“Don’t worry,” she told him. “You’ll be back in the air again and probably very soon. Your wing is much stronger now.”

  Responding to her encouraging words with just a nod of his head, Sparky stayed intent on his lesson. “I want to tell you about the spirals.” He brought her attention to the beautiful circular pattern of the swirling water. “The first is a double spiral, moving up from the bottom of the river, while another spiral from the surface moves down to the bottom. You can find these spirals within all living things. Tend to these spirals in your healing work with animals.” Sparky lightly touched her knees with his good wing, inviting her to feel the upward spiral. Then he touched her upper back, inviting her to feel the downward spiral. Asira was slightly bemused by the sudden outpouring of information from Sparky after days of quiet companionship.

  “When you work with someone who is physically weak and want them to become stronger, you help them with the upward spiral. And when you work with someone who is emotionally weak or has sustained a big shock, you enhance the downward spiral.”

  Because Sparky was showing her as well as telling her, Asira experienced what he was talking about. She felt herself grow stronger and the darkness within her shrank. When she thought about those people or situations when she felt helpless, they didn’t seem as scary or as overwhelming to her. Asira bounced up and down with excitement. No one had ever taught her about healing before. Maybe practicing this before any of her healings would help her with the dizziness she experienced.

  On a different day, they walked down to a particularly wild part of the river. “There,” said Sparky, pointing with his wing to the middle of the river. “Do you see the triple spiral?”

  Asira squinted but couldn’t see what he was talking about. Looking down, she saw that Sparky was drawing something in the dirt. When he stepped back she saw the triple spiral he was talking about. “Trace that with your finger,” Sparky told her.

  As Asira traced the triple spiral, she realized that it was one continuous line from start to finish. She felt a gentle rocking within her, soothing and comforting. Sparky nodded his head at her discovery. “This is the way energy should move through healthy air or water. Since each body is made up mostly of air like me or water like you, this spiral needs to be present for health.” Now when Asira looked at the river she could see the triple spiral and knew it was the signal of healthy and healing water.

  “If you lose this spiral within you, you can come to water and lay in it. Or you can stand by running water and connect your inner triple spiral to the water like we are talking about right now. It removes anything that might make you sick if you drink it. It’s the same when you are working with animals or people.”

  At the mention of healing people, Asira shuddered, but the thought wasn’t as uncomfortable as she’d felt in the past.

  The next day, Sparky told her he needed to show her one more spiral. He called it the Golden Spiral. As they walked down to a different part of the river, he began telling her about the importance of the Golden Spiral and the Three Keys. “What are the Three Keys?” she asked.

  Suddenly there was a shout behind her. Looking back, she saw a man pointing to them and yelling to someone else. “Quickly!” Sparky commanded. “Untie my wing. I must leave now”

  As Asira untied the sling with trembling fingers, she protested, “You aren’t ready to fly yet.”

  “Oh yes I am,” said Sparky. “I’ll use the double spiral currents of the air to be stronger and fly faster.” With that, he sprang into the air and began to fly, slowly at first until he caught a spiral of air over the river. Asira watched him in awe as he quickly flew upward hardly using his wings at all.

  Three people thundered up beside her and one grabbed her by the arm. “You better explain yourself to Kuut,” he demanded. He pulled her roughly toward the town, yanking on her arm when she pulled back. Asira didn’t want to stop watching Sparky as he glided and spiraled through the air. Her heart ached at the rapid parting, but then soared in joy at his freedom and escape.

  Dragging her into the center of the town, her captor yelled for the Director. Kuut came strolling out of his house, rubbing his eyes and then running his fingers through his hair. It was obvious he’d been sleeping even though it was almost noon.

  “There better be a good reason you are waking me up,” he growled.

  “Oh there is,” responded the man who still held onto Asira’s arm. “I found her down by the river with a Firebird. It looked like she was helping it to escape, not trying to catch it.”

  “Is this true?” Kuut looked at her in amusement.

  Asira knew she couldn’t answer completely. “Yes and no,” she hedged.

  Kuut’s demeanor changed from amused tolerance to anger. “What in the blazes does that mean? How dare you speak so insolently to me?” He took a menacing step toward her raising his arm to strike her.

  Beside her, Takaani growled low in his throat.

  “Did that mangy wolf just threaten me?” Kuut said, turning his hard gaze toward the animal. Silently, Asira sent a message to Takaani, “Go!” She repeated it with more urgency and showed him she’d be all right. Takaani turned and trotted toward their home.

  “I’m so sorry,” Asira said trying to placate the Director, whose arm was still in the air. “He misunderstood you when you raised your arm. He thought you wanted to strike me.”

  Kuut muttered something under his breath and then made a gesture with his hand as if he was smoothing down his hair. “Of course, I don’t want to hurt you. Now explain to me what you meant.”

  “I found the Firebird a few days back, with a broken wing,” Asira explained. “I knew he wasn’t worth anything with a broken wing so I started to heal it. I was just having the bird give its wing a try when your men came upon me. I had no intention of letting the bird go and tied a string around his foot, but your men startled me and I dropped the string.”

  “Hmmm,” Kuut looked at her, trying to determine if she was lying. Asira looked back at him with wide eyes, not showing fear or worry. Inside, she ran her two spirals of energy upward and downward to make herself stronger physically and emotionally, without trembling as she would have in the past.

  “Well, all right then,” the Director finally said. “But if I ever see that mongrel again, I will have him captured and killed immediately. Now get out of here.”

  Asira ran to her family’s home, ready to burst into tears. Her beloved Takaani was now in horrible danger. She didn’t stop until she fell into the arms of Karen, her mother. Then the sobs came pouring out as her mother tried to calm her and find out what had happened at the same time.

  Just then her father, Ryan, hurried in. “I’ve heard the whole story,” he said. “When we have a chance, I want to hear everything about the Firebird, but first we need to make sure Takaani is safe.”

  Hiccupping, after her crying jag, Asira said, “But what can we do?”

  “I was afraid this day was going to come,” Ryan responded, “And I came up with a plan. I think we need to take Takaani up to a dome cave I found at the base of Mount Ausungate. We’ll take more supplies with us. If the day comes you have to leave, you’ll have a place to go.”

  Asira was still too numb from the scare and her hysterical sobbing to take it all in, but nodded her head slowly.

  “It’s a couple of days from here so let’s pack up and get going.”

  As they quietly left Our Place with multiple packs and Takaani at their heels, Asira’s somber mood gradually changed to one of lightness. The town had always been a place of tension and stress where she had to hide her true nature. Being out on the trail with the wide-open spaces all around her was exhilarating. No one was watching her every move or scowling at her. She felt a shadow pass over her. Looking up, she realized they were being followed by Sparky.

  She sent up a silent “Hello, are you okay?” to him while pointing him out to her dad. “Look, there’s the Firebird I helped heal.” Sparky waggled his wings in reply, then flew a few spirals overhead.

  They covered the miles at an easy pace for the rest of the day, as Asira shared her adventures in healing and the lessons Sparky had taught her. Her father listened in wonder as she talked about her gifts of healing as if they were the same as breathing and drinking. Her power and beauty sparkled in the air with each word she uttered. He couldn’t have been prouder of her if she’d been his actual daughter.

  At the end of the second day of hiking, they reached the foothills of Ausungate, the majestic peak that towered above Our Place.

  “Not too far now,” Ryan said to Asira.

  Behind an initial stand of pines, they approached an area of towering rocks that sprung up from the ground in individual groupings. Skirting around the edge of a rock cluster, Ryan motioned to Asira to follow him, then he disappeared right in front of her. Blinking at this sudden act of magic, Asira approached the spot where she’s last seen him. A hand reached out from a crack in the rock and pulled her into a small opening. Takaani followed her closely. Winding through a narrow opening that was tight even for Asira, they eventually popped into the hidden dome. A lovely grassy area opened in front of them. In one corner, a spring bubbled with water, while in another an outcropping of rock made a natural shelter. With the towering rocks encircling them but open to the sky it was like a house with no roof.

  Asira and Ryan began to build a bed for Takaani, who watched them anxiously. He knew that he was going to be separated from Asira. “Do you think he’ll stay here?” she asked Ryan.

  “Yes, if you leave one of your pieces of clothing for him to lie on and tell him to wait for you. He’ll hunt on his own and come back here each night.”

  Asira hoped that was true, because the idea of him showing up in the village scared her.

  Ryan continued. “You’ll be back here in three or four weeks.”

  Asira asked how he could be so sure. Ryan looked at her with a smile on his face. “Did you think I didn’t know what you’ve been planning? You’re going to go look for your real parents, right?”

  Asira’s mouth dropped open. She thought she’d been doing such a good job hiding her plan from Ryan and Karen. She didn’t want them to think she didn’t love and appreciate them, or thought of them as anything but her parents. She didn’t even remember her actual parents and couldn’t imagine them taking better care of her or loving her more than Ryan and Karen had.

  Ryan looked at her with soft eyes. “I know you can’t stay another season with visitors who are coming for healing. Your mom thinks you’ll get better at it, but I know how hard it is for you. I asked myself what would I do in that situation and I thought…I’d go look for my real parents. It was just a guess, but a good one by the look on your face!”

  “Do you know where they are?” Asira asked him.

  Ryan shook his head. “No. I only know that they went up into the mountains. It’s whispered that there are towns up there where those who want to stay hidden from prying eyes go.”

  Asira became excited with that information. “So maybe the guy who’s coming to help me is going to help me look for them!”

  Ryan looked at her like she’d eaten a bad mushroom. “What are you talking about? What guy? Do I know him?”

  Ducking her head, Asira kicked the dirt. She’d forgotten they didn’t know about her vision. Haltingly, Asira told him about the night of the fire without telling Ryan what she’d planned on doing. It was hard to explain how she “knew” things, like how the guy with the blue cloak that she’d seen in her fire was coming to help her, when they hadn’t actually talked. But when he’d turned and looked into her eyes, she just knew. It was after that vision the idea to look for her actual parents sprouted like a sunflower in the field of her mind. Maybe her parents could explain what was wrong with her, or how this healing gift worked. Maybe one of them was a healer, too.

  Ryan didn’t know what to think about the vision. There was much about his daughter he didn’t understand, but he did know she needed to leave the village. Her situation would only become more dangerous with the arrival of more visitors. Looking for her parents would give Asira a plan to move forward, instead of just running from her past.

  After the long day and intense conversation, Ryan and Asira fell silent as they made camp for the night. He showed her how to build a fire under the branches of a tree so the smoke couldn’t be seen by others. The trick was to keep the fire small and make sure to put it out completely before sleeping. Asira slept next to Takaani to enjoy his company on their last night for a while. She didn’t let her thoughts stray into “What if” this was their last time together. A month was a long time and a lot could happen.

  The next day Asira hugged Takaani and sent him the picture message to wait for her here and not follow her back to the village. Leaving some food for him, she showed him it was okay to go out hunting when he got hungry, but not to let himself be seen by anyone. Finally, she left one of her old shirts for him to use as a bed. Just before leaving the secret crevasse, she turned and looked at him. Her last view of Takaani was of him sitting by her shirt, wagging his tail in the dirt. He was so trusting of her! She would go back to the village and immediately begin preparing her own departure. With or without the guy from the fire, she was going to be back here in a month or less.

  After returning to the village and slipping in quietly so that no one noticed they’d been gone, Ryan and Asira resumed their daily routines. She began collecting and drying the healing plants that she’d take with her. Karen, her mom, brought her another set of clothes to take with her while Ryan finished a new carryall that could almost hold everything she needed. He came back a few days later with another pack. It was for Takaani! Asira wasn’t sure how Takaani would like it, but she had to admit it was a good idea.

  One day she climbed up to the top of the bluff to look out over the forest one last time. Scanning up and down the river, she saw no one. As she stood there, hoping that this time someone would show up or she’d see a flash of blue, a shadow swooped over her. She looked up, delighted to see Sparky. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her companion. Sparky told her about a trap that had caught more animals, this time some of the mountain ponies.

  Following Sparky as he flew, Asira hurried toward the mountains. In a little ravine, a trap corral had been set. Inside five mountain ponies were neighing and pawing up the grass-covered dirt. Asira knew she didn’t have much time before whoever had set the trap came to get them. Running down the slope of the ravine, she grabbed the main pole-gate blocking the ponies’ escape and pulled it slightly open. If the ponies pushed their way out, it would look like they’d naturally escaped.

  Moving back up the ravine more carefully then she had come down, Asira stepped on rocks and trees to cover her tracks. Soon she heard the ponies’ hooves thundering behind her as they discovered the opening and rushed out. As she gained the top of the ravine, she turned and saw the ponies on the other side. They’d all stopped and were looking toward her. Bowing their heads toward her, she heard floating across the wind, “Thank you.” Asira raised her hand in farewell, then watched them as they turned and galloped toward the mountain with flying manes and tails.

  The next week Asira kept busy releasing animals from traps. Each day Sparky showed her where to go. There seemed to be more of them now and she knew that the villagers were getting ready to start trading again with the visitors.

  The next day Sparky flew over her and signaled her to follow him. Thinking he had found another trapped animal, Asira grabbed her pack of healing plants and followed. Instead of a trap, he took her to the midden. Normally she only came here when she needed a container to hold her supplies. Thinking there was an animal hurt somewhere down in the heaped piles of rusty metal and broken glass, she slipped over the edge and cautiously picked her way down and then through the piles of discarded material. Sparky was ahead of her, circling over one area. When she arrived, she couldn’t see any animal. Stopping, she sent a question up to Sparky, then cocked her head to listen for any cries of distress. Nothing.

  Asira looked up at Sparky. Why was she here? Sparky was flying in spirals in response to her question. He dove down toward a pile of rubbish, then veered off at the last second. Walking over to where Sparky had swooped down, she saw light shoot out from underneath a pile of trash. Asira dug through the rubbish and discovered a beautiful crystal. Iridescent light shot from it, then it was neutral. It had very little dirt on it, which amazed Asira. Had it been lying there for a long time? It looked so out of place with all the decaying discards around it. Asira felt compelled to pick it up and hold it. It was the size of her palm and had many facets, all of them triangles. The crystal looked clear unless she gazed into its middle at just the right angle and then she saw the pearly swirl of light again.

  “Crystalline Emotion,” she heard from above. Asira had been so entranced at the sight of it she’d forgotten Sparky for a moment.

  “What does that mean?” she whispered.

  “That’s its name. Take it with you when you go.”

  Startled, Asira wondered if everyone knew her plans. Her other questions about the crystal flew out of her mind as her brow wrinkled in worry. Tucking the crystal into her herb bag, she carefully picked her way out of the midden. She felt a sudden urgency, but couldn’t move fast until she climbed out of the trash pile.

  “That’s it!” she thought. “I’m packing and leaving tomorrow before one more person finds out my plans.” Asira felt a deep yearning to see Takaani again. Something inside of her broke free at her decision and she almost felt like she could fly up to Sparky.

 

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