Arctic Spring: Karma - Book 2 (Arctic Wilderness)

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

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“I’ve wanted to ask you this question since… I saw…,” Jason said but Aiyana gently put her hand on his lips.

“I know what you want to ask,” she said.

In the days that followed Umqy’s funeral Jason and Aiyana spent a lot of time together. It was early morning and they were walking along the river bank. His heart was burning to know about Gyrongav but he couldn’t get himself to ask until now.

“I… I don’t mean to make you feel…,” he said but she cut him off.

“It all started many moons ago when my people made sacrifices to the spirits to protect us from harm. It was at a time when the wolves were attacking villages and killing lots of Chukchi. Things were getting out of hand and my people feared for their lives. According to the legend, which was passed on from generation to generation, one of the shaman invoked the spirit of the warrior for protection. The next morning when his wife was looking for him she could not find him,” she said.

“What happened to him?” he asked.

“His wife went from one yaranga to another asking if anyone saw her husband. What she didn’t notice was that a husky followed her where ever she went. Finally she went back home and the husky stuck to her side. She was grief stricken because she thought the wolves might have gotten to him. The husky laid his head on her lap as if to console her and when she gently rubbed his head he turned into her husband,” she said.

“WOW! Now that’s just unbelievable,” he said.

“That’s what the legend says,” she said.

“So why is it that you are able to transform?” he asked.

“I am a descendent from the shaman like everyone else in this village. Every second generation child born has this… gift if you want to call it that,” she said.

“So that means your kids won’t be affected by it,” he said.

“Yes,” she smiled.

Jason felt some sense of relief though he wasn’t sure why exactly. It was not as if they were getting married and he had to worry about taking his kids to the vet for their shots. He thought.

“What about… about…,” he said not sure how to form the question.

“What about what?” she asked.

“You know…,” he said

“You mean sex… it’s normal. Did you think I would change in the heat of the moment?” she said grinning.

“No! No… I didn’t mean to… forget I even asked,” he said.

Aiyana laughed heartily and Jason found it a bit strange for her to speak openly about sex.

“I thought since you live here far away from city life things would be a bit conservative,” he said.

“On the contrary there is nothing wrong with having relations before marriage and neither is it an issue for a woman to have a child out of wedlock. Many of these kids you see running around were born out of wedlock but they are not seen as being illegitimate,” she said as a matter of fact.

“You don’t say. And here I thought a big marriage ritual with all sorts of blessings and thinga magigs would have to take place before you can get a roll in the hay,” he said.

“Nope. Here everyone rolls in the hay, its human nature,” she said.

Jason was really taken by the fact that she spoke so openly and didn’t make a fuss about sexuality. It was if it was an everyday thing.

“That’s good to know,” he grinned.

“Come on it’s time to go back. Your friends are probably wondering where you are,” she said.

They made their way back to the village. As they moved further away from the river Omryn came out from behind a cluster of bushes. He was watching their every move. He knew that Aiyana was hiding something and he was determined to find out what it was.

“I know you lied and I will find out the truth… and when I do… you daughter of Akun will pay dearly,” Omryn said.

Omryn had an intense dislike for Jason because Umqy kept complaining to his father about Aiyana’s attraction to Jason. That is why Omryn put the fever spell on Jason hoping that they would leave. But Aiyana’s quick thinking helped Jason recover to the dismay of Umqy.

“You finally realized that you have friends?” Michael said when they arrived.

“Don’t be sarcastic. It’s not as if you two don’t appreciate the private time,” Jason said.

“It was kind of nice having the yaranga for ourselves for a few hours,” Camille said hugging Michael.

It was clear to everyone that it would be better if Jason moved out.

“What are the chances of me getting my own yaranga?” Jason asked.

“I will ask Luka to bring reindeer skins then we can set a temporary one up for you,” Aiyana said.

It took about two and half hours for Luka and Jason to set up the yaranga. Aiyana decorated the inside of the tent with all sorts of traditional embroidery and decorations. The bed was covered with white seal furs and there was a large bear skin with the head and all on the floor. Everything was fresh and new.

“It’s done. Time to move in,” Luka said.

“I think I will move in later in the evening,” Jason said.

“It is tradition that the first person to enter the house should be the one who will occupy it. So until tonight no one can enter your tent before you,” Aiyana said.

Omryn had a perfect view of the whole village from his yaranga where he spent his time during the day. He saw the whole set up of the tent and could almost hear every word that was said.

“So you will move in tonight. We will have to see about that,” Omryn said glaring at the new tent while he went about concocting a spell.

Everyone was in good spirits and had lunch together in the open air around a campfire. Gaya the old medicine woman was lately always lurking around keeping an eye on Jason. Whenever she passed him she would always whisper some incantations and wave a feather over him. He found it very amusing. If only he knew why she did it.

When they left the yaranga Omryn sneaked into Jason’s new tent and sprinkled fine dust all over the yaranga and whispered all sorts of incantations. He didn’t leave anything untouched. When he was sure no one was outside he sneaked out again.

Later in the evening they were on their way to the tent. They stood outside what was soon to be Michael and Camilla’s love nest.

“I’ve been thinking. Since we came here you guys had to share a tent with me. So… I’ve decided that I want you two to move into the new yaranga,” Jason said.

“You want us to have the new tent?” Michael said surprised.

“That’s so awesome of you. I cannot wait to see the inside,” Camille said and ran to the new tent.

She entered and touched everything in sight. The smell of freshly tanned hides and furs was everywhere. It was a step up from their yaranga. She lay down on the bed and reveled in the seal furs. The light inside was dim and Camille was so overwhelmed that she didn’t notice the fine dust rising and clinging to her skin. Even if she did see it she would have probably thought it was ordinary dust. After frolicking on a bed like a child with a new toy she went back to her friends.

“So?” Michael said grinning.

“It’s simply divine! I love it! Just love it!” Camille said and kissed Jason on the cheek.

“Now hold on Missy you don’t need to be that grateful,” Michael joked.

“Off you go,” Aiyana said.

“I think we can get the rest of our stuff tomorrow. We will only take what we need for tonight,” Camille said.

“That’s fine with me,” Jason said.

They left for their new love nest and was excited to have their privacy. At last they got what they wanted. To be alone.

The next morning Camille was not her usual chirpy self, something was off. She was nervous and the slightest little thing irritated her. Michael could not understand her sudden mood change because it was not what he expected after having a romantic night.

“What’s wrong?” he asked concerned.

“NOTHING!” she said glaring at him.

There was something about her eyes that didn’t seem right. It kept moving rapidly. She looked in the mirror and touched her face tugging at her skin. Then she suddenly threw the mirror at him and started to pull her short hair and screamed. Michael could not take it anymore and ran to Jason who just got out of bed.

“Jason! Come quickly there is something seriously wrong with Camille,” he said.

“What? You had too much fun last night?” Jason said laughing.

“No! I mean there is really something wrong with her. Come with me!” he said.

Jason could hear the urgency in Michael’s voice and told him to go back to her while he fetched Aiyana. As Michael approached the yaranga he saw smoke bubbling from the entrance. He ran as fast as he could and had to fight the suffocating smoke to get inside. Camille set the bed on fire.

“Camille why did you do that?!” he asked.

She looked at him and laughed hysterically. He saw that she was holding one of his razor blades in her hand. And when he took a closer look he noticed that there were deep cuts on her forearms and it was bleeding profusely.

“Anuk!” she said and cut herself again.

Michael managed to seize the razor from her after a struggle and got a few nicks and cuts in the process. He restrained her and carried her over his shoulder outside where Jason, Aiyana, Gaya and a small crowd was waiting. Gaya told him to lay her on the ground and to restrain her. She immediately started to say incantations and waved her feather over Camille.

Suddenly Camille wrenched herself loose from their grip and ran. Michael and Jason chased after her with the rest following. She ran towards where the huskies and sleighs were kept. She tripped over a rock and fell. They noticed that she wasn’t moving as they came closer.

“Camille! Camille!” Michael screamed frantically but she didn’t answer.

It was quiet and a cold wind blew making a whistling sound. When they finally reached her laying with her face turned to the side, they noticed that her eyes were open. Blood was seeping into the ground near her chest area. When they rolled her over on her back they saw that she fell into a peg that was used to tie the sleighs to. It was broken off and the edge was sharp. The force of her falling on the peg crushed her sternum and it must’ve punctured her heart causing the profuse bleeding. Camille was dead.

“Camille honey,” Michael said as he gently stroked her face.

Jason had a hard time watching his friend grieve the death of his beloved. He put his hand on Michael’s shoulder trying to console him but he was unable to utter any words. Aiyana and Gaya arrived at the scene followed by the villagers.

“What happened?” Aiyana asked shocked at what she saw.

“She tripped and fell into a peg,” Jason said.

“Can you please give me a little space,” Gaya said gently nudging Michael.

She sprinkled a white powder over Camille’s body. And when she looked into Michael’s eyes she also sprinkled powder over him. She said a few incantations and invocations then ordered them to move her body to the funeral yaranga.

“It is a must that traditional funeral procession is followed in order for her soul to rest peacefully,” Gaya said.