Chapter 16

Complications! BIG complications!

In August, there was a major shakeup. No ... more like a disaster, but not for us. Gilleena saw an e-mail comment that popped up shortly after the last blog posting, and it was nothing like the others. It said, “Urgent! Tell Jakoby I must speak with him ASAP! Hithfaeron.”

Gilleena read it a second time and said, “Oh dear! I sense something very bad in this!”

Her senses were generally dead on. I asked, “What is it, Gilleena?”

She showed me the e-mail message and said, “Hithfaeron is the elder of a northern clan living in caves near an old gold mining area in Canada. I must get this to Grandfather right away. Come!”

She wrote the message down on a piece of paper and we headed toward the cave. We found Grandfather in his rooms writing in his diary.

He looked up as we entered and saw the concern on Gilleena’s face. “What is it, child? What’s happened?”

“It’s from Hithfaeron, Grandfather!” She handed him the note and added, “I sense something terrible has happened.”

He read it and sat shaking his head. “We’ve been lax, haven’t we? We should have sent notice of Jesse’s phone number to all the clans immediately after he took possession of the house. It’s lucky you caught this e-mail.”

Then he rose and strode across the room to a cabinet, opened it and took out a small book. He flipped through the pages and found what he needed. “Come, Jesse, I need you to make a call.”

We went back up to the house and the study. On the way, he explained that I’d be calling a woman named Eve Morris, who lived near Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories. She served essentially the same function for Hithfaeron’s clan as I did for Jakoby’s.

Back in the study, I picked up my cell phone and punched in the number he gave me. It only rang once before someone picked up.

“Hello?”

“Yes, Eve Morris, please.”

“Speaking.”

“Ms. Morris, my name is Jesse Davies. I’m calling in regard to an e-mail message we just received from someone called Hithfaeron.”

“Yes, Mr. Davies, I believe I can guess who you are. You’re the writer of the blog, right?”

“Yes Ma’am, that’s right.”

“Then I thank you for getting back to us so quickly. Is Jakoby available to speak?”

“He’s right here. Just a moment please.”

I handed him the phone. He looked worried as he took it and said, “Eve, this is Jakoby. What’s happened, dear?”

I couldn’t read his face as he listened for a long time, apparently getting the whole story, whatever it was.

His end of the conversation went something like, “I understand, dear. Of course, you must come right away. Will you need help arranging transportation? ... Very well, we’ll arrange it from the airport to our home ... Let us know as soon as you can when you’ll be arriving. How many are you? ... Twenty-two. We will have no problem accommodating you. Do take all precautions! You have this number now, so please don’t hesitate to call for help with anything ... Yes, dear, we’ll be expecting them tonight. Goodbye!”

He handed me the phone and said, “Jesse, will you call Steve and ask if he can come right away? We’re going to need his help.”

“Sure, Grandfather! What is it? What’s happened?”

He took a deep breath. “Hithfaeron is Elder of one of two Canadian clans. According to Eve, much of their cave has collapsed as a result of blasting at some nearby gold mining operation. They’ve lost five of their clan and two are injured. They have no choice but to abandon their cave, and ours is the only one large enough to accommodate them all. They’ll be living with us until the departure. I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait until they arrive for more details. Now, will you please call Steve and get him over here. We have much to do to prepare for their arrival!”

Then he turned to Gilleena, handed her his little book and said, “My dear, when it’s convenient for you to do so, please try to contact every clan listed here and give them Jesse’s phone number. Also advise them of what has happened in Canada. It was just blind luck that you saw Eve’s e-mail so quickly.”

I caught Steve out on patrol. I told him we needed to see him right away, if he could manage it. He asked if it was an emergency, and I told him no, but it was definitely urgent. He said he was on his way.

Ten minutes later, he slid to a stop in front of the house and ran up the porch steps. I met him at the door and took him down to the basement where Grandfather waited with all the members of the clan gathered around him. He’d been preparing them for what would be a big change in their lives.

Steve looked at the crowd and asked, “What is it, Jakoby?”

Grandfather gestured to a chair and said, “Please be seated, Steve, and I’ll explain. As you are aware, we are only one of several clans on the North American continent. Today, early this morning, our cousins in the Northwest Territories suffered a terrible tragedy. Much of their cave collapsed and five of them were killed. They’ve had to abandon their home and they’re on their way here now. They will be arriving on a chartered aircraft some time tonight, we don’t yet know the exact time. We must arrange safe transportation from the airport. I think a commercial vehicle like a tourist bus would probably be best, but I’m sure you’d know better than I. We’ll send along a supply of HEPA masks just in case theirs are old or damaged. I’d like you to arrange for the transport vehicle and escort them here from the airport. Will you do that for us? We’d be very grateful.”

“Damn, that’s just awful! Of course, I’ll arrange for the bus. Can I send Rosa over to help you get ready?”

“That would be most helpful and appreciated. Now we have much to do before they arrive. Jesse will call you as soon as we learn their schedule. Thank you so much, Steve.”

“It’s what friends and neighbors do. I’ll call Rosa now and get her on the way. Do you have enough food in the house? She can bring what we have and then do some shopping if you need her to.”

“Ask her to meet with Ellana when she gets here. The two of them can decide what is needed.”

Steve headed for the door, but then stopped. He turned and asked, “Uh, Jakoby, if these people are flying in from Canada, there’s going to be customs and border security to deal with. I can’t imagine any of them are carrying passports.”

Grandfather nodded his head and answered, “Of course, you’re entirely correct, Steve. However, we’ve long since learned of places where we can cross international borders undetected. Secrecy has been a way of life with us for a very long time now. Now please be on your way.”

Steve shrugged and said, “If you say so, but I’ll warn you anyway. Border security is pretty damned tight, and it’s serious business.”

Jakoby nodded. “Thank you, Steve. Consider us warned.”

The rest of the day was something just short of chaos. I had to stay upstairs where there was cell phone reception, but everybody else was scrambling around in the cave preparing sleeping quarters for the twenty-two refugees due to arrive sometime in the night.

Rosa arrived shortly after Steve left, and got with Ellana to begin planning meals and making up a shopping list. The next day she and I would make a trip to the Costco eighty-some miles away after we got everyone settled. I was going to have to take the utility trailer because, aside from a lot of food, we’d need things like sleeping bags, cots, storage containers, basic clothing items.

Ninnith set up the two empty upstairs bedrooms for the injured. We had no idea how badly they were hurt, but we did know they wouldn’t have been seen at the local hospital in Yellowknife. Perhaps Hithfaeron’s clan had its own healer, but we couldn’t know that for sure.

Late in the afternoon, I got the call from Eve Morris. She told me a chartered aircraft would be departing Yellowknife at 5:30 PM their time (7:30 our time) and fly to Thunder Bay, Ontario where they would be driven by an agent of the Lake Superior clan to a small airfield across the border via some back roads. They’d be flown from there to our airport and should arrive at around 3 AM. I called Steve on his cell and gave him the times so he could make arrangements for the bus to be there. He said he’d come by and pick me up to take me to the airport.

I found Jakoby and gave him the times and asked if I needed to take anything to the airport with me. He said, “Just the masks. Theirs may be fine, but we don’t know that for sure. Since the collapsed cave was undoubtedly filled with dust, their own masks may be clogged up. I wish Ninnith could go with you to see to the injured, but that’s quite impossible. We can only hope they’re stable enough to survive the trip.”

Immediately I thought of Anna Belle. “Uh, Grandfather, I may know someone who could help. She’s trained as an emergency room nurse so she knows a hell of a lot more about medical care than Steve or I do. She might be willing to go with us to meet them.”

He looked hard at me and asked, “Can she be trusted?”

“Let’s ask Rosa. It’s her sister I’m talking about.”

“I’d certainly feel better if the injured were being properly cared for on the trip from the airport, but you must use your best judgement. In situations like these, needs must, I suppose.”

I found Rosa in the kitchen with Ellana and asked her opinion about Anna Belle being asked to help. She said her sister could be a little selfish at times, but that she was absolutely professional when it came to medical issues. Violating any aspect of patient confidentiality would never even cross her mind. I asked if she’d make the call and ask if Anna Belle would be willing to go with Steve and me to the airport. She found me a few minutes later and said her sister just got off duty and was on her way to the house. She should show up at the gate in about a half hour.