pine needles and snow.
When we reached the mouth of the reservation, I scanned the perimeter in front of me, searching for any sign of life. I wasn’t surprised to find no one. It was late—maybe 10:00 p.m. or so—and it was also freezing cold. Together, that was usually a prescription for people to stay inside. My heart was pounding against my ribs and I could feel sweat beading along my brow and the small of my back.
I was nervous.
I just really didn’t want to find out what would happen if we got caught. Yes, we’d agreed that I would just act as lookout and Alex would be the one to check out the inside of Achak’s home, but that still meant I was aiding criminal activity. That wouldn’t look good for the chief of police, whether I was subject to tribal law or not.
“Stop worrying about it and come on,” Alex said as we hurried past the sign that read ‘Ammagaruqnik.’ He glanced up into the sky, ostensibly to look at the moon, but the flurries of snowflakes filled his eyes instead. He shook the snow from his face.
I didn’t say anything but trotted behind him, trying to keep up with his nearly breakneck speed. I tripped on a tree root that was sticking out of the icy ground and nearly lost my balance. Once I corrected myself, I started to slide on a patch of ice a few feet down the incline that led into the center of the village. Alex was clearly much better at traversing the snow-covered terrain than I was. I couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t bother to look back to make sure I was all right, let alone still behind him.
It must have really ticked him off that I hadn’t believed his story. Why he was taking that so badly, I wasn’t sure. He couldn’t just expect that I’d believe him?
“That was exactly what I expected.”
He looked up into the sky again, his face clearly evident in the milky rays of the moonlight. He’d previously told me it was a hunting moon tonight, which meant, as far as I could tell, that it was a full moon. Apparently, any time there was a full moon, his fellow weres would don their wolf uniforms and go hunting until they procured enough elk or deer or whatever it was they came across to last them for the rest of the winter and into the spring. Their freezers would be well-packed.
We didn’t come across anyone as we ventured farther into the village. There were no lights on in any of the houses and it was so eerily quiet I could have heard a pin drop. It reminded me of a ghost town.
Alex immediately took a sharp right at the base of the incline and then darted in between four towering pines as I fought to keep up with him. He paused when he was completely covered by the canopy of branches overhead and then he turned around to face me. From where we were standing, the foliage was thick enough that I couldn’t see beyond it, but the moonlight still illuminated Alex’s face as it filtered through the heavy branches.
“Just beyond this thicket of bushes is Achak’s,” Alex whispered as he pointed in front of him and to the right.
“Okay,” I whispered back.
“I’m going to go in and out,” he said with a nod. “Once we get beyond these bushes, that’s where you’re going to stand and wait. If he comes back, he’ll come through the rear door so you’ll see him.”
“Okay.” I nodded and took a deep breath.
“Oh.” He reached into his waistband and produced a small pistol that almost looked like a toy gun, it was so slight. “Your gun isn’t going to do any good,” he said as he handed me his. “This one’s loaded with silver bullets.” His eyes met mine and he held my gaze for a few seconds. “Fire only if you have to and aim to kill.”
I accepted it reluctantly, praying and hoping I wouldn’t have to use it.
Chapter Twenty-three
Achak’s home was as nondescript as the rest of the buildings on the reservation. Just as gray on the outside and as flat-roofed as all the others. The only difference, really, was that it was fifty feet or so away from the main dirt road and down an embankment that made it more difficult to access. Especially with the insistent snowfall. His house was also surrounded by pine trees and,