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The Gift

Stephanie's Storyline, Chapter 7.3

copyright comidacomida 2018

All four Spirits joined me outside; I was relieved to see that Anapa was with the rest of my retinue, even if his eyes didn't glow anywhere near as brightly as normal. Medved intercepted me before I could get into the minivan and he gave me a quick, gentle hug, speaking as he did so. "I will be with you again the moment you step out of the automobile."

It was an apology of sorts, and I understood as much. Returning the hug, I set his fears at ease. "I'll be fine. Don't worry, Medved... see you again soon."

With all goodbyes and understandings complete, I got into the mini van. Kyle was about to join me in the passenger's seat but Tom very pointedly directed him to the back; the Raven accepted the location change, but not without fluffing up and squawking indignantly to himself. Once everyone was situated I spent one final moment taking stock of the situation before I reasoned that the sheriff's office would close at five, which meant that, if I planned on visiting then I had to play things by their schedule. By necessity, I'd start there.

Most of the towns in Eastern Oregon were founded in the late 1800s and, as the center of the county, it also housed the sheriff's office. The police department was still responsible for the majority of in-town issues but technically the river is outside city limits. It would have been easier to go to the police department since that was on the north side of town like my parents' house, but I remember hearing my mom say that the sheriff was the one to deal with what happened. That, and the city's coroner work was handled there too (which I learned during my brief internet search).

Saturday in town was a busy time for traffic and, while there were nowhere near as many people as in, say, Cherry City, the streets didn't have two lanes in either direction either so it wasn't easy to get across town... especially since there was a problem with one of the traffic lights, which slowed us down even more. My mind had started to drift at that point; I was thinking over what I was going to say to the folks at the sheriff's office and if I wanted to have a chance at getting access to as much information as possible I knew it would have to be a compelling argument.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that Kyle had to get my attention, calling my name twice before I'd even realized he was talking to me. My cheeks were blushing in embarrassment when I realized that I'd been ignoring him. "Oh-- sorry... Yeah?"

Glanced into the rearview quickly so I could look at the two Spirits in the back seat, I noticed that Kyle's eyes were likewise looking back at me expectantly. "Anapa said that he senses a powerful spirit at work. I think maybe the power outage might have something to do with that."

It would probably have been too much to expect such an immediate clue but I had to ask anyway. "Is this the kind of thing we should expect from an Underwater Panther?"

My eyes were back on the road in a split second but I could have sworn I saw Kyle shake his head. The Raven was pretty sure in his conviction. "Electricity isn't really Mishupishu's focus, so I wouldn't think that this would be related to him directly, no..." He said something in Coptic and Apana replied, then Kyle added "... and Anapa seems to think that it may be related to an Air Spirit... which means we're dealing with another problem."

That sounded bad. "Another problem? Like what?"

I heard Kyle's feathers puff up as he shook his body in displeasure. "Well, for one, Mishupishu doesn't do so great with Air Spirits, and second, if it's affecting the physical world then it's probably pretty powerful."

Tom spoke up from beside me in a dour tone. "It is also possible that your first assumption was incorrect; perhaps the Spirit involved with the sacrifice is not the Underwater Panther and is an Air Spirit instead."

All of the tell-tale signs of a Spirit argument was coming up so I made it a point to cut them off before it even started. I turned into the sheriff's office's small parking lot and slowed, speaking as I headed for a parking spot. "Let's assume a worst case scenario and assume that we may have to deal with Mishupishu and a powerful Air Spirit. If that's the case we'll need to have a plan and if it isn't then we'll be prepared for whichever one we are going to encounter. Fair?"

Tom gave a succinct nod and Kyle let out a huff as he settled his feathers. "Alright... but I'm pretty sure it's both."

I stopped the minivan and unbuckled my seatbelt then glanced into the rear view mirror, only to catch sight of Anapa, whose muzzle was pursed in thought. A single word escaped it, and it sounded to me like a name. "Banebdjedet."

The Rhino next to me glanced over his shoulder, ears going up in surprise and he repeated the name as if he were familiar with it. "Banebdjedet?

It was a very foreign-sounding name, and I tried my best to sound out what they were saying. "Ba-neb--"

I was interrupted as Tom reached over and slapped two huge, calloused fingers over my lips. "No, Nekh'dah... do not speak his name, or you risk giving him power..."

Kyle fluffed up again, stepping out through the sliding door to the mini van and coming around to speak to me through the window. "Or, worse, drawing his attention. Tanngrisnir isn't the kind of Spirit you want to take note of you being a Seer."

The concept that Spirits could have more than one name was long-since old news to me but it didn't help any with my understanding. "Okay... so... that Spirit is a Spirit of Air then? And we think that he may be here?"

Tom had already exited the van as well, and had walked around to join Kyle once I got out and closed my own door. The Rhino folded his massive arms across his chest. "The people of the Mediterranean worshipped him as Faunus, Silvanus, and Pan. The Easterners knew him as Vedic Agni, and our people once knew him as Sa'ir, long before the name was given over to legend and mythos in the Se'irim."

I counted off the names, coming to a singular conclusion. "Okay... he's powerful then."

Kyle nodded. "Yes... a Spirit of Air, Lightning, Fire, Creativity-- lots of stuff... but not specifically dangerous."

Tom's eyes narrowed. "You do not know him as I do-- and you leave out other, less savory traits. Regardless, I do not want Marduk anywhere near my Nekh'deh. He is... undesirable."

Realizing that another Spirit argument was building I once again stepped in. "Okay... then we'll figure this out later... but right now we're at the sheriff's office and we need to stay focused."

I turned and headed for the double doors leading into the small building; everyone followed, the argument stalled for the time being. Reaching into my pocket, I ran my thumb across the side of my bear statuette and, not one second later, Medved was by my side. He hadn't missed a thing but, other than a quick glance down at me suggesting he wanted to discuss it later, he was courteous enough not to light that particular powder keg. I was thankful for that, especially because I had to focus on the here-and-now.

Stepping into the sheriff's office, I saw that the entryway was neat and tidy with a single reception area at the far side of the room. A single window was built into the wall with a shelf at waist height; what I assumed to be bullet proof glass covered all of it except for a small slot at the bottom and a speaker was built into the barrier at around sternum height for me, but it was right at face-height for the lady sitting behind it. She looked up as I approached. "Hello. May I help you?"

Even though I'd been thinking about what to say while I was in the car, several different options bounced around in my head. Taking a deep breath, I reached out mentally and grabbed one. Nodding to the woman, I--