Birth of the Lucifer Star, chapter 8 Wohpe

Shirley had been driving for days…her destination close at hand, Devil’s lake was just a few miles away, she would try to locate the family of Robert Ghostwolf. The crystal that

Lay in a box by her side, could be heard moving about. It seemed to be excited. She finally found the small town of Minnewauken.

Shirley found a small group of ramshackled houses near Summit hill, she searchedFor the address that was on the box mailed to her from North Dakota. A small trailerPark rose up out of nowhere to her left and the road ended. This is as far as she wouldBe able to go, the rest of her journey would have be done on foot.

The lustrous blue sky transformed into a deep sunken amber. The clouds disappeared as they were replaced with heavenly hawks, that soared high in the sky to watch over their traveler. All seemed peaceful, but Shirley had a sense of foreboding and fear started to creep its way into her consciousness. She found an old dilapidated mobile home, the red paint had worn off eons ago, and the front lawn was littered with rusted motor cycles, baby carriages, bicycles, old tonka trucks and garbage. An old black dog was lying under a small wild growing raspberry bush, he didn’t even bother to look up.

"Hello... is anyone there?" Shirley asked her voice just above a whisper. She couldfeel the crystal growing hotter inside the deerskin and the box that protected the crystal.Walking along a wide path, she stumbled across a broken down shack that was something of an eyesore. Shirley prepared herself, then knocked ever so gently uponthe door. No answer. Shirley walked around the shack to the back of the house, therewere clothes hanging on a line, but they looked like they had been hanging there for a very long time, in fact they were very stiff, and there were holes in them….they must have been there for years….

"Stop!" came a gruff voice from a clearing among the trees
"Who are you?"

"I am a…I’m here to find the family…” Shirley was completely taken back by the

appearance of a very old, very wrinkled white haired man. I’m looking for anyone who

might know Robert Ghostwolf.”

Eagle Flying Bye recognized Shirley as the paleface who visited him on many nocturnal occasions.

“Robert is my son.” Eagle Flying Bye announced. “Why do you look for him.”

Shirley a great inspirational speaker by trade, became very still, emotion swept overHer features. She tried to regain her composure. A lump formed in her throat“May I sit down, please?” Shirley asked.

The medicine man realized that Shirley had news of his son. “Certainly, Miss….We have not be introduced….”

“Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Shirley Cohen, I traveled here, from New York City, trying to find someone who knew Robert Ghostwolf and to clear up a few things for me.”

“Did my son send you here?” queried the great Shaman.

“No…., well sort of….I mean, maybe. Mr. Ghostwolf, I have some news for you…Shirley trailed off….

“My name is Eagle Flying bye, but my friends call me Sam.”

“Well Sam, there is no easy way to say this, but your son’s body was found offFire Island, apparently he had drowned… Shirley’s voice was just a whisper. “thePolice told me they could not find any of his relatives, and I had to come here…toFind out a few things or clear a few things up…I’m sorry….”

Eagle Flying Bye stared at the young woman for a very long time. “this is not whyYou are here….You didn’t travel all the way from New york to tell me that my son Is  dead.”

Well, no…Shirley confessed…I, well this is very strange, but, to tell you the truth, Your son mailed me a package….the return address was here, on Summit hill, but It was postmarked from New York City….I know this sounds strange, but he mailed Me something and I was just trying to find out, why.”

“I think I know what it is that my son sent to you…” Eagle Flying bye announced. “How do you know that my son is dead?”

Shirley spoke very truthfully, “My fiancé went missing over 2 years ago now, and when the police found Robert’s body, they found Darren’s wallet on him.”

“Darren, was your husband to be?”

“Yes, he was a Paleontologist, and he excavated in the Badlands. He disappeared,

and no one ever seen him again…” Shirley lied.

“My son told me that he had found Darren’s body in a crevice….” Eagle Flying Bye knew that Shirley was being deceptive. But he quietly waited for her response.

Shirley skipped over any reply or query about Darren. “Your son mailed me a crystal. A stone…more than a stone, but I can’t explain this, but it, well he l eft me instruction on how to ‘feed’ it….Shirley was staring at the medicine man for his reaction.

“Robert informed me that the body of the man he found had been murdered.”

Shirley stared blankly into the face of the wise elder. “I know.”

Shirley slowly opened the box that she carried protectively at her side. Inside the box the crystal lay wrapped in deerskin. Shirley had used thick rubber bands to enclose the crystal. She undid the rubber bands and stared the crystal. A piece of white quartz lay in her hands…”Your son mailed me this…” Shirley looked confused. “I’m not sure what this is, it’s not…I mean this wasn’t the crystal that he sent me, this is just a plain white quartz…..Shirley was utterly confused. Shirley snapped the box shut.

The great Shaman sat beside her, and told her the most extraordinary tale about the beast who sleeps in the deep crevices of the Badlands. She turned and looked straight in the man's eyes with utter disbelief, and began to laugh.

"It is no laughing matter my young friend." Reproved Eagle flying bye.

"It is, for you see there are no such things as monsters." Shirley replied.

"If you keep that stone, you will believe and then wish that

monsters remained nothing more than a myth." The medicine man announced. “My son was given that crystal and it took away the lives of his wife, my blessed grandchildren, and now……him.”

"Well then, let us find out who is telling the truth."

Using her left hand, she unhooked the latch lifting the lid of destiny. The hawks that soared above in the sky of harmony, vanished as quickly as they appeared. The leaves on the nearby trees rustled then inexplicably fell to the ground, leaving a barren and desolate carcass of wood. The cold wind blew across the land from the south. Within a matter of minutes the land became void of sound.

"What happened?" whsipered Shirley

"By opening the box you have awakened Ulun'suti’ advised the great counselor.

"Who is this?" Ulun'suti?”

"The great serpent you hesitated to believe in."

Their eyes scanned across the horizon searching for Ulun'suti, nothing is worse than to have to wait for the inevitable to happen. A single strand of lightning struck the earth a short distance from where the two sat.

Clouds of dust sprang to life as two enormous wings surfaced. Eyes of pearls stared upon the two who either had the courage to stay or who were just too foolish not to run.

"Who is the keeper of the box?" the question was transmitted mentally.

Shirley peaked through her clasped hands to see before her a snake of such size and strength, that she could only whisper a prayer pleading to leave this unwanted place. The medicine man looked upon her legs that trembled with fear, and did the only thing that could possibly be done. A gentle and kind hand caresses her leg, as if to give her confidence to her inner soul. The medicine man pulled her hands away from her face, gazing into her eyes.

"It is now time for you to take responsibility for what you
have caused to happen, and I will be by your side." The great warrior promised.

"I do not think that I am capable of confrontation." Shirley confessed.

"Then you should not have awakened the beast that stands
before you." Eagle flying bye, caressed the amulet that he wore around his neck.
Eyes of pearls turn to eyes of ice, as Ulun'suti glared upon the inferior beings. The serpent’s tail ferociously swung from side to side, rattling loudly, encompassing the two in clouds of dust so that they could not see anything but what stares back.

"Who is the keeper of the box?" The great serpent demanded.

Shirley knew that this time was the time to make things right once more, or Ulun'suti would do what comes naturally to a beast such as he... Feast upon the weak.

"I am the keeper of the box." Announced Shirley.

"Then you must answer correctly to this riddle in order for
you to obtain the great knowledge and strength that the crystal bestows on the safe keeper.”

The great medicine man gave words of encouragement to Shirley and told her that she should listen to her heart and not her mind when Ulun'suti asked the riddle.

"Are you ready?" the great serpent hissed…

"Yes I am." Shirley lied.

"What is the smallest yet strongest conqueror known to have
lived a million lifetimes, and will continue to live when you
perish?"

Oh no... so many possibilities, but which is the right answer? The puzzled look on Shirley’s face was a bad omen. She stared down at the scales of the serpent and began to ponder which answer to give, for she knew she has a limited amount of time.

She stared at the ground beneath her, hoping that the answer she was about to give would be correct. Standing, she turned to look at the old native, giving him a wink, as if to say not to worry.

"I think I have the answer." Shirley stated.

Ulun'suti peered down, knowing that the answer she will give will more than likely be the wrong one. It is times such as these that Ulun'suti would rather tell the individual the answer instead of having to deliver them unto the bowels of hell.

"May the answer you give be free from thought and true of
heart." Stated the great serpent.

"Death."

"This is what you give me... you are nothing more than an
inferior being with nothing to offer your race."

Her soul cried out, but the cries are no good for no one is willing to listen. The medicine man dropped to his knees, weeping for his son, his family, and now this woman who he promised to protect.

"You could have left this place unharmed if you had never
opened the box, to reveal that infernal crystal. "

"What is so special about the crystal?"

The crystal contains the conqueror of which Ulun'suti spoke of."
A silvery door suddenly appeared in the back of this shack on Summit Hill.

As the door opens, a kind voice drew Shirley closer to the gates of Hades. The door begins to close, and for the first time she sees what was in the crystal ... Fear. Fear is the answer that she needed to give, for fear is all that she had left...

The great serpent hissed, it’s great head in Eagle Flying bye’s face, “No mere mortal can save her.”

‘Please…Great Eagle Flying bye…Save me!!”” Shirley’s voice echoed, it echoed through the caverns, through the black hills, through the great expanse to the Badlands..

Eagle Flying Bye, being the great warrior, did not fear, and knew that this was now his battle. The great medicine man stooped down to retrieve the box that carried the crystal, and knew he must prepare himself for the battle of a thousand lifetimes. But how to win such a battle? He spoke out loud, “Well there is nothing to fear, but fear Itself.”