Red Mesa Read Online Free PDF

unrest.
    Ella thought about Coyote and what he’d told her. That instant message had rattled her more than she wanted to admit, even to herself. She suspected it had to be a cop, but Ella didn’t think it could be any officers working out of the Window Rockor Shiprock stations. She knew all of the experienced officers, and as far as she knew, no one was undercover now.
    That left officers in the county sheriff’s department, Farmington PD, and a few other departments, not counting the few Feds she knew from the area, and a couple in California whom she’d worked with years ago. From what he’d said, Coyote knew her well, but she had no idea who hewas, and that bothered her.
    As a Navajo, she’d been taught that to be in harmony, all aspects of her life had to be balanced and ordered. She wasn’t a traditionalist, but she’d always liked to keep things neatly sorted in her head. It was a habit that had served her well as a cop. One of the reasons she was so successful with her cases was that she never disregarded unanswered questions. Butto press on Coyote’s identity might compromise an undercover cop. Not to mention that to access the real name behind that account, she’d need a court order. Since he hadn’t threatened her, or committed any criminal offense, it was extremely doubtful she’d get one even if she were willing to try.
    By the time she arrived home, Dawn was playing in the front yard in the sandbox Ella and her daughter’sfather had constructed for her, wearing her denim mini overalls with the lamb in the center, plus matching sneakers. She was pulling a dinosaur on wheels across the sand by a short length of nylon rope. The toy was being dragged, since it was nearly impossible for it to roll in the soft, dry sand, but Dawn didn’t seem to mind.
    The moment she saw Ella, Dawn squealed and climbed over the low boardof the sandbox, then ran toward her in her wobbly gait. “Go play now?”
    “If you’re ready, I am,” Ella said, nodding to Rose, who’d been nearby working in her herb garden.
    All the way to the river Dawn tried to discover a way out of the car seat. She wasn’t crying and fussing, though, just trying tirelessly to find a way to defeat the straps and web mechanism that kept her in the seat.
    Ella watchedher daughter, proud of the way she never gave up. She’d need that stubbornness to survive. Many in the tribe would never accept Dawn, no more than they did her, because of the legacy that followed their family.
    It was part myth, part history, and part legend, and Ella herself wasn’t sure how much of it to believe. The story centered around Mist Eagle, a woman of their clan, who’d fallen in lovewith Fire Hawk, a member of her same clan. In spite of the taboos that strictly prohibited such an association, Mist Eagle tricked Fire Hawk one night and, in the dark, posed as his wife. She’d become pregnant, and shortly afterwards her deception was discovered and she’d been banished from the tribe.
    Shunned by everyone except the skinwalkers—Navajo witches who were no strangers to incest—MistEagle learned from them and became a powerful healer. Despite their efforts to corrupt her, she never used her powers for anything but good. But as the years passed and Mist Eagle’s daughter grew, so did her anger and resentment toward the tribe that had banished her mother. She eventually became a powerful evil force among The People.
    Since that time, Mist Eagle’s direct descendants, particularlythose apparently born with special abilities, had been watched carefully by specially appointed members of the tribe. It was said that the gifts they inherited would either bless or totally corrupt them, and if they turned to evil, they would pose a danger to the tribe. For that reason, Mist Eagle’s descendants had always been encouraged to have at least two children. If one turned to evil,it would be up to the other child to restore harmony.
    Clifford’s healing gifts, her own remarkable