrowed again, then he let go. Manabozho sucked in a breath before hitting the ground with a thud and landing on his knee. He crouched there gasping and coughing, rubbing at his bruised neck.

The big man stepped around him and halted before Turtle, leaning down to look her over critically; Charmian's muscles tensed though she didn't know why. The look on his face again grew disapproving.

"You are not even half manitou," he grumbled. He stood up straight and glared at the coughing Manabozho. "So. The son follows the way of the father." As Manabozho started struggling to push himself up the big man snorted again. "If I had but done away with that Wind ages ago, the blood of us manitous would still be pure. I do not even know what Kabeyun was thinking...but again, I am not surprised."

Manabozho finally got to his feet, rubbing at his neck and giving the big man a venomous glare. He clenched his free fist. "If you want a fight then here you get one. Nobody does that to me and gets away with it!"

The big man didn't even look at him. He continued staring at Turtle as he stood up at his full height.

"Perhaps I decided too hastily," he said. "I should very much like a fight with a real challenge, for once."

Manabozho clenched both fists now. "Then you've got one!"

"A real fight," the big man said. "With Kabeyun, the West Wind." He at last met Manabozho's eyes, and the contempt that Charmian saw in his own made her take pause. "I hardly have time to waste on his halfling offspring."

All of the blood drained from Manabozho's face. It just as quickly returned, however, and the blue glow around him intensified.

"Manabozho," Charmian said, in a warning voice.

He's thinking of something--but what? He already knows Kabeyun isn't here! And he doesn't want to fight Manabozho--so what is it? I thought he said we got a reprieve--!

As if reading her thoughts, Manabozho said, "I thought you wanted a fight right now? You come all this way and then turn away like that, with nothing? Nobody even knows where Kabeyun is. And I'm hardly going to just let you walk away after that stunt!"

"Unfortunately this may be your only choice," the big man said. "Kabeyun is the only one I'm interested in. And I rather expect you to find him for me."

Manabozho let out a yell and stormed toward him again, though he leapt into the air and swung to the side at the last moment. Everybody followed his progress through the air; he seemed to fly around the big man, before descending behind him and swinging his leg out. Charmian clenched her fists just as his foot connected with the big man's neck--but the next thing she knew, Manabozho was letting out a high-pitched yell and flying through the air, swung by the leg. Charmian gasped and gawked, then Thomas knocked her to the ground, Mani ducking as well when Manabozho sailed over them. Turtle whirled around with wide eyes to watch him fly into the opposite side of the woods; Augwak bolted for cover just as he crashed into the trees with a tremendous racket. Charmian winced, but Manabozho was already getting to his feet and stumbling out into the clearing. He rubbed at his head and made a horrible face.

"OW!!" he yelled, then his lip curled back and he flung his arm through the air. A gale arose, then the ground before the big man quaked and shot upward, as if a faultline had just appeared. The big man looked at the hunk of land as it came at his face; then he swung his own hand at it and pulverized it into dust. Everyone stared in surprise as he dusted his hand off and gave them a very bored look.

"As I said, I expect you to find him for me," he repeated himself.

Manabozho put his hands back. A plume of flame burst against the big man's chest when Moon Wolf hurled a fireball at him; Barrington resumed throwing rocks at him, but they plunked off of him like drops of water. X'aaru reared up and started flapping his wings, just as Pakwa threw out his hands with a hiss, and another gale of wind whipped around the big man, making him shield his eyes; Manabozho scowled but resumed his own attack, shooting up into the air as the big man was distracted and coming down at him again.

Charmian put up her hand to try to offer something, but Mani bumped into her and Thomas and knocked them back so she couldn't see what was happening. She heard Manabozho yell furiously, and craned her neck over Mani's back to see what he'd done.

She gasped and ducked; Manabozho flipped over them and crashed to the ground, collapsing in a dusty heap. He slowly pushed himself up and rubbed at his jaw with a wince, his feathers askew; Charmian started to get to her feet to help him, only for Mani to twist his head to the side and block her with his antlers. She gave him a confused look, then saw the big man walk right past them as if they weren't even there. Indeed, X'aaru and Pakwa both broke off their wind attack, staring at him with wide eyes; he didn't pay any attention to any of them but Manabozho. Manabozho's head popped up, then he choked again when the big man's hand went back around his throat. Charmian tensed, but Thomas held her back.

"As I said," the big man echoed, "I expect you to find him for me."

Manabozho bared his teeth, his fingers digging into the man's hand. "What...makes you think...I'll do...anything for you...?" he managed to wheeze.

The big man's mouth twitched. He let Manabozho go, standing up and turning away. He walked back to the other side of the clearing and halted beside Turtle. He turned back to face Manabozho.

"I rather think it will be in your best interests to find him," he said.

Manabozho clambered to his feet, panting and scowling. "Name one reason why it's in my best interests to help out a beast like you!"

The big man arched an eyebrow. He looked down at Turtle, who looked back up at him; then Charmian's muscles tensed, and she felt her skin go cold. She pushed herself up over Mani's back.

"Manabozho!" she yelled, making him glance at her; which was just what she hadn't wanted, for at that moment the big man stooped down and picked up Turtle by the back of her little outfit, bringing her up into the air. She blinked a few times before wiggling her arms and legs and letting out a startled yell. Manabozho whirled back to them and his mouth fell open; immediately his hands were up and his feathers flaring, the blue glow enveloping him from head to foot.

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" he bellowed.

The big man just arched his eyebrow again. "And why not? It's obvious that you cannot defeat me." He took a step aside, Turtle still waving her arms and yelling; somehow his voice carried over hers, without him even having to raise it. "As I said," he said. "I expect you to find Kabeyun for me, and tell him of my desire to fight him once more. I expect you will have to travel west. I will keep watch over your progress. Once he is found, then I will fight him, and I will of course defeat him, and then do away with this Island." He lifted Turtle a bit more. "In the end, all of you will be dead anyway. But if you wish to see your little halfling again before you die...then you will do this. You will find Kabeyun, and he will fight me like a manitou. If not...then I suppose this will be the last you will see of your offspring." He shrugged. "Whichever way it shall go...I shall win."

He turned away from them without a further word. Turtle's eyes went wide and she tried looking back over her shoulder, waving her arms. "Papa--!"

Charmian's breath left her lungs. Manabozho shot toward them without a second thought, letting out an enraged scream. He jerked one hand down at the earth, cracking it open, and one skyward, setting the treetops whipping about in a frenzy; the blue glow around him crackled and coalesced, shooting toward the big man's back like a bolt of electricity. Charmian waited for it to connect with him, which it did, zapping him right between the shoulderblades--and then it dissipated into tiny sparks which shot out every which way before pattering harmlessly to the ground, leaving little sizzling trails behind them. The big man stopped, then turned back to look at them, as bland as ever.

Manabozho's eyes grew blue and he raised his hands, teeth bared.

The big man arched his eyebrow once more. "Interesting," he said. "You look almost like a manitou when you do that."

Manabozho ran at him, screaming again, and the big man raised his hand. Manabozho reached him and CRACK!--a giant fist slammed down on top of his head, the blue glow vanishing from his eyes and a little puff of breath escaping him. He fell flat to the ground without another sound or movement, and everyone cringed. Charmian met the big man's eyes, her own wide and stinging; he actually looked at her for once, pausing briefly.

"As I said," he said. "He will seek in the west, and find me Kabeyun, or else this will be the last any of you see of the girl."

Charmian's eyes shifted to meet Turtle's. Hers were just as wide, brimming with tears, her lip quivering; the big man turned away once more and started walking, and she waved her arms in panic.

"PAPA!"

Charmian glanced at Manabozho, but he looked to be out cold. She leapt over Mani's back and dashed toward him, shaking his shoulder violently; when he didn't awaken, she ground her teeth and crooked her arms at the woods, aiming at the big man's back. "FIRE!" she yelled, and a gout of brilliant flame shot from her hands, straight at the stranger. She saw it slam into him, just missing Turtle--but he didn't even slow his step. Her eyes grew in disbelief.

What--?

"Papaaaa...!" Turtle yelled one last time...and by the time the fire and smoke cleared, both she and the big man were gone.

Continue:

Part 19: Answer Seeking  (13+) Charmian races to the Fairy Realm to learn the strange manitou's identity... #1199453 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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